novelraw Chapter 184 : 【Spirit Vein】
Chapter 184 : 【Spirit Vein】
Chapter 184: 【Spirit Vein】
As soon as Ji Yuan entered the Spirit Vein mine tunnel, he felt that the concentration of spiritual energy around him had clearly risen by a notch.
Obviously, all this spiritual energy had been locked here by a formation, continuing to nourish the Spirit Vein deep underground.
The mine tunnel was at most two people tall, but its width reached a full two zhang.
Ji Yuan walked forward a few more steps, and the tunnel began slanting downward, delving into the depths of the earth. At the same time, he noticed faint starlight on both stone walls.
It was like fragments of spirit crystals.
Or, to be more precise, spirit stones that had not yet fully formed.
Given enough time, perhaps after tens of millions of years, even the surface here could give birth to spirit stones.
Ji Yuan reached out and touched the stone wall, indeed feeling the rich spiritual energy contained within.
Unknowingly, Yang Taian—who was walking ahead—noticed his movement, turned back, and chuckled: “This is nothing. Wait until you reach the Spirit Vein deep underground—that’s when the spiritual energy will truly be abundant.”
At the same time, Yang Taian’s voice also sounded in his mind via Divine Sense Transmission.
“Once we get underground, although we can’t take the spirit stones away, cultivating there is no problem. When the time comes, I’ll cover for you—just focus on cultivating.”
“But remember—never cultivate in the same spot for too long. You must change places often, otherwise the spirit stones in that area will suffer heavy damage and cause problems.”
“It can be done like that?!”
Ji Yuan responded via Divine Sense Transmission, his tone full of surprise, perfectly portraying the role of a green novice.
“Of course it can, why couldn’t it?”
Yang Taian seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being a teacher. “Not only us—Joy Palace and Medicine King Valley cultivators do the same. It’s an unspoken rule.”
“After all, going down the mine is hard work. We’ve got to get some benefits for ourselves.”
“That’s true.”
Ji Yuan agreed, then continued via Divine Sense Transmission: “Then I’ll spend half the time cultivating, and let Senior Brother use the other half.”
Seeing Ji Yuan so understanding, Yang Taian couldn’t help but feel a little more fond of him.
“Junior Brother is thoughtful.”
As they walked on, Ji Yuan also paid attention to the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from Medicine King Valley.
One was Dan Chengzi, whom he had already met earlier, at mid Foundation Establishment, exact strength unknown. The other was a young man in a black-and-white Daoist robe, with a somewhat elegant and unrestrained air, named Xuan Weizi, also at mid Foundation Establishment.
Yet, despite looking older than Dan Chengzi, Xuan Weizi was addressed as “Senior Brother” by him, with words full of respect.
It seemed Xuan Weizi’s strength surpassed Dan Chengzi’s.
The reason Ji Yuan paid special attention to Medicine King Valley was naturally because the Water Dragon Sect was now at daggers drawn with them.
In contrast, relations with Joy Palace—once their fiercest rival and opponent—had improved a lot. If not for Medicine King Valley suddenly interfering, this Spirit Vein would have been shared between two sects instead of three, avoiding today’s situation.
Of course, for Ji Yuan, both factions needed close watching.
The two mid Foundation Establishment cultivators from Joy Palace were both female, with beauty and figures beyond doubt—after all, no one from Joy Palace lacked in those aspects.
It was said that their sect had special cultivation techniques and pills to reshape the body, making it more suited to Joy Palace’s arts.
If I’m not mistaken, the female cultivator who keeps looking back at me is the “Fairy Zhiyun” Yang Taian mentioned. The one chatting and laughing with Xuan Weizi should be called Danxia.
Ji Yuan smiled at Fairy Zhiyun.
Unexpectedly, her pretty face flushed, and she quickly turned away.
A Joy Palace female cultivator acting shy?
Ji Yuan wasn’t about to fall for that.
Yang Taian, seeing this, sent a Divine Sense Transmission, his tone tinged with envy and jealousy: “Junior Brother is truly lucky—if you could engage in dual cultivation with a Joy Palace woman, not only would it be pleasurable, your cultivation would improve as well.”
“But the price isn’t small, right?”
Ji Yuan naturally understood Joy Palace’s methods.
For those who didn’t cultivate their arts, dual cultivation with them was like forcing seedlings to grow—it could be done, but there was no need.
