Chapter 258: Chapter 258 Enter the Mine

Just, thought for a while.

Su Sheng's expression turned odd as he looked at the Tie Chui Airen beside him, this old kid isn't honest.

It didn't explain this matter to him at first, only brought it up at the last moment.

Obviously Iron Hammer also wants to forge this Divine Artifact himself, so his smith could be promoted from Master to Grandmaster.

As for now finally clarifying this matter, it's probably because his conscience wouldn't let him, since failure would have serious consequences.

But thinking about it, these dwarves all look simple and honest, yet Iron Hammer is already over a hundred years old; even a simple man should have some cunning.

According to the background story, the Dwarf Race's average lifespan is about 250 years, with some living up to around 300.

"Hehe~" the Tie Chui Airen felt Su Sheng's odd gaze and evidently guessed what Su Sheng was thinking.

"To be honest, I really don't want to miss such a forging opportunity," the Tie Chui Airen said frankly: "I was afraid that if I clarified this from the start, Explorer, you'd back off immediately."

Su Sheng smacked his lips, realizing he had been tricked by a game NPC.

Unavoidably, Su Sheng raised the intelligence level of these NPCs in the Zhu Lu Game by one tier.

But thinking of that red material Thunder Light mithril, and since this old fellow offered it to him for free, he decided not to haggle.

"Open it!"

Su Sheng finally settled and said.

We've already come this far; what can we do, just go for it.

If the Tie Chui Airen had clarified this from the start, Su Sheng might not have rushed to start the quest.

Although it doesn't require waiting until level 80 to go to Huangcheng, we still have to wait until the main force players reach Zhuque City and the Yanhuang's strength becomes solid before this quest can be triggered.

After receiving Su Sheng's confirmation, the Tie Chui Airen immediately ordered the other dwarves to begin work.

Rumble—

Accompanied by a burst of blasting sounds.

The whole mountain range echoed with the sound.

Roar—

As the explosions echoed through the mountains, some strange roars came from all directions.

It was obvious that other monsters still roamed this mountain range.

Crash—

Su Sheng and the others ignored the monsters' roars, focusing their attention on the collapsed rock wall.

As the rock wall collapsed, a pitch‑black opening appeared underground.

However, the opening was half‑buried by fallen rocks, with the exposed part only about one and a half meters wide.

Inside it was pitch black, and as the opening emerged, waves of black aura spewed out, rose, and soon the entire mountain wall was shrouded in black mist.

"Demon Energy?!" Su Sheng said instinctively, looking at the black aura streaming from the opening.

"That's right, Chi Yan City also has a Demon Race skywell."

"Demon Energy continuously seeps from the Demon Race skywell, then contaminates the entire Chi Yan City."

"And this mine, which connects to Chi Yan City's central furnace, lets Demon Energy continuously spread from the mine into this mountain range."

"Although the rock wall is sealed, Demon Energy still seeps out, polluting this mountain range."

"But more Demon Energy remains trapped in this mine; now that the mine is opened, more Demon Energy naturally pours out."

Iron Hammer looked at the still billowing Demon Energy and said.

"So now we can't go in directly," Su Sheng mused.

"Yes, we have to wait."

The Tie Chui Airen nodded: "With Demon Energy this concentrated in the mine, even a Fourth Rebirth master would be polluted by it if they entered."

Su Sheng glanced at the game time, showing about four hours and twenty minutes left: "How long must we wait?"

"Soon. Although a lot of Demon Energy is blocked in the mine, the concentration here is low, so the mine's Demon Energy will soon surge out completely," the Tie Chui Airen analyzed.

Su Sheng nodded slightly, hoping.

…

The facts proved the Tie Chui Airen was right; about ten minutes later, no Demon Energy surged from the mine.

But at this point the mountain range was almost completely pitch black.

The Demon Energy that erupted from the mine formed a massive black cloud, covering the entire mountain range.

It gave a feeling of a storm about to break, wind filling the towers.

Compared to ordinary dark clouds, these Demon Energy clouds felt even more oppressive!

Ding—

System Notification: Scanning player's map, Demon Energy concentration has risen sharply.

Suppressed by Demon Energy, all attributes reduced by 5%.

At that moment, another System Notification came through.

Sure enough, this Demon Energy environment is a headache.

"It's done. The Demon Energy in the mine has basically all surged out; because it was blocked for so long, the mine now has no Demon Energy left, it all rushed out at once."

"Time is limited; we must act quickly. Now this mine is opened, and the Demon Race of Chi Yan City could discover the mine at any moment."

The Tie Chui Airen, after speaking, moved toward the mine's location.

Su Sheng led Lin Huan and the others, following closely.

With a one‑meter‑and‑a‑half opening, the dwarf squad entered easily.

Su Sheng and the others had to bend over to get in.

After entering the mine, Su Sheng discovered that the ten dwarves who had arrived earlier were all wearing something like a miner's lamp on their heads.

Indeed, dwarven craftsmanship.

With these lamps, it's not too dark.

After Su Sheng entered, he found that the map's name had changed to Hidden Mine.

At the same time, the demonic energy environment status had disappeared.

Su Sheng even thought this mine might be a dungeon, after all the task required five people.

Moreover, inside, aside from some traces of age, there was nothing unusual.

"Go!"

Tie Chui Airen led the way directly ahead.

Looks like this mine has no monsters.

Afterwards, the group moved forward a distance.

Su Sheng then discovered that the mine was interconnected, winding and twisting; if it weren't for Tie Chui Airen leading the way, they'd probably get lost.

However, watching Tie Chui Airen advance cleanly and efficiently without even stopping to find the way, it was obvious he was very familiar with this mine.

Su Sheng recalled what Tie Chui Airen had said earlier—that the sealing work on this mine in Chi Yan City was led by him—and he felt relieved.

Besides, given the dwarves' talent, the mine was practically like home for them.

After all, they usually live in mines.

Crack!

Just then, a faint sound came…

Under the light of one dwarf's lamp, a huge mouth lunged at incredible speed to devour that dwarf.