There were indeed quite a few corpses of monsters piled up in his storage bracelet.

The identification that Xiao Xingrui mentioned was also very simple. It was a circular compass-shaped magic weapon. The cultivator only needed to immerse his spiritual thoughts into it.

After identifying the aura, Xiao Xingrui reached into the storage magic tool and took out a jade talisman engraved with intricate mountain and river patterns, and engraved Lu Shan's name on it.

"This is a portable jade talisman. With this jade talisman, you can enter and exit the various mining cities under the jurisdiction of the Yunshang Sect. After you drip your blood to acknowledge your master, others will not be able to forge your identity even if they want to."

Xiao Xingrui smiled and handed the jade talisman to Shen Lian.

"The jade talisman costs one thousand spirit stones."

"If you lose it or it is damaged in a fight, you will need to reissue it, which will also cost one thousand spirit stones."

"Only with the jade talisman can you live in the mining city, open a shop, etc., and you will also need to show the jade talisman when you encounter patrolling monks. I need Brother Lu to understand this."

"Thank you for letting me know."

Shen Lian took the jade talisman, recognized it as the owner and hung it around his waist. He then said goodbye to Xiao Xingrui and drove the flying boat into the depths of the mining area.

Although there is still a strong demonic aura in the mountains within the fortress's defense line, there are no traces of large-scale demonic beasts, and the scattered demonic beasts are all first-level and insignificant.

When arriving at a new place, the first thing to do is to understand the environment here. This is a habit that Shen Lian has developed over the past few decades.

The direction he chose to enter the mining area was wrong. It was more than 100,000 miles away from the large mining city built by the Yunshang Sect.

The nearest red crystal mining town is only two thousand miles away.

The name of the mining city is based on the specific mineral materials produced. This area is rich in first- and second-order red crystal ores, and third-order ores occasionally appear.

In addition to the main red crystal ore, there are more than 30 other associated mineral deposits.

On the way to the Red Crystal Mining City, they also encountered patrolling monks who were wearing uniform black and white robes and standing on griffin cranes with white feathers.

Shen Lian took a look from a distance and found that the cultivators on these griffin cranes were at least at the ninth level of Qi training, and were holding specially made second-order crossbows in their hands.

Moreover, on the sharp claws of the griffin crane, there are finger gloves that flash with cold light.

As expected of a mining area, they are really particular about magical instruments.

After seeing Shen Lian, this group of people saw the jade talisman hanging around his waist. The leading cultivator bowed slightly across the void, then led the team and disappeared into the mountains.

"Another fifty people, all with second-level magic weapons, they are really rich."

Later, as he moved forward, Shen Lian encountered two patrol teams.

He also sensed that there were formation plates hanging on the mounts of the patrolling monks, and they were armed to the teeth with magical weapons. Even if they encountered a monk at the eighth or ninth level of foundation building, they would be able to fight.

If all else fails, you can at least hold back your opponent and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Being in the mining area, it is really too rich.

There is no shortage of ores and monsters, so there is naturally no shortage of equipment.

As for the monks, we can recruit them after they die.

Although they had just stepped into the outskirts of the mining area, Shen Lian could see that even though there were sentries patrolling here, it was still a hunting ground for cultivators.

The demon tribe raises poisonous insects here, and the major sects also use this place to train disciples.

As he was flying, Shen Lian looked up and saw that the sky was red under the sunlight.

The shapes kept changing among the rolling red clouds.

Among the mountains, a red mountain stands firmly on the ground.

We have arrived at the Red Crystal Mine City.

When he flew a hundred miles, Shen Lian saw the outline of a huge red mountain surrounding a huge city.

Although the Red Mountain exists relatively independently, it still covers an area of ​​dozens of miles. The entire city surrounds the mountain, and the total area is no less than two or three hundred miles.

From a distance, the mountain seemed to have been hollowed out, leaving only a frame, and underneath was an enormous mine.

The entire city was built on this giant mountain.

As they got closer, more and more flying boats and small spirit ships flew through the sky and descended towards the outside of the mining city from all directions.

Shen Lian stood on the spirit boat and looked from afar, and saw that the mine below the huge red mountain was constantly emitting red spiritual power.

Seeing that everyone else had driven their flying boats directly outside the mining city, Shen Lian followed suit and landed outside the city.

As soon as I landed on the ground, I was hit in the face by a cloud of dust filled with fine burning particles.

In the mining town, it is a local specialty.'

Looking around, there were furnaces emitting billowing smoke and dust everywhere, and clanging sounds could be heard. These were some artisan workshops built in the city, and traces of destruction by monsters could be seen.

"Senior, do you want me to lead the way?"

A familiar voice sounded in my ears.

Shen Lian looked up and saw a group of monks with missing bodies crowding in front of him. One of them, who was lame and had a broken arm, spoke first.

