Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Zhouyang was not a professional ore vein exploration cultivator, nor could he even be considered an amateur.

Moreover, the method for exploring spirit stone ore deposits is completely different from exploring other ore veins, even the most professional ore vein exploration cultivators of the Zhou Family have no experience in spirit stone mines.

But this was not a problem; he had a simple and effective method for estimating the reserves of a spirit stone mine.

His method was based on the degree to which Divine Sense is suppressed inside the mine and the richness of Spiritual Qi to estimate the rough reserves of the spirit stone mine.

The method was simple, but executing it was not easy.

To gauge the suppression of Divine Sense within the spirit stone mine, Zhouyang had to venture deep into the core of the mine and then open a channel in all directions to compare, thereby ensuring accurate judgment.

No matter how difficult, this task had to be completed.

After pondering for a moment, he instructed his disciple Lu Xuewei beside him: "You stay here and don't wander off. I'll go in to explore the spirit stone mine reserves and be back soon!"

Finishing his words, he immediately deployed his Flying Sword, digging into the spirit stone mine.

The soil and sand inside the spirit stone mine had been tempered by Spiritual Qi over the years, and even if it hadn't transformed into Spiritual Gold Ore, its hardness was comparable to Refined Iron.

Due to the uneven mix of Spiritual Qi within the mine, the Earth Escape Technique was ineffective, and not only that, many isolated attack and defense magics easily malfunctioned or had their power greatly reduced.

Thus, to open channels in the spirit stone mine, only by excavating with magical artifacts like Flying Swords would it be possible.

If it weren't for Zhouyang's cultivation being in the Late-Stage Purple Mansion, coupled with his Tier Four Middle Grade Flying Sword, and having a Storage Ring to store the excavated soil and sand, quickly digging a channel wide enough for a person to pass through wouldn't have been easy.

As he began to dig, he extracted one crystal-clear spirit stone after another and stored them in his pouch.

Whenever the excavated soil and sand exceeded the capacity of his Storage Ring, Zhouyang would retreat a short distance and use True Flame to melt down the soil and sand, filling the rear of the passage.

The dense Spiritual Qi within the spirit stone mine quickly replenished his expended magical power, eliminating the need to frequently stop to recover it.

After three to four days passed, Zhouyang finally measured the reserves of this spirit stone mine.

This was a medium-sized spirit stone mine!

A medium-sized spirit stone mine meant at least ten million low-grade spirit stones could be excavated!

Moreover, the medium-sized spirit stone mine was certain to contain numerous upper-grade spirit stones, likely numbering in the dozens, if not hundreds.

According to Zhouyang, the Yellow Sand Sect had only ever discovered one medium-grade spirit stone mine over its many years, which had long been exhausted.

Honestly speaking, had the Zhou Family not possessed the power to no longer fear the Yellow Sand Sect, Zhouyang would not have dared to openly mine even upon discovering such a medium-sized spirit stone mine.

The interests involved were simply too vast!

"If Zhang Yunpeng knew there was another medium-sized spirit stone mine around the sand sea of the Rhino Horn Continent, he would probably have fought tooth and nail for a share!"

His eyes sparkled with brilliance, his heart filled with boundless satisfaction.

Executing the development of the New Cultivation Realm was his plan, initially conceived to break the Yellow Sand Sect's dominance over the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

However, the current situation showed that while developing the New Cultivation Realm was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, the rewards were equally immense.

Knowing that the area lorded over by the Yellow Sand Sect in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm had been trodden by cultivators for thousands of years, any easily discoverable resources had long been found and mined.

Only some resources buried deep underground were occasionally discovered by cultivators.

Yet, the new cultivation realm here on the Rhino Horn Continent was different—a wilderness of sands with few cultivators traversing it; those who did often only came to hunt demon beasts or find oases, rarely engaging in laborious tasks like exploration.

The reason was simple: this area was far from oases where people congregated, meaning that even upon discovering ore veins, unless they were spirit stone mines of high value, it wouldn't be practical to migrate people here for mining, eliminating the need for exploration.

But now it was different, as the Zhou Family has decided to establish the Rhino Horn Continent as their clan's headquarters, and they express willingness to shelter those cultivation clans responding to the call to develop the New Cultivation Realm.

Human figures will soon appear in great numbers on this land, and those resources buried underground for years will also be unearthed for exploitation.

"This occurrence serves as a wake-up call to me."

"Even a land as barren as the Boundless Desert Sea can hold rare resources that are usually hard to find."

"Since our Zhou Family aims to become the dominant force in this New Cultivation Realm, we naturally must seize the opportunity to discover and occupy these rare resource points first!"

