Ding Fan and his companion stood near the entrance of the mine cave, observing simply.
At this mont, there were many cultivators near the entrance, including quite a few Loose Cultivators. It was obvious that the mine cave attracted many cultivators to co, and they gathered in groups outside the entrance, chatting. Ding Fan extended his Divine Sense and heard that most of them were discussing the treasures inside the cave.
Many cultivators seed not to have high cultivation but appeared more like rchants. They sat on both sides of a road outside the entrance, displaying small signs on the ground, offering to purchase various ores and Spirit Stones. The road was lined with such rchant cultivators.
It looked like a marketplace.
It was clear that the mine cave had existed for quite so ti, having established a comrcial scale.
Ding Fan released his Divine Sense and found that many cultivators were like himself, yet to enter the mine cave. At that mont, they were forming teams at the entrance, seeking companions. Ding Fan knew that although many treasures might be within the cave, there was also so danger.
Encounters with powerful Yuan Beasts inside were normal, and even without Yuan Beasts, grouping together would save considerable effort.
Ding Fan wasn't particularly concerned about teaming up; possessing strong Divine Sense ant he and his companion could enter the cave to dig for treasures without issue.
As Ding Fan and his companion stood there, observing the surroundings, several young cultivators approached Ding Fan, their gaze fixed on him.
"Brother, are you planning to enter the mine cave too?"
Soon, the cultivators arrived in front of Ding Fan and his companion. A moderately built young man, looking sowhat handso, spoke to Ding Fan politely.
Ding Fan glanced at the youth casually, noticing that although he appeared decent, like a righteous cultivator, Ding Fan sensed an evil aura from him. His cultivation was at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, not weak.
However, that evil aura, though the young cultivator tried hard to conceal it, couldn't escape Ding Fan's eyes.
Ding Fan understood a bit about the youth but showed no displeasure, replying calmly:
"Yes."
The handso youth smiled friendlily upon hearing Ding Fan's response, then glanced at Wang Hu behind Ding Fan, seemingly speaking amicably:
"Is your friend behind you joining as well?"
Hearing the youth's words, Wang Hu nodded directly. Seeing the smile on the youth's face, he also returned a friendly smile.
Seeing Wang Hu's deanor, the youth then politely said to Ding Fan and his companion:
"Hello, brothers. I'm Gao Jian. Since we're all going to enter the mine cave for fortune hunting, why don't we team up? I've been to this mine cave before, and I'm familiar with the situation inside. My friends and I have already agreed to enter together. What do you think, brother?"
Upon hearing the youth's words, Ding Fan looked at the cultivators behind Gao Jian. There were four in total, one being a Female Cultivator, the other three were Male Cultivators. The Female Cultivator, at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, had the highest cultivation among them.
However, Ding Fan noticed the True Qi emanating from her body, realizing that although she and Gao Jian shared the Early Nascent Soul Stage, her cultivation wasn't as profound as Gao Jian's.
The other three Male Cultivators had cultivation levels, with two in the Mid Fetal Breath Stage and one in the Late Fetal Breath Stage, which wasn't very high.
One of the taller male cultivators behind Gao Jian heard Gao Jian's words and enthusiastically spoke to Ding Fan:
"Brother Gao is very nice. My brothers and I are here for the first ti and aren't familiar with the place. Brother Gao didn't mind at all and warmly invited us. You should join us, brother."
The tall youth finished, and a seemingly weaker youth beside him agreed:
"That's right, Brother Gao's character is impeccable; he looks like a righteous person. Brother, why don't you join us? We can look out for each other."
The frail youth finished, and the ordinary-looking Female Cultivator nodded at Ding Fan, evidently agreeing with the two and trusting Gao Jian. Another slightly pudgy Male Cultivator also nodded without saying anything.
Upon hearing their invitations, Ding Fan turned to Wang Hu and asked:
"Brother, what do you think?"
Wang Hu heard Ding Fan's question and gave a plain smile, then said to Ding Fan:
"I think joining them is pretty good, considering they are very enthusiastic, but Brother Fan, I'll follow your lead."
Wang Hu felt honored, grateful for their warm invitation. Clearly, Wang Hu hadn't noticed anything strange about the handso youth, feeling eager to join the group, but he knew the final decision rested with Ding Fan.
