“Huoniu, take a rest with the others. We’ll go to the herbal mountain later!” Jiang Chen said.
“Okay.”
Huoniu didn’t hesitate, although he had heard there was a guy in the late stage of the Gathering Yuan State at the herbal mountain.
The soul of the Redcloud Sword said at this moment, “Something in the mine can help you enhance your state.”
“What’s that?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.
“There are pure yang mineral crystals under the mine. You’re so knowledgeable that you must know what that is.”
“That’s impossible!” Jiang Chen shook his head incredulously.
If there really were, the Jiang Mansion should have been much more powerful. Pure yang mineral crystals were very precious.
A rich source of pure yang mineral crystals would be priceless.
“Anyway, I can sense it. They’re under the mine,” the soul of the Redcloud Sword said.
Jiang Chen didn’t care whether it was true or not. He asked, “You want me to absorb the source of the vein of crystals?”
Pure yang mineral crystals contained great power, but they couldn’t be taken in by human beings directly, since the minerals were toxic. However, the source of the vein was a different thing. It was very pure.
“You sure know a lot.”
“Can you find the source of the lode?” Jiang Chen wasn’t mincing words. The Jiang Mansion was in danger at that moment. Time was precious.
“Of course.”
“Take me there.”
Jiang Chen walked towards the cave. Huoniu tried to stop him when he noticed. He said, “Young Master Chen, it’s very unstable in the cave right now. It’s dangerous to go in there.”
“Don’t worry. I’m aware of the situation.”
Jiang Chen entered the cave, following the Redcloud Sword. As the disciples of the Qingcheng Sect had said, it was vast in there. One passage after another led to different destinations. Some of them were connected, while others were dead ends.
If someone unfamiliar with the terrain came in here, they would become lost for sure.
Jiang Chen was following the direction of the soul of the Redcloud Sword while manipulating his holy awareness at the same time.
When they had almost made it under the mine, Jiang Chen saw a gentle yellow light emitted from a stone wall in the dark.
“You are good.” Jiang Chen was very surprised. He observed with great care and found that the Qingcheng Sect’s disciples’ bombing had shattered the stone walls and exposed the pure yang mineral crystals. That was why the Redcloud Sword could sense it.
The bad news was that what he was seeing was only the tip of the iceberg. The source of the pure yang could have been stuck behind many layers of rocks.
Jiang Chen was unable to get through by himself.
There was also good news. The soul of the Redcloud Sword told him that he would only need to follow its instructions to go through the passage, since the source of the pure yang had been exposed.
As expected, after walking for only a short while, he saw the dazzling radiance emitted by the pure yang mineral lode.
As soon as Jiang Chen walked into the light, he felt infinite energy flooding into him.
He had the holy pulse, so he could absorb the source of the pure yang directly. However, he wanted the best effect.
He sat cross-legged and took the class-two panacea that Murong Feng had gifted him. Then he started to exert martial arts techniques in the light.
The benefits of doing so were obvious. He achieved the peak of the preliminary stage of the Gathering Yuan State immediately.
At that moment, the radiance of the source of the pure yang had already greatly dimmed. It would need months to recover. By then, he could come to absorb it again.
“If your holy pulse is fully recovered, you will absorb the source of the vein.” The soul of the Redcloud Sword was surprised to see he had finished so quickly.
“That will be better than now, for sure,” Jiang Chen said.
He didn’t leave. Instead, he dug out a huge pure yang stone from the source.
“Pure yang stones can be used to refine panaceas!”
He packed the stone and left the cave. Huoniu and the others were still resting.
Jiang Chen decided to make use of the break to do something. He started to think about a unique movement.
He was already able to exert the first three movements of the Rainbow Sword Method. At the time, he didn’t have enough time to practice the next movements. However, a unique movement didn’t just rely on his level of the swordsmanship realm.
Take the Bloody Slaughterer, for instance. He had manipulated his strength by secret methods. If Jiang Chen could exert his Tai Ji Wan to the fullest, with the entry form of the spirit of the sword and the Redcloud Sword, his unique movement would be very powerful.
At this moment, Huoniu came up to him to tell him that they were ready to go.
“Let’s go to the herbal mountain!”
…
The herbal mountain was taken by the Fiery Lion Gang and the Bloody Hand Gang. Although the mountain behind the Jiang Mansion was also a great resource, it was located inside the mountain town, and they couldn’t take control of it and reap any benefits at that time.
There were as many as one hundred people, each riding a horse. They were at the foot of the mountain.
They looked at the mountain in front of them, wishing they could raze it to the ground immediately.
But, the fire in the mountain was holding them up.
“If you come one step closer, we’ll burn the mountain down!” A voice of a Jiang warriors came from the mountain.
“Really? Are you really able to do that?”
“It’s all or nothing!”
All of the warriors in the mountain were shouting in unison. Even the surrounding animals were scared off by them.
“Looks like you members of the Fiery Lion Gang are already at your wit’s ends.”
A big man was armed in full. There was a shocking scar on his left cheek, from his left eye to the corner of his mouth. He looked extremely hideous.
He was He Xing, the vice leader of the Bloody Hand Gang.
“What solution do you Bloody Hand Gang have?”
The other group of people were very displeased with his sneering tone.
“Ha, of course I have solutions!”
He Xing started to laugh proudly. He waved his hand, then someone led a group of captives in chains to the front of the team.
“Guys, come and take a look at your wives and children!” He Xing shouted to the mountain.
The captives also started to shout out of fear.
“Bloody Hand Gang, you mean b*stards!”
The warrior who had said “all or nothing” was both furious and helpless.
“Mean? Thank you for the compliment!”
He Xing didn’t care at all. He was tapping his fingers on his lap, then a cold smile appeared on his face.
“Listen, disarm yourselves and walk out of the mountain. If you refuse to do so, we’ll kill one person after every breath.”
He did mean it. Hardly had his voice faded away when he hit a woman who obviously had no way to fight back on the head with his palm.
The woman fell down, twitched a few times and died.
“Darling!”
Another roar was heard. A big man rushed down the mountain, with two axes in his hands. His eyes were already red.
“What a fool!”
He Xing shook his head disdainfully. Then a subordinate of his shot an arrow at the big man. The arrow pierced into his chest.
The big man fell down, but he kept crawling toward the dead woman. However, someone decapitated him and threw his head back up the mountain.
“Now, time is ticking!”
He Xing was still smiling. His eyes were shining with excitement. He was clearly enjoying all of this.
“What a crazy man!”
The guys of the Fiery Lion Gang were shocked by what they were seeing.
“Wait! We give up!”
The Jiangs’ warriors in the herbal mountain finally gave way. They went downhill, down to the base of the mountain. Unlike the warriors in the mine, they had really surrendered, because their families’ lives were being threatened.
“Good. You’ve saved both of us time.”
He Xing shrugged his wide shoulders. He felt it was a shame fthat he was unable to continue the killing since he had gotten what he wanted.
Suddenly, he smiled cruelly and waved his hand, “Kill them all!”