Chapter 721: Chisshan

He never expected that during his time mining at Chishan Mountain, Jiang Mingtian had been enduring hardship and accumulating considerable strength; though his cultivation base hadn't increased dramatically, he had acquired a formidable hidden card.

If he truly used the Beast Taming Talisman to control that Qiongqi, a Mountain Lord-level beast, then Chishan Mountain would be left with only the Mountain Lord and one Divine Blood warrior named Beigong.

Li Yi was confident he could handle that Beigong.

The only remaining concern was the Chishan Mountain Lord.

After all, this was a Thirty-Mountain Lord—his strength was so immense that Li Yi could hardly estimate it; he didn't know whether even a peak Nascent Soul cultivator could stand against him. If he could, then he would have no further reservations.

As for the Qiongqi, even Jiang Mingtian himself didn't know its condition—perhaps the Beast Taming Talisman had worked, perhaps it had failed. But they couldn't now go out of their way to confirm it with Jiang Mingtian.

A round trip would draw suspicion from the outside warrior chief, and it would likely lead to a fight.

Any action taken within Chishan Mountain would inevitably spiral out of control.

"Li Yi, have you decided yet? We don't have much time," Jiang Mingtian couldn't help asking.

Li Yi said: "Whether we act against Chishan Mountain hinges on whether we can find the so-called Divine Blood. If we can find it, we certainly can't surrender it—fighting the warriors of Chishan Mountain is unavoidable."

"But to wage war against a Mountain Lord-level force just for a pile of Chijin? If we fail, all of us will die here. After all this time, we've finally reunited—risking our lives for some money isn't worth it."

After thinking it over, he decided to play it safe.

"That makes sense, but with my mining speed, I won't reach the location of the Divine Blood before nightfall," Jiang Ming said.

Li Yi reached into his Five Elements Bracelet and pulled out the Star-Shattering Spear: "No problem—I'll handle the digging. You just need to point out the direction."

"Such a commotion will surely draw the attention of the overseers and the warrior chief," Jiang Ming said. "What then? Do we strike immediately?"

"Exactly. When the overseer or warrior chief arrives, I'll kill them. If we move fast enough, killing a few people within this mine won't be noticed by the Mountain Lord for a while—and by the time they do notice, we'll already have finished what we came to do," Li Yi said.

Jiang Mingtian listened, thought for a moment, then nodded: "Killing a few overseers and letting the mountain guards retreat carries little risk. But if the Chishan Mountain Lord is drawn by the Divine Blood, we'll have no choice but to fight. If that happens, Li Yi—how exactly do you plan to fight?"

"Call for reinforcements," Li Yi said. "I'll open a cross-realm gate and bring in experts."

"Open a cross-realm gate?" Jiang Mingtian froze. "Has Earth's technology advanced this far already?"

"Of course not. I have a rare artifact, and with a cross-realm device, I can open the gate," Li Yi said. "While cross-realm devices aren't expensive on Earth, the rare artifacts are still precious—especially intact ones."

"I see," Jiang Mingtian nodded. Clearly, during his time mining, Li Yi had gone through much.

"By the way, here are your things back—these were the weapons you left behind when you were captured and brought to the Wildlands," Li Yi added, then returned a storage artifact to Jiang Mingtian.

Jiang Mingtian took it, opened the storage artifact, and stared at the familiar items inside—his expression softened with nostalgia. He pulled out a magic sword, caressing the beloved weapon he hadn't wielded in so long.

His dream of wandering the world with sword in hand had shattered; now he was nothing but a mine slave, swinging a sledgehammer every day.

What a cruel fate.

"Thank you," Jiang Mingtian snapped back to reality, speaking sincerely to Li Yi.

Li Yi had kept these personal belongings safe for over a year without touching a single item. Though not especially valuable, the thoughtfulness moved him deeply.

"Alright, I'm going to act. Stand aside. Keep watch on the mine tunnel—keep other slaves away. If an overseer comes, kill him. I know you can handle it. If the warrior chief appears, I'll deal with him."

Li Yi gripped the Star-Shattering Spear, aimed it at the direction Jiang Mingtian had mined, then glanced back.

Jiang Mingtian nodded and stepped aside.

The direction was confirmed. The plan was set. There was no more hesitation.

Li Yi now channeled his magic power, flooding his sixty major acupoints with immense force into the Star-Shattering Spear. The once ordinary spear erupted in a brilliant divine light.

Within that light, talismans intertwined, brimming with boundless power.

With just a slight sway, the rock before him split apart like tofu.

The next instant.

