Chapter 88 The Genius Cultivator Used as Cannon Fodder (Seventeen) According to the original text...
In the original storyline, due to the brutal pursuit by the demons, Ling Ye would forcibly deplete his own foundation and talent to maintain his power.
Then he appeared with a majestic and domineering presence, saving Ye Zhen from the brink of death time and time again from the clutches of the demons.
In the end, in order to protect Ye Zhen, he triggered his old injuries, vomited blood and fell into a coma. Ye Zhen went through great lengths to find rare and precious herbs and save him. The two formed a bond of life and death together because of this.
Now that the villainous boss has been eliminated ahead of time, the Ye family is unharmed, Ye Zhen is no longer a rootless duckweed, and there is no danger around her.
Ling Ye certainly didn't need to forcibly transform into a human at the cost of consuming his own essence.
Of course, Ling Ye is nearly two hundred years old and has played in the mortal world many times. He is not a clueless little kid.
He knew his wolf-like appearance wasn't suitable for pursuing a wife, but there was plenty of time. He could always secretly change his appearance and pursue her after he recovered from his injuries.
As for now, he can take the time to learn about his future wife's preferences, laying the foundation for pursuing her in the future, and also warding off any unwanted suitors around her.
Thinking about his plan, Ling Ye wagged his tail happily. After recovering for a while, he would be able to open the storage space and give Ye Zhen a gift.
Thinking about the huge pile of spirit stones and valuable treasures stored in his space, Ling Ye happily lay down in his nest and closed his eyes. Ye Zhen liked spirit stones so much, he thought that if he gave these to her in the future, she would be very happy.
Ling Ye, still asleep, occasionally flicked its tail, while the two whimsical people outside had already started digging a hole with shovels.
Ye Xinghan, who was protecting the formation, thought they were just bored and went to dig for moonflower grass again, so he didn't pay much attention.
"Youyou, are you sure there are spirit stones down there?" Although Ye Zhen was helping to dig the hole, she really didn't think the two of them could dig anything out.
Especially since she just randomly pointed to this place, it felt even more unreliable.
"Whether there are spirit stones or not, we'll find out once we dig. Anyway, we didn't spend any money. If we really can't dig them out, we can just consider it exercise."
The system's plot was very vague, and Lin You wasn't quite sure if there was a spirit stone mine, but she was always easygoing. If she could find one, great; if not, it didn't matter.
Both of them possessed cultivation, and although they were only using military shovels from Lin You's spatial storage, they didn't find it particularly strenuous to dig.
They dug and dug all night, and by dawn, the two simpletons had dug a large pit, more than two meters long and as deep as a person, in the ground.
Although they didn't find anything at the bottom of the pit, they could vaguely sense that the spiritual energy was gradually increasing. The two exchanged a glance and dug even more enthusiastically.
"What are you two doing digging this hole?" Ye Xinghan finally noticed their little actions and frowned when he saw the results of their work overnight.
Because Lin You and Ye Zhen dug the pit side by side, the resulting shape was roughly rectangular. Given the depth of the pit, it looked exactly like a grave.
"Your master just had an epiphany and isn't in any real danger, so there's no need to dig the pit so quickly."
Ye Xinghan's words silenced the two sisters. Was their junior uncle's thought process a little too bizarre?
“We just think it’s a bit strange that the Moonflower Grass is growing here. There’s clearly no spiritual energy around, yet they’re growing all over the mountains and fields. Everything has its limits, so maybe there’s some treasure hidden in this valley.” Ye Zhen replied, without stopping her work.
“That’s right. Look at the glow of the Moonflower Grass. Isn’t it exactly the same color as the spirit stone? Maybe there’s a spirit stone mine down there.” Seeing that Ye Zhen hadn’t stopped, Lin You also continued digging down. When it comes to treasure hunting, following Ye Zhen, who has the protagonist’s halo, is sure to be a sure thing.
Looking at the shovelfuls of soil being thrown up, Ye Xinghan resisted the urge to facepalm. "The spiritual energy in this valley is so thin, even less than that of Chunxiao City. How could there possibly be a spirit stone mine?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a crisp clang rang out, and a spirit stone as lustrous as moonflower grass burst forth from the ground. As the clod of earth was thrown out of the pit, it landed right at Ye Xinghan's feet.
