Powerful forces brushed across the sky constantly.
Mixed with skyrocketing rage. Fang Ping could feel it too even when he was currently tens of meters deep in the ground.
Under the powerhouses’ rage, Mentalities moving unhindered all over the place, attacking below the ground repeatedly.
Those two brats must not have ran too far!
Not only that, none of them could forget about Fang Ping’s hole-digging escape. Every Gigantic Willow City’s powerhouses could guess that they were underground.
But where exactly?
The nearby land was massive. Once they were deep underground, they might not be able to locate them even after searching inch by inch. They could not possibly turn the whole place upside down, could they?
After venting out for so long, there were no more movements outside.
...
The Fang Ping duo did not move a hair, maintaining this position for five to six hours!
Even though the forces had dispersed a long time ago, none of them stirred. They had reached a tacit understanding. They had no intention of getting up at all.
Fang Ping figured that these guys would not continue searching.
Wu Chuan and the rest were still alive. The Catacombs passageway was also in need of manpower.
With Gigantic Willow City devastated to that extent, were those fellows not worried that others would take advantage of this situation and raid Gigantic Willow City?
About seven to eight hours later, Fang Ping stirred slightly, patting Old Li beside him.
Old Li ignored him instead, turned around, and continued digging downward.
Fang Ping saw and understood what he meant. He began digging. Both of them dug downward all the way.
After digging more than ten meters deep, neither of them stopped. They continued digging horizontally. They could not go out from here. Someone might be lying in wait around the corner, waiting for them to turn up.
Now, moving deep underground, the duo did not even care which direction they were moving in. They dug with all their might, digging all the way forward.
Both of them were considered powerhouses. They went on for four to five hours, digging at full force. Fang Ping was panting heavily, saying faintly, “That should be enough, I guess?”
“Almost.”
Old Man Li’s head swayed and that shocked Fang Ping. He quickly supported his head, asking with little confidence, “It won’t fall, will it?”
Old Man Li darted him a look... Fang Ping was instantly disgusted. “Don’t look at me. Your eyes are slanted. It’s so disgusting when you look at people.”
“You f*cking brat. Don’t you think that I can kick you to death?”
Old Man Li cursed. He panted. “Stop the crap. Let’s dig our way up. I can’t stand it any longer.”
“I’m exhausted too.”
“Are you going or not?”
Fang Ping was helpless. He dug his way up with a lot of effort.
...
A few minutes later. On the ground surface.
Now, the sky was pitch black. It had turned dark a long time ago.
“Phew!”
“Phew!”
Both of them collapsed on the ground, huffing and puffing at the same time.
After he was done panting, Fang Ping checked his own injuries, saying dejectedly, “Parts of my vital organs are shattered, numerous bones cracked, and my Mentality was smashed into pieces countless times ... Old fellow, this time I’ve truly suffered a great loss.”
Not only that, but there was also a massive loss of Wealth!
From start to finish, Fang Ping could hardly remember how much he had spent exactly. But, he had spent at least one to two hundred million that was for sure.
As for the Energy Essence... Fang Ping took a quick look at the storage space. The remaining amount could maybe fill up a tiny bowl.
Maybe because he had escaped danger, it was only until now did Fang Ping’s Wealth started changing:
Wealth: 1.92 billion
Vitality: 1200cal (3399cal)
Mentality: 189Hz (699Hz)
Bones honed: 177 bones (100%), 6 bones (90%), 23 bones (30%+)
Storage Space: 1 cubic meter
Energy Shield: 10 thousand Wealth per minute
“There’s a billion increase in Wealth!”
Fang Ping had no idea how much specifically. There should be about 1.2 billion.
1.2 billion was actually 40 thousand credits only. 30 credits for a gram of cultivation-aiding energy stones. That would be 1300 grams only. Less than three catties!
This was even taking account for exchanging energy stones into Energy Essence. A gram of Energy Essence would be equivalent to at least 5 grams of cultivation-aiding energy stones.
This was even calculated based on the total amount.
In other words, more than 200 grams of Energy Essence would amount to a value of 1.2 billion.
1 gram of Energy Essence was at least 4 million in value. This was the minimum.
