Chapter 29: The Substandard Yuan Stone Mine
After discussing the Mist-Shadow Cloaks, Luo Xiangluo produced an object resembling a broken piece of jade and handed it to Wu Yuan.
“This was ntioned in the intelligence report. One of our scouts was severely injured retrieving it, but he insisted on bringing it back.”
“With this, along with Madam Cheng’s miniature activation array, even ordinary scouts can use the cloaks on a large scale, no cultivation required.”
“I see.” Wu Yuan examined the object carefully, clearly fascinated. Still, he asked, “Is the scout in critical condition?”
“We requested low-grade healing pills from the relay station. After taking them, he’s out of danger.”
Luo Xiangluo was pleased that Wu Yuan hadn’t let greed cloud his judgnt. His concern for his subordinates proved his success wasn’t just luck.
“I never expected to find sothing like this near Redleaf Cliff.” Wu Yuan sighed in amazent.
Yet he was puzzled. This, too, was absent from his dream mories of the area.
“Neither did I,” Luo Xiangluo admitted. “A substandard yuan stone mine, right under our noses.”
“If only it were a grade higher…” Wu Yuan couldn’t help but wish for more.
“Master is insatiable! This is already a trendous fortune. rchant Huan Su road the wilderness for seventy years and never found a single substandard mine.”
“True enough.” Wu Yuan chuckled. “This intelligence is a major achievent. Reward everyone involved. Once the Rain-Piercing Tower is complete, the rewards will be distributed—especially for the injured scout. I’ll give him a chance to change his fate.”
“Thank you, Master. But the real credit goes to Madam Cheng. Without her cloaks, this discovery would’ve been impossible. So, I have a small request…”
“Speak.”
“Madam Cheng wishes to et you.”
Wu Yuan frowned. Madam Cheng was talented, but even though she was now under his command, he doubted her loyalty.
Moreover, as a recent widow, her request likely ca with an agenda—perhaps even a plea for freedom. He wasn’t sure how to respond.
“We’ll discuss that later.” He deftly changed the subject. “Right now, I need to inspect that mine. You’re coming with .”
“Are you searching for spirit pearls?”
“You guessed correctly. Yes, spirit pearls are invaluable to . A substandard mine should have so.”
“It wasn’t a guess. Your intent was obvious.”
“A yuan stone mine yields either stones or pearls. You didn’t ask how many substandard stones the scout retrieved, yet you’re interested in the mine. That ans you want pearls.”
Wu Yuan laughed heartily. “It seems my Rain-Piercing Tower has a bright future—its leader is truly sharp.”
Luo Xiangluo brought only five people: two tall male slaves, two delicate female slaves (all now scouts), and Auntie Fang.
Had Luo Xiangluo not pointed her out, Wu Yuan wouldn’t have recognized Madam Cheng’s attendant.
He had seen her before—during their capture—but back then, she’d seed like a withered crone, at least two hundred years old by this world’s standards.
Now, she looked like a middle-aged woman. Though her face was plain, her strange, form-fitting outfit accentuated her figure, drawing his attention.
Not that he harbored any inappropriate thoughts—he simply sensed sothing odd about her.
Auntie Fang’s attitude toward Wu Yuan was polite but distant. She clearly disliked him.
Yet he wasn’t concerned. Her combat prowess, at the early Skin-Refining Realm, was negligible. Even with Madam Cheng’s formations, they posed no threat.
If Madam Cheng’s formations were truly formidable, she wouldn’t have stood idle during the rchant caravan’s last battle.
Wu Yuan suspected she’d only inherited fragnts of formation knowledge—limited in both quantity and power.
For this trip, Wu Yuan brought thirty ard guards (all at least late-stage Tempered Tendon Realm) and even his doppelgänger.
In a crisis, rging with his doppelgänger could temporarily elevate his main body to the Bone-Forging Realm. Safety was assured.
The mine lay twenty-odd li northeast of the Rain-Piercing Tower, nestled along the eastern extension of Redleaf Cliff’s mountain range—connected underground.
The group followed the mountain’s foothills eastward, minimizing encounters with monsters.
Along the way, Wu Yuan studied the terrain.
The small spirit-wood grove near the tower had been nearly cleared. In a few days, it would be gone entirely, forcing the loggers to seek new groves farther afield.
But he wasn’t worried. Though spirit-wood forests were rare, the Insect Demon Hills had been largely untouched. Resources would last a century at least.
East of the grove, a broad stream stretched dozens of zhang wide, fed by mountain springs. The group crossed easily via stepping stones.
“That’s where the Mist-Shadow Bananas grow.” Luo Xiangluo pointed northward, about a mile away.
Wu Yuan was intrigued but prioritized the mine. Unless it was on the way, he wouldn’t detour.
Beyond the stream lay a forest of towering stone pillars, overgrown with weeds and shrubs. Humanoid demons and deadly insects lurked within.
Past this area, they reached the mine’s location.
“A cave?” Wu Yuan was surprised.
The cavern, a thousand zhang wide and a hundred tall, stood just two li from the mountain range—still geologically linked.
A strange expression crossed his face. In his dream mories, this cave appeared only on old maps. It wasn’t near any major routes, so he’d never visited it in his early years.
By the ti he’d passed through a century later, it had been destroyed in a cataclysmic battle—one whose cause remained unknown.
“Could it have been over this mine?” he wondered.
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