In the underground mine, Chen Yi immersed himself in the soil, observing the root system of the cycad.

These roots penetrate deep into the earth, drawing energy from various minerals to fuel their growth.

However, after hundreds or thousands of years of rooting, the ore at the bottom of this mine has become extremely barren.

This forces the iron tree's roots to keep growing deeper, while the nearly depleted ore becomes food for the Ironfeather Demon Eagles, which is why the mine pits are getting bigger and deeper.

"This mine is almost exhausted. Could this be the reason why the Iron Feather Demon Eagle wants to invade the Crimson Flame Sparrow?" Chen Yi wondered to himself.

The further he went, the more alarmed he became.

Some tree roots that have burrowed extremely deep have developed rust on their surface because they cannot find any ore to extract...

These rust spots resembled a large patch of moss, reddish-brown with a hint of yellow, and emitted a fishy stench.

This is a sign that the roots of the cycad are withering.

Chen Yi could basically conclude that the Iron Feather Demon Eagle was aware of the problems that the Iron Tree was about to face, which was why it frequently attacked the Crimson Flame Sparrow clan.

After all, the methods for enhancing the bloodline of demonic beasts are nothing more than a few: devouring rare and precious materials, fusing blood with high-level cultivators, and procreating with even higher-level bloodlines, etc.

The iron tree was on the verge of extinction and could not condense enough iron pear blossoms, so the Iron Feather Demon Eagle could only devour the Crimson Flame Sparrow.

So, if the Crimson Flame Sparrow clan is defeated, the males will be consumed as tonics, and the females will be used as tools to reproduce the next generation.

In the Crimson Dragon Mountains, a place where the survival of the fittest is particularly evident, they are only concerned with the continuation of their species.

However, this was not the reason for Chen Yi's sympathy for them.

They have their own stance, and he also has his own stance.

"One hundred Thunderfire Talismans, two hundred Wood Sword Qi Talismans, and two hundred Fireball Talismans. Hopefully, we can achieve our goal."

Chen Yi affixed the talisman to the weakest point of the iron tree's root system.

Of course, he simply ignored the roots that were already covered in rust.

Even if you don't take care of it, these roots will already wither and die.

The places where he pasted the talismans were all root systems that were absorbing the energy of the minerals.

Although the roots of the cycad are incredibly hard, the minerals underground are what sustain its life.

Since Chen Yi fused his blood with the Thunder Ghost Crimson Gold Python, he no longer needed to borrow the heavenly thunder from the plan to draw the Thunderfire Talisman, but the power of the completed talisman was also weakened considerably.

Fortunately, destroying these ores is not a problem...

It's worth mentioning that while he was applying the talismans to these ores, he also discovered some glowing ores.

These crystal-clear ores instantly reminded him of the device that filled the flying boat he had ridden in when he first arrived.

"Spirit stones?" Chen Yi was somewhat surprised. "It seems that there is a chance of spirit stones being found in miscellaneous mines, but the quality of these spirit stone mines seems to be average."

He used the Yangwen Sword to cut off these spirit stone mines and put them into his pocket.

"Don't blame me, you didn't have much time left to live anyway."

After doing all this, he left one last sentence and fled into the distance.

......

"Ugh, this fog is so thick in this godforsaken place..." A sweet, girlish voice came from behind a tree. "Hey, have you found him yet?"

"Buzz~"

Several flies flew through the clouds from afar, their compound eyes reflecting the shadow of a single amygdala.

Then, they crashed into it head-on.

Darkness descended, the sound of flapping wings disappeared, and it was replaced by the sounds of chewing and swallowing.

"......"

The masked man pulled his mask back up, pondered for a couple of seconds, and then spoke:

"There's a mine ahead. That kid went into the mine and disappeared. He probably went deep inside."

"But there's an iron tree in the center of that mine, and it looks like there's something pretty good on it. We can try to get our hands on it later..."

The fox-faced woman glanced at him with a hint of disgust.

She had no time to steal; she just wanted to know Chen Yi's whereabouts.

With no progress made in the Qi Luck Gu incident, she decided to take matters into her own hands, capture Chen Yi, and steal his Qi Luck.

Next, she tried to calm her mind and sense the location of the Qi Luck Gu.

At first, she could still sense its residual energy, but after a few seconds, her expression under the mask changed slightly.

"My Gu poison has been discovered?" She was somewhat incredulous.

Yes, she discovered that her mental connection with the Qi Luck Gu had been severed.

Did Chen Yi also know about Gu poison?

Why would a high school student understand such unorthodox methods?

Her pupils trembled slightly, as if she were considering what to do next.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the other side of the mine.

The two of them looked at the source of the sound.

"What happened?" the fox-faced woman asked.

The masked man shook his head. "I don't know. Let's go take a look."

After saying that, he flew towards the direction of the mine.

When the two arrived at the mine, they were shocked to see the iron tree leaning precariously...

"The mine collapsed?"

The masked man's expression hardened, and he hurriedly went to find the iron pear blossom.

To his great surprise, the iron pear blossom had vanished without a trace.

"Bah!"

The Ironfeathered Demon Eagles throughout the entire mine frantically searched for the culprit that caused this incident.

"Damn it! Trying to profit from chaos, who's the real thief?" the masked man cursed.

He had already guessed who had stolen the iron pear blossom...

So he quickly extended his divine sense to search for Chen Yi's whereabouts.

However, Chen Yi had already escaped from the mine pit underground by this time.

He looked in the direction of the mine pit.

He had already caught a glimpse of those two figures.

The fox-faced woman and the masked man—aren't these the people from the Thief Heaven Sect who Ma Xiao previously mentioned stealing his Foundation Establishment spiritual item during the joint entrance exam?

"Tsk! As expected of the Heaven Stealing Sect, they can even steal luck. Chu Qi, a genius of the Heaven Stealing Sect, has become nothing more than a talent among his own sect. It's a pity you met me..."

Chen Yi's lips curled up slightly, and his storage ring shimmered faintly as a main array flag appeared.

Since he had decided to shift the blame elsewhere, how could he have been completely unprepared?

Even before the operation began, he had already planted flags around the mine.

This set of array flags, a gift from Wang Lin, was originally placed in his dormitory to set up a spirit-gathering array. But now that he's gone, he naturally has to take it with him to avoid being investigated.

"With my mastery of formations, trapping them for a while is no problem at all. Let the Iron Feather Demon Eagle play with you for a bit!"

Thanks to the "Array Formation Insights" of the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Thief Heaven Sect, his array formation proficiency has increased significantly since the Five Schools Joint Examination.

【Formation Lv.2 - Proficiency 250/400 (+50)】

Back when his formation technique had just reached level 2, he was able to trap Chu Qi and another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Thief Heaven Sect by altering the formation, let alone now.

Outside the mine, the masked man suddenly sensed something was wrong. He looked up sharply and was shocked to see a majestic eagle turn around and swoop down.

"That's... a level 2 demonic beast equivalent to the late Foundation Establishment stage? Oh no, run!"