Chapter 1269: Each Showing Unique Skills

Zu'an and his companions remained still. As the saying goes, rare treasures are often guarded. The spiritual herbs outside might not have been valuable enough, but this Three-Three Flower was so precious that it surely wouldn't have grown to its current state without a guardian.

Sure enough, as the demon experts rushed to the edge of the pond, they all collided with a transparent light barrier. Golden light shimmered as a golden shield rose around the pond, its surface flowing with runes, covering it like a giant bell and thoroughly protecting the Three-Three Flower within.

The demon experts weren't surprised; they would have found it strange if such a valuable treasure had no guardians.

Seeing the golden barrier, everyone's thoughts raced, each with their own concerns.

"I'll do it!" Silver Shark Prince had just witnessed his beloved showing favor to another man multiple times, and he couldn't defeat that rival. Seizing this opportunity, he decided to prove himself in front of everyone.

He approached the barrier, opened his mouth, and a gaping maw filled with rows of exceptionally sharp, serrated teeth appeared.

Princess Changning couldn't help but exclaim, "Similar to how the Golden Crow clan tempers their feathers throughout their lives, the Silver Shark clan tempers their teeth. Each tooth is stronger than metal. Legend has it that the current Silver Shark King's teeth are as powerful as heaven-tier weapons, capable of biting through a mountain, let alone this mere protective barrier."

Over the years, she had mastered the art of flattery, always finding ways to praise her target, which made her much more popular than the aloof Kong Nanwu.

As expected, Silver Shark Prince looked thrilled, puffed out his chest, and secretly glanced at Princess Soren, wishing she would be so gentle with him too.

Princess Soren forced a smile. Truthfully, the sight of his gaping maw had startled her a bit.

The thought of those dense rows of teeth sent shivers down her spine, but considering his feelings, she tried her best not to show it.

Seeing her smile, Silver Shark Prince mistook it for encouragement. Eager to impress his beloved, he held nothing back and bit directly into the golden barrier with his powerful jaws.

*Crack!*

A teeth-grinding sound rang out, and Silver Shark Prince shrieked, clutching his mouth and screaming frantically.

Several shattered teeth were visible on the ground, and blood continuously seeped from between his fingers. Clearly, he had broken many teeth.

Zu'an and his companions on the other side looked speechless. Yun Jianyue couldn't help but sigh, "Do men's IQs really drop this low when they're pursuing women? He actually thought he could bite through a divine artifact's magical array with his teeth."

Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo simultaneously glanced at Zu'an, thinking, *Nonsense, his IQ clearly got higher.*

At this moment, the other demon experts snapped back to reality. Princess Changning's expression was a bit awkward, as she had just praised him to the skies, only for him to prove useless.

Princess Soren, however, sighed and went over to hand some medicine to Silver Shark Prince, which moved him greatly.

Just then, Duan Tiande picked up his rapier and thrust it forward. As a Night Elf, their proficiency in assassination stemmed not only from their ability to use shadows for instantaneous movement but also from a sword technique specifically designed to break through experts' protective energy.

In his opinion, this protective barrier should be similar, so he attacked without hesitation.

Breaking it first and snatching the Three-Three Flower, then using shadow jumps to escape—even if others were more powerful, they wouldn't catch him. This was the confidence of a Night Elf.

That fool, Silver Shark Prince, with all those seemingly mighty teeth, had his power too dispersed. Of course, he couldn't break through the barrier.

One needed to focus all power on a single point, like him...

However, his smile quickly froze, as he realized his sword couldn't pierce the seemingly thin protective barrier at all.

"I don't believe it!" He twisted his wrist, and the sword in his hand spun rapidly like an electric drill, thrusting forward with several times its usual explosive force.

*Crack!*

A sharp crack sounded. Duan Tiande was initially pleased, thinking the golden barrier was breaking, but he quickly froze. He realized it wasn't the golden barrier that had cracked, but his sword.

