As Zhuang Rui pondered his thoughts, the spiritual energy in his eyes continued to penetrate downwards without pause, but all he could see was the same red sandstone as the upper layer.
This made Zhuang Rui somewhat disheartened, so he wanted to withdraw his spiritual energy and use the next few days to study the Mongol Yuan culture of the Alzhai Grottoes.
"Huh?"
However, just as Zhuang Rui was about to withdraw his spiritual energy, he suddenly felt that the spiritual energy seemed to have penetrated the rock and entered a space.
"Could it be..."
Zhuang Rui was first startled, then overjoyed. He quickly focused his mind and began to sense the situation at the spiritual energy end.
"It doesn't look like a man-made space; it looks more like a naturally formed limestone cave..."
After Zhuang Rui channeled his spiritual energy into that space, his brows furrowed slightly. The space was vast and deep, and the terrain inside varied in height, winding like a snake as it stretched across the entire Alzhai Stone Mountain.
The distance that Zhuang Rui could sense using his spiritual energy alone was already more than two hundred meters, and the area ahead seemed endless, like an underground labyrinth spread throughout the Alzhai Grottoes.
An underground labyrinth of this scale could not possibly have been excavated by human hands. Not to mention the Mongol Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, even today, it would be an enormous project that would be difficult to complete.
"This should be a naturally formed internal cave when the Alzhai Grottoes were created, somewhat similar to those on Pirate Island..."
After sensing with his eyes closed for more than half an hour, Zhuang Rui slowly opened them. He was no stranger to this kind of terrain. He had seen such volcanic caves a few years ago when he was trapped on Pirate Island.
"It seems it has nothing to do with Genghis Khan..."
Zhuang Rui's heart was in turmoil. The glimmer of hope that had just appeared was extinguished by himself. Shaking his head, Zhuang Rui slowly withdrew the spiritual energy that was spread under the Alzhai Stone Mountain.
When Zhuang Rui first released his spiritual energy, it entered the Alzhai Stone Mountain in a linear fashion from the stone cave beneath his feet.
However, when it was drawn back, there was no pattern to it. The spiritual energy that filled the bottom of the mountain passed through the rocks above in a net-like pattern and slowly entered Zhuang Rui's eyes.
"Hmm? Something seems off there..."
As wisps of spiritual energy returned to Zhuang Rui's eyes, he carefully observed the differences between the cave space and the red sandstone under the influence of spiritual energy.
When the spiritual energy penetrated from a cave at the bottom of the mountain to the ground, Zhuang Rui suddenly felt that the distance between the ground and the cave seemed to be very thin.
In other places, the caves are located more than 30 meters above the ground, but in this particular grotto, it seems that the cave is connected to the rock formation only five or six meters below the surface.
This discovery slightly cheered Zhuang Rui up, and he focused his spiritual energy on that location.
However, due to the terrain, it is normal for caves inside the mountains to be close to the surface. Zhuang Rui was just doing it out of habit and was preparing to re-examine the area.
"It's a collapsed grotto..."
Zhuang Rui first sensed the location of the grotto and found that it was located at the foot of Alzhai Mountain. Due to years of weathering, the grotto had collapsed.
Over the long course of history, natural weathering and erosion caused by wind and rain have loosened the rocks and caused the cliffs to collapse, resulting in damage to the grottoes. This is a very common occurrence in the Alzhai Grottoes.
Originally, this small red sandstone hill had hundreds of grottoes along its slopes, but only forty-nine of them remain today. The rest, like the one Zhuang Rui sees, have collapsed and been abandoned.
"There's something wrong with this grotto..."
When Zhuang Rui focused the spiritual energy in his eyes on the underground of the grotto, he finally noticed something different: the rock beneath the grotto was not naturally formed, but rather sealed off after it was excavated.
From the surface of the collapsed grotto to the entrance of the cave, there are traces of artificial excavation. Although the rocks used for sealing were all placed in whole pieces, they were still revealed under Zhuang Rui's mercury-like spiritual exploration.
"This...this was carved out by later generations. Who did it? And what was their purpose?"
After Zhuang Rui investigated the underground of the grotto, he was completely stunned. He had a deep-seated intuition that there must be some unknown secrets hidden inside.
No one would carve into a mountain for no reason, nor would anyone painstakingly fill it back with stones after breaking it open. Now Zhuang Rui felt that even the collapsed grotto might have been man-made, as if to cover something up.
Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Rui calmed himself down and carefully examined the cave beneath the grotto. Upon closer inspection, he indeed discovered many differences.
Along the seven or eight-meter stretch of the cave below the grotto, there are many traces of human excavation on the rock walls, but the ground is very clean and there are no man-made objects left here.
"There must be something wrong; this is just an attempt to cover it up..."
Zhuang Rui channeled his spiritual energy along the cavern beneath the grotto, searching deeper and deeper. When he encountered a fork in the path, he would split his spiritual energy into two streams to explore simultaneously, gradually penetrating into the interior of the mountain.
