65: Chapter 65 Abundant Harvest, Spirit Stones Like Mountains

The aftermath of the battle in the lair's cavern gradually subsided.

The dim blue light of the fluorescent rocks illuminated the space once again, but the lingering smell of burnt matter, blood, and the acidic stench of venom in the air still spoke of the intensity of the battle just now.

Lin Ye carefully put away the Spirit-Sealing Jade Box and turned his gaze to the entrance of the mineral vein, which had been covered by the Spider Mother's lair. A crack, a person's width wide, extended downwards, with Spiritual Qi so dense it was almost tangible leaking out, forming a faint spiritual mist at the entrance.

"Rest first," Lin Ye ordered.

Everyone indeed needed to recover. Chen Hao and Wang Iron Pillar were still severely injured, Zhao Linger's Divine Power was exhausted, and although Su Qingyue had been cleansed of the mental pollution by Lin Ye in time, her Vast Cold Spirit Body was over-exhausted, and her face remained pale. Even an assassin like Shi Potian had unstable aura due to the continuous high-intensity stealth and bursts of speed.

Lin Ye himself was in perfect condition—the massive combat experience from killing the Spider Mother had leveled him up from level 38 to 39, and then to the edge of level 40, just one step away from stepping into the second layer of the Dao Palace. Every level-up restored all status, which was one of the rules of the covering the heavens era.

He took out Medicinal Pills for healing and distributed them to everyone, then took a Qi-Recovery Pill himself and circulated the Big Dipper True Scripture to adjust his internal breath.

Two hours later, everyone's condition had mostly recovered.

"We can start mining now," Lin Ye stood up and walked to the entrance of the mineral vein. "But the entrance is too small and needs to be widened."

He drew his bronze war spear, infused it with Chaos Divine Power, and thrust it at the rock wall at the edge of the entrance.

"Clang!"

The spear tip collided with the rock, emitting the sound of metal clashing, leaving only a shallow pit on the rock wall.

"What hard stone." Lin Ye frowned. This was clearly not ordinary rock, but "Spirit Rock" formed by long-term immersion in Spiritual Qi, with a hardness comparable to refined iron.

"Let me try." Chen Hao stepped forward. Although he was still severely injured, the God King Body's recovery ability was astonishing, and he could barely move at this time.

He pressed his hands against the rock wall, and earthy yellow Spiritual Qi surged from his palms, penetrating into the crevices of the rock. This was the "Earth Affinity" talent inherent to the God King Body, which could control earth and stone to a certain extent.

"Open!"

Chen Hao gave a low shout, the muscles in his arms bulging. Under the influence of his Spiritual Qi, the rock wall began to show spiderweb-like cracks. The cracks grew more numerous and deeper, and finally, with a "rumble," the rock wall near the entrance collapsed, revealing a passage wide enough for three people to walk side by side.

"Well done," Lin Ye praised.

After the passage was widened, Spiritual Qi surged out even more densely. Lin Ye took out several illumination crystals and embedded them into the rock walls on both sides of the passage, illuminating the downward-extending stairs with a soft white light.

"I'll go down to scout the path first; you all stay on guard above," Lin Ye said, then stepped into the passage first.

The passage spiraled downwards with a steep slope. The steps were man-made but severely worn. There were obvious water stains on the rock walls, indicating that groundwater had once seeped in here, but for some reason, it had now dried up.

After walking down about thirty zhang, the passage became gentle, and brighter spiritual light came from ahead.

Lin Ye quickened his pace, and after turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up.

This was an underground space larger than the upper cavern, shaped like a natural dome, about fifty zhang high and nearly a hundred zhang wide. But what was truly shocking was not the scale of the space, but the "walls" here.

The rock walls of the entire space were densely embedded with Spirit Stones!

It wasn't scattered; the entire rock wall was a layer of Spirit Stone Ore! Milky white Low-Grade Spirit Stones covered the field of view like stars, and occasionally one could see purer milky white Medium-Grade Spirit Stones, as well as extremely rare High-Grade Spirit Stones with a faint golden luster!

The ground was scattered with a large number of mining tools: rusted pickaxes, damaged mine carts, rotting wooden frames, and several remains of miners that had long turned into white bones. Clearly, this had once been a large-scale mining site, but it had been abandoned for some reason.

