Chapter 423 - 68: Star Falling Diamond Sand
The Nanmu family has lived off adventure for generations until his era, when they switched to serving in the Fengdan County Guard Army. However, Nan Muyu still possessed numerous pieces of essential adventuring equipment. The mountain-opening cone, broken earlier, was one of them.
The mountain-opening cone in Nan Muyu’s possession was unremarkably named, yet forged from a grey metal called Gray Gold. Though the cone was not large, merely five inches long, its material was significantly hefty. Yue Jinghua lightly weighed it, conjecturing it could also be used to craft high-level spiritual artifacts.
Yet now, the cone had snapped in half, and the cone’s tip was severely cracked, leaving Nan Muyu distressed.
What could be so hard that it shattered Gray Gold?
Yue Jinghua approached the wall everyone talked about.
This wall, only about ten steps away from where the Nine Heavens Crystal Plate was found, seemed to be at the end of the Star Falling Mine.
Unlike the other walls in the mine, this one appeared starkly abrupt, about two meters tall and three meters wide, its surface black as if smoked.
"The brothers tried everything, pouring water, burning fire, just short of using a Xuan Crystal Cannon," Nan Muyu gritted his teeth, they had indeed tried every method, yet this black wall stubbornly blocked all attempts.
The mine’s resources are nearly depleted, but according to Qian Luo’s survey, this cave’s scope surely exceeds what has been explored.
Qian Luo also suspected that this Star Falling Mine was likely much larger than what had been excavated, possibly even penetrating the entire Kalan Mountain. The Star Fall Salt and Star Falling Stone uncovered so far may be just the tip of the iceberg.
Yue Jinghua dismissed some people and wandered in the cave overnight before bringing Qian Luo back.
"Sir, I have confirmed it, this wall is very odd, Spiritual Sense cannot penetrate it," Qian Luo reported to Yue Jinghua, recounting her previous attempts.
"I called for you to ask if you know how to draw a strengthening Dark Array. I possess a type of Dark Fire, very powerful, but I think, to melt this ancient black wall, just my Dark Fire alone might not suffice. Thus, I need an array that can temporarily enhance my Dark Power or my Dark Fire," Yue Jinghua spoke of her Dark Fire, which was naturally the Chaos Green Lotus Fire.
Previously, she had used Chaos Green Lotus Fire to forge "Soft Finger" from Star Falling Iron, so Yue Jinghua believed that if her Dark Power were sufficient, or if she could enhance the Chaos Green Lotus Fire further, she might be able to melt the peculiar black wall.
However, using the Chaos Green Lotus Fire requires a considerable amount of Dark Power. To persist until the entire black wall is melted, she would at least need to reach Dark Heavenly or even the Dan Realm.
Advancing one’s cultivation can’t be achieved in the short term. It’s said that skilled Array Masters can draw strengthening Dark Arrays, hence Yue Jinghua thought of Qian Luo.
After a brief thought, Qian Luo quickly had an idea: "I do know a middle-level Dark Array called the Nine Curves Formation. Initially discovered by a Pill Master, it’s said that once drawn on the ground resembling the winding Yellow River and infusing it with Fire Spirit, it can unleash several times more power, and the Fire Element won’t easily extinguish. However, I’ve never drawn this Array myself and only heard of it, the chances of success are not high."
Drawing a Dark Array requires at least fifth-level Dark Beast Essence Blood and supplemented by Dark Pill, and the cost is enormous.
"There is no gain without cause, as there is no effort without yield. Consider this a practice of drawing arrays," Yue Jinghua said, then she instructed Hongling to fetch the necessary materials like Beast Blood and Dan Sha for Qian Luo to draw the Nine Curves Pill Fire Array.
Qian Luo attempted three times. As she mentioned, during the first two attempts, the Beast Blood failed to coalesce into Array Patterns and completely evaporated, failing midway. Fortunately, by the third attempt, Qian Luo had become more skilled, managing to draw a form resembling the Nine Curves Pill Fire Array before nightfall.
Qian Luo then informed Yue Jinghua of the location of the Array Eye, allowing her to sit cross-legged, leaning on the abundant Dark Energy inside the Star Falling Mine to recover the spent Dark Power.
Yue Jinghua summoned the Chaos Green Lotus Fire, gradually infusing the fire element into the Nine Curves Pill Fire Array. The blue fire instantly ignited the pill fire array, which was mysteriously capable of gathering the fire element without dispersing it. Once the Chaos Green Lotus Fire was condensed, it was at least three to four times more ferocious than before.
Inside the cool and clear Star Falling Mine, it now felt as if fire dots were lit everywhere, unbearably scorching hot.
Qian Luo was also awakened by this sudden heat, watching the Ghost-like continuously dancing Chaos Green Lotus Fire within the pill fire array. Although beautifully captivating, it carried an unstoppable aura of death. Qian Luo couldn’t help but be startled, further doubting Yue Jinghua’s true strength; such a blue fire was certainly not the ordinary lifebound pill fire of an average Dark Practitioner.
Yue Jinghua’s expression was extremely solemn, her Spiritual Sense and the Chaos Green Lotus Fire leaping forth, instantly engulfing the black wall.
The fire blazed fiercely, burning the entire mine as if it was a steamer.
Both of them stared intently at the black wall.
Initially, the black wall seemed unchanged as usual, but after the relentless burning of the Chaos Green Lotus Fire for nearly two hours, the situation began to change.
Looking like stone yet metallic, the black wall emitted sounds akin to tree bark drying, crackling and popping increasingly louder, until at last, the black wall melted like molten iron under intense fire, dissolving away.
As the wall melted, Yue Jinghua noticed that some shiny objects fell to the ground.
After extinguishing the Chaos Green Lotus Fire, Yue Jinghua stepped forward, the black wall had completely melted, leaving behind a multitude of sparkling crystal stones on the ground.
Upon closer inspection, Yue Jinghua was stunned.
What is this?
Star Falling Diamond Sand, Yue Jinghua picked one up; the ground was actually covered with unprocessed Star Falling Diamonds of various sizes. Since they were so small and numerous, they were more appropriately called Star Falling Diamond Sand.
These raw diamonds were not large, the biggest ones were only the size of a little fingernail yet merely melting one wall yielded such an amount of Star Falling Diamond Sand. What about inside the cave?
The two walked deeper into the cave, and indeed, the walls inside were mostly like the black wall, either more or less embedded with Star Falling Diamonds, with such large quantities that Yue Jinghua could suspect, the latter half of the Star Falling Mine was actually a Star Falling Diamond Cave.
On the continent, large Star Falling Diamonds are hard to come by. Even though the current Star Falling Diamonds have very ordinary quality and size, Yue Jinghua believed that once her cultivation improved, she would definitely be able to use the Lotus Fire to condense even more perfect Star Falling Diamonds.
But now, the discovery and development of Star Falling Diamonds had exceeded her own capabilities.
If it were only Star Fall Salt and Star Falling Stone, Yue Jinghua could still ensure not to attract outsiders’ covetousness, but Star Falling Diamonds were too scarce on the continent. Even Star Falling Mines as small as sand, once appeared in the market, would attract prying eyes from interested parties.
After a brief consideration, Yue Jinghua decided to temporarily close the Star Falling Mine.
Without being able to ensure the safety of the Star Falling Diamond Cave, closing the mine was the safest option. As for the melted out Star Falling Diamond Sand, she had already thought of a use for it, and it was time to redeem that guy from the compass dealership.