I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 7 Mysterious Stone Tablet
Ten Miles into the Forest

Frost withers the red leaves in thousands of forests, leaving only a few pine and cypress trees standing tall on the hills.

The unopened plum blossoms emit a faint fragrance, the days are short and warm, it is the beginning of spring, the chrysanthemums and lotus leaves are gone, and the camellia is lush.

The scenery before him was like a fairyland in a poem, but Zhang Chen was unable to appreciate it. At this moment, Zhang Chen was carrying a Luoyang shovel on his shoulder, a large backpack on his back, and walking on a mountain path with Wang Wu.

"By the way, your skills in setting traps are becoming more and more sophisticated. Your hunting skills have surpassed mine." Wang Wu walked in front and spoke first.

Zhang Chen had all kinds of knowledge about wilderness survival from his previous life, as well as various advanced hunting techniques, which were certainly not comparable to those of people in this world. In gratitude for Wang Wu's kindness, he taught him all the trap-setting techniques he had learned in his previous life, and would not keep them from Wang Wu.

After hearing what Wang Wu said, Zhang Chen smiled foolishly: "It's all because of your good teaching, uncle."

"The little skills I have mastered are just enough to keep me from starving. You are better than me. My skills in making traps are far beyond my reach. I don't know what's in your little head to come up with such a wonderful trap." Wang Wu's voice was full of emotion.

Zhang Chen looked at Wang Wu's back and replied with a smile: "Uncle Wang's methods are beyond my reach. You are too modest."

"By the way, it seems that Mr. Li is going to increase the rent this year. You should be prepared in advance, and don't miss the rent." Wang Wu, who was walking in front, seemed to have remembered something and spoke quickly.

Zhang Chen couldn't help but frown when he heard this: "Are you going to raise the rent? Last year, the rent was already raised to three taels of silver. If we continue to raise the rent like this, how can we survive? Although this forest belongs to him, the prey in the forest does not belong to him. The Li family is really too domineering!"

Zhang Chen's voice was full of dissatisfaction.

"The situation is stronger than us. What else can we do but endure it?" Wang Wu's voice was filled with grief and indignation.

The two parted ways in the mountains and went to their own hunting grounds. Zhang Chen had a good harvest today, catching three pheasants and a musk deer. He simply cooked a pheasant in the mountains. After eating, he came to the mysterious cave again: "Maybe I don't need to dig a too big hole, as long as I can get in."

Zhang Chen looked at the hole he had dug and began to think about ways to save energy. However, after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and rejected the idea: "If some ferocious snakes or insects rush out of the hole, I won't even have time to react. Or if there are any ferocious snakes or insects outside that block my way, I will be eaten."

Although he did not suffer from claustrophobia, he thought about the wilderness and deep forests. If some ferocious beast came out, he would not be able to turn around and would be eaten.

Although digging a thorough passage is troublesome, it is safer.

"Safety is the most important." Zhang Chen pondered for a moment, then descended along the rope with the basket on his back and continued digging along the deep tunnel he had dug yesterday.

As Zhang Chen continued to dig, large amounts of experience points were once again picked up by Zhang Chen.

[Experience value +7]

[Experience value +9]

[Experience value +5]

[Experience value +20]

[Experience value +7]

[Experience value +35]

[Experience value +50]

……

Zhang Chen worked hard to dig and did not go back at noon. Instead, he made a fire on the spot and roasted a pheasant. He needed to do physical labor now, and digging the soil consumed too much energy, so his appetite also began to increase.

While roasting the pheasant, Zhang Chen was polishing iron beads and thinking about the items needed to make slingshot rubber bands.

"It's not easy to find something suitable for making slingshot rubber bands in this world. It's best to use the tendons of some ferocious beasts. After soaking them in special potions, they will definitely meet the needs of slingshots. But hunting tigers and bears is almost impossible. My small body is not enough for those beasts to scratch with their claws."

After eating the pheasant, Zhang Chen took a short rest and then continued digging.

The hole Zhang Chen dug was not wide, only one meter square. This not only made it convenient for him to turn around, but also made it easier for him to wield the dagger.

However, as Zhang Chen continued to dig, he suddenly noticed something strange, because there was a trace of frost in the cave in front of him. The frost clung to the cave and even turned the soil into frozen soil, making it extremely difficult for Zhang Chen to dig.

Zhang Chen stroked the frost, a look of surprise in his eyes: "It shouldn't be like this. It's a hot summer day, how can there be frozen soil?"

