Chapter 97: Chapter 0097: The Remnants of a Broken Sword
Seeing the silver-brown giant spider’s corpse devoured in an instant, Chen Yu, who had already retreated thirty feet, felt a chill down his spine.
He immediately activated the “Concealing Qi Technique” he had learned while serving as a covert sentry, concealing his entire body’s Qi and continued to retreat.
But those grey-spotted iron bugs seemed to detect something and pressed toward his direction.
Run!
Chen Yu’s heart gathered strength, and he sped up his retreat, barely managing to put some distance between himself and the grey-spotted iron bugs.
Approaching the bottom of the ancient well, the iron chain that hung from the well’s mouth was faintly visible.
...
Now.
Chen Yu could choose to return to the surface, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the corpse of the silver-brown giant spider not far away.
This was the first spider he had killed upon descending.
“Could it be the stench of this giant spider’s blood?”
A thought struck Chen Yu.
Swoosh!
In a flash, he darted to the front of the giant spider’s corpse, took out the Dark Snake Sword, and made more than a dozen slashes on the spider’s body to infuse the flesh with deadly poison.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
At that moment, a swarm of silver-gray bugs flew towards him aggressively.
“Go!”
Chen Yu hurled the poisoned spider’s carcass toward them.
Plop, plop, plop!
At least a thousand iron bugs swarmed over the corpse, tearing it apart frantically.
Meanwhile, Chen Yu ran to the bottom of the well, grabbing the iron chain, ready to make a swift escape at any moment.
Just then.
Among the insect swarm, any iron bug that bit into the giant spider’s carcass stiffened, struggled for a few moments, and then oozed purple-black pus before finally becoming stiff in death.
Chen Yu was both shocked and relieved.
The relief was that the venom was indeed effective against these bugs.
The shock was that the bugs appeared to have a substantial resistance to the poison. With their size, if they were other beasts, they would have likely turned into a puddle of blood by now.
Yet these bugs struggled for a long time before finally succumbing to death.
Moments later.
In front of him, the thousands of bugs were either dead or barely alive, lacking the strength to attack.
Chen Yu approached and captured one or two of the half-dead bugs.
He didn’t continue his exploration but instead pulled on the iron chain near the bottom of the well.
Not long after.
Chen Yu climbed up to the mouth of the Ancient Moon Well and saw the three elders not far off, holding the iron chain.
“How’s the situation?” Elder Mao asked urgently.
Chen Yu handed over the Moon Spirit Ore from his storage bag first, noting the surprised delight on the faces of the trio.
Then.
Chen Yu recounted his encounter with the grey-spotted iron bugs and took out one or two of the half-dead bugs.
Elder Mao examined the bug in front of him for a moment.
“This bug is known as ‘Iron Moon Corpse Worm,’ a peculiar insect recorded in ancient texts. It’s the lowest form of its kind. These worms are characterized by their bodies, harder than iron and impervious to blades and spears. They have strong resistance to poisons, corrosive energies, and various forms of True Qi attacks. Especially under moonlight, their power increases, gaining a fearsome regenerative ability,” Elder Mao explained.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but be amazed.
“I’ve encountered this bug one or two times while guarding these mines, but they were few in number. For someone in the Qi Transformation Realm, facing such clusters of bugs would indeed be troublesome. Your Dark Snake Sword is extremely toxic, and these bugs are in their lowest form. That’s why it was effective,” Elder Pan added.
Next, they began to discuss strategies on how to deal with the Iron Moon Corpse Worms.
As a result.
The plan that the three elders came up with was the same as Chen Yu had thought: continue using poison.
“I have a kind of ‘Corrosive Blood Poison,’ which is somewhat effective even against Postnatal Qi Transformation practitioners,” Elder Pan said as he took out a porcelain bottle.
“Hehe, I have a type of unique snake and scorpion venom,” Elder Mao said, producing a block of black paste.
Afterward.
Chen Yu added the two types of venom to a portion of his Dark Snake Sword.
