Chapter 21

At this moment, Nie Qian noticed that the dense spiritual energy gathered in the mine was rapidly dissipating.

It seemed that the large amount of spiritual energy that had gathered earlier was entirely due to the beast bone and Nie Tian. When the beast bone returned to its normal state and Nie Tian's soul consciousness emerged from within the bone, that miraculous phenomenon immediately disappeared.

"Hmm!"

Holding the beast bone, Nie Tian's expression changed, and a look of wild joy suddenly appeared on his face. He said, "Aunt, I, I have reached the Sixth Level of Qi Refinement!"

"What?!" Nie Qian screamed in shock.

Nie Tian took a deep breath, squinted his eyes, and carefully sensed the situation again. Then, with a definite tone, he said, "The spiritual energy gathered in my dantian has reached the thickness of the Sixth Level of Qi Refinement!"

"R-Really?" Nie Qian looked incredulous.

Nie Tian nodded vigorously.

"It must be the protection of the ancestors of the Nie family!" Nie Qian was overjoyed, pointing to the pile of fallen rocks beside her. "Just now, the mine collapsed, and huge rocks were falling everywhere. Only our area was not hit by any broken rocks, which is completely illogical. You just held the beast bone and sensed it, and then gathered terrifying spiritual energy, thus leaping to the Sixth Level of Qi Refinement. Besides the strange nature of the beast bone, it must be because the ancestors bestowed blessings upon you, allowing you to make such astonishing progress."

"Perhaps." Nie Tian smiled, not really caring about Nie Qian's superstition.

The shadow in the dark corner of the mine silently listened to their conversation, its gaze always fixed on the beast bone in Nie Tian's hand.

"Rumble!"

At this moment, another loud rumble echoed from within the mountain.

Due to the fire power of the fire cloud stones within the entire mountain being absorbed by the beast bone, the mountain underwent a massive change, causing the structure to become unstable.

"Oh no!"

Nie Qian instantly snapped out of her joy, and as she looked at the mine entrance blocked by fallen rocks, the joy in her eyes gradually turned to fear.

"We must get out as soon as possible, or we will be buried inside the mountain!" Nie Qian said urgently.

Nie Tian turned his head and looked at the entrance blocked by rubble, also becoming tense. He no longer had the heart to focus on the drop of blood inside the beast bone.

"Quick! Move those rocks immediately; we must leave as fast as possible!" Nie Qian ordered.

Nie Tian nodded and prepared to act.

"Rumble!"

Another loud noise came from other parts of the mine. Nie Qian and Nie Tian exchanged glances, both realizing that the other tunnels within the mountain had likely also experienced major changes, and they understood that staying inside the mountain would only lead to death.

Just as they were about to act, another loud rumble occurred, and they clearly felt the entire mountain shaking.

The shadow in the dark, which even Nie Qian could not detect, also noticed the dangerous situation.

It looked at the mine entrance, and with invisible hands, it began to manipulate and adjust something.

As it moved, the spiritual energy flowing out of the mine entrance seemed to be suddenly and precisely controlled.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The rocks blocking the mine entrance were pushed outward by invisible forces, rolling away.

In a very short time, the completely blocked mine entrance opened up a passage.

Nie Tian and Nie Qian, who had been watching the mine entrance, immediately realized that their problem had been mysteriously solved.

"Aunt..." Nie Tian scratched his head, suddenly feeling a bit superstitious. "Could it be that we are really being protected by our ancestors?"

The shaking of the mountain, which precisely cleared the rocks blocking their entrance, was clearly not logical.

Even Nie Tian, who did not believe in ghosts and spirits, was shaken by the continuous anomalies.

"It must be!" Nie Qian's eyes glowed, and she said hurriedly, "Don't just stand there, let's get out quickly!"

Without waiting for Nie Tian to say more, she grabbed his arm and pulled him, rushing out of the mine through the newly formed passage.

Along the way, many stone paths blocked by rubble also mysteriously cleared as the mountain shook, allowing just enough space for the two of them to pass.

They managed to escape the mine smoothly amidst the massive shaking of the mountain.

"Miss, Miss, how did you get out?"

At the mine entrance, Nie Xiang, the steward of the Nie family, watched Nie Qian and Nie Tian emerge covered in dust, and he stuttered.

"Incredible! Simply incredible!"

"We thought Miss had been buried in the mine and would never come out!"

"Heaven protects Miss!"

"..."

Many anxious Nie family members and the frightened laborers, seeing Nie Qian and Nie Tian rush out of the mine, sincerely congratulated them.

After emerging, Nie Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief. After leading Nie Tian away from the shaking mountain, she said, "It must be the ancestors' protection."

"I think so too." Nie Xiang's expression was strange. He also felt that Nie Qian and Nie Tian's survival was a miracle. After agreeing a few times, he suddenly looked bitter and said, "More than a dozen family members and many more hired laborers have been left in the mine forever. This is a huge disaster."

Upon hearing this, Nie Qian's expression turned serious. "This... will have a significant impact on the family."

Nie Xiang nodded with a bitter smile. "Our main task is to help the Lingyun Sect mine the fire cloud stones from this mountain. With such a major change, it will be difficult for us to continue mining the fire cloud stones in the short term. This year, we may not be able to meet the required quota of fire cloud stones, and we fear that the Lingyun Sect will blame us."

"What can we do?"

"Without the trust of the Lingyun Sect, how can our family stand in Black Cloud City?"

"We are in big trouble. The family head just took office, and such a major incident has occurred. The family head will surely punish us severely!"

"Oh no!"

Many surviving Nie family members were in a panic, at a loss as to what to do.

"Miss, what do you think?" Nie Xiang looked pitifully at Nie Qian.

He was just a distant relative of the Nie family and had only become the steward of the mine during Nie Donghai's tenure. After Nie Beichuan became the family head, he was determined to replace him with his own confidants.

Nie Beichuan had been looking for trouble with him recently, and he was worried about finding an excuse to dismiss him. Now, with such a disaster in the mine, losing his position was the least of his concerns; he feared that Nie Beichuan would use this as an opportunity to hold him more accountable.

"This is a natural disaster and should not be your fault. I will explain the situation truthfully when I return to the family. Don't worry too much." Nie Qian consoled him.

"Difficult..." Nie Xiang sighed.

He knew that after Nie Beichuan took office, the situation for Nie Donghai and Nie Qian had become very difficult. Nie Beichuan, who was eager to make a mark, would not let this rare opportunity pass.

He would likely be the one to set an example.

"I will return with Nie Tian first. I will do my best to help you with this matter." Nie Qian promised.

"Alright." Nie Xiang nodded helplessly.

"For the time being, do not act rashly. Wait until the shaking completely stops, then enter to retrieve the bodies of the victims, clear the stone paths, and continue mining the fire cloud stones." Nie Qian instructed.

Even she did not know that all the changes were due to the beast bone in Nie Tian's hand.

She also did not know that all the fire cloud stones in the mountain had been drained of their fire power by the beast bone, thus forming that drop of blood.

Nie Tian placed one hand in his pocket, feeling the beast bone, and stared at the still shaking mountain, his expression very serious.

Only he vaguely sensed that after this incident, all the fire cloud stones in the mountain had turned into ordinary stones and could no longer be mined.

"Let's return to the city." After giving a few more instructions to Nie Xiang, Nie Qian led Nie Tian back to Black Cloud City.

Not long after they left, an invisible shadow like a ripple of water quietly emerged from the mine entrance, looked in the direction they had gone for a while, and then silently drifted back to Lingyun Mountain.

...

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