Unexpected Gain: Arrival at Golden Haze Sect

In the Nether Sky Sea, at the Xuanxi Spirit Mine, the largest mine in the area, nearly two hundred Golden Core cultivator are working diligently in different teams.

Most of them were independent cultivators who came because of their reputation.

Hoping to seize this treasure hunt opportunity, I might unearth a special spiritual ore and become the next lucky person to become rich overnight.

Don't be fooled by the fact that two hundred people seems like a lot.

For Xuanxi Spirit Mine, which has a total of eight main Mine Tunnel and dozens of mine tunnels, each of which is anywhere from a dozen miles to over a hundred miles long.

On average, you would have to travel dozens of miles between each cultivator.

The actual situation is even more sparse.

Because many independent cultivators who are familiar with each other will choose to form teams and travel together in groups of three or five.

Taking turns digging and meditating to regulate breathing ensures safety and provides a relaxing companion to talk to.

In the Chen Wu Mine Passage of the Bing San Mine Tunnel, there was a temporary team of three cultivators.

One of the elderly men, dressed in brown, was meditating with his eyes closed, focusing entirely on restoring his vital energy.

Another middle-aged man dressed in black beside him was meditating with his eyes open.

While slowly restoring his true energy, he was also keeping watch for the three of them.

The last middle-aged cultivator, dressed in white, was wielding a specially made pickaxe-like Spirit Artifact, diligently digging into the thick rock beneath his feet.

This is a special tool they rented from the Three Great Families.

It is especially effective when mining fourth-order spirit ore, and is much more useful than ordinary Flying Sword.

Of course, due to the limited number of pickaxes, the rental price is also very high, almost equivalent to the total price of the spirit ore they dig out in a day.

In other words, if you choose to rent such a specific tool.

Without finding any special spirit ore, it's like working for nothing.

"Clang!"

The middle-aged man in white smashed another piece of ore. Catching his breath, he couldn't help but ask, "Old Master Liu, are you sure you've got the right look?"

"We've been digging here for three days and three nights, but we haven't seen a single thing."

Beneath the rock strata lay more rock strata, with absolutely no indication of any Special Ore.

"Daoist Zhang, don't be impatient. I've already calculated it several times; there's definitely a surprise down there."

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately reassured him, "Actually, I came here thirty-seven years ago."

"Aren't you curious why there are already four large pits nearby?"

"That's actually the Mine Pit left behind when I and three other fellow Daoists came to dig last time."

"Unfortunately, the Three Great Families gave us too little time last time, and we didn't have enough time to find the mineral treasure."

"But with the foundation laid last time, we'll definitely make it in time!"

However, after he said that, the Daoist Zhang became even more suspicious. "There really is such a thing?"

"Since we came back empty-handed last time, why bother coming back again?"

If he had known it would turn out like this, he shouldn't have just reluctantly teamed up with someone in the first place.

"Daoist Zhang, please come up and rest for a while. I'll go down and dig two more layers."

The black-clad cultivator quickly intervened to smooth things over. "After all, the time for returning the spirit pickaxe has already passed. In that case, why don't we try for a few more hours?"

With that, he jumped into the Mine Pit, replacing that Daoist Zhang.

Then, he channeled his true energy into the spirit pickaxe and continued digging downwards.

In a short while, they had dug down another five or six feet.

"Bite!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound, completely different from before, came from under the spirit pickaxe.

The black-clad cultivator quickly swung his spirit pickaxe, thoroughly excavating the nearby rock strata.

The other two cultivators, hearing the unusual commotion, also looked over.

Beneath the rock strata lay a pumpkin-sized, sea-blue Spirit Ore.

As the surrounding rock layers peeled away, they began to emit distinct fluctuations of Spiritual Power.

"Sea Wave Stone Mother!"

The Elder Liu's eyes widened with excitement, his beard trembling. "This is definitely Sea Wave Stone Mother! We're going to be rich!"

"This is fantastic! I knew we'd find something good here!"

