Chapter 65: Essence of Life, Kindred

'A demon's limb?'

Liu Hen thought in secret, astonished: 'Could it be that demons can still survive after being hacked into pieces?'

At this moment, he couldn't help recalling that Wu Yuanming and the others had also encountered that kind of demon.

Those horsemen he met earlier had also encountered that kind of demon.

And now, they had run into it once again.

Little Black Stone actually claimed that these demons shared the exact same aura, making it very likely that they were the same entity, just incomplete.

'Could it all be that these root-like demons were originally a single whole, only to be chopped up for some unknown reason and scattered across different places?'

If that were truly the case, it would easily explain why the root demon appeared strong at times and weak at others.

Most likely, some parts possessed more limbs and were thus stronger, while others had very few limbs and were therefore weaker.

He couldn't help wondering: if this were real, just how massive must that demon have been, and how terrifyingly powerful was its original strength?

'Plant-type demons should possess some unique traits, I suppose.'

Little Black Stone spoke: 'Just now, I tried to communicate with that root demon, but it seemed completely devoid of consciousness, driven solely by instinct.'

The two of them could now communicate telepathically, which was immensely convenient and completely silent, both covert and secure.

'Is it still down below?' Liu Hen asked.

'I don't know, but its aura seems to be dissipating,' Little Black Stone replied.

After much deliberation, Liu Hen decided to head back down and take another look. After all, this place was far too close to his camp, and such risks had to be eliminated.

Since the creature hadn't pursued him the first time, there must be certain limitations restricting it.

Moreover, he wasn't entirely powerless either; he had just slain a demon not too long ago.

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, he returned to the riverbank and descended once more through the ice hole he had carved out earlier.

'It seems to have vanished, though there are still some debris fragments on the ground.'

At that moment, Little Black Stone noted: 'Perhaps only a small segment was here, which you, Master, have already harvested.'

"..."

Liu Hen also spotted the fragments, a trace of surprise welling up within him. Could a demon actually be harvested like timber?

Or rather, could it be that this demon limb left behind here was no longer considered alive?

He stepped forward and gathered the root fragments on the ground into his spatial backpack, checking the appraisal information:

[Shards of the Ever-Green Earth Tree]

A very simple yet extraordinary name, with no additional descriptions whatsoever.

Liu Hen shifted his gaze to the tree core he had harvested earlier:

[Tree Core: Core of the Ever-Green Earth Tree]

'It seems no further information can be obtained, but at least we now know the name of that demon—the Ever-Green Earth Tree.'

Judging by the name, that demon was definitely far from ordinary.

Furthermore, it was suspected to have suffered some terrifying fate, resulting in it being divided into numerous segments.

The three types of root demons they had encountered so far might merely be the root sections, meaning there should be trunk and other parts as well.

'Perhaps if I craft this tree core into a warm-weather gear set, the set bonus might allow me to deduce what combat methods this demon excelled at.'

Pondering these thoughts, he gathered some more ice blocks here, then left the river channel and walked further into the distance.

This direction led back toward where Tong Kun and his group had retreated. He intended to travel along this path for a stretch to see if he could locate any copper ore.

Finally, after pressing forward in one breath for over two thousand meters, Little Black Stone sensed the presence of copper ore: 'Right down here, about fifty meters deep. The quantity is slightly larger than the previous vein the master dug up, but still not much.'

'As long as it's copper ore, that's enough.'

Joy surged in Liu Hen's heart as he immediately began to dig.

A depth of over fifty meters was enough to pose a formidable challenge to most people; even in the technological era of his past life, ordinary people couldn't easily excavate through it.

Yet for him, it posed no real difficulty at all.

In barely ten minutes, he reached a depth of over fifty meters underground and successfully mined the copper ore Little Black Stone had detected.

The quantity was small, amounting to only a dozen pieces or so, but it was already enough to upgrade the All-Things Pickaxe twice.

'Then let's upgrade!'

Unable to wait a moment longer, Liu Hen directly consumed the copper ore and magic crystals to upgrade the All-Things Pickaxe.

Ever since slaying the tomb master up until now, he had been enduring his injuries, unwilling to wait another second.

As the upgrade commenced, a special warm current welled up from the depths of his body, nourishing his limbs, bones, and internal organs like a hot spring.

Perhaps because his body was currently injured, he perceived the sensation much more clearly than before. That warm current felt palpably real, smoothing away his aches and pains wherever it passed, and repairing his cellular tissue that had been nearly frostbitten to necrosis.

In barely ten minutes, injuries that would have rendered an ordinary person half-paralyzed had recovered almost completely.

By this time, the All-Things Pickaxe had reached Bronze Tier 4, and the capacity of the spatial backpack had expanded to forty slots.

Since the frostbite hadn't fully healed yet, he continued the upgrade.

Another ten minutes later, the All-Things Pickaxe reached Tier 5, and the spatial backpack slots increased to fifty.

By this point, the frostbite on his body had completely vanished, and his physique had grown faintly stronger, though the enhancement remained minor.

This kind of upgrade yielded only a negligible direct improvement to his physical fitness.

'I finally don't have to endure these injuries anymore.'

A great wave of relief washed over Liu Hen. With this, should he encounter a demon once more, he would be capable of unleashing his burst strength a few more times.

