Chapter 226 - Underground Crystal Mine
Chapter 226: Underground Crystal Mine
After calming themselves down, Yang Ling and Goode hurried toward the Taildon Valley. In order to avoid attracting attention to themselves, the two did not bring any guards with them. Instead, they chose to ride on ordinary warhorses and wear large cloaks and wide hats. They sneakily made their way out of the castle through the back door.
The winters in Wissen Town were long. Harsh winds blew all morning and a heavy layer of snow coated the ground. There weren’t many people around. The roads from Wissen Town to Black Water City had been expanded to nearly double its original width and had an even surface, allowing them to travel over it without any obstacles. They managed to reach the Taildon Valley near Black Water City in just a few hours.
The Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, had long been waiting at the Taildon Valley. He brought Yang Ling and Goode to the mine the moment they arrived.
Unlike an ordinary mine, the five-colored Crystal Vein was more akin to a mysterious, massive underground maze, or a giant natural cave, rather than a crystal mine.
Crystal stalactites had formed everywhere throughout the cave. The air was moist yet refreshing. Other than a few surface-level impurities, most of the crystals within the mine were of extremely high quality.
Some of the crystals extended from the cave ceiling straight into the ground like a jade pillar, some were suspended in the air like rainclouds, and some were similar to waves, extending far and wide. They seemed to represent a multitude of weather phenomena, a miraculous sight.
According to the conventions of the Tailun Continent, crystal ores could be split into five grades depending on the impurities they contained.
Fifth-grade crystal ores were the most commonly seen and harbored the most impurities. There was not much use for them, as they harbored very little energy, and therefore were sold for the lowest price. They were basically the equivalent of trash in the eyes of many large-scale crystal mines. There was sure to be a large mountain of fifth-grade crystal ores in nearly every crystal mine.
Under normal circumstances, a fourth-grade crystal ore would only have one-fifth of the impurities in a fifth-grade crystal ore, and even though it did not harbor much energy, its value was much greater than that of a fifth-grade crystal ore. They could be carved into art pieces, or become the foundation of a simple Magic Experimentation Tower. There was a great demand for them.
Third-grade crystal ores had just one-tenth of the impurities found in a fourth-grade crystal ore, its price far exceeding that of a fourth-grade crystal ore. In Montson, just a small third-grade crystal ore would fetch several dozen, or even over a hundred Purple Crystal Coins.
The second-grade crystal ores had even fewer impurities than the third-grade crystal ores. First-grade crystal ores had minuscule amounts of impurities and harbored a large amount of pure energy. Both first-grade and second-grade crystal ores were items that only Spellcasters or nobles had the ability to buy.
Even higher quality than the first-grade crystal ores were premium crystal ores. Impurities were virtually non-existent in premium crystal ores, and they harbored a great amount of energy. They were the best option available when it came to building Magical Spell Formations, and could even be used to create magical staffs. Their price point went beyond the imagination of an average person. Even a noble could only dream of possessing one, much less an average person!
There were not many crystal mines on the Tailun Continent, and crystal mines that yielded high-quality crystal ores were even rarer. Merchants would fight each other for a high-quality crystal mine. In fact, even great nobles and factions would be drawn into the conflict.
It would be decent if an ordinary crystal produced a large number of second-grade crystal ores, as it would definitely turn a massive profit. But other than the low-grade crystal ores on the outside of the five-colored Crystal Vein, most of the ore within it was first-grade crystal. Amongst those, there was no shortage of premium crystal ores!
Under the leadership of the Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, Yang Ling, and Goode stepped onto a forked path and slowly entered into the deeper regions of the five-colored Crystal Vein. The crystal ores they saw became higher in quality the deeper they went into the mine. There were flame-red fire element crystal ores, sparkling water element crystal ores…
Goode became more and more excited the deeper into the mine they went. Having once been a minister for military preparations in the Banto Empire, he knew more than Yang Ling about the tactical significance of this five-colored Crystal Vein. Excavating even a small portion of this mine would guarantee that there would be a large number of crystal coins coming in for the development of the territory.
The greatest use for a crystal ore on the Tailun Continent was not creating magical staffs, but setting up Magical Spell Formations and Magical Towers. Magical Spell Formations allowed one to quickly mobilize elite troops or arrange important logistics, while Magical Towers were imperative to any large city or castle. The higher the quality of the crystal ores used, the greater the offensive or defensive capabilities of the Magical Tower.
The Aila Mountain Pass was already hard to attack. Enemies would have even more trouble attacking the area if they built a few large-scale Magical Towers at the fortress. Goode could not imagine how powerful the defensive and offensive capabilities of a Magical Towers made entirely out of first-grade and premium crystal ores would be!
The three of them then saw a wonderful sight when they reached the end of the forked path!
A few shiny Crystal Diamonds of various sizes were scattered within a bed of shiny water element premium crystal ores, releasing waves of pulsing energy. The Crystal Diamonds here were larger and harbored much more energy than the one given away in Montson.
