The scout-like Shu person, with a short stature of just over one meter, scurried through the darkness. His eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness as he sprinted. He was familiar with the surrounding terrain, swiftly running without making a sound, without coming into contact with any possible obstacles that may produce noise.
He dashed through clusters of giant mushroom groves, darted through patches of fern forests, and even stealthily slipped past the nests of fierce and large cave-dwelling beasts. The route he took was impassable for members of other tribes. If anyone were to force their way through, it would certainly create a huge commotion or alarm those powerful beasts.
Although individual Shu people were not strong, and there were few emerging powerhouses within their tribe, they were able to survive and thrive in this cruel world, each with their own way of survival.
After running for a while, a faint whistling sound reached the head of the scout. He immediately halted his steps, cautiously surveying his surroundings. He sniffed the air, then leaped up, using the inconspicuous bumps on the rock wall to swiftly climb up the over 200-meter-high cliff.
On top of the tall cliff, there was a small flat area that could accommodate five or six people standing. Stone Meng, a large-bodied Stone Beast, stood there with his arms crossed, squinting his eyes at the scout who had just climbed up. "What's the matter? Why are you rushing back so urgently?"
The scout immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud, using his nose to touch the ground... With their body structure, it was impossible for them to kowtow like normal people. Touching the ground with their nose was their highest form of courtesy.
"Master, that first-ranking steward, Xiao Tie, is a Elemental Mage," said the scout, looking up at Stone Meng. "He runs very fast and can glide for hundreds of meters in the air, which means he has mastered the power of wind."
"He can also use large fireballs to illuminate. The flames of the fireball are pure white, so the temperature is terrifying... He can control over a hundred person-sized white fireballs at once, which means he has mastered the power of fire."
The scout quickly finished explaining their findings about Witch Tie and looked up at Stone Meng expectantly.
Stone Meng opened his mouth, and his facial muscles twitched a few times, showing an extremely regretful expression. He cursed, feeling a bit annoyed, and shook his head in frustration. "Made a mistake... So young, and he has mastered two different elemental powers as an Elemental Mage... If only I could have recruited him... Made a mistake."
The person has already entered the Demon Mine Cave.
Once inside, life and death will solely depend on luck.
Stone Meng was aware of what was inside the mine, as several elders from the exploration team formed by the Stone and Lu families had been lost there. Stone Meng sighed and looked in the direction of the Demon Mine Cave, then sighed again.
"I hope he doesn't go near that damn black bone door and can retreat early. He's a talent, and such a young talent."
Stone Meng touched the palm-sized bone token hanging from his chest.
It was a thick, polished bone card, shining brightly from being touched and polished for years. The card was engraved with the image of a giant leaning against a mountain, with the huge giant's eyes closed and a large vertical eye at his brow, staring roundly. Astonishingly, this vertical eye continuously emitted a faint light, its gaze moving as if it were a living eyeball.
Stone Meng's gaze flickered as he casually threw out a thumb-sized gold nugget. The scout eagerly caught the gold nugget and touched the ground with his nose, then jumped back, leaping out of the rock wall with a few leaps.
Stone Meng stood on the small platform, gave an order in a low voice, and said, "Spread the news, just say... Xiao Tie Steward has died in the Demon Mine Cave."
The scout responded with an acknowledgment, and his figure flickered as he ran far away.
With a snort, Stone Meng raised his head to look at the towering dome. Whether Witch Tie could escape from the Demon Mine Cave or not, Stone Meng had already made a decision. If he died, it would be the end, he would truly be dead. If he could escape, then he would hide him.
The bone token hanging on his chest possessed a mysterious power and was one of the ancestral treasures of the Giant Clan in the Azure Flame Domain. This bone token could see through a person's bone age and clearly determine their age. Witch Tie was still young, just a naive and inexperienced youth. Such a young Elemental Mage was worth spending resources to cultivate.
With another snort, Stone Meng turned around and came to a corner of the flat ground. He scolded in a low voice, and the thick rock wall rippled like water, opening up a narrow passage just wide enough for him to pass through.
He walked along the passage for hundreds of meters, and ahead was a cavern with a radius of nearly a hundred meters. Several animal oil torches illuminated the cavern brightly. The rocky ground under Stone Meng's feet rearranged itself, healing without leaving any gaps.
This was the talent ability "Crack the Mountain and Open the Way" that Stone Meng gained after activating his Giant Bloodline. No matter how hard the rocks were in front of him, they were as gentle as ripples of water to him. He could easily create a path in the rock wall for himself to walk through.
