"Did the fish take the bait?"
The five peak Golden Core stage powerhouses were confused.
Chen Nan said, "A guy at the ninth level of Golden Core, along with two at the eighth level, headed towards Qinglong Mountain!"
"Holy crap!"
Xue Yun gasped, "Master, this place is seventy to eighty kilometers from Qinglong Mountain, and you can sense their presence?"
Chen Nan couldn't help but ask, "Don't you guys sense them?"
"......"
The five men looked like they had no will to live!
Although they were Golden Core stage powerhouses, their mental power coverage was only about twenty kilometers!
They were nowhere near as monstrous as Chen Nan!
"Yo, they've set up a formation to shield the aura of the Qinglong Mountain spirit stone mine!"
"Not bad!"
Chen Nan said with a smile!
He wasn't afraid of Yu Huang's people at all!
Even if they wanted to kill him, they'd have to do it after they'd finished mining the spirit stones!
After all, why not use free labor?
"Tell me about the previous era and the era of the end of dharma!" Chen Nan changed the subject, as he didn't know much about the history of the cultivation world!
Xue Yun said, "The previous era was an era of cultivation. In that era, Nascent Soul cultivators were as common as dogs, and countless powerhouses broke through the void and ascended to the Immortal Realm in broad daylight!"
"Then came the era of the end of dharma!"
"The spiritual energy in heaven and earth seemed to have evaporated overnight, making it unsuitable for cultivators to survive!"
"Countless cultivators died due to the depletion of spiritual energy!"
"The cultivators of later generations called that era the era of the end of dharma!"
"This situation only disappeared three hundred years ago!"
"To put it simply, there are no cultivators over three hundred years old in reality!"
"And Senior Qing Zhi has lived for who knows how many years!"
Chen Nan understood!
It seemed his master had more secrets than he had imagined!
Chen Nan said, "Tell your subordinates to conceal their auras and wait for Yu Huang's people to mine the spirit stones, then wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
"Yes!"
------
At the same time!
Qinglong Mountain!
Ao San, a subordinate of Yu Huang, had finished investigating the spirit stone mine and excitedly took out his communication jade token, "Boss, the spirit stones in this spirit stone mine are exceptionally abundant. Based on my observations, at least one hundred thousand spirit stones can be mined!"
Yu Huang asked, "What about the quality?"
Ao San replied, "It's of low-grade spirit stone quality!"
Yu Huang sighed, "I thought the quality would be a bit higher!"
Ao San gave a wry smile, "Boss, in the mortal world, the existence of a spirit stone mine is already a miracle. Why do you still ask for too much?"
"You have a point!" Yu Huang said, "You guys guard the Qinglong Mountain spirit stone mine for now. I'll lead my experts there!"
"No matter what, we cannot let anyone else lay their hands on this spirit stone mine!"
Ao San said with a smile and full of confidence, "Boss, don't worry. I've already set up a formation to isolate the aura of this place. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator passing by wouldn't notice!"
That night, Yu Huang arrived at Qinglong Mountain with his over seven hundred subordinates!
He didn't start mining the spirit stones but sat cross-legged, absorbing the spiritual energy from heaven and earth!
After all, Qinglong Mountain had a spirit stone mine, and cultivating here would yield twice the results with half the effort!
Time passed!
Seven days later!
Ao San came to where Yu Huang was cultivating and respectfully said, "Boss, at this rate, the spirit stone mine should be completely mined within three days!"
Yu Huang slowly opened his eyes, "How many spirit stones have been mined so far?"
Hearing this, Ao San became excited, "I said earlier that at least a hundred thousand could be mined, but it seems to be far more than I predicted. As of today, twenty-three thousand have been mined!"
"It shouldn't be difficult to mine another thirty thousand in the next three days!"
Yu Huang nodded slightly, "Over two hundred thousand spirit stones is a considerable amount, even for the forces in those top-tier small worlds!"
Ao San nodded solemnly, "Spirit stones themselves are very rare. Even in those top-tier forces, they wouldn't be able to produce so many spirit stones!"
Yu Huang said, "Therefore, the news of us possessing spirit stones must absolutely not be leaked, otherwise, it will bring about disaster!" A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
Ao San's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but ask, "Boss, you're not thinking of silencing them to eliminate future trouble, are you?"
He knew Yu Huang was a ruthless person!
But he never expected him to eliminate his own subordinates!
"Only in this way can we keep the secret of our spirit stones!" Yu Huang said, "Tell the other seven people to kill everyone after the spirit stone mine is fully mined!"
"Yes!"
Ao San agreed immediately!
The lives of others were not important to them!
What was important was their own survival!
Even if others had followed Yu Huang for many years and gone through life and death together!
What was that compared to the spirit stones they possessed?
The secret of the spirit stones must not be leaked!
Three days later!
Ao San and the other seven late-stage ninth-level Golden Core experts entered the depths of the mine!
They were Yu Huang's eight protectors, second only to Yu Huang in status!
The Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators were all extremely excited!
Because Yu Huang had promised that after the spirit stone mine was mined, there would be rewards, with a ten percent share!
The more than seven hundred of them had mined twenty-six thousand spirit stones day and night. Their share alone was a considerable income!
Even if divided equally, each person would receive several hundred pieces!
This was a huge sum of money for anyone!
Not to mention that they had also improved their strength through cultivation in their spare time!
Ao San, as the leader of the eight protectors, bowed deeply to the more than seven hundred cultivators, "Boss said that you have made great contributions in mining spirit stones, and he specially sent me to thank you all!"
The cultivators repeatedly said, "You're too kind, you're too kind!"
After all, Ao San was very powerful, and they were not worthy of his bow!
Ao San continued, "Boss also said that the ten percent share is too little. Instead of giving you ten percent of the profits, it's better to give you an even greater opportunity!"
"An opportunity to sleep here forever!"
A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator became furious, "Ao San, what do you mean?"
Ao San grinned, "Twenty-six thousand spirit stones! No top-tier force in any small world can produce so many. If even one of you accidentally leaks this news, won't Boss be in a very passive situation?"
"Therefore, Boss's intention is to silence you!" As he spoke, he swung his sword forward, instantly killing dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators!
"Yu Huang, I'll curse your ancestors!"
"We risked our lives for you, worked hard to mine spirit stones, and you're discarding us like worn-out shoes?"
"Yu Huang, you'll die a terrible death!"
The cultivators roared in anger!
They wanted to resist, to rush out of the mine!
But in front of the eight ninth-level Golden Core experts, they had no power to resist!
A moment later!
The slaughter in the mine stopped!
Ao San and the others walked out, covered in blood!
Yu Huang formed a seal with one hand, creating a deep pit in Qinglong Mountain, destroying the mine!
"Let's go!"
Yu Huang waved his hand, and a wooden boat appeared out of thin air!
It was a flying magical artifact!
Just then, Chen Nan's cold voice rang out, "Trying to leave? Did you ask for my permission?"