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墨書 Inktalez
"Brother, we've been in the mountains for seven days now, and we still haven't found any trace of the Azure Feather Bird. Do you think this place might be a hoax?"
A thin man with a pockmarked face approached the burly figure, who was clearly annoyed. He had filled a gourd with some water and spoke in a hushed tone.
The big man kicked him lightly, irritated. "If you're going to look, then look! Stop wasting time with your chatter. If these rare things were that easy to find, I would have struck it rich long ago instead of being stuck here!"
Seeing his leader's anger, the pockmarked man shrank back and dared not say anything further.
Meanwhile, a lean young man sitting on a tree root chimed in. "Brother, I think the third one has a point. If there really were something valuable, people would definitely keep it hidden; how could news spread so widely?"
He continued, "Even if it accidentally leaked out, there have been plenty of people in Little South Mountain lately. The Azure Feather Bird is elusive; it can't possibly be hiding so well that not even a single feather is seen."
The Azure Feather Bird was rare and mysterious. Its blood, feathers, and even bones were treasures; even if one didn't do anything with it, selling it to a major beast cultivation sect could yield a significant amount of spirit stones.
Such a valuable item was desired by everyone, yet despite the rumors circulating for so long, no one had truly encountered it. This was indeed suspicious.
The big man felt uncertain upon hearing his usually trusted second brother express such doubts. "So what are you suggesting?"
A cold expression crossed the young man's face. "I believe this Azure Feather Bird is nothing but a myth. Even if it does exist, why would it come our way?"
He added, "As the saying goes: 'An innocent man is not guilty, but possessing treasures can lead to trouble.' Even if we were lucky enough to stumble upon the Azure Feather Bird and manage to capture it, we would surely have to leave Little South Mountain with it."
"Instead of seeking treasures, why not seek wealth? There are so many people here in Little South Mountain; surely some of them are foolish."
He made a gesture across his throat, and the other two men nodded silently in agreement.
They were all loose cultivators without spirit stones, resources, or techniques. To survive in this cultivation world, they inevitably had to entertain some unscrupulous thoughts; they had committed their fair share of robberies and killings for wealth.
The big man clenched his fists and pondered for a moment. "What do you think, third brother?"
The pockmarked man raised his hand timidly. "Brother, I think second brother has a point. The Azure Feather Bird can't compare to real spirit stones; it's much more reliable to keep benefits in our own hands."
He glanced around cautiously before leaning in closer and lowering his voice. "When you sent me to fetch water and hunt earlier, I saw several disciples from different sects—most were just foundation stage novices, with only one or two at the golden stage."
He grinned slyly. "If I followed them and pulled off a heist, wouldn't we be set for life?"
The treatment of ordinary disciples could only be considered average, but compared to those scattered cultivators who often went hungry, it was still a bit better. Moreover, most of these sect disciples were like sheltered flowers, possessing cultivation levels but lacking real combat experience. They also liked to bring along plenty of items when going out for trials, making them easy targets for robbery—low risk with high rewards.
The burly man felt a surge of temptation but then slapped his own head, unable to hold back a curse. "What are you thinking? We’re not some fools! Robbing sect disciples? Do you think we have more than one brain between us?"
The man with the pockmarked face covered his head, feeling aggrieved as he shouted, "Well, we can't just go back empty-handed, can we?"
The burly man hesitated. A young man beside him furrowed his brow and spoke softly. "Brother, there are so many people from Xiaonan Mountain here; those sect disciples must know it was us."
"What do you mean?"
"Stir the waters; the murkier, the better."
In the end, after a difficult internal struggle, the group decided to take a vote. A neatly dressed female disciple raised her sword and stood up boldly, delivering an impassioned speech. "Fearing wolves in front and tigers behind—what kind of hero is that? My master said that cultivators must contend with heaven and fight against the earth! Brothers Lu and Qi both said that there’s no danger in the mine for the time being. If we hesitate now, how will we carve out a bright path for ourselves?"
"Brother Qi, Brother Lu, I’ll go with you!"
Her voice trembled slightly, yet her gaze was fierce and full of fighting spirit. Seeing her step forward, the remaining disciples were unwilling to fall behind and quickly stood up.
"Sister Zhao, don’t underestimate us! It’s just a mine; let’s go!"
"Exactly! Who's afraid? I can handle this with one hand!"
One of them pulled out a stack of Thunderfire Talismans as if they were free, sticking them onto himself while shouting, "For every one that comes at me, I’ll blow it up! They won’t come back again. You all should join in too; the more the merrier!"
Even the sickly Ji Yang stood up as well, surveying the group before straightening his back and nodding solemnly. "Sister Zhao makes a good point; it aligns perfectly with my thoughts."
Qi Xiao and Lu Mingyuan exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.
Lu Mingyuan raised his hand, and I knew that the disciples of our Xiaoyao Sect were all capable individuals.
The stone cave was dark and gloomy, with Lu Mingyuan and Qi Xiao leading the way, holding up a torch. Inside, it was empty except for the sound of their footsteps and the faint whisper of the wind.
After walking for a while, everyone felt there was no danger and temporarily relaxed.
Fu Chong was busy sticking talismans around, while Mu Ziyuan took several stones of different colors, each infused with spiritual energy, placing them here and there. He even used a jade brush to draw symbols on the ground at the center of the formation.
Zhao Jingjing was more straightforward; she pulled out a stone pickaxe from her bag and struck it against the stone wall.
Finding it satisfying, she stepped back, steadied herself, and began to strike repeatedly.
Before long, a piece of pale white stone with a hint of purple fell down. She picked it up, wiped it carefully, and tucked it into her bosom, chuckling softly to herself.
This purple crystal stone was on the verge of transforming into a spiritual stone—truly a rare find.
Spiritual stones are also stones but are the essence among stones. They undergo a complete transformation due to the accumulation of vast amounts of spiritual energy along with various pressures and sedimentation, elevating them to a different level altogether, which cultivators refer to as spiritual stones.
Upon hearing this, several young disciples immediately gathered around to take a look and confirmed that it was indeed a nearly transformed purple crystal stone. They instantly erupted in excitement.
"We've struck it rich!"
"Let’s gather as many as we can; we can't let this opportunity slip by."
Though these stones were still inferior to the lowest-grade spiritual stones, their abundance made them worthwhile—after all, they were free.
The group quickly got to work in excitement, even the sickly Ji Yang limped over to Zhao Jingjing with a hopeful expression.
"Junior Sister, do you have another pickaxe? I can trade for something else if needed; anything that can dig will do."
Qi Xiao felt tempted as well but realized that they would only have half an hour before the Stone Locusts arrived; staying here wouldn’t yield much in terms of mining.
"Brother, why don’t we go further inside and take a look?"
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