Fang Ping did not fully fill the storage space, but he did fill up more than half. One cubic meter of water would be 1000 kilograms. That would be 1 million grams. If Energy Essence and water weighed the same, one-meter square meter would amount to 4 trillion now!
Half—and that would be two trillion!
Of course, at this stage, it was already impossible for money to measure anything else. But, based on this calculation, Fang Ping could have had two trillion Wealth in his account.
But now... 1.2 billion!
Fang Ping had an emotional breakdown. He turned around all of a sudden, choking Old Li and roared, “I’ve lost trillions! Trillions. That’s enough to support thousands of MCMAU students for 20 years!”
“Drink and drink. All you know is drink!”
“You’ve devoured trillions from me!”
“Old fellow, I want to kill you!”
The system was too d*mn unreliable!
It did not count those in!
None of the ones he had taken himself and the ones that Old Man Li had consumed were counted!
Moreover, a lot had been wasted halfway, actually. Huge amounts of Energy Essence had been wasted. Both him and Old Man Li might not have used even one-third of it.
Old Man Li ignored him. After panting for a while, he asked, “Do you have any more?”
“No more!”
“Cut the crap. Protect me. Let me try fixing my bones.”
“Your bones have been completely shattered...”
“Idiot. My bones are still inside. They had only turned into powder from the tremors earlier on. I’ll try and gather them now...”
When Old Man Li was speaking, a faint glow was radiating out of his body. The grass underneath grew rapidly, turning into herbs instantaneously.
Fang Ping saw what happened and was just about to pluck it when he suddenly gave a sickening look. Disgusting. Old Man Li did not wear any clothes, sitting with his naked bottom stuck to the ground.
When he thought of this, Fang Ping lowered his head to take a look. Other than a pile of mud stuck to the surface of his body, he was not wearing anything too.
Without caring that he was filthy, Fang Ping took out a set of clothes and put them on.
This time, Old Man Li stared at him for the longest time!
The clothes—they came out of nowhere!
It was the same as the Energy Essence earlier!
This kid had too many secrets.
Storage ring?
He did not recall seeing him wearing a ring. So it was other storage equipment then?
As it turned out, storage equipment did exist!
Long before this, Fang Ping had enquired about storage equipment matters. Old Man Li had even analyzed it for him, claiming that the sects might have it.
Today, Fang Ping owned one.
He stared at Fang Ping. Fang Ping looked vigilant, saying, “Don’t look at me like that. Old fellow, are your harboring evil thoughts at the sight of my treasure? Let me tell you this. This is no storage equipment. This is a space that has opened up in my brain after my brain has evolved. There’s a high chance that it would be lost forever even after you kill me!”
“Get lost!”
Old Man Li scolded. Feeling slightly frustrated, he said, “Just stop all your d*mn bullsh*t. And stop showing off in front of others. You better take it easy.”
He was not the kind of person who would harbor evil thoughts after seeing other people’s treasures. Besides, in order to save him, Fang Ping had really gone through all kinds of perils this time.
If one believed that he would scheme to seize Fang Ping’s goods, then one might have underestimated him, Li Changsheng, a little too much.
“That’s good to hear then. Don’t even think of taking advantage of me... Also, can you wear some clothes?”
“We’ll talk about that later!”
Old Man Li was not in the mood for that. He said hurriedly, “I’ll gather my bones first before the Energy Essence runs out.”
Right now, he still had plenty of Energy Essence stored in his body.
With that much Energy Essence, though not much, not even one-tenth compared to the amount Willow Tree Monster had accumulated for so many years, they were still prepared by Willow Tree Monster in order to breakthrough to supreme king level.
The sheer number of resources that the powerhouses at that level needed to breakthrough was terrifying. It was no longer something that could be compared by riches alone.
With Fang Ping snatching these Energy Essences away, other things aside, if all of them were saved, they would be sufficient for five to six Rank-6 powerhouses, maybe even seven or eight of them, to breakthrough to Grandmaster now.
Old Man Li alone had absorbed more than half. Although a lot was lost, there were still heaps of energy remaining in his body currently.
...
Fang Ping saw that he was about to cultivate and wasted no time. He made a quick check around him and began guarding at the periphery.
Golden glows flashed from Old Man Li’s body from time to time.
The plants on the ground were growing rapidly, carrying a tremendous amount of energy in them.
