Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein

They pressed deeper for a while before realizing they had nearly reached the edge of the woodland. The air here carried a faint, rank stench, putting all of them on high alert.

Crouching low, they advanced cautiously. Moments later, a slightly sunken valley came into view before the three of them.

Lin Dong swept his gaze across the valley, then his pupils sharply contracted as his eyes locked onto two black figures at the bottom. "Late Heavenly Origin Stage demonic beasts—Black Iron Demonic Leopards!"

Lin Changqiang focused his gaze and saw that the two figures were pitch-black all over, like refined iron, gleaming brightly under the sunlight. Their emerald-green beastly eyes radiated a savage ferocity.

He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath, making a notable contribution to global warming on the Tianxuan Continent. "So terrifying, so terrifying!"

Lin Changqiang looked at Lin Dong, only to see the latter lying flat on the ground, his right hand groping around the earth like a pangolin that had cultivated into a spirit.

A few seconds later, he suddenly scraped at a patch of ground, digging away a fair bit of soil to reveal a pit about a foot wide.

The pit had clearly been there all along, just buried under the surface dirt. Lin Dong eagerly thrust his hand into the hole and fished around, but all he pulled out were bits of gravel and dirt.

He kept digging for a while longer, and just as impatience was setting in, his right hand finally touched something warm.

"Found it!" He raised his right hand before the two of them, and a pale red stone came into view.

The stone was slightly rounded, translucent in a pale red hue, with a faint warmth seeping out from the crystal that felt quite pleasant.

"This, this is... a Yang Yuan Stone!" Lin Changqiang's brows furrowed, his eyes widening again and again, his lips parting slightly while the corners twitched upward involuntarily, a look of utter shock on his face. "Yang Yuan Stones are said to be born deep within volcanoes. They not only absorb the Yuan Power of heaven and earth but are also steeped in lava for long periods, infusing them with a touch of Yang Gang energy."

"For experts at the Heavenly Origin Stage, Yang Yuan Stones are practically tailor-made!" Lin Changqiang turned to Lin Dong, who was looking bewildered and about to stand up, and pressed a hand firmly on the other's shoulder. Staring at him with an expression that could devour a man, he whispered, "Most importantly, Yang Yuan Stones rarely appear alone. So... there's a good chance there's a Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein here!"

Lin Dong's mouth twitched, and his earlier excitement cooled considerably. "Stop acting. If acting could be measured in Spiritual Medicine, your performance would be worth at most eight stalks of first-grade Spiritual Medicine."

"Heh, I was just afraid you'd get too excited and stand up too fast, catching those two leopards' attention." Lin Changqiang chuckled, then grumbled indignantly, "Damn heavens, giving me a handsome face but robbing me of acting talent!"

He stroked his own handsome cheek and his forty-two corn-kernel abdominal muscles, his eyes hiding seven parts anger, two parts indifference, and one part sorrow, offering a faint, wry smile. "Maybe he wanted me to learn to endure."

"Ugh, cut it out." Lin Dong nearly threw up last night's dinner. He shot Lin Changqiang a disgusted look, then carefully stood up and tiptoed back along the path they'd come. "Hurry up and follow. Let's go back and get reinforcements."

"Coming~" With two Heavenly Origin Stage demonic beasts nearby, Lin Changqiang didn't dare mess around either. He obediently followed, and the three of them plus the tiger raced back toward where Lin Zhentian and the others were.

In the main hall, Lin Zhentian, who had been cursing the Lei Family for quite a while, had only just managed to cool down some of his anger. He sat at the head seat, his face dark as he steadied his breathing, while Lin Xiao and the others felt equally miserable.

"Bang!"

The main door was suddenly shoved open, and Lin Dong barged in without a care for formalities. Seeing Lin Dong covered in mud, Lin Xiao and the others were startled and about to speak when Lin Dong suddenly pulled a crystal from his bosom and handed it to Lin Zhentian.

"Grandfather, the Lin Family has good news—I found a treasure!"

