Chapter 545: 284: The Secret Underground [Please Subscribe]_2

Chapter 545: Chapter 284: The Secret Underground [Please Subscribe]_2

On the other hand, the two members of the Zhou Family, though quite disappointed in their hearts, at least had not come away completely empty-handed.

Although the interference of Shen Borong and Ruan Hongzhuang had diminished their gains, they ultimately still ended up with the corpses of third-tier Demon Insects.

Compared to third-tier Demon Beasts, third-tier Demon Insects don’t condense inner cores within their bodies, which is the biggest reason why their strength is generally inferior to that of third-tier Demon Beasts and Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators.

But that doesn’t mean the corpses of third-tier Demon Insects are of no value.

In fact, the corpses of third-tier Demon Insects are treasures in themselves.

The exoskeleton, claws, sharp teeth, and even the eyes of the Demon Insects are all very good materials for Artifact Refining.

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And those collected corpses of second-tier Demon Insects could also be taken to the marketplace to be sold for Spirit Coins.

Since the reinforcements from various countries and sects began exterminating Demon Insects in Glory Country, they also offered rewards to their disciples, where a second-tier Demon Insect’s corpse could earn those disciples a good number of merit points within their own sects.

Since Demon Insect corpses had this kind of use, there would naturally be people willing to buy them at a slightly lower price to boost their battle achievements.

Just as the two were planning to continue their search for something that could counter the Demon Insects within Yang Kingdom’s territory, Zhou Chun suddenly shouted as if he’d remembered something, “Something’s not right, something’s fishy!”

“What’s wrong? Zhengchun, have you thought of something?”

Zhou Mingde looked startled and promptly had the Fire Divine Jackal he was riding on stop, casting an inquisitive gaze at Zhou Chun.

Zhou Chun didn’t conceal anything and quickly spoke in a grave voice, “Supreme Elder, think about it, even if those tubers buried underground can serve as food for Demon Insects, how can mere ordinary food devoid of any Spiritual Power supply the growth needs of second-tier and third-tier Demon Insects?”

Hearing his words, Zhou Mingde’s gaze sharpened, and he soon responded, “You mean, there’s something else buried under the ground?”

“I can’t say for sure right now, but with such an unreasonable situation, there must be some other explanation!”

Zhou Chun softly answered Zhou Mingde’s question, his meaning clearly conveyed.

“Alright, then let’s go back and have a more careful look!”

Zhou Mingde didn’t hesitate and quickly made a decision.

Thus, the two of them turned back and re-entered that mountain range.

This time, not only did the two of them search every inch of the ground, but they also let out their Spirit Pets to search together.

After searching for half a day, they indeed made an unexpected discovery.

The one to find the abnormality was the Golden Armor Rock Turtle.

It was inherently an Earth Element Demon Beast that later developed a Metal Attribute, giving it a sense for the earth beyond what ordinary people could achieve.

While searching alone in the mountain range, it faintly sensed a dense concentration of Earth Element Spiritual Power hidden deep within the earth and notified Zhou Chun.

Zhou Chun, upon learning about the underground anomaly from the Golden Armor Rock Turtle, immediately asked Zhou Mingde to follow the turtle’s senses and start digging.

To avoid making too much noise and drawing the attention of other Cultivators passing by, this time they also set up a Formation they carried with them to mask the sounds of excavating.

After digging about a hundred feet deep, the two finally discovered the underground anomaly through their Divine Sense.

It turned out that the dense Earth Element Spiritual Power sensed by the Golden Armor Rock Turtle was actually emitted by a type of Spirit Jade.

Deep beneath the mountain range, there actually lay a mine of “Earth Origin Crystal Jade”!

“Earth Origin Crystal Jade” was a good thing.

This type of Spirit Jade contained pure Earth Element Spiritual Power and had an excellent capacity for containing Earth Element Spiritual Power, making it highly useful in the fields of Artifact Refining and Formations.

When constructing a Mountain Protection Array, this material was one of the essential components needed.

Moreover, Zhou Mingde also knew that some Golden Core Stage Cultivators would use Secret Techniques to extract the Earth Element Spiritual Power contained within “Earth Origin Crystal Jade” to refine their Dharma Treasures, enhancing their power!

Therefore, in the Cultivation World, such Spiritual Objects were in high demand and their price was not cheap at all.

Clearly, those Demon Insects had discovered the “Earth Origin Crystal Jade” mine here and had plenty of food, which was why they refused to migrate and chose to stay.