Before long, as they went deeper, Ji Yuan could clearly feel the surrounding spiritual energy becoming denser—so much so that just breathing brought it into his body.
No wonder some early Qi Refining cultivators volunteer to work as miners—besides earning spirit stones, just staying here, even without cultivating, would slowly improve their cultivation.
After a while, Ji Yuan finally reached the location of the Spirit Vein.
This area was still considered the upper layer—spirit stones here were all low-grade.
A huge main vein tunnel ran through the middle, with numerous mined-out caverns on either side. Most easily-accessible spirit stones in the main tunnel had already been taken; the higher-up ones were out of reach for early Qi Refining miners, forcing them to dig in the side caverns.
Ji Yuan first sensed the density of spiritual energy inside the Spirit Vein. With just one sweep, he was sure—he had never felt spiritual energy this abundant.
If he set up a Spirit-Converging Formation here, then activated the 【Cave Dwelling】’s spiritual boost inside it, with all effects stacking, he guessed the spiritual energy could condense into visible white mist.
In short… the spiritual energy could probably liquefy.
Although there was no fire here, the pale white glow emitted by the spirit stones lit the place like daylight.
Starlight speckled the world.
Ji Yuan looked up at this scene, genuinely awed.
The miners went into two side caverns, Yang Taian following Dan Chengzi’s group in. After giving instructions to the miners, he came out and sent Ji Yuan a Divine Sense Transmission:
“Junior Brother, how is it?”
Ji Yuan took a deep breath. “Never seen anything like it—truly stunning.”
In his heart, he couldn’t help but think… If only this Spirit Vein were mine!
Yang Taian chuckled.
Xuan Weizi, emerging from the opposite side, cupped his hands before smiling: “Brother Wuyou, since you’re new here, why not find a quiet place and experience the wonders of this Spirit Vein for yourself?”
Ji Yuan couldn’t read Xuan Weizi’s intentions, nor did he know how he knew his alias. So he replied lukewarmly:
“Appreciate the thought, Daoist Friend, but I think this place will do.”
Xuan Weizi smiled but said nothing.
Yang Taian then explained via Divine Sense Transmission: “The spiritual energy in open areas like this has already been absorbed by those who came before us. We have to find places that haven’t been drained yet.”
Hearing this, Ji Yuan swept his Divine Sense over the area and indeed found the spiritual energy here to be slightly thinner.
Damn… got slapped in the face. Ji Yuan put on a suitably awkward smile.
Xuan Weizi laughed and went into an empty side cavern.
Not long after, Danxia from Joy Palace followed him in.
As for what they were doing… obviously cultivating.
“We’ll be in these tunnels for at least ten days. Junior Brother, find yourself a spot to cultivate—I’ll keep watch, nothing will happen.”
“Alright.”
Ji Yuan had just been thinking about finding a spot to see if he could activate the 【Spirit Vein】 building, so he had no reason to refuse.
He walked deeper into the cave. Passing by Xuan Weizi’s cavern, he faintly heard strange sounds inside.
Not like a proper cultivator at all.
Suppressing his aura, Ji Yuan quickly walked past. He didn’t go too deep either, worried about running into spirit crystal beasts, which would be dangerous.
A mid Foundation Establishment cultivator’s Divine Sense could cover about two li.
To be safe, Ji Yuan went about three li further.
It was the perfect distance—he could still sense Yang Taian and the others’ movements, but they couldn’t detect him.
This was already deep within the Spirit Vein. With no side caverns nearby, Ji Yuan found a corner and looked at the spirit stones growing everywhere.
At this depth, the Spirit Vein was producing middle-grade spirit stones, though some low-grade ones were still mixed in. He would need to go even deeper before they were all middle-grade.
“Damn, I really want to take them all!”
Once the thought emerged, it was hard to stop.
“Huh, there’s actually a piece of spirit stone lying here.”
Seeing the spirit stone on the ground tainted with restrictions, Ji Yuan thought for a moment before putting it into his Storage Pouch.
It was only a low-grade spirit stone—being discovered wouldn’t matter. His main aim was to see if he could break the restriction on it.
If this worked… that would be a great stroke of fortune!
After putting away the spirit stone with the restriction, Ji Yuan didn’t rush to cultivate.