"Damn it, it let me down at the crucial moment..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to expand the search area, the spiritual energy in his eyes ran out. He then realized that the spiritual energy had already penetrated hundreds of meters into the mountain, which was the maximum range that his spiritual energy could detect before it had recovered.
Although no man-made objects were found within a radius of several hundred meters, Zhuang Rui firmly believed that the ancients could not have gone to such great lengths to open up this cave and then abandon it; there must be some unknown secret inside.
Even if this isn't Genghis Khan's tomb, it would still be a residence for a Yuan dynasty emperor. What Zhuang Rui regrets is that he can't continue his investigation today.
The new discovery, but the inability to continue the exploration due to his own reasons, left Zhuang Rui feeling restless and itchy.
After wandering around the mountaintop like a trapped beast for a while, Zhuang Rui had no choice but to head down the mountain. He wanted to find Zhui Feng and gallop across the grassland to relieve his frustration.
"Hmm? Brother Batel, Timur Anda, Brother Ren, you've arrived?"
When Zhuang Rui arrived at the place where he had found Zhui Feng yesterday, he saw Batel and the others who had left yesterday standing there with their horses. He quickly went up to greet them.
About twenty or thirty meters away from Batel and the others, there was a herd of wild horses. Zhuang Rui roughly counted them and found that the number seemed to be less than before. They probably got caught by the herdsmen on the way.
The wild horses surrounded Zhui Feng, unafraid of Batel and the others watching them from a distance. Perhaps this was the result of Zhui Feng's reassurance.
When Ren Chunqiang saw Zhuang Rui coming over, he laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you left your brother Ren behind and went off to have some fun. No way, you have to get me a good horse too..."
These past few days, Dr. Ren has been practicing horsemanship diligently. Under the guidance of the people at the ranch, he successfully developed bow legs and almost wore his crotch raw. He rides the horse quite well now. Of course, if he were to ride on Zhui Feng, he would definitely fall flat on his face.
However, after a few days, Dr. Ren had fallen in love with horseback riding. He was too embarrassed to ask Batel for a horse, but after arriving here and seeing so many wild horses, he began to consider Zhuang Rui's idea.
As for the future, Dr. Ren has also made plans. He intends to take the horse back to Beijing and board it at an equestrian club, where he can ride it whenever he has free time. With Dr. Ren's current income, he can afford the expense.
Zhuang Rui pointed to the herd of wild horses not far away and said, "There are quite a few horses here, Brother Ren, feel free to choose. But I have a question, Brother Ren, can you tame all these horses?"
In Zhuang Rui's mind, these wild horses could no longer be called wild horses. Subduing the Horse King had essentially completed the transformation of the wild horse herd. If it were before, the wild horse herd would probably have run away without a trace at the sight of a human.
"What are you saying? Your brother Ren hasn't been wasting these past few days either..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren's face flushed red, but after a pause, his voice lowered again, "Zhuang Rui, if I can't subdue him, why don't you ask that Horse King to mediate..."
Let alone wild horses, even tamed horses are no longer allowed to run freely by Ren Chunqiang, so he doesn't speak with much confidence.
"Okay, Brother Ren, you pick one. Peng Fei, where's your horse?"
Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Peng Fei and immediately noticed that his younger brother's complexion wasn't very good, and his clothes had been torn in several places.
Peng Fei pointed irritably at a white horse standing next to Zhui Feng and said, "That's the one. Damn it, I'll ride it again later. If I can't tame it, I'll bleed it dry..."
Chapter 1152 Gift of a Horse
"Are you looking for trouble? You dare to kick the horse and see what happens?"
Zhuang Rui's gaze toward Peng Fei was unfriendly, and even Batel and the others couldn't help but look at him sideways. Although the wild horse wasn't theirs, the two of them, who had grown up with horses since childhood, couldn't stand seeing others mistreat them.
According to the customs of the grassland people, since Zhuang Rui had tamed the leader of this herd of wild horses, the herd of wild horses now belonged to Zhuang Rui and was his private property.
Wild horse herds on the Mongolian grasslands are becoming increasingly rare. Some lucky herders are overjoyed to encounter two or three wild horses, while Zhuang Rui's acquisition of nearly a hundred wild horses at once is an extremely rare occurrence on the grasslands.
"Okay, I was just saying..."
Peng Fei shuddered upon hearing this, then his face fell, and he said, "Brother Zhuang, could you please talk to Boss Ma and ask his underlings to give him some face?"
“I think the yellow spot would suit you perfectly. Why don’t we just have Brother Batel give you that mare…”
Zhuang Rui grinned mischievously upon hearing this. He was very vengeful, and he still remembered the words Peng Fei had used to mock him.
"Boss, please, it's all my fault, okay?"
