Mu Xingran: If this kind of ore is useful to you, you can take it with you when you're cleaning it. There's so much here, I can't use it all by myself.

Shen Jue was very happy after receiving the instructions. Xing Ran is such a good person.

She was the one purifying the ore resources, so cleaning up the evolved ore resources was just a piece of cake for her. It was practically a freebie.

Shen Jue and Mu Xingran worked together to clear the second wave of caves.

Balsa: We've found a kind of ore here, it's all black and doesn't look quite right.

Since Shen Jue was free, she would frequently check the chat interface to let them know if Balsa encountered any danger, so they could be informed in time and rush to the rescue.

After seeing the message Balsa sent them, Shen Jue roughly understood that the ore Balsa was talking about must be the same as the ore they had encountered. However, Sister Xingran had said that ore that had not been purified should never be touched, because that black aura was death aura.

Shortly after Balsa sent the message, Shen Jue replied immediately, telling them not to touch the black ore.

Although Balsa was puzzled, he still listened to Shen Jue's advice and did not touch the ores.

However, Balsa and Yang, who arrived later, did not encounter it, but Kleedo, who discovered the black ore first, did.

Balsa: What would have happened if Crito had touched him? But he only touched him once, and immediately stopped because he felt uncomfortable.

Mu Xingran: Those black ores are the source of the mutation. The black aura emanating from them is death energy, which continuously merges into the seawater. With our current physical condition, we can still withstand it, but if our bodies come into direct contact with these black ores for an extended period, some mutations will occur in our bodies. Fortunately, he only touched it briefly and luckily escaped death. Where are you now?

Balsa passed their position to Shen Jue.

When Shen Jue opened the door, he found that Balsa and the others were not far in front of him. Could it be that the cave they entered was connected to the cave Balsa had discovered?

Shen Jue told Mu Xingran about this doubt, and Mu Xingran did a simple calculation and found that it was indeed true.

Shen Jue immediately replied to them.

Shen Jue: You guys stay there and don't move. Xingran and I will come find you in a bit. If Master Krido feels unwell, you must tell us.

The reply was three "okay".

Mu Xingran was getting anxious. She needed to speed things up, but purifying these ores on her own wasn't enough. She needed Shen Jue's help.

So, Mu Xingran took out two more small balls and handed them to Shen Jue.

Mu Xingran: The blue one is an energy ball, and the white one is a purification ball. Try using your mental power to control the energy of the energy ball, and then use that energy to activate the power of the purification ball to purify this source of mutation with me.

Shen Jue: Okay, I'll give it a try.

Forced into this situation, Shen Jue looked at the two balls in her hands and tried to connect them with her mental energy.

Thank goodness, thanks to the Qi sensation she had been cultivating, she was able to connect with the blue energy ball immediately.

Shen Jue immediately manipulated his mental power, using the energy of the energy ball to activate the purification ball. The purification ball emitted a faint halo, indicating that the initial connection was successful and it could be used for the first time.

Compared to Xing Ran in front, the small purification ball activated by Shen Jue was truly insignificant.

Mu Xingran was surrounded by a hazy halo, which was a continuous source of purifying power that spread from her to the surrounding minerals.

Then, visible to the naked eye, the black mist was rapidly disappearing, eventually turning into clean and clear ore.

However, Mu Xingran needs to rest after each use of her purification power.

The purification process was fast, but the rest period was a bit long. It was probably for this reason that Mu Xingran resorted to this desperate measure and asked Shen Jue for help.

It must be said that with Shen Jue's addition, their speed in purifying and cleaning the ore has increased significantly, and they are advancing towards Klido at a straight-line speed.

Five minutes later, Shen Jue and Mu Xingran successfully purified the ore in the cave in front of them. After exiting the cave, they swam in and saw Balsacrido and the others very close by.

Holding the pearls in their hands, they had to keep moving slightly among the sharp minerals to avoid accidentally getting their hands on the mutated minerals.

After Shen Jue and Mu Xingran pushed their way through and purified the ores, they discovered that there was another opening behind Kleedo, and the opening was very small.

It's unbelievable that Klee and his group were able to enter and exit this small hole and arrive at the safe zone of the central ore mine unscathed.

Before they could even chat, Mu Xingran swam over and cleansed Kleedo, removing his negative status.

After the purification, Kleedo's headache, blurred vision, and dizziness disappeared.

He instantly returned to normal; he had truly survived a great calamity and was destined for good fortune.

From then on, Kleedo gained another valuable piece of advice about seafaring: never touch anything you don't understand.

Having exhausted a great deal of energy, Mu Xingran immediately sat down on the clearing ground that Shen Jue had purified and rested for a while.

The others watched as Shen Jue skillfully manipulated the energy ball. Even though they couldn't speak, they couldn't hide the shock in their eyes when they looked at each other, especially Balsa.

She had asked Xingran for this before and tried to connect, but it didn't work at all; the two balls wouldn't obey her commands.

Looking at that perfectly controlled energy ball, hitting exactly where you point it, well, this is another naturally gifted player. Talent is something you can't envy.

After Mu Xingran rested, the rest of the process went much faster. With the cooperation of Shen Jue and Mu Xingran, the remaining cave ores were purified one by one.