Lin Ye approached the rock wall and reached out to touch a Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

The touch was warm and smooth, with liquid-like spiritual light flowing inside. He sensed it slightly with his Chaos Divine Power; the purity was at least 85%, belonging to high-quality Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"This reserve..." Lin Ye made a rough estimate.

Taking this rock wall as an example, thirty zhang long and twenty zhang high, the density of Spirit Stone distribution was about three to five pieces per square foot. The surface reserve of the entire rock wall alone was over twenty thousand pieces. And this was just one wall of this space.

Looking around, there were at least eight such mineral walls. Adding the deep veins that might be buried in the ground, the total reserve was probably far beyond the one hundred thousand pieces estimated by the map.

"The Heavenly Court is really going to strike it rich." Lin Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

He returned to the upper level and informed everyone of the situation below.

"The whole wall is Spirit Stones?!" Chen Hao's eyes widened.

"Low-Grade Spirit Stones, Medium-Grade Spirit Stones, and there might even be High-Grade Spirit Stones," Lin Ye confirmed. "But mining is a problem. We need professional tools, and we also need enough manpower and time."

"I have a way to get tools," Shi Potian suddenly spoke up. "When I was clearing the battlefield just now, I found an abandoned tool depot in the corner of the cavern. There are dozens of pickaxes inside; although they are rusted, they should be usable after some repairs. There are also three mine carts; the axles are broken, but the carriages are intact."

"As for manpower..." Su Qingyue pondered, "The six of us are definitely not enough. But we can mine in batches, take away the first batch, and then summon more members."

Lin Ye nodded: "That's a way. But the location of the mine must be kept secret. Once leaked, other forces will definitely come to fight for it. Therefore, those who participate in mining must be the most core and trustworthy members of the Heavenly Court."

He quickly made a plan: "The six of us will conduct the first round of mining, with the goal of taking away the High-Grade Spirit Stones and some Medium-Grade Spirit Stones. The reserve of Low-Grade Spirit Stones is too large and requires a large team to be organized later."

"Shi Potian, you go to the tool depot to repair the pickaxes and mine carts. Chen Hao, Wang Iron Pillar, you are responsible for clearing the obstacles and remains in the mineral vein space. Su Qingyue, Zhao Linger, come with me to plan the mining route."

"Action!"

Everyone performed their duties.

Shi Potian soon brought back twelve repaired pickaxes. The heads of these pickaxes were made of special "Spirit-Breaking Steel," which could effectively break Spirit Rock without damaging the Spirit Stones themselves. Although they were old, the material was excellent, and after simple quenching using Artifact Refining techniques, Shi Potian basically restored their functions.

Two of the three mine carts were also repaired. Although rudimentary, they could at least transport Ore.

Chen Hao and Wang Iron Pillar cleared the debris in the mineral vein space and properly placed the miners' remains in a corner, burying them with earth and stone. This was the basic respect for the deceased.

Lin Ye took Su Qingyue and Zhao Linger to conduct a detailed survey of the entire mineral vein space.

The survey results were exciting.

This underground space was an irregular octagon. Of the eight rock walls, six were Spirit Stone Ore layers, and the other two were ordinary rock walls, but one could vaguely sense denser Spiritual Qi behind the rock walls—there might be deeper veins extending.

Initial estimates showed that the surface mineable Low-Grade Spirit Stones were between eighty thousand and one hundred and twenty thousand, Medium-Grade Spirit Stones were about one thousand five hundred, and High-Grade Spirit Stones... Lin Ye found ten crystals emitting a faint golden halo in a depression at the highest point of the rock wall.

Those were true High-Grade Spirit Stones, each the size of a fist, with Spiritual Qi flowing inside like liquid, and the purity reaching over 99%!

[High-Grade Spirit Stone x 10]

Quality: Rare

Purity: 99.3% - 99.7%

Spiritual Power Content: Equivalent to 10,000 standard Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Special Effect: Can be used directly for high-level Formations, Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or as cultivation resources for certain special Cultivation Techniques. Carrying it for a long time can slowly improve the Spiritual Qi concentration of the surrounding environment.

Market Valuation: About 15,000-20,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones each, but there is no market for it; it is usually only traded by barter among large forces.

Ten High-Grade Spirit Stones, even at the lowest valuation, were worth 150,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones! And the real value of this thing was not in exchange, but in its rarity and special uses.

"Start mining," Lin Ye said in a deep voice.

