Chapter 1513 Mine? Tomb?
"No time to delay, before that dishevelled Daoist Priest gets too far, let's follow him quickly."
"Alright!"
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu, disregarding the black market, hurried outside.
"Where are they? Have they gotten lost?"
Chen Xuan followed for a while but suddenly found that the dishevelled Daoist Priest had disappeared, making him somewhat puzzled.
"He hasn't left, he's just ahead. He's concealed his aura," Liu Yu said.
"Concealed his aura? No wonder."
Indeed, after walking dozens of meters, Chen Xuan saw the dishevelled Daoist Priest gnawing on dry rations under a large tree. The two of them quickly concealed their auras and quietly observed the dishevelled Daoist Priest.
"I'm so unlucky, my business has been disrupted twice! Don't let me see you again, if I see you again, I'll beat you so badly that even your mother won't recognize you."
The dishevelled Daoist Priest's eyes were burning with anger as he bit into the steamed bun, each bite filled with forceful energy.
Neither Chen Xuan nor Liu Yu spoke, their gazes fixed on the dishevelled Daoist Priest.
After the dishevelled Daoist Priest had eaten his fill, he didn't follow the main road but instead plunged into the jungle.
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu exchanged glances and nodded.
Follow!
Thus, Chen Xuan and Liu Yu quietly followed the dishevelled Daoist Priest. They walked for a day and a night, crossing two mountain ranges, and finally arrived at a small mountain.
The shape of this small mountain was very peculiar.
The small mountain seemed to have grown out of a sinkhole, with depressions all around, appearing dark and black.
The dishevelled Daoist Priest jumped into the sinkhole, and Chen Xuan and Liu Yu followed closely. After just a few steps, Chen Xuan raised his hand, signalling Liu Yu to stop.
"We've arrived?"
"We should have," Chen Xuan nodded.
The World Tree had already told Chen Xuan that there was something good ahead. The World Tree was extremely urgent, its eagerness surpassing that when they had encountered spirit stones before, indicating that it might have stumbled upon a spirit stone mine.
If it truly was a spirit stone mine, Chen Xuan and the others would be rich. Spirit stone mines were extremely valuable, at least for cultivators. However, for others, they might not be so valuable.
"Brother Chen, look!"
Suddenly, Liu Yu called out in a low voice.
Chen Xuan quickly looked over and saw the dishevelled Daoist Priest looking around. Seeing no one, he moved aside the weeds in front of him, revealing a cave entrance on the mountainside, about a person's height. He darted into the cave.
"Should we go in?" Liu Yu dared not act rashly.
Chen Xuan nodded, "Yes!"
Since the good thing was inside, even if Chen Xuan wanted to let it go, the World Tree might not.
Chen Xuan took the lead, and Liu Yu followed closely.
The dishevelled Daoist Priest was holding a torch and walking into the depths of the winding cave. From the current situation, this seemed to be an artificially dug cave, and the excavation had not been long, likely within the past month.
The walls bore traces of being excavated by a mining shovel, indicating professional work.
"A tomb robber's exploratory tunnel. Could this dishevelled Daoist Priest be a tomb robber?"
Chen Xuan discovered a clue from the excavation marks of the tunnel.
"Tomb robber? What tomb robber?"
Liu Yu, not being from the Xuanmen, naturally couldn't discern these details.
"Judging by the traces of this tunnel, this should be an exploratory tunnel dug by tomb robbers," Chen Xuan explained. "I suspect this dishevelled Daoist Priest is a tomb robber."
"Could it be that these spirit stones weren't found in a mine, but in a tomb? That means the end of this cave leads to an ancient tomb?"
Liu Yu was quite intelligent and could infer from the context.
"Very likely."
Chen Xuan nodded. They would know soon enough if that was the case.
They soon reached the end. The dishevelled Daoist Priest picked up his mining shovel and began to dig at the wall. With a "clang," a sound of metal striking stone echoed. The dishevelled Daoist Priest's heart leaped with joy. He quickly dropped the shovel, dug away the soil with his hands, and soon discovered a piece of exquisitely transparent jade stone. This jade stone was the size of a fist, and its texture was the same as the spirit stones sold earlier.
"Excellent! I've finally dug up another one!"
The dishevelled Daoist Priest was overjoyed.
But suddenly, the dishevelled Daoist Priest felt his hand lighten. When he looked again, the spirit stone had vanished.
"Damn it, is this haunted?"
The dishevelled Daoist Priest's face turned pale, and he stammered in panic.
At this moment, the sound of footsteps rang out, startling the dishevelled Daoist Priest into taking a few steps back. "I'm telling you, I'm not afraid of ghosts!"
"Have you ever seen such a handsome ghost?"
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu slowly walked over.
As they got closer, the torchlight illuminated their faces. The dishevelled Daoist Priest immediately recognized them as the ones who had disrupted his business at the ghost market.
"Good, it's you!"
The dishevelled Daoist Priest immediately became agitated. "You followed me and pretended to be ghosts to scare me!"
Chen Xuan chuckled sinisterly, "I didn't pretend to be a ghost to scare you. I just wanted to do business with you."
"You... I'm not doing any business with you. I discovered this place first. If you have any chivalry, leave quickly, or I'll despise you!"
The dishevelled Daoist Priest said sternly.
"Chivalry?"
Chen Xuan chuckled.
You cunning merchant, lecturing me about chivalry here? What a joke!
Liu Yu also shook his head slightly.
The dishevelled Daoist Priest's old face flushed. "How about this? As the saying goes, half for each when you meet. Since you've also discovered it, from now on, we'll split any spirit stones found equally. Also, as the discoverer, and you are latecomers, you will be responsible for digging."
"You take half for yourself, and we two only get half. We do the work, and you watch? You're really fair," Chen Xuan said with a cold laugh.
"How do you propose we divide it?"
"We three divide it into three shares, one share for each person, and all three of us dig together."
"What? I don't mind digging for spirit stones together, but I disagree with this division..."
The dishevelled Daoist Priest was unconvinced. After all, this was a treasure trove he had discovered first, and now he had to share it equally with Chen Xuan and the others. He was quite displeased. However, suddenly, the pressure emanating from Chen Xuan made his expression change, and he immediately nodded, "Alright, then one share for each. I think it's quite fair."
The dishevelled Daoist Priest's pragmatic attitude was truly admirable.
"Dishevelled Daoist Priest, how did you discover this place?"
Chen Xuan asked curiously.
"A wise man has his own methods. Also, my name is not Dishevelled Daoist Priest. My dharma name is Xuan Zhenzi." The dishevelled Daoist Priest put on a profound and mysterious expression.
"Speak human."
"This is my secret, it cannot be leaked."
Chen Xuan couldn't be bothered to ask further. In any case, it was best to dig for spirit stones quickly. He picked up a suitable shovel and began to dig. Liu Yu also chose a spot to begin excavating, while the dishevelled Daoist Priest picked up his mining shovel and started to move soil.
Chen Xuan chose the direction indicated by the World Tree and soon dug out three spirit stones, while Liu Yu and the dishevelled Daoist Priest found nothing.
Soon, Chen Xuan dug up a fourth one, but this one was not a spirit stone, but an ordinary stone that had been imbued with some of the spiritual essence of spirit stones. An average person would not be able to tell if it was a spirit stone or not.
He shook his head and disappointedly tossed the stone aside. The dishevelled Daoist Priest was slightly startled, very surprised by Chen Xuan's sharp eyesight.