Chapter 134: Mining Spirit Stones

Judah had already subdued the four armor-piercing beasts and completely sealed their consciousnesses when it sensed the abnormal fluctuations within Nan Ling's body, prompting it to immediately abandon the consumption of the beasts' souls.

Flashing forward in a sudden pounce, it saw a ghost spirit emerge from Nan Ling's body, putting on an arrogant display of supreme might. Enraged at the thought that a mere shadow demon of its own caliber was present to witness such insolence, Judah scoffed at the audacity of a petty spirit daring to posture before it.

Seeing that Leng Tian had casually assigned this ninth-tier ghost spirit—whose cultivation was merely equivalent to a human Heavenly Tier warrior—to its care, Judah grinned with a sinister chuckle and lunged toward the entity. Meanwhile, the ghost spirit, realizing that Leng Tian utterly disregarded its intimidation and had instead dispatched a shadow demon far more arrogant and overbearing than itself to deal with it, was instantly struck with panic, screaming as it turned and fled.

"Um, does that look like a legendary shadow demon to you?" Xue Han asked Ming Feng, her voice trembling as she watched Judah relentlessly chase after the ghost spirit.

"Good thing we aren't Nan Ling..." Ming Feng muttered, reaching out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

Seeing the ghost spirit darting wildly back and forth to evade its pursuit within the narrow confines of the tunnel, Judah let out a wicked chuckle and taunted, "Little ghost, you're just wasting your time! Even if your backer, that so-called Ghost King, were to show up here, he'd still have to kowtow before Master Judah! So you'd better obediently stop right now and let yourself be devoured!"

"Spare me your deceptive nonsense! It won't be so easy to swallow me up. If His Highness the Ghost King were here, he'd crush you to dust with a single slap!" the ghost spirit retorted, whipping its slender tail as it cursed back without showing the slightest sign of weakness.

Thus, the demon and the ghost pursued one another through the dozens of meters wide tunnel. The realm divisions of Ghost Dao practitioners closely mirrored the spiritual beast tiers of the Chifeng Continent. Ordinary Ghost Dao practitioners from the first to the ninth tiers were designated as ghost spirits, while those above them were classified as Ghost Kings, Ghost Emperors, and Ghost Immortals—three stages that corresponded to the Profound Entry, Mortal Shedding, and Saint Transformation tiers of martial artists.

The Ghost Dao practitioner hiding inside the giant beast was a powerhouse at the Ghost King level, yet his actual cultivation was comparable to a peak Mortal Shedding tier warrior. Because he had cultivated his soul body and abandoned his hard-earned physical form, his combat power relying purely on energy was currently limited to the Profound Entry tier. However, in terms of spiritual and soul-based might, even a peak Mortal Shedding expert could not rival him.

Ghost Dao practitioners were all interlopers who had smuggled themselves from the Netherworld into the mortal realm. Their primary cultivation objective was the pursuit of powerful souls, whereas a martial artist's divine soul referred collectively to the soul and spiritual consciousness. Put simply, Ghost Dao practitioners were essentially the souls of multitudes of the deceased that had migrated into the Netherworld and subsequently formed an alternative cultivation system distinct from martial artists by devouring one another for survival.

This particular ghost spirit was an assistant bestowed upon Nan Ling by the Ghost King residing within the giant beast. Because they had reached a certain pact, the Ghost King had spared his life.

Xue Han and Ming Feng watched the chase between Judah and the ghost spirit with speechless expressions. Lying nearby, the utterly cultivation-deprived Nan Ling was completely ignored. The poor wretch was already bathed in tears; his painstakingly devised plans accumulated over years had vanished into thin air, his cultivation had been completely crippled, and an eternity of endless darkness awaited him.

With steady footfalls, Leng Tian walked straight to the end of the tunnel. Gazing at the multicolored jade stones before him, numerous thoughts blossomed in his mind, and with a sudden shift of his intent, he transferred everyone out of the Purgatory dimension.

Upon their materialization, the first to voice their reactions were not Li Dongqing, but the three young women led by Xue Han. Having been flying kites within Purgatory just moments prior, the girls felt their vision blur before suddenly finding themselves inside a spacious stone cavern whose walls were entirely dominated by brilliant, colorful stone strata.

"Wow, so many jade spirit stones! There are even cyan and blue ones! With this many... hey Bookworm, you'll finally be able to showcase your ultimate array-crafting skills this time!"

Upon witnessing such an abundance of jade spirit stones, Xue Han first let out a cheer of delight before turning to tease Li Dongqing, who stood nearby in a daze.

She then dashed over to Leng Tian's side, naturally slipping her arm around his and coaxing him coquettishly, "Big Brother Tian, can you spare some of these jade spirit stones for me?"

"What do you need them for? Could it be that you've learned how to carve array diagrams?" Leng Tian deliberately put on a stern face and asked.

