Chapter 137: Chapter 133: Song of the Little Deer

“Ah le ah le ah le~ Ah le ah le ah le~ Le~ Le!”

“I am an exiled little wild boar, though I can’t eat fine bran, having you makes me just as satisfied!”

“But the forests of the West Wilderness are too vast and helpless, even as a mountain patrol demon soldier, I still can’t protect my little deer!”

“Ah, my little deer, ah, my little deer!”

“That fog in the depths of the forest, that deer in the mist, I can’t tell if it’s fog, or my little deer.”

“Ah, my little deer, ah, my little deer…”

…

Wang Wu and Old Niu stood to the side, watching the little wild boar sing a sad mountain song with a cheerful tune, wagging its little tail, as its giant snout rhythmically nudged around the tree heart.

Even though they knew it was indeed the most reliable, it always gave them a sense of being truly unreliable.

This kind of talent is unmatched.

“Ah le, found it, it’s right here!”

The little wild boar did an exaggerated backflip, pointing a pig’s hoof at a spot that looked no different from other tree heart structures.

Truly, the enormous space they were in now was actually a hollowed-out tree heart, surrounded by not a speck of soil or rock, only hard tree walls or root tunnels.

Most of the root tunnels were either destroyed and blocked or covered by the still-operating array.

So honestly, Wang Wu and Old Niu didn’t really know how to start digging.

“Alright, you don’t need to wait here, big brother, remember to give me two spirit fruits every day for physical strength replenishment. Third brother, you continue refining the profound iron, make good use of the time, sharpening on the brink of battle, even if it’s not bright, it still shines. This excavation of mine might take a month; also, keep an eye on those ice slaves outside, is my arrangement clear?”

The little wild boar was animated as it spoke, but Wang Wu and Old Niu still harbored doubts.

“Alright, I know you don’t believe it, watch closely, this is the real skill of Old Pig!”

The little wild boar shook its massive head and immediately started a bout of seismic digging against the tree wall, making noises comparable to the most powerful impact drill.

Clang clang clang!

Clang clang clang!

Before Wang Wu and Old Niu could react, a rumble was heard, and at least four to five square meters of the tree wall was shaken and collapsed; turns out it was already decayed and fragile, with dirt instead of roots outside.

But with dirt, the little wild boar’s seismic digging became even more handy, resembling a dimensional strike, transforming into a tunnel boring machine, punching in, drilling out, punching in again, drilling out.

In less than a minute, a one-meter in diameter, thirty-meter-long hole, with compacted surrounding soil, was created.

This scene was simply unbelievable, leaving Wang Wu in awe.

“Alright, it seems there are no issues; I might just need to slim down a bit.” Old Niu was also satisfied.

“Big brother, you don’t need to slim down; I’m just preparing a basic exploratory tunnel to guide us since, if we don’t want to get lost, which is impossible, determining direction underground is a family skill.”

“When real passage is needed, my iron snout can easily handle the soil for smooth passage. But the premise is I need spirit fruits for replenishment.”

The little wild boar quickly finished speaking and darted into the tunnel like a rabbit; truly amazing.

At this moment, Old Niu solemnly said:

“Third brother, it seems there’s no problem in this regard. There’s absolutely no issue on my side either. I’ll leave a spirit fruit for you every day, but remember, the longest preservation time for this type of spirit fruit is twelve days; after that, the spiritual energy dissipates, turning into ordinary fruit. Remember to return every ten days; within a month, you can refine nine thousand times.”

“After a month, we’ll set off.”

“Alright! I understand!”

Wang Wu didn’t delay, utilizing his current satiety, swiftly diving into the root tunnel to continue refining profound iron with the profound iron jar.

Meanwhile, Old Niu took the opportunity to dig up the tree heart in chunks with his horn and devour it. Even though the branches of Grandpa Tree had withered, the tree heart was still brimmed with spiritual Qi, enough not only for routine cultivation and the growth of the spirit vine but also producing three Ninth-Grade Spirit Fruits daily; truly an excellent place.

Regrettably, they couldn’t stay here for too long; otherwise, Old Niu felt he genuinely had the hope of preliminarily condensing the Acupoint Opening Demon Pill here.

Indeed, even as things stood, Old Niu felt he had begun to see hints, a slight feeling, although elusive, indicating his strength was nearing the Seventh Grade.

“Moo, if I can advance to Seventh Grade, the second brother to Eighth Grade, and the third brother to the peak of Grade Eight, even if we were captured by the Seek Death Camp, survival wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Bah, bah, the crow’s mouth, gray bull’s leg, the good doesn’t come true but the bad does, ah not right, it’s the other way around, is that right, I’m still a child, my words don’t count, right!”

“Let’s try again, bah bah bah, crow’s mouth, gray bull’s leg, alright, Abu, the bad doesn’t come true, the good does, perfect this time!”

“Grandpa Tree above, please don’t take offense, this young one pays respect to you.”

Old Niu muttered, genuinely bowing reverently towards the center of the tree heart, for in the West Wilderness, Grandpa Tree was the deity of all Demon Spirit Monsters, and disrespecting him, well, the consequences were on one’s own head!

——

Meanwhile, inside the profound iron jar, Wang Wu wasn’t attempting to spy on or monitor the ice slaves blocking West Mountain; he lacked that ability. Instead, he focused solely on refining, with the primary goal being to erase the two claw marks he left earlier, as they were evidence he needed to eliminate.