He was completely stunned. Although this sword wasn't a heaven-tier weapon, it was among the best of earth-tier weapons, having tasted the blood of countless experts. He never expected it to break like this.

At this, Bear One and Bear Two on the side burst into laughter. "Move aside, what can your little chick-like sword accomplish? Watch us."

With that, one grabbed a mace and the other a heavy hammer. They positioned themselves on either side, took a deep breath, and their muscles visibly swelled, their bodies instantly growing several sizes.

Everyone else knew the twin bears, Black and White, possessed immense strength. With their heavy weapons, even a small mountain couldn't withstand their blows. Surely, this protective barrier, no matter how powerful, couldn't endure it either.

Everyone prepared themselves, knowing that the moment the barrier broke, the Bear brothers would momentarily experience a surge of internal energy. They planned to seize that opening to snatch the immortal medicine inside.

Bear One and Bear Two stepped forward simultaneously, leaving deep footprints in the ground. The entire hall trembled slightly.

They both roared, and their mace and heavy hammer, carrying immense power, smashed directly onto the golden barrier.

The onlookers were secretly impressed. These two brothers looked like crude brutes, yet their movements were incredibly synchronized, landing their attacks on the target simultaneously with perfect precision, achieving an effect greater than the sum of their parts.

No wonder when these two brothers joined forces over the years, many enemies, even those with similar cultivation or numerical superiority, ultimately fell to them...

Before everyone could finish marveling, a deafening crash echoed, and a visible shockwave rippled outwards. Everyone circulated their energy to resist, their faces turning pale.

If even the aftershocks were so powerful, one could imagine the state of Bear One and Bear Two at the center of the impact.

With a *thud*, both spat out a mouthful of blood, then flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground and unable to get up for a long time.

Yan Xuehen, who had been observing the situation, commented softly, "It seems the magical array on this protective barrier can absorb attack power and use it for itself. Bear One and Bear Two's attacks were immensely powerful, but they were ultimately redirected by the array, causing their own force to recoil upon them. I wonder what kind of individual could have set up such an astonishing formation; it's truly admirable."

"Stop admiring and start thinking about how to break it," Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes, annoyed that the 'ice maiden' was still acting like a scholar at this moment.

Yan Xuehen's face flushed slightly. "I'm still looking."

At this point, Ma Huang, who had been silent, made his move. He abandoned the forceful methods used previously and intended to use softness to overcome hardness.

His entire body transformed into a mass of crimson blood, enveloping the golden barrier and flowing continuously over its surface, seemingly searching for any possible weak points.

Yan Xuehen couldn't help but muse, "Though these young demon juniors have ordinary cultivation levels, each of their unique skills is extraordinary. There's certainly much to learn from them."

These individuals were either eighth or ninth-grade cultivators, considered outstanding among the younger generation of demons. However, in the eyes of a Grandmaster, they were indeed just average.

Suddenly, the golden light trembled, and the crimson mass was shaken off. Ma Huang half-knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, clearly having sustained a considerable injury.

Seeing his failure, the others were dismayed. Still, not giving up, they went forward to try their own unique skills, with some even attempting to dig a tunnel underground to bypass the barrier, but all failed.

Finally, all eyes fell on Zu'an. It seemed he was the only one who hadn't made a move yet.

Zu'an slowly walked to the protective barrier, feeling the golden light flow. He gently pressed his hand against it and found that whatever force he applied, an equal force would rebound. Remembering Yan Xuehen's explanation, he knew it was impossible to break this barrier through brute force.

However, a magical array always has a core; once found, it becomes easy to target.

He scanned the surroundings, trying to find any clues. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened: he saw a jade coffin floating dozens of feet above his head!

In the dim, damp mining tunnel, Lu Ye walked forward step by step, carrying a mining basket on his back and a pickaxe in his hand.

The young man's expression was a little melancholic, his eyes focused on the empty space in front of him, as if staring at something.

To outsiders, there was nothing in front of Lu Ye, but in the young man's vision, he could see a translucent shadow.

