Ling Tian continued his descent into the well. After more than half an hour, the concentration of Yin Sha here became even more intense, even forming localized clusters.
Whenever he encountered such an area, Ling Tian would stop, sit cross-legged, place his left hand on his chest, and the Ling Jing Zhi Shi in his hand would begin to absorb the Yin Sha and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
After about ten minutes, when most of the Yin Sha in the area had been absorbed, Ling Tian stood up and continued inward.
If the Ling Jing Zhi Shi had not been bound to Ling Tian, making them one, Ling Tian would likely not have been able to hold onto it, as it would have long since flown out of his grasp.
The deeper he went, the more Ling Tian felt a sense of dread. This mountain contained not only a main mining tunnel but also many branches.
The caves within were interconnected, feeling almost like the meridians of the human body.
After more than two hours of descending, the mine tunnel before him changed. The traces of artificial excavation gradually disappeared. Ling Tian knew that this must be an unexploited area, a purely natural ore cave.
Ling Tian had already activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability. He could even see jade ore deposits of various sizes embedded in the walls and ground around him.
As Ling Tian walked through the mine, he directly collected any jade ore deposits that were within the control range of his Ling Jing space.
Ling Tian walked inward for another hour, and the path suddenly opened up. What appeared before Ling Tian was a massive natural cave.
Inside this cave, the ground was covered with rubble, much of which was high-quality Ink Jade.
The concentration of spiritual energy in this cave was exceptionally high, even higher than in his own home after setting up a spirit gathering formation.
At the same time, the Yin Sha here was also unusually fierce, with masses of black shadows flitting about, filling the entire underground space.
These Yin Sha, upon detecting Ling Tian's presence, lunged towards him.
It wasn't that these entities possessed intelligence, but rather because Ling Tian was a living being with body heat, and Yin Sha seemed to inherently dislike warm creatures.
However, as soon as these Yin Sha approached Ling Tian, they were directly absorbed by the Ling Jing Zhi Shi in his left hand. These things didn't even have a chance to touch a single hair on Ling Tian.
During this process, Ling Tian even felt an emotion conveyed by the Ling Jing Zhi Shi, an emotion that could be summarized with one word: satisfaction!
Ling Tian took out his compass and paced around the underground space. He was calculating his precise location. Once he pinpointed it, he could have the Zhuo family dig two vertical shafts from the surface, allowing sunlight to shine directly down, which would resolve the strange situation in the mine.
Just then, a voice suddenly reached Ling Tian's ears. The voice was piercing, like a rusty iron pot scraping against the ground.
"Kid, who are you? Give me what you have in your hand!"
Considering that this vast underground space was enclosed and dim, with only the sound of the wind from the Yin Sha swirling in the air, the sudden appearance of a human voice startled Ling Tian.
In a flash, Ling Tian's thoughts moved, and the Ling Jing Zhi Shi in his left hand suddenly vanished. At the same time, the vortex absorbing spiritual energy stopped, and a large amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy and Yin Sha that had not been absorbed instantly diffused outwards, causing gusts of wind.
Ling Tian looked in the direction of the voice and saw a person standing a few dozen meters away.
Using his Qi-observing technique, Ling Tian finally got a clear look. It was a man, about 1.7 meters tall, and very thin.
As the man approached and Ling Tian saw his face, he was immediately shocked.
"You're Luo Yaozu!"
Ling Tian was surprised because this person named Luo Yaozu had gone missing in this mine over two weeks ago.
The mine had organized multiple search and rescue operations afterward, but they had found no trace of him.
In two weeks, the temperature in this mine was very low, and there was no supply. Let alone surviving, even a corpse would have been turned into a zombie by the cold wind.
Yet, this person was alive now!
Ling Tian had just finished reviewing the relevant information from the mine the previous night, and he had all the details about the casualties memorized.
"Heh heh, you still remember my name. I'm truly touched. However, since you've seen me, you'll stay here with me.
Quickly, hand over what you have, or I'll kill you and take that thing!"
Ling Tian carefully observed Luo Yaozu, only to find that the man's eyes were emitting red light!
Looking further at the man, Ling Tian could see swirling masses of black energy surrounding him!
Ling Tian could confirm that this was different from the vengeful spirit of Daoist Master Hu he had encountered before; the person before him was a living being.
However, this person was no ordinary individual, but a cultivator, or rather, a demonic cultivator!
Demonic cultivators were akin to heretical paths among Dao cultivators. They practiced various evil techniques, possessed eccentric and violent personalities, and completely disregarded the lives of others. Such people were extremely dangerous, and encountering them usually meant one's life was on a countdown!
Ling Tian never expected that Luo Yaozu would impersonate a miner and, from the looks of it, had directly settled down in the mine.
Now Ling Tian could even assert that the disappearances and even deaths of other miners were entirely due to this person's machinations!
As for the motive, it was also quite clear. The underground jade mine was rich in spiritual energy and filled with Yin Sha, which was a veritable treasure trove for demonic cultivators, not an exaggeration to call it a blessed land.
Luo Yaozu had discovered this excellent spot and wanted to claim it for his cultivation. If the mine continued its normal operations, he would not be able to achieve his goal.
Therefore, by exploiting the complex geological conditions of the mine, he created accidents and mishaps, which were very easy for a demonic cultivator like Luo Yaozu.
His scheme had initially succeeded. The entire mine had been shut down for over a week, and no miners were willing to continue extracting jade.
Then, this fellow began to cultivate diligently in the mine. In just over a week, his cultivation had surged, and he had even broken through!
What Luo Yaozu himself hadn't expected was that his actions would attract a young man, and moreover, a young man with cultivation.
He had initially intended to approach stealthily and launch a surprise attack on Ling Tian. For these scum living in darkness, a surprise attack was undoubtedly the most energy-efficient method.
But at that very moment, Luo Yaozu spotted the Ling Jing Zhi Shi in Ling Tian's hand.
This small item could absorb so much spiritual power. Although he didn't know what it was, he knew it was definitely a good thing!