Black Stone

It had come.

Li Gan didn't move.

A faint image of a bell glimmered in his mind, drawing in all his aura.

At that moment, he was like a statue standing perfectly still.

The three miners began pacing uneasily.

They couldn't hear anything underground, yet a bone-deep terror had inexplicably crept over them.

It was the instinctive fear living beings felt in the face of an unknown danger.

Suddenly,

the ground shook violently a yard away from the three miners. Gravel and dirt burst into the air, and a mass of shadow drilled out of the earth, lunging at them.

Li Gan took a closer look. It was a creature like a giant python, its body formed of ring after ring, like a spring that could extend and contract. It was pitch-black and covered in bristles as sharp as steel needles.

Its gaping mouth was ringed with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

"An Earth Dragon... An earthworm, huh? What a beast—it's grown this big!"

Li Gan had never seen a living exotic insect before, let alone one mutated from an earthworm.

Judging by its appearance alone, it was probably as thick as a barrel.

The section that had burst from the ground was already several meters long. Who knew how much more of it was still underground?

By the faint light in the mine, the three miners could barely make out a shadow. Then the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's roar as it sprang at them sent them into a panic, and they were about to scatter in every direction.

Whoosh!

A streak of sword light flashed into being.

It illuminated the entire mine.

Li Gan had made his move.

Though the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's size and ferocity had taken him somewhat by surprise,

he didn't hesitate for an instant.

His figure flickered. His sword flashed, and a fierce blade of light surged from it.

With a roar, the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect abruptly contracted its body and abandoned the three miners. The four or five meters of its body that had emerged suddenly withdrew almost all the way back underground.

Its reaction speed was astonishing.

No wonder Ling Xingfeng and the others might not have been able to stop the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect, even after spotting it.

But Li Gan wasn't targeting the part of the Earth Dragon that had emerged.

He released his powerful Illusion Grade Martial Intent, sent it through the earth, and locked onto the entire creature.

The Earth Dragon was more than ten meters long.

Its size was truly astounding.

The next moment, Li Gan thrust his sword down.

The mine floor, though tough, was like tofu before his sharp sword light.

Hiss!

The Earth Dragon Exotic Insect let out an enraged roar and thrashed violently. The entire mine began to shake, and cracks split across the ground.

Li Gan's gaze turned fierce. He swept his sword, and its light flashed as he sliced the entire Earth Dragon Exotic Insect in two.

A flood of black blood gushed out and seeped across the ground. The whole mine filled with a foul, rancid stench.

The two halves of the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect writhed for a long time before finally going still.

Li Gan had no intention of capturing the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect alive.

That would be too much trouble.

Killing it outright was simple and clean.

Still, the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect wasn't as strong as he'd expected. If anything, it was a little weak.

"Hmm? What's this?"

A sweep of Li Gan's spiritual perception revealed what seemed to be a very unusual ore concealed inside the two halves of the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect.

He swept his hand, and a surge of True Qi blasted away the cracked earth. He pulled the two halves of the creature's body—more than ten meters long—out of the collapsed ground.

Then he plucked a stone the size of a dragon's eye from the black blood.

The stone was black as well.

Without his spiritual perception, he could never have spotted it in the viscous black blood with the naked eye alone.

Through his spiritual perception, he sensed that the black stone was constantly releasing a very unusual energy. It was faint, but he could still detect it clearly.

This energy was different from Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.

He didn't dare absorb it.

He couldn't be sure whether it was beneficial or harmful.

Fortunately, he had mastered the Immaculate Sword Body and gained its leak-proof quality. As long as he didn't actively absorb the energy, it couldn't interfere with or taint him.

After cleaning the black blood off the stone, Li Gan examined it for a while, then tucked it into his robes. He planned to take it back and study it properly. Perhaps his well-traveled master would know its origins.

He suspected that the black stone might have something to do with the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's mutation.

Then he looked at the three miners.

All three were huddled in a corner of the mine, trembling.

"Don't be afraid. I've taken care of the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect."

Li Gan reassured the frightened miners.

The three miners shakily lit their torches. When they saw the enormous Earth Dragon Exotic Insect, hacked in two, they were still terrified—but they also held Li Gan, the expert who had killed it, in even greater awe.

With the three miners carrying torches behind him, Li Gan slung his Treasure Sword over his back and dragged one half of the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's corpse in each hand as he headed for the nearest mine exit.

Outside the mine,

a crowd was waiting.

Besides Steward He and several Inner Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, the head of the Ming Family, owners of the Xiwu Mine, had hurried over as soon as he heard that the Divine Sword Sect had sent a Xiantian Expert.

"It's been so long. Could he have failed too?"

One of the mine's stewards couldn't help saying.

Ling Xingfeng said nothing.

If even a Core Disciple at the Xiantian level couldn't deal with the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect, then a sect elder would probably have to step in personally.

If word got out, the other great martial sects would laugh themselves sick.

Steward He glared at the man.

The man immediately realized he'd said the wrong thing and hurriedly fell silent, though unease continued to gnaw at him.

Suddenly, Ling Xingfeng seemed to hear something. His figure flashed, and he appeared at the mine entrance.

Only then did the other Inner Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect react.

While Steward He and the others were still standing there in a daze, they heard movement at the entrance. Then Li Gan emerged, dragging the two halves of the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's corpse behind him.

"Master, look! Martial Master Li killed the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect!"

At the sight of the two halves of its terrifying corpse, Steward He was overjoyed.

The head of the Ming Family was delighted too.

With the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect dealt with, the Xiwu Mine could reopen.

The head of the Ming Family immediately hurried forward and clasped his hands toward Li Gan. "Martial Master Li, I'm Ming Rang, head of the Ming Family. Thank you for eliminating such a terrible threat to our mine."

"Family Head Ming, there's no need for formalities. I accepted the mission, so this was my duty."

Li Gan smiled faintly.

Then he turned to Ling Xingfeng. "Junior Brother Ling, I'll have to trouble you to send the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect's corpse back to the sect."

The creature's corpse was huge and heavy.

Taking it back himself would be a real hassle.

Besides, its stench was strong enough to burn his nose.

"Please rest assured, Senior Brother Li. I'll make the arrangements as soon as possible."

Ling Xingfeng replied at once.

He was an Inner Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect stationed in Ye City. The delivery of important sect supplies was handled by Inner Disciples like him.

"Family Head Ming, now that the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect has been dealt with, I won't stay any longer."

Li Gan clasped his hands.

Riding a fast horse back to the Divine Sword Sect would take just over a day. The mission would delay him by no more than three days.

"Martial Master Li, you've come all this way and solved such a serious problem for us. We haven't even had a chance to properly host you yet."

The head of the Ming Family, Ming Rang, hurriedly urged him.

This was a golden opportunity to build a relationship with a Core Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect who had boundless prospects. He couldn't let it slip by.

"Family Head Ming, there's no need."

Li Gan waved a hand. He could easily tell what Ming Rang was after.

He didn't want to waste time on pointless socializing and pleasantries.

Going back to practice by striking the bell was the right path.

He was only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the late Xiantian True Qi Realm.

And he really wanted to find out what the black stone was.