Yang Yuan Stone Mine

After these past few days of actual combat.

Earthly Yuan Realm Demon Beasts were no longer a match for Lin Yun.

Lin Yun had also sparred with Tiger Heroine. As a mid-stage Heavenly Yuan Realm warrior, Tiger Heroine was actually somewhat inferior to Lin Yun in both strength and speed.

Lin Yun had already cultivated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art to the third level.

With this cultivation method, each level mastered granted the strength of one dragon and one elephant.

Lin Yun now possessed the strength of three dragons and three elephants, exceeding ten thousand jin.

The Fire Python Tiger was no match for him at all. Moreover, both Eight Steps Catching Cicadas and the Flowing Wind Movement Technique had reached the level of Close to the Dao. With his Intermediate Movement Talent, Tiger Heroine found it difficult even to touch him in terms of agility and speed.

On top of that, he possessed the Mountain Piercing Spear, a high-grade treasure weapon engraved with runes.

In a real battle, Tiger Heroine would likely not be Lin Yun's match.

The two Black Iron Demon Leopards were only at the early Heavenly Yuan Realm, so there was even less to say.

To prevent the two Black Iron Demon Leopards from escaping.

Lin Yun and Tiger Heroine slowly approached.

"The air is getting a little hot," Lin Yun muttered.

The closer they drew to the Black Iron Demon Leopards' location, the more they could feel the scorching heat in the air.

"Master, I sense dense Yang Gang Qi beneath this area. There should be a mine vein," Chi Ling transmitted to Lin Yun.

"Mm, deal with the Black Iron Demon Leopards first." Lin Yun nodded.

Very soon, two black leopard silhouettes appeared in his field of vision.

It was a slightly sunken valley.

The two Black Iron Demon Leopards lay nestled against one another in the valley. Beneath them was a Yang Yuan Stone Mine, like underfloor heating, making the place exceptionally comfortable. The two leopards were curled together, seemingly a pair.

At the sight of the two leopards relying on each other, Tiger Heroine fell slightly into a daze.

She seemed to recall the past, when she and her tiger companion had been just like this—free and unrestrained, loving and devoted to each other.

Perhaps out of empathy, Tiger Heroine's steps hesitated slightly.

"Don't worry. I won't kill them. I only need to tame them and make them submit to me. Like you, they can continue enjoying this carefree life," Lin Yun transmitted to Tiger Heroine.

Tiger Heroine looked at Lin Yun gently, her heart filled with comfort. Her Master had not regarded Demon Beasts as mere livestock.

"Roar!"

Worthy of being Heavenly Yuan Realm Demon Beasts, the Black Iron Demon Leopards had already noticed Lin Yun and Tiger Heroine approaching.

They swiftly rose to their feet and immediately assumed attacking stances.

The two leopards were smaller than Tiger Heroine, their black fur as hard as iron. They roared at the man and tiger. Apparently sensing Tiger Heroine's strength, they did not charge over, instead trying to drive them away with their roars.

"Attack!"

Lin Yun swiftly charged toward the two leopards, with Tiger Heroine close behind.

"Roar!" "Roar!"

The Black Iron Demon Leopards moved like lightning, agile and nimble as they charged separately at Lin Yun and Tiger Heroine.

After all, they were Heavenly Yuan Realm Demon Beasts and had pride of their own. They were unwilling to give up their territory.

Furthermore, this place was warm and filled with Yang Gang Qi, allowing them to grow faster.

"Mountain Shocking Fist!"

Lin Yun did not use the Mountain Piercing Spear. Instead, he put on the Thunder Mark Gauntlets and engaged the Black Iron Demon Leopard in close combat.

Bang! Bang! Bang! His fists struck the Black Iron Demon Leopard's body with dull thuds. True to its name, its body was as hard as iron, and ordinary weapons were useless against it.

Its fur was also like steel needles, extremely prickly to the touch.

Fortunately, Lin Yun wore the Thunder Mark Gauntlets.

After more than twenty exchanges, the Black Iron Demon Leopard had been beaten dizzy by Lin Yun. The effects of the Mountain Shocking Fist showed themselves—there were no obvious external injuries, but its entire body felt as though it had been shaken apart.

"Roar!"

Knowing it was outmatched, the Black Iron Demon Leopard let out an angry roar, informing the other Black Iron Demon Leopard fighting Tiger Heroine that it was preparing to flee.

However, the other Black Iron Demon Leopard was already tightly entangled by Tiger Heroine and could not break free at all.