The other two were initially somewhat surprised and uncertain.

Although they had a premonition, their limited eyesight prevented them from recognizing whether the item was valuable or not.

It wasn't until they heard that the Elder Liu was about to make a fortune that they became excited.

The white-robed cultivator immediately jumped into the Mine Pit: "Let me see what this treasure looks like."

The black-clad monk hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but did not stop him.

Instead, he stepped aside to make way, smiling as he said, "We should take a look."

"We went through so much trouble to dig it out, we should at least have a look at it first before handing it over to get the reward."

"Old Master Liu, why don't you come and take a look too, and help me estimate how many Spirit Stone this thing is worth?"

"We need to be careful, lest we get tricked by the Three Great Families."

It's good that he has this awareness of prevention, but unfortunately he didn't think it through enough and was ultimately not prudent enough.

"We're going to strike it rich! This time we're really going to make a fortune!"

Before long, Old Master Liu completed his preliminary assessment. "I estimate that this spirit ore should fetch between eighty and nine hundred thousand Spirit Stone."

Upon hearing this, the other two couldn't help but smile.

For them, this was already a huge sum of money.

After careful discussion, the three decided to end the excavation early and, while there were still people in the center of the Stronghold, take their spirit pickaxes back to hand in the ore in exchange for rewards.

They then split the Spirit Stone equally on the spot and left Xuanxi Spirit Mine together to avoid being targeted by other rogue cultivators who might find out about the situation.

However, when they arrived at the center of the Stronghold with great enthusiasm...

However, the Chu Clan Elder stationed there told them, "Oh dear, what bad luck! The mine has limited Spirit Stone reserves right now and can't produce so many Spirit Stone all at once."

"If you're willing to wait, you can put the spirit ore into storage first."

"I'll give them to you after the Spirit Stone are allocated in a few days."

None of the three were willing.

Their reaction was exactly what the Chu Clan Elder had expected. "Since you're worried, how about this, you come back to the clan with me."

"Let's go to the accounts in that Warehouse over there and take a sum of Spirit Stone from the Clan Treasury."

"However, doing this would require reconciling accounts between the two sides and also troublesome for them to organize the Warehouse, so we'll definitely have to give them a token amount."

"The account will still show 900,000 Spirit Stone, and all three of you will have to sign it. You also have to say that to others."

"But in reality, we have to leave 10% as a stipend for their hard work."

"You three discuss it, and if you're willing, we can get it done today."

"If you're still unwilling, then go back and wait for news. Once the Spirit Stone are allocated back, we'll have an appraiser come and value the spirit ore."

He said that.

Almost simultaneously, all three of them cursed "bastard" in their hearts.

However, this makes it seem like the other party simply wants to make a quick buck, rather than having any other problem.

So the three of them discussed it quietly and decided that they couldn't wait, even if it meant losing a little Spirit Stone, lest things get complicated and things change.

Therefore, he nodded in agreement and requested that the exchange be carried out today.

"Okay, then it's a deal. You can't go back on your word, and you're not allowed to tell anyone."

The Chu Clan Elder smiled slightly before revealing his true purpose, "Moreover, this matter should not be known by too many people."

"So you'll all follow me from here, we'll go around to the back gate of the manor together."

The three assumed it was for secrecy and didn't suspect anything. They followed the other party, avoiding the sight of others, and quietly returned to the Chu Family Manor.

Sure enough, after entering through the back door and turning a few times, we arrived at the front hall of the Lineage warehouse.

"Please wait a moment, I'll go and call the steward."

Upon entering, the Chu Clan Elder's smile vanished. He hastily uttered a few words and closed the door before leaving.

The three of them sat there somewhat uneasily for a short while.

Suddenly, a series of footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by five Golden Core cultivator filing in one after another.

In addition, a Golden Core cultivator stood guard outside the door in perfect unison.

They ranged in age, including both the elderly and middle-aged.

Apart from the Clan Elder, everyone else wore Spirit Robe with the character "Chu" embroidered on the collar.

