Chapter 369: Chapter 253: The Second Form of the Earth Pivot World Record, Obsidian Ore Vein (Part 2)
’Perhaps using this kind of ore vein to forge Crystal Vein Armor will yield some unexpected results.’
The Obsidian Ore Vein currently surrounding Li Xiang was covered in spiral-shaped growth patterns. Embedded between each line was another type of crystal, as thin as a strand of hair, which seemed to be the Hematite Crystals he had seen with Jiang Cai’er before.
With a thought, he "dug out" about a ton of ore and activated the Forging Power of his "Crystal Vein Armor." A moment later, he had "crafted" a suit of black Battle Armor.
Then again, "black" wasn’t quite the right word. It was more of an abyssal black.
There’s a distinction to be made. True black is pure, absorbing all light. But this abyssal black had a reddish tint—a dark cyan so deep it was almost black.
For example, a crow’s feather normally looks black, but under the sun, it reveals a luster of deep blue, mysterious purple, and metallic green. It is a vibrant, iridescent black.
The abyssal black Battle Armor he had forged had a color similar to a crow’s feather.
He was quite lucky. Perhaps this Obsidian Ore Vein truly possessed some mysterious Attribute. The very first set of Obsidian Battle Armor Li Xiang forged was an Extraordinary Spirit Armor. Although its Tier wasn’t high—only Tier Five—and it had no extra Extraordinary Attributes, it was already quite impressive. It was many times stronger than the most advanced bulletproof vests on Earth. Most importantly, it could be stored inside his body, change its size, and was incredibly convenient to wear.
Although he had started with about a ton of raw material, there were quite a few scraps left over. After removing a large amount of impurities and having the essence compressed and refined by his Earth Superpower, this suit of Spirit Armor weighed only four to five hundred pounds.
He put away the suit of Obsidian Spirit Armor and mined several more tons of ore. He forged three more sets of Battle Armor and six weapons, but among them, only an Obsidian Long Spear and an Obsidian single-edged saber were Extraordinary Items. The rest were just ordinary Armor and weapons.
Including the first piece he made, that meant three out of ten items were Extraordinary Items.
The sample size was small, so the success rate wasn’t necessarily accurate, but Li Xiang was already quite satisfied.
Forging Extraordinary Items consumed a great deal of Spiritual Power and mental energy. Li Xiang took a few sips of Spirit Wine and circulated his Breathing Technique to rest for a bit. After that, he stopped forging Crystal Vein Armor and instead began to directly collect the precious Obsidian Ore Vein, saving it to practice with later.
He believed that as his technique became more refined and he gained more experience, he would be able to forge Battle Armor or Spiritual Soldiers of even higher Tiers, perhaps even with special Extraordinary Attributes.
He followed the ore vein, mining as he went, creating a winding tunnel deep underground. The tunnel had numerous branches, like an underground labyrinth. A normal person would surely get lost if they entered, but with his Earth Vein Perception Ability and Earth Escape, it posed no obstacle to Li Xiang.
Suddenly, from a branch of the tunnel, a black spider the size of a washbasin appeared. All eight of its legs moving at once, it scurried rapidly toward Li Xiang.
"What the hell?"
Li Xiang heard the sound and turned to look, a question forming in his mind. ’I’m nearly a thousand meters underground, how can there be a spider here? And one this big?’
When the spider closed within ten meters, the system issued a notification: "Detected one Tier Eight Mutated Creature: Obsidian Crystalized Spider."
’It’s become a spirit? A Mineral Vein Spirit Spider?’
Li Xiang threw a direct punch. With the Giant Power of over a hundred thousand pounds behind it, exquisite Fist Technique, and a spiraling, drill-like force, a single blow shattered the black spider. CLATTER. It fell to the ground in pieces, which turned out to be chunks of high-purity Obsidian.
Then, aside from the Achievement Points and Spiritual Medicine rewarded by the system, Li Xiang discovered a small Crystal Stone among the spider’s scattered remains that wasn’t pure black, but a shade of blackish-gold.
He pried out the Black Gold Crystal Core. An idea struck him. He mined the surrounding Obsidian Ore Vein and forged this Black Gold Crystal Core into it. As expected, he obtained a Tier Eight Extraordinary Spirit Armor. It even had an Extraordinary Attribute: "Swift." Not to mention its basic Defense, wearing this Spirit Armor would make him as light as a swallow and increase his speed by thirty percent.
In the time that followed, Li Xiang encountered several more of these Crystalized Spirit Spiders. He killed them all and collected their Black Gold Crystal Cores.