He was personally responsible for the mining of the High-Grade Spirit Stones. These Spirit Stones were embedded in a depression in the rock wall twenty zhang high, which ordinary miners could not reach at all. Lin Ye used the Yaoguang Footwork, stepping on the rock wall as if on flat ground, and reached the depression in a few leaps.

Inside the depression was a naturally formed crystal cave. The ten High-Grade Spirit Stones were arranged in a ring, and in the center was a small pinch of pale golden powder—this was "Spirit Crystal Dust" naturally precipitated from the essence of the Spirit Stones over long years, which was even more precious than High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Lin Ye carefully pried down the ten High-Grade Spirit Stones one by one and put them into a special jade box. The small pinch of Spirit Crystal Dust was collected and sealed using a special jade bottle.

[Spirit Crystal Dust x 1 portion]

Quality: Epic

Effect: Can be used as a catalyst during Alchemy to improve the success rate and quality of pills; can be integrated into Materials during Artifact Refining to enhance the spirituality of equipment; direct consumption can instantly restore 80% of Divine Power and Qi and blood (limited to below Xiantai Realm), but there is a 30% probability of meridian damage due to energy overload.

Description: Essence naturally precipitated from High-Grade Spirit Stones over thousands of years, extremely rare. One portion of Spirit Crystal Dust is worth more than five High-Grade Spirit Stones.

After collecting the most precious parts, Lin Ye jumped back to the ground.

At this time, others also started mining.

Su Qingyue was responsible for Medium-Grade Spirit Stones. She used ice-type Daoist Magic to precisely freeze the rock layer around the Spirit Stones, and then tapped gently, so the Spirit Stones would fall off completely without any damage. Although this method was inefficient, it could ensure the integrity of the Spirit Stones, making them more valuable.

Chen Hao, Wang Iron Pillar, and Shi Potian were responsible for Low-Grade Spirit Stones. They used pickaxes to mine; although it was rough, the efficiency was high. Zhao Linger assisted from the side, using wood-type Spiritual Qi to perceive the rock layer structure and point out the easiest locations to mine.

The sound of "ding-dang" mining echoed in the mine.

Time passed bit by bit.

In the first hour, three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and eighty Medium-Grade Spirit Stones were mined.

In the second hour, four thousand five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred and twenty Medium-Grade Spirit Stones were mined.

The third hour...

Everyone was a Cultivator, and their physical strength was far beyond that of Mortals, but continuous high-intensity mining still consumed a lot of energy. Lin Ye had to let everyone take turns to rest and take Medicinal Pills to recover.

He himself thought about the follow-up plan while mining.

With so many Spirit Stones, how to safely transport them back to the Yaoguang Holy Land was a problem. Six people, even with Storage Pouches, could not take much away. The space of the Storage Pouch was limited; the best Storage Pouch he had only had a space of three cubic zhang, which could hold about five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The six of them together could hold at most twenty thousand. And the reserve here was at least eighty thousand.

"Must transport in batches, or..." Lin Ye looked at those mine carts, "Establish a temporary warehouse on the spot, and then organize a large team to transport it all at once."

But building a warehouse took time and required defensive measures. Although the mine had been cleared, it was hard to guarantee that no other Yao Beasts or Cultivators would discover this place.

"Perhaps I can set up a Formation." Lin Ye remembered that notebook "Incomplete Formation Diagram Notes."

Among the seventeen variations of the Small Five Elements Formation, there was an "Invisibility Formation" that could distort light and Spiritual Qi fluctuations, making a specific area "disappear" from external perception. Although the notes did not have the complete method of setting up the Formation, the theory was the same, and Lin Ye could try a simplified version.

No sooner said than done.

While everyone was mining, Lin Ye began to set up a simple Formation at the entrance of the mineral vein space.

He picked out five Ores with different attributes from the loot: "Refined Iron Ore" of the metal element, "Green Spirit Wood" of the wood element, "Cold Water Stone" of the water element, "Flame Crystal" of the fire element, and "Thick Earth Rock" of the earth element. These were all collected from the Demon Spider's lair and various parts of the mine, and although the quality was average, they were barely usable.

According to the order of the Five Elements mutual generation, Lin Ye placed the five Ores in five positions around the entrance. Then, using his own Chaos Divine Power as a guide, he carved Formation patterns between the five Ores.

