The entrance to the dragon vein was hidden behind an utterly unremarkable coral reef.
Without Zi Yuner personally leading the way, Lin Shisan could never have found it, even with a map.
The reef looked just like the ordinary coral found everywhere on the seabed.
A thin layer of seaweed covered its gray-brown branches, and a few transparent little fish darted through the gaps.
It could not have been more ordinary.
Zi Yuner raised a hand and pressed the surface of the reef.
The instant her spiritual power seeped in, the gray-brown branches slowly began to contract and retreat, revealing a narrow gap barely wide enough for one person.
Tiny fragments of luminous ore were embedded in the stone walls on either side of the gap.
They gave off a somber Netherblue Light, illuminating the passage like the depths of the sea.
"The restrictions on the dragon vein core have been temporarily lifted for fifteen days. The Grand Elder has agreed."
"Will fifteen days be enough?"
"I won't know until I get there."
Lin Shisan turned sideways and squeezed into the gap. Zi Yuner did not follow him inside.
She stood outside the reef, flecks of light glimmering in her deep-purple eyes amid the faint blue glow.
"I'll wait for you here."
The narrow passage ran much deeper than he had imagined.
Lin Shisan walked for about the time it took an incense stick to burn before the stone walls on either side gradually began to widen.
The paving beneath his feet also changed from rough natural rock to polished black jade.
Extremely fine Golden Patterns flowed through the seams between each piece of jade, like the channels of a spirit vein compressed to their utmost limit.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the air was climbing at an almost