Chapter 736 - 663 Ascending the Peak 62
This feeling wasn’t the first time it happened. It appeared before when I got the Thousand Silk Entanglement. But why does she have this feeling? Tan Shuangshuang pondered, somewhat lost in thought.
In her mind, the goddess called Chang Ge and Shuangshuang spoke of something, and then Shuangshuang began learning formations with the goddess named Chang Ge.
Some incredibly complex formation knowledge explained by Chang Ge became easy to understand, and Tan Shuangshuang involuntarily joined the goddess with the same name in learning, quickly immersing herself in the world of formations.
Chang Ge was indeed an excellent teacher, just like Ling Wuchen, making what was originally baffling and hard-to-understand formation knowledge captivating to Tan Shuangshuang, who unknowingly remembered those originally dull concepts.
The time spent learning passed quickly. When the image of Chang Ge teaching Shuangshuang disappeared from her mind, Tan Shuangshuang returned to her senses. Looking around at the Illusion Array that trapped her, she realized that the intricate Illusion Array that once left her helpless was now child’s play.
Before, Tan Shuangshuang had no clue where to start with the Illusion Array, but now, upon a glance, she noticed numerous flaws. With the formation knowledge in her mind, she could easily think of countless ways to unravel this Illusion Array.
However, Tan Shuangshuang didn’t break the Illusion Array. If the Illusion Array was broken, even an idiot would know there was a problem. She wasn’t here to attack; she just wanted to quietly gather some intel to verify the existence and size of the Spirit Stone Mine. Fighting could wait until the sect members arrived.
Tan Shuangshuang easily walked out along the flaws in the Illusion Array. Once out, the entrance to the Spirit Stone Mine she had seen before appeared again. This entrance was low, with weeds covering it outside, making one have to crawl halfway to enter.
Such a small cave could easily be mistaken for some animal’s den, making it hard to realize that inside was a Spirit Stone Mine. The secrecy of this entrance was excellent.
Looking at the entrance, Tan Shuangshuang dared not directly enter in case someone was guarding inside and chopped her head off as soon as she peeked. Cautiously, she probed inside with Spiritual Power and indeed found someone guarding the entrance, making it impossible to sneak in undetected.
Tan Shuangshuang thought over it, refrained from taking the risk, and decided to wait patiently by the entrance for an opportunity. If this place was truly a Spirit Stone Mine, the opposition wouldn’t go without delivering Spirit Stones, purchasing food, or exchanging people from the outside with those inside.
Tan Shuangshuang waited patiently for several days, and sure enough, replacements arrived. The newcomers wore black clothes and masks, thoroughly hiding their identities, making it impossible to distinguish even male from female, with a clear intent to conceal their identities.
Even though these people were tightly wrapped, Tan Shuangshuang suspected something from their posture. No matter how one tries to hide, some habits can’t be changed.
These people walked with heads held high; though they tried to blend in, their disciplined movements, signifying military training, were unmistakable. These people, surprisingly, were of military background!
Tan Shuangshuang’s heart grew heavy. If the authorities were involved, it could spell trouble. Everyone has selfish desires. If a Lord of a City coveted this Spirit Stone Mine and wanted to monopolize it, it would explain why that small family was exterminated so swiftly without catching any official attention, and nobody investigated.
Tan Shuangshuang frowned slightly. Taking advantage of these people moving through the Illusion Array, she swiftly slipped into the Illusion Array, using one of its flaws as cover to silently take down the last person in the group, donned that person’s clothes and mask, and followed them stealthily.
This time, Tan Shuangshuang successfully followed them into the low mine tunnel without anyone noticing. Once inside, she discovered another world within. The dark cavern was brightly lit like daylight by fluorite scattered all around, with enough ventilation to feel fresh.
Inside, the cavern connected to a web of tunnels, with many guards also in masks and robes. Apart from that, they didn’t speak, and despite the number, there was no sound. Such a large silent assembly created an inexplicably eerie and ominous atmosphere.
In one corner of the cavern stood a stone table, behind which sat a masked person who, unlike the others, wore a splendid blue magic robe instead of a black cloak.
As Tan Shuangshuang entered with the group, she saw another group similarly dressed in masks and cloaks emerge from the mine tunnel. These people orderly walked to the stone table, placing storage bags before the masked person.
After inspection, the masked person would collect the storage bags and simultaneously place a storage bag and a row of low-grade Spirit Stones on the table, ranging from ten to dozens of stones. The masked person who relinquished the storage bag would then collect these Spirit Stones into their storage bag and leave.
The value of a single Spirit Stone was sky-high. Commoners mainly traded with copper and silver coins, sometimes gold coins, whereas cultivators primarily used gold coins and Spiritual Pearls. Transactions with Spirit Stones were sparse.
The reason is simple: ten thousand Spiritual Pearls equate to one low-grade Spirit Stone. Due to its significant purchasing power, besides a few needs, cultivators wouldn’t easily spend such large sums.
Spirit Stones were more commonly used in cultivation or to power various alchemy and artifact refining objects, like flying artifacts.
The Spirit Pearls laid on the stone table were clearly the reward for the person handing over the storage bag; such a generous reward, even though the cavern remained silent, Tan Shuangshuang felt a sense of jubilant excitement spreading in the cavern.
One by one, the group approached, handed over their storage bags, received their rewards, and then, in silence, lined up, half crouched, and crawled out of the entrance, leaving quietly without a sound.
After they departed, the group Tan Shuangshuang followed split silently into five smaller teams, each entering different branch tunnels. Only upon entering the tunnel did the leader of Tan Shuangshuang’s group slightly lower their voice to speak.
"You’ve seen it; the previous batch left with full pockets. Let’s work hard, make sure we earn no less than them. Brothers, endure some hardship, work in here for a few days, then live it up outside. With money, you can do whatever you want."