Zhang Chen looked at the frozen soil covered with frost on the wall, paused in swinging the Luoyang shovel in his hand, and a hint of caution appeared in his eyes. He didn't know whether he should continue digging.

The frozen ground in June was very unusual and full of strangeness, so how could he not be serious?

Just looking at the experience points flashing red in the dark underground cave, Zhang Chen looked at his own gold finger page again:

【Name: Zhang Chen】

[Skill (Level 0): ​​Light of the Righteous God (5000/)]

【Points: 300】

How to upgrade without digging for cheat codes?

How to get rid of vixen without digging?
If he didn't face the unknown weirdness in the cave, he would have to face the damn vixen in the future. Now that a large amount of experience points was in front of him, there was absolutely no reason for him to give up.

"Keep digging!" Zhang Chen stroked the frozen soil for a while, then continued digging.

However, the frozen soil was hard, so the digging speed became slow and it was very physically demanding.

Moreover, the frozen soil was like ice, and waves of bone-chilling coldness came, causing Zhang Chen's body to become stiff and his fingers to become uncontrollable. Half an hour later, Zhang Chen had to crawl out of the cave, basking in the warm sun in the sky, and the coldness on his body gradually dissipated.

"Fortunately, it's hot outside, otherwise I'm afraid I can't stand this cold. It's simply a big ice cave in here, it's freezing to death!" Zhang Chen rubbed his stiff fingers, and the frost on his body began to melt.

"I am even more curious now about what kind of treasures are inside this underground ancient tomb. Moreover, I have been digging for such a long time and no monster has rushed out from the underground to cause trouble for me. Perhaps there are more strange things like the golden book underground." Zhang Chen thought secretly in his heart.

After warming himself on the ground for a cup of tea, Zhang Chen turned around and continued digging underground. However, this time, not long after he dug, he suddenly heard the sound of iron and stone colliding with the Luoyang shovel. Zhang Chen was stunned: "Steel? There is steel buried underground?"

Zhang Chen stopped digging with the Luoyang shovel and used his hands to push away the dust in front of him. Sure enough, a piece of steel was exposed. "How strange! Why is there steel here? Is it a burial object?"

Zhang Chen was curious, so he quickly took out the small shovel on his waist and started digging around the steel. As Zhang Chen continued to dig with the shovel, the entire mysterious steel appeared before his eyes.

"What is this?" Zhang Chen looked at the one-meter-high iron lump in front of him with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "It looks a bit like a tombstone?"

The iron block is one meter high and about ten centimeters thick. There is a base underneath and a mysterious pattern carved on the front. Zhang Chen can't understand it. It seems that someone is riding a dragon in the sky. The human figure and the dragon are surrounded by white clouds. It looks very mysterious. Behind the iron tablet are countless mysterious runes, engraved on the iron tablet like tadpoles.

"Using iron to make a tombstone?" Zhang Chen carefully looked at the shape of the iron stele, with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "I don't know when this iron stele was buried underground, but there is no sign of decay. This place is frozen soil, perhaps the power of ice prevented the iron stele from rotting."

However, the iron tablet was covered with mud, and Zhang Chen could not see the pattern clearly. At this time, the sky was gradually getting darker, and the yang energy between heaven and earth was gradually decreasing. Zhang Chen did not dare to stay any longer, so he could only leave and come back to check again tomorrow when he was ready.

After climbing out of the cave, the sun in the sky was still three meters high. Zhang Chen did not dare to delay. After checking the traps in the mountains, he harvested a rabbit and two pheasants before hurried down the mountain.

Zhang Chen went down the mountain and headed straight to Wang Wu's house. He was afraid that he would not be able to keep his prey after returning home, and it would be taken away by the fox spirit. Even if the fox spirit could not eat up the prey, it could exchange it for money. Otherwise, where do you think the poor scholar next door got the money to study?
By the time Zhang Chen rushed back from the foot of the mountain, the sun had already set completely, with only the afterglow of the sunset still slightly dim.

At this moment, a donkey cart passed by in the distance. There was straw piled on the cart. Two people dressed as old farmers were driving the cart one in front and one behind.

"It's strange that there is a donkey cart in the village." Zhang Chen looked at the skinny donkey with a hint of surprise in his eyes. In that era, donkey carts were not something that ordinary people could afford.

Do you think donkey carts are ordinary? In fact, the landlord also uses donkey carts when going out, and horse carriages are toys for the nobility.

"It's the time to harvest rice straw this season, but I haven't heard of anyone in the village selling rice straw." Zhang Chen was secretly surprised when the donkey cart suddenly stopped. The old farmer who was pulling the donkey cart looked at the musk deer in Zhang Chen's hand and asked, "Young man, do you want to sell this musk deer?"

