Purplish-gold mist fell like purple clouds falling from the sky. The spirit python's illusory figure merged into the ground.
The underground world was dark, and the earth was thick and boundless. There was a boundless pressure, but the spirit python was an illusory spirit body. It was very weak against this kind of pressure.
The mountain city of the Gu Yuan Tribe was located here, so it was prosperous and full of people. Even some ferocious beasts that lived in the dark underground world did not dare to hide under the mountain city. Apart from some insects and ants hibernating there, the underground was very quiet.
Soon, under Xiao Chen's control, the spirit python had descended to a depth of 50,000 feet. At this moment, even the insects and ants were not hibernating. The heavy earth pressure was enough to crush an ordinary Heavenly Building Realm warrior into pieces. There was a rotten smell in the surrounding soil. Xiao Chen could even see some petrified bones of strange beasts. However, there was no value in using them anymore. It was unknown how long they had been covered in dust.
At 80,000 feet, a khaki-colored airflow appeared in Xiao Chen's eyes. This was the Earth Vein Qi that belonged to the land within a radius of thousands of miles. The Earth Vein was dark yellow and ancient.
Below the ground, there was a gurgling airflow constantly gathering toward this dark yellow Earth Vein Qi. Finally, it constantly surged to the ground through the Earth Vein, nourishing everything on the ground.
This was only a branch of the Earth Vein that was thousands of miles away from the mountain city of the Gu Yuan Tribe. Not all areas had Earth Veins under them. The presence of Earth Veins meant that the land was flourishing and suitable for living creatures. In some dead lands, the Earth Vein Qi had long dissipated and was no longer suitable for living creatures to grow.
The further down he went, the more abundant the Earth Vein Qi Xiao Chen could feel. It was so thick that it was like fog. It kept gathering and almost formed dark yellow drops. The Earth Vein Qi could be said to be a kind of Qi of Heaven and Earth, but it was very different.
The Earth Vein of the Gu Yuan Tribe was a dark yellow airflow that was hundreds of miles long. It had roots like an old tree, spreading in all directions like thousands of spiritual snakes. However, it did not have spiritual wisdom and was only nourishing the earth instinctively.
The Luck Python that Xiao Chen had infused into the Earth Vein instantly caused the Earth Vein to tremble. However, this huge tremor was immediately suppressed. This Earth Vein had already started to merge with the Gu Yuan Tribe's mountain city. The Azure Spirit Artifact Spirit could already be easily controlled. It would not be scattered by Xiao Chen's impact!
Xiao Chen extended out his Spiritual Will, continuously investigating the branches of the Earth Vein. According to what Green Spirit said, the hidden barrier disappeared in a flash. It seemed to be absorbing the energy of the Earth Vein. After all, it had been buried underground for ten thousand years. Without a supply of energy, it would have melted long ago. Thus, the Earth Vein's Qi could be said to be the most suitable choice.
However, other than the main vein that was a hundred miles long, there were over ten thousand other branches that extended in all directions to the west. Furthermore, it was impossible to see the end of them with a single glance, as they directly sank into the darkness. It would be rather difficult to find which branch the Spirit Formation was attached to.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
At this moment, the Luck Spirit Python had already shrunk in size. It swam around the dark yellow underground vein, continuously checking its surroundings. After several hours, Xiao Chen had already checked a tenth of the entire underground vein. However, he still did not find anything. Feeling helpless, he could only give up for now.
In the following half a month, Xiao Chen rushed into the underground veins with the help of the Spirit Python of Luck every day, but he still found nothing. He had checked all the branches of the airflow in the underground veins, and even the ends of all the airflow in the underground veins. However, there was no trace of the barrier at all. It was as if the barrier had disappeared. If he did not know that Green Spirit would not deceive him, he would even doubt the existence of that strange barrier thousands of meters below the ground.
However, Xiao Chen gave up on this kind of investigation because the three-month deadline was about to arrive. The medicinal pill trade between him and the other combat divisions was about to arrive. Although there were still more than ten days left, several combat divisions had already arrived in advance. They were all chiefs and experts of their clans. After all, there were a lot of resources and medicinal pills, which were related to the development of the entire tribe in the future. There was no room for luck. Only when they personally escorted the goods could they be at ease.
High-grade Primordial Stones, Spiritual Medicines, Spiritual Roots, and even various rare treasures could be used to exchange for medicinal pills. After all, even if some tribes had a reserve of high-grade Primordial Stones, it was unrealistic to take them all out to exchange for medicinal pills. Fortunately, the Gu Yuan Tribe could use other rare treasures to exchange for medicinal pills.
In this intermittent manner, when the three-month deadline arrived, the medicinal pill trade with the other combat divisions was completed ahead of time. This was also thanks to the Hundred Herb Hall working overtime to prepare all the medicinal pills.
Moreover, the next medicinal pill trade was scheduled for the next time. However, in the future, it would be changed to once every six months. It seemed that all the tribes were aware of the impending crisis and were working hard to improve the strength of their own tribes.
Compared to this time, the medicinal pill trade that would take place half a year later also attracted the news of the other combat divisions participating in the War God Palace's assessment of the Gu Yuan Tribe. They rushed over one after another. In the medicinal pill trade that would take place half a year later, many tribes were very enthusiastic about the medicinal pills that could improve the strength of Heaven Building Realm warriors. One could imagine that the total price of the transaction would skyrocket, reaching a total of 50,000 high-grade Primordial Stones. At the same time, in private, Xiao Chen ordered the Gu Yuan Tribe to sell all kinds of medicinal pills piecemeal. A medicinal hall was set up at the gathering place of the Wanderers outside the tribe's mountain city.