It looked like the silhouette of a tree, hazy and indistinct, with dense foliage. Its branches forked off about a third of the way up the trunk, supporting a semi-circular canopy.

It had been over a year since Lu Ye arrived in this world called Kyushu, and he still hadn't figured out what this thing was. He only knew that when he concentrated enough, this shadow tree might appear in his vision, and no one else would notice it.

"What a miserable life," the young man sighed.

A year ago, he abruptly woke up in this unfamiliar world. Before he could even get accustomed to his surroundings, the faction he belonged to was overrun by a group of bandits. Many people were killed, and he, along with other young men and women, became captives, subsequently sent to this mine to work as lowly mining slaves.

Afterward, he learned from fragments of conversations that his faction was a sect called Xuantian Sect, affiliated with the Haotian Alliance.

The sect's name sounded grand and powerful, but in reality, it was just an obscure, minor sect.

Xuantian Sect had been conquered by Evil Moon Valley, a subordinate of the Myriad Demon Ridge.

The Haotian Alliance and Myriad Demon Ridge were the two major faction organizations in this world, both formed by countless large and small powers uniting. They constantly vied and battled, intending to completely eradicate each other, a conflict reportedly ongoing for centuries.

To Lu Ye, this struggle was simply the confrontation between the lawful and evil factions. He had just inadvertently been swept up in this great tide of conflict.

Throughout the years, the Kyushu Continent had been ravaged by war. Every year, minor factions like Xuantian Sect were uprooted, but soon more powers sprung up like mushrooms, occupying various territories and making the situation even more chaotic.

"A mining slave is a mining slave," Lu Ye consoled himself. At least he was still alive, unlike those who had been killed.

He had survived not because of any special skill, but because Evil Moon Valley needed laborers. Young individuals like Lu Ye, without any cultivation, were undoubtedly the best choice.

In fact, the mining slaves in this particular mine were not solely from Xuantian Sect; there were also disciples from other small families and minor sects.

Evil Moon Valley was not weak; over the years, they had captured many territories. The original factions in these territories were naturally destroyed, and some usable personnel were sent by Evil Moon Valley to various locations for enslavement.

Without exception, these individuals shared one characteristic: they had not yet opened their spiritual apertures and possessed no cultivation, making them easy to control.

There was a saying in Kyushu Continent: "Demons without opened apertures struggle to transform; humans without opened apertures struggle to cultivate."

To cultivate, one must open their spiritual apertures. Only by doing so does one qualify for cultivation.

Opening spiritual apertures was not a simple task. Among ordinary people, only about one in a hundred could open them after systematic training. For those from cultivation families or sects, with guidance from elders, this proportion might be higher.

Lu Ye had not managed to open his own spiritual apertures, so he could only earn a living by mining in this dim tunnel.

However, mining slaves were not without a path forward. If one successfully opened their spiritual aperture and reported it to a supervisor, they would have a chance to participate in an assessment. If they passed, they could become a disciple of Evil Moon Valley.

However, very few mining slaves managed to open their apertures. Working all day in such dim conditions, barely even getting enough to eat, how could they possibly open their apertures?

Thus, essentially ninety-nine percent of the mining slaves had resigned themselves to their fate, working hard every day just for a full meal.

Lu Ye felt no sense of belonging to Xuantian Sect. After all, when he first arrived in this world, Xuantian Sect was already destroyed, and he didn't know anyone inside the sect.

Nor did he want to become a disciple of Evil Moon Valley; it wasn't a respectable faction. Its very name gave off a sense of evil, and it was bound to fall eventually.

But he couldn't spend his entire life as a mining slave here; what kind of dignity would that be? He was, after all, an elite of the new era. What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?

So, for the past year, he had been diligently trying to open his spiritual apertures. He initially thought the shadow tree, visible only to him, might offer some miraculous assistance. Yet, even now, the shadow tree remained just a shadow, offering no help and sometimes even affecting his vision.

