Chapter 154 The Astonishing Exploration n


    In order to find the nest of the Dark Heaven Insect, one needed to first understand its living habits and


    what kind of environment was suitable for it, then spected the possible area of its activity and then


    deduced a geographical location as per the learned aspects.


    To understand its living conditions, there was no easier way than to directly explore its nest thoroughly.


    Whether there would be any danger in the exploration process or not was apletely different matter.


    It was how the saying went, "How can one obtain tiger cubs without entering the tiger''sir?" The


    deeper one wanted to reach, the more risk they had to take. Rocky had a simr thought in his mind.


    He was determined, and hade to the vige to find the nest.


    As the spirit maniptors of his squad were digging the pit diligently, a wicked smile curled up on the


    corners of his mouth. Obviously, he had lured them sessfully. Rxed, he sat cross-legged and


    closed his eyes.


    An hourter, the copsed entrance of the Dark Heaven Insect''s cave was dug uppletely,


    revealing a deep ck hole, which was a few meters wide. They were all curious about what kind of


    treasures were hidden inside the cave.


    "Didn''t the captain tell us some treasures are hidden here? Where do you think are the treasures? After


    we have been digging the pit for so long, all we have found is a hole!"


    "Yes, he did tell us. I''m so tired. I can''t see any treasure here."


    "You''re so stupid! Do you think treasures can be found that easily? They must be hidden somewhere


    deeper..."


    The spirit maniptors who''d been digging were exhausted now. Their foreheads were sweaty, their


    breath fast. They had now started toin about the amount of energy they were spending for the


    treasures their captain thought existed somewhere in its depths.


    When Rocky saw the hole leading to the Dark Heaven Insect''s nest was dug out, he got up, crouched


    and peered into its pitch-ck, seemingly bottomless depth. He then picked up a stone and dropped it


    into it, listening carefully.


    It took a while before he heard multiple faint sounds, as though the stone had met with many obstacles


    before hitting the bottom. Rocky could tell that the terrain was tapering and deep.


    "I estimate the depth of the hole is over 30 meters." Rocky frowned and spoke to Thor, "Give me a rope


    and a hook."


    Thor did as asked.


    Rocky fastened the rope to the hook, fixed it to the trunk of a withered, ancient banyan tree that stood a


    little away from the hole, and pulled it hard a few times. Once assured that it was fixed onto it well, he


    circled the rope around his waist and tied a dead knot.


    "It may be dangerous down there, so I''ll go down first and look for the treasures. You all wait up here..."


    Rocky told the spirit maniptors.


    "Captain, you sacrifice your safety for the benefits of everyone. We respect you so much," one of the


    spirit maniptors blurted out. Other spirit maniptors too looked at Rocky with admiration. In their


    eyes, Rocky was a good captain who shared both their hardships and happiness. No one doubted


    Rocky''s purpose.


    "Captain, please be careful," added Thor and Joss, concerned about his safety.


    Rocky didn''t reply, simply nodded his head and jumped into the hole. His body disappeared into its


    depth in no time. After a while, Rocky found himself sliding rapidly at nothing less than a 45-degree


    angle.


    He tried to slow down by rubbing his feet against the slope. Soon, he lost track of time. The hole was


    much deeper than he had anticipated—it was also much steeper and rugged. Rocks bulged out of it


    every now and then. Someone with poor cultivation could not have passed through them easily.


    Suddenly, Rocky felt the grip tighten around his waist. His body jerked a few times before it halted


    middle, staring into the darkness that stretched both ahead, and behind him.


    ''I need to take a chance, since there are no other options, '' Rocky thought to himself. He pulled the


    Frozen Wind Dagger from his pants and cut the rope off at once.


    He then continued to fall at a shocking speed. Fortunately, the rest of the way wasn''t very steep. He


    in it. Within seconds, Rocky was short of breath.


    No source of light reached the cave, and hence it waspletely dark. Rocky gathered a cloud of


    nebe light in his palm, and managed to illuminate the space within a few meters. He looked around


    the cave keenly, and observed it was made up of ancient rocks. It wasn''t dry. He could both touch and


    see the wetness on the walls. He saw the water dripping from the top of the rock. His guess was there


    was an aquifer at the top.


    "It seems the Dark Heaven Insect likes to live close to the aquifer." Rocky analyzed the characteristics


    of the environment the Insect lived in.


    After walking a few steps, he felt his feet sink in something muddy and sticky. He heaved one of his


    feet up, and found it covered in a sticky, dark and smelly matter. It looked like the feces of the Dark


    Heaven Insect.


    ''Judging by the viscosity of the droppings, the food that the Insect has taken seems to contain a lot of


    water. But it lives deep underground all year round. What kind of food containing water can it obtain


    here?'' Rocky wondered as he analyzed the droppings.


    After walking for a while, he had almost reached the center of the cave. He now found soil mixed with


    rotting nts, some of which seemed hundreds of years old. They werepletely decayed.


    ''Does the Dark Heaven Insect eat soil in the strata?'' Rocky spected. ''Soil does have very high


    nutritional value and also contains a certain amount of spiritual energy, especially the deep soil that has


    umted over the years.''


    Walking further, he found some stains of thick marsh liquid on the ground. If the soil was the Insect''s


    food, the thick marsh could be its soup. It seemed to have a really peculiar and strong taste.


    After wandering and observing the cave for about half an hour, Rocky had a pretty strong


    understanding of the environments and habits of the Dark Heaven Insect.


    "But how will I get out of here?" Rocky murmured under his breath. He looked up toward the exit of the


    cave, which was at least ten meters above him.


    "Captain… Are you all right? How did the rope tear?" someone yelled into the cave from the top. Rocky


    could only hear a faint cry from above, unable to make out the words exactly. He knew Thor and other


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    members of the squad had found that he wasn''t tied to the rope anymore. They were crying, thinking


    something bad had happened to him.


    He knew he could not rely on his squad members to get out of the cave, so he turned around and


    started to look for another way. A spirit-manipted beast like the Dark Heaven Insect would definitely


    need to take walks from time to time. Rocky was sure there was another way out of the cave.


    As he had guessed, he soon found the way. The path was almost vertical, with a very smooth surface.


    It was very difficult for him to climb it. Somehow, he managed to find a solution. As he climbed up, he


    started scooping the wall with his sharp Frozen Wind Dagger which could easily pierce through the


    stone. In this way, he nted his feet in the scoops and easily climbed up. After some time, he got out


    of the cave.


    Once up, he shook the soil off his body. Meanwhile, he saw the vige that had been attacked earlier


    wasn''t very far from where he was. No one could have thought the nest of the Dark Heaven Insect was


    right under the vige.