Chapter 59: “Run!!!”
This place had been discovered by Qiu Qianhai a couple of days ago.
He had found that the Cold Iron Sand in the waters around this area was much more abundant than in other places.
Anyone with a bit of mining experience could guess that there must be a Cold Cavern nearby when encountering such a situation.
And it was a Dead Cavern!
As for how he could tell it was a Dead Cavern… because a living Cold Cavern would emanate a chilling aura detectable from a mile away.
To locate a Dead Cavern, one first needed to find a spot where the Cold Iron Sand was richer than elsewhere.
For an ordinary miner, only the most experienced veterans might notice even the slightest abnormality.
But in front of Qiu Qianhai, who possessed the mysterious finger bone, these things were no problem at all.
Just a few days ago, he had been nagging Ji Yuan, saying that finding a Dead Cavern was like taking candy from a baby for him.
And now, he had indeed found a promising sign… In other places, he could dig at most three and a half pound of Cold Iron Sand.
But here, he could easily dig out four pound without much effort.
Because of this, Qiu Qianhai was convinced that there was definitely an undiscovered Dead Cavern nearby.
Since it was undiscovered, it must have been completely blocked at both ends, with a thick layer of mud and sand covering the surface.
Ji Yuan and Qiu Qianhai had wandered around this area for two days, eliminating several locations.
Now, there was only one spot left.
After the two of them used their techniques to disperse three meters of mud and sand, they indeed found a slope made of pitch-black piled stones.
Qiu Qianhai located a depression, and the moment he took out the finger bone, it lit up with a blue ghostly glow.
Moreover, the closer it got to the stone slope, the brighter the glow became.
This basically confirmed it—the Dead Cavern was right here!
Facing the collapsed boulders, Qiu Qianhai first tried to manipulate them with the Object Manipulation Technique, but they didn’t budge at all.
Ji Yuan stayed on high alert, watching the surroundings.
It was already late, and the underwater environment was even darker.
The Yunyu Marshlands at night were far more dangerous than during the day.
Many fierce Spiritual Fish and aquatic beasts only came out to roam at night.
Moreover, cultivators had limited visibility underwater, adding even more danger… but Ji Yuan had already prepared for this.
He had brought plenty of Night Vision Talismans, all of them basic Tier-1 Lower-Grade talismans, which he used effortlessly.
After waiting for a while, Qiu Qianhai tried various techniques like the Water Arrow Technique and the “Thousand Blades of Water Technique” that he specialized in, but none of them managed to break open the collapsed boulders to create an entrance to the Dead Cavern.
Which made sense, given the sheer size of the boulders.
Plus, this place was close to the Cold Iron Sand vein. Even the outer rocks here were much harder than ordinary stones.
Seeing Qiu Qianhai still staring at the Dead Cavern in a daze, Ji Yuan thought for a moment, then stepped forward and patted his shoulder, signaling with a few hand gestures.
He was telling Qiu Qianhai to keep watch while he gave it a try.
Ji Yuan stepped forward and examined the massive rocks.
Moving them was clearly out of the question, so the only option was to find a weak spot and carve a small tunnel to squeeze through.
Fortunately, Qiu Qianhai had already found such a spot.
In the crevice between several large boulders, there were marks everywhere from where he had slashed with his artifact blade.
Ji Yuan’s first thought was to summon his White Water Flying Sword.
Once in the water, the flying sword returned to its normal size and slashed forward.
Though it didn’t slice through like cutting tofu, it did manage to dig two fingers’ width into the stone.
There was hope!
After all, the White Water Flying Sword was a Mid-Grade Artifact, and it had some cutting power on stone.
Qiu Qianhai’s eyes lit up, but Ji Yuan still felt it was too slow.
It was already dark, and if they didn’t hurry, who knew how long it would take just to open an entrance.
While Ji Yuan was contemplating, a flash of inspiration struck him.
He flipped his hand, and the Heart-Guard Mirror he had obtained from Xiong Youfu appeared in his hand.
Though this was just a Lower-Grade Artifact, as long as it was infused with spiritual energy, it could emit a powerful spiritual light.
“This should work, this should work,” Qiu Qianhai muttered excitedly.
Ji Yuan responded with a soft “Mm,” then floated up slightly, holding the Heart-Guard Mirror aimed at the gap at the bottom.
Spiritual energy surged into it.
Even for a sixth-layer Water Element Qi Refining cultivator known for his deep reserves of spiritual energy, it took a full third of his energy to fully charge the Heart-Guard Mirror.
Then, with a thought, he activated it.
In an instant, a thick white beam of spiritual light shot out from the Heart-Guard Mirror, blasting directly into the gap.
“Boom—”
A loud explosion followed, accompanied by a powerful surge of water.
Even though Ji Yuan had raised several Water Shields, he was still pushed back several meters before stabilizing himself. He quickly scanned the surrounding waters.
Fortunately, the water resistance here was massive.
The water surge didn’t travel far before it dissipated.
“Go!”
Qiu Qianhai took the lead, quickly rushing toward the Dead Cavern.
Ji Yuan followed closely behind. Sure enough, at the bottom, they found a pitch-black cave entrance.
Qiu Qianhai instinctively wanted to jump in, but Ji Yuan quickly grabbed him and shook his head slowly.
“Mm!”
Qiu Qianhai understood.
He summoned a piece of White Bone Turtle Shell to protect his front and then called out his Crescent Moon Scimitar.
Ji Yuan placed another Night Vision Talisman on him, and only then did Qiu Qianhai leap into the cave and disappear.
It was standard practice for one person to enter while the other stood guard.
All the more so since this was an underwater cave. If no one was watching the entrance and a beast or other miners came along…
They would be doomed if caught off guard.
Ji Yuan summoned the Black Wind Boat, sat cross-legged on it, and waited silently.
If anything happened, he could immediately take Qiu Qianhai and retreat.
After the time it took to burn one incense stick, Ji Yuan felt somewhat pleased, estimating that there must be a good amount of Cold Iron Sand inside.
After the time for two incense sticks had passed, Ji Yuan felt even more delighted—the Cold Iron Sand must be plentiful.
But when three incense sticks’ worth of time had gone by, Ji Yuan started to feel uneasy.
Something felt off. Could something have gone wrong?
Why else would it be taking so long?
Just as he was considering whether to go down himself, he suddenly sensed a wave of spiritual energy emanating from the Dead Cavern, accompanied by strange noises.
Ji Yuan immediately stood up. His White Water Flying Sword shot out, and he saw Qiu Qianhai bursting out from the Dead Cavern.
Not only that, but it seemed like something massive was chasing him.
Without a second thought, Ji Yuan’s White Water Flying Sword surged forward, carrying the momentum of “Entangling Waves.”
Using Entangling Waves in the water yielded twice the results with half the effort.
As soon as the creature emerged from the cave, its speed noticeably slowed, giving Ji Yuan a clear look at its appearance.
It was a giant crab the size of a millstone, its entire body covered in black-gray armor. Thick stone armor grew on its claws and shell.
Its two eyes glowed blood red.
It looked as if it was about to devour them alive.
Damn it, even if this wasn’t a high-level beast, it was close enough… Ji Yuan raised his hand and fired nearly ten Water Droplet Strikes.
The stone crab swung its claws, blocking most of them, but two still hit its weaker spots.
With a painful shriek, the stone crab immediately retreated back into the cave.
Ji Yuan seized the moment, grabbed Qiu Qianhai by the collar, and flung him onto the Black Wind Boat.
“Run!!!”