Barren Stone Beach.
Barren Stone Beach, once piled with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation, had changed beyond recognition. After a month, huge pits had been excavated in all four directions, like scars left behind by open-pit mining. The clanging of iron tools against stone filled the air as over ten thousand laborers swung their picks, digging six or seven zhang deep. From time to time, they unearthed trees that looked as though they had only just been buried, along with animal bones of every size.
Ox carts and wheelbarrows carried the yellow earth and stones to channels fed by bamboo pipes.
The flowing water washed away the soil. Specialists inspected every stone three times to ensure nothing was missed. Yet since work began, they had found nothing. Every day brought the same repetitive labor, noisy, bustling, and fervent.
They had dug for a long time without finding any Stone Tablet Fragments.
The younger male and female cultivators of the Tu family patrolled everywhere, hoping to discover Stone Tablet Fragments and earn rewards. They had become so absorbed in searching for stones and gaining external treasures that they delayed their cultivation, putting the cart before the horse to some extent. The treasures bestowed by the Mysterious Person were simply too enticing.
The laborers happily dug earth. So long as they had food to eat and money to earn each day, they wished they could work for several more years. The cultivators, meanwhile, paced anxiously, hoping the so-called stone tablet would be unearthed quickly. Two entirely different states of mind.
The weather was cloudy, and shadows from drifting clouds passed over Barren Stone Beach one after another.
Within a huge pit, a young laborer, sweating as he dug, swung his pickaxe. Suddenly, it struck something with a clang, jolting pain up his