Chapter 2168: Magneto-Optical Beast

Han Li's question clearly took the three miners by surprise.

After exchanging glances for a moment, the other two miners' eyes eventually settled on the one in the middle.

This caused the demon-race miner's expression to change several times. He couldn't help but inwardly lament, knowing that the secret they had been trying to keep would likely be impossible to hide any longer.

With another bitter smile, the miner could only answer honestly: "Before the main tunnel was destroyed, all the previously discovered demonic gold had indeed been mined out. However, during the several days we've been trapped here, while digging haphazardly to find a way out, we accidentally discovered a new branch mine containing demonic gold. But with our limited abilities, we couldn't mine it independently, so we just sealed the discovery site with rubble and earth for now. If you're interested, sir, I can take you there to see it."

"As expected, there's still demonic gold that hasn't been mined. Those fellows probably weren't unaware of this; they just thought it was taking too long and didn't dare to continue exploring. Good, then this will benefit me. But before that, first take me to the locations where the incidents occurred," Han Li said with a chuckle, giving another instruction.

"Yes, sir!" The middle miner felt a bit strange but quickly agreed without daring to show any defiance.

Then, at Han Li's signal, the three miners nervously stood up and, trembling, left the cave to lead the way.

Within half an hour, Han Li had inspected all the locations he wanted to see, and the three even pointed out the new, hidden mine.

"Very good. Since what you said is true, I will also grant you a way out!" Han Li finally said with a satisfied expression. With a flick of his large sleeve, a vast expanse of green light instantly surged forth.

The three miners only felt a flash of green light before their eyes and a dizzying sensation, then suddenly found themselves standing very close to the collapsed area. At that moment, a ripple appeared nearby, and Han Li's figure silently materialized.

Seeing this, the three miners were filled with a mix of joy and fear, unsure if Han Li would truly keep his promise to let them go. However, Han Li paid no attention to the three. Instead, he raised an arm, spread the fingers of his palm, and aimed it at the obstructing rubble in front of them, softly uttering the word "Break."

The next moment, a golden glow flickered in his palm, and a golden sphere of light instantly appeared. With a roar, the sphere transformed into a dazzling beam of light and shot forth. After a muffled "whoosh," a surge of hot air immediately rushed towards them. A passage, about ten feet in diameter, had appeared in the rubble. Its edges were melted and glowing red, but they quickly cooled and turned black.

"I have reopened a way out. Follow this path to leave," Han Li said, casting a faint glance at the three miners. His body then blurred, and he vanished from the spot like a phantom.

Witnessing this, the three miners were overjoyed. After bowing once more towards the spot where Han Li had disappeared, they rushed into the passage without another word. Although it was still extremely hot inside, the three miners gritted their teeth and completely ignored it.

Meanwhile, Han Li had returned to the places he had previously visited. He used a spell to draw out several thin wisps of green gas from the ground nearby, carefully collecting them into a small bottle, before returning to the hidden branch mine of demonic gold. These green wisps were, naturally, the mutated Earth Fiend Yin Qi. Previously, they had been parasitic on the miners, draining their vital essence and killing them on the spot. Only then did they retreat and hide underground nearby, temporarily no longer harming people.

It was fortunate that when Wuyou and his group came to investigate, they were solely focused on the matter of the demonic gold ore and merely passed through quickly without thoroughly examining these locations. Otherwise, if they had discovered these Earth Fiend Yin Qi, it would undoubtedly have caused another commotion.

As for the newly discovered demonic gold mine, although called a branch mine, it was actually just beside the original tunnel. The three miners had only dug about ten feet to one side when they discovered its presence. Han Li, after calculating based on the locations where the Fiend Yin Qi had leaked, also reached a conclusion. If the Grand Yin-Yang Five Elements True Light truly existed, it was likely beneath this demonic gold branch mine.

Therefore, as soon as he had dismissed the three demon-race miners, he returned to the branch mine and, without hesitation, flicked his sleeve. Over a dozen clusters of green light flew out from his sleeve, continuously shimmering as they transformed into green ape puppets, each about ten feet tall, with fierce expressions and exuding a chilling aura. With just a thought from his divine sense, white glows several inches long immediately extended from the puppets' fingers. They then neatly walked into the branch mine tunnel and began to vigorously extract the demonic gold.

After Han Li finished all this, he pondered for a moment, then a faint golden phantom flew out from his sleeve. The golden phantom solidified slightly, transforming into a small, pale golden beast. It was the Leopard-Scaled Beast!

The beast had clearly been napping in its beast ring. Although it had been released, its eyes had just opened, and its bewildered expression made it look exceptionally cute. Han Li found this somewhat amusing. After instructing it, "Keep an eye on these puppets; don't let anyone else in," a yellow halo flashed around his body, and he directly submerged underground, disappearing from sight.