The carving of Formation patterns required extremely high control of Divine Sense. Although Lin Ye only had 100 points of Formation knowledge, the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body gave him Divine Sense strength and control far beyond his peers. He carefully condensed his Divine Power into threads and outlined complex patterns in the air.

Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal...

The Five Elements cycle Formation patterns gradually took shape, and the five Ores began to emit weak light, with a faint connection between them.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

When the final stroke of the Formation lines was completed, five-colored light lit up simultaneously, forming a transparent barrier at the entrance. The barrier rippled slightly like a water curtain; looking in from the outside, the scene of the mineral vein space began to distort and blur before finally vanishing completely, leaving only an ordinary rock wall in sight.

[System Notification: Successfully deployed a simple "Five Elements Concealment Formation" (Incomplete Version)]

Effect: Distorts light and low-intensity Spiritual Qi fluctuations, causing the area covered by the Formation to "disappear" from visual and ordinary perception. Ineffective against Cultivators whose Divine Sense intensity exceeds the caster's by 50%, and ineffective against Daoist Magic specifically designed to break Formations.

Duration: 30 days (requires continuous consumption of Five Elements Ore energy from the Formation core)

Energy Reserve: 100/100 (consumes 1 point every 24 hours; can be replenished by injecting spiritual power)

"It's done." Lin Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although it was only an incomplete version, it would at least be enough to deceive most accidental discoverers.

He returned to the mining site, where everyone was already sitting on the ground resting from exhaustion.

"How much has been mined?" Lin Ye asked.

Su Qingyue reported after doing a count: "Fifty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, nine hundred and twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and all ten High-Grade Spirit Stones have been collected. Additionally, there is that bottle of Spirit Crystal Dust."

"Fifty-three thousand..." Lin Ye estimated his storage space, "That's about the limit. We'll stop here for today; we'll bring people to mine the remaining Spirit Stones next time."

No one objected. After twelve consecutive hours of high-intensity mining, even with Medicinal Pills for recovery, their mental fatigue had reached a breaking point.

Lin Ye began to assign the transport tasks.

His own Storage Pouch had the largest space, so he took fifteen thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, the High-Grade Spirit Stones, and the Spirit Crystal Dust.

Su Qingyue's Storage Pouch was packed with ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and two hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Chen Hao's held eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred and fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Shi Potian's held eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred and fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Zhao Linger and Wang Iron Pillar's Storage Pouches were smaller, each carrying six thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Total: Fifty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, one thousand and fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones (an extra one hundred and thirty were mined), ten High-Grade Spirit Stones, and one portion of Spirit Crystal Dust.

After packing all the Spirit Stones into the Storage Pouches, the six of them had basically filled their storage spaces to the brim, making walking a bit difficult—although Storage Pouches could reduce weight, there was still a slight burden when the space was at full capacity.

"Check your equipment and prepare to evacuate," Lin Ye ordered.

The group checked the mineral vein space one last time to ensure no important items were left behind. Lin Ye added three more warning Talismans to the concealment Formation; if someone broke in, the Talismans would burn to sound an alarm, and the mother-Talisman in his hand would also react.

After completing these tasks, the six of them headed back the way they came.

While passing through the Spider Mother's nest cavern, Lin Ye paused for a moment. He looked at the depression where the Blood Sacrifice Crystal had once been placed; it was now empty, leaving only a dark red stain.

"Senior Brother Lin, that crystal..." Su Qingyue started to speak but hesitated.

"We'll study it after we get back," Lin Ye shook his head. "This isn't the place to talk."

He always felt that the Blood Sacrifice Crystal had some kind of connection to this mine. The Spider Mother's mutation, the deaths of the prospecting team, the female consciousness fragment within the crystal... these clues were like scattered beads missing a string to tie them together.

But regardless, today's goals had been more than achieved.

When they walked out of the mine, it was already late at night.

The night sky of the Chenxing Mountain Range was exceptionally clear, with stars scattered across the sky like diamonds on black velvet. In the direction of the main peak, those strange flowing lights were still weaving through the clouds and mist as if they would never stop.

"We travel through the night to return to the Holy Land," Lin Ye ordered.

Traveling at night was more dangerous than during the day, but carrying such a massive amount of Spirit Stones made staying in the wild even more dangerous. The group sharpened their focus and quickly headed back along their original route.

Perhaps due to good luck, or perhaps because Yao Beast activity decreased at night, the return journey was smooth. They only encountered a small pack of Night-Walking Wind Wolves while crossing a canyon, which Lin Ye sensed in advance and avoided.

