Chapter 60

(Second update delivered...)

At this moment, a cheer erupted from the base of the mountain, leaving Chen Qing and Su Ziling puzzled.

Chen Hai's frown eased, and he said, "It must be that the snake den has been cleared. Let's go take a look..."

The snake den where the demonic python had hidden had collapsed during the previous fierce battle, with the entrance blocked by a large amount of mud and rocks. The mountain ridge, over a hundred meters high, had its rock layers cracked, making the mountain body unstable. Organizing people to dig through the collapsed mud and rocks was very difficult for Chen Hai, but after half a month of work, it was time to clear the blocked entrance.

During these half a month, the Dao Academy organized disciples to hunt down demonic beasts at three other locations, and relics were found, albeit incomplete. Chen Hai and his group speculated that there might also be some relics left behind by the demon-slaying independent cultivators who were killed by the demonic python in the snake den.

Therefore, while they organized people to dig through the snake den, Zhou Jingyuan and others were always on watch.

If any relics were found, whether complete or not, everyone would gain a windfall.

The mountain ridge's rock layers were unstable, so two rows of sturdy wooden frames were set up in the excavated entrance, forming a tunnel about three meters high. After a large amount of air was pumped in, Chen Hai and Wu Meng walked in, feeling a pungent wind.

Chen Qing, though she disliked Chen Hai, was also curious about what relics might be found in the cave. She and Su Ziling covered their mouths and noses with scarves and followed Wu Meng and others into the snake den.

The entrance of the snake den was narrow, only about two meters high, but it gradually widened as they went deeper, becoming damp and cold.

After about five to six hundred meters, they reached the end of the snake den. The surrounding cliff walls were extremely high, like a large hall about thirty to forty meters wide. Although the entrance had collapsed, the deepest part of the cliff wall, black as iron, showed no cracks from the previous battle, indicating that the rock layers were much harder than expected.

Zhou Jingyuan struck the cliff wall with his saber, producing a clear, resonant sound, as if the entire wall was made of metal.

"It's iron essence stone, and it feels cold to the touch. It can be used to smelt high-quality cold-patterned iron!" Zhou Jingyuan said excitedly.

Even if the entire mountain were hollowed out, the amount of cold-patterned iron that could be smelted would be limited, mostly high-quality iron. Even so, cold-patterned iron was as valuable as gold, and organizing furnace workers to smelt iron in the mountain would still be a windfall.

"See if there's any cold-patterned iron ore!" Wu Meng, who had long suspected that there might be a cold-patterned iron vein here, was not surprised. Chen Hai instructed people to search everywhere, hoping to find cold-patterned iron ore, which could be used to forge the core of a high-quality cold-patterned spirit sword.

This core could be used to forge a high-quality yellow-grade spirit sword, and a piece of it could be worth a city, making it more valuable than this small mountain.

"The possibility is probably low," Wu Meng smiled. "The demonic python hid here to absorb the essence of the iron ore to strengthen its body, so the chances of finding cold-patterned iron ore are low. Even if there is any, it's unlikely to be a whole piece..."

More torches were lit, illuminating the cave bottom like daylight. Zhou Jingyuan, Zhou Jun, Ge Tong, and Shen Kun all rushed over from other places.

The empty cave walls had nothing, but at the deepest part, there was a muddy pond, which was likely the demonic python's resting and excreting place, emitting a foul smell.

If there was anything, it might be in this muddy pond.

Zhou Jingyuan then brought in over thirty prisoners to dig through the mud and carefully search for hidden items.

Two broken swords and two damaged spirit armors were found, all of which were yellow-grade middle to lower-grade magical weapons. Chen Hai no longer mourned the cultivators who were swallowed by the demonic python without leaving any bones, but he felt a bit sorry that these spirit swords and armors were severely damaged and of little value...

Soon, the prisoners dragged out two enormous snake skins from the muddy pond. They were dark green, likely shed by the demonic python during its cultivation, and surprisingly, they remained very flexible despite being immersed in the mud for a long time.

These two snake skins were shed by the demonic python before it reached its current level of cultivation. Although they were not as tough as the scales on its current body, they were still rare and valuable for making armor.

Zhou Jingyuan and the others in the front could hardly contain their excitement, never expecting such a pleasant surprise in the muddy pond.

Seeing this, Chen Qing couldn't help but think that Chen Hai, this rogue, had really hit the jackpot.

As the foul-smelling mud was gradually cleared away, they found four pieces of cold-patterned iron ore.

Each piece of cold-patterned iron ore was only the size of an egg, not enough to forge a complete high-quality yellow-grade spirit sword, but each piece weighed over a hundred pounds.

Even such a small amount of this rare and precious iron was extremely valuable.

Chen Hai divided the four pieces of cold-patterned iron ore among himself, Ge Tong, Shen Kun, and Zhou Jun, one each. He also gave the two broken swords to Ge Tong and Zhou Jun, saying, "I can't refine a spirit sword for a while, so you can use them to forge your own spirit swords..."

Ge Tong and Zhou Jun had already reached the peak of the Tongxuan realm and were focusing on laying a solid foundation for the future, planning to cultivate another spirit meridian before opening the Linghai Secret Palace.

