148: Chapter 148 Cultivators Appear Suddenly

Hei Feng let out a low growl from his throat.

His body suddenly stretched, and the originally half-man-high black dog instantly swelled to over ten feet tall; a blood-red light shimmered beneath his pitch-black fur, and a long horn on his head was particularly striking.

He didn't look the least bit docile; his four limbs kicked off the ground, sending gravel flying as he turned into a black shadow and pounced on the black snake guarding the Ore.

The black snake had been dozing at the entrance of the Ore vein, but it snapped its head up upon sensing the movement, a fierce light flashing in its vertical pupils as its tongue flicked rapidly.

Although it was only a First-Stage Early Stage Yao Beast, it still possessed the instinctual Heart-Nature to protect its food; seeing Hei Feng pounce, it immediately lashed its tail, whipping toward Hei Feng with a whistling wind.

Hei Feng was agile, dodging the tail swipe and instead biting down on the black snake's vital seven-inch mark, his sharp teeth easily piercing the snake's defense.

The black snake struggled in pain, trying to shake off Hei Feng, but against the First-Stage Middle Stage Hei Feng, this struggle was nothing more than a death throe.

After its body writhed a few times, it went still; Hei Feng then picked up the black snake's carcass in his mouth and wagged his tail at Ye Jing, seeking credit.

Seeing this, Ye Jing took out a crimson blood fruit emitting Devilish Qi from his Storage Pouch and gave it to him; humans could not eat these fruits tainted by Devilish Qi, but they were the favorite of Yao Beasts like Hei Feng.

He took out dozens at once, and the fist-sized crimson blood fruits were all devoured by Hei Feng.

"Hei Feng, guard this place; don't let anyone get close." Ye Jing patted Hei Feng's body, then turned his gaze toward the dark silver Ore vein.

Ye Jing crouched down and used his spiritual power to probe the silver Ore; he felt a faint resonance with the metal-attribute spiritual power.

It seemed there was the metal-attribute Ore he wanted here, but not much.

Still, it was better than nothing.

Thinking of this, Ye Jing took out a special pickaxe made of spiritual iron from his Storage Pouch; ordinary pickaxes could not dig through Ore containing spiritual power.

This Spiritual Iron Pickaxe was several times heavier than a normal mining pick; the head shimmered with a cold, hard silver-gray luster, and its edges had been polished incredibly sharp by spiritual power—it was a Sharp Weapon Ye Jing had prepared long ago for spiritual mines.

He gripped the handle and slowly channeled his spiritual power into it.

The pickaxe then automatically flew toward the silver-gray Ore vein and began digging; the hard rock was instantly peeled away layer by layer, as if cutting through tofu.

Ye Jing had the Poisonous Variant Bees go ahead to scout the path, while he pasted several Explosive Talismans and some small defensive Formations outside the cave.

This way, he could receive a timely warning if anyone approached, and it would also prevent some low-level Cultivators from causing trouble.

After finishing all this, Ye Jing called Hei Feng back and then controlled the Black Iron Pickaxe to continue digging the Ore, following the Poisonous Variant Bees all the way down.

The mine was pitch black, and lighting a fire was impossible, so Ye Jing brought out the golden light bowl to use for illumination and protection.

After digging for a while, the Poisonous Variant Bees stopped and began circling an area, then landed near Ye Jing, buzzing incessantly.

Had they found something?

Ye Jing felt a surge of joy and hurried to dig at the spot where the Poisonous Variant Bees had been circling.

As he gradually dug away the stone wall on one side, a golden light emanated from within, slowly illuminating the dim cave.

Seeing this, Ye Jing became even more careful with his digging, fearing he might damage the golden Ore.

The pickaxe slowly trimmed and dug around the golden light; soon, a piece of Ore surrounded by a faint golden spiritual power appeared before Ye Jing, encased in a large amount of silver-gray Ore.

One could tell at a glance that this golden Ore was the result of the iron Ore in this cave evolving over many years.

Ye Jing immediately inspected it.

"First-Stage Metal-Attribute Spiritual Ore, can be used for upgrading Spiritual Artifacts and evolving Spiritual Artifact attributes."