Atop the shiny Crystal Diamonds was a large, smooth slate of crystal ore. Unlike an ordinary crystal ore, this slate of crystal ore was bright, but not eye-catching. A dull light moved within the slate as it released a faint ring of crystal mist.
At the center of the slate of crystal ore were five thumb-sized Crystal Marrows. They were reflective, faintly mirroring the stone columns and stalagmites in their surroundings.
This was the so-called Crystal Marrow?
Looking at the hazy Crystal Marrow through the crystal mist, Yang Ling was incredibly shocked when he sensed the strong, ever-present spiritual energy in the cave, and instinctively recited the Wizard Mantra. In that instant, the spiritual energy that had gathered here for millennia entered his body, all of the pores on his body opened and relaxed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Goode and the Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, both lost their color from shock as they saw Yang Ling slowly closing his eyes and sensed the tidal-like spiritual energy pouring into him. They did not expect Yang Ling’s abilities to be so terrifying. They looked at each other and retreated in unison.
Yang Ling could feel his Wizard Core slowly expand after absorbing the magnificent energy. With every pulse, the Wizard Core brought in a massive amount of Wizard Power, gradually seeping into every muscle in his body, penetrating every inch of his bones…
As a result of the Body Honing Wizard Mantra, his physical body became strengthened at a visible rate, absorbing the massive amounts of Wizard Power as if it had been starved before. In fact, his body even directly absorbed the magnificent, ever-present spiritual energy from his surroundings.
His Wizard Power grew rapidly, and the growth of his magical energy was no exception!
After closing his eyes, Yang Ling spread out his enormous mental energy like a spider web. He soon realized that the radius in which he could sense things was increasing bit by bit. Fifty steps, fifty-two steps, fifty-five steps… The radius was getting larger and larger!
Sometime later, when his mental energy had stopped growing, stopping permanently at a radius of sixty steps, Yang Ling took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.
There was still a rich, overwhelming amount of spiritual energy in the cave, as if it could never be depleted. Goode was sitting on the ground, meditating, his expression serene. His body was releasing streaks of pure water element magical energy
The Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, was still, a red glow emanating around him. Two fiery-red horns, incredibly sharp, had grown out of both of his heads as if he had evolved once again. It looked like they had both reaped the mine’s immense benefits as well.
How amazing, to see such massive improvements after only training here for a short while. This was a holy ground for training!
Yang Ling was shocked when he more closely examined the transformation to his body, sensing that he was merely one step away from advancing to mid-level Heaven Wizard. After a moment’s deliberation, seeing the colorful crystal ore pillars and stalagmites around him, then looking at the hazy, alluring Crystal Marrow not far away, he had an idea and decided to transport all of this to the Wizard’s Pagoda!
After making his way back to where Goode and Braska were, he sat on the ground cross-legged, quickly forming hand gesture after hand gesture, once again casting the restriction that would retrieve items from within a large radius.
Just like that time at the Flying Dragon Valley, Yang Ling could feel the Wizard Power and mental energy pour out of his body after performing a few hand gestures. Soon, mysterious symbols appeared on the crystal ores around him, slowly rotating in place.
The Flying Dragon Valley had a rich amount of energy, but it was nothing compared to the five-colored Crystal Mine! With it, he could quickly replenish the Wizard Power and mental energy that was flowing out of his body.
Because of this, Yang Ling had nothing to worry about and increased the speed of his restriction, his movements smooth and fluid. His hand gestures became increasingly fast, dazzling Goode and the Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, who had just woken up.
“Hmph, get in here!” After letting out a low grunt, Yang Ling quickly formed the last hand gesture. There seemed to be a faint hum in the air as the various symbols spun quickly like a windmill. The spinning got faster and faster before the symbols instantly disappeared into thin air.
“Oh, this… How is this possible?” The Twin-headed Ogre, Braska, looked in confusion at the empty cave, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Even though he knew that Yang Ling’s abilities were far beyond comprehension, he could never have expected his master to have become this powerful in the short span of time he had not seen him!
A Space Spellcaster, a Space Spellcaster at the level of high-level Magical Tutor!
Braska had lost his color in shock, as had Goode. Even though he was vaguely aware that Yang Ling had come from a mysterious family of Ancient Summoners and had abilities beyond his comprehension, he could never have expected Yang Ling to be a Space Spellcaster with so many abilities hidden up his sleeve.
Being able to instantly teleport this many crystal ores meant that Yang Ling’s space element magic spells had been honed to a high degree, at least the level of a high-level Magical Tutor!
“Not bad, Braska. Increase the intensity of your excavation and exploration. Tell me when you discover another place like this!” Yang Ling said. He took a deep breath and stood up. He quickly walked outside, prepared to return to Wissen Castle as soon as possible in order to process what he had gained from this journey.
Despite having absorbed gigantic amounts of spiritual energy from the surroundings to replenish what he had used, Yang Ling still felt extremely tired after casting the large-scale restriction to teleport that enormous number of crystal ores. It looked like he would only be able to use these powerful restrictions at will after advancing to the level of high-level Heaven Wizard or Divine Wizard!