Chapter 133
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Chapter 133: Research
"I curse you and your two elders!"
Feeling the laughter so close, Ji Yang couldn’t bear it any longer and suddenly swung his iron pick backward.
A wave of Thousands of Sword Energies surged forth, striking directly at the figure behind Ji Yang.
The persistent laughter stopped abruptly, becoming intermittent.
When Ji Yang turned around, he saw the source of the laughter.
It was a phantom shadow, which at first glance appeared graceful and even curvy.
But upon closer inspection, the shadow was shapeless, completely composed of layers of black mist, forming the likeness of an attractive woman. However, her face was unclear, merely a façade.
If she had a human skin mask, perhaps there would be some potential for development.
Ji Yang shook off the sudden thought and continued to focus.
After being struck by Ji Yang’s Thousands of Sword Energies, the shadow split in two, and the earlier voice faded away.
It seemed that this creature was the cause of his unrest while mining.
But it was only a minor issue, not worth much concern.
At that moment, the ringing of the bell outside had stopped. Just as Ji Yang intended to continue mining, he noticed a new change in the shadow.
Strange black mist rose from the unmined Xuan Iron Mine around him, and as this black mist detached, it rushed toward the shattered shadow.
With the merging of the two, the previously split shadow reformed, returning to its prior shape, and it let out a series of delicate laughs:
"Ha ha ha ha…"
Seeing this, Ji Yang’s expression tightened; he realized he had underestimated the energy of the earth demons.
He never expected it could actually restore itself using the Xuan Iron Mine.
The restored shadow slowly approached Ji Yang, its form drifting like smoke.
If he were in any other world, Ji Yang would have fled as far as possible.
But with the iron pick in hand and his Golden Core circulating within him, Ji Yang felt the courage to face this apparition!
Watching the shadow draw near, Ji Yang snorted coldly:
"I want to see how many times you can restore yourself!"
True Essence surged through Ji Yang’s body as he swung his iron pick; hundreds upon hundreds of Thousands of Sword Energies erupted from it.
In an instant, the fierce sword energy struck, and within moments, the shadow was shredded to dust by Ji Yang’s Thousands of Sword Energies!
When all the sword energies faded, only some broken remnants of the energy of the earth demons remained in the corners of the mine.
Ji Yang couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
Just a trivial matter.
Before Ji Yang could fully celebrate, he was shocked to see the shattered shadow reforming once again, with more energy of the earth demons emerging from the nearby Xuan Iron Mine.
Though it was only a small amount, the abundance of Xuan Iron Mines in this area made it significant.
In no time, the shadow regained its shape, causing Ji Yang’s face to turn a little grim.
His Thousands of Sword Energies had failed!
Ji Yang carefully observed the shadow, noticing that it had lost some of its solidity after being struck by several Thousands of Sword Energies.
Even the delicate laughter it had emitted was much weaker now.
It seemed that the energy of the earth demons was not inexhaustible; there was still some consumption taking place.
However, the surrounding Xuan Iron Mine continually replenished the energy of the earth demons, which originated from deep underground.
This meant that to completely deal with this shadow, Ji Yang would have to either clear out all the energy of the earth demons nearby, preventing it from forming again, or resolve the issue at its source.
Ji Yang knew he did not have the strength for the latter, but it was not impossible to try the former.
Yet, it seemed that the Thousands of Sword Energies were somewhat ineffective in this regard, making Ji Yang fall into contemplation.
While he thought, the shadow continued to close the distance towards Ji Yang.
Faced with this strange energy of the earth demons, Ji Yang did not dare to approach recklessly. Although his physical body was strong and his lifespan long, he might not be able to fully resist this creature.
After thinking for a moment, Ji Yang set down his iron pick, preparing to change his method of attack.
While the Thousands of Sword Energies were not weak, everything had its balance; perhaps a different approach would yield surprising results.
Ji Yang gathered his True Essence, and the next moment, two deep blue fireballs appeared in his hands.
Among the spells Ji Yang had learned, he was most adept at the Small Rain Technique and the Golden Insect Technique, with the Fireball Technique coming next.
He had learned this technique under Elder Tang’s direct guidance in the Law Transmission Hall, gaining a better understanding and application of it than other attack spells.
Ji Yang planned to use the Fireball Technique to attack the energy of the earth demons and see how effective it would be.
As he threw the two deep blue fireballs, the shadow did not try to dodge. It was clear that the shadow formed by the energy of the earth demons lacked even basic intelligence, relying only on instinct.
When the fireballs contacted the energy of the earth demons, a sizzling sound filled the air, reminiscent of water splashing into hot oil.
Ji Yang was filled with joy; it was effective!
But before he could celebrate, he saw the fireballs quickly dissipating.
The shadow remained, but its form had become slightly more blurry.
It was indeed useful, but not significantly so.
However, it was evident that the Fireball Technique had a better effect in this situation than the Thousands of Sword Energies.
If Ji Yang went all out, whether using his techniques or Thousands of Sword Energies, he could indeed deal with this shadow.
Initially, Ji Yang’s goal was to completely eliminate the shadow formed by the energy of the earth demons, but now he was more interested in testing it. He wanted to understand the threshold of this energy of the earth demons to facilitate better mining later.
After some reflection, Ji Yang conjured two blue fireballs again, but this time he did not rush to throw them. Instead, he quietly circulated the Feather Transformation Ascension Skill.
As he did so, the two blue fireballs transformed into a grayish-white color.
Sensing the radically different Fireball Technique, the advancing shadow paused for a moment, seemingly instinctively fearful.
Without hesitation, Ji Yang threw the two altered fireballs.
"Zzzz!"
With a loud sound, a wisp of green smoke vanished, leaving the shadow completely gone, with only a few strands of black mist lingering around, trying to restore itself.
But because this fireball technique had a different power, merging with Ji Yang’s skill characteristics, those few strands of black mist could not find more compatible energy and slowly faded into silence.
Ji Yang nodded slightly.
He was surprised that the Fireball Technique, enhanced by his skill characteristics, had such a good effect on the energy of the earth demons; this was unexpected.
But as long as it was effective, that was enough.
Although the energy of the earth demons in the Xuan Iron Mine would become more active as night fell, Ji Yang sensed that no shadows made of the energy of the earth demons would emerge to disturb him for the time being.
Just as Ji Yang picked up his iron pick from the ground, ready to continue mining, he glanced at the broken strands of black mist below. Ji Yang reflexively reached out, inexplicably wanting to touch it.
According to his senior brother’s introduction, the energy of the earth demons here was merely a trace and not pure.
Even so, Ji Yang could feel its troublesome nature; it would indeed be difficult for ordinary cultivators to resist.
Only through deeper contact could Ji Yang discover its weaknesses and characteristics.
It was a form of being prepared for unforeseen circumstances.
Just as Ji Yang’s hand was about to touch the strand of energy of the earth demons, a booming voice called out from behind him:
"Don’t touch that!"