At this moment, they all looked menacing, with the two leading figures even taking out their spirit shields and holding them in their hands beforehand, clearly indicating that they were up to no good.

What are you trying to do?!

The black-clad cultivator immediately realized something was wrong. "We're here to redeem rewards, so don't do anything reckless!"

However, the Elder Liu seemed to have already figured something out.

A look of despair flashed in his eyes. "I understand now. I've been wondering why the rumors circulating in the market over the years have always been so vague. Now I understand everything."

"From the very beginning, this was a trap, wasn't it!"

"You beasts! You've already seized most of the resources, yet you're still secretly killing and robbing like Bandit Cultivator! You'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!"

The Chu Family Cultivator paid no attention to the Elder Liu's accusations.

Some people snorted, some wore cold smiles, and some even showed smug smiles.

Another Chu Clan Elder, who was leading the group, calmly said, "Yun Wen, Yun Wu, now it's time to test the results of your daily cultivation."

"Let's all attack together and kill this old man who's spouting nonsense first."

"Be brave, don't be afraid, all your uncles and elders are here to support you."

Judging from his words, he was clearly using the three people he had tricked into coming as human test stones for the younger members of the clan, to be used for practical combat training.

Although all three of them were Golden Core cultivator, at first glance they seemed to possess a certain degree of resistance.

But don't forget, this is the Chu Family.

They have an inner warehouse formation and an outer Lineage Defensive Formation, and they also have an absolute advantage in numbers and Spirit Artifact.

Let alone three Golden Core cultivators, even thirty Golden Core wouldn't be able to cause any trouble under the suppression of the Defensive Formation.

Therefore, the Chu Family had secretly arranged such a fake combat exercise long ago to completely squeeze out the last bit of value from these deceived rogue cultivators.

"Wait a moment!"

The black-clad monk was still somewhat incredulous. "You, as descendants of a prestigious family, would do such a despicable and beastly thing."

Do you have any conscience at all?

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the other prestigious sects?"

"Aren't you afraid that you'll suffer divine retribution for your many evil deeds?"

"I tell you, if you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place!"

"If you dare to lay a hand on us, you will be exposed sooner or later and face the wrath of righteous seniors and experts."

"At that point, it will be a disaster that wipes out the entire family!"

However, the leading Chu Clan Elder ignored him, saying, "What a nuisance!"

"Yun Wen, Yun Wu, what are you two waiting for? Hurry up and make your move!"

Upon hearing this, the two youths at the forefront, each wielding a spirit shield, immediately rushed forward and unleashed their Lineage's martial arts skills in a fierce battle.

Despite being outnumbered two to three, they gained the upper hand thanks to their superior Cultivation Method and better spiritual shields.

They were practically dominating the three rogue cultivators.

The other Chu Family Golden Core cultivators stood nearby watching, occasionally offering comments and providing on-the-spot combat guidance.

"Thump!"

The Sea Wave Stone Mother was thrown on the ground.

The white-robed cultivator pleaded, "We are willing to hand over the spirit ore and leave the Nether Sky Sea forever, never to return."

"I can swear to God that I will never tell anyone what happened today."

"We're willing to do anything, please let us go!"

However, the Chu Family members didn't care at all what they were saying.

Two quarters of an hour passed quickly, and the battle was basically coming to an end.

Old Master Liu was panting heavily; his supply of true energy was already insufficient.

The white-robed cultivator's face was completely devoid of color, even whiter than his white robes.

The black-clad cultivator, due to the reverse flow of his qi and blood, suffered a shock to his heart and lungs, causing him to vomit several mouthfuls of blood on the spot.

At this rate, all three of them will die in about fifteen minutes.

However, at this very moment...

Suddenly, a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection rushed to the warehouse gate in a great hurry.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, almost without regard for anything else, "Grand Elder, something terrible has happened!"

"Two hours ago, someone saw a burst of Heavenly Fire on the island where the Wen Family lives."

