The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 80 Backyard Collapse
Hearing that Luofu Mountain and Laoshan Mountain had really started fighting, Jiang Yuan became restless and discussed important matters with Shen Wangzhi and Liu Caiwei.

Previously, Wan Haiming and Song Tianxi had obtained a lot of information about Laoshan through soul searching. They could find ways to cover up other things, but the spirit stone mine could not be moved.

Laoshan's largest spirit stone mine is located in Xinluo, which is very well hidden. If it were to confront Luofu Mountain head-on, the main battlefield would naturally be in the south, leaving the northern defenses weak.

Wanghailou is now preparing to establish its own sect, and the number of people will increase. Spirit stone resources are indispensable. Why not take this opportunity to rob the spirit stone mines behind Laoshan Mountain? It would also be a way to help Luofu Mountain.

Shen Wangzhi wholeheartedly agreed, pointing out that the spirit stone mines originally located by the sea in Maoshan had been seized by Laoshan through trickery and force.

Liu Caiwei's disciple and Shen Wangzhi's two disciples were all still in the Qi Refining stage, so they were entrusted to Jingxuan's care. Jingxuan would take care of them every day, manage the herb garden, and give them some guidance on cultivation.

The four Golden Core cultivators retraced their steps, but things were different now. Their cultivation had improved significantly, and they were familiar with the route. In just two days, they arrived at Tamna Island.

The Ling Shi mine in Laoshan, located on the coast of Silla Island, is only a few hundred miles from Tamna Island. We need to investigate it first.

Of the four, Jiang Yuan's concealment magic was the strongest, so naturally he was the one to scout ahead.

The Xinluo Spirit Stone Mine was originally guarded by a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, but he was transferred away after the outbreak of the great war. Now, only an early-stage Golden Core cultivator is guarding the mine.

With the war at the front lines urgent, the mining of spirit stones has accelerated, and many mortals have even been captured from the vicinity to work.

Jiang Yuan wouldn't let these scenes go unnoticed; he recorded them all with a recording talisman. For a major cultivation sect to capture mortals for hard labor was a serious crime that incurred the wrath of the masses.

Having figured out the details of Laoshan's defenses, they found only one early-stage Golden Core cultivator and four Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the rest were all Qi Refining stage menial disciples, utterly vulnerable.

There must be a defensive formation. As long as one person sneaks in first, they won't even have a chance to activate the formation.

Jiang Yuan then sent a message to Shen Wangzhi, and the three of them soon arrived at the perimeter of the spirit stone mine without concealing their presence.

Laoshan Jindan was taken aback and quickly activated the defensive array. As soon as he took out the array plate, he was completely frozen.

Shen Wangzhi's talisman instantly bound the four Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Cui Qinghe didn't want to kill more people, so she asked the flower fairy Qiongniang to use her bewitching magic to confuse all the servants and disciples in the cave, including the mortals, and drive them all to the outer perimeter of the mine.

Liu Caiwei stayed outside the cave while the other three went into the mine to collect spirit stones.

The spirit stones unearthed from Laoshan these days haven't been cut and polished yet; they're still spirit stone mines, and there are probably over two million of them.

Having collected these readily available resources, the three of them then used their individual skills to extensively mine for spirit stones in the resource-rich mining area.

Of course, it's the very brutal kind, including using earth-based spells to loosen the soil and wood-based spells to dig deep. Even if it collapses, it won't hurt a Golden Core cultivator; they can just collect spirit stone ore from inside.

After being tormented by three Golden Core cultivators, the entire spirit stone mine collapsed by the time they emerged.

Jiang Yuan killed the Golden Core cultivator and took the storage bag.

The four Foundation Establishment cultivators were only crippled, and the servant disciples were all released. They were also told about the current situation: Laoshan had incurred the wrath of the world and would certainly not have a good end. It would be foolish to continue to work for Laoshan. They should hurry up and run for their lives.

The local people naturally let them go.

When rescuers from Laoshan arrived, there was no one left in the entire mining area.

The spirit stone mine was located several miles underground, by the sea. Previously, the mine's structure was maintained by an array. Now that the array has been destroyed, a large amount of seawater has flooded into the mine, causing it to collapse completely. The people from Laoshan were devastated.

Jiang Yuan and his men have already headed south. They only need to take down this largest mine. The others are in the war zone and will definitely be heavily guarded.

Of course, he also did a good deed by spreading the talisman used to capture the Silla mortals mining in Laoshan to the Central Plains.

This gave the orthodox Taoist sects a reason to condemn Laoshan. Several major sects wanted to join the war, as they couldn't allow Luofu Mountain to completely annex Laoshan.

