This is a cultivation game, but the operation is bad

duang! duang! duang!

The sound of the Supreme Dragon Pattern Mining Shovel striking the mine wall echoed through the empty Dragon Pattern Mine, crisp yet carrying a rhythm that could drive one mad.

Jiang Liu gripped the gleaming golden shovel, his arm already starting to ache, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

For two whole hours, he didn't slow down his shovel swings. The shovel's durability dropped from 5000 points to 4300 points. The pile of dragon-patterned ore under his feet was higher than him, but the system notifications only showed that he had obtained 1 piece of dragon-patterned ore.

[Mining successful. Obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore, Supreme Dragon Pattern Mining Shovel Durability -1 (4299/5000 remaining)]

[Mining successful. Obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore, Supreme Dragon Pattern Mining Shovel Durability -1 (4298/5000 remaining)]

[Mining successful. Obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore, Supreme Dragon Pattern Mining Shovel Durability -1 (4297/5000 remaining)]

"Damn it! I bought a shovel for 10 billion spirit stones, dug more than 700 times, and didn't even see a hair of dragon-patterned jade marrow?"

Jiang Liu, unable to contain himself any longer, slammed the mining shovel to the ground and angrily exclaimed, "A 0.1% probability is really that outrageous? Did the planner secretly change the probability to 0.001%?"

Two hours, a full two hours!
The entire site contains dragon-patterned associated minerals, but not a single piece of dragon-patterned chalcedony!

The odds are even lower than grinding monsters, at least grinding monsters gives you spirit stones and cultivation points!
"Let's dig a little longer, a little longer. If we still haven't found dragon-patterned chalcedony, then I'll..."

Jiang Liu gritted his teeth, wanting to leave the mining area to hunt monsters, but he was reluctant to part with the Supreme Mining Shovel and the ticket he had just bought.

The sunk costs have already been incurred, and even he would feel the pain of returning empty-handed.

Alright, let's keep digging.

As time went by, Jiang Liu swung his shovel slower and slower; he was simply not cut out to be a miner and didn't have the patience.

Gan!
I don't want to dig anymore!

Just as Jiang Liu was getting agitated, a system notification arrived.

[System notification: The system detected that the player's mining efficiency is low and they are frustrated. We recommend purchasing the following items to help you mine more efficiently.]

[Mining Acceleration Card]: Priced at 500 million spirit stones per card. After use, mining loading time is reduced to 20 seconds for 1 hour.

[Lucky Mining Talisman]: Priced at 1000 million spirit stones/talent. Doubles the probability of mining Dragon Jadeite after use, lasting 30 minutes.

[Automatic Mining Robot]: Priced at 1 million spirit stones per unit, it can automatically mine ores at the same efficiency as manual mining, continuously for 24 hours.

Jiang Liu: “.”

66666.

They really mastered the art of finding opportunities to exploit gaps in the strategy.

Mining accelerator card!

Lucky Mining Charm!
Most importantly, there are even automated mining robots!
They've even created robots! Is this still a cultivation game?

Although I really want to complain, I have to admit that this thing is really convenient for him.

Automated mining – isn't that a magic tool to free up your hands?

"It's only 1 million spirit stones. As long as I don't have to lift a finger, it's worth any price!"

Jiang Liu placed the order without hesitation.

[1 million spirit stones have been spent to purchase 1 automatic mining robot, which has been added to your inventory. Summon it now?]

【Yes】

A flash of white light appeared, and a half-person-tall metal robot appeared in front of Jiang Liu. It was entirely silver-white, with small mining shovels on its arms and a storage box on its back.

[Automatic Mining Robot (Beginner Level)]

Status: Pending activation

Energy: 0/100

Storage space: 1000 compartments

[Note: Please insert an energy crystal core (5000 million spirit stones/1 core)]

"You also need energy crystal cores?"

Jiang Liu's initial joy was instantly extinguished: "5000 million spirit stones for one energy core? Did this robot grow up eating spirit stones?"

He was so angry when he saw the low energy warning flashing above the robot's head that he almost smashed his mining shovel down on it.

But since things had come to this point, they couldn't let 1 million spirit stones go to waste, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and buy more energy cores.

[5000 million spirit stones have been spent to purchase 1 energy crystal core. The robot has been activated and has started automatic mining.]

Upon receiving the command, the robot immediately strode towards the mine wall with its short legs, its small shovels swinging rapidly on its arms.

duang duang duang!

The robot's mining speed is more than twice as fast as Jiang Liu's manual mining, and it doesn't require any loading screen!

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

With system notifications coming in one after another, Jiang Liu watched as the amount of associated minerals in his backpack rapidly increased, and his mood finally improved a bit.

He found a flat piece of ore to sit on and leisurely became a hands-off manager.

So comfortable, so incredibly comfortable.

