Chapter 39: The Snake Cavern
Tang Mu didn't immediately head into the suspected den of the giant python. He had long understood that no road was too lengthy for a man who advanced deliberately and without undue haste. He also knew that no prizes were too distant for a man who prepared himself for them with patience.
He first retraced his steps and hid in the shadow of one of the nearby trees by once again relying on the shadow stealth array. He then meditated for about an hour to recover some of his expended psionic energy before retrieving two crystals of the red-tier origin essence from the star orb's storage space.
Over the past few days, Tang Mu had discovered another wondrous use of the origin essence crystals. As long as he swallowed them, they could help him replenish his stamina, mental strength, and even a bit of his psionic energy. They were like highly compressed tonics that he could use for recovery in case he was exhausted or hungry.
Tang Mu didn't waste any time since he wanted to continue his hunting adventure as soon as possible. He quickly swallowed the two red crystals and then continued his meditation.
A warm feeling immediately filled up his entire body, and he felt his fatigue beginning to vanish. It was as if he had just taken the most potent energy drink that allowed him to recover quickly. Within another half an hour, he felt his entire body and spirit return to their peaks.
Tang Mu's eyes flashed open while glinting with a mysterious light. He triggered his spiritual sense and noticed many animals, including giant snakes, mountain rabbits, and birds, going about their matters in the surroundings. But as they were at the level of pseudo-rank-one or below, they couldn't see through his shadow stealth. They couldn't detect him.
Tang Mu then looked toward what he assumed was the western direction and noticed that the sun was about to disappear below the horizon. It was evening, and the night was almost descending. He had to finish what he had to do quickly.
The shadow stealth ability was ineffective when there was abundant light, as observers would notice the specter-like moving mass of slight darkness if he maintained it. He dispelled it and started making his way up the slope. He moved slowly, without making any loud noises, until he reached the cave opening through which the giant python had disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, he used his growing mastery over his spiritual sense to extend it into the cave. He immediately gasped in surprise as details from within appeared in his mind's eye.
The cave wasn't as dark and gloomy as he expected. Instead, it was a roomy cavern with colorful and luminescent lighting.
Tang Mu keenly noticed that the source of the phenomenon was the baby-fist-sized crystals embedded within the smooth walls of the cavern. They glowed with a wide range of rainbow colors that illuminated the interior with kaleidoscopic radiances.
Could these be psionic crystals?
Tang Mu's heart skipped a bit, and he swallowed hard. He ignored the few enormous snakes in the cavern and immediately triggered his spiritual sense to scan one of the crystals.
The next moment, blood rushed into his head, causing him to become a bit light-headed. He didn't know what to feel when he noticed the almost inconspicuous psionic energy traces leaking off the surface of the crystal.
"I'm rich. I'm rich," Tang Mu mumbled incoherently after taking a deep breath.
He had confirmed that the crystals were the fabled psionic crystals he had only heard about from his high school teachers or seen in textbooks.
They were some of the rarest training resources in the Earth Federation, and just a single low-grade one could be exchanged for 50,000 Earth Dollars. This alone was an unbelievable sum that could solve all his current problems. So, you could imagine his feelings when his spiritual sense perceived a cave full of such crystals.
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Delightful feelings of joy had already engulfed him, allowing his soul to swim in an ocean of happiness. And had he been elsewhere and not in a jungle full of dangerous beasts, he would have started singing and jumping up and down like a young kid who had chanced upon a truck selling the best ice cream in the galaxy.
"HISS..."
Just then, a drawn-out serpentine hiss sounded within the cave. Tang Mu forced his euphoria to the back of his mind and triggered his spiritual sense ability to detect all the hindrances between him and his wealth.
He noticed fourteen colossal serpents of different species resting within the cave full of psionic crystals. Among them were three cobras, four pythons (probably including the one he had tracked), and the two black mambas. As for the remaining five, he had no idea which species they were.
These are a nuisance. But I'll have to find a way to eradicate them before harvesting the psionic crystals.
Tang Mu clenched and unclenched his fists. All the snakes he detected with his spiritual sense were enormous beings exuding energy waves of a rank one. He couldn't take them on as a group. But he could find a way to take them out one by one if he used his patience and wits.
But why are these snakes of different species living harmoniously in the same nest? Could this be a trend in the painting world?
Tang Mu's eyes narrowed. Then, thinking of a possibility, he triggered his spiritual sense to probe deeper into the cave.
He determined that the cave was one long tunnel-like space as his perception scope increased and more details appeared in his mind's eye. He also detected more psionic crystals within its interior, and their numbers continued rising. But that aside, he also noticed one more snake after he extended his spiritual sense about a hundred meters into the cave.
The snake was a giant python that was clearly more powerful than its counterparts close to the cave's mouth. The energy waves it exuded were not at the primary stage but at the secondary stage of a rank one metaphysical being.
Seems like the ones close to the cave mouth are forced to leave together simply because they are weak. On the other hand, this one can occupy a hundred meters of the cave's deeper end because of its abilities.
It could be a problem if stronger ones exist in the deeper parts after these.
Such thoughts flashed through Tang Mu's mind, and he immediately triggered his spiritual sense to continue probing deeper.
At about two hundred meters, he found a giant black mamba. And as he feared, it was more powerful and exuding energy waves of an advanced stage rank one being.
Tang Mu suppressed his helplessness and continued investigating. Surprisingly, he didn't detect other serpents until he extended his spiritual sense for five hundred meters. But when his perception passed that mark and reached the deep end of the cave, he caught a glimpse of a creature that almost caused him to shit in his pants.
It was a terrifying pitch-black serpent as thick as a drum. It seemed like it was sleeping, with its long serpentine body tightly coiled in loops around the entire length of a ten-meter-tall and two-meter-wide upright psionic crystal.
The waves of mist-like dark energy flowing along its scales seemed to swallow all the light emitted by the crystals within the deep end of the cavern space. It was definitely a peak rank one metaphysical being and the true boss of the snake den.
Tang Mu was struck by a thunderbolt of panic. His entire body was covered with cold sweat as he took in the details of the massive serpent with his spiritual sense. He was almost frightened out of his wits and had to repeatedly remind himself that the creature couldn't sense his covert perception ability before he could stay in place.
I must not alarm this peak rank one while fighting the other beasts. This makes matters trickier.
Tang Mu didn't want to give up all the wealth in the cave even after noticing the presence of the peak rank one serpent. He had to find a way to hunt the other giant snakes closer to his level without alarming the terrifying boss.
What is that?
Tang Mu suddenly felt a jolt of amazement course through him as he detected something else within the deep end of the long cave. Thoughts of greed rose within him as he noticed a massive nine-petalled black lotus growing out of a pool beside the enormous psionic crystal occupied by the serpent.
This should be a treasure worth more than all the psionic crystals. But I would have to get past the peak rank one before getting my hands on it.
Tang Mu sighed with helplessness.
He was just a primary stage rank one psionic at the moment. If he used his runic bow and spiritual sense to launch a sneak attack, he could get an advantage over a secondary-stage or advanced-stage metaphysical being. But he knew that he would still not manage to threaten a peak rank one who was just a step away from being enlightened and breaking through to rank two.
Well, I'm not its match. But I can still use other ways to steal the nine-petalled lotus.
Tang Mu's eyes flashed with resolve. He didn't know the exact use of the lotus. But he could still tell it was a treasure just by detecting the mysterious aura around it and the traces of energy it emitted. He wanted to get his hands on it before researching it later.