However, they dared not side with Laoshan now, and could only openly support Luofushan, kicking a dog when it was down and taking advantage of the situation. All of this was within Chu Yunfei's expectations, and he also knew that if Luofushan wanted to take over Laoshan by itself, it would only burst its belly.

They have at least two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators; they're really courting death. The two of them teamed up to launch a sneak attack on Mount Luofu; who knows how many people will die.

The so-called all-out war is still just a battle between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators; Nascent Soul cultivators will not participate.

The main battlefields are also valuable places such as spirit stone veins and metal veins.

Actually, it's not that no major sect wanted to sabotage Luofu Mountain.

For example, when Chu Yunfei risked his life to negotiate peace at Qingcheng Mountain, the Nascent Soul stage monster in Qingcheng Cave Heaven made a prediction: if they suffocated Chu Yunfei, Qingcheng Mountain would become a blood-red ice mountain, which would be terrifying.

The old monster of Kongtong once calculated whether to take Luofu Mountain to attack Laoshan Mountain and rob them of several mines west of Lingnan. As a result, Kongtong Mountain became a "hollow mountain", which was slaughtered and left with fallen petals and blood.

Chu Yunfei, of course, had no idea what the so-called help from a benefactor was all about. He only knew that if they persisted for another two years, Laoshan would surely be finished. Now, the most important thing to guard against was those two old monsters resorting to desperate measures.

Jiang Yuan and the others returned to the small island in the South China Sea and took stock of their spoils. They had a total of three million spirit stone mines. If they were to be used to maintain the sect's grand formation or to infuse the spirit-gathering formation, there would be no need for cutting and polishing. It was a valuable asset for the sect.

Having accomplished this great feat, the four of them intensified their cultivation. If a level-six demon appeared outside the Spirit Gathering Array, they would go out and capture it; otherwise, they would remain secluded.

Three months later, Cui Qinghe advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and the effects were uncontrollable.

Moreover, she had mastered the spells of "Rain of Flowers" and "Ice Lotus." When Liu Caiwei and Shen Wangzhi sparred with her again, they couldn't withstand even three moves.

Only Jiang Yuan could still easily control Cui Qinghe; the difference in their cultivation levels seemed to have no effect on him at all.

Shen Wangzhi wasn't in a hurry to advance. He focused on cultivating metal-based sword techniques to increase his killing power and needed to open up more metal-based acupoints. Advancement would come naturally.

Old Lu swallowed two bottles of Dragon Power Pills and successfully opened two wood-type acupoints, finally seeing hope of forming a core. He estimated that it would take another six months to a year to accumulate.

Shen Wangzhi's two disciples, Xie Chengqian and Xie Kunyang, are twin brothers. Both of them have opened fire-type spiritual veins and reached the eighth level of Qi Refining at the age of eighteen. They were delayed for a few years before, so they are already quite good.

Shen Wangzhi always felt that the two children had good potential, so he secretly ran back to Maoshan to bring them out.

Liu Caiwei's disciple is only sixteen years old and is named Nan Zhi. Ten years ago, it was discovered that she had a water-type spiritual root, so she was taken under her wing.

Liu Caiwei has been out and hasn't returned. Nan Zhi was taken in by a Foundation Establishment master uncle in the sect for several years and only reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Last time, Liu Caiwei risked her life to go to the battlefield and bring the child out. That woman from Qingyun Sect is heartless; she only cares about climbing the social ladder and sends all these children to the front lines as cannon fodder.

If it weren't for the fear of displeasing Luofu Mountain, Liu Caiwei would have liked to bring out her several close Foundation Establishment junior sisters.

Cui Qinghe refined more than fifty bottles of Dragon Power Pills, but dared not give more to these children.

Shen Wangzhi and Liu Caiwei were both very strict, hoping that their disciples would not rely too much on pills during the Qi Refining stage, but would rely on their own strength to open up their spiritual meridians and acupoints for cultivation. Only when they really encountered a bottleneck could they take a Dragon Power Pill.

A year later, both Xie Chengqian and Xie Kunyang successfully established their foundations, and neither of them had consumed any Foundation Establishment Pills, demonstrating their exceptional aptitude.

Nan Zhi has also made rapid progress, and has already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Most thankfully, Lao Lu finally achieved the Core Formation.

On the day Lu Haoran completed his elixir, Wanghailou held a banquet. Although there were only nine people, it was still more lively than before.

Old Lu raised his wine glass, tears streaming down his face, wishing he could kowtow to his apprentice and his wife.

By all accounts, Old Lu had at most a dozen years left to live, yet he managed to form a Golden Core, extending his lifespan by three hundred years. If this got out, it would probably be considered a legendary tale in the cultivation world.

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(End of this chapter)