Seeing this, Ye Jing quickly used the pickaxe to dig out the metal-attribute Ore; though it was small enough to be held in two hands, it felt as heavy as ten thousand catties in Ye Jing's grasp.

Even a First-Stage Martial Artist would find it very difficult to lift.

Ye Jing was also very surprised; he hadn't expected there to really be a First-Stage metal-attribute spiritual mine here.

The Poisonous Variant Bees also flew up and down excitedly; as spirit insects, they loved this kind of Ore that contained a large amount of spiritual power the most.

He immediately put the Ore into his Storage Pouch and wanted to continue digging, but he found that since he took the metal-attribute Ore, the silver-gray Ore in the cave had dimmed significantly.

It seemed this cave had only produced this one piece of First-Stage metal-attribute Ore.

Beside him, the Poisonous Variant Bees were also flying aimlessly, having lost their direction.

Seeing this, Ye Jing put away the pickaxe and prepared to head to the next mine to take a look.

Suddenly, Ye Jing felt a ripple in the spiritual power; he instantly widened his eyes in alert—someone was approaching the defensive Formation he had set up!

He immediately took Hei Feng and the Poisonous Variant Bees to the cave entrance and peeked out quietly.

Outside the cave, a group of Cultivators wearing the same blue clothing were surrounding the cave; they looked like Disciples from some Sect.

Ye Jing clenched his fists and did not go out, just watching them silently.

The leading blue-closed Cultivator controlled a sword to strike at the barrier, confirming that a defensive Formation had been set up outside the cave.

He couldn't help but frown and asked, "Could there be other Cultivators here?"

"Elder, it's likely some Loose Cultivators came here to dig for Ore," a petite and lovely female Cultivator beside the man said softly.

"Tsk, it's just a few abandoned Ore caves; is there a need to make such a fuss?" the male Cultivator sneered disdainfully.

He immediately used his Divine Sense to probe inside.

Feeling this powerful spiritual power, Ye Jing was startled; was this male Cultivator a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?!

His heart sank; the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator far exceeded that of a Qi Refining Cultivator, sweeping through the cave like a tangible probe, leaving nowhere to hide.

Ye Jing had no time to think and immediately circulated all the spiritual power in his body to restrain his aura, while simultaneously ordering Hei Feng and the Poisonous Variant Bees to lie low.

Hei Feng suddenly crouched on all fours, pressing against the shadows of the cave, while the Poisonous Variant Bees all crawled around Ye Jing.

When the Cultivator's Divine Sense approached, the horn on Hei Feng's head emitted ripples, blocking the Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Divine Sense to protect Ye Jing.

This was Hei Feng's Soul Extinguishing Deterrence Divine Ability; when facing higher-stage Cultivators, it could emit light waves to interfere, making it temporarily impossible for the Cultivator to detect them.

The male Cultivator searched with his Divine Sense for a long time but found no sign of anyone, causing him to frown.

"Strange, there is a defensive Formation, but I don't sense anyone."

The petite female Cultivator quickly stepped forward and advised gently, "Elder, perhaps that Loose Cultivator hasn't arrived yet and just left the defensive Formation behind.

These mine caves were scavenged clean long ago and have no value; let's not delay the Revered Master's orders. We still need to take down that First-Stage Ore Vein!"

Hearing this, the male Cultivator thought it made sense, so he waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

The blue-clothed Cultivators responded in unison and turned to fly toward a distant Second-Stage Ore Cave.

But the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who had just given the order, suddenly froze after flying only two steps, his brow furrowing even tighter.

At the moment his Divine Sense had swept past earlier, he had clearly sensed an extremely faint ripple, as if some kind of energy was interfering with his Divine Sense; although it was fleeting, it was definitely not an illusion.

"Wait." He raised his hand to signal everyone to stop, his long sword trembling slightly and emitting a sharp Foundation Establishment spiritual power.

"Something's not right; that ripple wasn't for nothing. Someone must be hiding inside using a Breath-Concealing Method."

Inside the cave, Ye Jing's heart suddenly constricted, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.