In the courtyard where he lived, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged under the Thunder Tribulation Spiritual Wood. He closed his eyes and rested, thinking about how to investigate the situation under the Earth Vein again. The Great Elder hurried over, followed by Elder Hua of Duanmu City's Treasure Trove Building.
"Greetings, Chief!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and said, "Elder Hua is in charge of Duanmu City. Something important must have happened for you to rush back!"
"Reporting to Chief, this is the Great Universal Geographical Map that the Pavilion Master of Duanmu City's Four Way Pavilion handed to me half a day ago. It marks a million miles of land in the southwest corner of our desolate border!"
Elder Hua handed an animal skin scroll to Xiao Chen.
"Oh!"
When Xiao Chen heard this, he received the beast skin scroll and slowly unfurled it. The beast skin scroll depicted ancient mountains and dense forests. It even marked out the locations of the many tribes, the locations of the wanderers' gathering places, and even the locations of the mines in this vast desolate land for five hundred thousand kilometers around.
"Any other words?"
"The Pavilion Master of Four Way Pavilion said that he is following the decision of the tribe's Patriarch. The Gu Yuan Tribe in the southwest region of the desolate border will be the leader, and Bai Ze will leave this land."
"Is this considered as offering a map and land?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen chuckled. This map was very detailed, even more detailed than the most detailed map of the Gu Yuan Tribe. The various middle-grade tribes, some of the larger gathering places of the Wanderers, and more than a hundred mineral veins of various types. There were even high-grade Primordial Stone mineral veins and low-grade divine material mineral veins. Everything was clearly shown.
This was the Baize Marquisate Tribe's way of telling Xiao Chen that the Baize Marquisate Tribe's faction would retreat from this land. They even gave the hundreds of ore veins to the Gu Yuan Tribe. In the future, the Gu Yuan Tribe would be the sole ruler of this land for five hundred thousand kilometers around.
In this land, there were a total of seven middle-grade combat divisions and one high-grade combat division. However, they were ranked behind the other high-grade combat divisions. Even if these tribes combined their strength, they would not be a match for the Gu Yuan Tribe. This was because these tribes did not have any Venerable almighty of the Sixth Heaven of the Heaven Building Realm. This was an absolute deterrent.
A moment later, Xiao Chen said, "Elder Hua, go to the Hundred Herb Hall and withdraw a hundred Recuperation Pills suitable for Heaven Building Realm cultivators. Send them to the Four Directions Pavilion."
Since Marquis Baize Tribe had already retreated and expressed goodwill to the Gu Yuan Tribe, Xiao Chen was not an inflexible person. The overlord tribe of the desolate border was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. He had resisted Patriarch Baize, and the Gu Yuan Tribe's prestige had already shaken the entire Great Wilderness.
Moreover, there was no life-and-death grudge between him and Marquis Baize Tribe. It was just a battle of momentum. Now that Baize Tribe had already given up, he did not want to get entangled with them. The most important thing now was to raise the tribe's strength to face the upcoming war with the foreign races. Marquis Baize Tribe probably had the same thoughts. These hundred Recuperation Pills were a sign of Xiao Chen's attitude after Marquis Baize Tribe had given up a hundred mineral veins.
Soon, two figures walked in from outside the courtyard. They were the head of the Combat Master Hall, Ding Shan, and the head of the Divine Weapon Hall, Xiao Lin. They had rushed over after receiving Xiao Chen's telepathic message. A moment later, the two of them also learned about the matter before them, and excitement shone in their eyes. A hundred mineral veins, that was an incredible amount of resources.
"According to the markings on the map, Xiao Lin, dispatch the blacksmiths of the Divine Weapon Hall under the escort of the tribe's combat masters to investigate the various mineral veins in advance. These mineral veins have been mined by Marquis Baize Tribe for the past few years, and it is still unknown how much value there is left in them.
"Now, according to the markings on the map, Xiao Lin, dispatch the blacksmiths of the Divine Weapon Hall under the escort of the tribe's combat masters to investigate the various mineral veins in advance. These mineral veins have been mined by Marquis Baize Tribe for the past few years, and it is still unknown how much value there is left in them.
"Yes!" Ding Shan and Xiao Lin bowed in response.
However, Ding Shan continued, "Tribe leader, of the hundred mineral veins marked on this map, only a dozen or so are precious mineral veins. Other than them, the rest are ordinary mineral veins. These ordinary mineral veins can be directly recruited by wandering warriors and loose cultivators from outside the city to participate in the excavation. Our Gu Yuan Tribe will only be responsible for sending warriors to guard the mineral veins and collect the resources!"
"Alright!"
With regards to Ding Shan's suggestion, Xiao Chen agreed to it immediately. Recruiting wandering warriors to excavate the mineral veins could greatly reduce the losses of the tribe's warriors. Moreover, there were currently hundreds of thousands of wandering warriors gathered outside the tribe's mountain city, and he was afraid that he would not be able to recruit enough people.
As for the precious mineral veins, divine materials, spiritual materials, and high-grade Primordial Stone mineral veins, the Gu Yuan Tribe would have to personally excavate them, and they would also have to send a large number of warriors to guard the mineral veins and ensure their safety.