The wriggling tunneling machine had completely lost its mind and ability to communicate.
It repeatedly slammed its body against the rock wall, even attempting to cut its own body with its head, in the vicinity where Zhang Wei was located.
After multiple failed attempts at communication, Zhang Wei had no choice but to kill it.
Boom!!!
"Alas... what a pity."
The wriggling tunneling machine.
Deceased.
At this moment, the human-skinned doll also rushed over, inquiring about Zhang Wei's condition.
Zhang Wei explained, "This guy went crazy as soon as he saw the fruit. It seemed to be terrified of something."
The human-skinned doll pondered, "I think it must be the guardian of the Olympian Divine Tree. That fellow is incredibly powerful, which is why it dared not take you there."
"You don't say!"
Zhang Wei rolled his eyes.
It would be strange if such a high-grade ingredient had no guardian.
After storing the corpse of the wriggling tunneling machine in the side hall of the Treasure Pavilion, Zhang Wei and the human-skinned doll burst out of the earth and rapidly ascended using the Wind Control technique!
"Chef, what are we doing?"
Zhang Wei asked, "Remember that poisonous cave with the Bronze Apples?"
"I remember."
"What were its characteristics?"
"This... it was poisonous? Shaded? Guarded by various ferocious beasts?"
"Exactly!"
"Big?"
The human-skinned doll recalled that the cave's interior space was indeed vast.
From a distance, it looked like a small hill that had appeared out of nowhere on the plain. The cave's width and height reached seventy to eighty meters, large enough for a commercial airliner to fly into!
The guardian beasts inside were also tens of meters long. If the cave were smaller, it truly wouldn't have been practical to house them or fit them in.
Zhang Wei nodded, "That's right, it's about the size!"
"If I'm not mistaken, a wide and tall cave is one of the growth conditions for Bronze Apples. Otherwise, they could have completely sealed the cave, making the deeply buried apple tree super secure!"
Zhang Wei and the human-skinned doll flew through the air, continuously surveying.
If all the cave entrances were this massive, they would be clearly visible even from high up in the sky!
"Found it!"
Zhang Wei pointed into the distance.
Indeed, there was a similar small mound, with a deep and huge cave entrance in the hollowed-out center!
"Let's go!"
This cave wasn't a poisonous den, but it was teeming with ferocious beasts. However, this posed no pressure for Zhang Wei, who swept through and entered the deepest part of the cave.
At the very end of the cave, swirling mist rose, and a brilliant rainbow flickered faintly above.
And beneath the rainbow was a pure white lotus flower!
Radiating spiritual energy!
"Do we need to use a substitute again?" the human-skinned doll asked.
"No time to chat with it!"
"Uncoiling Ordinary Fist! Thirty percent power!"
Boom!
A surge of fist wind exploded in the confined space. The recoiling airflow formed a secondary strike, engulfing all creatures within the cave! It even covered the human-skinned doll and Zhang Wei himself!
These airwaves eventually spread out from the cave, spewing countless pebbles and gravel like bullets from a gun barrel!
The lotus flower was also crushed, and foul-smelling blood splattered out.
A large snake reared up, letting out a pained wail, its tail bleeding profusely...
"Fishing for snakes again this time?"
"Using the same trick twice is really boring!"
"Uncoiling Ordinary Fist plus the Art of Thunder Control, forty percent strength!"
Seeing that the human-skinned doll's complexion wasn't good, Zhang Wei cast a Golden Bell Shield.
Zhang Wei's power after consuming the Formless technique was truly terrifying, and the human-skinned doll could barely endure it.
Boom!!
A larger explosion swept through the cave!
The large snake was instantly killed under the combined force of wind and thunder!
A wall also couldn't withstand the wind pressure and collapsed. Behind the wall was another Bronze Apple tree.
Pluck!
[Collection Complete: Bronze Apple!]
[Replication Time: 83... 77... 71...]
Finally, it settled at 61 days!
"Continue!"
Without further ado, Zhang Wei wanted more!
Spanning 3,000 square kilometers, Zhang Wei would dig three feet into the ground if necessary to find the Olympian Divine Tree!
The third cave!
The trick was the same, the cave was the same, the guardian beasts were different, the final means were roughly the same, and that wall several meters thick.
And the withered Bronze Apple tree.
Continue to pluck!
All collected!
[Collection Complete: Bronze Apple!]
[Replication Time: 38 days!]
The fourth cave!
Final replication time 26 days!
The fifth cave, final replication time 17 days.
The sixth cave, final replication time 8 days.
The seventh cave, final replication time 91 hours.
The eighth cave, final replication time 35 hours.
The ninth cave, final replication time 24 hours!
Success!
Finally, the replication time was compressed to within one day!
After going through nine caves and 73 collections, Zhang Wei had finally achieved the ultimate reset!
Now, the Bronze Apple in the Treasure Pavilion was two fists larger, its bronze shell even more dazzling, and even a child could easily figure out its arrangement.
In comparison, the efficacy and taste of the flesh had undergone a sky-high leap!
"Chef, shall we continue? Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Having consecutively broken through nine script locations, Zhang Wei's punches numbered at least several hundred. Even without using his full strength, it was a considerable exertion.
"Chef?"
"Chef?"
The human-skinned doll kept calling out to Zhang Wei, but he stood there, lost in thought.
After a long while, Zhang Wei snapped back to reality.
He quickly summoned a large piece of animal hide and used blood as paint, sketching on the hide.
Soon, the outline was drawn.
The human-skinned doll recognized it as a map of the region they had just passed through, with all the Bronze Apple trees marked in red.
And looking at the overall picture, these red dots surprisingly formed an... irregular circle?
"Chef... what is this?"
Zhang Wei said, "When I was flying earlier, I felt something was off. Each pit appeared about 40 degrees to the left of the previous one, and this was consistent!"
"So, nine points, each at forty degrees, exactly 360 degrees, forming a somewhat irregular circle!"
"Do you still remember the leaves of those withered Bronze Apple trees?"
The human-skinned doll replied, "I remember. You were puzzled then, wondering how the leaves on trees at the bottom of caves could have a directional orientation related to sunlight."
"If I'm not mistaken, the direction of the leaves indicates the hiding place of the Silver Apple trees!"
They returned the way they came.
Zhang Wei hastily crafted a few cartography tools, a compass, and other items, and entered the caves to measure.
He precisely recorded the direction of the leaves of each tree.
Indeed!
The leaves were pointing inwards!
The Silver Apple trees were within the circle!
Zhang Wei suppressed his excitement and drew extension lines based on the leaves' direction...
But!
These extension lines did not converge at a single point, enclosing an area of two to three square kilometers.
Zhang Wei frowned, "What's going on? Is my mapping too rough and causing errors, or is there something I haven't figured out?"
"Is there anything else I haven't considered..."
"Right!"
"And that..."