How could Lin Yun give it a chance to escape? He had fought for so long only to wear down the Black Iron Demon Leopard's fighting spirit, making it easier to use the Spiritual Imprint afterward.

"Get down!"

Lin Yun sent the Black Iron Demon Leopard flying with one punch, then seized its head with both hands and forcefully pressed it to the ground. His tremendous strength left the Black Iron Demon Leopard unable to resist.

A moment later, Tiger Heroine also subdued the other Black Iron Demon Leopard. However, that one was in a more miserable state, with many wounds on its body. Tiger Heroine was not as controlled in her attacks as Lin Yun.

The two Black Iron Demon Leopards had been subdued and let out unwilling, furious growls.

"They're fairly strong. No wonder the Lei Family has left them alone all this time."

Lin Yun silently assessed.

These two Black Iron Demon Leopards were formidable not only in strength, but also in speed and defense.

Ordinary early Heavenly Yuan Realm cultivators were no match for them at all.

Even mid-stage Heavenly Yuan Realm cultivators might not be able to take them down one-on-one.

If they were determined to flee, even late-stage Heavenly Yuan Realm experts probably would not be able to catch them.

If the Lei Family wanted to eliminate them, Lei Bao would likely have to lead the team personally.

However, these two Black Iron Demon Leopards only lived within this low-lying area and had never gone out to disturb the Lei Family's Ironwood Manor.

The Lei Family therefore had no intention of taking such risks and expending so much effort to deal with them.

Since both sides kept to themselves, the Lei Family naturally had no way of discovering the Yang Yuan Stone Mine beneath this land.

In the original story, these two Black Iron Demon Leopards had been killed by the Lin Family because Lin Dong discovered the Yang Yuan Stone Mine beneath their territory. Without killing them, mining it would have been impossible.

Lin Yun began his persuasion campaign, using Mental Energy to communicate with the two Black Iron Demon Leopards separately.

With his previous experience persuading Tiger Heroine, this time, he used only one sentence to convince the two Black Iron Demon Leopards.

"You don't want to be separated from your leopard companion either, do you?"

Under Lin Yun's tyrannical coercion, the two Black Iron Demon Leopards obediently accepted Lin Yun's Spiritual Imprint.

After giving it some thought, Lin Yun decided to name them. Seeing how loving the leopard couple was, he felt rather envious himself. An idea suddenly struck him, and he said, "From now on, you'll be called Bao Zhen and Bao Qiang!"

Roar!

Roar!

The two Black Iron Demon Leopards nodded obediently.

"These are your rewards."

Lin Yun fed Bao Qiang and Bao Zhen a Returning Spring Pill each to help them recover.

He then rewarded Tiger Heroine's family of four with Qi Blood Pills and Beast Pills.

Once they had taken the pills and mostly recovered, Lin Yun immediately assigned them a task.

"Alright, get to work. Tiger Heroine, take the three little ones, Bao Qiang, and Bao Zhen, and dig for me. Dig wherever it's hot—dig downward."

Roar!

The six Demon Beasts began clawing at the ground as though they had been injected with adrenaline.

Meanwhile, Lin Yun collected the rewards from earlier: "two bottles of Fifth-Grade Origin Qi Pills" and "two bottles of Fourth-Grade Soul Nourishing Pills."

He then took the Soul Nourishing Pills to restore the Mental Energy he had just expended.

Roar!

Before long, Little Flame let out an excited cry.

Its claws had dug out a pale red stone.

Little Flame picked up the stone in its mouth and brought it before Lin Yun as if presenting a treasure.

"Not bad!" Lin Yun praised him, patting Little Flame on the head.

Then he took the stone.

So this was Yang Yuan Stone... Lin Yun examined it. The stone's edges were not particularly distinct, and it was pale red throughout. Yet it seemed faintly translucent, like a crystal. A gentle warmth seeped from within it, making it feel as though he were holding a ball of sunlight.

Yang Yuan Stone was a rather special type of crystal that generally formed only deep within volcanoes. Not only did it absorb the Yuan Power of heaven and earth, but after being steeped in lava for long periods, it also absorbed a trace of Yang Gang energy.

For experts on the verge of breaking through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm or those who had already reached it, Yang Yuan Stone was the most suitable cultivation resource.

This type of stone almost never appeared alone. As long as one piece appeared, it proved that there was a mine vein nearby.

Mission: Find a Yang Yuan Stone Mine.
Reward: One bag of Yang Yuan Pills.
Completed. Claim reward?

Sure enough, the instant Lin Yun obtained the Yang Yuan Stone, he received the system notification that the mission had been completed.