novellhall Chapter 455 - 258: Bringing Fox Mountain’s Lost Ores Home (2)
Chapter 455 - 258: Bringing Fox Mountain’s Lost Ores Home (2)
Because... this driver has an oily face, clothes that are filthy, and a collar that’s pitch black, much like Old Feng in the video.
Looks like this is Old Feng’s colleague at the secret unit?
Whoosh...
The van starts moving.
...
In the study, Bai Mo smacks his lips.
"Still picking up at both ends?
"Such caution?
"Not easy."
In the high heavens, the Fire Toad sets its eyes on the West Ridge Mountain Range, on the dark woods, zeroing in on the van picking people up, following the van, and drilling further into the depths of the forest.
Yet, this van actually drives onto an abandoned road.
Sometimes riding over potholes in the road, sometimes dodging stones on the path.
Even when the abandoned road is blocked, it directly drives onto a mountain path, the van charging with the bravado of an off-road vehicle, plunging into the dark deep forest.
...
Inside the van, a group of women and children are jostled until they are dizzy and nauseous.
The driver at the front cheerfully says.
"There are plastic bags hanging behind the seats!
"Everyone should just vomit into the plastic bags!
"After you vomit, don’t throw it out the window, this route is confidential, mustn’t expose it.
"Ladies, hold onto it after you’re done. Once we reach the destination, we’ll dispose of it collectively."
A group of women, upon hearing this, burst into laughter.
What kind of crazy job is this? The stuff vomited from motion sickness can’t even be thrown outside?
How confidential can it be?
The driver, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear lever, sometimes switching gears, sometimes operating the differential lock.
"Don’t be afraid to vomit, just go ahead!
"Empty your stomachs first, when we arrive there’s a welcoming banquet.
"No need to worry about starving tonight."
With those words spoken, the women inside the van truly burst into laughter.
Why does it seem like this crazy unit has a bittersweet optimistic spirit?
...
Whoosh...
In the study, Wind and Fire Wheel perceptively notices Master’s cup is empty, promptly refills it with tea.
Bai Mo lifts it for a sip, pats his apprentice’s chubby head.
"Hmm... what is this place?"
The Fire Toad’s vision sees the van weaving through the West Ridge Mountain Range, heading to a hidden spot deep inside the forest.
Actually, it might not be so hidden...
From the sky, the place looks like a square scar in the dense foliage of West Ridge!
The vegetation is gone, it’s even a giant pit!
At the edge of the pit, rusted, decayed pieces of large machinery stand.
"Could this be... an abandoned mine?"
Indeed, it’s a huge pit dug in West Ridge, an abandoned mine!
The outermost soil layer of the pit has already grown green grass.
The deeper rock layer of the pit has gathered yellow mud.
The deepest reddish-brown ore layer of the pit has fallen into a cascade of stones big and small.
"There’s quite a bit of ore, why was this mine abandoned? Why forgotten in the depths of West Ridge Mountain Range?"
Judging by its looks, it’s from a mine fifty or sixty years ago.
Why back then, was it abandoned?
"Could it be because they dug out Primordial Immortal Qi, got haunted? That’s why abandoned?"
Bai Mo smirks, feeling nine times out of ten, it might really be because of that.
In the deepest part of the mine pit, at the bottom, he indeed sees the newly dug soil... likely dug out by Feng Kaishan and his colleagues.
In the newly turned soil, there are broken walls and ruins, Copper Plates and Stone Slabs engraved with Ancient Immortal Dynasty characters, unmistakably Ancient Immortal Dynasty relics!
"In today’s mine pit, the deepest part reveals Ancient Immortal Dynasty relics?"
Bai Mo’s line of sight climbs along the slope, up the giant pit, to the edge of the pit, seeing brand new excavators, small Tunnel Boring Machines... seeing a line of houses.
"Hmm, new houses?
"Did Feng Kaishan’s unit build these here?"
The first house is a showroom, inside are some Copper Plates, Stone Slabs.
On the slabs, Ancient Immortal Dynasty’s most ordinary script engraved, Bai Mo reads them one by one, suddenly enlightened.
"This place, even in Ancient Immortal Dynasty, was a mine!
"Miners were promised that so long as they mined well, one day, they could return home.
"Those with sons, one day could go home to see their sons.
"Those without sons, one day could go home to see their fathers.
"But the Immortals managing the mine broke their promises, letting every miner dig till death, never letting them leave.
"Thus, more and more resentful bodies were left in this mine pit.
"And this mine pit location, surrounded by mountains, gathering wind and energy, stands like a wine jar.
"Those Ancient Immortal Dynasty miners who died with resentment, their grievance brewed within this wine jar for millennia, brewing into Primordial Immortal Qi!"
Bai Mo’s heart momentarily dazed.
