Chapter 404

Chapter 404: Essence of War

Cultivation +1

Cultivation +1

…

After collecting all the exposed high-quality secret silver ore, Ji Yang reluctantly put away the iron pick in his hand.

Turning to look at the dark mine, now devoid of any silver glimmers, Ji Yang nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

Moreover, during his mining, he had experienced that unusual sensation twice again.

Although the secret silver ore he mined during that peculiar feeling still only produced Blue Light Points, the sense of controlling everything and knowing both himself and the surroundings was indescribable.

After securing his iron pick, Ji Yang didn’t linger.

The secret silver ore in the mine was mostly exhausted, and even the rare Mine Spirit was now in his possession. While there was still some left, it wasn’t worth Ji Yang’s time to continue mining.

With over a month remaining until the secret realm closed, he could easily find some new mines or explore the middle and upper levels of the secret realm.

Although he had grasped only a superficial understanding of the essence of the Way, he still lacked knowledge in that area, so it was best to see what the wild essence of the Way looked like in the secret realm.

As Ji Yang returned through the tunnel he had excavated, he opened his attribute panel.

After mining for so long, he hadn’t checked his current cultivation points.

【Name: Ji Yang】

【Age: 20】

【Realm: Late Spirit Transformation】

【Techniques: Feather Transformation Ascension Skill, Huang Ting Dao Jing, Xuantian Breathing Technique】

【Abilities: Heart Sword, Sword Cultivation, Breathing Technique of All Things, Soldiers from Beans, Wandering Spirit Commanding Energy, Thunderous Power, You reap what you sow, Thousands of Sword Energies, Feather Transformation】

【Cultivation: 923/999】

【Available】

【Essence of War: 0.3%】

【Status: Heaven’s Jealousy】

【Status: Heavenly Punishment】

Seeing that his cultivation points had reached 923, Ji Yang felt a great joy in his heart. This amount was more than enough for him to break through to the Void Refinement stage, and he might even leap over several small realms.

However, Ji Yang wasn’t in a hurry to break through. He wanted to accumulate his cultivation points to 999 and see if there was an upper limit on the cultivation points.

Upon noticing the new addition of the essence of the Way section below, Ji Yang showed a look of surprise.

Essence of War? Is this what I comprehended while mining?

From the name alone, it seemed to be an essence used for combat, at 0.3%? Clearly, it was from his previous three insights.

If he could reach 100%, would that mean he had achieved mastery in this essence?

Although this wasn’t the essence he initially desired, if he could gain it for free, that would be quite nice. Plus, this essence was a great choice for mining.

After this secret realm ends, it seems he will have to look for some knowledge related to the essence of the Way, as he currently does not know much about it.

“Ding, ding, ding…”

Soon, Ji Yang heard the sound of other cultivators mining nearby.

With the departure of the queen ant, the other Red Fire Ants in the mine seemed to vanish in an instant, greatly benefiting the other cultivators working there.

Without the disturbance from the Red Fire Ants, their mining speed and harvest increased significantly.

Ji Yang stepped out of the depths of the mine and looked around, spotting many unfamiliar cultivators, which indicated that they had arrived afterward.

Ji Yang’s appearance attracted the attention of several cultivators, but upon sensing that he was only at the Golden Core Stage, they resumed their mining.

However, a few cultivators looked surprised. They were the earliest ones to mine here and had seen Ji Yang before.

Since Ji Yang entered the mine, he hadn’t been seen again, leading them to believe he had either left long ago or met his end at the hands of the Red Fire Ants.

They did not expect to see Ji Yang again appearing in the mine.

Ji Yang’s presence made some cultivators contemplative. Staying in the mine for such a long time surely meant he must have gathered a lot of secret silver ore. More importantly, he was only at the Golden Core Stage, which was quite tempting for them.

Yet, a few others quickly withdrew their gazes.

His clothes were too clean, without a speck of mine dirt or traces of venom from the Red Fire Ants; even his complexion was exceptionally rosy.

These seemingly unreasonable factors, combined with his Golden Core Stage, hinted at the danger surrounding him.

However, as Ji Yang walked by, a few cultivators dropped their iron picks and unintentionally followed him.

Although they noticed these traits, the Golden Core Stage was simply too easy to bully.

Clean clothes? Maybe he just changed after mining; rosy complexion? Perhaps this kid has good skin!

Their greed led them to automatically come up with reasons to explain Ji Yang’s abnormal behavior.

Ji Yang noticed the few people trailing behind him but merely smiled and moved on.

The Mine Spirit needed a lot of secret silver ore for nourishment; although he already had quite a bit, he wouldn’t mind a little more.

Soon, Ji Yang reached the entrance of the mine.

Originally narrow, the area had transformed into a mine hall after being excavated by many cultivators. Surrounding the hall, many cultivators were digging towards the center of the mine.

The large number of cultivators surprised Ji Yang; there were far more miners than he had imagined.

However, the cultivators mining outside had relatively lower realms, primarily at the Nascent Soul Stage. Judging by their situation on his trips to and from the mine, it was evident they had not actively chosen this; they most likely couldn’t compete with the other cultivators.

Even outside there were quite a few secret silver ores, though their quality was relatively lower.

“Ha ha! I found it! I found it!”

While Ji Yang was lost in thought, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator in the mine exclaimed in delight upon seeing the shiny silver beneath his iron pick.

But as soon as he spoke, he regretted it.

The gazes of the surrounding cultivators turned towards him with mixed envy and jealousy, and when everyone saw the secret silver ore revealed before this Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, more voices echoed around:

“What quality! This is a piece of high-quality secret silver ore!”

“You’re really lucky, Fellow Daoist!”

…

Seeing that only congratulatory voices came from the crowd, and no cultivators came to snatch his find, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator revealed a modest smile. This was his first time discovering high-quality secret silver ore, and he was naturally thrilled.

However, just as he raised his iron pick, preparing to extract the high-quality secret silver ore, he suddenly heard a young voice say:

“Wait!”

This instantly startled the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, causing him to feel anxious. But when he looked back, he found that the speaker was just a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

Before he could get angry, the Golden Core Stage cultivator approached and began to instruct him:

“What you’re doing is wrong.

If you dig from that angle, you won’t be able to extract this secret silver ore and might even damage it. You should dig from this angle, and then…”