The crowd was taken aback by Wang Hu's words.
Gao Jian was also montarily stunned upon hearing Wang Hu. He could tell that the other person's cultivation was at the Late Stage of the Embryonic Breath and seed only a step away from the Nascent Soul Stage. Although such a cultivation level couldn't be compared to his own in the younger generation of the Cultivation World, it still made him a standout among young cultivators.
But the other person obediently listened to the one without any True Qi Fluctuation emanating from him and even called him "Brother Fan" with apparent respect?
At this mont, Gao Jian's gaze toward Ding Fan carried a hint of peculiarity.
The cultivators behind Gao Jian also looked astonished at the scene but said nothing. After all, the Cultivation World still had quite a few people who valued loyalty; not everyone was one to curry favor with power.
The crowd looked at Ding Fan, perhaps sensing that he had once shown kindness to the young man behind him.
"Very well, let's go in together then."
Ding Fan ignored the surprised looks from those around him and calmly said.
Initially, because of the faintly malicious aura that Gao Jian could barely conceal, Ding Fan was reluctant to team up with him.
However, Ding Fan reconsidered. Since the other party warmly invited them, he might as well agree. After all, more people would an he could conserve so energy upon entering the cave.
"Great! I'm quite familiar with this mine cave. Once we enter, I'll lead the way at the front, which will allow everyone to save so ti and mine more Spirit Stones. We can then divide the Spirit Stones evenly among us."
Gao Jian said with an apparently sincere and generous smile on his face.
Except for Ding Fan, everyone seed pleased by Gao Jian's words. After all, almost none of them had been in a mine cave before, and having such a generous cultivator to lead the way was indeed lucky.
"Thank you, Brother Gao, for your efforts." The female cultivator expressed her joyful gratitude upon hearing Gao Jian's words.
"Indeed, Brother Gao is a selfless person. It's my honor to et such a heroic and warm-hearted person as Brother Gao today!"
The tall male cultivator imdiately said sincerely.
"No, no, no need to be polite, it's just fate. We'll all prosper together!"
Gao Jian said with apparent cheerfulness, though there was a trace of pride in his eyes that Ding Fan happened to notice.
At that mont, Ding Fan felt a twinge of caution towards this guy, but didn't show it. anwhile, Gao Jian, walking ahead, seed oblivious to Ding Fan's intentions, occasionally glancing at Wang Hu beside Ding Fan but not paying Ding Fan himself any mind.
After all, the man didn't have the slightest True Qi Fluctuation, clearly just a novice whose sole purpose would be cannon fodder in an encounter with an enemy.
Gao Jian's pride wasn't expressed openly, and he led the group towards the mine cave in an ordinary manner.
In no ti, the crowd entered the mine cave.
As soon as they entered, the light significantly dimd. Though incomparable to outside, occasional Illumination Arrays inside the cave made seeing people not a problem.
There weren't many cultivators near the entrance, but the continuous sounds of hamring suggested many deeper in the cave.
The small paths inside the mine cave were indeed nurous. At a glance, Ding Fan saw over a dozen tunnels. He could tell these mines were dug by previous cultivators. Using his Divine Sense, Ding Fan probed further; after a few hundred ters into each mine, more forks appeared, resembling a maze.
Ding Fan knew so of these larger and smaller mine caves had beco dead-ends, with no further need for excavation. Evidently, cultivators coming here for the first ti would have to spend considerable ti finding tunnels worth excavating.
However, for Ding Fan, such matters posed no challenge. His Divine Sense quickly identified several routes leading directly to Spirit Stones, but he remained silent for the ti being.
For now, the group, led by Gao Jian, was also following a useful route.
This alone suggested that Gao Jian indeed had visited this mine cave before. However, Ding Fan knew this Cultivation World wasn't full of altruists, and Gao Jian certainly wasn't one of them, especially given the malicious aura the person exuded.
Although Ding Fan was unsure of Gao Jian's real motives, he believed that a hidden fox would eventually reveal its tail.
He just needed to watch and wait.
Under Gao Jian's guidance, the group soon traversed several tunnels and arrived at a certain mine cave.
Here, rich Spiritual Energy wafted out in waves, making everyone feel extrely excited.
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