Guo Rongjin was a unique figure in Hengshan Hall. He was famous, but rarely seen. Even Tang Wei had to show him so respect. He was strong and had seniority, but he simply wasn’t interested in managing Hengshan Hall. He preferred the way of cultivating in the Fire Cloud Cave.
Wang ng’s Golden Palace Technique was already circulating as he sensed the changes in the ore veins. His original intention had been to use his Insight into the tal of the Five Elents to find so high-quality ore, but now, it was a different matter entirely.
His Spiritual Sense spread out, working in tandem with his Cultivation Technique. The ore veins appeared vaguely before him, but this was only a superficial view. What he wanted to sense was the very essence of the tal of the Five Elents. Naturally ford ore veins were a physical manifestation of the essence of the Heaven and Earth Five Elents. ’But how do they form?’
’The Five Elents are still present, yet they stand out. The balance, however, remains unbroken.’
The more Wang ng pondered it, the more interesting it beca. ’This Five Elents Dao is truly a Great Dao. It already surpasses the simple, singular pursuit of power that most Cultivators follow.’
Lost in thought, a contemplative smile graced Wang ng’s lips.
"Junior Brother Wang doesn’t seem to talk much," Guo Rongjin comnted.
"He’s an odd one," Yang Ying said. It was clear that Wang ng could be very talkative at tis; Yang Ying simply still didn’t understand what kind of person he truly was.
The two followed Guo Rongjin through the Fire Cloud Cave. Guo Rongjin clearly knew the place like the back of his hand. After many twists and turns, they saw fewer and fewer people.
"This is it. It’s a good spot I found recently. The ore yield is quite high. If you’re looking for sothing around the Third Grade, just leave it to ."
Guo Rongjin declared boisterously, and neither Yang Ying nor Wang ng stood on ceremony.
Guo Rongjin took a deep breath and began to furiously pound against the ore wall. His brutal force sent rubble flying everywhere, and glints of light were mixed in with the debris. This was at least First-Grade Ore; the yield was indeed very high.
Wang ng, however, just watched quietly. Guo Rongjin explained as he smashed away, "Mining is really just manual labor; there aren’t many tricks to it. It’s finding the ore that requires a few little techniques. Ore is divided into surface ore and deep ore. So places look like they have a high yield on the surface, but inside, it’s all just rock. Other places are rock on the surface but contain rich deposits within."
"Then how do you tell them apart?"
"Haha, well, that’s the complicated part. You have to rely on experience, and also your sensitivity to the tal of the Five Elents. But even then, I still make mistakes often. I was probably a miner in my past life. What others see as hard labor, I see as fun. Occasionally finding a piece of Sixth-Grade or Seventh-Grade Ore is a wonderful surprise."
Guo Rongjin continued. Forging didn’t require such high-quality ore, but anything Fifth Grade or above was highly valuable, and Fire Cloud Hall was never stingy with its purchase prices.
Yang Ying glanced at Wang ng. She had intentionally asked the question for his benefit, but he seed a bit dazed, just staring blankly as Guo Rongjin mined with frantic energy. It had to be said, his ferocity was quite intimidating. A Sword Cultivator could never hope to match that kind of frequency.
"Heh. Truth be told, Body Cultivators and Power Cultivators have the biggest advantage when it cos to mining. With Junior Brother Guo’s help this ti, we can already consider it a success. We can try negotiating with Song Zhong again. This isn’t sothing that can be settled in one go, anyway."
Yang Ying said. In her eyes, Wang ng had already given up.
But Wang ng remained silent, still looking dazed. Inside, however, he was pleasantly surprised. ’My Spiritual Sense is gradually growing stronger. Divine Sense is an ability akin to a Divine Artifact, possessed only by the top experts of the Grand Thousand World, but bringing such an ability down to a Lower Realm could easily trigger a Celestial Tribulation. However, as my comprehension of the Five Elents Technique has deepened, especially after grasping the Five Elents Fla, my Insight into my surroundings has improved again. Although it can’t be compared to Divine Sense, it has a similarly wondrous effect.’
’I thought this feeling would be useful for Alchemy, but when forging, that clear-mirror state of mind was hard to grasp. I never expected it to return while sensing the ore veins.’
The range wasn’t very large, but his perception had gone from blurry to clear. Wang ng hadn’t moved because he was busy stabilizing this new sensation, faintly sensing a breakthrough point for the tal of the Five Elents.
Ti seed to pass slowly, but half a day had already gone by. Although Guo Rongjin was very strong, the constant barrage was starting to exhaust him. However, his harvest was quite abundant; he had found ores ranging from First to Third Grade. While it was a far cry from what Thunderlight Hall needed, it was enough for Wang ng to use for a while.
With his final powerful strike, he actually unearthed a piece of Fourth-Grade Ore. A smile couldn’t help but spread across Guo Rongjin’s face. This was pretty good luck; not only was the grade high, but the piece was also quite substantial.
Yang Ying also showed a hint of pleasant surprise. This would be enough for Wang ng to use for a few days. In truth, she didn’t want him to spend too much energy on forging. Alchemy was one thing—after all, he had Zhou Feng’s guidance and genuine talent—but forging was an entirely different matter. And even if he mastered it, so what?
Unless he reached the level where he could forge a Divine Sword, forging was just a trade for a Cultivator to make a living, not sothing the truly strong pursued.
Just then, Wang ng picked up a pickaxe and walked toward a wall behind them.
Chapter Three: The First Ti
Yang Ying was about to speak, but Guo Rongjin just smiled. "This is probably Junior Brother Wang’s first ti here. Let him have a try."