"An hour ago, a strange Nascent Soul True Lord came to the Zhao Family seeking revenge."

"They're saying it's happening outside..."

At this point, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator choked up with fear. "Everyone's saying that our Chu Family is next."

Um?

The sudden change stunned everyone present.

Before the Chu Family Cultivator at the warehouse could react...

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surrounding the entire Chu Family Manor began to converge frantically into the air.

First, a bright red light appeared in the clouds, followed by a rapid increase in temperature and intense pressure.

Finally, before the Defensive Formation could be fully deployed, raging flames descended from the sky, mercilessly incinerating everything in their path.

Even the Golden Core cultivator who was standing outside the gate as a precaution was not spared.

However, it avoided the Lineage warehouse with exceptional precision, without even harming the Foundation Establishment Cultivator was standing inside the threshold delivering the message.

Clearly, this is not some kind of irreparable natural disaster.

Instead, it's Fire Element Spell that's almost as easy to control as an extension of one's own arm.

"Wow, there are so many people hiding in here!"

As Xiao Chen slowly landed, he saw that there were actually eight Golden Core and one Foundation Establishment in the warehouse, making a total of nine people.

But upon closer inspection, it seems they weren't a single group.

It didn't even seem like an internal conflict, because three of them were dressed like rogue cultivators, completely different from the other six.

"Hahaha, karma's come true!"

Old Master Liu suddenly burst into laughter. "Evil deeds bring evil consequences; truly, the cycle of Heavenly Dao is real!"

"Haha, cough... haha."

Seeing the Chu Family's misfortune, the black-clad cultivator couldn't help but gloat. "I never thought I'd witness this day of divine retribution."

"Even if I die here today, it's worth it."

He was actually quite badly injured, but now he felt much less pain and felt much more comfortable.

Only the white-robed cultivator silently took a step back.

They didn't dare to go too far, afraid of being misunderstood as running away, and instead stood obediently on the edge to observe the situation.

"A simple little problem."

Xiao Chen pointed at the three rogue cultivators from a distance. "You three shouldn't be Chu Family Cultivator, right?"

While it's important to conduct a thorough investigation, innocent people should not be harmed.

The Elder Liu immediately shook his head and recounted the whole story as simply as possible.

During this time, the Chu Family Cultivator mustered up his courage and spoke up to refute.

However, just as they had previously ignored what the rogue cultivators had said.

Xiao Chen didn't bother to pay any attention to their excuses.

After confirming that the three rogue cultivators were indeed not Chu Family, he immediately raised his hand and delivered a follow-up palm strike.

They precisely burned the other six cultivators, who were wearing the Chu Family Standard Spirit Robe, to ashes.

After finishing, he also cast a Greater Spring Return Spell, which almost instantly healed the injuries of the remaining three rogue cultivators.

"Are you still selling your spirit ore?"

Xiao Chen also noticed the Sea Wave Stone Mother that had fallen to the ground. "I can also give you 900,000 Spirit Stone."

"Of course, if you don't want to sell, that's fine too. I'm not one to force anyone to buy or sell."

The three men were already planning to sell the spirit ore, so they had no reason to disagree upon hearing this.

They immediately nodded, indicating that they were willing to trade.

So Xiao Chen waved his hand and first took out 900,000 Spirit Stone, and then put the Sea Wave Stone Mother into the Vast Sea Ring.

In retrospect, this was an unexpected bonus.

Moreover, it was the most valuable single item among all the spiritual objects he had acquired today.

According to relevant records, only one Sea Wave Stone Mother is formed from approximately 20 million kilograms of Sea Wave Stone.

This thing can greatly stimulate Spiritual Power and has a good guiding effect on Spiritual Power of different attributes.

It is a versatile spiritual material that is very useful for both refining weapons and setting up formations.

After the transaction was completed, Xiao Chen immediately informed the three rogue cultivators that they were free to leave.

Then they entered the Chu Family warehouse.

However, he discovered that even if the three Lineage warehouses were combined, they still couldn't compare to the wealth of the Heavenly Sound Sect.