"Sell! Of course!" Zhang Chen said hurriedly when he saw that there were businessmen coming to his door.

"How much do you sell this musk deer for?" The old farmer's eyes fell on the plump musk deer in Zhang Chen's hand.

"If you give me six hundred coins, I will sell it to you." Zhang Chen replied.

The old farmer was straightforward. He paid the money directly, put the musk deer on the cart, and then drove the donkey cart away.

Watching the donkey cart going away, Zhang Chen was surprised: "The old farmer looked so poor, but I didn't expect him to be so rich. He bought the musk deer for 600 coins."

Since the musk deer had been given to the old farmer, there was naturally no need to go to Wang Wu's house. Zhang Chen went straight back home, and as expected, he saw the fox spirit squatting in front of the gate in the sunset, looking bored.

After seeing Zhang Chen, the fox spirit suddenly perked up. It suddenly climbed up and looked expectantly at the prey hanging on Zhang Chen's shoulder. Especially after seeing the fat pheasant, the fox's eyes began to light up.

Zhang Chen was so angry when he saw the vixen lying at the gate that he walked into the house and hung the pheasant on the wall. As expected, Zhang Chen didn't have to wait long before the vixen's soul left his body and took the pheasant away.

"She doesn't even pretend anymore." Zhang Chen looked at the pheasant disappearing from the wall, and was so angry that his liver hurt. "Just wait, sooner or later, I will definitely catch you, and then I will ask you to go up the mountain to catch prey for me every day."

Zhang Chen washed up and went to bed without saying a word all night. On the second day, Zhang Chen prepared the brush in advance and walked into the mountain with his equipment.

After checking the trap, Zhang Chen was surprised to find that what he caught this time was actually a swan. This unfortunate swan fell from the sky to rest and actually fell directly into his trap.

Today's prey: a swan, two rabbits and a small squirrel.

Zhang Chen roasted the swan and ate it directly, then went into the cave again and cleaned the iron tablet with a brush.

After sweeping away the dust from the entire iron tablet, Zhang Chen looked at the patterns and symbols on both sides of the iron tablet and fell into deep thought: "This should be text. I wonder what is recorded on it. If I understand the meaning of the text above, will I gain new skills?"

Zhang Chen looked at the mysterious tadpole on the stone tablet with a gleam in his eyes. He seemed to see the hope of acquiring new skills.

"It's a pity that I can't read." Zhang Chen looked at the words on the stone tablet with some embarrassment: "It seems that I still need to go to school to learn how to read."

Learning to read is a matter of sooner or later. If you are illiterate, don't even think about surviving in this world. After awakening his innate wisdom, Zhang Chen has been struggling to make ends meet. How could he have the time and opportunity to learn to read?
“We can first make rubbings of the text on the stone tablet.” Zhang Chen looked at the stone tablet for a while, but couldn’t figure out its origin, so he stopped paying attention and continued digging.

[Experience value +19]

[Experience value +8]

[Experience value +17]

[Experience value +50]

[Experience value +7]

[Experience value +5]

[Experience value +49]

……

Time flies, another day has passed, Zhang Chen looked at the Gold Finger page:
【Name: Zhang Chen】

[Skill (Level 0): ​​Light of the Righteous God (5000/)]

【Points: 800】

"It's only the second day. It seems that accumulating 5,000 experience points is not that difficult. Perhaps I can slow down the excavation and try to make rubbings of the words on the stone tablet first. Try to decipher the words on the stone tablet and see if I can acquire new skills." Zhang Chen climbed out of the pit, facing the setting sun in the sky. After shaking off the dirt on his body, he began to check the traps on the mountain.

Today's harvest was still good. Zhang Chen actually caught a little wild boar. The little wild boar was not big, probably a piglet that was born not long ago, and was just right for making roast suckling pig.

"This suckling pig is just right for Blacksmith Cui. The piglet is a valuable commodity. When it grows up, we can slaughter it and produce hundreds of kilograms of meat, which is enough to pay off the debts in the past." Zhang Chen carried the suckling pig and walked towards Blacksmith Cui's house.

“Little wild boars are valuable commodities, especially this little wild boar, which seems to be a sow. If we manage it well, we can raise piglets. Maybe we can eat wild boars every year in the future. It’s a pity that I don’t have any surplus food at home, so I can’t afford to raise it. I have to give it to old blacksmith Cui.” Zhang Chen tied up the little wild boar and quickly disappeared into the forest.

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(End of this chapter)