116: Chapter 116 Entering the Mine to Obtain a Spirit Seed, First Encounter with a Flood Dragon

The moment he stepped into the mine, a breeze that felt as if it had been sealed away for eternity, mixed with rich Spiritual Qi and the scent of decay, rushed toward him.

Ye Qing stood at the cave entrance, his gaze calmly scanning the deep darkness, not immediately venturing deeper.

He first used his Divine Sense to scout the path, extending inward along the mining tunnel like invisible tentacles, carefully perceiving every detail inside.

The mining tunnel sloped downward, bottomless, with the rock walls on both sides showing orderly traces of having been manually excavated. Despite the erosion of time, one could still see that the scale of the project back then was not small.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi permeating the air was several times higher than outside, carrying that pure and heavy aura unique to a Spirit Stone Spiritual Vein.

"What rich Spiritual Qi! It seems that although this Spiritual Vein was abandoned, the Spirit Stone reserves deep within the earth vein are likely still substantial."

Ye Qing's heart stirred slightly, and his anticipation for this exploration increased a little more.

He hesitated no longer and stepped down along the mining tunnel.

His gait was steady, each step landing with a calm and unhurried rhythm. His Chaos Infant Essence circulated around his body, forming an invisible protective halo that completely isolated him from any poisonous gas or Evil Qi that might exist in the mining tunnel.

The mining tunnel was very long, with many side tunnels, like a labyrinth.

Ye Qing was not impatient. As he moved forward, he carefully investigated each side tunnel with his Divine Sense, judging the direction of the main Spiritual Vein based on the subtle differences in the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the air and the remnants of excavation marks on the rock walls.

Along the way, he saw some decayed remains of mining tools scattered in the tunnel, as well as the skeletons of some unknown creatures. Clearly, the abandonment of this Spiritual Vein back then was not that simple.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the path ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a huge underground cavern that had been excavated by manpower.

The cavern was dozens of zhang high and hundreds of zhang wide, with rugged terrain piled high with crushed rocks and waste residue left behind after mining.

The top of the cavern was embedded with some Ores emitting a faint fluorescent glow, like stars in the night sky, providing dim illumination.

In the center of the cavern, near one of the rock walls, there was a vertical deep well several zhang in diameter, bottomless!

A much richer and purer Spiritual Qi was constantly rising from that deep well, like curling wisps of cooking smoke!

"Found it! The entrance to the main Spiritual Vein should be right beneath this deep well!"

Ye Qing felt a surge of joy, walked to the edge of the deep well, and peered downward.

Below the well, it was pitch black and bottomless, with only rich Spiritual Qi surging like tangible mist, emitting an aura that made one feel relaxed and happy.

"This depth... it likely reaches deep into the earth vein. No wonder it could be chosen by the Xuanhuang Sect as a Spiritual Vein; its foundation is indeed extraordinary."

He exclaimed in admiration, hesitated no longer, leaped, and jumped into the deep well.

His body plummeted rapidly, and the sound of whistling wind rushed past his ears.

Ye Qing did not use any flight techniques, instead letting his body free-fall while carefully sensing the changes in the surrounding rock walls with his Divine Sense.

After descending about several hundred zhang, he finally saw the bottom of the well.

It was an even larger, massive hollow space that seemed to have been formed by hollowing out the mountain's belly.

In the hollow, the Spiritual Qi was so dense it had almost turned into substance, forming a faint white mist that permeated the air. On the ground, one could see exposed Spirit Stone Ores emitting various colors of spiritual light everywhere, with qualities ranging from low-grade to mid-grade, and there were even some fragments of high-grade Spirit Stones!

"I'm rich! This is simply an open-air treasure vault!"

Ye Qing's eyes lit up, but he did not immediately begin mining.

He first carefully investigated the entire hollow, confirming there were no hidden dangers or Restrictions, before finally setting his mind at ease.

"Although the quality of these Spirit Stones is good, for my current cultivation, the effect of absorbing them directly is far less pure than the energy fed back by the Cave Heaven World. However, if I devour them all to expand the area and foundation of the Cave Heaven World, it would be quite a fortune."

He had made his decision and stood on no ceremony.

He walked to the center of the hollow, sat cross-legged, and sank his consciousness into the Cave Heaven World within his body.

The more than 20,000 zhang Cave Heaven World, under his mental communication, seemed to sense the rich Spirit Stone Spiritual Vein aura from the outside, sending a throb of jubilation.

"Devour!"

Ye Qing let out a low shout, formed hand seals, and guided the devouring power of the Cave Heaven World, which, like an invisible vortex centered on him, spread out toward the entire hollow!

Hum—!!!

The entire hollow shook violently!

Those Spirit Stone Ores, large and small, exposed on the ground or embedded in the rock walls, seemed to be subject to some irresistible summons, breaking away from their original positions one after another and turning into streams of light as they gathered toward Ye Qing!

The moment these streams of light touched Ye Qing's body, they were like clay oxen entering the sea, instantly vanishing and being directly devoured into the Cave Heaven World!

Inside the Cave Heaven World, with the influx of the massive amount of Spirit Stone Spiritual Vein, the Chaos gray mist at the edges surged violently, like boiling water!

The earth rumbled, and the sky trembled!

The area of the Cave Heaven World began to expand outward at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Twenty-one thousand zhang... twenty-two thousand zhang... twenty-five thousand zhang... thirty thousand zhang!

It continued to expand until it was close to a radius of thirty-five thousand zhang, and only then did the momentum of devouring the Spirit Stones gradually slow down!

Inside the Cave Heaven World, the earth veins became more vigorous and heavy, the star sea became more brilliant and vast, and the outlines of mountains and rivers became clearer and more vivid!

The fed-back Chaos Infant Essence became more pure and vast, surging into Ye Qing's Dantian like a great river, nourishing his Nascent Soul and Physical Body!

"Awesome! Too awesome! This feeling of devouring everything to strengthen oneself is simply addictive!"

Ye Qing felt incomparably delighted, guiding that vast feedback energy to refine his Nascent Soul and Meridians over and over again, once again solidifying and consolidating his newly broken-through Early Stage Nascent Soul cultivation, even faintly taking a small step toward the threshold of the Mid-Nascent Soul Stage!

Just as he was immersed in the pleasure of his rapidly increasing strength—

Boom!!!—!!!

A deafening roar came from above the mining tunnel!

The entire underground hollow shook violently, and countless crushed stones fell down with a rustle!

Immediately afterward, a terrifying Demonic Qi, cold, ferocious, and filled with violent pressure, surged in from the direction of the mine entrance like a bursting flood!

A hoarse, low voice that seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hell echoed in the hollow:

"Audacious ant! How dare you steal the Spiritual Vein that this King has set its sights on! You are courting death!!!"

Following this roar, a huge, terrifying figure that looked like a Dragon, covered in pitch-black scales and possessing three hideous heads, suddenly smashed through the rock layer above the mine, carrying monstrous ink-green poisonous mist as it swooped down toward Ye Qing!

Mid-Nascent Soul Stage!

Three-Headed Poison Flood Dragon!

Ye Qing's pupils constricted slightly, but there was no fear on his face; instead, he revealed a look of interest.

"Oh? The real owner has finally arrived? I thought this Spiritual Vein was truly ownerless."

He slowly stood up, brushed the non-existent dust from his robes, looked up at the behemoth swooping down, and a playful smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"A Mid-Nascent Soul Stage Poison Flood Dragon... just right. I'll use you to test exactly what level my combat power has reached now."