My Arts Evolve When Perfected

"Let’s check out the mining area first. What kind of ore do they mine in this world?"

"Yes."

The three of them—Nine-tailed Fox, One-tailed, and Ah Xiong—accompanied him, walking deeper into the mining area. It wasn’t idle curiosity about the mining operations that drove him; he needed to understand how this world’s smelting industry had developed.

Some mining areas yielded ore suitable for forging weapons, while others produced ore only fit for Magical Treasures. Their uses were vastly different, but without exception, all were extremely precious resources!

Soon, Jiang Qiu led the three of them into the depths. He sensed many members of the Celestial Wolf Race. Their strengths varied; the powerful were in the Spirit Control Realm, while the weakest were still at the level of Opening Spirit Veins. Such a formidable force was patrolling the area!

That’s right. The Celestial Wolf Race members guarding the mining area were, at a minimum, at the Opening Spirit Veins Realm. There were quite a few in the Spirit Control Realm as well. Most critically, they were all in human form!

They clearly hadn’t undergone a full Transformation, yet just like the Spirit Control Realm Werewolf he had killed earlier, they were mostly humanoid. They didn’t look like a typical Demon Race.

’Is this the influence of their bloodline?’

’But how could a bloodline turn a wolf into a human? Logically, the Human Race doesn’t even exist in this world. Where did they get a human’s structure?’

’Very strange.’

Jiang Qiu watched from a distance for a while and saw that the miners were a motley crew of various Demon Races. They were beings who had barely managed to achieve Transformation—which meant they were hideous, still retaining many demonic features in their humanoid forms.

They all wore shackles, and their Realms were generally at the Opening Spirit Veins level or above. With their heads bowed, they were driven to mine, looking utterly miserable.

However, the ore they were digging was dazzling. It even emitted an aura of exceptionally pure Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. One could only imagine what an essence-rich substance it was!

Even the current Jiang Qiu couldn’t help but marvel. In terms of condensed Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm, not even Spirit Fruits could compare to that ore. "What is this ore? Spirit Stones?"

After a moment of thought, he had his answer. Spirit Stones were a type of natural ore that usually only formed on a Spirit Vein. This meant that beneath this very land, there was a Spirit Vein!

’What is a Spirit Vein?’

’It’s equivalent to a branch of a Dragon Vein. If I could absorb it, that would be a transformative, heaven-sent blessing for me!’

A Spirit Vein absorbs the Spirit Charm between heaven and earth. One could say it’s the greatest of all Treasures of Heaven and Earth, and countless times rarer!

Of course, very few beings could absorb a Spirit Vein directly. It wasn’t something an ordinary creature could withstand. Most everyone absorbed its derivatives, like Spirit Stones.

But compared to direct absorption, Spirit Stones had many other uses, such as serving as energy storage for powering Arrays or Magical Treasures.

In short, Spirit Stones were extremely rare items that held a core, central role in any city’s economy. Anything of value could be exchanged for Spirit Stones.

After all, Spirit Stones were inherently valuable. In the Primordial World Cluster, some worlds even specifically made Spirit Stones into currency.

In other words, the mining area before him was a massive mint, and the Spiritual Ore deposit was a giant cash machine from which they were continuously withdrawing wealth.

If he could take this place, Jiang Qiu would have a shortcut to rapidly increase his power. Yes, he could quickly reach the Transformation Realm!

The value of a Spirit Vein went without saying. He could even use its resources to convert into his own bloodline inheritance and unlock the legacy of the Dragon Emperor.

Just as he had this thought, he suddenly heard a whistling sound. WHOOSH! A swarm of Celestial Wolf Race members flew over, baring their teeth. They had apparently sensed something was wrong. "Who are you?"

’Strange, how did they discover us?’

Jiang Qiu was taken aback. He had concealed his aura well, and the other three had restrained theirs too. Unless an opponent’s Realm was far superior, or they possessed specialized detection techniques, his group was no different from the grass and stones on the ground. They should have been impossible to detect from a distance.