The small golden beast then blinked its large eyes, seemingly understanding. After a low growl, it leaped and jumped into the branch mine tunnel to supervise the green ape puppets.

Time passed little by little in this manner.

Each of the dozen or so green ape puppets possessed cultivation levels comparable to the Nascent Gold Core stage. When they fully activated the white glows from their fingers, the soil, originally as hard as iron, was dug open as if it were tofu, and pieces of deeply buried demonic gold were extracted. The branch mine, which would have required a hundred miners a month or so to fully excavate, was completely mined out in just two or three hours. As a result, the small beast simply collected all the demonic gold into a single storage bracelet and then stood idly by with the now inactive green ape puppets.

About an hour later, the Leopard-Scaled Beast, waiting impatiently in a corner, was about to stand up and move around when suddenly, the entire mine tunnel shook violently. Countless pieces of rubble tumbled down from the damaged stone walls on both sides, as if the tunnel were on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

The Leopard-Scaled Beast paused for a moment, but then its body moved, transforming into several streaks of light that shot out. Where the golden light flashed, the dozen green puppets instantly disappeared. Then, all the phantoms merged into one, forming a dazzling golden rainbow that burst through the ceiling of the mine tunnel and drilled straight up to the surface.

And just as the Leopard-Scaled Beast had escaped, the mine tunnel roared and finally collapsed. Countless pieces of rubble thundered down, instantly filling the tunnel solid.

At this very moment, on the surface, the towering peak also collapsed with a thunderous crash amidst a series of violent tremors. A vast cloud of dust billowed open, as boulders of all sizes tumbled down in all directions. The commotion was so immense it was as if the sky was falling and the earth was rending apart!

A sharp shriek erupted from within. A golden silhouette flashed, shooting out from amidst the countless rocks. After circling once, it steadily hovered high in the air, revealing the figure of the small golden beast. The beast stared at the collapsed mountain below, a look of anxiety flashing in its eyes.

And almost at the same moment, a thunderous blast, like a clap of thunder on a clear day, suddenly erupted from below! The original site of the giant peak burst open as if a volcano had erupted, sending rocks of all sizes rocketing skyward like a torrential downpour.

The Leopard-Scaled Beast was startled by this sight, but immediately, one of its claws rapidly swept across in front of itself. With a flurry of "chi chi" sounds, countless golden claw shadows appeared across the sky, shattering all the incoming rocks. But the small golden beast kept its eyes fixed on the ground below without blinking.

A long roar, like a dragon's cry, came from below! In an instant, a flash of green light appeared, and a blue sword beam, over ten feet long and radiating dazzling light, pierced out from underground. Wherever the sword beam passed, obstructing rocks of all sizes were instantly shredded. Amidst the green light, a figure flashed again, and Han Li appeared in mid-air, his face slightly pale. Strangely, in one hand, he clutched a blinding green glow, vaguely revealing a fist-sized emerald stone within. In his other hand, he held a resplendent golden greatsword, about ten feet long, as he looked down at the chaotic ground with a hint of solemnity.

The Leopard-Scaled Beast was overjoyed to see him. With a low growl, it darted forward, blurring into existence beside Han Li, and affectionately rubbed its furry head against his leg. Han Li turned his head, smiled at the small beast, and then patted its head, saying: "Be careful. There's a big fellow down there that won't be easy to deal with. I probably really need to use some of my true abilities."

Hearing of an enemy, the small golden beast was not alarmed but instead delighted. After a loud roar, the golden patterns on its body shimmered, and its form rapidly grew, instantly transforming into a golden behemoth several tens of feet long.

Several strange, furious "quacking" sounds suddenly erupted from underground below! Then the earth trembled with several rumbling quakes, and the ground undulated like waves. A dark yellow monster, resembling a mountain, then emerged from underground. Its dozen or so compound eyes on its head stared fiercely and intently at Han Li high in the air.

This monster was not only as tall as a mountain, but its entire pale yellow skin was covered with various colorful stones of all sizes. Some of these were even crystal clear, revealing them to be valuable rare ores.

"A Magneto-Optical Beast! I'd heard of such a fierce beast before, but I never imagined I'd encounter one here. The reason this core of the Grand Yin-Yang Five Elements True Light in my hand has been moving erratically underground is likely due to this big fellow. This is good, too. This beast has probably accompanied the core of the Grand Yin-Yang Five Elements True Light for who knows how many years, and it already possesses some of the True Light's power itself. If I can capture and refine it, it should barely be enough to gather the materials for Jishan," Han Li muttered to himself with a sudden smile, first examining the green stone in his hand, then glancing at the giant beast below.