Underground Escape

Because spiritual herbs and spiritual creatures were rare, there was very little information about them online. Perhaps higher circles, like large corporations and noble families, knew more about them, but they kept such information sealed, not allowing it to leak. As a result, Kent was mostly unaware of the methods for using spiritual herbs and creatures.

Now, as Kent tried to use the Earth Control Spirit Pearl, he paused, realizing he didn't even know how to use it. Perhaps only earth attribute beasts or cultivators of earth attribute combat techniques would be able to connect with it naturally, making it easy to use right away.

That might be the case, but Kent still wanted to give it a try.

"Let me try this first," Kent thought. He took the Earth Control Spirit Pearl in his hand, bit his tongue to draw a few drops of blood, and let them fall onto the pearl.

Instantly, his face lit up with joy. The surface of the Earth Control Spirit Pearl glowed with a bright, intense yellow light, and it became so hot that Kent could feel the warmth in his palm.

"Fly."

He immediately felt a connection between his mind and the pearl. With just a thought, he could control it.

Seeing the pearl fly several times with his thoughts, Kent breathed a sigh of relief. He felt the power inside the Earth Control Spirit Pearl, a force thousands of times purer than earth energy.

This power seemed to be the king of earth energy, capable of commanding the surrounding earth forces, like a snake king commanding all snakes or a wolf king calling upon its pack.

With just a thought, Kent could control this "earth force king" and use its power for himself.

As he ran, Kent paused, clenched the pearl tightly, and pointed to the ground with his left hand. "Open."

A strange scene unfolded before him. The ground beneath his feet moved as if under a command, revealing a one-meter-wide pit. The depth of the pit changed rapidly, going from half a meter deep to ten meters in the blink of an eye. It was far faster than the most powerful drilling machines.

Without hesitation, Kent jumped into the hole, and a yellow light shield made of earth energy surrounded him, protecting his body.

As Kent manipulated the Earth Control Spirit Pearl, the hole above him closed up like water ripples. The pit vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Now, deep underground, Kent felt the thrill of controlling the Spirit Pearl. As he advanced, he directed the pearl to create new tunnels in front of him, while also sealing the ones behind him. It was nothing short of miraculous.

"I didn't expect the Earth Control Spirit Pearl to be this powerful. Even though I'm not an earth attribute warrior, I can still use about 30% of its power. That's enough to give me an incredibly strong 'earth escape' ability, far faster than the mountain drilling beasts I've seen," Kent thought, already growing fond of the pearl. He realized that such a powerful functional item shouldn't be disposed of but should be kept for himself.

He even entertained the idea of learning an earth attribute combat technique. If he trained in such a technique, his affinity for earth energy would greatly increase, making his connection to the Earth Control Spirit Pearl even stronger.

This way, his "earth escape" speed would become even faster, providing him with an escape route to preserve his life and possibly even outmaneuver powerful creatures by avoiding direct confrontation.

With that in mind, Kent tightened his grip on the Earth Control Spirit Pearl.

Meanwhile, above where Kent had burrowed into the ground, Qin Jianxuan, Gao Qiang, and Pi Xiaobiao gathered, all looking puzzled.

"Where did the kid go?" Qin Jianxuan's expression darkened.

"The soil was disturbed... Could he have escaped underground?" Pi Xiaobiao's cold eyes narrowed, his own earth-moving abilities making him recognize the signs.

Qin Jianxuan thought for a moment. His expression remained neutral, but his eyes flashed with anger. It seemed that Kent had outsmarted them, and that displeased him greatly.

"Xiaobiao, follow the trail. Your earth-moving abilities are good. Track the kid through the path he left, while Gao Qiang and I will stay here and use the Black Horned Horse to guide us," Qin Jianxuan instructed.

Without hesitation, Pi Xiaobiao summoned his Black Horned Horse and then released a beast that resembled an armadillo.

This beast, dark yellow in color, was shaped like a spinning top. The moment it touched the ground, it began digging furiously, sending dirt flying. It was even faster than the mountain drilling beasts Kent had encountered, moving at a speed of about 20 miles per hour underground.

Additionally, this beast had strong earth-controlling abilities. It created a ten-meter-wide area around itself, manipulating the soil and stone as it tunneled.

Before long, the armadillo beast reached a depth of ten meters and continued following Kent's trail. Pi Xiaobiao jumped into the tunnel behind it, holding a short dagger as he pursued.

As Pi Xiaobiao tracked Kent underground, Qin Jianxuan and Gao Qiang followed along, guided by the Black Horned Horse.

However, they didn't realize how much faster Kent's earth-escape speed was with the Earth Control Spirit Pearl. His speed was four to five times that of Pi Xiaobiao's, making it nearly impossible for them to catch up.

"Breathing is difficult down here. I need to surface. At this speed, they won't catch me," Kent thought, feeling the pressure of the escape.

After several minutes of frantic tunneling, Kent wasn't sure how far he had gone. He had changed directions multiple times, and now he couldn't even tell where he was.

Reluctantly, he decided to surface. Not wanting to stay in circles, he sped up for another five minutes before finally breaking through the surface.

Kent emerged cautiously, scanning the area for signs of pursuit. He didn't hear any immediate threats, so he relaxed a little.

"Hopefully, they won't continue chasing me," he thought, even though he still stayed alert.

After checking the surroundings, Kent quickly returned the Earth Control Spirit Pearl to his spatial bag, adjusted his direction, and ran through the forest.

His mission was complete, but there was still danger behind him, so he hurried to leave the area.

After running for some time, Kent felt exhausted. He summoned Garfield to carry him onward, hoping to reach the edge of Changguo Mountain by nightfall.