I've worked so hard for so long, can't I enjoy it?
"That's more like it. Paying for in-game purchases is for enjoyment. Manually mining is simply not in line with my identity as the Dragon Sword Master."

Jiang Liu muttered to himself, a sigh escaping his lips. He could only rest for a while, after all, he still had the Supreme Mining Shovel in his hand.

It's a pity that this supreme mining shovel can't be attached to a robot.
Happiness is always fleeting.

Three hours later, the automated mining robot suddenly stopped, and a red "energy depleted" light appeared above its head.

[Automatic mining robot has run out of energy. Please replace the energy core.]

[Currently, 360 tons of dragon-patterned associated minerals have been mined, but no dragon-patterned chalcedony has been found.]

"360 associated minerals, still no chalcedony found?"

Jiang Liu's face darkened again: "This is too unlucky. Damn it, I forgot to buy a lucky mining charm."

He bought 10 lucky mining talismans and 3 energy cores in one go, and used them all on the robot.

Do it yourself!
The robot started working again, and Jiang Liu stared intently at the system prompts, not daring to even blink.

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained Dragon Pattern Jade Fragment ×1]

"Fragments?!"

Jiang Liu suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open: "They actually managed to dig up something like a fragment of dragon-patterned jade marrow?"

Dragon-patterned chalcedony fragments are valuable; you only need 10 to synthesize one piece of dragon-patterned chalcedony.

Over the next few hours, the robot unearthed more than 1000 pieces of dragon-patterned ore, but only produced three fragments of dragon-patterned chalcedony. The complete dragon-patterned chalcedony was still nowhere to be found.

1000 pieces of Dragon Pattern Associated Ore can be synthesized into 1 piece of Dragon Pattern Jadeite. In addition, he produced 4 Dragon Pattern Jadeite Fragments, which means that he has produced 1.5 pieces of Dragon Pattern Jadeite in just ten hours.

Three pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony in one day.

Surprised!

I don't know, I was surprised!
Producing 3 pieces of Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow a day, this ultimate bonus dungeon is just too awesome!

I'm sorry, I was speaking too loudly earlier. I apologize.

As long as he digs in this map for two days, he will have enough council contribution points to buy the blueprint for the Righteous Qi Sword!
dig!
Dig as deep as you can!
As long as they don't let me out, I'll keep digging!

More than ten hours later.

Jiang Liu lazily swung the Supreme Mining Shovel a few times, then lay on the ground watching the robot mine.

He's gotten lazy, really lazy. With the automatic mining machine around, he genuinely doesn't want to do anything.

When you have been in the secret mining area for 24 hours.

The system notification sounded in Jiang Liu's ears again. [System Prompt: This area contains low-purity ore veins. We recommend purchasing an Advanced Ore Vein Detector (priced at 5 million spirit stones), which can detect the distribution and purity level of ore veins throughout the entire mine.]

Low-purity ore vein?!

Jiang Liu sat up abruptly, his face filled with astonishment: "Could it be that the production rate of Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow can be increased?!"

So the mineral veins on this map are actually graded? You should have said so earlier. It's not like I can't afford a detector.

Purchase advanced mineral vein detectors

[5 million spirit stones have been spent to purchase an advanced mineral vein detector. Use it now?]

【Yes】

A golden light curtain instantly covered the entire Dragon Pattern Mine, clearly revealing the distribution of the mineral veins to Jiang Liu.

The mine's veins are divided into three grades, marked with different colors: white (low-grade veins), blue (high-grade veins), and purple (superior-grade veins).

The mining area where he was located was a low-grade white ore vein with a purity of only 10%.

"Sure enough, it's no wonder that you can't find chalcedony with only 10% purity!"

Jiang Liu stared intently at the green veins on the map. "The purity of a high-grade vein is 30%, while the purity of a top-grade vein is 50%—that's a fivefold increase!"

Without hesitation, he headed towards the top-quality mineral vein.

But just as they arrived at the top-quality ore vein, the system voice rang out again.

[System Prompt: Access to the premium mineral vein area requires unlocking permissions. Unlocking fee: 10 billion spirit stones]

[Upon unlocking, you will receive: Permanent access to a premium mineral vein, +50% mining efficiency, and +0.1% chance of obtaining Dragon Jadeite.]

"A billion unlock fee? Game designer, why don't you just rob someone!"

Jiang Liu's face darkened, and he was so angry he almost jumped up.

How many spirit stones have I wasted on this map?
What kind of family can afford that?

Is it really that difficult to forge a celestial artifact?

He suppressed his anger and had no choice but to spend money on the Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow.

Krypton Gold!

Spend a lot of money on in-game purchases!
Unlock it for me!

[10 billion spirit stones have been consumed to unlock access to the top-grade mine]

The top-grade mineral vein area was indeed vastly different from the low-grade mineral area. The mineral walls here glowed with a faint blue light, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air was three times that of the personal mineral area, and even the luster of the dragon-patterned ore was much brighter than before.