It went on until daybreak. Old Man Li’s head began bulging and moving constantly. The cracked bones began gathering. Countless energy radiance emanated. A few monsters nearby gathered in no time.
With his injuries, Fang Ping took a long time to drive these monsters back.
Boom!
A booming sound was heard coming from inside of Old Man Li’s body. His skin was no longer crimson red. Instead, it was gold in color.
“Golden body?”
Fang Ping’s expression changed slightly. Taking another look, Old Man Li’s skull was turning golden too.
“Is he constructing a true golden body now?”
Earlier, Old Man Li was only a forged golden body. His skull was impossible to hone.
But now, with abundant energy filling up his body, constantly honing those cracked bones, it seemed like even his skull was being honed.
A mighty force surged. The monsters no longer came to attack. Even the monsters from a distance away were trembling. Many of them fled like a bat out of h*ll, leaving this place.
Fang Ping had also sensed constraints. His eyes were glistening nonstop. Had Old Li turned into a golden body powerhouse?
At this moment, the still surging force halted all of a sudden!
“Pu!”
Old Man Li spat out a mouthful of faint golden blood. He opened his eyes and frowned, seemingly lost in thoughts.
“What’s wrong?”
Fang Ping went up to ask hurriedly.
“I can’t do it.”
Old Man Li’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together. He said in a low voice, “Although my Mentality wasn’t entirely shattered last time, it was still nearly broken into practically nothing. Constructing a golden body requires Mentality-Vitality fusion. I can’t... but...”
As Old Man Li spoke, he looked overjoyed all of a sudden, saying, “I think I can feel my Mentality now!”
“What do you mean?”
“Fool!” Old Man Li scolded. “That means that I can heal my wounds now. Did you know? Last time, I couldn’t detect my Mentality at all. My shattered Mentality has not allowed me to detect it, nor was I able to grow stronger. Like stagnant water.
“Now, this stagnant water is poured out, and new living water is starting to grow from the roots!”
Fang Ping’s eyes moved, asking hurriedly, “That means that your Mentality can grow again?”
“Yes!”
Old Man Li was overwhelmed with emotion. “Moreover, I’m now considered to have constructed half a golden body. The reason why I’m not a golden body yet is that my bone marrow is still unable to transform. This time, even my skull has been honed!”
“If I was a half golden body last time, then that’s a bit too much of a compliment for me. At best, I was only considered a quarter golden body. Now, I am considered a two-thirds!
Fang Ping was slightly confused. He asked impatiently, “Just tell me, can you or can you not hack a Rank-8 to death?”
“I can’t.”
“F*ck. You’ve taken trillions from me. You could even kill a Rank-8 earlier, but you can’t do it now!”
Old Man Li looked completely speechless!
I risked my life for that attack earlier!
Not only was that a life-risking attack, but it also took everything that he had accumulated for the past ten years that was integrated into the Longevity Sword. It was only then that he had the crazy idea of hacking a Rank-8.
Also, although he had hacked a Rank-8, it was still done with the help of others to pin the enemy down.
If he was to do it alone, even if he had risked his life, it would still not happen.
Fang Ping scratched his head, asking again, “What about Rank-7?”
This time, Old Man Li pondered for a moment, saying, “It’s hard to say.”
“What do you mean it’s hard to say?”
“My golden body is strong, yet my Mentality is weak and fragile. If I encounter a Rank-7, the other party has Mentality-Vitality fusion and is able to employ Celestiality. I can’t. I can only employ Vitality Force.
“In nature, Vitality Force could not compare to Celestiality. Of course, my golden body is strong, so his Mentality intimidation won’t have much effect on me.
“By honing my skull, if the other party employed Mentality attacks, there won’t be any major effects on me in the future.
Let’s put it this way. I can only fight in close combat. A Rank-7 won’t be my match when fighting in close combat. I’ve not done it before, hence it’s hard to tell for now.”
“You can only fight in close combat?” Fang Ping looked slightly dazed.
“You can’t say that either.” Old Man Li was smiling again now. “Compared to other Rank-7s, they can intimidate certain weaklings tens or even hundreds of meters away. Within the range and boundary of their Mentality coverage, they can kill martial artists who are weaker than them straight away.
“I don’t have such a capability. I need to take action. Do you understand now?”
