Chapter 1294: The Bizarre Nature of the Thái Sơ Ore Vein (Second Update!)
The white cat was none other than the cat often held in Lady Nghiên's arms. It walked with light, silent steps, tail held high, and went directly ahead of Tần Mục without looking back, saying: "Mục Tôn, I will lead the way for you. Please, come in."
Tần Mục smiled and followed it.
The white cat Tiểu Thất moved forward unhurriedly, speaking indifferently: "This mining area is extremely dangerous. Even those at the Đế Tọa realm cannot last long once they enter. Those who come here to mine are all powerful beings among the gods, but because they enter this place and stay too long, they end up being assimilated by the ore vein."
Tần Mục heard the sound of mining and looked intently, seeing a deity mining divine stones on the mountain wall.
Around the divine stones, various strange runes were inscribed, and on both sides of the mountain wall hung mirrors, shining upon the divine stones on the cliff face, as if afraid the stones might escape.
That deity held a pickaxe, striking blow after blow, producing a clanging sound.
Tần Mục watched for a moment, seeing that with each strike, the deity's body became slightly more transparent, yet he seemed unaware, still continuously trying to extract the divine stone.
The white cat Tiểu Thất looked back, and Tần Mục followed, seeing more divine miners.
They too moved like walking corpses, mechanically digging at the divine ore. Before each of them, the stone wall was covered in bizarre runes, with two mirrors set up beside them, shining on the divine stones embedded in the cliff.
They buried themselves in their work, monotonously swinging their iron picks, clanging away.
Suddenly, one man wept with joy, holding up a divine stone and crying tears of happiness, sobbing: "I found it! I found a divine stone! This is my third divine stone, I can finally go home!"
Whoosh—
An iron pickaxe rose from behind him and struck down on his head, piercing through his skull. That deity died on the spot!
His attacker was also a divine miner. After killing the man, he immediately grabbed the Thái Sơ divine stone that had fallen to the ground, chuckling darkly: "It's me who gets to go home! I've had enough of this place!"
He was overjoyed, frantically running toward the exit of the mining area, shouting: "Overseer! Overseer! I've dug up a divine stone—"
The other miners acted as if they saw nothing, continuing to pound the stone walls in a daze.
Tần Mục frowned.
"The Empress still has compassion and mercy in her heart. These miners are all death-row prisoners from the great heavenly prison."
The white cat Tiểu Thất said: "They committed capital crimes, but the Empress has allowed that if they mine three divine ores, their crimes will be pardoned, and they may return home in glory!"
Tần Mục observed these divine miners in the haze of the mining area, saying: "Their cultivation levels probably cannot sustain mining three divine stones."
The white cat Tiểu Thất glanced at these divine miners with a look of contempt, saying: "Three divine stones? Being able to mine one divine stone without being assimilated already requires a master at the Trảm Thần Đài realm. To mine three and survive, one needs at least the Ngọc Kinh realm. Even a strong cultivator at the Lăng Tiêu realm, after mining three divine stones, would have their body half-phased. Even if they leave, they would be a crippled god."
Tần Mục gave a half-smile: "Can they really leave?"
The white cat Tiểu Thất sneered: "The Empress keeps her word, how could she deceive them? However, to this day, no one has ever left the mining area alive. That man just now might be the first."
They continued deeper. There were also sounds of digging in the depths of the mining area. The deities deeper inside were mining raw stones. Tần Mục saw that these miners had shackles on their feet, chained with iron links.
They dragged their long chains as they walked through the mining area, raising mirrors one by one. The light from the mirrors dispelled the fog, shining upon the mountain walls.
If a divine stone was caught in the mirror light, these ragged miners would drag their shackles with a clattering sound, rushing over frantically, biting their tongues and using their blood to draw runes on the stone wall around the divine stone, trapping it so it could not escape.
Thái Sơ divine stones had the peculiar quality of having form but no substance. Unlike other divine stones, because they were not composed of matter, they could travel freely through space.
Without runes to trap them and mirrors to shine on them, it was impossible to dig out these divine stones.
These people were specifically responsible for searching for divine stones.
"These people are not death-row prisoners from the great prison, but from the heavenly prison. Their crimes are greater, their sins heavier."
The white cat Tiểu Thất said: "Their cultivation and strength are also higher. They need to find one hundred divine stones before they can leave."
