Chapter 743: Profound Stone Mineral Vein

Chapter 743: Chapter 744: Profound Stone Mineral Vein

“And from the bottom of that abyss, an extremely powerful aura has been constantly emanating. That’s why some speculate there must be some kind of treasure down there.”

“It’s just that the black mist in the abyss is terrifying; even Third Layer Martial Sovereigns can’t resist it. Only Martial Emperor experts are unaffected. So, among the experts who’ve arrived, all those who’ve reached the Martial Emperor level have gone to the bottom of the abyss to seek their fortune, while the rest are searching for treasures up here in the canyon.”

“In the last few days, quite a few people have found some buried mineral deposits containing plenty of Upper Grade Profound Stones. Some have even found the occasional supreme-grade Profound Stone. That’s why all the Martial Artists who’ve come to this mysterious land from Celestial Yin Valley have been gathering here through the passages in the ruins, all of them searching for Profound Stones in the deposits.”

At this point, the green-robed Martial Sovereign glanced at Ye Xuan and couldn’t help but say, exasperated, “I really don’t get what that Martial Emperor senior from your sect was thinking, bringing a Martial King like you here. And they didn’t even assign a Martial Sovereign to protect you? This is no place for training. If you find a real treasure, even with a Martial Emperor’s Divine Thought clone on you, some of the more audacious Third Layer Martial Sovereigns won’t necessarily be scared off.”

“A Divine Thought clone might save you once, but can it save you a second or third time?”

After saying this, the green-robed Martial Sovereign shook his head and immediately left with his companion.

Ye Xuan finally understood. So, those two had mistaken him for a disciple of some major sect. They hadn’t been wary of his subordinate, Erhei, but rather feared that he, like Qi Cheng, possessed a Divine Thought clone from a Martial Emperor.

What Ye Xuan didn’t know was that in the few days he’d been in seclusion, numerous experts had already passed through the ruined tunnels and arrived in this mysterious canyon.

Among them were even some Martial Emperor experts.

And these Martial Emperors, much like the Blood Sword Martial Emperor, were drawn by the fluctuations from below the moment they arrived and headed into the depths of the endless abyss.

The remaining Martial Sovereigns and Martial Kings, however, were searching for treasure in the upper canyon.

The Martial Sovereigns were one thing, but it was the Martial Kings who came here that people were even more wary of.

Especially the younger Martial Kings.

This mysterious land was fraught with danger. Any Martial King who could survive the journey here had to have been brought by a powerful figure.

And young Martial Kings under the age of thirty were undoubtedly top geniuses from major sects or factions.

They were highly likely to be carrying a Divine Thought clone from a Martial Emperor.

This led to a strange situation where the Martial Sovereigns who arrived here would fight endlessly among themselves, with even acquaintances coming to blows. Yet, when they encountered unfamiliar young Martial Kings, they would act with a certain wariness.

Realizing this, Ye Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Then again, he did have the Blood Sword Martial Emperor’s jade slip. In the eyes of an ordinary Martial Artist, he probably qualified as a ‘princeling of an Emperor.’

However, Ye Xuan was still puzzled by what the two Martial Sovereigns had said earlier.

‘According to Zhan Shang, this is the ancient demon land of the Spirit Demon Race, a place they inhabited in ancient times. But why are there so many treasures of the Human Race here?’

Ye Xuan frowned, lost in thought.

‘Logically, if this really was the Spirit Demon Race’s territory, then we should be finding large quantities of Demon Stones, demonic Evil Qi, and things like that.’

‘Yet treasures used by the Human Race had appeared, both in the Restriction Arrays within the ruins and in the stone chambers within the tunnels.’

‘Take supreme-grade Profound Stones, for example. To the Spirit Demon Race, they’re like Demon Stones to humans—completely unabsorbable. But not only had they appeared in the Restriction Arrays, there were now entire Profound Stone veins here. This was quite astonishing to Ye Xuan.’

‘He had a feeling this place was more than just a simple habitat for the Spirit Demon Race.’

‘I’ll just look around for now.’

Deciding not to dwell on what he couldn’t figure out, Ye Xuan immediately pulled out the Little Purple Mink. “There are Profound Stone deposits here,” he said. “Get to it and find them for me.”

When it came to finding mineral veins, the Little Purple Mink was certainly far more skilled than he was.

The Little Purple Mink, who had just been baptized by the Life Martial Soul, was still basking in the afterglow. It shot Ye Xuan an annoyed look upon hearing his command but still scurried off immediately.

Sure enough, after half a day, the Little Purple Mink stopped before a patch of earth, its small paw pointing downward.

Ye Xuan spread his Profound Sense downward and, sure enough, faintly detected a fluctuation of Profound Qi several meters below the surface.

“‘Xiaohai, you’re up.'”

Ye Xuan didn’t dig himself. Instead, he released Xiaohai the pangolin. With a SWOOSH, Xiaohai appeared and burrowed directly into the ground. CRASH! A moment later, large amounts of rock flew into the air as if it were raining stones.

After about fifteen minutes, a deep pit appeared before Ye Xuan.

At the bottom of the deep pit lay a white Profound Stone, about half the height of a person. A dense wave of Profound Qi radiated from it, so pure that it drew in the surrounding Profound Qi.

“‘Such a dense Profound Qi fluctuation… This is… a solid piece of Upper Grade Profound Stone!'”

