Chapter 177: Ghost Mine

In front of the collapsed mine shaft, fifty to sixty corpses lay strewn across the ground. All of them had ashen faces and wide, staring eyes. Experienced ore miners, though outwardly calm, kept their distance, circling far around; not a single person dared to approach. The entire Fifteenth Mining Zone was in a state of terror. Everyone had retreated, and most were trembling with fear.

Wisps of gray mist seeped out from the mine shaft, and even from a distance, a sense of oppression could be felt. "This is truly hellish..." Ye Fan muttered to himself. He had long known that such occurrences occasionally happened in ore mines, but experiencing it firsthand still surprised him.

An old miner who had worked there for years showed concern in his eyes. He said, "I have a premonition that this demonic entity might be quite extraordinary." Soon after, cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land arrived. Several middle-aged men led them. "Who was mining in that shaft? Are there any survivors?" a middle-aged man asked. "I was working above the shaft," a young worker replied, looking very nervous. "Are there others?" the middle-aged man asked again. Six or seven more people then came forward, each of them terrified. "What did you see?" the middle-aged cultivator inquired. "We didn't see anything, only heard screams from inside, and then we fled." "Where is Senior Brother Qin? Wasn't he on patrol here?" The middle-aged man frowned. "That elder also fell in the mine shaft." "What?" The middle-aged man's eyes widened. "Senior Brother Qin met with disaster?"

"Yes..." The miner replied nervously. "Initially, it seemed like something was discovered below. That elder was informed and went down to investigate himself. Then, the evil incident occurred, and everyone died."

Another person standing nearby added, "Fortunately, we ran fast enough; otherwise, even standing by the shaft, we wouldn't have survived." He didn't need to say it; everyone could see the fifty to sixty corpses by the shaft entrance.

The middle-aged cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land exchanged glances and frowned. This was the last thing they wanted to see happen; an ore mine becoming possessed by evil spirits was extremely dangerous.

Gray mist permeated the shaft entrance, appearing eerie and unsettling.

"Could they have dug up something living?" one of the middle-aged men remarked.

Hearing this, everyone's expression changed. If that were the case, it would surely be a sign of great misfortune.

"It's said that not long ago, the Shan family unearthed a 'ghost mine,' bringing out several bleeding bones, which resulted in many deaths."

The conversation among the middle-aged cultivators stirred something in Ye Fan's heart. Underground ore veins were filled with mystery and the unknown.

"I'll capture a wisp of the gray mist to see what it is," one of the middle-aged men said. He opened his mouth and spat out a small, thumb-sized silver flask, which transformed into a silver ray, flying forward and emitting a soft halo as it began to absorb the gray mist. Crack!

To everyone's astonishment, as soon as a wisp of gray mist entered it, the silver flask cracked and shattered, losing its luster and falling to the ground. "This is..." The middle-aged man froze in place.

"A weapon consecrated by a cultivator from the Dao Palace Secret Realm couldn't withstand a single wisp of gray mist? What exactly is this?" Everyone was greatly astonished.

All the middle-aged men looked grim. This incident was unusual, leaving them feeling completely uncertain. A full hour passed before the gray mist completely dispersed and vanished into the air. Shortly after, a chicken was thrown into the mine shaft. It crowed continuously, and after a long time, the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not as bad as we imagined," they said. "It seems to be merely a malevolent aura, not a ghost mine."

Several middle-aged cultivators walked forward, followed by a dozen young disciples. They stood at the shaft entrance, examining each corpse, then peered down into the shaft. "Take all these bodies away and bury them in an abandoned mine," one middle-aged cultivator commanded. All the miners recoiled together; no one wanted to touch those who had died mysteriously. Seeing this, the middle-aged cultivator frowned and said, "The malevolent aura has dispersed; there's no danger." Despite their fear, many miners reluctantly moved the dozens of corpses and threw them into an abandoned mine. At that moment, several middle-aged cultivators conferred, preparing to go down into the shaft themselves to inspect. "Why don't we have them clear out the bodies inside first, and then we'll go down?" one middle-aged cultivator suggested, glancing at the surrounding miners. The people nearby instantly felt a chill and retreated, trembling. "What are you afraid of? That chicken is fine, which means it's safe inside. You're all acting like cowards!"

Hearing this, Ye Fan felt like spitting in his face. If they weren't afraid, why didn't they go in themselves instead of making the miners go first to scout the way?

A young disciple from the Shaking Light Holy Land personally stepped forward to select people. Unfortunately, Ye Fan was chosen and forced to descend into the shaft to move the corpses.

Inside the mine shaft, it was dim; even torches could barely illuminate it completely. Corpses lay haphazardly on the ground. Some timid miners, seeing this sight, immediately trembled.

Ahead, faint points of light appeared. A source stone, the size of a human head, glowed brightly, embedded in the earth and rocks. A fifty-something-year-old cultivator lay stiffly there, having been dead for a long time. "The problem is here..." Ye Fan carefully approached, and after seeing everything clearly, he gasped sharply.

Inside that head-sized source stone, there was actually a claw, similar to a human hand but covered in many one-inch long red hairs, even on the palm, making it look quite hideous. "This is at least a creature from primeval times..." Ye Fan was astonished. "Ghost claw!" "Monster!" Everyone around screamed. Ye Fan extended his divine sense, examined it carefully, and his expression changed again.

This was originally a massive boulder, split open by the miners, which revealed the source stone. Within the rock layers, there were bone patterns connected to this source stone. "This..." He couldn't help but be shocked. This must be a fossil, with only the hand preserved perfectly by the source stone; all other parts had turned into stone bones. "This should be a humanoid creature... no, it even has bat wings!" A humanoid creature with wings definitely isn't human. At this point, he also understood why there was gray mist and why so many people had died.

