Chapter 724: My Lord, the Mountain Collapsed Again
Han Fei was trapped in a space with a coverage of no more than ten square meters inside the mountain. There was no telling if it was a digging problem, but that space was all that he had.
The Hexagon Starfish wondered, “Do we still dig?”
Han Fei glanced at the box that hadn’t been filled yet and winked. “Of course. Why not?”
Han Fei was quite speechless. Up until now, most of the spiritual stones he dug out were low-quality. There were only thirteen mid-quality ones and six high-quality ones.
Yet, the mountain had already collapsed?
Han Fei didn’t know what to say about the mountain, which wasn’t even as good as his own. He had at least found an ultra-quality spiritual stone in that mountain before it collapsed. This one should’ve at least offered some ultra-quality spiritual stones before it collapsed.
…
Outside.
At the very center above the mountain.
Boom!
A Half-Mermaid expert rose quickly. “What’s that noise?”
Another Half-Mermaid rushed in. “My lord, one of the mountains at the edge of the ridge had a minor collapse.”
“A minor collapse? How did this happen?”
The Half-Mermaid shook its head. “Not sure. It might have been an earthquake. I just checked it. The collapse is only five meters deep, and the spiritual energy around is not disrupted. It was probably just a regular collapse.”
“Let’s go there and take a look. The sea has been turbulent these past few days. Let’s hope that human beings weren’t behind that.”
Another Half-Mermaid asked, “Human beings? I don’t think so. They would’ve attacked our main mountain if they were coming for us. Why would they touch an abandoned mine?”
A moment later, a group of Half-Mermen and Red Demons came to the mine. They were all lost for words to see the collapse that was hundreds of meters long.
A Half-Merman expert scanned the area for a long time and said, “It should be fine. I can even sense a couple of low-quality spiritual stones. Right, there is a demonic Qi barrier between this mine and our main mountain, right?”
A Half-Mermaid said, “Yes! At the bottom of this mine are large pieces of black bronze. There are some spiritual stones, but they’re extremely difficult to dig out. The demonic Qi is on its way to our main peak too. Even we cannot possibly resist the turbulent demonic Qi.”
The Half-Merman boss nodded. “Okay, let’s go back! Send inferior sea demons thirty thousand kilometers away for defense. It’s said that Xue Shenqi is active again. Let’s hope that this isn’t one of his tricks.”
“Yes, my lord.”
…
Han Fei had absolutely no idea what happened up above.
He didn’t even know that he was digging in the hardest part on the whole mountain ridge.
At this moment, Han Fei kicked the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp’s head. “I asked you to dig a tunnel. What have you dug out? Is it iron? Don’t tell me that you’re getting me a mine of metals, which are worthless to cultivators these days.”
Thud!
The Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp was so upset that it struck out and broke the enormous rocks, only to be kicked by Han Fei again.
“I asked you to slow down. Why are you thundering on? What if someone hears us?”
As a matter of fact, the Half-Mermen who were asked to stay here for observation also looked at each other in bewilderment.
One of them asked, “Has the mother lode been unsteady recently?”
Another Half-Merman said, “The mother lode in the sea is never steady. I wish that an Undersea Chimney would arise here. That would be so great!”
“Keep dreaming. This mine is the last place where an Undersea Chimney will show up! I estimate that it’s just an earthquake. It wouldn’t be bad if this mine collapses. We’ll have a chance to pick up the spiritual stones inside.”
…
It wasn’t easy for the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp to dig at all. Han Fei felt that Little White might have taken them to the wrong place. How could a mountain be full of hard rocks?
Han Fei discovered that the black things were definitely metals. He didn’t know what metals they were exactly, but they were so hard that he would’ve been trapped here if the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp weren’t so good at digging.
Thud!
Crack!
All of a sudden, the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp shattered a large piece of bronze. Then, Han Fei’s eyes glittered as he spotted a treasure.
After Han Fei pushed the shattered pieces aside, he was astounded to see a gigantic black turtle shell, which had endured so many years that it looked like a fossil.
Han Fei took out the Blood-Drinking Knife and slashed the turtle shell.
Crack!
Part of the fossil was cut off.
The Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp’s eyes bulged, and Han Fei glanced at it. “Are you an archaeologist? Go on digging.”
The digging went on for two days, during which time Han Fei found thousands of turtle fossils. He felt rather horrible. He had specifically prepared a box to store spiritual stones, but all that he found were fossils. What was that supposed to mean?
Could fossils be used as spiritual energy?
Besides, the turtle fossils were particularly hard. Sometimes, the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp had to bash one multiple times to break one piece.
Suddenly, Han Fei’s eyes glittered as he saw a red shadow among the shattered pieces.
