CHAPTER 154 THE ASTONISHING EXPLORATION PLAN

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 speculated 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 a completely different matter.

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

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

He was determined, and had come to the village to find the nest.

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

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

closed his eyes.

An hour later, the collapsed entrance of the Dark Heaven Insect's cave was dug up completely,

revealing a deep black 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 manipulators who'd been digging were exhausted now. Their foreheads were sweaty, their

breath fast. They had now started to complain 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-black, 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 manipulators.

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

spirit manipulators blurted out. Other spirit manipulators 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

completely. The rope wasn't long enough to help him reach the bottom. There he was, stuck in the

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

landed on the bottom of a dark cave safely. The cave was at least a hundred meters wide, with little air

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

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

nebulae 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 plants, some of which seemed hundreds of years old. They were completely decayed.

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

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

accumulated 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

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. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

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-manipulated 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 planted 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 village 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 village.