At noon the next day, the six of them finally returned to the Yaoguang Holy Land's sphere of influence.

The moment they entered the Holy Land's mountain protection Formation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Once here, they were basically safe—no faction would dare to openly rob anyone within the Holy Land's territory.

They did not return to their respective residences but instead went directly to the Heavenly Court's secret base within the Holy Land.

This was an independent courtyard Zhao Wuji had rented at a high price, located on the edge of the outer sect area; it was in a secluded location and had a simple defensive Formation. There was also a hidden basement under the courtyard, originally used by the previous tenant for storing goods, which had now been converted into the Heavenly Court's temporary warehouse.

Lin Ye activated the courtyard's Formation, and after confirming it was safe, the six of them entered the basement.

"Take out all the Spirit Stones," Lin Ye said.

The group poured the Spirit Stones out from their Storage Pouches.

Instantly, spiritual light soared within the basement!

Over fifty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones were piled into a small mountain, their milky-white spiritual light illuminating the entire basement as if it were day. Over a thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were piled next to them, their light even more pure and dense. As for those ten High-Grade Spirit Stones, they were placed separately on a jade plate, their pale gold light shining like small suns, making the surrounding Spirit Stones look dull in comparison.

The Spirit Crystal Dust was sealed in a jade bottle, but even through the bottle, one could feel the terrifying energy contained within.

"This... this is just too many..." Zhao Linger murmured, her eyes a bit dazed from the spiritual light.

Chen Hao directly dove onto the pile of Spirit Stones, grabbed a handful of Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and laughed foolishly: "We're rich, we're really rich... I've never seen so many Spirit Stones in my life..."

Wang Iron Pillar scratched his head honestly: "I mined for ten years in my hometown, and all the Ore I dug up combined wasn't even a tenth of what's here."

Although Shi Potian remained expressionless, a flicker of emotion passed through his eyes.

Su Qingyue was relatively calm as she looked at Lin Ye: "How should we handle these Spirit Stones?"

Lin Ye pondered for a moment and began the allocation.

"We'll keep ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones as the Heavenly Court's public funds for daily expenses, member benefits, and equipment procurement. The other forty-three thousand will all be exchanged for Contribution Points."

The Yaoguang Holy Land had a dedicated exchange office where Spirit Stones could be traded for Contribution Points at a 1:1 ratio. Forty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones meant forty-three thousand Contribution Points. This was a fortune—an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple would be lucky to save up a thousand Contribution Points in a year of hard work.

"As for the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, we'll keep two hundred as reserves, and the remaining eight hundred and fifty will also be exchanged for Contribution Points," Lin Ye continued.

The exchange rate for Mid-Grade Spirit Stones was 1:100, so eight hundred and fifty would be eighty-five thousand Contribution Points. Combined with the forty-three thousand from the Low-Grade Spirit Stones, that was a total of one hundred and twenty-eight thousand Contribution Points!

"The High-Grade Spirit Stones and Spirit Crystal Dust won't be exchanged; they'll be kept for important uses." Lin Ye looked at those ten pale gold crystals. "High-Grade Spirit Stones are a strategic resource that can save lives at critical moments. Spirit Crystal Dust is even harder to come by; it will be useful in the future for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and breaking through Bottlenecks."

The group nodded, having no objections.

"How will the Contribution Points be distributed?" Su Qingyue asked the key question.

If all one hundred and twenty-eight thousand Contribution Points went to Lin Ye personally, it would be enough for him to exchange for several Earth Rank High Grade Cultivation Techniques at the Scripture Pavilion, or a vast amount of rare Materials. But if distributed fairly, each person could get over twenty thousand, which was also a massive amount of wealth.

Lin Ye's answer caught everyone by surprise.

"All the Contribution Points will go into the Heavenly Court's public account," he said calmly, "to serve as funds for the organization's development. However, everyone who participated in this mission will be credited with one 'Great Merit' and enjoy priority resource allocation rights. Additionally, everyone will receive an extra reward of one thousand Contribution Points as a personal stipend."

This decision left everyone stunned.

All of it to the public? That was one hundred and twenty-eight thousand Contribution Points!

But after thinking about it carefully, it seemed reasonable. For the Heavenly Court to develop, it needed massive resources. If every harvest was split equally among individuals, the organization would never accumulate capital. And the 'Great Merit' and priority allocation rights actually had more long-term value than directly splitting the points—it meant they would have first pick of the good things the organization obtained in the future.