Some time later.
Elder Nangong fetched a large wild boar from afar and cut its flesh into dozens of large pieces.
The three elders took out an extra storage bag specifically for Chen Yu to store these pieces of flesh.
“Don’t worry, a typical storage bag somewhat blocks the scent,” Elder Mao said with a smile.
Chen Yu nodded and once again delved into the Ancient Moon Well.
Reaching the remains and bloodstains of the second silver-brown giant spider, Chen Yu mined a few more pieces of Moon Spirit Ore nearby.
“How big exactly is this mine?”
Chen Yu was curious.
He pushed on in one direction for nearly a hundred feet and mined several dozen pounds of Moon Spirit Ore.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a black shadow the size of an infant darted toward Chen Yu like lightning.
Clang!
Chen Yu swung the massive sword in his hand to repel the shadow, the blow giving off a resonant clang as though striking metal.
On closer inspection.
The shadow was a scorpion far surpassing the usual size, its tail curled up about half a foot long, looking quite ferocious.
Clang, clang, ding!
The large scorpion attacked several more times, only to be repelled by Chen Yu’s heavy sword each time.
“Why is everything in this mine so tough?”
Chen Yu found himself momentarily locked in a standoff with the scorpion.
Suddenly.
Chen Yu took a piece of meat from his storage bag and threw it over.
Swoosh, plop!
The large scorpion pounced and quickly devoured the meat.
Snap!
Chen Yu threw another piece, this time poisoned meat that had been touched by the venomous sword.
After eating the poisoned meat, the scorpion became dizzy. It didn’t show signs of dying from the severe poison for a while but lost most of its mobility.
“This venomous scorpion is naturally toxic and has a strong resistance to poison,” Chen Yu murmured.
It was worth mentioning that this was the poison from his sword, boosted by the interventions of two individuals in the Qi Transformation Realm.
Spatter, hiss!
He approached and drew his Dark Snake Sword, swiftly dismembering the dazed large scorpion.
After dealing with the scorpion, Chen Yu continued onward.
Following his path, Chen Yu encountered several poisonous scorpions, giant spiders, and other bizarre dark beasts along the next couple hundred yards, but he resolved each situation without incident.
However, those “Iron Moon Corpse Worms” he had seen earlier did not appear again.
At this moment,
In Chen Yu’s storage bag, there were two or three hundred pounds of Moon Spirit Ore; he was planning to return.
Just then,
Chen Yu noticed a faint reflection up ahead, which seemed to be some kind of metal?
Hm?
As Chen Yu cautiously approached, he saw a human skeleton holding half of an ancient broken sword in its hand.
“Strange!”
Chen Yu was puzzled.
In this mine, with many ferocious things like Iron Moon Corpse Worm swarms, poisonous scorpions, and Silver-brown Giant Spiders, how could there be a relatively intact skeleton?
No other place bore any traces of skeletons.
However,
When Chen Yu actually got close to the skeleton, he suddenly felt an inexplicable Sword Intent that struck directly at his heart.
Boom!
His heart was shocked, and in his vision appeared a heavenly sword rainbow cleaving the clouds, slicing the nearby mountains and rivers in two.
Such a terrifying Sword Intent!
Chen Yu’s body shook violently, and he staggered back several steps, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Hum!
The “Ice Heart Tears” pendant around his neck started to buzz urgently, and the crystal on it even developed a small crack.
“No wonder, no wonder!”
Chen Yu, still in shock, finally understood why this skeleton had remained so intact.
The key was that broken sword.
Even with its owner dead and the sword body broken, it still contained an overwhelming Sword Intent.
This residual Sword Intent would probably be difficult for anyone within the Qi Transformation Realm to resist.
“This sword, what could its grade be? A High Grade Treasure, an extreme grade treasure, or even higher…”
Chen Yu’s thoughts stirred again.
But the spirit Sword Intent emanating from the sword was truly terrifying. If he tried to take it forcefully, he might very well lose his soul.