When the miners chiseled through the boulder, a corner of this source stone was damaged, exposing a bit of flesh from the hand to the air. It shriveled, and thus the gray mist was produced.

"What kind of terrifying creature is this? A small piece of flesh, rotting in the air, could possess such dreadful power, and a mere wisp of gray mist shattered a weapon from a Dao Palace Secret Realm cultivator. It's unimaginable!" Ye Fan was horrified.

The only comforting thing was that this source stone was extraordinary. It shimmered with brilliant light, autonomously gathering the essence of heaven and earth, and its damaged section was already sealed by the radiating light.

At this moment, the cultivators from above also flew in. Their spiritual senses were keen, perceiving no danger below, and they no longer felt apprehensive.

"This is... a claw with flesh and blood!"

Several middle-aged cultivators exclaimed in alarm on the spot.

"A few years ago, a severed arm was unearthed, also sealed within a source stone, and sent back to the Holy Land. The Grand Elder once stated that any discovery of such flesh and blood must be reported immediately, as it is likely of great importance."

These cultivators carefully cleared away the rocks, moving the source stone and the massive boulder together to the surface.

The Grand Elder of the Shaking Light Holy Land was alerted and personally came to the site. He carefully examined the hand and repeatedly inspected the humanoid markings on the boulder. "Incredible!" He seemed greatly surprised. "What kind of creature is this?" a young disciple nearby cautiously asked. "Ancient..." The Grand Elder only uttered two words before abruptly stopping.

Clearly, the Grand Elder was deeply unsettled. It was a long time before he finally let out a sigh, then with a wave of his sleeve, he put away the head-sized source stone and the massive boulder. "Continue digging here. If you find anything new, report it to me immediately. This matter is of great importance, and I will record a great merit for you." He spoke solemnly, then vanished in an instant. "Why didn't the Grand Elder elaborate on what kind of creature that was?" "It's at least a creature from primeval times, seemingly extremely terrifying and powerful." "Were humans even around at that time, and what was their status?"

The questions of the young disciples from the Shaking Light Holy Land were also Ye Fan's own. He desperately wanted to know the answer.

"Could they possibly research some secret arts or divine powers from that claw?" "It's hard to say. If it was a sufficiently powerful creature, that hand might indeed be an invaluable treasure." Several middle-aged cultivators also whispered among themselves. "Even the most prominent figures in our Shaking Light Holy Land probably don't fully understand." "In this day and age, perhaps only the Primordial Ancient Mine holds the answers. There, something might be alive from the peerless Divine Source..."

"Stop talking about it. The Primordial Ancient Mine is a forbidden place; you mustn't speak carelessly about it in the ore mining zone."

The Primordial Ancient Mine, located at the very center of this region, was surrounded by the ore zones of all major Holy Lands. No one dared to explore it; it was an ominous place. For several consecutive days, seven or eight abandoned shafts were dug, but not a single source stone was unearthed. Ye Fan secretly sighed at the bad luck; he had hoped to line his own pockets. Other miners, however, felt fortunate, as no misfortune had befallen them these past few days, and no 'ghost mines' had been unearthed. Just as people thought the disturbance was over, on the seventh day, a scream suddenly came from inside a mine shaft. "What happened?" the cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land shouted from the surface.

For the past few days, they had remained in this mining area, never leaving. They dared not be careless with the task entrusted by the Grand Elder. "Bones! We've found a lot of bones!" The people below were greatly alarmed.

Upon hearing the news, people in other mine shafts within this zone immediately rushed out and began fleeing into the distance.

Miners frequently encountered strange and evil occurrences; at the slightest disturbance, they would prioritize self-preservation. The Fifteenth Mining Zone was in chaos.

Ye Fan finally understood why few miners could live for ten years; with demonic incidents occurring every few days, even cultivators wouldn't survive a decade. "What's going on? Usually, strange things don't happen even once a year, but how come it's been so frequent these past few days?" Several experienced elder miners all developed a bad premonition.

"I think unearthing that claw last time wasn't the end, but just the beginning. This mining area is likely a 'ghost mine,' and something monstrous is about to appear." "I have the same premonition; something big is definitely going to happen." "It's said that the Primordial Ancient Mine hasn't been peaceful this past year. This is probably a sign of great catastrophe."

Ye Fan's heart chilled. He felt that these elder miners, having faced such things for so long, must possess an instinctive spiritual perception, and their premonition was very likely to come true. "No need to run! It's just dry bones; there's no danger. Everyone, quickly come back and let's dig open this place thoroughly."

The cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land ordered everyone to return, concentrating all available manpower to begin excavating the deep mine shaft.

To encourage everyone, they personally entered the mine shaft to direct the work on site.

However, after witnessing everything below with their own eyes, they also gasped sharply.

There were endless fossilized bones, too numerous to count.

Every time a rock was broken, large quantities of bones were revealed inside, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.

Eventually, there were no longer any ordinary rocks, only stone bones. The place was like a burial pit.

Even the cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land felt a chill down their spines; the atmosphere here was very wrong, growing increasingly eerie and cold. Just then, someone shrieked, "We've dug up blood!" In an instant, screams erupted one after another, and over a hundred people died on the spot. "Oh my God... a ghost mine, an immense evil!" "I saw it, oh my God!" At that moment, both Ye Fan and the cultivators from the Shaking Light Holy Land were horrified.