Occupying the Darksteel Mountain Daoist Grounds

Chen Nianzhi continued to analyze the terrain, then suddenly frowned, revealing a hint of surprise and doubt.

The Third Elder, observing the situation, asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"This Earth Vein seems a bit unusual, but upon closer inspection, have you discovered anything?"

Chen Qinghao shook his head and smiled slightly, "The mystery of the array lies in discerning the grand forces and creations of heaven and earth. The grand forces of mountains and rivers are also infinitely mysterious, so it's normal that you have some sense of them."

Chen Nianzhi nodded, but he felt that this Earth Vein was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen a similar Earth Vein before.

"Familiar."

"Wait, the Yi-Wood Earth Vein..."

In an instant, Chen Nianzhi's pupils contracted slightly, and a thought flashed through her mind.

Not long ago, he had seen the Yi-Wood Earth Vein at Heavenly Ruins Mountain, and the terrain here was somewhat similar to that Earth Vein.

In contrast, within this mountain range, a faint trace of Geng-Metal Essence Qi was subtly emanating, its intensity extremely dim.

Even the Purple Mansion Ancestor might not be able to detect anything unusual without careful examination.

"A Geng-Metal Earth Vein?"

"Or am I just imagining things?"

In an instant, Chen Nianzhi suppressed the thought. Even if he could calculate the exact location of the Earth Vein, so what?

The Chen Immortal Clan is not from Heavenly Ruins Mountain. If there really is a Earth Vein here, the Chen Clan would have no ability to occupy Earth Vein given their strength.

If they are actually found, they will likely have only benefited others, and might even face the annihilation of their entire family.

Even if he tells Jiang Linglong the location of this Earth Vein, Heavenly Ruins Mountain is tens of thousands of miles away, and the Beast Turmoil has been raging for less than twenty years. He probably wouldn't be willing to divert his forces to guard it.

"Whether it's true or not, let's suppress this matter for now and make plans later when we have sufficient strength."

Having made his decision, Chen Nianzhi turned and said, "Now that we've secured this Darksteel Ore Vein, we must take over this Darksteel Mountain."

"To prevent any mishaps, I'll stay here to oversee things. I'll have to trouble Uncle Qing Hao to go back to Peaceful Sun City and discuss the mine with my Old Granduncle."

Occupying this Spirit Mountain and developing the Xuan Darksteel Ore Vein is no easy task.

First, Tier 2 formation must be set up on this Darksteel Mountain. Second, it would be best to send a Foundation Establishment and a dozen or so Qi Refining Cultivator to guard it. At the same time, Spirit Field can also be cultivated on this mountain.

This will also make good use of the Spiritual Qi in the mountain. With the full opening of childbirth, there will be more and more Spiritual Qi in the Chen Clan in the future. At that time, the spiritual energy of Qingyuan Mountain will be insufficient. Having this mountain can also alleviate the pressure of insufficient Spiritual Qi in Qingyuan Mountain.

Secondly, mining the Darksteel Ore Vein requires a large amount of labor. If cultivators were to mine it, it would likely greatly delay the cultivation time of the Lineage's cultivators.

Therefore, some mortals need to be immigrated here to build a city and mine the Mystic Iron.

In addition, to make Darksteel Mountain suitable for mortals to live in, a large number of cultivators are needed to clear out the poisonous insects and ferocious beasts in the mountain and level the terrain.

If it were just a matter of modifying the terrain, a thousand mortals would probably be no match for one Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Okay." Chen Qinghao nodded and said decisively, "I'll head Qingyuan Mountain now."

Chen Nianzhi nodded, then added after a moment's thought, "The immigration matter can wait; let's get a set of formations first."

"We still need to set up Mountain-Protecting Array before we can occupy this place with peace of mind."

"Alright, then this place is yours."

As Chen Qinghao spoke, he transformed into a streak of light and flew out of Darksteel Mountain.

After Chen Qinghao left, Chen Nianzhi examined his spoils from the battle. He had killed Tier 2 high-grade Gold-Eating Beast and obtained a considerable amount of Mystic Iron.

He estimated that the rough Mystic Iron rod alone was enough to melt eight thousand catties of Mystic Iron, and if the corpse of the Gold-Eating Beast were refined with True Fire, it would probably be enough to melt several thousand catties of Mystic Iron.

Most importantly, after the Gold-Eating Beast consumed a large amount of Mystic Iron, its Demon Beast core absorbed its essence and actually produced a large amount of Darksteel Essence.

This Darksteel Essence is the Higher Vehicle Xuan Mystic Iron essence. If this substance were incorporated into the Jiuyi Bell, it would likely be enough to forge the Jiuyi Bell into a top -Higher Vehicle Defensive Magic Instrument, whose defensive power would probably be unparalleled among Tier 2 high-grade Law Artifact.

"Once this matter is settled, I can hand it over to the Old Clan Leader and have him upgrade the rank of the Jiuyi Bell for me."

Thinking about how he would soon possess a Tier 2 high-grade Defensive Magic Instrument and make up for his last weakness, Chen Nianzhi revealed an excited expression.

He approached Chen Nianfu Chen Nianfu a broad smile, intending to give her the Foundation-Building Pill this time.

When Lineage distributes Foundation-Building Pill, it is necessary to consider factors such as age, cultivation level, merit, seniority, and aptitude. It requires a careful weighing of the pros and cons to ensure that everyone is convinced of the benefits.