Fang Ping nodded. “That means that if you can’t catch up to them, then you can’t hit them. If you can catch up, then you will lay a heavy blow, and they would most likely lose to you?”
Unlike other Rank-7s, even if they did not flee but stand and fight, they could still kill you directly from tens of meters away.
“That’s just comparatively speaking. For a typical Rank-6 martial artist, I’ll just lay a punch in the air and my Vitality Force will finish him off.”
Having said that, Old Man Li stood up whilst smiling, saying, “Besides, my flesh is strong, hence my Mentality will be nourished much quicker. I still have heaps of Energy Essence in my body. Once my Mentality catches up, I may be able to step into Rank-8 in no time!”
“You’re considered a rookie Rank-8 now?”
“Not really. I’m considered a rookie Peak Rank-7, I guess.”
Fang Ping stared at him and frowned. Old Man Li chuckled when he saw that. “I’m really satisfied now. I did not expect to survive this time, but I have also benefited out of a misfortune...”
“No one’s talking about this!”
Fang Ping said irritatedly, “The mud on your body has worn off!”
“Hmm?”
“Keep your dingdong properly. Also, why didn’t you keep some hair on?”
“...”
Old Man Li was stunned for a moment. ‘I’m talking about my half golden body. What are you looking at?’
A split second later, he pressed down on Fang Ping. Under the horrified look on Fang Ping’s face, Old Man Li took off Fang Ping’s clothes, leaving only a pair of underpants on him. He changed into those clothes himself.
In the wilderness, Old Man Li seemed exceedingly strange with his bald head and ill-fitting clothes.
On the other hand, Fang Ping was wearing a pair of underpants, looking exasperated.
‘If you want clothes, tell me then!
‘I still have another set!
‘You came and pulled my clothes off without saying a word. Don’t you know that this causes misunderstandings?’
Old Man Li ignored him. Patting him on his shoulders, he frowned slightly, saying, “Heal your wounds. You’re heavily injured. See if you can use this opportunity to hone your five viscera and achieve Rank-5.”
Fang Ping exhaled. Then, he gritted his teeth, and said, “You owe me two trillion this time. You better keep this debt in your mind! I think that it will still be a very long time before you can pay it back, even when you have achieved Rank-8. Stop feigning ignorance, thinking that you can brush it off. Whatever it is, remember to pay it back!
“I’ll try breaking through. Let’s not go back to the passageway anymore. When reinforcements have come, we’ll go back to Gigantic Willow City!
“They’ve bashed us up real good this time. We’ve been hiding and digging holes for a day and a night. This humiliation... I just can’t take it. When have I ever suffered losses like this before!”
Thinking about it now, Fang Ping thought it was humiliating. Such shame must never be exposed.
Digging holes after taking all of his clothes off. Being underground, he lived a fate that was worse than a rat. He had been hunted for one whole day.
Even his body had turned into a hornet’s nest. This was too shameful!
“You still want to go back?”
Old Man Li was completely speechless. This kid had some really thick guts!
He was considered really lucky this time because the other party’s Rank-9 was not in the city.
Whereas the gigantic tree in the city almost could not even lay a finger on them as the duo was constantly underground, and extremely far away too.
If they really pissed the tree monster off so terribly that it acted recklessly, though its speed was slow, if it left the city to hunt them down, even a typical Rank-7 and 8 martial artist would not stand a chance against it. But, this was only relatively speaking.
It was not like Old Man Li had not seen these monster plants in action. When he was young, he had witnessed it once from afar.
Their abilities were beyond powerful!
Even so, under normal circumstances, these monster plants would not attack. One could even treat them as nonexistent.
But now, they obviously could not. Fang Ping had snatched something that belonged to the monster plant. These Energy Essences were precious, even for monster plants.
“Go back!”
Fang Ping nodded determinedly. He did not even care about the bleeding wounds on his body. He humphed. “Give me a moment. I’ll try breaking through. When Nanjiang’s second batch reinforcement powerhouses arrive, then that will be our chance!
“If they don’t come today, they will come tomorrow.
“If they insist on turning the whole world upside down, I’ll teach these bastards a lesson and show them what happens when they offend me, Fang Ping!”
Old Man Li looked at him for a while. ‘How confident. Even I am not as confident as you are right now!’