Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1414 - 683:

The money pit was practically a bottomless hole.

Even though he was fairly well-off now, the cash flow on his accounts was nowhere near enough to plug the gaps.

Whatever these items in front of him could fetch, he would take.

Watching Fang Cheng unceremoniously stuffing gold bars into his arms, Cheng Jiashu’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

Then he stepped forward to help, picking up the gold bars and antiques scattered through the ruins one by one, piling them together on a relatively flat patch of ground at the main hall entrance, planning to take them all away when they left later.

Just as Fang Cheng found another dust-covered wooden box behind a broken wall, Cheng Jiashu’s voice came from behind:

"Fang Cheng, come over and look at this!"

His tone was excited, tinged with barely suppressed thrill.

Fang Cheng immediately put down the wooden box and turned to walk over.

Cheng Jiashu was standing in the northwest corner of the main hall, holding up a glow stick, his gaze fixed on a patch of darkness in the ruins ahead, his body motionless.

Following his line of sight, Fang Cheng at first saw only a heavy shadow, with broken bricks and dust piled up along the base of the wall, messy and seemingly ordinary.

But when he focused and looked more carefully, he noticed something off.

In the depths of the corner’s shadow, a faint strand of dark red light was floating.

Only about as thin as the slit of a fingernail, yet with an abnormal, palpable texture of its own.

It was like an eye in the darkness, slowly blinking under the drive of some invisible force.

If one wasn’t deliberately looking for it, that faint glimmer would almost be completely drowned in the dark; it was far too easy to miss.

"What is that thing?"

Fang Cheng moved two steps closer, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Cheng Jiashu took a deep breath, unconsciously lowering his voice:

"It’s a spatial rift."

After speaking, he paused, then turned his head to look at Fang Cheng:

"Do you still remember that earth-shattering explosion at the West Mountain archaeological site at the end of last year?"

Fang Cheng glanced at him and nodded.

Of course he remembered. He knew far more than others about the secrets behind that incident.

Seeing this, Cheng Jiashu didn’t bother with detours and spoke directly:

"Outsiders all thought it was just an accidental engineering incident, but in reality, the true cause of that explosion was an entrance to an ancient civilization site suddenly opening at that time, and the Energy Shock it released triggered a chain collapse on-site. The military sealed off the information immediately, and the whole thing became classified."

In a calm tone, Fang Cheng picked up the thread:

"I’ve heard about that. The military also took the opportunity to gain control of that civilization site entrance."

Since Fang Cheng already knew, Cheng Jiashu skipped the extra explanation.

He just stared at that slowly wriggling dark red slit and said slowly:

"More than two thousand years ago, or even ten thousand years if you trace it back farther, an entrance to an Otherworld had already appeared in West Mountain."

"The monks of Gufeng Temple called that world the Western Pure Land. That’s not exactly nonsense; throughout the dynasties, there were people who successfully entered that Otherworld and obtained various chances and rare treasures."

"Now, over two thousand years have passed. No matter what the Otherworld has become, the fact that the ancients honored it with a name like ’Paradise World’ shows what kind of treasure trove it must have contained."

Staring at that slit of light, Fang Cheng didn’t respond; he remained silent for a moment.

A scene of endless yellow sand and rampaging monsters surfaced in his mind.

That night at the West Mountain Examination Site, he had accidentally stepped into that legendary Otherworld.

This spatial rift was likely connected to that very same place.

If his guess was right, then the so-called "Paradise World" in the mouths of the ancients had, two thousand years later, degenerated into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Unaware of Fang Cheng’s change in mood, Cheng Jiashu continued:

"What the military discovered at the archaeological site was only one of many possible entrances in West Mountain."

"Since West Mountain stretches across the eastern region of Xia Country, its earth veins run like a coiled dragon. Putting aside feng shui, from the spatial dimension it’s one of the most unstable regions, so across the entire mountain range, there’s absolutely more than one rift like this."

Fang Cheng’s eyes lit up. He looked at that dark red slit of light and asked directly:

"You’re saying this place is very likely one of those entrances."

"That’s right."

Cheng Jiashu nodded in a firm tone.