Peng Fei clasped his hands and bowed to Zhuang Rui with a pleading look on his face. Although he was experienced on the battlefield and skilled in killing, he really had no way to deal with the horse. He had tried to ride it twice, but the horse had jolted him off. He couldn't hit it or scold it, which made Peng Fei feel really frustrated.
Peng Fei's eye for talent is truly remarkable. The white horse was even taller than Wu Yunqiqige's little white horse, with snow-white fur all over its body and eyes that shone with a spiritual light. It looked like a celestial horse, and even standing next to Zhui Feng, it was quite eye-catching.
"Alright, just take better care of the horse from now on..."
Zhuang Rui glared at Peng Fei with annoyance. Having spent a lot of time with animals, he could learn a lot from them. Therefore, Zhuang Rui had never spoken ill of his companions, let alone physically punished them.
Seeing Zhuang Rui walk towards the wild horse herd, Batel and Timur also quieted down. They both wanted to see how Zhuang Rui communicated with Zhui Feng and how he could make those horses willingly submit.
"Chasing Wind, tell your subordinates to be quiet..."
When Zhuang Rui was still more than ten meters away from the herd of wild horses, the herd began to stir. The wild horses surrounding Zhui Feng kept pawing the ground with their front hooves and sneezing from time to time.
"Luffy..."
Zhui Feng understood Zhuang Rui's words and let out a long neigh. Instantly, most of the restless wild horses quieted down, but a few troublemakers still glared at Zhuang Rui with hostile eyes.
"Restore... the law!"
Seemingly feeling that his position had been challenged, Zhui Feng was very dissatisfied with the behavior of the horses. He rushed to a yellow horse and bit its ear with his large mouth full of fine teeth.
"Laughter...laughter..."
After Zhui Feng bit its ear, the yellow horse dared not resist and let out a mournful cry, as if begging for mercy. When Zhui Feng released its jaws, the yellow horse immediately knelt down on its front hooves, showing its submission to Zhui Feng.
Raising its head high, Zhui Feng looked around. The few horses that had been a bit unruly earlier were all panting heavily and taking a few steps back in fear, including the white horse that Peng Fei had his eye on.
"My new partner is quite domineering..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and shook his head. Although the animals he kept were all top-tier species in their respective fields, they got along quite well. He wondered if the wild and untamed Chasing Wind would disrupt this balance once it joined them.
Zhuang Rui didn't know how to communicate with Zhui Feng, so he simply pointed to the white horse, then to Peng Fei, and said, "Zhui Feng, here, let that horse follow him..."
Upon hearing this, Zhui Feng turned to look at Peng Fei. After a while, Da Tou nodded slightly, walked to the white horse, and made a purring sound, clearly communicating with the horse.
After a while, the white horse seemed to have succumbed to the tyranny of Zhui Feng. Reluctantly, it lowered its head and walked up to Peng Fei, letting out a defiant neigh. Fortunately, it did not raise its hooves to kick Peng Fei.
If we were to name the most nervous person on the scene, it would undoubtedly be Peng Fei. Only when the white horse approached him did Peng Fei's heart finally settle down, and his face broke into a radiant smile.
"This...this...this works?"
Not to mention Peng Fei affectionately hugging the white horse's neck, the others watching were dumbfounded. Dr. Ren didn't know much about horse habits and wasn't too surprised, but Batel and Timur stared wide-eyed at the scene.
It is important to know that the purer the bloodline of a horse, the more proud it is, especially wild horses. For experienced riders on the grasslands, it is extremely difficult to get them to acknowledge someone as their master.
However, Batel and Timur never expected that Zhuang Rui's few words would actually make the seemingly magnificent white horse accept Peng Fei, which almost completely overturned their understanding of horses.
Although the white horse still seemed quite disdainful of him, at least it wasn't rejecting him anymore. Peng Fei proudly put his arm around the white horse, which was twisting its neck, and laughed, "Hehe, Brother Zhuang is naturally able to communicate with animals, there's nothing strange about that..."
Putting aside the white lion that Zhuang Rui raised from a young age, Peng Fei was already quite used to Zhuang Rui's abilities, from the golden eagle on the snow mountain, to the snow leopard that did not follow Zhuang Rui down the mountain, to the gorilla King Kong that he subdued on Pirate Island. Otherwise, he would not have shamelessly asked Zhuang Rui for help just now.
Batel had always been dissatisfied with Peng Fei's attitude towards the horse. Seeing Peng Fei's smug look, he immediately said, "Don't be so smug, kid. Let me tell you, Fei Zi, horses are intelligent. If you don't treat it well, it won't follow you wholeheartedly..."
"Huh? Old Ba, how can I make it completely devoted to me?"
Upon hearing this, Peng Fei was stunned. He really liked the white horse and wanted to cultivate the same tacit understanding between Zhui Feng and Zhuang Rui.
Upon hearing this, Batel laughed and said, "That's easy. Go back and live with this horse for a month, and it will definitely become affectionate with you..."