A cloud of auspicious energy appeared beneath Li Yi's feet; his body instantly became a streak of light, shooting toward the rock wall. With the Star-Shattering Spear leading the way, he pierced through the mountain at incredible speed, plunging deep into the Chishan range.

Dust flew, rocks shattered.

A tunnel wide enough for one person appeared instantly before them.

Occasionally, explosive roars echoed within the tunnel, shaking the mountain as if it might collapse.

These were the Star-Shattering Spear striking the Chijin embedded in the rock.

Chijin was truly indestructible—even Li Yi's Dao-level weapon couldn't shatter it. He couldn't imagine what kind of weapon the Bald Daoist might forge from this Chijin if it were brought back to Earth.

"Incredible speed—the mountain has been pierced through for kilometers in an instant. At this rate, we'll find the Divine Blood's location in no time."

Jiang Mingtian's eyes flickered with shock at Li Yi's overwhelming power.

When they first entered the Wildlands, their cultivation levels had been nearly equal.

In just over a year, though he'd been mining and cultivating simultaneously, his strength paled in comparison to Li Yi's.

The mountain's tremors could not be concealed.

Soon, the thunderous roar traveled through the mine tunnels to the outside, causing many slaves to drop their tools and stare in terror toward the tunnel's depths.

The vibrations carried intense spiritual energy—just standing there made their hairs stand on end and fear rise in their hearts.

It felt as if a Mountain Lord-level beast were attacking the Chishan range.

Had a slave unearthed the den of some beast?

Overseers turned pale, their expressions tense—this commotion couldn't come from a slave. Something major was happening deep within the mountain.

The overseers dared not enter the mine to investigate. They turned and sprinted out of the cave, reporting the incident to the mountain guards.

The mountain guards were immediately alarmed.

They rushed forward, wielding great swords and axes to block the mine tunnels, preventing slaves from fleeing during the chaos. Then they sent messengers to notify their warrior chief.

The warrior chief, named Baili, was currently in his stone hut, examining his newly acquired armor before a bronze mirror.

Two attractive female slaves knelt beside him, bowing their heads as they helped him don it.

"This armor is exquisite—too bad it's a bit small. Doesn't fit quite right," Chief Baili grinned at the mirror, pounding his fist against the Chiyu Zijin Armor.

The beautiful armor rang loudly under his powerful blows, yet its defensive strength was astonishing—even if inferior to pure Chijin armor, it was more than sufficient for him.

After all, forging armor from Chijin was prohibitively expensive—starting at a hundred thousand taels. Even as a warrior chief, he couldn't afford it, since armor required far more Chijin than weapons.

As Chief Baili admired his new armor, a mountain guard rushed in, breathless.

"Chief, something's wrong in the mine."

Chief Baili's smile vanished. "Is it slaves trying to escape? Or a fight?"

In the mine, disturbances were common—he wasn't surprised.

"Neither," the guard said. "The mountain is shaking violently. Slaves won't enter the tunnels. Overseers suspect they've dug into a beast's den."

"This is the Mountain Lord's territory. Powerful beasts fled long ago—only weak ones remain. Don't panic. I'll handle it," Chief Baili patted his armor, then confidently picked up a massive hammer forged from Chijin and Qingjin.

It had been gifted to him by the Chijin Merchant Lord.

Chief Baili's favorite weapon.

With the Qingjin hammer in hand and the fine armor on his back, Chief Baili strode toward the mine.

Indeed.

As he approached,

he heard thunderous roars echoing through the mine tunnels, accompanied by violent tremors in the surrounding rock and ground.

Even the air quivered with an inexplicable aura of power.

Feeling the anomaly firsthand, Chief Baili's face grew grim.

He could tell the force behind this disturbance was immensely powerful—he didn't believe he could stand against it.

But to report this to the Mountain Lord without acting would make him look weak.

"A few brave warriors—come with me to investigate the mountain," Chief Baili barked.

At his command,

several large, muscular mountain guards stepped forward immediately.

Courage was the one thing Wildland warriors never lacked.

Even facing overwhelming danger, they would not retreat.

Chief Baili took three of his strongest guards and marched toward the source of the disturbance. He believed his armor and hammer would see him through this crisis.

Seeing these powerful warriors enter the mine, nearby slaves instinctively cleared a path, afraid to block them.

Though they hated the overseers, they dared not defy the warrior chief—they revered him.

For Chief Baili's strength was immense, second only to the Mountain Lord in Chishan Mountain. No matter how many times the slaves rebelled, the warrior chief remained an insurmountable mountain to them.

(End of Chapter)