Studying that almost vanishingly thin rift, Fang Cheng frowned:

"But right now it’s just a slit; even a fly couldn’t squeeze through. How do we get in?"

A ridiculous image flashed through his mind.

Did one have to know a Transformation Technique and shrink into a bug to fly in?

Bending down and leaning close to the slit of light for a careful look, Cheng Jiashu explained:

"When Jiang Chen opened the Inner World, he practically drained all the accumulated Yin Qi in the earth veins around here. The size and stability of a spatial rift directly depend on the supply of surrounding energy. With the Yin Qi exhausted, the entrance naturally shrank to what you see now."

Fang Cheng then pressed further:

"So can it be reopened now?"

Cheng Jiashu shook his head, stood up, and patted the dust off his knees:

"Right now the Yin Qi is severely depleted. Forcing it open would only cause this slit to collapse completely. We can only wait for the earth veins to gather energy again, then try to widen the entrance."

"How long will that take?"

Cheng Jiashu shrugged, spreading his hands:

"I’m not Jiang Chen, the one who originally set up the Array and opened the Inner World. I don’t know how deep the foundations he laid back then go."

"By conventional reasoning, for the earth veins to naturally recover their Spiritual Energy will take at least half a month. The exact timing will have to be monitored carefully; we’ll have to play it by ear."

"Half a month..."

Repeating the words, Fang Cheng folded his arms and mused:

"So you’re planning to stay in Ancient Locust Village and keep observing?"

"What else can I do?"

Straightening his collar, Cheng Jiashu put on a mock-casual tone:

"You’ve got work and can’t take leave easily. As for me, I’ll just treat this as a summer retreat and come here early to holiday in the cool."

At that, Fang Cheng’s expression turned serious:

"Since the entrance can’t be opened for now, we have to completely cover up all traces. Even if someone comes to investigate, we cannot let them find anything off."

"That’s what I was thinking too."

Sticking the glow stick into a crack between the broken bricks at his feet, Cheng Jiashu spoke with a faintly excited tone:

"A spatial entrance that can connect to an Otherworld—its value speaks for itself. This isn’t on the level of a few antiques or boxes of gold bars; this is strategic resource territory at the national level. The interests involved are too immense to fully calculate."

"If the Special Search Team, the military, and those other factions lurking in the shadows watching West Mountain’s movements learned that Ancient Locust Village has a secret entrance, I’m afraid none of us would have a moment’s peace from now on."

"So..."

Cheng Jiashu paused slightly, meeting Fang Cheng’s gaze:

"We have to be like Jiang Chen and guard this secret, not letting even a whisper leak out."

As he spoke, he lowered his head to look at that thin dark red slit:

"Jiang Chen and all the village guards have already perished tonight. Supervisor Wu also dropped dead on the spot. According to what he said when he was alive, the concealment measures set up around the village are still basically operating. Outside probes can’t get through."

"Right now the only people who know there’s something abnormal in Ancient Locust Village are the four of us."

"You, me, Xu Hao, and that Qian Dongming."

The two of them fell silent for a second at the same time.

"Qian Dongming is the key one."

Fang Cheng spoke first, a faint glint in his eyes.

"I’ve looked into his background these past few days."

Nodding, Cheng Jiashu took a file out of his backpack and handed it to Fang Cheng:

"The land of Ancient Locust Village is registered under the name of a pharmaceutical company, under the pretense of an agricultural development project. The actual controller of that company is this Chairman Qian."

Glancing through the dossier, Fang Cheng returned it to him:

"As long as we can control Qian Dongming, the land of Ancient Locust Village is secure. Everything that comes after will be much easier to handle."

"Exactly."

Putting the file back into his backpack, Cheng Jiashu gave a slight nod:

"He’s scared out of his wits right now, still traumatized and shaken. His mindset is at its most fragile; it’s the perfect time to move. Leave the follow-up arrangements to me."

Having reached a consensus, the two didn’t linger.

Fang Cheng walked back to the open patch of ground and stuffed the gathered antiques and gold bars into the big backpack Cheng Jiashu always carried with him.

They packed it until it bulged, heavy and solid when lifted.

Then the two of them left this Inner World that had been reduced to ruins, returned to that Light Gate, and stepped out.