Chapter 177: Mysterious Cave
"The village won’t work. Alchemy has very high requirements for its heat source. If I used gas canisters, I’d probably need a whole gas plant to have enough."
"Besides, having that much gas in the village would be dangerous. It’s a no-go."
Chu Feng explained to Su Miaoke that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay in the village, but that the conditions weren’t right.
"Then where are you going to look?" Su Miaoke frowned and asked, not knowing what kind of suitable place Chu Feng was searching for.
"I’m going to see if I can find a suitable location where I can draw upon the Heaven and Earth Energy to gather the Earth Vein Fire," Chu Feng said.
"Draw upon Heaven and Earth Energy to gather the Earth Vein Fire? What does that even mean?" Su Miaoke felt it sounded like complete nonsense.
"It would take too long to explain right now. Basically, it’s a fire from deep within the earth. Its temperature is extremely high, making it perfect for alchemy," Chu Feng said.
"Are you saying you’re looking for a place with coal gas, natural gas, or an oil field?" Su Miaoke asked, a look of sudden understanding on her face.
"Not exactly, but something like that," Chu Feng replied.
"I don’t care. I’m going with you," Su Miaoke said.
"You really shouldn’t. The deep mountains are genuinely dangerous. Almost no one goes up there now, so there are basically no paths. What if you get bitten by a bug? You’d just blame me," Chu Feng said.
"No way. What if you run into danger?" Su Miaoke said worriedly.
But just as the words left her mouth, Chu Feng leaped up, easily landing on the treetop of a tree over ten meters high.
He looked completely relaxed, as if it took no effort at all.
"Whoa! I-Is this for real?" Su Miaoke was completely stunned by the scene before her. It was just like the Qinggong from martial arts TV shows.
Then, with a flip, Chu Feng leaped down from the treetop over ten meters high and landed steadily on the ground, looking just as effortless as before.
"So? With skills like these, do you think I’ll be in any trouble? If you can do what I just did, I’ll let you come with me," Chu Feng said.
Su Miaoke didn’t know how to respond.
"Then should you bring a knife? At least you’d have something for self-defense if you run into danger," Su Miaoke asked.
"It’s fine, I don’t need one. If Mom and Dad ask, just tell them I had to step out for something and will be back later," Chu Feng instructed.
After saying that, Chu Feng leaped up, landed on a treetop, and then pushed off again, vanishing from Su Miaoke’s sight.
"He’s so fast," Su Miaoke pouted, looking displeased. But there was nothing she could do, so she could only head home by herself.
Chu Feng traveled alone through the forest. As for the Earth Vein Fire he spoke of, no one knew if it even existed. All he could do was cling to a faint glimmer of hope.
But this was a place of endless mountains, many areas completely uninhabited. Many peaks were covered in vast, primeval forests that had likely not seen a human in decades, or even centuries.
As he journeyed deeper into the woods, the sunlight grew scarcer, blocked out by the dense canopy.
The ground was covered in a thick layer of dead branches and rotting leaves.
After venturing nearly twenty kilometers deeper, Chu Feng still hadn’t found a suitable spot. He would occasionally climb to a treetop to get a better view, but to no avail.
Two hours had already passed, and in this remote forest, Chu Feng had found nothing.
’This place is really in the boonies, a godforsaken corner of the world.’
It was no wonder Chu Feng’s grandfather had chosen a place like this—far from the secular world and, indeed, perfect for cultivation.
If the government hadn’t built a road to the village and provided running water and electricity, Chu Feng’s village would probably be at least ten times poorer than it was now.
Chu Feng continued to walk aimlessly when suddenly, a small wild boar scurried past him.
It gave him a start. The boar had been sleeping not far from him and had been startled by his approach.
The boar immediately bolted down the mountain.
"A wild boar?" Chu Feng’s interest was instantly piqued when he saw it.
"I haven’t eaten a wild boar from these mountains in years. Their meat is delicious," Chu Feng said with a smile.
He chased after it without hesitation. He hadn’t found the earth fire, but finding a wild boar wasn’t a bad consolation.
Just as he was about to catch up to it near the foot of the mountain, Chu Feng saw the boar dart into a cave.
The cave was hidden behind some bushes. If the boar hadn’t run inside, he would never have noticed it.
"There’s a cave here," Chu Feng said in surprise. ’Usually, a boar’s den might have a large adult inside, which would be extremely dangerous.’
Even lions and tigers would give a wide berth to a fully grown wild boar. Its tusks, in particular, are terrifying, and its attack power and strength are immense.
However, after a moment’s hesitation, Chu Feng slipped inside.
It was pitch-black inside and reeked of a foul stench.
But Chu Feng could hold his breath now; he could go half an hour without breathing, no problem.
Chu Feng ventured deeper, but to his surprise, the boar’s den seemed to have no end. He had already walked dozens of meters and still couldn’t see the end.
’What is going on here? What a massive project for a boar... its last three or four generations must have been digging this tunnel.’ Chu Feng couldn’t help but complain in his mind.
But despite his complaints, he continued to press forward.
After all, he had come this far. He couldn’t just give up halfway.
The deeper he went, the more Chu Feng felt the temperature begin to rise.
At the same time, something completely unexpected happened: he sensed a faint, thin wisp of Spiritual Power.
’How can there be Spiritual Power in a place like this?’ Chu Feng was astonished, his face a mask of surprise.
Chu Feng was now a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, so his perception of Spiritual Power auras was incredibly sharp. He could clearly feel even the slightest change.
He kept walking for what felt like several kilometers, yet he didn’t feel the slightest bit of oppression, fear, or suffocation.
On the contrary, he felt more and more comfortable, as if he were in a place with excellent feng shui.
"Cultivating here would be several times more effective than outside," Chu Feng marveled.
After walking a few hundred meters more, Chu Feng found that the tunnel suddenly opened up into a spacious area, and his vision improved.
There were no lights, but something seemed to be glittering between the rocks, illuminating the cave.
’What a strange place.’ Chu Feng had no time for the boar now; he began to survey his surroundings.
Because this part of the cave looked like a room. Not far ahead was a bed made of stone, and on the walls were carvings of strange words and patterns.