'Let's continue. I'm not weak now; I can afford to venture a bit further.'

He returned to the surface and resumed advancing along the route Tong Kun and the others had taken, walking alone through the endless darkness.

Naturally, whenever he encountered trees, he continued to harvest them, letting no exploitable resource go to waste.

Whether his luck had run out or not, this time he pushed forward continuously for seven or eight kilometers without finding a single additional vein of copper ore. 'It's almost midnight; I can't keep going.'

Though somewhat reluctant, Liu Hen stopped in his tracks and began his return journey.

However, on the way back, he didn't take his original route; instead, he zigzagged and took constant detours, allowing Little Black Stone to keep sensing for copper ore.

Because Little Black Stone's sensory range was limited to a hundred meters, he constantly widened his search radius to prevent missing anything.

Finally, as midnight descended and they were left with merely two thousand meters to the camp, Little Black Stone sensed copper ore once more—and this time, the quantity was significantly greater than before.

'Right here...'

Seeing the location, Liu Hen was rendered speechless, for this spot lay a mere two hundred meters or so away from where he had previously mined copper ore; he had simply missed it by a hair earlier.

'So, copper ore grows in clusters as well?'

However, the copper ore this time was buried even deeper, located at a depth of over eighty meters underground.

[Large Soil +1]

[Large Soil +1]

Wielding the All-Things Pickaxe, he dug downward continuously. Since he could use Free Building to fill the dirt back in on his way up, he didn't even bother carving out steps.

Barely thirty meters into the descent, Little Black Stone spoke up once again: 'Master, there is more copper ore further down.'

'Oh?' Joy flickered in Liu Hen's eyes, and his excavation speed accelerated.

[Large Soil +1]

[Large Soil +1]

...

The soil beneath his feet was continuously carved away, and he descended at a rate of roughly one meter every two seconds.

About two minutes later, he arrived at the first copper ore deposit Little Black Stone had sensed.

[Copper Ore +5]

[Copper Ore +3]

...

The copper ore hidden deep within the earth before him was harvested into small chunks.

Since his spatial backpack had gained twenty new slots, he didn't even discard the small chunks of dirt, figuring they might come in handy someday.

By the time the copper ore at this location was exhausted, he had unearthed over thirty small pieces of copper ore in one go.

'Not bad at all. There's more below. Once I mine that, if I use all of it to upgrade the All-Things Pickaxe, it will likely ascend straight to Bronze Max Tier.'

Encouraged, Liu Hen continued digging downward following the location indicated by Little Black Stone.

This time, however, because the subsequent copper ore deposit was not directly underneath, he excavated at an angle.

As the All-Things Pickaxe swung, one one-meter-high step after another appeared beneath his feet, leading ever deeper into the earth.

Finally, another five minutes later, he reached a depth of over one hundred and thirty meters underground.

"Master, it's right here."

Little Black Stone manifested into a palm-sized figure, clutching Liu Hen's arm and pointing toward the left side.

Because the subterranean air was stagnant and the depth was already considerable, to prevent any accidents and avoid worrying Zong Ni and the others, Liu Hen didn't process the materials into small pieces this time. Instead, he harvested them directly as large chunks of material, planning to break them down after returning.

Soon enough, the location containing the copper ore was excavated.

The moment the spot housing the ore was cleared, a glowing stone suddenly dropped out.

Both of them froze for a moment.

Hesitating slightly, Little Black Stone whispered, "Master, this thing doesn't seem to be a stone."

"Not a stone? Then what is it?" Liu Hen asked, puzzled. Could there be other items hidden in the depths of the earth?

"I don't know, but it's definitely not a stone. I can sense that much," Little Black Stone replied.

Without hesitation, Liu Hen stowed it into his spatial backpack and checked the appraisal information:

[Life Essence of the Ever-Green Earth Tree]

'The Life Essence of the Ever-Green Earth Tree? That demon?'

Liu Hen was thoroughly shocked.

Although Little Black Stone hadn't sensed anything previously, the life essence of that demon had actually appeared here. To prevent any unforeseen mishaps, he immediately began ascending.

Even if there might be more copper ore further down, he didn't dare continue digging.

He was driven not only by the worry of accidentally unearthing a terrifying demon, but also by a creeping, inexplicable panic in this subterranean depth—as though he were once again being watched by the nightmare buried deep within the earth.

Fortunately, the journey up proceeded smoothly, perhaps because the nightmare was unable to interfere with him while he was fully conscious.

Finishing the large staircase, Liu Hen immediately utilized Free Building to place large blocks of soil beneath his feet, hoisting himself upward step by step.

Thus, after another four or five minutes, he finally broke through to the surface.

Without lingering here any longer, he headed straight back.

'Master...'

Little Black Stone returned to the Death Mark, its voice carrying a note of startled uncertainty as it echoed in Liu Hen's mind: 'I think I just saw a monster. It was deep down there, watching us.'

'What kind of monster?' Liu Hen's expression shifted slightly, his mind instantly leaping to the nightmare.

'I couldn't see clearly; it was very blurry.'

Little Black Stone answered: 'It was... very strange.'

'Strange in what way?' Liu Hen asked doubtfully, accelerating his pace.

Weighing its words, Little Black Stone said: 'I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always felt like it was... it was the earth itself. And somehow, it felt like my own kind.'

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(End of this chapter)