"A Yang Yuan Stone?" Looking at the pale red crystal Lin Dong handed him, Lin Zhentian was taken aback at first, then pulled a crystal from his own pocket that looked quite similar to Lin Dong's.

"Heh, lucky little fellow, to actually pick up a Yang Yuan Stone." Lin Zhentian smiled, not taking it seriously. He picked up the teacup beside him, took a light sip, and set it back down.

"Grandfather, Changqiang, Qing Tan, and I dug this up while playing deep in Ironwood Manor. There might be a Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein deep inside Ironwood Manor!" Lin Dong's face was flushed with excitement.

"Crack!"

The teacup in Lin Zhentian's hand shattered into pieces. He shot to his feet, trembling as he stared at Lin Dong. "What? A Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein?! Where? Take us there now!"

Lin Xiao and the others were also overjoyed. As Heavenly Origin Stage experts, no one understood the value and use of Yang Yuan Stones better than them.

Lin Dong nodded immediately. "Going there is no problem, but there are two Heavenly Origin Stage Black Iron Demonic Leopards guarding it."

"Black Iron Demonic Leopards?" Lin Zhentian frowned briefly, then relaxed. "Just a couple of beasts. We have three Heavenly Origin Stage experts here, plus you and Lin Dong at the Earthly Yuan Stage. Dealing with two Black Iron Demonic Leopards is a piece of cake!"

"Compared to a Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein, even if there were more demonic beasts, we'd find a way to wipe them out!"

Hearing this, Lin Dong said no more. He nodded, turned, and walked out of the hall, leading Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao, and Lin Ken as they swiftly dashed toward the depths of the estate.

At full speed, it took only a little over ten minutes before they reached the spot where the Yang Yuan Stone had been found. There, they encountered Lin Changqiang, who had been too lazy to run back earlier, and Qing Tan, who couldn't bear to part with the air conditioning.

"Sure enough, Black Iron Demonic Leopards!" Lin Zhentian stood at the top of the valley, his face solemn as he gazed at the two black leopards at the bottom.

Though he had spoken lightly earlier, these two leopards were equivalent to two Heavenly Origin Stage experts, making them troublesome to deal with. After some deliberation, they decided to first confirm whether there really was a mine vein before making a decision.

Lin Zhentian turned around. Behind him, Lin Xiao and Lin Ken were holding shovels, furiously digging at the hole Lin Dong had pointed out. This matter was too significant to let others know yet, so the two had to do the work themselves.

Watching the two reduced to laborers, Lin Dong couldn't help but laugh again.

"So why don't you just use Yuan Power to flip all the dirt here at once?"

Lin Changqiang looked at them with a puzzled expression. This had always struck him as odd when he read the original story. Some said it was to avoid alerting the leopards, but after Lin Dong dug up the Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein, Lin Zhentian had used Yuan Power to flip the dirt directly.

"And even if you really want to use shovels, you could still channel Yuan Power into them. Why dig like ordinary people, relying on pure strength?"

At this, Lin Dong and the others froze, then turned back in unison to stare blankly at Lin Changqiang.

Lin Zhentian was the first to snap out of it. He leaped down into the pit, channeled his Late Heavenly Origin Stage Yuan Power, and swept his sleeve. A gale surged forth, flipping layer after layer of soil away.

A red glow came into view as the dirt receded. It was a pale red rock layer, and embedded deep within it were pale red crystals of all sizes, glittering brilliantly under the sunlight.

Bathed in the red light, they all gaped, their gazes dazed as they stared at the magnificent crystal mine, momentarily speechless.

"It really is a Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein..." Lin Xiao murmured, his body suddenly trembling uncontrollably. "The Lin Family will change because of this!"

"Heaven blesses our Lin Family!"

Lin Zhentian tilted his head back, tears he hadn't shed in years streaming down his face. With this Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein, the Lin Family's development would skyrocket. Before long, not just Qingyang Town, but even the entire Flame City and Tandu Prefecture—the Lin Family would carve out a place for themselves. And his dream of returning to the clan, of putting down roots, suddenly seemed far more attainable.