Immortal Road.

"Oh? It's really that amazing?"

Master Xiongshan was already at the late Nascent Soul stage, and it would be extremely difficult for him to improve himself. Yet, he could achieve such effects just by casually digging up some things.

He took it and looked at it, and found that this handful of colorful pebbles was actually quite extraordinary!
【Earth's Essence - Kidney Stones】

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Description: Kidney stones nurtured by the earth's veins for thousands of years can increase Yang energy and enhance strength after consumption.

Enhancement required: 256 points

【Essence of the Earth's Veins - Soul Stone】

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Description: A soul stone nurtured by the earth's veins for ten thousand years. Consuming it can increase spiritual awareness and enhance the soul.

Enhancement required: 256 points

【Essence of Earth Veins - Liver Stone】

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Introduction: Liver stones nurtured by the earth's veins for thousands of years can regulate Qi, store blood, and detoxify after consumption.

Enhancement required: 256 points

【Essence of Earth Veins - Stomach Stones】

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Introduction: This stomach stone, nurtured by the earth's veins for tens of thousands of years, can greatly enhance cultivation and is imbued with pure spiritual energy after consumption.

Enhancement required: 256 points

【Essence of Earth Veins - Heart Stone】

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Introduction: This heart stone, nurtured by the earth's veins for thousands of years, can purify blood and restore one's original essence after consumption.

Enhancement required: 256 points

Under the enhanced panel's assessment, these unassuming little things all burst forth with endless brilliance.

Lin Shan's eyes lit up!

Yes, as a ley line in the mantle layer, and a natural wonder that has been embedded deep for so long and is so enormous, how could it not contain treasures?
Now everything is clear.

He learned from Qin Shen's interrogation that the Tai Xuan Holy Land had only been established at the end of the last Wan Hui year, so it was likely that it lacked a deep foundation and had no predecessors' experience, which is why they overlooked this point.

If it were any of the other three powers, their records would definitely contain this information, and they would have kept it firmly under control. How could it have fallen into the hands of lower-level disciples?
Master Xiongshan has really hit the jackpot.

"Hehehe, because I've been digging on the front lines, I've basically taken everything. The others can only pick up my scraps."

Lin Shan glanced behind him. Xiong Shan, carrying a magical artifact, was at the forefront of the excavation, while the people below could only eat dirt. As for which excavation technique was the best, that was another story.
Back when he was digging a fishpond for himself at the Luxi Lin Clan Chamber of Commerce, he could tell that this big, simple guy was no ordinary person.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's dig!"

With that motivation, the two grabbed their tools and got to work with great intensity.

The disciples of the Tai Xuan Holy Land who were helping to widen the passage were covered in dirt, and they were all full of resentment. "How much money do you two get in a month? Why are you risking your lives like this?"
These two were truly working like madmen, even more diligently than the people from the Tai Xuan Holy Land themselves. Even passing supervisors couldn't help but praise them and ask which family's disciples they were.

Upon learning that he was a disciple of Elder Qin Luan, they were even more impressed, acknowledging his status as a direct descendant and his strong sense of responsibility.
Unbeknownst to him, the news eventually reached Qin Luan, a high-ranking executive at Tai Xuan. He smiled slightly, not taking it seriously, and even thought it was because he had trained them well. Little did he know that they were not his people at all!

For the next two weeks, Lin Shan and Xiong Shan plundered the essence of the earth's veins.

Red, blue, green, and white ones were everywhere, making him almost unable to stop smiling, but karma soon came back to haunt him.

"I've called you all here today for an emergency halt, all because of one thing!"

The Golden Core stage leader had an exceptionally serious expression, because behind him stood a Nascent Soul stage elder, whose gaze was sharp as a hawk, fixed on everyone present.

"According to reports from some disciples, they found colorful stones during the excavation, which have been identified as the essence of the earth's veins. This item is of great importance and should not be possessed by low-ranking disciples. Even if I told you openly, you wouldn't be able to use it!"

"From now on, if you see this item, you must hand it over. You must not keep it for yourself. Otherwise, you will be punished for treason!"

"Of course, the Holy Land will not treat you unfairly, and will give those who voluntarily hand over some tangible benefits, such as cultivation pills or magical artifacts, etc."

"After extensive investigations in other holy sites, we discovered that the quantity of this item is enormous, and shouldn't be limited to what we have now. That means..."

The Golden Core stage master stared intently at every disciple present, sending chills down everyone's spines.

“Some of you have definitely been hiding this for a long time!”

"Hand over the items now, and we might get a lighter sentence."

"If you get caught, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As he spoke, he took a step back, bowed, and lowered his head. The Nascent Soul stage elder stepped forward and simply said something in a tone that left no room for doubt.

