In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of Red Maple Valley, casting mottled patches of light and shadow.
After a while, Xu Changqing's Divine Sense detected someone approaching Red Maple Valley. The person had a heavy earth-boring spirit artifact strapped to his back, shaped much like a drill bit.
The newcomer was broad and sturdy, with bronze skin. He was Yang Zhenyue's disciple, Wang Shi.
Possessing an Earth Spirit Root, he excelled at mining and boring through the earth, and was responsible for investigating matters related to Earth Veins within the sect.
Wang Shi respectfully saluted, his voice slightly deep. "Si Geng Xu, this junior has come on my master's orders to investigate the leakage of Mysterious Yellow Qi."
Xu Changqing nodded. "Thanks for the effort. Begin."
"Yes!"
Wang Shi answered, immediately taking out a yellow jade talisman. After pouring spiritual power into it, he pressed it against the ground.
With a flash from the jade talisman, the earth slowly split open, and the damp scent of soil drifted out from within.
Wang Shi jumped in first, with Xu Changqing following close behind.
At first, there was no obstruction at all. The soil and Earth Qi automatically parted for them.
But after a while, hard objects such as rocks began to appear around them.
At that moment, Wang Shi took his earth-boring artifact in hand. After aiming in a certain direction, he injected spiritual power into it. A buzzing sound rang out as the drill bit began spinning violently.
The once-hard obstacles could no longer block their path and were ground into powder one after another.
They continued downward for roughly several hundred meters before stopping again.
"What is it?"
"Reporting to Si Geng Xu, the Earth Qi here has grown thin."
"Mm, but the Wood Qi