In fact, they could now refine their own spirit swords.

Even if they became inner disciples of the top seven peaks, without clan support, obtaining a yellow-grade lower-grade spirit sword would be extremely costly.

With these two broken swords and a bit of cold-patterned iron ore, Ge Tong and Zhou Jun could ask experts like Zhao Ruhui to help forge their spirit swords, ensuring they wouldn't be at a disadvantage when they reached the Linghai realm.

Shen Kun's cultivation progress was slightly behind that of Zhou Jun and Ge Tong.

Zhou Jingyuan's strength lay in governance and management, not cultivation. After the two damaged spirit armors were repaired, one could be given to him for protection, so he wouldn't have to follow everyone into dangerous situations.

Finally, a dark golden snake-shaped talisman was found in the mud.

The talisman was palm-sized, intact, and after being washed, Chen Hai held it in his palm, where it looked like a dark golden spirit snake coiled in his hand. The spirit snake was vivid, with each scale clearly visible, and each scale was engraved with different cloud patterns and Daoist runes. Perhaps the internal array of the spirit snake talisman was severely damaged, as no spiritual aura could be detected, but it should have been a yellow-grade middle-grade magical weapon.

Of course, the demonic python was only at the peak of the Linghai realm, and the cultivators it had killed were not particularly strong. Chen Hai and the others didn't expect to find any high-grade relics in the muddy pond.

Chen Hai felt that repairing the spirit snake talisman would not be easy, so he temporarily kept it.

Chen Qing thought that Wu Meng, who had the greatest contribution in slaying the demonic python, should have received the most relics. Seeing that all the relics were divided among Chen Hai and the others, she wanted to speak up for Wu Meng, but Wu Meng stood calmly, even helping Chen Hai with his plans, which made her even more frustrated. She wondered why Wu Meng, who was usually proud, was so submissive to Chen Hai, this rogue.

After most of the foul-smelling mud was cleared away, fresh air was pumped into the cave, reducing the stench. Everyone removed their masks.

They then noticed that the cave was filled with spiritual energy, which they had not detected earlier due to the strong smell. Water was seeping out from the stone pond at the bottom...

"The spirit spring is actually here! We need to continue clearing the stone pond! The demonic python must have deliberately made this place dirty to hide the spirit spring, using mud and excrement to block the spring's entrance. We almost fell for it!" Zhou Jingyuan exclaimed excitedly.

Chen Hai and the others had speculated that there might be a spirit spring here, but confirming it was still very exciting.

The presence of a spirit spring made it worthwhile to build a large-scale medicinal garden. Otherwise, their previous massive investment would have been greatly reduced in value.

As the excrement and mud were thoroughly cleared away, spring water soon gushed out from the stone cracks, emitting a slight steam. It was a rare hot spring, and the flow was so strong that it quickly filled the stone pond. Chen Hai and the others confirmed that there was nothing else in the cave and then exited the snake den.

Less than half an hour later, the still somewhat turbid spring water began to overflow from the cave entrance.

The prisoners had already cleared a low-lying area near the snake den, and Chen Hai and the others diverted the steaming spring water to this area, planning to build a spirit pool there, separate from the mountain lake formed by rainwater in the valley.

It was the middle of winter in Yulong Mountain, and the surrounding mountains were covered in snow...

Standing beside the low-lying area where the spring water had gathered, Chen Qing felt as if she were basking in a warm spring breeze.

In less than half a day, the water in the low-lying area had spread to cover two to three acres, and the spirit spring continued to gush out from the snake den entrance. Chen Qing thought that Chen Hai and the others had really hit the jackpot.

The flow of the spirit spring at the bottom of Huanglong Lake was definitely much greater than that of the snake den's spirit spring, but the spirit spring at the bottom of Huanglong Lake was diluted by the thousands of acres of water in the mountain lake and then spread to the surrounding mountains. There was no array to control the outflow of spiritual energy, so the spiritual energy in the area around Huanglong Lake was not as concentrated as expected.

Chen Qing could now feel the pure spiritual energy gushing out from the snake den entrance, which was several times more abundant than what she could absorb at the edge of Huanglong Lake. As long as the spirit spring continued to flow, cultivators above the Tongxuan realm could continuously meditate and cultivate here.

She currently lived by Huanglong Lake, and when the water level rose, some of the mountains would be submerged, forming small islands. Even on these islands, she could only cultivate for less than two hours a day.

Chen Qing had originally planned to stay with her father for a few days, but the medicinal garden here was clearly more suitable for cultivation than Huanglong Lake. Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel resentful. Did she have to bow to Chen Hai, this rogue?

Chen Hai and the others didn't care what Chen Qing was thinking. The quality of the spirit spring gushing from the snake den far exceeded their expectations.

They could build meditation chambers near the snake den entrance, where the spiritual energy was most concentrated. As the spirit spring overflowed, a large amount of spiritual energy would spread to the surrounding mountains. They planned to cultivate medicinal fields over an area of three to four miles, growing herbs and spirit trees and raising spirit birds and beasts of even higher quality than those in the Huanglong Dao Academy...

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