Ye Xuan was stunned when he saw the white Profound Stone.

He hadn’t expected to actually find Profound Stones buried here, let alone such a massive piece of Upper Grade Profound Stone.

A quick estimate suggested that if this large piece of Upper Grade Profound Stone were cut up, it would yield at least a thousand pieces, equivalent to a million mid-grade Profound Stones. Even a Third Layer Martial Sovereign would be tempted by such a prize.

WHOOSH.

After stowing the enormous Upper Grade Profound Stone, Ye Xuan continued his search, led once again by the Little Purple Mink.

A day later, the Little Purple Mink found another small deposit. After digging for an entire day, however, Xiaohai had only managed to unearth a few tens of thousands of mid-grade Profound Stones and several dozen Upper Grade Profound Stones.

On the third day, however, the Little Purple Mink seemed to have discovered an astonishing treasure. A look of excitement on its face, it shot off toward the southeast.

Ye Xuan, knowing the Little Purple Mink’s capabilities, immediately felt his spirits rise.

Two hours later, a valley appeared before Ye Xuan. The Little Purple Mink stopped at its entrance, its small paw pointing excitedly inside.

Even without the Little Purple Mink’s prompting, Ye Xuan could already feel a dense wave of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi flowing out from the valley.

The source of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi was a hollow within the valley, where a mid-grade Profound Stone the size of a small hill had been excavated.

Ye Xuan glanced at the Little Purple Mink, momentarily speechless.

He wasn’t speechless because the Little Purple Mink had found a mid-grade Profound Stone. This particular one was immense, worth at least two million mid-grade Profound Stones by a rough estimate. Furthermore, its core shone with a brilliant luster and emanated an even denser Profound Qi, suggesting the presence of Upper Grade Profound Stones within.

What left him speechless was the dozen or so people already gathered around it. As much as Ye Xuan wanted the Profound Stone, he couldn’t just charge in and snatch what they had already excavated.

Moreover, among them were three Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Sovereigns, plus many First and Second Layer Martial Sovereigns. If they were to join forces, Ye Xuan would stand no chance against three Third Layer Martial Sovereigns and that many other experts.

“‘Forget it. This vein is already taken. Let’s find another spot,’ Ye Xuan said, shaking his head at the Little Purple Mink.”

“SQUEAK SQUEAK!”

Hearing this, the Little Purple Mink began to shake its head and wag its tail excitedly. It kept pointing its small paw at the valley, babbling and shaking its head with an agitated expression.

“‘Are you saying that the mid-grade Profound Stone isn’t what you found?’ Ye Xuan asked, confused.”

“SQUEAK SQUEAK!”

The Little Purple Mink nodded repeatedly and began gesturing wildly.

After a bit of back-and-forth, Ye Xuan finally understood. The Little Purple Mink hadn’t discovered the mid-grade Profound Stone he was looking at. There was another, separate mineral vein inside the valley, one of a much higher grade. As for exactly how much higher, the Little Purple Mink couldn’t say.

Ye Xuan’s spirits lifted instantly, only for his brow to furrow once more.

There were already over a dozen people in the valley, apparently negotiating how to divide the mid-grade Profound Stone. If he barged in, he would certainly attract their attention.

‘I’ll wait. I’ll go in after these guys have divided up the mid-grade Profound Stone and left.’

Ye Xuan made up his mind.

But just waiting around wasn’t his style. So, while he waited, Ye Xuan secretly directed Xiaohai to approach the valley from underground.

Underground, Xiaohai’s ability to conceal itself was superb. As long as it didn’t break the surface, even a Third Layer Martial Sovereign would have difficulty detecting its presence.

Just a short while later, Xiaohai reached the area the Little Purple Mink had pointed to.

CRACK!

A slab of rock shattered, revealing a massive, milky-white Profound Stone before Xiaohai. The rich Heaven and Earth Profound Qi it emanated was transmitted clearly into Ye Xuan’s mind through the Soul Power of the Devouring Martial Soul he had planted within Xiaohai.

“‘This is…'”

Ye Xuan was stunned.

Although he couldn’t see the Profound Stone itself, he could feel the terrifying power of its Heaven and Earth Profound Qi from the information transmitted from Xiaohai’s mind.

‘Upper Grade Profound Stone… The stone Xiaohai found must be an Upper Grade Profound Stone, and it definitely has supreme-grade Profound Stones inside! A simple Upper Grade Profound Stone could never have such a dense Profound Qi.’

Ye Xuan’s eyes burned with desire. Back in the great hall in the ruins, Mu Jin had been ecstatic just from finding a small piece of supreme-grade Profound Stone. Now, an entire vein of Upper Grade Profound Stones containing supreme-grade ones lay before him. How could he possibly remain calm?

‘My Nine Profound Overlord Art requires a massive amount of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi to progress. That’s why my advancement has been so slow and why I haven’t dared to attempt a breakthrough. If I had a large supply of supreme-grade and Upper Grade Profound Stones to absorb, how could my cultivation still be at this level?’

Ye Xuan forced himself to suppress his excitement, but his heart continued to pound in his chest.

‘No, I have to keep waiting. I can’t tip them off,’ Ye Xuan thought, hiding patiently outside the valley.

After a few moments of discussion, the dozen or so people inside seemed to reach an agreement and began to mine and carve up the huge mid-grade Profound Stone. As soon as they left, Ye Xuan would charge in.