"Sigh, it feels like the two sides are not even in the same league."

Xiao Chen sighed softly, "What Three Great Families? They only have a decent number of Low-grade Spirit Stone; they don't even have many Mid-Grade Spirit Stone."

He did some mental calculations.

This purge of the Three Great Families resulted in a total of 10.98 million Low-grade Spirit Stone.

And 64,320 mid-grade spirit stones.

At the same time, they didn't possess many Fourth-Order Spiritual Item, only about thirty in total, and they were all low-grade fourth-tier spiritual items.

As for even better Fourth-Order Spiritual Item, not a single one was seen.

Objectively speaking, this is quite normal. After all, the Three Great Families are all servants of the Pagoda True Lord, so they would naturally offer them any good things they could find.

The remaining portion was probably given to them as a reward because the Pagoda True Lord didn't think much of it.

After all, for Golden Core cultivator, even Fourth-Order Spiritual Item is already quite good.

Moreover, even if we take a step back, we can't really expect to seize some rare treasures from a group of Golden Core cultivator.

Moreover, the fact that they unexpectedly acquired a piece of Sea Wave Stone Mother this time is already considered quite lucky.

Xiao Chen was fairly satisfied with this. "With this, I have more than enough Low-grade Spirit Stone to break through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage."

"Next, there will be a gap between attending the Spirit Fish Banquet and the Exchange Meet not starting yet."

"This is a perfect opportunity to continue rapidly Condense True Essence using the <Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method>."

"If everything goes smoothly, I might even be able to break through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage before the Vast Sea Secret Realm Inner Realm opens."

I heard that at that time, the top Nascent Soul True Lord from the other domains will all enter the Inner Realm.

If one can improve their cultivation level and acquire a New Hextech, it will undoubtedly be more advantageous in the competition within the Inner Realm.

Of course, this depends on the specific time when the Inner Realm opens.

The information Xiao Chen had previously obtained indicated that the latest possible date would be the end of next year.

However, the exact opening time is still uncertain and requires further observation and calculation.

"Even if it opens early, it's fine. Let's go to the Golden Haze Sect first."

Xiao Chen's current combat strength is also quite remarkable, and he is well aware of this.

Although he wouldn't dare to boast that he's absolutely invincible below the Spirit Transformation, he has the confidence to escape unscathed no matter who he faces.

So I'm not too worried about it.

After leaving the warehouse, he determined his location and headed straight for the Xi Lai Kingdom.

"Speaking of which, I shouldn't have any enemies in the Xi Lai Kingdom, right?"

As Xiao Chen traveled, he carefully recalled the past to ensure that nothing was missed.

He had already decided to carry out a major reckoning before even returning to the Storm Sea.

That means revenge for every grudge, and no one should be left out.

However, after thinking it over carefully, he realized that there really wasn't one here.

After all, the time spent here was actually very short, making it difficult to even form a feud.

Nether Sky Sea and Xi Lai Kingdom are not far apart.

Before long, Xiao Chen arrived at Rising Haze Mountain, where the Golden Haze Sect was located.

Unfortunately, we arrived at noon and missed the morning's spectacular sunrise over the mountains.

Instead, we saw a flock of rather beautiful white cranes circling above the mountain stream.

On the other side were ten Sky Crossing Bird, all of them adult Golden Core Spirit Beast.

These two flocks of birds circled around, coupled with the otherworldly beauty of Rising Haze Mountain itself.

This made the Golden Haze Sect appear very grand, at least looking like a blessed land of immortals and a prestigious sect.

This attracted many low-level cultivators and even mortals to the foot of the mountain to worship along the mountain path, bowing every few steps, just to seek a 'fate to immortality'.

However, for Nascent Soul Grandmaster like this, simply having Spirit Root is not enough.

At the very least, one must have Three Spirit Roots.

A cultivator with Four Spirit Roots, or even a Mixed Spirit Roots, wouldn't even be able to become Chore Disciple.