Han Fei exclaimed, “An ultra-quality spiritual stone?”
Information popped up in his eyes.
Ultra-Quality Demonic Stone
This is the combination of spiritual energy essence and demonic Qi. However, the demonic Qi is violent and usually conflicts with spiritual energy, so it’s hard to absorb.
520,666 Points
Inedible
Han Fei was dumbfounded. What the heck is that?
“Where’s my ultra-quality spiritual stone? What the hell is an ultra-quality demonic stone?”
Han Fei couldn’t help but look at the Hexagon Starfish. “Can you make use of this thing?”
The Hexagon Starfish was also staring at the stone. After a long stun, it said, “Should I try absorbing it? There seems to be demonic Qi inside.”
Han Fei raised his eyebrows. “How long will it take for you to absorb it? A dozen days? I would rather throw it away than give it to you.”
The Hexagon Starfish: “???”
“This stone is yours if you can absorb it in two hours… Look at the magnificent energy inside. I’m really unwilling to give it away.”
The Hexagon Starfish was really of a mind to roll its eyes at Han Fei. If you’re unwilling to give it away, why don’t you absorb it?
Han Fei had already seen that it was difficult to absorb, and it might cause conflicts. Absorbing this thing might get him killed, so he would certainly not do that.
The Hexagon Starfish nodded. “I can try absorbing it.”
Han Fei wasn’t very reluctant. This ultra-quality stone only contained 520,000 points of spiritual energy. He could easily get the same amount from a few spiritual fruits.
The Hexagon Starfish rolled out its tentacles. A moment later, a wave of magnificent spiritual energy, mixed with the demonic Qi that Han Fei was quite familiar with, ran across the Hexagon Starfish.
More than four hours passed. The Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp dug out another few demonic stones, but none were ultra-quality.
At this moment, the weird scene finally dispersed, and the Hexagon Starfish slowly opened its big eyes.
Han Fei quickly asked, “How did it go?”
The Hexagon Starfish rolled its big eyes. “It’s not very hard to absorb. However, the demonic Qi is not easy to refine and digest quickly.”
Han Fei asked in shock, “You can absorb demonic Qi too?”
The Hexagon Starfish replied, “Of course. All sea creatures can do that. Why can’t we absorb demonic Qi when we’re all demons?”
“You are a demon; I’m not.”
The Hexagon Starfish explained, “I was saying that all sea creatures are demons, including this shrimp.”
The Hexagon Starfish pointed at the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp, which glimpsed back at it with the big eyes.
Han Fei frowned. “Nonsense. Why have I never sensed demonic Qi from the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp?”
The Hexagon Starfish replied, “Because we never cultivate demonic Qi! We consider demonic Qi as one type of spiritual energy to nurture our body. However, the sea demons are different. They regard spiritual energy as demonic Qi, so they all carry a lot of demonic Qi.”
Han Fei was briefly stunned. “Are they the same?”
“I don’t think so! The violent power in the demonic Qi, especially when impure, is very dangerous. If you make use of the power in demonic Qi, your spiritual energy will be corrupted, and you may become a demon.”
Han Fei didn’t quite understand. However, after he learned that demonic Qi and spiritual energy were mutually convertible, he realized why the Half-Merman input abundant demonic Qi into his body earlier.
More importantly, the demonic Qi was absorbed by him.
To be more precise, it was absorbed by the seed in his abdomen.
Han Fei instantly kicked the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp. “Come on and have a piece.”
Han Fei summoned Little Fatty, Little White, Little Gold and Little Black.
He evenly distributed the demonic stones that were just dug out to them. Since it was fine for the Hexagon Starfish to take it, he didn’t think that anything would happen to them.
Little Black, in particular, bit a demonic stone quickly.
Crunch… Crunch!
As if it were a candy, the demonic stone was swallowed by Little Black in a few seconds.
Han Fei frowned. They all had the stone, and none of them misbehaved afterward. There didn’t seem to be a problem.
“So, a demonic stone is in a way no different from a spiritual stone, right?”
After thinking that through, Han Fei wanted to have a taste of that too, so he kicked the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp and said, “Keep digging and find more of those.”
Thud!
However, in the next moment, the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp suddenly unleashed terrifying power and dug dozens of meters deep with one swing of pincers.
Boom!
Han Fei looked back, only to see that the tunnel had collapsed again. He was so angry that he kicked it. “Easy. Do you want to bury your master here alive?”
However, Han Fei saw agitation and red light in the Nine-Tailed Mantis Shrimp’s eyes.
“Shoot! You can’t eat those things easily…”
…
On the main peak of the Sea Demon Mountains…
“Report… My lord, the mine has collapsed again.”