’But why were we exposed after being here for only a short while?’

’Is it because there’s an Array here?’

’No, I already bypassed the Array. We didn’t trigger anything on the way here. It can only mean that they discovered us out of thin air...’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu shook his head helplessly. "We were just passing through. Thought we’d take a look and be on our way?"

"A place you’re qualified to see? A bunch of trash dares to spy on Celestial Wolf City’s mining area!"

The lead Werewolf roared and immediately led a large group of the Celestial Wolf Race to charge at them. They looked menacing, but in reality, the leader wasn’t even as strong as the one they had killed earlier.

That’s right. The Celestial Wolf Race members present were all weaker than the one from before. This meant the strongest one had died at the very beginning, but it seemed they were unaware.

Realizing this, Jiang Qiu didn’t feel the need to say anything more. He waved a hand at Nine-tailed Fox. "Clear the field."

It was one of the most annoying things in the world: having to pass through an anthill only to be swarmed by ants. The most satisfying thing? Burning the anthill down first, then walking through.

"Ah Xiong, One-tailed, you two go clean up as well. Slaughter every Demon Race member in this mining area that looks like them."

"Yes!"

Receiving their orders, the two little girls didn’t say another word and ran off into the distance, seemingly heading for the deeper sections. This act of ignoring the Celestial Wolf Race members naturally enraged them, but before they could even get angry, Nine-tailed Fox flicked her fingertip. Countless red threads burst forth from thin air, enveloping them like an inescapable net and instantly dicing them into pieces. A shower of flesh and blood filled the air.

"Wh-what’s happening?"

"This can’t be right!"

A few members of the Celestial Wolf Race farther away trembled, but they didn’t have much time to even catch their breath. Nine-tailed Fox glanced at them, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared before them. Her scarlet fingertips bloomed like an Other Shore Flower, then gently closed.

BANG! Two members of the Celestial Wolf Race were crushed into a bloody pulp. In reality, they had been sliced apart by countless woven red threads. Because the threads were so dense, it merely looked as if they had been squeezed to death.

With such efficiency, within the span of a few breaths, not a single living member of the Celestial Wolf Race remained in sight. The miners who had been working were all frozen in place, dazed and at a loss. They had grown numb to their toil, but they still felt a deep fear of death.

On this day, they saw the Nine-tailed Fox descend from the sky like a Goddess. She hovered above the mine shaft, and with a flick of her finger, an Other Shore Flower bloomed. Her nine snow-white fox tails swayed in the wind, displaying the full grace of a Great Demon.

Her cold and proud aura captivated every Demon Race member present. They witnessed a supreme being who scorned the Celestial Wolf Race, clearing the field of them. Behind her, a youth with Dragon Horns stood silently with his hands clasped behind his back at the edge of the pit, looking down. He seemed like a celestial being scrutinizing all living things below, his gaze indifferent, as if contemplating matters beyond the understanding of common folk.

Meanwhile, in another area—the depths of the mining district—the sounds of slaughter rose and fell. One-tailed was highly efficient. With a casual flick of her wrist, her red whip lashed out in a crescent arc of Flame, sweeping away a large swath of the Celestial Wolf Race.

As for Ah Xiong, she hadn’t reverted to her true form. In her petite state, she looked exceedingly delicate. Even her posture was a bit awkward as she walked, making her seem strangely shy, like a shut-in girl seeing the light of day for the first time.

This was mainly because she wasn’t used to this body, but it didn’t stop her from unleashing immense power.

For instance, with a loud BANG, the ground beneath her feet shattered into a spiderweb of cracks. In the next instant, she had leaped in front of a Spirit Control Realm member of the Celestial Wolf Race. Her slender little hand seized its neck, and with a casual slam, the creature became a black meteor hurtling toward the rock wall. It exploded into a mist of blood with a thunderous CRASH, causing the entire mountain to tremble!