Chapter 694: Reunion

This news, more or less, left the cultivation world of Chenping Continent feeling somewhat surprised and puzzled.

The value of a spirit mine capable of producing a thousand billion high-grade spirit stones at that magnitude was, naturally, self-evident.

But in reality, mines of this scale on Chenping Continent, currently known to exist, were distributed across more than a dozen sites in total, and all of them were firmly within the control of the Five Great Sects.

Du Cang Mountain, which now had free rein over all cultivation resources on Chenping Continent, had absolutely no need to personally take control of these mines capable of yielding a thousand billion high-grade spirit stones.

Many cultivators speculated that the true purpose of Realman Du Cang did not actually lie in the mine discovered within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, but rather in something else entirely.

Some guessed that Du Cang Mountain's control over the Martial Immortal Mountain Range was for the sake of better balancing the Kongshan Sect to the north of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, and the Mirage Palace to its south.

Others believed that Realman Du Cang had sealed off the Martial Immortal Mountain Range because there existed within it some unknown secret, and Du Cang Mountain wished to keep that information as closed off as possible.

Three years after Du Cang Mountain actually took control of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, deep within the Extreme Abyss in the Northern Region of Chenping Continent, the ruins of a large-scale cultivation sect supposedly predating the Heavenly Summit Era were also discovered, a sect that had never appeared in the historical records of present-day Chenping Continent, and so it too was taken over by Du Cang Mountain.

With the precedent of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range being controlled by Du Cang Mountain, the fact that the Extreme Abyss in the Northern Region of Chenping Continent had fallen under Du Cang Mountain's control did not stir up any further waves within the cultivation world of Chenping Continent.

......

Du Cang Calendar, Year Forty-Five.

Western Region of Chenping Continent, Martial Immortal Mountain Range, southwestern corner.

Ever since that mine within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range had been discovered, a city had sprung up out of nowhere at the outer edges of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range within a span of eleven years. Among those coming and going within it, aside from cultivators of the various major cultivation sects, were also disciples from cultivation families hailing from the various surrounding secular dynasties.

Although the mine within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range was completely controlled by Du Cang Mountain.

In reality, Du Cang Mountain did not have disciples of its own in the true sense, but merely borrowed outer sect disciples from the Five Great Sects to carry out the mining of the spirit ore within the mountain range.

And this city, located at the southwestern corner of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, was the only place these outer sect disciples responsible for mining the veins could go after leaving the mine.

Especially at the present moment, when the sun was on the verge of setting, the fiery red sun was slowly descending toward the mountain range that towered over three thousand zhang high, its remaining glow shrouding the entire city in a hazy, dreamlike layer of color.

A handsome young man clad in a plain white daoist robe sat before a tea stall within the city.

Ever since this city had been established, Chen Yan would come and sit here in the city from time to time.

Because he was waiting for someone.

Except, over the course of these eleven years, that person had never once appeared before him.

The sky was growing darker and darker, and it seemed that today too, he would come away empty-handed.

Chen Yan's sleeve gave a slight flick, and two low-grade spirit stones appeared in the palm of his hand. Then Chen Yan casually tossed the two low-grade spirit stones onto the table, and was about to stand up.

But before he could fully rise, Chen Yan, as if having sensed something, suddenly halted the motion of getting up and settled back down onto the long bench beneath him.

It was the aura of a Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator.

The cultivators who came and went through this city were basically all between the Qi Circulation Realm and the Qi Sea Realm, though there were of course also some Body Forging Realm cultivators present.

Passable God Realm cultivators were already rather rare to come by, let alone a Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator.

Seated on the long bench, Chen Yan's spiritual sense had already locked onto that Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator clad in the daoist robes of Star Heaven Sect, except he did not lift his gaze.

He merely allowed that Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator in the daoist robes of Star Heaven Sect to walk slowly up to this tea stall, and to take a seat at the table adjacent to his.

"Senior, what would you like to drink?"

This tea stall had been opened by a cultivation family from one of the surrounding secular dynasties, and the waiter who had just addressed the Star Heaven Sect's Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator was a child of that cultivation family.

Although this waiter possessed a cultivation of the mid-stage Qi Circulation Realm, his level of cultivation being no lower than that of most of the Five Great Sects' outer sect disciples in the mine, he still addressed everyone he met with the respectful term "Senior."

Lowering one's posture represented never making a mistake.

"Give me something with some local character to it."

That Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator of Star Heaven Sect spoke up.

"If Senior would like to try it, we have a Thousand Snow White Tea gathered from within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, grown atop the snowy peaks. Though this tea does not contain spiritual energy and is merely ordinary tea leaves, it is indeed the most representative of the Martial Immortal Mountain Range's characteristics."

The tea stall waiter introduced.

"With the Martial Immortal Mountain Range stretching for millions of li, is there really no spiritual herb that could be brewed into tea?"

Upon hearing this, that Star Heaven Sect Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator asked.

"There are some, to be sure, but they are far too scarce, hardly worth sending people in to pick them. Might as well just buy some goods over from the ferry."

The tea stall waiter explained:

"After all, the scarcity of resources in the Martial Immortal Mountain Range is well-known throughout the entire Chenping Continent, at least it was before this mine was discovered."

"Well, that is rather interesting."

That Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator of Star Heaven Sect said with a light laugh:

"For the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, so barren of spiritual energy, to actually give birth to a mine concealing a thousand billion high-grade spirit stones, it truly is a miracle of the mortal world."

"Who knows? Maybe all the heaven and earth spiritual energy of the entire Martial Immortal Mountain Range gathered together into this one mine, which is why the spiritual energy in all other places is so scarce... The world is vast, and there is no end to its wonders!"

The tea stall waiter chuckled along as well.

"Then give me a cup of that Thousand Snow White Tea."

The Star Heaven Sect's Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator said.

"Coming right up!"

After acknowledging with a shout, the tea stall waiter turned and left.

For a moment, only Chen Yan and this Star Heaven Sect Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator remained, seated side by side in front of their two tea tables.

"What does Your Excellency think?"

The silence did not last, as the Star Heaven Sect's Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator directly asked in Chen Yan's direction:

"For the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, so barren of heaven and earth spiritual energy, to give birth to a mine of such a scale, is it not rather strange?"

"It is indeed quite strange."

Chen Yan said calmly.

"And a mine on the scale of a thousand billion high-grade spirit stones, yet never discovered by anyone before this, would even make one begin to suspect that this mine was not naturally formed, but rather artificially created... is that not so?"

"The mine within the Martial Immortal Mountain Range is indeed quite suspicious, but in this world, who could possibly accomplish such a feat, to create out of thin air a mine with reserves exceeding a thousand billion high-grade spirit stones, Elder Fan?"

Chen Yan continued speaking in a calm tone.

Upon hearing these words, that Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator of Star Heaven Sect revealed a smile.

"Why, it would be you, of course, True Person Chen."

Fan Mowen replied.