"Never you mind about that! Just tell me whether you'll give them to me or not. Of course I have a major use for them, and you'll find out when the time comes!" Xue Han replied with a secretive expression.

"As long as they're useful to you, do as you please," Leng Tian answered with a smile.

"Big Brother Leng..." Guo Guo approached, looking up at Leng Tian with large, pitiful eyes. Her intentions could not have been more obvious!

Leng Tian patted Guo Guo's head gently and smiled, "Since I brought you all out here, it was so each of you could gather some for yourselves. There's plenty to go around anyway, so take as much as you like!"

"Thank you, Big Brother Leng!" Guo Guo offered a playful smile and expressed her gratitude.

Leng Tian raised his voice with a smile and commanded, "Everyone, pitch in and start mining the jade spirit stones!" With a cheer, the group rushed toward the glowing rock faces shimmering with various hues.

The twin fox maidens also joined Xue Han and the others in the mining effort. Leng Tian turned his head and asked Li Dongqing, "Brother Li, are these jade spirit stones sufficient?"

Li Dongqing's expression shifted dramatically. Hearing Leng Tian's words, his expression immediately tightened as he bowed deeply and said, "I am deeply indebted to Brother Leng for saving my life. And now, merely for the sake of my array research, you've brought me to this perilous place to hunt for jade spirit stones—my heart is profoundly moved. From this day forward, if Brother Leng does not disdain me, I am willing to follow by your side, even if it means acting merely as a vanguard!"

Leng Tian reached out to support Li Dongqing and said with a solemn expression, "Brother Li, there is no need for such modesty. The fortune is entirely mine to have obtained the assistance of a grand array talent like yourself. From now on, you and I shall address each other as sworn brothers, sharing blessings through thick and thin!"

"Very well! Today, I, Li Dongqing, swear brotherhood with you. From this day forth, whether facing mountains of blades or seas of flames, we shall share a single heart and mind, never to break this oath!"

Clasping hands firmly, Leng Tian smiled and said, "Let us postpone the formal ceremony of sworn brotherhood. Once we leave this ancient realm, I have several other brothers and sisters waiting outside; we can perform the ceremony together then."

Hearing this, Li Dongqing nodded repeatedly in agreement, and the two men then laughed heartily as they joined the ranks of those mining the jade spirit stones. Within these rolling mountain ranges serving as the stronghold of the demon clan, the reserves of jade spirit stones exceeded half of the entire Chifeng Continent. Though merely a rough preliminary estimate, the sheer quantity was nothing short of staggering.

The mineral vein Leng Tian had entered was the sole stone mine exploited by the demon clan, and their extraction volume had been modest. Thus, Leng Tian had arrived at precisely the right moment. At this moment, all the demons were gathered around the sacrificial altar, leaving no powerful beasts stationed outside. Within this ancient realm, the demon clan had no fear of anyone trespassing or running amok; consequently, apart from a few guarded outposts, virtually all the beasts in the mountain range had flocked to the altar.

Back in the tunnel, Judah had lost all interest in playing. Its formless body transformed into a wisp of light smoke, instantly enveloping the frantically dodging ghost spirit. "Hehe... little fellow, you might as well lie down for Master!"

"Don't devour me! Lord Ghost King will never let you go!" The ghost spirit's tadpole-like soul body released bursts of netherfire in an attempt to burn through the smoke, but its desperate struggles proved entirely futile as it was squeezed into a tight ball by Judah.

"Tch, tch, netherfire... if it were fire released by the Grim者, it might still give me pause. But a tiny little spark like yours isn't even enough to tickle me! Keep struggling if you like, I'll finish you off right now!"

Judah materialized a cavernous, blood-red maw and swallowed the compressed ghost spirit in a single gulp. Reverting to its true form, Judah shook its rolls of fat, burped loudly while patting its distended belly, and called out to Ming Feng and Xue Han who were standing dazed not far away, "Why are you two just standing around? Don't you want to gather some of the jade spirit stones in here?"

"But..." Xue Han hesitated, her words trailing off. In truth, the reason the two of them hadn't left with Nan Ling was precisely because they coveted the jade spirit stones, yet they had held back from moving forward out of fear of displeasing Leng Tian.

"But what? Get moving already! It was my boss who told me to let you go ahead," Judah said as a wisp of netherfire drifted out of its mouth. "Damn it, that thing is quite tough to digest." With a sudden intake of breath, it sucked the stray wisp of netherfire back into its belly.

Hearing this, Xue Han and Ming Feng exchanged excited glances and flashed forward toward the end of the tunnel.

Having digested the ghost spirit, Judah proceeded to swallow the souls of the four armor-piercing beasts as well. Patting its bulging belly, it strolled around Nan Ling a few times before fixing its gaze upon a ring worn on the captive's left hand. "That should be a storage ring without a doubt. Hehe... I'll take it as a gift for the fierce fiend; maybe he'll allow me to devour a few more souls as a reward!"

