Chapter 62 Striking it Rich

"Next, it is time to make one final push and break through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation!" Jiang Fan took a deep breath and diligently devoted himself to cultivation.

In the days that followed, Jiang Fan continuously circulated the "Ancient Illusionary Fiend Scripture" to refine low-grade spirit stones.

Once one's cultivation reached the third layer of Qi Condensation, ordinary miscellaneous-grade spirit stones became virtually useless, offering benefits so negligible they were barely worth mentioning. To break through to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, one had to use low-grade spirit stones or those of even higher tiers.

The higher the grade of a spirit stone, the more abundant and refined the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth contained within it.

Only spirit stones of the low-grade tier and above could provide sufficiently refined spiritual power for cultivators at or above the mid-stage of Qi Condensation.

Swish, swish, swish!

One spirit stone after another was slowly refined by Jiang Fan, and the sea of spiritual power within his dantian grew steadily stronger.

The swirling vortex of spiritual power in his dantian was gradually transforming into a liquid state.

His dantian sea was also expanding from its original span of two chi to encompass a circular area of one meter.

Cultivation was a dry and monotonous process, but the sensation of feeling one's own cultivation slowly grow stronger possessed an intoxicating thrill.

Jiang Fan remained in this state of cultivation for nearly half a month.

"Hah..." Jiang Fan exhaled a long breath of stale air, feeling as though his entire being had grown significantly more powerful.

With a casual wave of his hand, a large fireball instantly materialized before him. It was wreathed in raging flames, and even though it was summoned offhand, its might was considerably greater than a full-strength attack back when he was at the third layer of Qi Condensation.

In particular, the intense heat of the flames far surpassed the minor fireball technique he could cast at the third layer.

"Breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation consumed nearly a hundred low-grade spirit stones. The spirit stones I have left are no longer enough to support a breakthrough to the fifth layer..." Jiang Fan took a deep breath, determination flashing in his eyes. "If I want to acquire more spirit stones, the only way now is to mine more Scarlet Flame Stones. But the Scarlet Flame Stones in my Mine Tunnel No. 00123 have almost been completely mined out... I'll just have to take it one step at a time!"

Jiang Fan sensed his surging cultivation base, a deep yearning for greater strength filling his heart.

At present, he was still far too weak.

It was early morning. After having a hearty meal at the mining camp's mess hall, Jiang Fan made his way toward Mine Tunnel No. 00123.

Today, he decided to take a calculated risk and venture deep into the mine tunnel.

Just as he was about to leave the mess hall, he inadvertently overheard a discussion among a group of people.

"I heard Steward Wang's temper has been getting worse lately. You guys better not offend him! Otherwise, there'll probably be hell to pay."

"Yeah, Steward Wang has seemed really irritable recently. Who knows what's got into him, but we definitely can't afford to cross him!"

"Keep your voices down. If we get caught bad-mouthing him, we're in for a world of hurt."

"If possible, we should just hand in our Scarlet Flame Stones early! Don't wait for Steward Wang to come breathing down our necks..."

Amidst the chatter of the crowd, Jiang Fan quietly slipped away from the mess hall.

"It seems that my relentless transference of exhaustion day and night while cultivating has really made Steward Wang suffer quite a bit! How miserable for him. Just wait, one day you're going to work yourself to death! Heh heh..." Jiang Fan thought with glee, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the entrance of Mine Tunnel No. 00123.

Gritting his teeth hard, he stepped into the depths of the mine.

As for handing over the Scarlet Flame Stones, Jiang Fan was not in a hurry; he planned to take care of that after returning from this expedition.

Walking through the winding mine tunnels for nearly half a day, Jiang Fan finally reached a location close to the depths of the mine.

A red warning sign hung here, indicating that the tunnels ahead were extremely dangerous.

"Master! Master, you cannot go any further. This subordinate can sense many terrifying presences ahead," Old Demon Xu warned hurriedly, panic in his voice.

