171: Chapter 171 Breaking the Formation to Find Minerals? Everyone Digs for Dragon Crystals

The outskirts of Black Wind Valley had been in a state of chaos for two days.

Players scouted locations, burned grain, and seized supplies, leaving the rebels in a state of utter disarray.

Once the Frost Crystal Talismans, enlightened guardian scrolls, and supplies in the camp were all distributed, Lin Zhe finally set off again.

This time, the target was directed straight at the second Dark Seal Array.

Ao Ningshuang personally led the way.

Standing on a high slope of the canyon, her silver eyes gazed at the rolling black mist ahead, her voice cold: "The second array is twice as strong as the first."

"Inside, it doesn't just suppress the rules; it also carries a dark curse."

"When I brought troops to break it before, we lost over a hundred elites before even touching the array."

Qing Yu glanced at the path ahead, her brow furrowing.

Within the black mist, one could faintly see circle upon circle of pitch-black array patterns.

Black-red sparks hung upon the patterns, and the surrounding rock walls were corroded and pitted everywhere.

Getting a bit closer, even the golden patterns on the Guard Detachment's armor plates were trembling slightly.

A few Dragon Race Guards had only taken a couple of steps forward when a layer of grey-black gaseous threads surfaced on the backs of their hands.

"Get back."

Ao Ningshuang let out a cold shout, her Dragon Might surging to suppress that cursed aura.

She turned to look at Lin Zhe, offering a rare piece of extra advice: "This thing burrows along one's blood-qi; the stronger the person, the harsher the backlash."

Lin Zhe simply gave a hum of acknowledgment.

Then, he stepped forward.

No probing.

No detours.

And certainly no letting others touch it first.

He walked to the front of the black mist and raised his hand, releasing a wisp of pale golden Power of Rules.

Hum—

The golden light pierced into the array.

In the next second, the entire second Dark Seal Array violently erupted!

Boom!

Massive clouds of black mist swirled as layers of pitch-black array patterns lit up, pouncing toward Lin Zhe as if they were alive!

The cursed aura even transformed into numerous black faces, shrieking as they rushed outward.

In the rear, the faces of many Dragon Race Guards turned pale.

"It's coming!"

"This is it!"

Ao Ningshuang's eyes tightened.

But Lin Zhe didn't even stop his pace.

That wisp of Power of Rules was like a blade, forcefully slicing through along the veins of the array patterns.

The outer curse—collapsed!

The middle suppression—shattered!

The black obscuring array at the deepest layer was directly torn open!

In less than three minutes.

The true Array Eye within the black mist was found by Lin Zhe.

It was a fist-sized, constantly throbbing dark-red Array Core, hidden at the deepest point underground and wrapped in three layers of cursed chains.

This was the very thing that had repelled Ao Ningshuang last time.

But Lin Zhe only raised his hand.

He closed his fingers.

Crack!

The Array Core shattered on the spot!

Rumble—

The second Dark Seal Array instantly collapsed!

Massive amounts of black mist exploded, and the pitch-black array patterns scattered through the air like broken glass as the entire ground cracked wildly!

The Dragon Race Guards retreated in unison, and the players' livestream feeds shook frantically along with the scene.

"It's broken?"

"So fast?!"

“Holy crap, less than five minutes again!”

Before the world channel could even start spamming, a burst of blinding golden light suddenly rushed out from the cracks in the ground!

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Countless golden crystal glints tumbled up from underground.

After the black mist completely dissipated, everyone could see clearly.

Beneath the Sealing Formation, a massive Dragon Crystal Mine cave was actually hidden!

The mine walls were covered in a dense layer of low-grade dragon crystals; the golden light merged into a sea, stretching as far as the eye could see into the depths.

Even the air was thick with drifting dragon crystal energy.

Ao Ningshuang's silver eyes suddenly constricted.

"The Qingyan Rich Mine..."

Her voice lowered slightly, "This is one of the few medium-sized rich mines of the Dragon Race. Its reserves are at least five hundred thousand low-grade dragon crystals."

Even Qing Yu drew in a breath.

The players behind them were even more stunned.

"Five hundred thousand?!"

"Holy shit! The underground is full of money!"

"This isn't just breaking an array; this is excavating a mountain of gold!"

Lin Zhe stood before the mine cave, his expression calm, and spoke directly.

"Pass down the order."

Qing Yu immediately looked up: "Sir?"

"This mine is open to all participating players."

As soon as those words fell.

The entire field went silent for a moment.

Then it simply exploded!

Lin Zhe continued: "Of the dragon crystals mined, thirty percent belong to the individual."

"Seventy percent are to be turned over to the Public Warehouse, settled at double points."

"Additionally, the dragon crystal exchange rate will be reduced by another twenty percent."

Boom!

This time, it wasn't just the camp.

The entire world channel went into a frenzy.

"Thirty percent belongs to the individual?!"

"Turning in seventy percent still gives double points?"

"The exchange rate dropped another twenty percent? Big boss Lin Zhe is going to spoil us to death!"

"Where are the pickaxes! Who has a pickaxe!"

"Stop asking, just charge!"

In less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, a large number of Vanguard Army players, carrying pickaxes, hoes, and mining hammers, rushed into the mine cave howling with excitement.

"This spot is mine!"

"Don't snatch that vein, I saw it first!"

"Hahahaha, I'm rich! Every strike of my pickaxe is money!"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A dense series of crisp clinking sounds soon rang out within the mine cave.

Piece after piece of low-grade dragon crystals were knocked loose.

Someone had just dug out ten crystals, their hands trembling.

Another person hit a whole cluster of crystals in a row, their smile so wide they couldn't close their mouth.

There were also lifestyle players calculating their real-world earnings as they mined, their eyes growing redder with every calculation.

"This half-day is worth three months of my job!"

"Stop talking, keep digging!"

In less than half a day.

The numbers at the Public Warehouse began to skyrocket.

Ten thousand.

Thirty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

One hundred thousand!

A full one hundred thousand low-grade dragon crystals were forcefully dug out of the mine by the players!

The world channel was full of screenshots.

[Screenshot: Inventory Dragon Crystals x327]

"No monster hunting today, today we get rich!"

[Screenshot: Real-world Bank Deposit Record]

"Just sold a batch, it's enough for several months of living expenses!"

[Screenshot: Points Skyrocketing]

"Turning in seventy percent for double points, then using those to exchange for dragon crystals is still a massive profit. Big boss Lin Zhe's rules are just too good!"

Ao Ningshuang stood outside the mine cave, watching the players inside who were mining like madmen, then looked at the frantically rising dragon crystal count in the warehouse; her gaze completely changed.

She knew very well.

This mine was originally an important resource point for the rebels.

Now that the second Sealing Formation was broken, the mine was exposed.

And with a single word from Lin Zhe, it had turned into a carnival for all participating players.

The core resources that the rebels hadn't even had time to use were already being hauled away in massive chunks.

This was even more ruthless than simply breaking the array.

Lin Zhe didn't linger on the excitement in the mine cave, instead looking further into the depths.

The second Sealing Formation was gone.

But deeper within Black Wind Valley, that even heavier and more ferocious dark aura was slowly churning.