In this world enveloped by thick rock layers, it was undoubtedly an extremely useful talent.
There was a stone table and several stone stools in the corner of the cavern. The rotund Stone Er and Stone Fei sat there, and their greasy hands tore apart a roasted lizard on the stone table. Their round faces were oily.
Seeing Stone Meng walk in, Stone Fei quickly straightened his neck and took a huge bite of the meat in his mouth with difficulty.
"Here, what news did those rat brats bring? You have such a gloomy expression," Stone Fei grinned as he looked at Stone Meng.
Stone Meng walked to the opposite side of Stone Fei and sat down, crossing his arms and staring straight at him. "Eat less... you're already fat enough... don't you know what those elders said about you? Wine bag and rice sack... it doesn't sound good."
"Wine bag and rice sack? That's what makes them at ease," Stone Fei chuckled as he looked at Stone Meng.
In the main city, the two brothers had an intense conflict and even fought openly, tearing their faces apart. Stone Meng publicly beat Stone Fei and even sent people to severely injure the key figures under Stone Fei outside the main city, which resulted in him being expelled from the Foreign Affairs Department.
But here, things seemed different.
Stone Meng snorted and raised his head. "Anyway, it's not me who loses face... As long as you're happy."
Shaking his head, Stone Meng grabbed the roasted lizard thigh on the stone table with force, tearing it apart effortlessly. He ripped off a piece of roasted meat and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing heavily, while asking Stone Fei.
"Alright, what plans do you have to deal with those unreliable guys under you? Otherwise, everything I do will be seen by others... and there's no way to get things done."
"Second brother, among us brothers, you're the most cunning... quickly think of a way to get rid of those guys around me. Otherwise, I might as well let them watch everything I do... It's impossible to get anything done," Stone Meng reprimanded sternly.
Chomping down on the meat, Stone Fei swallowed a big mouthful and sighed after a long while. "Can't we all just get along peacefully? Why make so much trouble? Beating the drum all day, beating the drum all day..."
"Brother, I'm worried. If I don't eat ten jin of roasted meat every day, I'm afraid I'll get skinny," Stone Fei said with a laugh, his eyes fixed on the roasted lizard's head.
"Those elders... they are our Stone family elders. How can they sell the benefits of the Stone family?" Stone Fei raised his head and sighed. "They are almost at the end of their lives, I understand, they want to live forever, they want to eat more roast meat, drink more fine wine, and have more beautiful women to enjoy day and night..."
"But, they are dying people. This Stone family is ours, brothers... They are selling what should have belonged to us for the sake of extending their lives..."
Stone Fei raised his head and looked at Stone Meng, sighing. "This kind of thing, we can't just tolerate it."
Stone Meng nodded vigorously as if he had made a great decision. He put on a thoughtful look and stared blankly for a while. Then he opened his hands and said straightforwardly, "Fine, I'll listen to you. Since you're the most cunning among the brothers, what do you suggest?"
Stone Fei smiled slightly and said softly, "I have already made contact with Third Brother. He has also sensed that something is off with some of those old geezers... So, the three of us will join forces this time..."
With Stone Meng's face blackened, murmuring to himself, he made a deep agreement and said, "Very well, let's follow your lead. After all, among us brothers, you are the most cunning."
...
Inside the Demon Mine Cave, outside the black bone door, two black skeletons had already been crushed into rubble.
Witch Tie sat on the ground, surrounded by a dull gloom that enveloped his entire body. About three inches of thick gloom slowly flowed in his body, and tiny dark flames occasionally spewed out from his wounds, causing him excruciating pain. Fortunately, he was in this eerie mine.
The air around him was filled with a constant surge of Yin and cold elemental energy, transforming into threads of bright black streams flowing steadily towards Witch Tie. A wisp of coolness moved through Witch Tie's flesh, rapidly repairing the damage caused by the heat emanating from his bones. These cool currents offset half of the heat released by the bones, reducing his pain considerably.
The righteous Qi surged and raged in his body, tearing the evil impurities within the Yin energy to pieces, turning them into ashes-black mist that billowed from his pores.
Through several half-inch wide wounds on Witch Tie's muscles, one could vaguely see a layer of metallic luster on his bones.
Witch Tie lay quietly on the ground, unable to move at first. After agonizing for over a dozen hours, the skin and flesh wounds on his body had healed almost completely, and he began to stand up, starting to practice the first move of the Foundation Building Formula again.