Under Nan Ling's glaring stare, Judah unceremoniously stripped the ring from his finger, transformed back into a wisp of smoke, and scampered off to claim credit with Leng Tian.

The far end of the tunnel opened into a cavern spanning several hundred square meters, its surrounding walls inlaid with multi-colored jade spirit stones. Leng Tian and his companions were each wielding weapons or projecting blade-auras to hack away chunks of jade stone several meters in size.

Without standing on ceremony, Leng Tian selected two pale-blue jade stones boasting the finest color composition. These two stones possessed the highest grade across the entire mineral deposit, while the rest were predominantly orange and yellow, with only a very small number of cyan stones present.

Guo Guo and Xue Han had each set their sights on a pair of pale-cyan jade blocks, though these particular stones were relatively thin, measuring only two inches in depth. Proceeding with extreme caution for fear of chipping the edges, the two girls soon found beads of light fragrance-scented sweat trickling down their foreheads.

Using his Scarlet Trace Blade, Leng Tian sliced along the perimeter joints of the jade stone before pressing his right palm flat against the cut. Successive pulses of milky-white true qi poured out from his palm, slicing the internal planes of the jade clean along the edge fissures.

Once this was complete, Leng Tian withdrew his palm and pressed it once more against the smooth surface of the pale-blue jade stone. Circulating the true qi within his body, he generated an immense suction force that gradually drew the boulder completely out of the stone wall.

Standing nearby, Li Dongqing wore an expression of intense agitation. Trembling slightly from head to toe, he extended both hands to stroke the cold, cut surface of the jade stone as he muttered to himself, "With this, I can construct a high-grade teleportation array! Whenever Brother Leng wishes to travel anywhere across the continent, it will be a matter of a single instant! Thanks to this, the fruit of my many years of research is finally realized."

Hearing Li Dongqing's muttered words, a wave of deep emotion stirred within Leng Tian, accompanied by a spike of bitter hatred for Hu Cuishan's suppression of true talent—such a woman could never come to a good end. Rapidly cycling his true qi once more, he steadily pulled the two-meter-wide jade stone completely free from the wall and deposited it flat upon the cavern floor.

Li Dongqing dropped to his knees right beside it, stroking the stone with trembling hands, his eyes brimming with the adoration, anticipation, and precious care one would reserve for their most cherished treasure.

At Li Dongqing's urgent request, Leng Tian subsequently transferred both him and the jade boulder into the Purgatory dimension. Unable to withstand the temptation posed by such a high-grade spirit stone, Li Dongqing ultimately hurried back inside Purgatory to begin crafting the teleportation array.

Following the same method, Leng Tian extracted the second pale-blue jade stone and tossed it into Purgatory for the master array craftsman, Li Dongqing.

Upon their arrival, Xue Han and the other girl sensibly selected orange and yellow jade stones to mine. An hour later, everyone had gathered a sufficient harvest of jade spirit stones.

Guo Guo was seated atop a block of cyan jade stone while Tu Maomao massaged her shoulders, wearing an expression of utter contentment as he softly and continuously inquired, "How does that feel? Is it a bit more comfortable?"

Guo Guo merely gave an indifferent, non-committal response: "Keep going..." Yet Tu Maomao treated these words as the highest encouragement, redoubling his efforts to relieve fatigue for the goddess of his heart.

Watching this unfold, Leng Tian felt a genuine sense of happiness for Guo Guo. For a woman, having a man willing to serve her uncomplainingly, pamper her, and protect her was a true journey into happiness.

After a brief rest, the group stored their respective jade spirit stones within their storage rings.

With crimson light blazing intensely within his Dantian, Leng Tian gathered Guo Guo and the others back into Purgatory, turned to Ming Feng and Xue Han, and said, "You two, let's depart. If we linger too long, complications may arise; leaving early spares us unnecessary trouble."

The pair agreed to Leng Tian's proposal without hesitation and began retracing their steps back along the tunnel.

Leng Tian gave Judah—who was still lingering behind to mine more jade stones—a swift kick to send it flying, barking an order for it to get moving immediately. Given half a chance, this creature would never let go of anything beneficial to itself, terrified of missing any future opportunities.

When Leng Tian walked back to the junction where they had previously encountered Nan Ling, he discovered Ming Feng and Xue Han standing frozen in shock, while Nan Ling—who should have been lying helpless on the ground—had completely vanished!

Leng Tian's expression changed instantly. He had never imagined that the cultivation-deprived Nan Ling would manage to disappear; had someone rescued him, or had he somehow fled on his own?

"Quick, after him!" Recovering their wits, Ming Feng and Xue Han immediately burst into motion and gave chase!