System: After the fortune telling, my cultivation level skyrocketed.

Upon hearing Chen Xuan's words, Wang Kaixuan's face lit up with joy, and he asked, "Have you collected enough?"

Chen Xuan smiled and nodded, then waved his hand, and a large number of divine ore source stones flew out from mid-air.

"A total of two hundred and thirty-three pieces."

"We completed a five-month task in just two months. Now things are much easier."

Chen Xuan waved his hand, and one hundred divine ore stones flew straight towards Wang Kaixuan. He said, "This place has been tainted by demonic energy for countless years. The magical treasures and Daoist scriptures left behind by the ancient immortals have all decayed and are no longer worth exploring."

Wang Kaixuan nodded in agreement. In fact, during these two months, the two found several more sites resembling ancient human ruins deeper inside the area.

Unfortunately, apart from treasures like the Divine Ore Knife and the Stone Skin Armor, they found nothing. However, they did discover many magical artifacts left behind by immortals, but they turned to dust upon being touched.

“In that case, let’s go back the way we came. Compared to underground, there shouldn’t be much human or demon activity on the surface,” Wang Kaixuan nodded and said.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Xuan said, "We have a divine ore knife and more than thirty pieces of divine ore source stone. I think we can use these limited-time resources to exchange for some benefits."

Both of them had reached the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm, and with the help of treasures such as Origin Liquid, they could break through to the Myriad Manifestations Realm.

After some consideration, once their strength had recovered to its peak, they returned the way they came without further hesitation.

Since the large number of demons and strange creatures that came with them had been cleared out, the return journey was extremely fast.

The two returned to the ground they had been away from for less than an hour.

Flying to a height of a thousand meters and looking down at the mine entrance that resembled a gaping abyss, Wang Kaixuan was filled with emotion, realizing that he had almost lost his life here.

Since the plan is to exchange the extra Divine Ore Knives and Divine Ore Source Stones for resources, the sooner the better.

After emerging, Chen Xuan and his companion immediately flew in the direction that most of the cultivators had initially headed.

During the journey, Chen Xuan instantly spread his divine sense over a radius of a thousand miles.

However, this place was, after all, a small world, and Chen Xuan and his companion did not know exactly how big it was.

Moreover, some mine entrances were sealed by the powerful magic array of the God-Slaying Guards, and Chen Xuan knew that the cultivators who came to participate in the assessment would definitely not risk entering.

After flying for a day, Chen Xuan and his companion only found three mine entrances that might be frequented by other cultivators. Unfortunately, after only a thousand meters of exploration, they encountered scattered human remains and numerous signs of battle throughout the corridors.

Clearly, any cultivators who entered this place were either devoured by strange creatures or torn to pieces by demons.

"It's over. Several mines in a row are in this terrible state. Not a single living person can be found," Wang Kaixuan said with some worry.

Chen Xuan hadn't expected that finding other cultivators would be so difficult.

After returning to the ground, the two flew westward.

The landform here is quite unique, similar to the karst landform of my previous life, and you can even see various divine minerals and associated stones on the ground.

"Ok?"

Just as Chen Xuan was carefully observing the ground, he finally sensed the presence of humans three hundred miles to the west.

"There's a human presence."

"Where?" Wang Kaixuan followed Chen Xuan's gaze. "Finally, we've encountered other living people. I wonder which group of cultivators they are."

This space was invaded by demonic energy, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of divine sense. It was already quite remarkable that Chen Xuan could still use his divine sense to detect other cultivators from such a distance.

"Go and have a look."

The two sped up and flew closer. As the distance closed, Chen Xuan finally knew which group of people had stopped to rest ahead by sensing each other's presence.

"It's actually them?" Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing the two's condition with his divine sense. "When they left the God-Slaying Guard branch, I remember they were a team of three. How come there are only two left now? Where is Ling Tianxiao from the Nine Heavens Academy?"

"From one of the Four Great Academies?" Upon hearing Ling Tianxiao's name, Wang Kaixuan immediately realized something. "No way, aren't the Four Great Academies considered the second-best sects in Qingtian County?"

Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "Even we almost died in that underground mine, let alone them?"

"That's true."

As they talked, Chen Xuan and his companion approached a valley ahead.

The warning array in the valley was triggered. Ziyu from Tianqing Academy and Yueming from Shanggu Academy suddenly stood up, quickly drew their divine weapons, and their auras burst forth as they stared intently at the direction from which Chen Xuan and the other person were flying.

"Who!" Yue Ming shouted.

Dressed in purple and ethereal as a fairy, with blood still on her lips, Ziyu shouted madly, "Damn it! You killed Tianxiao and stole most of our divine mine source stones! Do you really want to force us to fight to the death?"

At this moment, both Yue Ming and Zi Yu were on edge.

Two days ago, the three of them had just finished exploring three mines. With the academy's strong foundation and the fact that they were among the most outstanding disciples of their generation, they thought they could complete the mission smoothly. However, they hadn't expected the strange creatures in the mines to be so powerful; after exploring the three mines, they had almost exhausted the protective treasures bestowed upon them by their sect elders.

With such effort, the three naturally reaped a large amount of divine ore source stones. Just as they returned to the surface to rest and recover, preparing to continue exploring other mines, they encountered other teams of cultivators. Initially, Ziyu and Yueming were rather cautious.

Unexpectedly, one of the opposing team members had a good relationship with Ling Tianxiao, so the two teams took a break to exchange ideas.

Unexpectedly, they encountered such a great calamity: not only was the divine ore stolen, but their friend Ling Tianxiao was also killed.

They thought the other party had left because they were afraid of a desperate counterattack, but they didn't expect them to come back.

As soon as Chen Xuan and Wang Kaixuan flew nearby, they immediately felt intense anger and a palpable killing intent.

"It seems they've encountered some misfortune." Chen Xuan possessed divine sense and could perceive Zi Yu and Yue Ming's undisguised emotions from afar.

"Based on my past experience, I must have suffered a great loss," Wang Kaixuan nodded in agreement.

wow——

As a divine sense transmission traveled a hundred miles and reached Ziyu and Yueming's ears, the two refrained from immediately unleashing forbidden techniques to fight to the death.

"It's them?"

“Two disciples of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Purity Palace,” Ziyu said, frowning.

"It's Bei Ming and that guy with the Taoist name Sanzang." Yue Ming relaxed a little after hearing the news and said, "These two are only at the Opening Mansion Realm, and there are only two of them. They probably didn't come here to die because they coveted our divine mine source stones."

"Hmph, let's see what they're up to," Zi Yu said coldly.

wow——

As they spoke, Senior Brother Chen Xuan and his companion appeared above the valley.

"Fellow Daoists, would you mind having a chat?" Chen Xuan asked with a smile. "My senior brother and I have no ill intentions; we simply wish to make a deal with you both."

"Yes, we are weak, and even if you two are injured, we dare not act recklessly."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan glanced at his senior brother; this kid was clearly playing dumb to fool others.

First, show weakness, then reveal a large amount of divine ore source stones. If the other party makes a move, then counterattack and seize the treasure.