"Save the nonsense. We'll go in just a little further, mine some Scarlet Flame Stones, and then leave. Focus on sensing the aura of the Scarlet Flame Stones. Once we have enough, we'll get out of here," Jiang Fan said coldly.

This time, he was determined to mine enough Scarlet Flame Stones to exchange for the spirit stones needed to reach the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.

As for venturing even deeper into the mine, he harbored a healthy dose of caution and had no intention of pressing forward rashly.

"Understood, Master!" Old Demon Xu could only pull a long, bitter face and reply with a stiff upper lip, concentrating all his attention on searching for the spiritual ores.

Old Demon Xu's only desire now was for Jiang Fan to quickly gather enough Scarlet Flame Stones and flee this ghost of a place at the earliest possible moment. Deep within the cavernous depths, he had sensed a terror originating from the very deepest recesses of his soul—a terror so profound that his spiritual body could not help but tremble slightly.

Jiang Fan naturally noticed the changes in Old Demon Xu's spiritual body, and his own heart began to beat anxiously.

*Great wealth is sought through deadly peril! If I mine twenty more Scarlet Flame Stones or so to exchange for two hundred low-grade spirit stones, that will be enough for me to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation... Once I have enough, I leave! The moment I get twenty pieces, I'm out of here...* Jiang Fan muttered to himself. He, too, felt a sense of encroaching danger. As he cautiously followed behind Old Demon Xu, he activated his damage transference technique.

Naturally, his current target for damage transference was Steward Wang.

The moment any unexpected event occurred, he would bolt immediately.

As the two of them slowly pressed deeper, the Scarlet Flame Stones in the depths of Mine Tunnel No. 00123 indeed began to grow more numerous. Barely ten meters past the warning sign, Old Demon Xu discovered as many as five Scarlet Flame Stones.

Continuing with extreme caution for another two or three meters, they managed to unearth another five Scarlet Flame Stones.

"Mas... Master, shouldn't... shouldn't we stop going forward? This subordinate feels like something in the depths of the mine is staring at us!" Old Demon Xu stammered with a trembling voice.

"Just a little further. Once we have twenty Scarlet Flame Stones, we're heading out!" Jiang Fan replied firmly, though his own heart was pounding. He too sensed that some unseen entity existed in the depths of the mine, as if something in the pitch-black darkness was watching them.

The two advanced cautiously for another two meters. Suddenly, Old Demon Xu was overjoyed and blurted out, "Master, Master, right in here... there seems to be an extremely scorching aura, along with dozens of normal fiery auras from Scarlet Flame Stones. Master, dig quickly! We might just strike it rich!"

"Good!"

Jiang Fan was also overjoyed. He immediately swung his mining tools and began rapidly excavating.

Swish, swish, swish! Clang, clang, clang...

Layers of soil and rock were rapidly tossed aside. Soon, Jiang Fan uncovered a single Scarlet Flame Stone, followed immediately by a second, a third, a fourth...

In one go, Jiang Fan dug out a pit fifteen meters deep, unearthing more than thirty Scarlet Flame Stones from it, and that wasn't even the end of it.

Guided by Old Demon Xu, Jiang Fan mined over a hundred Scarlet Flame Stones in a single breath, and even stumbled upon an exceptionally large specimen the size of a human fist.

At a single glance, one could tell this Scarlet Flame Stone was extraordinary, and Jiang Fan was ecstatic.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, a gust of red mist swept out from the pitch-black depths of the mine, carrying a biting chill. Seeing the bizarre red mist about to reach them, Old Demon Xu shrieked in alarm, "Oh no, Master, run!"

"Run!" Jiang Fan was equally horrified. He too had perceived it, sensing a heart-stopping crisis.

Without a second thought, he stowed away all the Scarlet Flame Stones at top speed, turned on his heels, and bolted wildly toward the tunnel exit.

However, that eerie red mist surged rapidly outward from the depths of the mine, swiftly blanketing the space towards Jiang Fan and Old Demon Xu...