One very important rule is that those under forty are chosen based on their age, while those over forty are chosen based on their age. This is because those who break through to the Foundation Establishment before forty have one more chance to break through to the Purple Mansion stage than ordinary people. Of course, if someone has truly made a tremendous contribution, their decision can be reconsidered.

Although Chen Nianxu is also a suitable candidate, she is currently ranked after Chen Nianfu.

Chen Nianxu's grandfather, Chen Changming, was over 120 years old when he died in the last Beast Turmoil. At that time, he had already paid off the debt for the Foundation-Building Pill and left behind more than 4,000 Clan Merit. Over the years, Chen Nianxu has consumed a lot of his merits in cultivation, and he still has more than 3,000 left.

This amount of Clan Merit is still far from enough to exchange for Foundation-Building Pill. Lineage are generally quite open-minded and usually let family members owe it first. If someone fails to Foundation Establishment, it will only be treated as a bad debt after death and will not affect their descendants.

This bad debt is paid for by the Lineage treasury, which depletes the Lineage's resources, and the cost is very serious.

Chen Nianfu is different. This Darksteel Ore Vein can bring the Lineage nearly a thousand Spirit Stone every year. Over the years, the benefits it brings to the Lineage are more than 100,000 Spirit Stone.

This contribution is so remarkable that the difference in merit between the two is simply incomparable; a substantial reward is necessary to motivate the tribe.

Moreover, even if Chen Nianfu fails to Foundation Establishment, she will not incur a bad debt of tens of thousands of Spirit Stone, as she has taken the Foundation Foundation-Building Pill, and there will be no need to deplete the clan's treasury.

Therefore, the first choice for this Foundation-Building Pill should fall into Chen Nianfu's hands. Moreover, in Chen Nianzhi's view, the legacy of her ancestors is not as valuable as the contributions she has earned herself, not to mention the huge difference in value.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "The reason I've summoned you here is to give you the Foundation-Building Pill."

"But my cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer." Although she had expected this, Chen Nianfu still couldn't help but say, "The Foundation-Building Pill's effects only last for ten years, and I simply don't have the capacity to Foundation-Building Pill it."

"Originally, I intended to give this Foundation-Building Pill Nian Xu. His ancestors contributed a great deal to the Lineage, and he still has three thousand Clan Merit left."

"However, you have rendered a great service to the Lineage this time, and your merits are likely to be measured in tens of millions. Naturally, I will fully support your Foundation Establishment."

"You'll be fifty after the New Year; there won't be enough time for normal spiritual practice then."

Chen Nianzhi spoke calmly, taking out three Spirit Peach and saying, "After refining these three Spirit Peach, your cultivation should have reached the Perfected Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. Then I'll find a way to help you temper your meridians, and you should be able to try Foundation Establishment within a few years."

"It will come at a cost, but the merits you have made are worth the Lineage's investment."

"I see... thank you very much."

Chen Nianfu excitedly accepted the Spirit Peach, her face beaming with joy.

"Don't be too happy yet." Seeing her excited expression, Chen Nianzhi smiled and said, "I will guard this place for three years. If you break through to the Foundation Establishment after three years, you will be needed to guard this Darksteel Mountain Range."

"Moreover, after you Foundation Establishment, if Nian Xu encounter difficulties there in the future, you will need to lend a hand."

"Don't worry, I know about this."

She nodded, then hesitated and said, "But I'm afraid Brother Nian Xu will have a hard time accepting this."

"From the Lineage's perspective, you and Nian Xu are both flesh and blood, but your achievements are many times greater than his, so we have to choose based on that."

"This Dao Path enlightenment, so you should step forward without hesitation. Besides, this Foundation-Building Pill doesn't even belong to him." Chen Nianzhi smiled slightly, nodded, and said, "The Third Elder has been in charge of clan affairs for many years; he will definitely handle this matter well."

"When he returns, I think he will personally speak with Nian Xu."

"..."

Just four days later, Chen Qinghao returned to Darksteel Mountain, bringing back a set of formations.

"Greenwood Wu-Earth Formation?"

Chen Nianzhi frowned slightly as he looked at the formation before him. This formation came from the Lin Clan, and he was worried that they might have a backup plan.

Seeing his expression, the Third Elder shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Changxuan has thoroughly mastered this formation over the past few years. These two Array Instrument are fine. As long as we rearrange the formation, we won't have to worry about their backup plans."

"That puts my mind at ease."

Chen Nianzhi nodded and began to set up an array using the Earth Vein.

He is currently Tier 2 Low-grade array master. He may not be able to refine Tier 2 mid-grade array yet, but setting up a refined array is not difficult for him.

It took about three days, with the help of the Third Elder, to set up the formation and firmly protect Darksteel Mountain before they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"With this formation, even if other Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan have designs on it, they probably won't dare to make a move."

After setting up the formation, Chen Qinghao smiled and said.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "After I went back, I talked to Nian Xu. I made a private decision and promised that if there are Foundation-Building Pill available next time, his lineage will be given priority in receiving them."

"Well, since you've made your decision, let's give it to his lineage first, if a suitable candidate becomes available."

Chen Nianzhi nodded, which was considered a decision.

The Third Elder smiled upon hearing this. He knew that within the Lineage, only Chen Nianzhi and the Old Clan Leader were truly capable of making such important decisions.

Because cultivators needed to be transferred to cultivate the Spirit Field, guard the Darksteel Mountain Daoist Grounds, and arrange for the relocation of mortals, the Third Elder did not stay long and flew back to Qingyuan Mountain that same day.

"..."