"Senior, I have an introduction to the city here, as well as a map of the distribution of mineral veins and monsters."

When he came out of Nanya Immortal City, Shen Lian no longer concealed his realm.

The main thing is that at his current level, if he still pretends to practice Qi outside, it will bring a lot of unnecessary trouble.

After purchasing three copies of relevant documents from the lame monk, Shen Lian walked towards the city gate.

On the tall and majestic city walls, all kinds of spiritual lights were visible. Even in the void dozens of feet outside the city walls, countless forbidden spiritual lights were flashing. The number was so large that it made people feel their scalp tingling.

There is no need to get close to feel the strong repressive force being released from the restriction.

On the top of the city, there were monks walking back and forth, each of them fully armed and wearing the armor of the mortal world, but the aura on their bodies was very strong.

At regular intervals, there are magical weapons such as the Spirit Forbidden Cannon and the Spirit Forbidden Tower standing.

According to historical records, there are a total of five superimposed third-order formations and twenty-five different second-order formations in the entire Red Crystal Mining City, all with the giant red mountain in the city as the core.

As expected, he owns the mine and is a rich man.

Seeing that the Foundation Establishment cultivators were queuing up to enter the city, Shen Lian chose a city gate with fewer people in line and queued up honestly.

He saw the monks queuing in front of him, all of whom took out their identity jade talismans, and then after exchanging a few words with the stationed monks, he entered the city.

A quarter of an hour later, it was Shen Lian's turn.

"Senior, please show me the jade talisman."

The monks in black and white robes stationed at the city gate saluted in advance with their fists clasped. Their cultivation was at the second or third level of foundation building, which was far different from the aura of Shen Lian.

After verifying the jade talisman, Shen Lian entered the red crystal mining city.

The scene in the city was very different from the cities I had visited before. Near the city wall were rows of low stone houses arranged in an orderly manner.

There are large courtyards scattered among the stone houses.

These are the miners' residences. The various sects in the mining city have an agreement that if a cultivator dares to kill miners at will, he will be jointly besieged by all sects.

The entire city is extremely spacious and does not seem crowded at all. It is very different from the fairy cities where I have lived before.

There are no criss-crossing streets or neat rows of attics here.

After passing through the miners' residential area, what comes into view are rolling hills with lush vegetation. Among the green trees, lofts appear faintly.

If placed in the fairy city outside, these places would all be the best blessed caves.

With a light sweep of his divine sense, he could see monks sitting cross-legged in the mountain attic, practicing or cultivating secret techniques.

In other places, many monks gathered together and held an open meeting.

But most of the monks were just having fun, sitting in groups of three or five, discussing Taoism, drinking tea and observing utensils, looking extremely leisurely.

Shen Lian also saw red pagodas everywhere, there were at least hundreds of them if you counted them carefully.

The main function of these pagodas is identification, and they are spread all over the city. Even if you bypass one, you can't bypass all of them.

"Moo..."

A dull sound was heard, and then a group of black-armored cows, each two meters in size, stood up from the bungalow area in front. These cows were all wearing shackles and were pulling wide spiritual wooden carts behind them.

The roar of the ox was like a signal. From the bungalows in all directions, monks at the Qi training level rushed out, some carrying bamboo baskets, some holding shovels, and jumped onto the ox cart.

A spiritual wooden cart pulled by a black-armored ox can carry hundreds or even thousands of people.

After the spirit wood cart was filled with miners, the black-armored cow mooed and headed towards the red mountain.

Outside the mine cave below the red mountain is where ore is mined.

The mine excavation is carried out on a three-shift system. Each shift lasts for half a month, and then there is a half-month rest period.

Mining is not an easy job, but the spiritual energy is so abundant that even in places where peripheral miners live, the density of spiritual energy has reached the second level.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Shen Lian walked forward for dozens of miles, passing through countless hills surrounded by green trees. The further he went in, the fewer buildings there were on these hills, and they were relatively independent and private.

Correspondingly, the realm of the monks practicing inside is getting higher and higher.

Next, Shen Lian strolled around the city leisurely, inspected the layout of the entire city, and finally saw the overall appearance of the huge red mountain.

The middle and upper parts of the mountain were carved into caves, which are constantly under the impact of fire spiritual energy.

Looking up along the giant red mountain, the mountain was flattened at the highest point, with an area of ​​about a hundred feet in radius.

A tall stone frame stood at the highest point, on which hung a huge red bell carved with a firebird pattern.

The spiritual energy washed out from the mine below, after passing through the cave in the middle of the mountain, gathered outside the red bell, forming a series of spiritual energy vortices.

Under the impact of spiritual energy, the big bell occasionally made a soft humming sound, which dispersed the violent spiritual energy rushing out of the mine, turned it into a more stable state, and dissipated into the mining city.

"Third-level magic weapon."