"Hand over all the essence of the earth's veins. This offer won't be accepted after the deadline!"

There was a moment of silence among the crowd.

The thousands of disciples were shocked. They stared at each other, most of them not knowing what was being said.

Only the group of people who dug up the very top and reached the very front might have seen what this thing was.

But they don't have many at all.

After a brief moment of consideration, some people, fearing being discovered, went up one after another to hand over their ill-gotten gains to higher-ups.

The clinking and clattering sounds from the plate only lasted for a short while.

After all the disciples had handed in their work, not even the bottom layer was completely covered!

The Nascent Soul elder snorted coldly upon seeing this.

"not enough."

These two words carried immense weight, startling the Golden Core stage supervisor, who immediately stepped forward and launched a threatening attack on the disciples below.

"Who among you still has any? Hand it over now, or you'll be scared when we search you, and then it will be too late!"

After a barrage of intimidation, a small number of people couldn't withstand the pressure and reluctantly stepped forward to hand over what they had obtained.

Only Lin Shan and Xiong Shan remained completely still.

The two of them just stood there, completely unmoved, as if it were none of their business.

The Nascent Soul stage elder on the stage looked at the meager amount of food on the plate, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

The Golden Core Supervisor, observing the situation, knew in his heart that things were about to go wrong. He realized this was a sign that the elder was about to get angry, so he quickly stepped forward and shouted.

"Alright, it seems there are still some dishonest people among you. The essence of the earth veins is not something you can take. For a child to possess gold is tantamount to courting death!"

“Since you refuse to hand it over yourselves, then report and expose each other.”

"Anyone who makes a contribution by exposing wrongdoing will be richly rewarded!"

This manager was savvy; he knew that a generous reward would surely attract brave men, and that coercion alone would not achieve his goal. He specifically targeted internal disintegration.

Whoever obtained the essence of the earth vein during the excavation process might be known among the disciples below. Letting them expose and report it themselves is a smart move.

Upon hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but stir up a commotion.

Several disciples nearby stared intently at Lin Shan and Xiong Shan, clearly dissatisfied with them for a long time, because these two were always at the forefront when working, leaving those behind them covered in dust and dirt.

The disciples tried to reason with them, but were persuaded by the two men's fists and had no choice but to swallow their anger.

Now that we've finally got the chance, we have to teach them a lesson they'll never forget!
"Reporting to Supervisor Wu, I'm reporting these two people!"

"I'll report it too!"

"And I!"

"I"

A group of people pointed their fingers at Lin Shan and the people on Xiong Shan, eager to expose them as soon as possible.

If you ask them whether they actually saw it with their own eyes?

That's definitely not the case!
How could Lin Shan and Xiong Shan, who were collecting treasures, let a nobody see their secrets? But since they were always at the forefront, if they really dug up any treasures, they would definitely be the first to know!
Therefore, everyone was convinced that there was something wrong with these two!

"Oh?"

As expected, Manager Wu turned his attention over. When he saw that it was these two people, he was quite surprised. Weren't they the two who had been fighting on the front line and were the most hardworking?

To be honest, the supervisor had a very good impression of the two of them, mainly because they were hardworking and never slacked off. These kinds of hardworking and conscientious people are the most favored.

However, now that so many disciples have exposed him in front of the Nascent Soul Elder, his attitude has changed drastically, and he looks at the two of them with a sinister gaze.

"Just the two of you, right? Did you find any ley line essence during the excavation?"

"No."

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan raised their chins, looking utterly arrogant.

They spoke in unison, without hesitation.

joke!

You want me to spit out the meat that's already in my mouth?
No way!
I don't care if your Tai Xuan Holy Land is a holy land or not. The treasures I dug out are mine. Why should I hand them over to you?
The disciples behind them kept shouting and yelling, clearly having disliked the two of them for a long time.

"Manager Wu ordered a search of him! There's definitely something there!"

"These two work so hard all day long, it's definitely because there's something to gain. Maybe they've pocketed all the essence of the earth's veins."

"I don't believe they don't have any on them; they've always been at the forefront deep inside the cave."

"I guarantee that if it weren't for me, I'd eat a whole lump of it."

Without further ado, Supervisor Wu ordered his men to search the body.

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan still acted nonchalantly and indifferently.

Search if you want.

If a Nascent Soul cultivator wants to hide something, how could these people possibly find it?

"Reporting to the supervisor, we couldn't find it."

"How can it be???"

The disciples nearby were in an uproar, all suspecting something was amiss, and demanded a new search or that they apply to search themselves.

Supervisor Wu also had his doubts, mainly because the two of them were in such good spirits every day that they seemed abnormal.

So he waved his hand, agreeing to let his disciples search.

As a result, after searching, this group of people also found nothing.