Thankfully, like the adage of grinding an iron rod into a needle, even the immensely sturdy profound iron jar, after hundreds to thousands of refinings, had all traces worn away.

In fact, nearly one-fifth of the vast profound iron jar had been ground away by now.

Of this one-fifth, only one-third was ground out by Old Niu and the Little Wild Boar after more than a month of refining, causing Old Niu to turn into a Big Macaque and the Little Pig to become a shrunken, dry pig.

The cost is imaginable.

But the remaining two-thirds were refined by Wang Wu in two rounds of nine thousand refinements, revealing who is stronger at a glance.

This time, Wang Wu only planned to refine three thousand times because he felt too hollow.

Truly, it’s too exhausting for his qi and blood; this kind of iron refining in the Cultivation Realm is even more excessive and terrifying than the traditional skills of men back on Earth.

But there’s no choice; time is tight, and the most important thing is, where to get more Profound Iron if he misses this chance?

Profound Iron is a rare item in the Demon Race’s territory, an important strategic resource embargoed by the Human Race.

Old Niu, as the illegitimate child of the Black Mountain King, took forty to fifty years just to refine a Ninth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldier. This is partly due to his playfulness and indulgence, but the lack of Profound Iron resources is the most crucial reason.

Wang Wu is very aware of this, so even if it means temporarily becoming a lone wolf, he wants to give it his all!

“Perhaps he could also cut off a part and take it with him through grinding,” he thought.

Wang Wu thought of the backpack made from the Human Race cultivator’s Invisibility Cloak he had slung over his shoulder, including Old Niu and the Little Pig, without anyone noticing, not even the Great Illusion King Insect.

This proved to be reliable.

“Maybe I can take thirty to fifty pounds, but no more. However, in the future, I can use that Broken Sword to refine it, as it’s a Seventh-Grade Lifebound Sword.”

As these distracting thoughts gradually faded, Wang Wu’s focus quickly concentrated. He skillfully operated the Inner Breathing Technique, adeptly managing his qi and blood vitality, wrapping it with physical strength, satiety, etc., and then concentrating it on his right fore bear claw. He could only refine this one; anything more would be overwhelming, and the effect would be insignificant.

In almost less than a second, a four-inch blood-red light appeared on the bear claw, sharp and fierce; this is the Essence of Gold Qi driven by his qi and blood vitality.

Although this blood glow seems intangible, it can cut through the likes of trees with a casual sweep, which in the Martial World would be considered an upper-grade Inner Martial Arts technique.

But in the Cultivation Realm, this is just the beginning.

Slowly, as if lifting a weight with ease, he placed the bear claw on the Profound Iron Jar. Without needing to deliberately grind or refine, he had previously fallen for Old Niu’s trick; it wasn’t necessary. He just needed to continually stir his qi and blood, driving the Essence of Gold Qi, to see countless tiny particles of Profound Iron being cut off, enveloped, shaken, and gradually transformed into the Essence of Gold Qi.

This process is complex and lengthy, but it’s still much faster than the so-called refining by Old Niu and the Little Wild Boar.

Moments later, Wang Wu’s physical strength was exhausted, and he ended this round of power storage vibration refinement.

“Huh? It seems like the consumption this time has decreased a bit.”

He was slightly surprised, as the advantage of the attribute bar was fully displayed at this moment, allowing him to make slight adjustments effortlessly to achieve the optimal cost-effectiveness ratio.

He could scientifically adjust his resting intervals instead of recklessly and lavishly refining without concern.

Although these advantages are not significant individually, they can accumulate bit by bit to form a larger advantage over time.

For instance, this time, he felt the refinement was much easier than the previous two times.

Unknowingly, he was entering the ideal state, losing himself.

Even the past pain seemed to fade away like smoke.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

Wang Wu refined six thousand times again, at the cost of becoming a skeletal Big Macaque.

The framework remained, but all his devilish muscles were gone, and his weight was estimated to be only over three hundred kilograms.

And he achieved the once-a-wolf accomplishment.

Even the attribute bar displayed a warning message.

“Warning: You have consumed too much of your qi, blood, and vitality. Your body is entering a severe weakened state. If you cannot replenish high-quality food soon, your Basic Attributes and Basic Talent will suffer permanent reduction.”

——

“Hehe!”

Wang Wu chuckled strangely in his heart, but he was quite satisfied. Just right.

Because the gains were truly substantial, his weakened state could be replenished, and during these ten days, he unexpectedly accumulated 5 points of the Essence of Gold Qi.

The total has reached 9/1000, and at this rate, by the time he evacuates, it should reach 15 progress.

In fact, if it weren’t for the time pressure, giving Wang Wu three months at a leisurely pace and a normal refining intensity, he could also achieve 15 points of progress without causing such significant consumption to his body.

Eventually, over the course of a year, he could gather 60 points of progress, and within 10-15 years, he would surely be able to successfully cultivate a Ninth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldier.

Other Little Demons, though slower, could achieve it in 30 years, or if even slower, 50 years, but they would eventually cultivate it.

That’s how it is.

The external environment does not allow for it. Following this, he has to begin his escape journey again; no one will carry the heavy burden for him, so he naturally can’t have the luxury of tranquility.

To speed up and achieve better results, naturally, one must pay more than usual.

Very fair, very reasonable!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep