16: Chapter 16 Mystic Ice Jade Mine, Miniature Spirit Vein

Deep in the Water Ape nest, the cold grew increasingly intense.

The further they went, the fewer water droplets remained on the cave walls, replaced instead by a layer of fine, thin frost.

Stepping on the ground no longer yielded the damp softness of mud, but rather the crisp, crunching sound of ice crystals being crushed.

Shi Jian followed at the rear, every breath he exhaled turning into white mist, and even his eyebrows were dusted with a faint chill.

"Young Lord, it is more than twice as cold here as it is outside," Shi Jian whispered.

Lu Changyuan did not turn back, only gazing at the stone wall ahead, which was covered in ice patterns.

The chill permeating the entire cave passage was emanating from this very spot.

In the center of the stone wall, an extremely thin, long crack was quietly embedded, as if someone had sliced it down the middle with an incredibly thin blade.

A faint, ethereal, cyan-white Spiritual Qi constantly seeped from the crack.

The Spiritual Qi was extremely subtle, yet it carried a purity that made one's Meridians tingle slightly.

Lu Changyuan reached out and pressed his hand against it.

The next moment, the heavenly secret jade slip in his Sea of Consciousness vibrated instantly, and a line of golden characters slowly appeared:

[ Earth Vein seal, Spiritual Qi overflowing, accompanied by Profound Ice Jade Mine; shatter to reveal the Spiritual Vein. ]

Lu Changyuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately withdrew his hand.

"Break the mountain."

He only said two words.

Lu Hu did not hesitate in the slightest, immediately signaling ten Dao soldiers to step forward.

The ten Qi Refining Late Stage Dao soldiers split into two teams, taking turns to channel their Spiritual Qi and bombard the stone wall.

Thunderous, muffled roars instantly echoed throughout the cave, while gravel and ice chips rained down continuously, causing even the cave ceiling to tremble slightly.

Shi Jian retreated to the back, watching as the cracks in the stone wall deepened under the repeated bombardments, his heart tightening with every blow.

Half a day later, as the last Dao soldier threw a punch, the entire stone wall finally could no longer hold up.

With a deafening boom, it collapsed inward completely.

Gravel rained down, and white mist steamed upward.

As the mist rose, a surge of Spiritual Qi, so rich and pure it was almost tangible, rushed out from behind the stone wall like a flood that had been dammed for years.

That Spiritual Qi carried an extreme cold—a purity so crisp and clear that it drilled into the body through every pore, making one's entire Meridians feel as if they had been rinsed with clear water.

Even a Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator like Lu Hu instinctively took a deep breath at this moment.

"This Spiritual Qi…" His voice was somewhat hoarse.

The mist gradually dissipated, and the scene behind the stone wall was completely revealed.

It was a natural rock cavern several times wider than the outer cave passage.

In the center of the cavern, a thin stream of spiritual water seeped from a rock crevice, winding along the ground and forming a thin layer of ice wherever it flowed.

The surrounding rock walls looked as if they were covered in cyan-white teeth, with dense clusters of translucent crystals embedded between the stone layers, shimmering with a cool, moist light under the glow of the Spiritual Qi.

Leng Feng leaned down to pick up a piece, weighing it in his palm, and for once, a look of shock appeared on his face: "Profound Ice Jade."

Lu Changyuan walked up and brushed his hand against the rock wall; his fingertips were instantly coated with an astonishingly cold chill.

He said calmly, "It is an entire mine."

Shi Jian did not understand what those four words truly represented, but he could read the reactions of Lu Hu and Leng Feng.

The two core Cultivators, who rarely lost their composure, were clearly holding their breath, their gazes almost pinned to that crystal wall.

Lu Hu was silent for a long time before whispering, "Young Lord, if word of this place gets out, I fear even Golden Core Cultivators will descend to fight for it."

This was no exaggeration.

The vast majority of so-called spiritual islands on the Star Sea were merely places with a small Spiritual Vein, capable of farming a few acres of spiritual fields and supporting dozens or hundreds of Cultivators.

A place like Blue Moon Island, which appeared desolate on the surface yet concealed both a miniature Spiritual Vein and a high-purity Profound Ice Jade Mine underground, could not be summarized simply by the word "valuable."

It was enough to let an ordinary Foundation Establishment Family leap into becoming a power with a true Foundation.

Lu Changyuan did not immediately respond, continuing instead toward the source of the spiritual water.

The closer he got to the source, the heavier the surrounding chill became, and the thicker the Spiritual Qi in the air grew.

He stood before the cracked rock crevice at the deepest point, slowly closing his eyes, and probed downward with his Divine Sense along the veins of spiritual energy.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a look of certainty in them.

"A water-element miniature Spiritual Vein," he said. "The Profound Ice Jade Mine is an associated mineral deposit. The true root of Blue Moon Island is here."

Shi Jian's breath hitched.

A ruined island, a demon island, a dangerous island—everyone outside had been wrong.

Blue Moon Island's surface Spiritual Qi was exhausted, but its true lifeblood had been sealed underground, which had, in turn, perfectly preserved the most valuable treasures.

If not for the heavenly secret jade slip revealing it, I fear no one would have been able to find this place even in decades to come.

He looked down at the thin stream of spiritual water at his feet, feeling slightly dizzy.

He had only just transitioned from a serf to a free man, yet he was already standing with the Young Lord inside a spiritual cavern that would determine the fate of the Lu Family.

Lu Hu saw things more deeply than Shi Jian.

He was very clear that the greater the harvest, the more dangerous Blue Moon Island currently was.

Because they were still too weak—too weak to even have the qualifications to announce what was here.

"Seal the news," Lu Changyuan turned around, his gaze sweeping over the group as his voice turned cold. "From now on, this place is listed as a Forbidden Ground. No one is allowed to approach without authorization, and no one is to mention a single word of this to the outside. Violators will be executed by the Military Law Department."

The cavern fell into a solemn silence.

Everyone replied in unison.

Lu Changyuan continued to issue orders: "Lu Hu, you will personally select men for rotation and seal off the cave entrance and the perimeter of the high ground.

Leng Feng, for the next few days, you are responsible for clearing out the remaining Yao Beasts in the vicinity; I do not want any living creature approaching this spiritual cavern.

Shi Jian, after you return, record the names of everyone who followed us in today; from now on, each of them is to be included in the core list."

The three of them accepted the orders simultaneously.

Lu Hu immediately asked another question: "Young Lord, should we start mining the vein now?"

"No rush," Lu Changyuan shook his head. "The first priority now is to hold it, not to sell it.

The value of the Profound Ice Jade Mine is too high; once even a hint of news gets out, those eyeing Blue Moon Island will no longer just be Loose Cultivators and local powers.

Wait until Qingyuan Terrace is truly established, then we can talk about extraction and monetization."

Lu Hu felt a chill in his heart, immediately understanding the gravity of the situation.

Having a treasure in hand and being qualified to hold that treasure were two different things.

Blue Moon Island, as it stood now, was only strong enough to keep its doors shut, not to hang out its sign.

When they walked out of the cave, the wind in the mountain forest seemed lighter than before.

After the Spiritual Vein appeared, the low-level Yao Beasts that had originally lingered nearby had been frightened away by that aura, fleeing in all directions.

The occasional roars of beasts were now extremely distant, clearly not daring to approach this high ground anymore.

Lu Changyuan stood at the edge of the high ground, overlooking the mountain forest at his feet and the sea in the distance, confirming for the first time that the most dangerous phase for Blue Moon Island had passed.

At least in this game within the island, they had won.

What remained was no longer about seizing the island, but how to truly guard what they had seized and turn it into their own Foundation.

And this task was clearly harder than seizing it in the first place.

After all, what one fears most for a Foundation on the sea is not being able to stand firm.

Moreover, Blue Moon Island had only just planted its roots; it was far from the time to sit back and relax.

Internal troubles were cleared, resources were in hand, and the core of the territory had finally been established.

He raised his hand and pressed it against the cold rock wall behind him, a flash of cold and determined ambition in his eyes. "Pass down the order: all personnel are to mobilize, establish the inner city here, and prepare to erect the monument."

Upon hearing these words, Lu Hu felt a surge of heat in his heart for an instant.

Just a few days ago, they were merely a group of aristocratic sons who had just entered the Star Sea and were viewed by all sides as being there to "gild" themselves; but now, with Blue Moon Island's Spiritual Vein, mineral deposits, high ground, and the corpses of Yao Beasts all laid out before them, these words were no longer just the ambition of a young Young Lord, but a path that could truly be realized.

Shi Jian subconsciously clenched his fists even tighter.

He did not understand what an "inner city" was, nor did he know what erecting a monument truly signified, but he knew that from this moment on, Blue Moon Island was no longer just a place for them to survive, but a place where they could regrow their destiny.