With just one glance, Shen Lian could tell that this was a third-level magic weapon with fire attributes, and its grade was at least mid-level third level.

Good stuff.

Pure fire element.

You are what you eat. This saying really applies everywhere.

The entire Red Crystal Mine City is roughly divided into three parts. The outermost part is the miners' residential area, which occupies the smallest area and is the most crowded.

The middle area is filled with undulating mountains, no less than a thousand of them, large and small. These are the locations of the cave dwellings of the foundation-building monks.

Those who have strong spiritual stones can live in caves close to the center of the city, where the scenery is more beautiful. If they have fewer spiritual stones, they can choose caves in the outer areas, or they can share a mountain with other Taoist friends.

The area within the red giant mountain in the center is a restricted area. Outside monks are not allowed to approach. The miners sit in black-armored ox carts and go directly through the side entrance into the mine.

Standing outside a small hill where no monks lived, Shen Lian looked at the lush mountains and the sound of birds singing from the forest.

Surrounded by green trees, a palace complex stands on the top of the mountain, and there are dark rooms in the mountain.

It’s really a good dojo.

"Senior, would you like to rent a cave?"

Shen Lian stayed outside the mountain for a while, and then a monk in a black and white robe flew over from afar, with a smile on his face.

Except for the miners in Chijing City, the rest of the cultivators who want to live and practice here must either buy a cave or pay spirit stones.

Of course, you can also apply for a job as a clerk in major shops in the city. As long as someone can take you in, you don’t have to pay spirit stones.

As for wanting to dodge, that was impossible. The jade talisman in his hand was captured the moment he entered the city. Were these red pagodas standing in the mountains built in vain? No, it was to prevent you from eating for free.

"Senior, the spiritual energy of this Fushan Cave has reached the quasi-third level. It is a rare high-level cave in the city. It only requires 50,000 spiritual stones."

The cave is a good one, but it is not suitable for Shen Lian at all.

This place is too close to the central area, and there is a formation in the city. How can he steal the mines?

He had thought it through before he came. If he wanted to buy enough ore to refine his own magic weapon, he would need at least four or five million low-grade spirit stones, and that might not be enough.

There are so many ores, it’s better to dig them yourself.

After a tour around the Red Crystal Mine City, he proved his idea that it was a bit difficult to mine in the mining area controlled by the sect.

They placed the main mineral vein right under Jindan's nose.

It would be a bit difficult to escape the eyes of the Jindan cultivators and sneak into the mine.

And the city’s defenses are too strong.

Not only that, Shen Lian had just observed that the miners did not seem to have any deep hatred, which proved that the exploitation of the miners here was not harsh.

Even with the help of spirit puppets, they cannot escape from the city. They have to find a place outside the city to explore the edge of the mineral vein.

A large part of those red pagodas standing in the city has sunk into the ground. Who knows if they will resonate with the jade talisman.

As a newcomer, it is too inexperienced to try to cut corners compared to the model that has been running for at least thousands of years.

Under the guidance of the young man in black and white robes, Shen Lian rented another cave which was far away from the city center and had a worse environment. He temporarily took root in the Red Crystal Mining City.

Half a month later.

Shen Lian started his plan. Just like other cultivators who went out of the city to hunt monsters, he also went out of the city.

There are quite a few monsters in the mountains that have experienced the beast tide. I have encountered several fights in the three days since I came out. In addition to monster hunters, there were also internal conflicts among the monks.

He would avoid these scenes in advance and release the black-horned ants wherever he went. The black-horned ants that bred with him were spread in the mountains and fields around the Red Crystal Mining City.

Quietly waiting for these little things to bring him good news.

…

"Damn it, dig faster."

In a hidden valley east of the Red Crystal Mine City, a monk's body was half-melted into the rock using a special secret method, and he was sizing up the figure below with a sharp gaze.

There were about several hundred low-level monks who were under restrictions and were entering and exiting a small mine.

There were also Qi-cultivating monks standing by, whipping the monks who were mining.

"The sooner we dig this place out, the sooner you can leave. If you dare to play tricks, I will bury you all in here."

…

The foundation-building monk who was stuck in the rock opened his mouth and spit out a jade talisman for communication.

The jade talisman flashed and a voice was heard.

"What's going on?" There was an unquestionable tone in the faint voice.

"Elder, it's almost there." The Foundation Establishment cultivator spoke hurriedly.

"I'm telling you, Master Hong Yun will soon return from the depths of the mountains to subdue the monster. If you can't dig out the Black Gold Stone before then, don't blame me for killing my own brother for the sake of justice."

…

In the same rock, Shen Lian was also stuck like the monkey.

He came here because the black-horned ants discovered minerals here.

I didn't expect someone else to dig it up first.

Looking at the excavation scene, Shen Lian pondered for a moment. Since they were all stealing, whoever steals it first gets it.

(End of this chapter)