The deeper he went, the more Crystalized Spirit Spiders he found. Sometimes, a dense swarm of at least two to three hundred would besiege him.
But Li Xiang possessed the "Earth Pivot World Record," a Saint Tier Giant Whale Battle Armor, and the White Jade Golden Hook Rod that weighed 3,600 kilograms. His Martial Arts were a perfect blend of hard and soft, his moves ever-changing. Killing these Crystalized Spirit Spiders was no problem at all; in fact, his harvests were immense.
After harvesting about five or six hundred of them, Li Xiang heard a strange, rhythmic sound, like a beating heart.
Li Xiang stopped collecting Ore and used Earth Escape to follow the sound.
In just a moment, Li Xiang arrived at a peculiar location.
The Obsidian Ore Vein in this area was extremely thick, and it had even formed an "Obsidian Heart" the size of a small mountain.
This "heart" was blackish-gold in color and was pulsing steadily. The rhythmic sound from before was coming from here.
The system prompted: This was a Tier Twenty-Eight Saint Tier Mutated Creature, the Obsidian Black Gold Mountain Saint.
Of course, since the system had arrived early, this data might have a bug. The creature’s true Tier was unknown, but it definitely couldn’t be absurdly high.
If it were really Tier Twenty-Eight, it would have crushed Li Xiang instantly.
’Holy crap, this is a living ore vein? It’s really turning into a spirit?’
’Could this be the special Earth Vein of Mount Fuji that protects the heritage of little Japan nine years from now?’
Li Xiang was ecstatic. He activated his Earth Power and began mining in massive quantities, starting with the heart and then moving to the connected ore veins. All of it was high-purity, top-quality raw material for Crystal Vein Armor.
A giant black serpent with eight heads and eight tails burst out of the Crystal Heart. It was as thick as a water tank, hundreds of meters long, and also possessed the power of Earth Escape.
’Orochi? Maybe a descendant or a relative?’ Li Xiang had no time to think. He immediately engaged the eight-headed, eight-tailed crystalized serpent in a fierce battle.
The serpent’s Tier was very high, and even Li Xiang struggled to deal with it. For a time, the earth shook and the mountains trembled. The area for dozens of kilometers around Mount Fuji began to "quake" again, and this time, it was even more terrifying than the tremors during the day.
It was nighttime, and many tourists had come to soak in the hot springs. Terrified, they all scrambled out, standing naked in the ice and snow.
Some tourists from other countries were filled with regret. ’What the hell kind of experience is this? I’m never coming back here again.’
It took a full half-hour for Li Xiang to finally kill the eight-headed, eight-tailed black serpent, and he received an astonishing reward.
Afterward, Li Xiang dismembered the mountain-sized Crystalized Heart and stored it in his system’s inventory.
It offered no resistance. Perhaps releasing so many Crystalized Spirit Spiders and the Orochi had already exhausted all of its combat power.
System: "Congratulations, Host. For killing the Tier Twenty-Eight Saint Tier Mutated Creature, Obsidian Black Gold Mountain Saint, you are awarded 2800 Achievement Points, three Tier Fourteen Mutated Spiritual Medicines: Three-Flower Earth Jade Marrow, and one Tier Twenty-Six Extraordinary Item: a Black Obsidian Golden Tripod."
A small Holy Cauldron appeared in Li Xiang’s palm. It weighed at least tens of thousands of pounds, and he struggled to hold it with one hand. He tossed it onto the ground, where it grew to the size of a small mountain with a thunderous BOOM.
The Holy Cauldron had three Extraordinary Attributes. The first was "Earth Vein Suppression," which could protect a 400-kilometer radius from earthquakes. The second was "Kunyuan Realm," which could generate a protective barrier with a 10-kilometer radius to block all kinds of energy attacks. The third was "Crystalized Spiritual Beast," an active attack that could release a horde of Spirit Beasts of varying strength, numbering from several hundred to several thousand, depending on the wielder’s power.
Li Xiang was naturally thrilled with this item. He put away the Obsidian Black Gold Holy Cauldron and continued to mine, determined to take every last bit of these precious Obsidian Deposits.
This was Mount Fuji’s special Earth Vein—or, to put it another way, Japan’s vein of national destiny. It was quite different from those in other places.
An uninvited guest arrived at Chiba Yuki’s private bathhouse. It was a wretched old man—pot-bellied, pockmarked, bald, and with an extremely lecherous appearance. Accompanied by several samurai, he swaggered insolently and forced his way into "Snow’s Inn."
