I Live Forever In The World of Cultivation World (Patreon)

Chapter 85: Digging Deep

As a senior member of the Immortal Market, Wei Fan had access to information channels that He Song simply could not match.

If He Song wanted to obtain more information, his only hope at the moment was to rely on Wei Fan.

However, even as he voiced this thought, He Song had already made up his mind.

Although the Immortal Market had a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator stationed there, making it countless times safer than the outside world,

Without knowing what the powerful force behind the evil cultivators was after,

After a moment of contemplation, He Song decided to prepare an escape route for himself.

Regardless of whether Wei Fan could provide useful information,

And regardless of whether True Master Chengshan would fight for the market in the face of danger,

Ultimately—

As the outside world descended into increasing chaos, He Song's top priority was his own safety.

As for others, in Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, his only close friends left were Wei Fan and Zhao Lin.

Everyone else had already gone to Azure Cliff Immortal City.

For example, his neighbor Lin Cong and Meng Guan had both informed He Song through Transmission Technique that they had settled down in Azure Cliff Immortal City.

Since they were able to establish themselves there, He Song naturally had nothing to worry about.

If he could help his friends without compromising himself, he would gladly do so.

Just like when Wei Fan once stood behind him to protect him when he couldn't defend himself.

However, if it would affect his own safety or others required too much of him—

Then, apologies had to be made.

Everything must be considered with He Song’s personal safety in mind.

If he truly couldn't help his friends, or if doing so would endanger himself, then he would have no choice but to let go.

At worst—

He could always avenge them once he became stronger in the future.

After all, as long as he had enough time, He Song’s strength would only continue to grow.

That said, such a scenario was unlikely to occur.

Because both Wei Fan and Zhao Lin were currently stronger than He Song.

If they ever found themselves in danger and needed help, He Song might not even be capable of assisting them.

"Alright, since you've said so, I'll keep an eye out for any news regarding this matter. If there's any sign of trouble, I'll let you know in advance."

Seeing He Song’s expression suddenly turn serious, Wei Fan was slightly stunned but quickly agreed.

He knew that his friend tended to be overly cautious.

However, since He Song had spoken, it was no trouble to simply pay closer attention—he was happy to help.

At the same time, understanding He Song’s cautious nature, Wei Fan could detect a trace of unusual concern in his expression.

This made Wei Fan himself begin to feel a bit wary of the evil cultivators.

From that day onward—

In addition to studying the Introduction to Talismans Book and cultivating,

He Song added a new daily task:

Digging tunnels!

Since this world had earth-based techniques like Earth Burrowing Technique and Tremor Earth Technique,

He Song couldn’t be sure whether, if his fears came true and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators attacked the market, he could rely on Earth Burrowing Technique to escape.

But—

He dared not take that gamble.

Given that such techniques existed, it was possible that Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators might be able to scan underground with their spiritual sense.

If he were to be discovered while escaping,

He would undoubtedly perish without a trace.

To protect his life, He Song decided that the safest course of action was to dig a deep underground tunnel beneath his own residence as an escape route.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to simply leave the market to avoid the potential attack.

However—

Nothing had happened yet, and his suspicions remained mere conjecture.

If the day ever came when his fears became reality and he didn't have enough time to escape, having a tunnel beneath his house would provide He Song with an extra layer of security.

Given his limited information and inability to verify his suspicions, he couldn't guarantee he'd have enough time to flee.

However, if he received reliable news or sensed an impending crisis, He Song would undoubtedly choose to leave immediately rather than rely on the tunnel for survival.

The purpose of digging the tunnel was simply to prepare for unforeseen circumstances—just one of his contingency plans.

Though he put a great deal of effort into it, it didn’t necessarily mean the tunnel would actually come in handy.

The tunnel He Song dug was rather unique.

It wasn’t a simple vertical shaft.

From the outside, the meditation room within his house appeared completely intact, with the floor untouched.

The first few meters beneath the surface were solid earth.

Earth Burrowing Technique.

With his current cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refinement Realm, He Song could burrow about five meters underground at full effort and travel quickly beneath the earth.

If a late-stage Qi Refinement Realm cultivator were to attempt the same, He Song estimated they could reach depths of around ten meters.

While digging, He Song first burrowed five meters down.

Once he could no longer go deeper, he used his storage bag to remove the surrounding soil.

He had previously emptied the bag, leaving it completely vacant to store soil exclusively.

After clearing out a full bag of soil, a small hollow space appeared about five meters underground—just large enough for him to curl up inside.

By curling his body, He Song could barely fit inside the cramped space.

He continued digging downward from there, carefully refilling the soil above him as he went to maintain the illusion of undisturbed ground.

Eventually, after digging dozens of meters deep, he carved out a chamber roughly the size of a small room and stocked it with food and other essentials. Only then was his work complete.

With this tunnel in place, if he were ever trapped inside the Immortal Market, he could use the Earth Burrowing Technique to descend five meters underground, then continue digging downward while covering his tracks with soil.

Once he reached the chamber he had created, he could set up defensive formations.

With such precautions, even the spiritual sense of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator might struggle to detect him at such depths.

After all, the soil above had been carefully refilled, appearing as natural earth with no visible disturbances.

As for Qi Refinement Realm cultivators searching for him—

It was even less likely they'd think to look for He Song buried dozens of meters underground.

The evil cultivators would inevitably leave empty-handed.

However, during the digging process, He Song couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with his storage bag.

It was too small.

It couldn’t hold much soil at once, forcing him to repeatedly transport the excavated dirt outside.

Fortunately, thanks to the Earth Burrowing Technique, making multiple trips wasn’t too much of a hassle.

The entire digging operation took about ten days.

Once the tunnel was fully completed, He Song no longer paid it much attention.

The tunnel was merely a precautionary measure, a contingency plan born out of his cautious nature.

If things truly took a turn for the worse—he would run at the first opportunity.