The slight crack on the “Ice Heart Tears” was testimony to this.
Ultimately,
Chen Yu dismissed the idea of taking the sword; the invisible impact of Sword Intent had already inflicted a blow to his psyche.
However,
Chen Yu’s gaze fell upon the skeleton’s other bony hand.
It seemed to be clutching something.
“Hm?”
Upon closer inspection, Chen Yu saw a hint of moonlike silver brilliance emanating from between the fingers of the skeleton’s hand.
Its color was much like that of Moon Spirit Ore, but it was a lot brighter.
And within the luster was a crystal-like sensation.
“This skeleton, in its life, must have been a powerful being above the Guiyuan Realm. Prior to his death, he clutched these two objects. One was his weapon, and the other was similar to Moon Spirit Ore, but it seemed to be of a higher grade.”
Chen Yu weighed his options.
He dared not covet the broken sword.
But the stone in the hand, resembling a higher-grade Moon Spirit Ore, was no ordinary object.
Surely it didn’t contain any spirit attacks.
Chen Yu quickly made a decision.
It was worth taking a gamble!
Chen Yu retreated five or six yards away and took out the robust spider silk before tightly wrapping it around the pickaxe Elder Pan had given him.
Go!
With a slight exertion of force, Chen Yu flung the pickaxe with the strength of the spider silk, hooking it onto the skeleton’s wrist.
With a “clang” sound,
The pickaxe hit the skeleton’s wrist but did not shatter it, which showed how strong the individual had been in life.
However,
The skeletal hand was still dead, and with that knock, it loosened slightly.
Plunk!
A piece of Moon Spirit Crystal Ore, the size of a baby’s fist and resembling translucent jade, rolled out in front of him.
At the same moment,
On the other hand of the skeleton, the broken sword buzzed, and an invisible Sword Intent stirred up a fierce gale.
Chen Yu was startled and quickly rolled to the ground.
Afterward, the broken sword was silent for a while, seemingly remaining inert as long as no external force disturbed or approached the skeleton.
“Crystal-like Moon Spirit Ore!”
Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes lighting up as he examined the Spirit Ore that shimmered with crystal moonlight, feeling his heart race with excitement.
He then used the pickaxe to carefully transport the Moon Spirit Crystal Ore over to himself.
“This piece of Moon Spirit Crystal Ore, its quality and grade, are definitely above that of the regular Moon Spirit Ore.”
Holding the ore in his hand, Chen Yu felt a mysterious coolness that penetrated his heart and spread through his body.
In an instant,
He felt refreshingly comfortable all over, and even the mental wounds that had been affected by the Sword Intent began to heal.
After a good while,
Chen Yu brushed his hand and whispered, “Store!”
Whoosh!
In the next moment, the Light Silver Crystal Space of his mysterious heart contained a luminous and jadelike piece of mysterious Moon Spirit Ore.
Chen Yu smiled in satisfaction.
The only regret was that this Light Silver Crystal Space was just a bit too small.
With a curious mind,
Chen Yu bypassed the skeleton holding the short sword and continued to explore a few dozen yards further.
He discovered
That the deeper parts of the mine had both a much greater quantity and quality of Moon Spirit Ore. Of course, ores like the crystal-like Moon Spirit Ore that he had just found were not seen again.
At the same time, Chen Yu also encountered several dangerous creatures, all of which he handled with his keen reaction and quick thinking.
Unknowingly,
Chen Yu reached the end of the mine, where a bright and flat rock wall appeared ahead, glowing with a soft moonlight hue.
“An entire wall of Moon Spirit Ore! The quality is better than that of the outer areas.”
Chen Yu was ecstatically shocked.
His body trembled slightly from the intense excitement.
After all,
The value of Moon Spirit Ore was far greater than that of meteoric iron. Ordinary treasures, melded with some, might have their grades enhanced.
Moreover, this Spirit Ore had a mysterious beneficial effect on the body.
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