Cultivation could be done back home with the aid of pills and spirit stones all the same. His main purpose this time was to test whether he could develop the 【Spirit Vein】 building.
To activate a building, one important prerequisite was for the Panel to recognize it as his own.
Just like when he refined pills at Four Directions Island of the Water Dragon Sect—he had simply rented a Pill Refining Room with spirit stones, yet the Panel had temporarily recognized it as his.
But for this Spirit Vein before him… how could he make the Panel recognize it as his?
The most direct and effective way, naturally, would be to kill all the cultivators here, break the formation, and forcibly seize the Spirit Vein.
But to have that strength, he would need to be at least in the late Golden Core Stage.
And he would need the confidence to withstand pursuit.
That could only remain a fantasy.
Ji Yuan first tried to wrap a small portion of the Spirit Vein with his Divine Sense, then took out a prepared wooden plaque and attached it to the spot—no effect.
He then tried wrapping it with spiritual energy, but still no text popped up.
“Damn it, still doesn’t work.”
Ji Yuan withdrew his spiritual energy. He had another unrealistic method—seek out Hua Yaoyue and see if she could get a small portion of the Spirit Vein’s ownership from the sect master, even the tiniest part would do.
Even a small part of the two low-grade Spirit Veins would suffice, and she could grant it to him afterward.
Even if it was only temporarily granted.
That method would surely work, but it was too risky and would attract attention—only fit for imagining.
As for the present…
The truly possible method would be to remove a small portion of the Spirit Vein from the formation’s coverage, and then claim that small part as his own.
That was the only feasible way Ji Yuan could think of.
Otherwise, with the Spirit Vein under the control of the three sects’ formation, the Panel could never recognize it as his property.
Renting it from someone?
Even someone like Rou Yi had no authority to decide such a matter—still useless.
After thinking and testing for a while, Ji Yuan’s initial excitement gradually cooled down.
As expected, opening the 【Spirit Vein】 wasn’t simple. He had already guessed that once activated, it would probably produce spirit stones daily.
Still, it didn’t matter—he was to be stationed here for years, and had only been here a few days.
No rush—who knew when an opportunity might present itself?
Just as he was thinking, his Divine Sense detected someone coming toward him… Fairy Zhiyun of Joy Palace.
Why was she here?
By rights, each of the three sects had to leave one person on watch.
For the Water Dragon Sect, since Ji Yuan came to cultivate, Yang Taian stayed behind.
For Joy Palace, since Danxia went off to have fun with Xuan Weizi, Fairy Zhiyun should have been the one keeping watch.
At first, Ji Yuan thought she was here to cultivate, but after a moment, he realized that once she found him with her Divine Sense, she came straight toward him.
Leaving wasn’t good, staying wasn’t good—he finally let her come over.
“Daoist Friend Wuyou… why are you in such a deep place?” Fairy Zhiyun asked, sounding a little embarrassed.
“Oh, so it’s Fairy Zhiyun.”
Ji Yuan took half a step back without making it obvious. “It’s quieter here, so I came to cultivate.”
“If there’s something up ahead, then I’ll go back first.” Ji Yuan was about to leave.
“It’s not that.”
Fairy Zhiyun quickly reached out to grab him… but missed. Ji Yuan reacted swiftly, dodging directly.
“Oh? Then what is it?”
Ji Yuan looked as if he was relieved.
“Is Daoist Friend Wuyou… afraid of me?” Fairy Zhiyun tilted her head, blinking at him.
Her innocent gaze was extremely cute.
“Not exactly, but I already have a Dao Companion… I hope Daoist Friend understands.”
Ji Yuan took another step back.
“Oh, so Junior Brother already has a Dao Companion.”
Fairy Zhiyun lowered her head, looking a little downcast. Somehow, the way she addressed him had changed from “Daoist Friend” to “Junior Brother.”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, I shall take my leave.”
Ji Yuan cupped his hands slightly, not giving her a chance to speak further, and used his 《Shadow-Following》 steps to leave the area.
This time, Fairy Zhiyun didn’t chase after him. She lowered her head slightly, frowning faintly, lost in thought.
On the other side, after shaking her off, Ji Yuan didn’t slow down—he even quickened his pace. Damn it, looks and figure both can’t compare to Senior Sister Dong, and she still wants me to fall for it? Not a chance.
Ji Yuan didn’t see himself as a good man, but he wasn’t a casual one either.