Ye Xinghan stared at the spirit stone ore that could already be considered a mid-grade one, and stood there stunned for a while. After a long while, he picked it up in disbelief and examined it repeatedly in his hand.
This is unbelievable! Did these two girls really dig up a spirit stone mine?!
When Lin You looked up, she saw her junior uncle looking completely bewildered. She suppressed a laugh and gave Ye Zhen a thumbs up. The speed at which she was slapped in the face was just like Long Aotian's.
"Did you two throw your spirit stones up here?" Ye Xinghan couldn't help but peek into the pit.
Although the spirit stone was irregularly shaped and different in size from those circulating in the market, it was still more believable that these two were just teasing him than that there was a mine in Moonflower Valley.
Just then, the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding area suddenly doubled. Although it was still thin, the difference was clearly perceptible.
After a good night's sleep, Ling Ye emerged feeling refreshed and thought he was dreaming. Just yesterday, he was planning to use spirit stones to woo his wife, and now, only one night later, Ye Zhen had unearthed a spirit stone mine?!
Seeing the wolf cub emerge, Ye Zhen skillfully picked it up and held it in her arms, petting it from head to toe until the wolf cub purred contentedly.
"Ah Ye, now we have so many spirit stones. From now on, I'll set up a spirit-gathering array for you. You won't have to be stingy anymore. I'll set up two for you every day. We can use one to heal our injuries and the other to just look at and play with, okay?"
Ye Zhen smiled and chatted with the wolf cubs. Ling Ye couldn't help but look up into her eyes, which were clear and bright, filled with his image.
So, when she was dividing things with Lin You, she asked for so many spirit stones so that she could set up a spirit-gathering array for him?
Ling Ye had only experienced this kind of selfless kindness from his parents when he was very young.
"Thank you, Zhenzhen." Ling Ye's soft, adorable voice rang out as he nuzzled Ye Zhen's cheek with his fluffy little head, making Ye Zhen's smile even gentler.
Lin You watched the two of them interact and barely managed to suppress her laughter.
One treats the other like a girlfriend, and the other treats the other like their own child. Although their thoughts are completely different, they seem to be getting along very well.
In the story, Ye Zhen dug for three months by herself before she finally dug out all the spirit stones in the entire valley.
These spirit stones were also the foundation for her cultivation and advancement when she was chased by demonic cultivators and had nowhere to go but to hide in a desolate place devoid of spiritual energy.
Now, Lin You and Ye Zhen each filled a storage bag and stopped digging. Ye Xinghan sent a message back to the Ye family to send people over with the remaining spirit stones.
The storage bags commonly used in the cultivation world are about half the size of a palm, and the space inside is about the same as one compartment of Lin You's backpack.
Two of these storage bags can be bought for one mid-grade spirit stone. If you buy a few and carry them around, that should be enough for most cultivators.
Of course, cultivators like Lin You and Ye Zhen, who like to hoard snacks and have a lot of storage space, can also string their storage bags together with rope and tie them around their waists.
For this trip, they both carried dozens of storage bags around their waists, and after only a few days, they've already filled seven or eight of them.
"Sister, will you grant my wish? I need a lot more storage space. Bracelets, rings, pendants, anything is fine. I'm not picky, a hundred square meters would be great, but a thousand would be even better!"
Lin You hung the storage bag on her belt, looked at the string of cloth bags on her body, and couldn't help but put her hands together and bow to Ye Zhen.
Even knowing she was the main character, Ye Zhen couldn't help but roll her eyes. She reached out and grabbed the spirit stone she had just dug and stuffed it into Lin You's hand.
"Sweetie, go back and get a bigger storage bag, then you won't have to carry so many around your waist."
Lin You casually stuffed the spirit stones into her storage bag and went back to studying the Moonflower Grass. After they dug out the spirit stones, the spiritual energy here only increased slightly, without much difference.
The moonflowers in the vicinity, however, grew a little taller than the others.
"I've heard of a kind of gold-finding grass that can be found wherever it grows. Is this Moonflower Grass the same kind of thing?" Lin You asked suddenly, glancing at the Moonflower Grass.
This thing clearly grows by absorbing spiritual energy from the air. It depends on the spirit stone mine for survival, and the spirit stone mine relies on it to hide its tracks. It is a very good symbiotic relationship.
The two women exchanged a glance and took out their collection of maps of the cultivation world to study how many places Moonflower Grass had appeared.