Guo Rongjin’s strength might not have ranked in the top ten within the Holy Hall, but when it ca to knowledge of the Fire Cloud Cave, no one else could compare. And as for Forging Skill, he was currently number one in the Holy Hall’s Jiufen Hall.
With his talent for identifying ores and forging, Guo Rongjin could naturally beco a Holy Hall Elder once he reached a certain level. But clearly, what Guo Rongjin sought was more than just the empty title of an ordinary Elder.
Wang ng tapped the pickaxe repeatedly against the wall, actually looking like he knew what he was doing.
"Senior Sister, what is your relationship with this Junior Brother Wang?" Guo Rongjin asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Mining wasn’t a treasure hunt; you couldn’t rely on speculation. To put it bluntly, it was manual labor, which was why only Body Cultivators could stick with it.
"Partners."
"Oh... Huh?" Guo Rongjin was so startled he practically jumped. His jaw dropped as if he’d just witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world.
Speechlessly, he pointed at Wang ng, then back at Yang Ying. ’...How in the world does that compute?’
Yang Ying, however, didn’t dwell on the topic. Watching Wang ng tap his way along the wall, she said, "We still need to deal with Song Zhong to resolve this. If we can’t do it today, we can always co back."
Wang ng’s pickaxe ca to a stop. "This should be the spot!"
He swung the pickaxe and began digging furiously. This was certainly awkward work for a Sword Cultivator; his frequency and power couldn’t compare to Guo Rongjin’s in the slightest.
Guo Rongjin watched intently for a while. ’To have caught Yang Ying’s eye, this man must be exceptionally talented.’ But the ti it took for an incense stick to burn passed, and Wang ng was still just chipping away at rocks.
’What is this nonsense? He’s a perfectly good Sword Cultivator. Why is he here acting like a clown?’
"Senior Sister, your... friend... has quite the sense of humor."
Guo Rongjin really couldn’t find a more suitable word.
Yang Ying, on the other hand, was quite calm. By now, she had beco completely composed. ’Wang ng wouldn’t do this on a whim. He must have so other purpose.’
Just then, a slight smile touched Wang ng’s lips. He was also in the process of verifying whether his feeling was correct.
BOOM—
The force of that blow was absolutely extraordinary. Most importantly, the sound of the impact was completely different from before. Guo Rongjin’s expression changed in an instant.
A crack opened up. The glittering points on the ore were not only dense, but their color was also far more brilliant.
"Fifth-Grade Ore!"
Guo Rongjin blurted out. With his experience, he was quite certain.
Wang ng dusted off his hands. They were actually a little sore. He had to admit, mining really wasn’t for him.
’I’ve more or less grasped the feeling of the tal of the Five Elents. So that’s all there is to it, nothing more.’
In the eyes of other Cultivators, things like ores and Pills were all inanimate objects. No life ant no soul. But in Wang ng’s perception, it was completely different. ’Whether sothing is living or not, its essence is the sa. Everything must follow the fundantal laws; they just manifest in different ways.’
Different grades of ore contained completely different concentrations of the tal of the Five Elents. When searching, soone like Guo Rongjin had to rely on a fickle Innate sense that was sotis reliable and sotis not. But Wang ng was different. There was no tal of the Five Elents in ordinary stone; what he had to do was identify the high-quality types from among the various concentrations of it.
"He hit a lode! His luck is off the charts, this actually worked!" Guo Rongjin exclaid. ’No wonder they say beginners have all the luck. I’ve got no choice but to believe it now.’
Generally speaking, when you find a piece of high-quality ore, you should keep digging in the sa spot. There’s usually more than one piece; that’s a basic principle.
But Wang ng simply collected the ore. "Let’s look around so more."
Guo Rongjin was stunned. "Hey, don’t go! If you keep digging here, you might find more."
Wang ng shook his head and continued deeper into the cave. ’Fifth Grade is enough for most people,’ he thought, ’but to withstand my tempering, I’ll need sothing even better.’
Yang Ying and Guo Rongjin could only follow. This ti, Wang ng tapped the walls far less often and moved much faster, but the ambient pressure was clearly growing stronger.
’This Fire Cloud Cave is probably no ordinary mine,’ Wang ng mused. ’I encountered places like this in my past life. So of them even housed powerful Demon Beasts, but the Fire Cloud Cave clearly doesn’t. This strange pressure is probably the reason why.’
You couldn’t just brute-force your way through such rigid pressure with Elental Power, especially not at Wang ng’s current level. It required a certain degree of skill. The seemingly formless pressure, in fact, still had form.
As they went deeper, Yang Ying had to start releasing her Elental Power to resist the force. They were now at the far end of Zone B. Guo Rongjin was still doing fine; as a Power Cultivator, although he focused on offense, his body was also tempered quite well. Having endured this pressure long-term, he was far more accustod to it than a newcor would be.
"Wang ng, don’t push yourself. It’ll be dangerous if we go any deeper," Yang Ying warned.
Wang ng smiled. "I know. We’re almost there."
’We’re almost at a focal point,’ he thought. ’The tal of the Five Elents is more concentrated here, so there should be sothing of higher quality.’
He didn’t go much further before stopping. After tapping around for a bit, he began to dig again. The deeper they were, the more strenuous the digging beca, consuming a great deal of energy. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long this ti. With a loud BANG, Wang ng smashed another large chunk from the wall. This piece, however, didn’t seem as good as the last. It was very shiny, but the color was off.
Guo Rongjin’s jaw dropped to the floor. He imdiately lunged forward. "Th-this is a Seventh-Grade Ore! Holy shit! I’ve only managed to dig up one of these in a whole year! Holy shit!"
(Author’s Note: Just got ho, so the update is late. My apologies!) (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please show your support by casting recomndation votes and monthly passes on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation!)
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