When he returned to the mine tunnel, Yang Taian was quite surprised to see him.
“Junior Brother, why did you come back so soon?”
When he asked this, his expression was a bit amused—he had just seen Fairy Zhiyun go looking for Ji Yuan, and now he was back so quickly…
Ji Yuan replied via Divine Sense Transmission: “Fairy Zhiyun told me to come get you. Senior Brother, go quickly—I’m not so fortunate.”
“Really?!”
“Would I lie to you, Senior Brother?”
Ji Yuan wasn’t worried about being exposed—if it worked, great; if not, he could just say he misheard.
“In that case, I’ll leave this place to you. Just keep your Divine Sense on the miners—they’re experienced and won’t cause trouble.”
Leaving those words, Yang Taian hurried away.
He looked almost impatient.
The reputation of Joy Palace’s female cultivators was indeed great.
Ji Yuan sat down where he was, noticing Dan Chengzi across from him staring at him. “Is something the matter, Daoist Friend?”
“Nothing.”
Dan Chengzi shook his head and closed his eyes to rest.
Ji Yuan released his Divine Sense to keep watch over the miners inside. No matter what, nothing could be allowed to happen… and even if something did, it mustn’t happen during his watch.
His Divine Sense followed the miners, while his ears picked up the “ding ding dang dang” of special mining picks striking spirit stones.
At first, the sound was a bit noisy, but after hearing it for a while, it became rather pleasant. After all, each sound meant another low-grade spirit stone had been added to the stores.
…If only all these spirit stones were his.
Ji Yuan once again had that sudden thought.
Not long after, Fairy Zhiyun hurried back.
She kept her head lowered, seeming almost afraid to meet Ji Yuan’s gaze.
Yang Taian hadn’t returned—Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense found him secluded somewhere in intense cultivation.
Just as Ji Yuan withdrew his Divine Sense, he seemed to detect an unusual aura flash through the mine where Xuan Weizi and Danxia were.
But it vanished in an instant, immediately concealed.
At first, Ji Yuan naturally thought it was Joy Palace’s dual cultivation technique, but he wasn’t certain. In any case, he resolved to keep an extra eye on them in the future.
Six days later—
Yang Taian returned from deep within the Spirit Vein, leaving the remaining four days for Ji Yuan.
Just as Ji Yuan was about to leave for cultivation, Yang Taian sent a Divine Sense Transmission: “Junior Brother, I hear you get along quite well with Liu Yuan?”
Ji Yuan paused mid-step.
“Fairly well—why?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Just feel that Senior Sister Rou Yi is a bit too strict, sigh.”
Yang Taian seemed to casually drop this bit of poison, then didn’t elaborate further.
Ji Yuan only smiled without taking the bait, turning instead to head deeper into the Spirit Vein to cultivate.
Yang Taian’s intent was easy to guess—most likely trying to pull him over to the Third Elder’s side, to offer himself as a token in front of Xiao Chengyi. Even if he couldn’t become the Third Elder’s disciple, there would be benefits.
Unfortunately, fate held no such bond.
During the next four days, Ji Yuan cultivated while continuing to try to activate the 【Spirit Vein】—still without success.
The good news was that Fairy Zhiyun hadn’t come to bother him again.
After the four days passed, Ji Yuan and the others led the miners out of the Spirit Vein, returning to the surface.
Everything had gone smoothly.
Since Ji Yuan had already gone down into the Spirit Vein, according to Rou Yi’s rotation schedule, next time it would be the Island Lord of Yunmiao and Liu Yuan going together, while Ji Yuan and Yang Taian patrolled Liancheng Mountain.
That job was easy enough.
When there was nothing to do, they would ride a flying boat for a few loops, then find a quiet place to cultivate.
After a few such rotations, Ji Yuan arranged with the Island Lord of Yunmiao to swap shifts.
This way, Ji Yuan was once again partnered with Liu Yuan, avoiding both the clingy Fairy Zhiyun and Yang Taian’s attempts to rope him in.
Otherwise, keeping him with his “mortal enemy” all the time would, Ji Yuan felt, be a kind of cruelty.
Half a year passed.
Ji Yuan not only became thoroughly familiar with Liancheng Mountain, but also with all the surrounding territory.
Yet, on one day after those six months, a strange thing happened—
Yang Taian was dead.
Dead inside the Spirit Vein.