The proposal sent back by Ye Xinglan kept the Ye family's top management discussing it tirelessly for several days.
The general conclusion is that this matter is of great benefit to both the Ye family and the entire cultivation world.
The outer disciples and cultivators at the foot of the mountain mentioned in the project proposal solved the manpower problem in the early stages very well, but you still have to pay people when you hire them.
The spiritual energy in mortal towns is scarce, making cultivation extremely difficult. If someone is to be assigned to guard the town, this matter must be resolved.
The Ye family is a large and powerful family, but it is difficult to supply dozens or even hundreds of cultivators with spirit stones for cultivation. In the short term, it is fine, but in the long run, it will be very difficult.
This is a project that requires a large initial investment, so it's not easy to recoup the cost in a short period of time.
The white-haired elder took out a storage ring and placed it on the table in front of the Ye family head. "I was already half-buried in the ground, and I was planning to distribute these things to you. It's good to use them to deal with the demonic cultivators now."
The Grand Elder had a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage a hundred years ago, but somehow he was targeted by demonic cultivators and was ambushed and seriously injured while traveling. It took him seventy or eighty years to recover, but his lifespan was nearing its end.
He had been in seclusion for over twenty years, yet he was still just one step away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. Not long ago, the Grand Elder had given up on his seclusion and started writing his will to make arrangements for his affairs, but Ye Xinglan stuffed a set of Chinese language textbooks into his hands.
The contents were simple and easy to understand, yet thought-provoking. He couldn't help but go into seclusion again. Just a few days ago, the Grand Elder, who had already taken care of his own affairs, broke through to the Nascent Soul stage.
The Grand Elder should have been in seclusion consolidating his cultivation, but upon hearing from the children that a meeting was scheduled, he came along to see if there was anything he could do to help.
Seeing this, the Second Elder also took out a few storage bags and put them over, saying, "These are little things I usually make for fun. You can take them as a reward or exchange them for spirit stones."
The Second Elder is still a bit short of breaking through, but she has more than twenty years of lifespan left. Thanks to the Chinese textbook, her state of mind is now complete, and breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is almost a certainty.
The Third Elder thought for a moment, then took out a few storage bags and put them over. The Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and Fifth Elder couldn't help but roll their eyes.
Those storage bags looked very familiar; they were the very items that this guy had begged and pleaded with them to take from them, intending to use them to replenish the treasure vault.
After putting down his things, the Third Elder grinned at the others, revealing a set of big white teeth. His roguish appearance was so convincing that even the First Elder, who hadn't seen him for many years, couldn't bear to look at him and turned his head away.
What was supposed to be a discussion turned into a fundraising event, and the head of the Ye family felt that the burden on his shoulders had become even heavier.
Just as he was secretly resolving to save every penny to make this a success, a small, entirely silver-white bird fluttered in through the door.
The little bird flew to the Ye family head's side, then suddenly scattered, turning into starlight. A small, exquisite jade slip fell from the starlight.
Seeing the increasingly strange expression on Patriarch Ye's face after he opened the jade slip, the others couldn't help but lean over to ask him something.
"Have the children encountered any danger?" This was the question posed by the elder, who prioritized safety.
"Is there something you've got your eye on but you don't have the money to buy it?" This was the wealthy and powerful Second Elder.
"Do you need our help?" the Third Elder asked, his anxiety evident on his face.
The Fourth Elder and the Fifth Elder also came over, and even Linghu, who was perched on the Fifth Elder's shoulder, showed a worried expression.
"They do need our help, but there's no danger. A few of them went to Moonflower Valley and found a spirit stone mine there. They asked us to send people to help them dig it out."
The head of the Ye family held the jade slip, looking as if he were dreaming.
The elders looked at each other, wondering how such a large mine could require a messenger to be sent back.
"I'll go, I'll go. I usually trouble you all to help me, but this time it's a physically demanding job, so let me do it." The Third Elder was the quickest to react and hurriedly offered to take the spot.
This is a spirit stone mine. Those two girls have almost plundered all the spirit stones in his treasure pavilion. It's not unreasonable for him to go and help replenish some of his stock.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Third Elder, off to buy supplies!!
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-02-05 14:36:55 and 2024-02-07 17:51:52!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Autumn Diary (5 bottles); Yi Zhang, The Salty Fish That Can Turn Over, and Donglin (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