Had it not been for Zhou Chun and his group’s discovery and eradication, given enough time, supported by the abundant food and the “Earth Origin Crystal Jade” mine, this swarm of insects could have potentially multiplied to that staggering level of millions!

After all, when winter passed and spring arrived, the land of Yang Kingdom razed by fire was bound to rejuvenate and burst forth with new life.

By then, there will be even more food for the insect swarm to eat.

“The Earth Origin Crystal Jade is indeed valuable, even a small-sized vein is worth no less than a million Spirit Coins!”

“But this is Yang Kingdom, and our Zhou Family is more than ten thousand miles away from this place, how can we mine this vein?”

At this moment, having enjoyed his initial excitement, Zhou Mingde quickly turned to Zhou Chun and spoke of the issue at hand.

The value of the vein was unquestionable, but the difficulty of mining it was not to be underestimated either.

In the past, many loose cultivators in the Cultivation World had also discovered veins, but because they were alone and lacked strength, they ultimately could not possess the veins.

Those with the power and courage could perhaps sell the information about the vein for a handsome price.

Those without the strength or courage could only secretly mine some ore to sell, and would have to be extremely cautious even when selling it.

Although the Zhou Family was a force to be reckoned with, it was clear that they, being far away in Jingguo Country, would not be able to send people to take possession of this Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein and mine it.

If they could not take control of this place and mine the vein, then this discovery was obviously not very significant for them.

They certainly couldn’t, like those loose cultivators, sneak around here mining, could they?

Therefore, upon hearing Zhou Mingde’s words, Zhou Chun’s enthusiasm also dissipated, and he couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Frankly speaking, he definitely did not want to give up on this Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein.

It was undoubtedly the most precious vein the Zhou Family had discovered so far, even more high-grade than the Mystical Crystal Stone Mine shared by the four families.

Moreover, currently only they knew about this vein, and there were virtually no other forces nearby.

But they also had to face the reality that the small Zhou Family indeed could not reach out for such a distant vein.

Let alone the Zhou Family, even a great force like the Green Lotus Temple would probably not be able to reach so far!

At this point, seeing that Zhou Chun remained silent for a long time, Zhou Mingde tentatively proposed, “How about we find a force to sell the information to? With the strength of my cultivation, as long as I’m not too greedy, I should be able to sell this information for thirty to fifty thousand Spirit Coins!”

Selling the information about the vein was undoubtedly a last resort, something a loose cultivator would do.

But compared to owning a treasure land without being able to mine it, selling the information for Spirit Coins was indeed a solution.

Thirty to fifty thousand Spirit Coins, compared to the value of the Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein, was nothing, and there would definitely be forces interested in it.

And Zhou Mingde’s cultivation strength at the Purple Mansion Phase made this kind of deal relatively safe, reducing the risk of being silenced.

But how could Zhou Chun be content with such a last resort!

He did not rush to respond to Zhou Mingde’s suggestion, still pondering a better way to handle the situation.

After a considerable amount of time passed, Zhou Chun’s expression suddenly relaxed, as if he had thought of a better solution.

He looked up at Zhou Mingde, smiled slightly, and said, “Junior has thought of a better way to deal with the vein than selling it off, why don’t you guess what it is, Supreme Elder!”

“You lad, now you’re playing coy with me!”

Zhou Mingde’s eyes widened as he urged, “Come on, out with it, what bright idea have you come up with?”

Zhou Chun heard this and immediately said with a smile, “I think that although our Zhou Family cannot send people to mine this Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein, it doesn’t mean that we can’t make use of it!”

“What do you mean by that? If we can’t mine it, how can we use it?”

Zhou Mingde furrowed his brow, not understanding Zhou Chun’s meaning.

Zhou Chun explained, spreading his hands, “Just think about it, Supreme Elder, we can let someone who is capable of mining this Earth Origin Crystal Jade vein come and mine it, and we can simply take a cut from the profits!”

“And who would have that capability?”

Zhou Mingde pressed, too lazy to think further.

“Of course, Senior Lin Hongyu, with her advanced cultivation in the late Purple Mansion Phase, could completely come to Yang Kingdom after the insect disaster is eliminated to take over a Spirit Land and establish a base. And after Yang Kingdom’s calamity, it would probably be difficult to attract various powerhouses to monopolize territories like before!”

“By then, Senior Lin Hongyu could mine here, and the majority of the output can be at her disposal. For the Zhou Family, providing the information, a 20% share of the profits doesn’t seem excessive, does it!”