"This is it!"

Jiang Liu randomly found a spot and immediately summoned an automatic mining robot.

"You, get to work!"

The robot charged toward the mine wall, its shovel swinging faster, and the system notification sounds became more frequent.

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

ten minutes later.

[Mining successful, obtained 1 piece of Dragon Pattern Chalcedony]

Jiang Liu: “????”

I cried, tears welled up in my eyes!
It's incredible! They actually managed to dig up dragon-patterned chalcedony!

He dug for a whole day and only found one piece of dragon-patterned chalcedony. He even thought it was fake!
This top-quality mineral vein truly lives up to its reputation!

With a successful start, Jiang Liu was in a much better mood, and even picked up the Supreme Mining Shovel and dug a few holes himself.

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

[Mining successful, obtained 1 Dragon Pattern Associated Ore]

Pooh!
What a piece of trash, the Supreme Mining Shovel! Get out of here!
Over the next few hours, the automated mining robots were firing at top-quality ore veins at breakneck speed, and the quantity of Dragon Pattern Associated Ore increased rapidly.

Jiang Liu sat to the side, humming a tune as he tallied his spoils, his mood extremely pleasant.

[Number of Dragon Pattern Chalcedony: 4]

Number of Dragon Pattern Chalcedony Fragments: 13

[Number of Dragon-Patterned Associated Minerals: 890]

[Automatic mining robot's remaining energy: 20/100]

"The energy is running out again. I need to buy a few more energy cores."

Jiang Liu waved his hand and bought 10 energy cores.

Another day passed.

The system beeped frequently.

[System Notification: The mining time for the premium mineral vein has reached 24 hours. The free trial period has expired. Do you wish to purchase the [Premium Mining Privilege] (priced at 1 million spirit stones/day)?]

Jiang Liu: “.”

So, after spending 1 billion spirit stones to unlock the top-quality mineral vein area, I still have to spend 10 million spirit stones to renew it?
And it's 100 million spirit stones a day!
Why don't you just die, you planner?!
Jiang Liu was both angry and amused, but had no choice but to renew the subscription.

Day three.

[System Notification: The Dragon Pattern Mine Secret Realm has been open for 72 hours and will be closing soon. Would you like to purchase a [Secret Realm Extension Card] (priced at 1 million spirit stones/day)?]

Jiang Liu: “????”

A top-grade mineral vein card that yields 1 million spirit stones per day.

A daily extension card for the Secret Realm, costing 1 million spirit stones.

Mining in this crappy place costs 2 million spirit stones a day!
The yield of dragon-patterned chalcedony doesn't seem so appealing anymore.

"I have the council contribution points needed to purchase the Righteous Qi Sword blueprint, and I also have the Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow needed to forge the Righteous Qi Sword. Should I continue digging?"

Jiang Liu frowned, slightly hesitant.

One Immortal-grade material is equivalent to 499 Council Contribution Points, and the blueprint for the Righteous Qi Sword is worth 2000 Council Contribution Points, which is equivalent to 5 Dragon Pattern Jadeite. Adding the 2 Dragon Pattern Jadeite needed to forge the Righteous Qi Sword, it only takes 7 pieces.

He already has 7 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony, so is he still going to dig?
He hesitated for only two seconds before his expression hardened.

dig!
Dig endlessly!
If they only dug up a few pieces of dragon-patterned jade marrow and then left, wouldn't all the billions of spirit stones I spent before have been wasted?
What's more, there are other Immortal-grade item blueprints to buy, and other hidden map coordinates to buy!

The council contribution points required for Immortal-tier item blueprints and hidden map coordinates can only be obtained through Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow.

You can never have too many Celestial-grade materials!
As long as they don't kick me out, I'll keep digging!

【Buy!】

On the fourth day, nine pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony were synthesized from dragon-patterned associated minerals and dragon-patterned chalcedony fragments.

On the fifth day, 13 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony were found.

On the sixth day, 17.5 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony were collected.

On the seventh day, 23 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony were unearthed. Luck was on its way, with 5.5 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony found in one day!
On the eighth day, 24.5 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony. This is not right, this is not right.

Day 9, 26 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony?
Day 10, 30 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony!
30 pieces of dragon-patterned chalcedony can be exchanged for 15000 council contribution points!
That's enough to buy all the unlocked Celestial Rank items!

"Phew, it's time to say goodbye."

Jiang Liu looked at the mine in front of him and the robot that had been with him for several days, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Refining the immortal artifact, the Righteous Qi Sword, requires not only Dragon Pattern Jade Marrow, but also Thunder Sand and Phoenix Feathers, which are obtained from two hidden maps.

He no longer had time to waste in this dilapidated Deep Sea Dragon Domain; it was time to venture into a new hidden map! (End of Chapter)