Chapter 646: Spirit Shell Mine

"It's clear the Ye family has discovered some cultivation resource, likely a second-tier material for refining artifacts. Their purchase of second-tier flying talismans is intended to shorten the transport time for these resources. Hiding the entire reef with a formation clearly shows they have something to conceal. I think we should send people to attack that reef to see what cultivation resource it is. However, we must ensure a clean job, leaving no loose ends, otherwise it will be very troublesome."Zhao Zheng voiced his opinion.

"Uncle is right," Wang Qiuyan suggested. "We've just acquired a batch of second-tier spirit beasts. We can use them to scout the reef first. If it truly is a cultivation resource, we'll eliminate the Ye family disciples guarding the reef, then unleash the spirit beasts to destroy the Ye family on Octopus Island, creating the illusion of a beast attack. Such incidents are not uncommon in the Coral Sea." He then added, "Should we inform Seventh Uncle? If he gets involved, success is guaranteed."

Normally, Wang Qiuyan wouldn't participate in such a mission, but he had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation. He needed more experience to break through it, and continued cultivation on Sea Cucumber Island alone made it difficult to resolve.

Wang Qiufeng shook his head. "This is a minor matter; we shouldn't bother Seventh Uncle. If he had to handle everything, what would be our purpose? Uncle, Qiuyan, take three Foundation Establishment cultivators and thirty Qi Refining cultivators to the reef Tianqi mentioned. Eliminate the Ye family cultivators there, then proceed to wipe out the Ye family. If the cultivation resource isn't particularly valuable, Uncle, you will lead the team and be solely responsible for the operation's specifics."

"Yes, Patriarch," they responded.An hour later, over thirty Wang family cultivators departed Sea Cucumber Island, flying towards a certain reef under the cover of night.

Comprising three Foundation Establishment cultivators and thirty Qi Refining cultivators, they also brought over forty second-tier puppet beasts. The Ye family, with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator, stood no chance of resisting.

A month later, they reached their destination. Below them stretched the deep blue sea, seemingly without any abnormalities.Wang Tianqi had sent two clan members from the intelligence hall to accompany them. They pointed to the water below and said, "This is the place."

For this mission, they had changed into casual clothes and donned ghost masks. This ensured that even if any survivors escaped, they wouldn't connect the attack to the Wang family.

"Attack!" Zhao Zheng commanded coldly, conjuring a yellow seal. It instantly expanded and crashed downwards.The others promptly cast spells or unleashed their artifacts, targeting the area where the yellow seal struck.Immediately, various colored spell lights flashed, and continuous roars echoed.

Boom!Under the powerful assault, the formation quickly shattered, and a dozen Ye family cultivators rushed out, the highest among them only at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Follow me and attack!" Zhao Zheng led the group in assaulting the Ye family cultivators.The Ye family cultivators had little to no resistance. The artifacts unleashed by the Foundation Establishment cultivators instantly shattered their defenses, severing their heads.In less than fifteen minutes, the battle concluded, with no island-dwelling cultivators escaping.

Zhao Zheng led a team of cultivators swiftly towards a valley.At the end of the valley was a cave entrance several yards wide. The cave was somewhat rugged, but they soon reached its end, where a massive underground lake, hundreds of yards wide, appeared before them.

Zhao Zheng instructed several clan members who cultivated water-attribute techniques to jump into the lake and investigate the underwater conditions.

After a tea's time, two clan members surfaced, excitedly exclaiming, "It's a spirit shell mine! This place leads to another cavern, and there's a spirit shell mine there. It looks like they've already extracted quite a bit."

"A spirit shell mine?" Zhao Zheng's eyes brightened, and his breathing grew heavier.

While spirit stones are the primary currency in the cultivation world, the South Sea cultivation world uses spirit shells as an additional form of currency.A low-grade spirit shell contains roughly the same amount of spiritual energy as a low-grade spirit stone. Spirit shells can slowly absorb spiritual energy and be reused, though this process takes a long time, ranging from several centuries to thousands of years.Major sects would bury exhausted spirit shells to serve as reserve spiritual veins. After several hundred or even a thousand years, these spirit shells would reabsorb spiritual energy and could then be excavated and used again.

No wonder the Ye family had suddenly grown wealthy; they had discovered a spirit shell mine. It was unknown how large the quantity was.

"Qiuyan, take half the forces and guard this place. I'll take the rest to eliminate the Ye family. This news must not leak out."Wang Changsheng was not on Sea Cucumber Island. If other powers learned about the spirit shell mine, it would be difficult for the Wang family to secure it. After all, for wealth, even Core Formation cultivators might resort to killing for treasure, unlike in the Eastern Barrens where high-level cultivators couldn't casually attack lower-level cultivators due to the demonic beast threat.

"Yes, Uncle."Zhao Zheng left half the force behind and led the other half towards the Ye family's base.

Ye Xiang'an was the Ye family's highest-cultivated immortal, at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. The clan had fewer than fifty cultivators in total.Over a hundred years ago, the Ye family boasted five Foundation Establishment cultivators and over a hundred overall. However, they suffered heavy losses during a minor beast tide, and to this day, only one Foundation Establishment cultivator remained in the Ye family.

The Ye family was too weak. Many powers coveted them, and if they hadn't sought refuge under the Wang family on Sea Cucumber Island, they would have been swallowed whole long ago.

Ye Xiang'an naturally understood that the Wang family wasn't benevolent either. It was out of desperation that the Ye family sought their protection, offering annual tributes in exchange for peace.

By chance, a Ye family disciple discovered a small spirit shell mine while evading an evil cultivator. The mine's location was quite hidden, buried deep underground; otherwise, it would have been found much earlier.

Ye Xiang'an believed this was a blessing from his ancestors. He dispatched over a dozen clan members to guard it and began purchasing various cultivation resources to strengthen the family. To avoid detection, those acquiring supplies would buy items separately, with each person purchasing only small quantities.

If all went well, the Ye family's strength would double in less than a decade.Of course, he had also prepared a contingency: he sent several promising clan members to another sea region. If the Ye family were to be annihilated because of the spirit shell mine, their bloodline would still be preserved.

On this particular day, as he was cultivating in his secret chamber, a sound transmission talisman suddenly flew in.

"This is bad, Third Uncle! A beast tide! Several second-tier demonic crabs are suddenly attacking Octopus Island, and we can barely hold them off!"A formation not controlled by a Foundation Establishment cultivator simply could not withstand the attacks of multiple second-tier demonic beasts.

Ye Xiang'an's face turned grim. There were no second-tier demonic beasts typically found near Octopus Island! For no apparent reason, second-tier demonic beasts had suddenly launched an assault on Octopus Island.

Being old and wise, Ye Xiang'an's intuition told him that the secret of the spirit shell mine had likely been exposed, and the attackers intended to silence them.

He quickly exited his secret chamber and found a resolute middle-aged man standing outside.

Several massive red crabs were frantically attacking the island's protective formation, spewing thick crimson flames onto its barrier.

"Wenbo, take Yun'er and the others and leave. Those who come uninvited mean no good. There's no beast tide; the spirit shell mine's secret has been exposed. You must preserve some of our family's bloodline. Do not seek revenge unless you have the strength to do so. Just live well."

Before Ye Wenbo could finish speaking, Ye Xiang'an slapped him and said coldly, "If I don't die, will they be at ease? Take these spirit shells, which we've mined recently. Don't return to the Coral Sea unless you have the strength to exact revenge. There's a small teleportation array in the ancestral hall; use it to leave. Go quickly!"

Ye Wenbo's eyes were red. He took the storage pearl from Ye Xiang'an, kowtowed to him several times, and then turned and left.