Mid-Grade Spirit Stone

Zhang Tie's entire body was currently enveloped and surrounded by a layer of earthy yellow spiritual power. This spiritual power was like a hazy veil, tightly connecting him to the surrounding soil.

He seemed to have merged with the soil, a sensation akin to walking through water, though the resistance was far less than in water.

As he continued to descend, his distance increasing, he keenly felt the concentration of spiritual power around him rising significantly. He couldn't help but ponder, "It seems that kid Jiang Yun wasn't lying; there's definitely a spirit vein down here. If I can gain something, it'll be an extra layer of security in this Secret Realm."

After descending about ten feet, Zhang Tie's body suddenly stopped as he encountered a layer of hard rock. Zhang Tie was all too familiar with this type of rock; it was the kind commonly found in spirit stone mines.

He quickly took out his spirit artifact gloves and put them on, a flicker of excitement and anticipation in his eyes. He thought, "Let's see what the quality of this spirit vein is. If it's a high-grade spirit vein, then I've really struck gold."

Then, without hesitation, he began to excavate. Zhang Tie took out another storage bag and stuffed all the excavated rock fragments into it. With the powerful effect of the mid-grade spirit artifact, excavating rock wasn't quite as easy as digging tofu, but it was close. It was practically overkill, like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken.

Zhang Tie conjured an illumination talisman, and its soft light instantly illuminated the surroundings. As he dug, he advanced deeper along the direction of higher spiritual energy concentration, silently calculating the distance.

Half an hour passed quickly. He had already dug dozens of feet deep. During this excavation, he had unearthed several dozen low-grade spirit stones.

If this were back at the Flowing Cloud Sect, Zhang Tie would have been overjoyed and dancing with excitement. However, at this moment, he merely frowned slightly, feeling a bit dissatisfied. But regardless of his disdain, he still collected them; after all, even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Another quarter of an hour passed. Zhang Tie estimated that this was likely a low-grade spirit vein and was preparing to return the way he came when he suddenly spotted a diamond-shaped crystal stone the size of an egg on the mine wall.

Although this spirit stone was small in volume, it appeared even more pure and translucent. Zhang Tie's heart stirred, and he quickly moved forward, digging it out with one hand.

Even through the glove, Zhang Tie could clearly feel the vast and pure spiritual power contained within it. Without hesitation, Zhang Tie took off his right glove, focused his mind, activated the Five Elements Cultivation Technique, and began to refine and absorb this spirit stone.

Soon, the surging spiritual power poured into Zhang Tie's body like a raging flood breaking through a dam. Zhang Tie felt all his meridians being filled with this powerful spiritual power, and his heart was filled with surprise: "This definitely isn't a low-grade spirit stone; it should be a mid-grade spirit stone."

Zhang Tie's face was filled with excitement, having already confirmed that this was definitely a mid-grade spirit vein, and the stone in his hand was a mid-grade spirit stone. He carefully put away the spirit stone, put on his gloves again, and continued to dig deeper.

As he delved deeper, the spiritual energy concentration around him increased, and he discovered more and more mid-grade spirit stones. After digging for about another hour, Zhang Tie decided to return to the surface. The reason was simple: his storage bag was already full of rock fragments.

Zhang Tie retraced his path back, contemplating his gains: "With these mid-grade spirit stones, I'll have more confidence in this Secret Realm."

He soon reached the entrance of the mine cave. He took out another Earth Evasion Talisman, injected spiritual power into it to activate it, and a similar earthy yellow spiritual power instantly enveloped his entire body. Under Zhang Tie's control, he rapidly ascended towards the surface.

As soon as Zhang Tie emerged from underground, Jiang Yun, who was meditating, opened his eyes and looked over. He then got up and walked over, asking, "Brother Zhang, did you find a spirit vein?"

Zhang Tie's thoughts raced, and he replied, "Naturally, I found one. I tried digging for a distance and only found low-grade spirit stones."

"Then, it seems the spirit vein below should only be a branch. The dense spiritual energy here should be the effect of this massive Spirit Gathering Formation," Jiang Yun said.

"Brother Jiang, what are your plans?" Zhang Tie asked.

"I plan to cultivate here. Not only is the spiritual energy dense, but it's also safer than the outside. The token is still with you, Brother Zhang, so as long as you are safe, I believe I will be fine," Jiang Yun said with a smile, continuing, "Furthermore, I want to use the dense spiritual energy here to attempt Foundation Establishment."

"Don't tell me Brother Jiang has a Foundation Establishment Pill?" Zhang Tie asked.

"Brother Zhang, what are you joking about? A Foundation Establishment Pill isn't like common cabbage that you can find everywhere. How could it be so easy to obtain? And even if I had one, I wouldn't bring it into the Secret Realm to give someone a grand gift," Jiang Yun replied with a wry smile.

"Then without a Foundation Establishment Pill, how will you achieve Foundation Establishment? Are you a Heavenly Spiritual Root!?" Zhang Tie asked doubtfully, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

"Brother Zhang, stop teasing me. If I were truly a Heavenly Spiritual Root, why would I come to this Secret Realm? I would have already been cherished and hidden away by the Sect. While I don't have a Foundation Establishment Pill, there are third-tier spirit medicines here. Although directly consuming spirit medicine has some drawbacks, making the spiritual energy impure, and a large amount of the medicinal effect will be lost. But there are so many third-tier spirit medicines here, and I can't take them with me, so why not give it a try," Jiang Yun replied.

Hearing this, Zhang Tie's heart stirred. Without changing his expression, he slowly said, "Then I wish Brother Jiang success in your Foundation Establishment."

"Thank you for your good wishes, Brother Zhang. What are your plans next, Brother Zhang?" Jiang Yun asked.

"I will adjust here for a few days, and then, according to the directions on the map, I will explore the location marked by the circular symbol."

Jiang Yun nodded and said no more, returning to his meditation cushion and closing his eyes to cultivate.

Zhang Tie walked to a nearby spot and took out the storage bags filled with rock fragments, dumping all the contents out. Just as he was about to head down again, he suddenly remembered something. He took out the storage bags of the two brothers from the Joyful Union Sect he had collected earlier, along with one of his own storage bags, and carefully sorted through their contents. This way, he now had three empty storage bags.

Next, he walked over to Jiang Yun. Jiang Yun sensed Zhang Tie's approaching footsteps, quickly opened his eyes, stood up, and asked, "Brother Zhang, is there anything else?"

"I wonder if Brother Jiang has any spare Earth Evasion Talismans, illumination talismans, and storage bags. I'd like to borrow them," Zhang Tie said.

Jiang Yun quickly took out three storage bags, tidied them up a bit, and finally tossed one storage bag to Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie took the storage bag, opened it, and saw five Earth Evasion Talismans and twenty illumination talismans inside. Zhang Tie cupped his fists in thanks and then turned to leave, returning to the spot where he had emerged earlier.

Zhang Tie skillfully activated the Earth Evasion Talisman, returning to the spirit stone mine cave he had been in earlier with practiced ease. He quickly went to the end, cast another illumination talisman, and then continued to mine with great enthusiasm.

In the few hours before, Zhang Tie had already dug out over fifty mid-grade spirit stones. Zhang Tie thought to himself, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to mine more and keep them on his person, thus increasing his security in the Secret Realm.

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