Lu Ye seriously wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.

Turning a bend, a faint light appeared in the distance—one of the mine tunnel's exits.

His harvest was good today. Submitting the ore in his basket should earn him three contribution points. Adding the points accumulated over the past few days, he had about twelve. Two points would get him two steamed buns, and the remaining ten would be just enough for one Blood-Essence Pill.

The Blood-Essence Pill was a very low-grade medicinal pill, not meant to directly aid in opening spiritual apertures. However, to open an aperture, one's blood and qi must be abundant. Though low-grade, the Blood-Essence Pill was perfectly suited for un-apertured individuals like Lu Ye.

Evil Moon Valley offered Blood-Essence Pills not out of benevolence, but because they understood human nature. This cheapest, lowest-grade pill could make those who held hope work even harder in the mines.

For example, Lu Ye was very diligent every day.

Thirty zhang from the mine exit, Lu Ye's gaze inadvertently flickered to a corner ahead and to his left, where a massive boulder lay across the path.

He continued walking without stopping, and only when he was about ten zhang away did he set down the mining basket on his back, tighten his grip on the pickaxe, and then take out a moderately sized stone from the basket, weighing it slightly in his hand.

The next moment, he sprinted towards the boulder. Nearing it, he slid sideways, planting one foot on the tunnel's rock wall, and used the rebound force to dive behind the boulder, like an agile cheetah.

Two figures were half-crouched behind the boulder, using it for concealment, completely unaware that someone would discover their tracks.

Hearing the movement, they saw Lu Ye and tried to get up, but it was too late.

Under their terrified gaze, Lu Ye raised his hand and threw the stone he held, hitting one of them squarely on the bridge of the nose. That person immediately screamed in agony, fell backward onto the ground, blood streaming down their face.

Lu Ye's pickaxe in his other hand struck out again but missed the second person, who reacted quickly, dodging by tilting his head.

However, Lu Ye had already rushed in front of him and kicked, directly hitting his lower abdomen. The man's face instantly contorted in pain as he flew backward, falling to his knees and spitting out a mouthful of sour liquid.

Lu Ye stepped forward, grabbed the man by the hair, recognized his face, and sneered, "I wondered who it was! So it's you two brothers!"

He knew these two; they were disciples from the Liu family. After the Liu family's territory was conquered by Evil Moon Valley, some of their younger disciples were sent here to serve as mining slaves.

Strictly speaking, Lu Ye and the two Liu brothers shared a similar fate.

The blow was severe. Liu Er (the second Liu brother) only grunted before being knocked unconscious.

Lu Ye then walked towards Liu Da (the elder Liu brother), whom he had previously injured.

Liu Da's forehead was a bloody mess, blood obscuring his vision. Vaguely seeing Lu Ye approaching, he scrambled backward, terrified: "Mercy! My brother and I didn't know it was you; we thought it was someone else! Mercy!"

The Liu brothers, lurking sneakily before the mine exit, naturally had ill intentions.

Before being captured, both of them were pampered individuals. Even as mining slaves, they were unwilling to endure hardship. However, mining slaves had a lowly status; the people of Evil Moon Valley didn't treat them as human beings. Without mining ore to exchange for contribution points, they couldn't obtain food.

Therefore, these two brothers often waited by one of the mine exits, ambushing solitary mining slaves. Many people suffered misfortune because of them, not only having their hard-mined ore stolen but also being beaten half to death.

Last time, they had tried to rob Lu Ye, but they were no match for him and got taught a lesson.

He didn't expect to encounter the two brothers again just a few days later.

Just as one rice feeds a hundred kinds of people, among the mining slaves, there were lazy good-for-nothings like the Liu brothers, and there were also dreamers like Lu Ye.

Over the past year, apart from ensuring his daily sustenance, Lu Ye had used all the contribution points he earned from mining to acquire and consume Blood-Essence Pills.

In total, he had consumed no fewer than thirty Blood-Essence Pills.