"I agree," Su Qingyue was the first to speak up. "Without Senior Brother Lin's leadership, we wouldn't have found the mine at all, nor could we have defeated the Spider Mother. I have no problem with the Contribution Points going to the public account."

"I agree too," Chen Hao climbed up from the pile of Spirit Stones. "Anyway, I'm sticking with Senior Brother Lin; if the organization has money, I have money."

Shi Potian nodded.

Zhao Linger and Wang Iron Pillar naturally had no objections either.

"Then it's settled." Lin Ye took out the Heavenly Court's public identity token from his robes—this was something specially refined by Zhao Wuji that could store Contribution Points and required multiple people's confirmation to withdraw from.

He pressed the token against the mountain of Spirit Stones and activated the exchange function.

Milky-white spiritual light surged into the token like a tide; one by one, the Spirit Stones grew dim and eventually turned into ordinary rocks. Meanwhile, the numbers on the token jumped frantically:

1,000... 5,000... 10,000... 50,000...

Finally, it settled at: 128,000.

One hundred and twenty-eight thousand Contribution Points!

"With these funds, the Heavenly Court can begin large-scale procurement," Lin Ye put away the token. "Equipment, Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, intelligence... we need to improve in all aspects."

He looked at the group: "Everyone's contributions in this mission were great. Besides the Contribution Point rewards, the loot must also be distributed."

He took out the Materials obtained from the Spider Mother and the demonic spiders.

[Mother Queens Heart (Gold Grade Material)]: Can be used for refining Advanced Medicinal Pills or Puppet cores; value is approximately five thousand Contribution Points.

[Spider Queen Carapace Fragment x18]: Each piece is worth three hundred Contribution Points, totaling five thousand four hundred.

[Mutated Egg Sac x3]: Each is worth two thousand Contribution Points, totaling six thousand.

[Mental Crystal (Incomplete) x1]: Value is incalculable, but at least ten thousand Contribution Points as a starting point.

There were also other miscellaneous Materials, with a total value exceeding thirty thousand Contribution Points.

"I have a use for the Materials," Lin Ye said, "but I will convert them into Contribution Points at market price and credit them to your personal accounts. In the future, when you need to exchange for items, you can deduct them directly from your accounts."

This was a more flexible method of distribution. After all, some Materials were more useful to specific professions, and forcing a distribution would be a waste.

After handling the loot, Lin Ye told everyone to go back and rest.

After two consecutive days of fighting and mining, everyone was exhausted. Even Lin Ye himself, though his state had been restored by his Rank increase, needed time to alleviate his mental fatigue.

After the others left, Lin Ye remained alone in the basement.

He didn't rest immediately but instead took out that Spirit-Sealing Jade Box.

The three sealing Talismans on the surface of the jade box were intact, but the box itself was still vibrating slightly, as if the thing inside had a life of its own.

Lin Ye didn't open the box but instead carefully probed it with his Divine Sense.

The moment his Divine Sense touched the box, he heard a faint sigh.

It was a woman's sigh, filled with sorrow and... expectation.

"Wait for me... I will come find you..."

The voice was very soft and blurred, as if coming from across endless time and space.

Lin Ye abruptly withdrew his Divine Sense, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

What on earth was this Blood Sacrifice Crystal?

And what made him even more uneasy was that at the moment he heard that sigh, the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body within him... actually produced a trace of resonance.

It wasn't rejection, but resonance.

It was as if the thing inside this crystal had some kind of connection with the Chaos Body.

"It seems I need to investigate this thoroughly." Lin Ye put away the jade box, a serious look flashing in his eyes.

He decided to go to the Scripture Pavilion tomorrow to look up all records regarding the Chenxing Mountain Range, Spirit Stone mineral veins, and... blood sacrifices.

Before leaving the basement, Lin Ye took one last look at the pile of Spirit Stone residue that had already turned into ordinary rocks.

Spirit Stones like a mountain, wealth in an instant.

But this was only the beginning.

There were more Spirit Stones deep in the mine, and the secret behind the Blood Sacrifice Crystal might be even more important than the Spirit Stones.

The development of the Heavenly Court and his own path of cultivation had both stepped onto a new level because of this trip to the mine.

But the road ahead seemed to have become even more shrouded in mist.