After the last piece of ore carrying the source of the mutation was purified.

Mu Xingran sensed it again, and this time, there was no foul aura.

It seems that the root cause of this problem has been completely resolved.

[The Secret of the Black Sea - Strange Ore in the Cave: Quest progress increased by 5%, now at 20%]

[The Secret of the Black Sea - Participate in and resolve the root cause of the strange ore mutation. Mission progress increased by 10%, now at 30%.]

The two sub-tasks, discovering the ore and resolving the root cause of the mutation, only account for 15% of the total.

With 70% of the Black Sea's secrets still unexplored, it seems this mission cannot be completed. Perhaps another opportunity will come when I'm stronger, Shen Jue thought to himself.

They spent half a month in the Black Sea and have finally solved the root cause of the mutation.

Without the source of the mutation composed of minerals, the deathly aura that seeps into the sea isn't a major problem, because the original source has disappeared, and the remaining deathly aura won't cause much of a stir. At most, the sea monster larvae will suffer for a day or two.

After this important task was completed, they all wanted to leave the Black Sea as soon as possible.

Balsa: Let's hurry back, Shen Jue. Go back to the raft and gather us there.

Shen Jue: Okay, I'll head back now.

With a single thought, Shen Jue immediately returned to the raft.

Then, he activated the summons command, calling them all back to their raft.

Balsa: Good heavens, I'm finally back! It's been so long since I've breathed fresh air.

Yang: Yes! We're finally free. Our only goal now is to find a way to leave this Black Sea.

Balsa: Don't worry. Xingran will handle this. She's an expert in this area; we can just wait and see. Right, Xingran?

Mu Xingran: Smiling without saying a word (emoji)

Shen Jue: Alright, I see everyone is hungry. Those of you who need to wash up, wash up, or change your clothes, see you at the restaurant.

Shen Jue returned to her courtyard. She took out a change of clothes and prepared to wash up.

Soon I will be able to live a peaceful life where I can practice my skills again.

I've been spending the last two weeks in the sea.

Even though I have a diving suit to protect me, I always have this feeling that my skin is soaking and swelling up, even though it's just my imagination.

After washing up and drying my hair, I headed straight to the kitchen in the villa.

They had been eating dry rations at sea for so long, they deserved a good meal to reward themselves.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Jue decided to have hot pot instead, as it would be easier. She didn't want to cook a big meal anymore because it was too much work.

After dinner, I still need to go to the vegetable garden to harvest some seeds; there are still many seeds that haven't been planted.

Moreover, she wanted several sets of warm winter clothes, even though her current house was insulated from the cold.

Once outside the room, one cannot wear only one type of warm clothing on the raft.

After all, living standards have improved, and old-fashioned clothes like winter coats don't look very good anymore.

She's a woman who gets bored easily, and she still likes to make her own clothes.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the pot is set up and the plates are arranged. The sauce is prepared. The ingredients are prepared.

The aroma of the hot pot broth quickly attracted the others, who rushed over after washing up, without even drying their hair.

Balsa: "Ah, it's hot pot again. After eating hot pot, I'll smell all over, but it's okay, I love hot pot."

"Wow, they even have lamb this time! Lamb hot pot is so delicious. I miss the taste of the hot pot I had last time. Xiao Jue, could you get me a pot like this? I plan to make it myself when I get back to the island."

Shen Jue arranged the ingredients. "Sure, of course, no problem. I'll make you any kind of pot you want. By the way, what does your island look like? You said you'd invite me to visit your island."

"Let me put it this way, my island is arguably the most lush and verdant place in the entire ocean world. In the future, if you want any kind of fine wood for furniture, just contact me, and I'll arrange it for you. Besides the abundance of trees, my island also has many adorable little animals. It's a great travel destination, and many of my friends love to visit us."

Shen Jue: "Really? If that's the case, then I'll have to go. You can't look down on me then."

Balsa: "Of course not! I'd be so happy if you could come. I'm the island owner, and I live alone on the whole island. I usually just keep company with the animals. If you come, I'll definitely welcome you with all the animals."

"Here, this is my island's entry pass. There are no time or visit restrictions; you can come to my island whenever you have time. Also, these are all island owners. You can visit their islands, especially Yang's, his island. The various trials there are super fun. I think Xiao Jue would be interested."

Balsa got so carried away chatting that he spilled all his friends' secrets to Shen Jue.

The masters weren't angry. They had been through so much with Shen Jue in the Black Sea; they were practically brothers in arms and trusted him completely.

Yang said helplessly, "Since you've put it that way, wouldn't it be very disrespectful of me not to give Xiao Jue my island access pass?"

"Haha, it's mainly because those trials on your island were really fun and interesting. Oh, I'm hungry. Xiao Jue, is the hot pot ready yet?"

"It's ready a long time ago, enjoy it now."

Shen Jue clapped his hands, and the voice-activated trolley came clattering over from the kitchen.

The table was covered with all sorts of prepared ingredients.

There's always some ingredient they like to eat.

Seeing this, these composed masters could no longer remain calm.

His eyes lit up, and he ate faster and faster with his chopsticks.

Shen Jue shook his head. They're all foodies.