Tần Mục watched these searchers running back and forth, asking: "Has anyone ever left here alive?"
The white cat shook its head: "This is where the strangeness of this ore vein lies. Searching for divine ore and mining divine stones seems to be cursed by this vein. The more you find, the more you dig out, the faster you are assimilated! Look at that one over there."
Tần Mục looked over and saw an old, hunched deity who was almost completely phased, yet still dragging his chains, holding up a mirror and searching everywhere.
"He is a strong cultivator at the Lăng Tiêu realm, the ruler of the Ba Đồ chư thiên. Because he resisted the Heavenly Court, he was sentenced to death and thrown into the heavenly prison to suffer. He has only found sixty-two divine stones. Merely trapping these stones has brought him to the brink of death."
The white cat revealed a sinister smile: "The most crucial part is that he doesn't know he's about to die. That's the beauty of this mining area. It makes these bastards work desperately for the Empress even as death approaches!"
He laughed: "These are only divine stones. If one were to find a raw stone—merely finding it without even trapping it—it would be enough to make a person phase into nothingness in an instant! Do you know why Tú Hồng Tô dares not come here?"
Tần Mục shook his head.
"She has seen a raw stone three times!"
The white cat laughed: "The first time, she merely took one look and nearly died. She fled in panic and didn't dare try to fix that raw stone in place! The second time, she made full preparations and went deeper into the mining area, but just like the first time, as soon as she saw the raw stone, she knew her preparations were completely useless and had to flee for her life again! And the third time, she begged the Empress for a treasure before she dared to enter."
Tần Mục asked curiously: "And then?"
The white cat let out a strange, eerie giggle: "Mục Tôn, don't you know? You have always had one greatest weakness—you are too curious! This weakness sometimes brings you great fortune, but sometimes it can also make you die a most miserable death!"
Tần Mục nodded, saying: "Someone once told me that my curiosity would be the death of me. But if a person has no curiosity, they will not progress. If a race has no curiosity, it will no longer advance either. So whether it is a benefit or a harm, I will make my own judgment."
The white cat said: "The third time she entered this place, she found that raw stone. She activated the protective treasure the Empress had given her, trying to fix the divine stone in place, but she discovered that the Empress's treasure was also rapidly phasing away. Before she could fix that strange raw stone, the treasure would turn into nothingness. So, Tú Hồng Tô had no choice but to retreat. Look over there—that is the treasure the Empress refined."
Tần Mục looked and indeed saw the form of a treasure—a flying shuttle that had already phased, becoming a form with shape but no substance.
Even a treasure refined by a Thiên Tôn could not withstand the strangeness of this place!
He sighed: "Tú Tú lost her chance. Thank you, Tiểu Thất, for telling me so much."
They had already arrived at the deepest part of the mining area. The fog here was thicker, and the divine miners searching for ore were no longer visible. Occasionally, they would pass through the bodies of already-phased deities standing there.
These deities stood motionless, without awareness, without desire, without want.
The white cat giggled eerily: "The reason I told you so much is because you are about to die, Mục Tôn!"
Tần Mục said with a sincere expression: "Your words may not be pleasant to hear, but they are true. If I found that raw stone, I would probably be phased into nothingness in an instant, ceasing to exist."
The white cat shook its head, then suddenly slowly rose to its feet, transforming into a divine general in silver armor with a silver spear. His features were handsome and refined. He turned around, pointing his silver spear at Tần Mục, and said with a smile: "That is not what I meant. What fun is there in letting you die at the hands of a raw stone? My purpose is to personally eliminate you!"
He said calmly: "You once tricked me, making me believe I had obtained your third eye on my forehead, making me believe I had obtained the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell. You caused me to be fought over by the six great Thiên Tôn, nearly costing me my life! A gentleman's revenge is never too late—ten years is not too long. I will personally avenge this grudge!"
A look of hatred gleamed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "Moreover, you have grown too close to the Empress! The Empress is mine! You rely on your handsome looks to try to take the Empress from me, so you can only die!"
"I am handsome?"
Tần Mục's heart blossomed with joy. He couldn't help touching his own face. He had been so crushed by Lady Nghiên's criticisms that he had almost lost all confidence, and now one sentence from the white cat Tiểu Thất had filled him with confidence again.