Chapter 42: Harvesting Treasures

Tang Mu immediately went into action since he knew that the peak rank one serpent could return at any time. Without deactivating his shadow veil array, he left his hiding spot and started moving up the slope. He stealthily traversed the rocky ground without making any noise until he reached the entrance of the snake cavern.

Taking a deep breath, he triggered his spiritual sense and extended it all the way to the deep ends of the cavern. The details of the interior, illuminated by the many kaleidoscopic psionic crystals, immediately appeared in his mind's eye.

He could perceive the five remaining primary stage rank-one serpents sleeping close to the cave's opening. He also caught a glimpse of the secondary stage rank-one python and the advanced stage giant blank mamba in the deeper ends of the cavern.

At that moment, the two 'stronger' snakes were no longer sleeping. Instead, they seemed to be surveilling their surroundings by constantly flicking their forked tongues and sweeping their serpentine gazes around the cavernous space. It was as if they had gone on guard duty immediately after the peak rank one's departure.

Aside from that, Tang Mu's spiritual sense also caught the scene within the deepest end of the cavern. The spacious space was still the same as before, with the massive psionic crystal standing upright in the middle, the smaller multicolored psionic crystals embedded in the walls, and the nine-petalled black lotus growing out of the pool. The only detail missing from the place was the peak rank one serpent that had just departed down the slopes of the mountain.

It's as I expected.

The secondary-stage python and advanced-stage black mamba have become active after the peak rank one left. They seem to be guarding the place. But they must be afraid of the boss and dare not move deeper into the cavern. This is where my chance lies.

Tang Mu hurriedly suppressed the feelings of joy and tension that were threatening to overwhelm him. His eyes flashed with mysterious symbols as he extended his spiritual sense into the shadow of the massive nine-petalled black lotus growing out of a pool at the deepest end of the cavern.

He sank into an extremely focused state as he triggered his Mentifery superpower. He drove his psionic powers to manifest and activate the shadow teleportation array within the target shadow about five hundred meters deep into the cave.

Everything worked fine, and he instantly teleported away from the space before the cave's opening. His shadow teleportation ability worked like a charm, and he bypassed all the snakes within the other sections of the cavern before appearing like a specter within the shadow of the massive lotus.

He didn't mind the pool water as his boots and pants were damp-proof. Instead, it was the stale air within the deep end of the cave that immediately assaulted his nasal senses and caused him to wrinkle his nose. He used his willpower to ignore the stench that must have originated from the peak rank one serpent before focusing on the surroundings.

His eyes lit up, and his heartbeat accelerated after he saw all the treasures in his immediate vicinity. But bearing in mind that the peak rank one boss could return at any time, he suppressed his delight deep within his heart and moved to harvest the riches.

The first treasure he set his sights on was the massive nine-petaled black lotus that seemed to be in a weird state of constantly absorbing all the light emitted by the many psionic crystals in the deep end of the cavern.

Tang Mu walked towards the lotus with resolve. He stepped through the shallow waters of the pool and placed his hand on one of its petals with the intent to stow it away in the star orb's storage space. But an abnormality happened the next moment, and he felt an endless surge of darkness emerge from the lotus before threatening to overwhelm his mind.

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On cue, his thoughts started slowing down, and he felt himself gradually losing control of his body. But that was not the end of his horror. He also began losing his bodily senses, including his vision, hearing, smell, touch, and even the mysterious spiritual sense ability. The darkness continued overwhelming him, and it was as if he was on the cliff just beside an endless abyss of despair.

"Damn it! Store away..."

Tang Mu let out an inward yell while resisting the corruption of the darkness. He focused all his remaining willpower and repeatedly tried to send the massive nine-petalled lotus into the star orb storage space.

Fortunately, lady luck seemed to be on his side, and he eventually stowed the massive lotus into the star orb storage space. Subsequently, all the abnormalities in his body vanished, and he regained control of his faculties. He expelled a lungful to calm his still-racing heart and glanced at the then-empty pool.

That was close!

Had my willpower and mental strength been a little weaker, the darkness emitted by the black lotus might have swallowed my consciousness.

Tang Mu was frightened but also intrigued. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of treasure could have such potent effects. But since time was tight, he simply made a mental note to consult Little Green about the lotus before turning his gaze to the other treasures in the deepest end of the snake cavern.

Without hesitation, he continued his treasure harvesting. He stepped out of the pool and raced towards the ten-meter-tall and two-meter-wide upright psionic crystal. He stopped a meter away from it, feeling hesitant to touch it due to his experience with the black lotus.

But the next moment, he psyched himself with the famous saying that fortune favors the bold and stopped wavering. He bravely held the massive crystal with both hands and uprooted it from the ground by exerting his rank-one strength. He then stowed it into the star orb storage space without experiencing any abnormalities.

Sweet!

He breathed a sigh of relief and ran towards one of the cavern walls to harvest the smaller psionic crystals.

When he reached the wall, he summoned one of his special arrows and used it as a mining tool to dig out crystal by crystal. He relied on his rank-one fitness to mine several dozens of crystals within a quarter an hour.

But just as he readied himself to continue his treasure harvesting, goosebumps began to appear all over his body as something with a terrifying aura triggered his spiritual sense. Cold sweat ran down his back as details of a sixty-meter-long pitch-black serpent crawling towards the cave at a blistering pace appeared within his mind's eye.

Why is it back so fast?

Tang Mu was more annoyed than frightened. He looked at all the kaleidoscopic psionic crystals remaining in the cave before shaking his head. Yes, he had already mined more than sixty psionic crystals. But he regretted leaving more than a dozen times the number he had harvested.

Well, there will be opportunities to return and harvest more.

Tang Mu sighed and noted that the peak rank one serpent had already entered the cavern. He gave the deep end of the cave one last look before extending his spiritual sense into the shadow of a tree outside the cavern. Then, with expert ease, he used his Mentifery to manifest the shadow teleportation array in the target area before flickering away from the deep end of the cave.

But he didn't stop with one shadow space jump after leaving the cavern since the peak rank one serpent could still notice him at such a close distance.

He readily expended his dwindling psionic energy reserves and activated the ability again. He teleported another kilometer from the cave entrance and appeared within the savanna grassland below the mountain before breathing a sigh of relief.

By then, he was panting and almost out of breath. He had also expended 90% of his psionic energy after using his Mentifery to manifest the shadow teleportation three times within a short window of less than half an hour. He was almost on his last legs.

Fortunately, all the expenditure was worth it as he had gained many treasures during his short adventure within the snake cavern. He had even escaped without catching the notice of the peak rank one serpent boss after ransacking its den.

A soft smile lit up Tang Mu's face as he habitually triggered his spiritual sense to surveil the area around him.

But the next moment, his expression turned aghast as he detected the same peak rank one serpent boss he had left back in the cavern flicker into existence about 600 meters away from him. He couldn't suppress his panic as his mind registered the fact that the petrifying serpentine creature could teleport, and it was after him.