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Chapter 150: Spirit Vein (Part III)
Chapter 150: Spirit Vein (Part III)
After speaking, Old Zhao passed out again.
It seemed as if these words were his dying obsession. Ever since he fell off the cliff, he had been clinging to life, determined to utter these words.
"Elder Feng!" Elder Yu exclaimed.
Elder Feng stepped forward, checked his pulse, examined his meridians, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "It's nothing serious. He's just fainted. Let him rest, and I'll refine some more pills."
"Thank you, Elder Feng," Elder Yu said gratefully.
As Elder Feng left the room, Elder Yu's expression turned solemn.
There was actually a spirit vein in the Great Black Mountain!
Elder Yu paced in the room a few times and then stopped, calling for one of the demon hunters. He instructed, "Go and notify Yu Chenyi to gather all the lead demon hunters. I have something important to announce!"
The demon hunter accepted the task and left. Mo Hua then curiously asked, "Elder Yu, what is a spirit vein?"
Mo Hua only knew that spirit veins contained spirit stones, but he didn't know much else.
Seeing that it was still early and that it would take time for the demon hunters to gather, Elder Yu patiently explained to Mo Hua, "Cultivators need spiritual energy to cultivate. However, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is scarce. Apart from some famous mountains and rivers where spiritual energy gathers, other remote places, like our Tongxian City, have such scarce spiritual energy that it's insufficient for cultivators to cultivate."
"Therefore, cultivators can only rely on spirit stones for cultivation, and the source of spirit stones is the spirit vein."
"The so-called spirit vein is formed when the dense spiritual energy or spirit mist of ancient times solidifies and merges with the mountain rocks, and then, following the changes in the terrain, it becomes buried deep within the mountains over the years..."
"There are also some spirit veins formed when ancient spiritual beasts, large areas of spiritual herbs, and other objects rich in spiritual energy are buried underground due to heavenly tribulations or various changes, eventually dissolving into spiritual energy and forming spirit veins..."
Mo Hua nodded, then asked, "I read in a book that ancient grand cultivators could move mountains and drain seas, changing the sky and replacing the sun. Was the spiritual energy scarce back then as well?"
"As for that..." Elder Yu thought for a moment before replying, "It is said that in ancient times, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was extremely dense. Later, after experiencing great tribulations and changes in the heavenly paradigm, the spiritual energy gradually became thinner."
"What kind of tribulation was it?" Mo Hua asked.
"I don't know," Elder Yu replied. "These are just legends, vague and uncertain, and it's hard to distinguish truth from fiction."
After a moment of silence, Elder Yu continued, "There's another reason for the scarcity of spiritual energy, and that's the current abundance of cultivators..."
"Before the Dao Court unified the cultivation world, various forces were at war year after year, causing untold suffering. Countless cultivators perished. After the Dao Court unified the world and established laws to prohibit indiscriminate killing, the cultivation world was able to thrive and prosper, and the number of cultivators gradually increased."
"However, the more cultivators there are, the more spiritual energy they absorb for their cultivation, which naturally depletes the spiritual energy between heaven and earth."
"By the time we reached today, two million years later, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is extremely scarce, and we can basically only rely on refined spirit stones for cultivation."
Mo Hua finally understood, but then he frowned in worry. "What if the spirit stones between heaven and earth are used up? Won't cultivators be unable to cultivate?"
"They won't be used up," Elder Yu assured him.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Impossible... they won't be used up?"
"At least not for several tens of thousands of years," Elder Yu said.
Mo Hua furrowed his brows. "But we never seem to have enough spirit stones..."
"That's because we don't have a spirit vein," Elder Yu explained.
Mo Hua fell silent.
Elder Yu sighed. "Among the spirit veins, big and small, in this world, half are occupied by the Dao Court, and the rest are mostly controlled by influential families and sects. We can only eke out a living by scraping for spirit stones from between their fingers..."
"Those big families and sects naturally have an abundance of spirit stones. It's only us loose cultivators who lack them."
Elder Yu looked at Mo Hua and sighed, "The Dao nurtures all things with spiritual energy, and the Dao is fair. But people are not."
"Can we claim the spirit vein in Great Black Mountain?" Mo Hua asked.
Elder Yu frowned, "According to custom, unclaimed medium to large-sized spirit veins belong to the Dao Court. The spirit stones mined are used for the benefit of cultivators in our state realm—well, supposedly for their benefit, but most likely, they line their own pockets..."
"As for small spirit veins, it's usually first come, first served."
"Then, does the spirit vein in Great Black Mountain count as ours or the Qian Family's?" Mo Hua inquired.
"It's hard to say," Elder Yu replied, then furrowed his brows before continuing, "Usually, whoever has the upper hand gets to claim it first."
Mo Hua was taken aback.
Half an hour later, the demon hunters gathered in Elder Yu's courtyard.
The attendees were mostly lead demon hunters, all of whom had cultivated to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, including Mo Shan.
Elder Yu sat in the center, with the others seated on either side.
Curious about the developments, Mo Hua also brought a chair and sat down to listen.
The demon hunters on both sides glanced at the ten-year-old Mo Hua.
Was it really appropriate for a child to be present at their discussion?
However, they dared not voice their concerns.
Elder Yu was known for his temper, and his current solemn expression, which seemed to forebode a storm, only added to their trepidation.
If they upset Elder Yu, even at their cultivation level of Qi Refining's ninth layer, they would be berated mercilessly.
Oh well, Mo Hua must have received Elder Yu's permission to be here. Let's just pretend we didn't see him.
At that moment, Mo Hua sat on a tall chair not far from Elder Yu, his legs swinging back and forth.
The group looked on, their hearts filled with a mix of emotions they couldn't quite express.
Elder Yu really spoils this child...
But who were they to say anything?
Elder Yu was glad to see Mo Hua there.
In his opinion, with Mo Hua's talent, he would undoubtedly become an array master in the future and might even pass the assessment to become a first-rate array master.
To them, as loose cultivators, array masters were figures that could only be admired from afar.
It was excellent that Mo Hua took an interest in the demon hunters' affairs.
Elder Yu thought silently.
Once everyone had arrived, Elder Yu informed them about the spirit vein.
The entire room was shocked.
It was an unclaimed spirit vein!
Recalling Old Zhao's near-death experience at the hands of the Qian Family, one of the demon hunters cursed:
"Those Qian scumbags! Not only do they secretly mine the spirit vein, but they also try to silence anyone who finds out!"
"Old Zhao almost lost his life!"
"Damn those bastards from the Qian Family!"
Suddenly, a cultivator remembered something and asked, "Could the Qian Family also be behind Old Sun's disappearance?"
The group fell silent for a moment, their faces clouding over.
It wasn't just Old Sun; several other demon hunters had gone missing before.
They had assumed they had fallen off a cliff or been devoured by demons, but now it seemed possible that the Qian Family had silenced them to cover up their secret.
"Those motherfuckers!"
"This is unforgivable!"
The demon hunters erupted in curses, their anger palpable.
Elder Yu frowned and gestured for everyone to calm down before continuing, "Gather all the demon hunters at the late Qi Refining stage. We will also take advantage of the darkness and head up the mountain to search for the spirit vein's location inch by inch."
"What if we encounter cultivators from the Qian Family?" asked one of the demon hunters.
"Capture them and interrogate them thoroughly," Elder Yu replied.
"What if we encounter a large group of cultivators from the Qian Family?"
Elder Yu's expression turned stern, and he slammed his hand on the table, "Then we kill them!"
(End of Chapter)
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