Volume 1, Chapter 79 – Spirit Crystal Vein

After that group left, the young woman sat down, looking a little displeased. She leaned toward the man who had just spoken and said quietly,

“Senior Brother, why did you stop me? Just one look at that lot and you can tell they are not good people.”

“Even a powerful outsider cannot afford to offend the local powers. We have no idea what backing these people have. If we offend them rashly, getting ourselves into danger is a small matter. If we end up delaying the sect’s assignment, can you take responsibility?!”

The man’s tone was a bit stern.

The young woman’s face fell. She did not dare argue with him and only pouted.

Barely the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea passed in silence before the young woman could not hold back and quietly asked, “Senior Brother, is there really a spirit crystal vein nearby?”

“Silence!”

The man’s expression changed. He lifted his head and looked around, sweeping his gaze over the diners. Only after he saw nothing out of the ordinary did he quietly let out a breath.

The chopsticks in Shi Lan’s hand never stopped as she ate at an unhurried pace, but waves were surging in her heart. The girl’s voice might have been low, yet how could it escape her hearing now that her senses were so sharp?

Spirit crystals… a vein…

Of course Shi Lan knew what spirit crystals were. If this spirit crystal vein was really what she was thinking, how enormous would that fortune be?

If she had enough spirit crystals, her cultivation would definitely shoot up by a large margin.

Shi Lan did not linger long. She quickly paid the bill and left the restaurant.

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Once she was out of the city, Shi Lan stepped into the air, rising skyward as she activated Heaven’s Eye Qi-Sight and began observing the flow of spiritual qi in the surroundings.

Put simply, spirit crystals were the result of vast amounts of spiritual qi being compressed into solid form. If they had gathered into a vein, there would definitely be an anomaly in the spiritual qi.

Shi Lan searched in widening circles around the area, looking for a full five-plus hours. Only when it was close to midnight did she finally make a discovery, coming to a halt in midair above a mountain range.

Misty spiritual qi, under Heaven’s Eye, gathered into faint clustered wisps. It was very weak and not very eye-catching. If it were not nighttime and if Shi Lan had not been observing so carefully, she might well have missed it.

At the foot of the range lay a small village with only a few dozen households. All the lights were already out and its inhabitants were fast asleep, the place pitch-black.

Shi Lan entered the mountains, heading toward that spot where the spiritual qi was clustered.

Soon, Shi Lan arrived before a cliff face. A large mine entrance had been opened in the cliff, with several thatched sheds erected in front of it, brightly lit. A few tall, burly figures were pacing to and fro at the mouth of the mine.

Beside the mine lay a pile of mining tools and raw ore that had already been dug out. It looked like an iron mine.

As she drew closer, Shi Lan could feel the purity of the spiritual qi in the air growing stronger. Her body grew excited despite itself and greedily devoured the free-floating spiritual qi all around.

There was little joy on Shi Lan’s face, only a trace of doubt. The men patrolling before the mine had vigorous blood and qi, solid, corded muscles, and steady, grounded steps. It was obvious they were all martial artists.

In particular, in those sheds where the lamps were lit, Heaven’s Eye showed Shi Lan a few abnormally massive auras of blood and qi, like columns of rolling war-smoke. They had already surpassed the scope of the Body Tempering Realm and clearly belonged to martial artists of the Innate Realm.

Shi Lan had also noticed traces of formations at the mouth of the mine.

Could it be that this vein already had an owner?

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At that thought, a hint of retreat rose in Shi Lan’s heart. As precious as a spirit crystal vein was, it still was not worth risking offending a power that could station Innate Realm martial artists here as mine guards.

Shi Lan suppressed her aura and slowed her heartbeat. Just as she was weighing her options, two streaks of light descended openly in front of the sheds.

“Who goes there?!”

“Stop right there!”

The patrolling martial artists at the mine entrance closed in, shouting sharply.

When the light faded, the newcomers were exactly the same group of people Shi Lan had seen earlier that day at the restaurant.

The one in the lead was that Senior Brother.

One of the men behind that Senior Brother swept a glance over the area around the mine and said, “Senior Brother, looks like someone beat us to it.”

“So that is what it is. I thought something had gone wrong. Turns out someone got here ahead of us and even set up a Spirit-Sealing Formation, made me search all over.”

The Senior Brother let out a cold laugh, turned his gaze toward the sheds, and barked, “Come out. Enough hiding in the shadows.”

“Hide? With just a few snot-nosed brats like you, you think I need to hide?”

A powerful, resonant voice rang out as a somewhat gaunt middle-aged man walked out from one of the sheds with two martial artists in their thirties in tow.

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He swept a glance over the group and let out a derisive snort.

“A spirit crystal vein is such a big deal, and yet Flying Star Sect actually only sent a few little whelps like you. Zhao Yi, that old bastard, really does have a big heart.”

“Silence. Do not insult my Master. Report your name!” The Senior Brother stepped forward, eyes cold and sharp. Innate true qi surged out in force, and behind him, rosy light faintly manifested, sketching out a small patch of illusory starry sky.

A chorus of blades and swords leaving their scabbards rang out as the Flying Star Sect disciples behind him all drew their weapons, killing intent rising.

The middle-aged man said nothing. The wide sleeves of his robe billowed despite the still air as Innate true qi likewise began to boil. The martial artists standing behind him had their blood and qi roaring as well, like tigers and leopards lying in wait.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, the sound of hooves drifted over from not far away, drawing closer.

Hearing this galloping, Shi Lan’s face shifted slightly as she felt the Demon-Suppressing Token at her chest grow faintly hot. After sensing for a moment, her heart sank.

Because of that galloping, the taut, on-the-brink atmosphere between the two sides loosened slightly.

Before long, a squad of a dozen or so riders from the Demon-Suppressing Army reined in near the cliff. Seeing the clearly tense standoff between the two factions, that Demon-Suppressing Army squad hesitated.

“Could the Demon-Suppressing Token’s sense have been wrong?”

“Impossible. There is definitely an officer of our Demon-Suppressing Army operating here, at least a Centurion.”

“But with things like this…”

After whispering among themselves for a moment, one rider broke away from the squad, stepped his horse forward, and shouted loudly, “Squad Leader Wang Ning under the Demon-Suppressing Army, requesting that my lord reveal himself.”

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Silence.

The two sides in the standoff, as if by prior agreement, slowly turned their weapons to point at this group from the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Both factions had heard of the Demon-Suppressing Army by name, but knew little of the details. Still, regardless of where they came from, this was a third party, and therefore an enemy.

What was more, there were clearly no Innate Realm martial artists among this squad. They were the easiest soft target to squeeze.

Naturally, it was wiser to take out the bystanders first before dealing with the more troublesome opponents.

Shi Lan sighed inwardly. Whether she wanted to get involved or not, she no longer had a choice.

These people had come seeking her Demon-Suppressing Token. As a member of the Demon-Suppressing Army herself, there was no way she could just stand by and watch them be slaughtered.

But with so many martial artists here, and more than a few Innate Realm among them, she could not just charge in head-on. She needed a plan.

After thinking it over for a bit, an idea formed in Shi Lan’s mind, and her figure melted into the darkness.

Wang Ning looked at the two groups facing off in front of the mine, all their blades and swords pointed at his men. Feeling that things were going very wrong, he loudly repeated what he had just said.

When there was still not the slightest response, Wang Ning guided his horse back into the squad and turned the reins, just about to lead them away, only to find that their retreat had already been cut off. For a moment, they were stuck between advance and retreat, unable to move either way.