The bones continued to release immense heat, and Yin elemental energy rushed in from all directions. The Yin energy washed through his body, the harsh Qi being shattered by the righteousness within Witch Tie, causing his bones and flesh to vibrate continuously. Each vibration made his bones and flesh denser and more robust, increasing their strength.
The influx of elemental energy washed over his body, cleansing the impurities within, and his righteous Qi grew stronger with each passing moment. As Witch Tie reached the pinnacle of the Foundation Building Formula, the elemental energy filled his entire body, permeating every minute tissue in his body.
The elemental energy flowed incessantly, flooding his entire body, even the smallest cells. The outside elemental energy, along with witch and cold energy, constantly entered his body. The flesh, blood vessels, organs... every part of Witch Tie's body vibrated and became more condensed with every shock, increasing in strength.
Infusing the elemental energy into the body was an all-encompassing process that massively enhanced physical functions. However, due to the fact that Witch Tie had consumed shattered bones, the efficiency of reinforcing his bones was somewhat excessive.
Inside the skeletal remains of the two black skeletons lay an unknown amount of mysterious essences. Witch Tie could no longer fully absorb the overflowing energy from his bones, but with each exhale, the remaining energy poured out through his breath.
Witch Tie's exhales grew in length. The first exhale reached a distance of thirty to forty meters, the second reached sixty to seventy meters...
Following that, there was a third, fourth, fifth time...
After nine exhales, even the excess energy that couldn't be absorbed by his bones was completely vented out.
His spiritual energies felt clear and nimble, free of any impurities, and every cell in Witch Tie's body was filled with substantial elemental energy. Witch Tie was like a complete balloon, reaching the peak of a powerful state.
His eyes faintly emitted shards of light, and Witch Tie let out a low and profound hum. Elemental energy pierced his body, and a hemispherical energy barrier about three meters in diameter shielded his entire being. The barrier spun rapidly, leaving a clearly visible circular mark on the ground beneath him.
The Foundation Building Formula had broken through all its one thousand and eighty moves, reaching its peak state.
The stance transformed from standing with a small horse stand to an erect posture, with hands clasping a ball, starting from the lower abdomen, slowly raised up to the top of the head, then descended back to the lower abdomen.
In his mind, a thunder-like explosion sounded, and Witch Tie's entire body, including his meridians, trembled violently. Then his bones, muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs... every part of his body vibrated 36 times in rhythm with the thunderous sounds.
The extraordinary Qi rushed through his body, permeating Witch Tie's entire being, even his cells, pores, and skin were imbued with the powerful Qi, ready to burst out at any time.
Witch Tie's cultivation was saturated with aura, and every tiny bit of his body, from major acupoints to fingertips, elbows, toes, and knees, as well as his eyes, nostrils, contained abundant saturated Qi, capable of bursting out at any moment.
A low and deep roar reverberated, Witch Tie opened his mouth wide, and a murky wave of Qi hissed out like a dragon, spraying out several dozen meters. It surged like a wave, leaving a shallow trench with a three-finger width and half a foot deep in the wide open mine. The scattered stones splintered, making a sizzling sound as countless sparks flew.
Then Witch Tie took a deep breath, holding his breath for half a quarter of an hour before exhaling a long breath again.
The first exhale reached thirty to forty meters, the second reached sixty to seventy meters...
Then the third, fourth, fifth...
After the ninth exhale, even the excess energy that could not be absorbed by the bones was vented out.
His aura became clear and agile, free of impurities, and every cell in his body was filled with powerful elemental energy. At this moment, Witch Tie resembled a fully inflated balloon, reaching a great and perfect state.
Faint rays of light radiated from his eyes, and Witch Tie let out a low and profound hum. Elemental energy rushed into his body, and a hemispherical energy barrier about three meters in diameter enveloped him completely. The barrier rotated rapidly, leaving behind a clearly visible circular imprint on the ground.
The Foundation Building Formula had surpassed its one thousand and eighty moves, reaching the pinnacle of the Elemental Qi Infusion stage.
Witch Tie retracted his protective elemental energy, gazing blankly at the remnants of the two black skeletons on the ground.
"It seems... they're not dangerous to me... at least, there's no danger for me."
"Shall I get two more?"
"Perhaps... in a very short time, I can break through the Perception of Profound state."
Witch Tie's eyes burned with fanaticism as he looked at the black bone door in front of him.
For a moment, he completely disregarded the "be cautious" repeated by Lao Tie. All he could think about was "devouring" and "breakthrough."
(End of Chapter 71)