"Who was it that said they'd eat shit if they couldn't find anything? Hurry up and go, don't waste my time."

Lin Shan spoke lazily, bringing up the very thing they didn't want to talk about, which infuriated the group.

impossible!
They absolutely refused to believe that there was nothing wrong with Linshan and Xiongshan. They thought there must be something fishy going on.

The Nascent Soul elder, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally spoke.

"Go search for it."

"Uh, yes."

Supervisor Wu dared not disobey, and personally went up to them, telling the two not to do anything underhanded.

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan remained obediently still.

He searched the place thoroughly, turning the storage bag upside down, but it was all just worthless junk; there were no treasures like the essence of the earth veins.

"Elder, it's not on them."

Manager Wu had to admit that he had wronged the two good kids. It seemed that they were out of place in their surroundings because they were working too hard and competing too much, which made them the object of jealousy.

He secretly resolved to promote the two of them when he returned.

The Nascent Soul Elder had sharp eyes. After scanning Lin Shan and Xiong Shan Shangren from head to toe, he looked away and stopped paying attention to them.

"Then search everyone!"

Upon receiving the order, a large group of people rushed up and launched a comprehensive search of the thousands of mining disciples.

After this investigation, quite a few more spies were indeed found!

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding~

Large beads and small beads fall on a jade plate.

Seeing that the plate was finally filled, the Nascent Soul Elder's expression improved slightly. Those who were caught hoarding food were all severely punished on the spot!

Abolish cultivation!

"Ahhhh, no! Supervisor, I was wrong~"

"I was blinded by greed for a moment, please forgive me this time."

“My master is a True Man of the Tuantai Sect. Out of respect for him, I’m being given a chance to make amends.”

"I will never dare to do it again. Please don't destroy my cultivation. What difference is there between that and killing me?"

Hearing his disciples' wailing and howling, Supervisor Wu showed no mercy, but instead punished them one by one to serve as a warning to others.

The disciples were all stunned, trembling and lowering their heads, unable to bear to look at this horrific scene.

Having one's cultivation destroyed is indeed no different from being dead.

Many of them broke down and then committed suicide.

The Nascent Soul Elder collected all the earth vein essence. Although he felt the quantity was still less than that of other holy lands, it didn't seem like a small amount, so he hurriedly left.

Before leaving, he instructed Supervisor Wu to do everything in his power to collect evidence, to prevent any unauthorized possession, and to convict him along with any other suspects found.

After respectfully seeing the elder off.

Manager Wu's eyes were gloomy as he scanned the room, and everyone could feel the chilling aura emanating from him.

"From now on, you two will be in charge of excavating the ley lines, and will have full authority to supervise everyone and assign tasks to them, especially collecting the essence of the ley lines. You will then hand it over to me. If there is any shortfall, I will not forgive you. Do you understand?"

Everyone looked up and stared intently.

Supervisor Wu actually appointed Lin Shan and Xiong Shan as their leaders!

"Yes, supervisor."

The two of them didn't say much nonsense from beginning to end, because after all, they had infiltrated the group, and the more they jumped around, the faster they would be exposed.

Moreover, their identities will be exposed sooner or later. They are just impersonating Elder Qin Luan, who is currently busy putting out fires everywhere.

If you really had some free time and came here to take a look, you would definitely be exposed!
But they don't need to worry about tomorrow; they should focus on enjoying the meat they have today first.

Supervisor Wu's decision to appoint the two of them as leaders was a complete misjudgment of character; he mistook an insider for a loyal subject!
The crisis has come to an end.

In the following period, the two organized the disciples of Taixuan Holy Land to dig frantically, like mice entering a rice jar.

Occasionally, they would inadvertently leave out one or two earth vein essences to complete their tasks, ensuring they had some every day. Manager Wu didn't notice their little tricks.

Anti-gravity stones were delivered from the rear of the Tai Xuan Holy Land in a flurry of activity, finally bringing the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder to its current construction progress.

They dug for thousands of miles!
Finally, they broke through one wall, and everything went black, as if they were in a dark, transparent, murky liquid.

This is the mantle fluid layer beneath the asthenosphere of the mantle, where the soil is in a fluid state and can refract and amplify light.

All around was darkness, except for three long, thin beams of light flickering in the distance, which seemed to indicate the movement of figures on them.

Lin Shan and his companion took a closer look.

They were actually from the Haoran Holy Land, the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect, and the Ghost Valley Holy Land!
Seeing the disciples of the three families busily pulling ropes and building ladders, it turned out they were also working on the Yin-Yang Mysterious Ladder.

On this level, the four factions had turned into an open competition without any defenses, with everyone able to see each other's progress from hundreds of miles away.

And their Tai Xuan Holy Land just happened to fall behind last!
(End of this chapter)