This had resulted in Lu Ye's physique being stronger than most other mining slaves. Although his build wasn't particularly bulky, the power contained within his body already surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Dealing with two lazy mining slaves was naturally no problem for him.

Liu Da was still begging for mercy, but Lu Ye ignored him, grabbed his hair, and with the stone in his other hand, smashed it down hard.

Having spent over a year as a mining slave, Lu Ye had witnessed too many tragedies and long understood one principle: in this dog-eat-dog world, any pity or sympathy was useless.

The mining slaves were not harmonious either; slaves from different factions were destined not to unite. Over a piece of good ore, they often fought until their heads bled.

People died in the mining tunnels every day. Every short distance, one could see scattered bones on the ground.

Quite a few mining slaves starved to death after being robbed.

Liu Da collapsed with a cry.

Lu Ye picked up his pickaxe, re-shouldered his mining basket, and walked towards the exit. He hadn't killed the Liu brothers, not out of soft-heartedness, but because injured mining slaves generally didn't survive long here.

He had only walked a few steps when someone suddenly rushed in from the exit, looking frantic.

"Get out of the way!" the person growled, swatting a hand towards Lu Ye.

At that instant, Lu Ye felt a chill spread through his body, for he saw a faint blue light flowing through the person's palm.

It was the light of spiritual power; in other words, the person attacking him was a cultivator!

One must open their spiritual apertures to qualify for cultivation and be called a cultivator.

A cultivator's spiritual power was an incredibly mysterious force. Lu Ye had once seen a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley in action. Although the display wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, that person had merely shattered a piece of ore with a light palm strike. It was witnessing that miraculous scene that made Lu Ye determined to open his own spiritual apertures and become a cultivator.

He had secretly estimated that even the lowest-cultivation cultivator in Evil Moon Valley could easily beat ten of him.

So, upon realizing that the person attacking him was a cultivator, Lu Ye knew he was in grave danger.

In that life-or-death crisis, he abruptly halted his steps and leaped backward.

His chest went numb, a sound of bone fracturing rang out, and Lu Ye was sent flying backward, falling to the ground.

The intense pain cleared his mind considerably. Realizing he was still alive, he immediately got up.

"Huh!" The attacking cultivator was somewhat surprised. Although he hadn't used his full strength in that palm strike and had merely struck casually, it shouldn't have been something a mining slave could withstand.

Using the dim light to make out the mining slave's face, he blurted out, "Lu Ye?"

Lu Ye had already positioned himself to turn and flee. Upon hearing the voice, he was utterly astonished: "Supervisor Yang?"

This cultivator, surnamed Yang, was a minor supervisor at the mine. Lu Ye often dealt with him because he exchanged for Blood-Essence Pills from him, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Supervisor Yang thought highly of Lu Ye; after all, resilient and hardworking mining slaves like him were rare.

However, despite being highly regarded, there were no special privileges. As long as he hadn't opened his spiritual apertures, there was an unbridgeable gap between a mortal like Lu Ye and a cultivator.

After recognizing Lu Ye, Supervisor Yang was relieved that his palm strike hadn't killed him. Lu Ye had exchanged for many Blood-Essence Pills from him over the past year, so his physical fitness was already stronger than average mining slaves. Moreover, it was just a casual strike, not intended to kill, so it wasn't surprising that Lu Ye survived.

Facing Supervisor Yang, Lu Ye's heart pounded.

Cultivators from Evil Moon Valley generally paid no mind to the life or death of mining slaves. They knew that fights and brawls frequently occurred among slaves in the mine, and unless they witnessed one, they usually ignored them.

Lu Ye had just beaten the Liu brothers until their heads bled and they collapsed, and then Supervisor Yang struck him with a palm. In Lu Ye's view, this was clearly Supervisor Yang teaching him a lesson.

However, he quickly realized something was off, because Supervisor Yang had rushed in looking frantic, not like someone coming to defend the Liu brothers.