This haunted place, even in Ancient Immortal Dynasty, was a mine.
Even fifty or sixty years ago, it was a mine.
Today, it also attracted Feng Kaishan and his group, turning it into an excavation site.
What is this? It’s both fate and destiny!
He continued to look, and saw next to the display room was a warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, there were lead boxes.
Inside the boxes lay pieces of blood-red stones.
"Primordial Immortal Qi? Blood-red ore containing Primordial Immortal Qi?"
Bai Mo gave an awkward smile.
There are many types of Primordial Immortal Qi in the world, strange and varied.
This kind of emotion-induced Primordial Immortal Qi, embedded in the ore, is useful for Talisman, Immortal Artifact, Array, Divination, Immortal Beast, and Gu Insect paths. It’s also useful for the Immortal Martial and Immortal Sword. But for the Alchemy Dao, it’s the least useful, akin to a chicken rib.
Bai Mo glanced at the scale of the excavation pit, guessing the total amount of Primordial Immortal Qi in this place could be around ten to eight dou?
"Could it roughly match a month’s production from Fox Mountain?
"It’s not insignificant."
Suddenly, the eyes of the Fire Toad seemed blurred?
"Hmm?"
Bai Mo focused his gaze and saw that it wasn’t the vision that was blurred, but rather a fog suddenly arising in the massive mining pit in the mountain!
It was as if a layer of light gauze slowly rose from the abandoned mining pit, amidst the boundless mountains!
This gauzy fog obscured the high-altitude view and blurred the spatial boundaries.
"An Array?
"An Ancient Immortal specializing in the Array Path followed the scent here and now plans to use a transportation array to move this entire mining pit?
"Their... keen sense of smell!"
This time, it could only be said that the Secret Brain Office underestimated the Ancient Immortals’ extensive reach and their acute sense of smell.
Moreover...
Bai Mo focused his gaze and saw that it wasn’t just one who followed the van to this abandoned mining site!
In the vast jungle, a blood-colored light streak flew across the branches, scaring away countless sparrows.
At the edge of the mining pit, the ground suddenly undulated, and swarms of insects drilled out from the underground, scattering in all directions.
In the forest, around four giant trees, the bark suddenly decayed and oozed, etching out four lines of runes.
...
"All born in the Year of the Dog?"
Then there’s nothing to discuss!
Bai Mo wasn’t necessarily greedy. He truly didn’t intend to covet this Primordial Immortal Qi... it’s both fierce and a chicken rib, but regardless, even if he didn’t want it, he couldn’t let the Ancient Immortals get it.
Bai Mo leaned back in his chair, and his Divine Sense reached Fox Mountain, issuing orders to his apprentices.
...
At Fox Mountain, it was early morning, and the apprentices had just finished breakfast, heading to the herb gardens, the excavation frontlines, or the workshops.
Swish...
A vehicle hurried over, stopping at the warehouse entrance.
Black Gloves and Star Belly jumped out of the car and rushed into the warehouse.
Peach Blossom Eyes, Quanquan Hu, Black Ears, and White Ears had already donned their Immortal Qi Vine Armor and were waiting for them there.
Peach Blossom Eyes had a Small Medicine Box slung diagonally over his vine armor.
Quanquan Hu had a shovel slung across his back on the vine armor.
Black Ears cradled a pot of Wine Vessel Flower.
White Ears cradled a pot of peculiar mushroom balls.
"Eee-eee-eee!"
"Aoo-aoo-aoo!"
Black Gloves and Star Belly quickly rushed forward, deftly donning their Immortal Qi Vine Armor.
All six foxes donned six sets of vine armor, standing in a row like six snow-white balls, each with a puffed-up belly and a raised tail.
Their ears again transmitted their master’s voice.
"There are two main tasks today. First, rescue the little brother."
The foxes proudly raised their heads, their triangular ears perked up under their vine armor helmets.
Someone dared to bully Fox Mountain’s little brother?
That’s not acceptable!
The big brothers will be there immediately to back him up!
"The second task is to gather some Primordial Immortal Qi Ore and bring it back."
The foxes’ eyes gleamed with excitement!
Primordial Immortal Qi?
They all understood!
No wonder all six brothers were mobilized at once today; they were going to bring back the ore scattered outside Fox Mountain!
"Are you ready?"
The fox apprentices puffed out their chests, lifted their chubby heads, and lined up from left to right, each responding to their master with full spirit.
"Eee-eee-eee!"
"Aoo-aoo-aoo!"
"Eee-eee-eee!"
"Aoo-aoo-aoo!"
"Eee-eee-eee!"
"Aoo-aoo-aoo!"
After responding, a white mist, blurring the boundary between reality and dream, rose before them.
Six foxes, one after another, entered it.
Fox Mountain’s temporary task squad, deploy!