"Hmm, once we return, let's immediately issue a task to encourage clan cultivators to venture out of the oasis and explore the vast desert sea."

With thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhouyang did not linger in the ore vein after estimating the spirit stone ore's reserves and promptly returned to his apprentice, Lu Xuewei.

Lu Xuewei, having been instructed by Zhouyang to wait at the original place, had been meditating and healing her wounds over the past few days. By the time he returned, her injuries had mostly healed.

"Being able to discover this spirit stone ore is thanks to your report, Xuewei. Since I always distinguish between rewards and punishments, Xuewei, why don't you tell me what reward you would like?"

In a joyful mood, Zhouyang did not forget the one truly deserving of credit for discovering the spirit stone ore. Upon returning, he directly brought up the matter of rewards with Lu Xuewei.

Upon hearing his words, Lu Xuewei was immediately delighted. Being allowed to choose her own reward was a clear indication of how great Zhouyang's mood was.

She thought of many rewards she wanted in an instant.

But in the end, she knelt before Zhouyang, her face full of pleading, and said, "Master, please see this clearly. Over the years, I have been searching for oases for the Lu Family. Although I found a couple with Tier Two spiritual veins, those oases are too remote, not suitable for a small clan like the Lu Family to settle."

"If you wish to reward me with something, please grant a small oasis close to Rhino Horn Continent for the Lu Family to relocate to. That way, I can fulfill my promise to my fifth brother and the Lu Family!"

She did not forget the purpose of her hard work in the desert, choosing to forgo some treasures that could greatly benefit her cultivation in order to fulfill her promise to her brother.

Hearing her request, Zhouyang frowned, seemingly surprised by her request.

However, he was a man of his word, and after a slight hesitation, nodded and said, "Alright, since you've made your decision, I won't persuade you otherwise. Moreover, with your achievement this time, a small oasis as a reward is still too little."

After saying this, he paused briefly, then continued, "In that case, once we return, I will arrange for the Lu Family to have a small oasis near Rhino Horn Continent and help elevate the oasis's spiritual vein to Tier Three."

A small oasis with a Tier Three spiritual vein is enough to serve as the foundation for a Foundation Establishment clan.

Although this reward is insignificant compared to a medium-sized spirit stone mine, Lu Xuewei was more than satisfied upon hearing Zhouyang's words.

Overflowing with joy, she couldn't help but bow down heavily to Zhouyang, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Master. Your great kindness and virtue will never be forgotten by your apprentice."

"Stand up, as long as you cultivate well and open the Purple Mansion early, that's the greatest repayment you can give me."

Zhouyang gently nodded, with a hint of affection on his face as he helped Lu Xuewei up from the ground and, with implicit encouragement, said, "As long as you successfully open the Purple Mansion, even supporting the Lu Family to become a Foundation Establishment clan would be a simple task!"

"Yes, I will strive to cultivate diligently and not disappoint your great kindness, Master!"

Lu Xuewei nodded vigorously, her face resolutely responding in a low voice.

In truth, Zhouyang had nothing but praise for his disciple. Even the direct descendants of the Zhou Family couldn't receive such attention from Zhouyang.

She was always deeply grateful for Zhouyang's fostering, and she vowed secretly more than once to work hard in cultivation, not to let Zhouyang's regard go to waste.

Afterward, Zhouyang and Lu Xuewei retraced their path back to the surface, and then Zhouyang cast a spell to seal the earth tunnel formed by the "Earth Dragon Worm."

The spiritual energy inside the spirit stone mine had already started leaking through the tunnel. If it wasn't sealed, the leaked spiritual energy might attract demon beasts or cultivators, which would be another source of trouble.

Moreover, during the earlier excavation in the spirit stone mine, Zhouyang had already detected the mine's depth, which was indeed not shallow.

If digging from the surface downwards, at least a hundred zhangs would need to be excavated before reaching the spirit stones.

The burial depth of general ore veins ranges from ten to thirty zhangs underground, with some ore veins requiring excavation of only three or four zhangs to reach the ore.

For an ore vein that requires excavation of over a hundred zhangs to reach the ore, unless it is a spirit stone mine of unparalleled value, few clans in this vast desert sea are willing to invest the manpower to mine it.

However, to dig a spirit stone mine, even five hundred zhangs or a thousand zhangs would be worth the effort!

By now, several days had passed since Zhouyang and his group descended into the tunnel. The Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, which Zhouyang had ordered to chase and kill those escaping demon beasts, had long since returned. It also brought back about a three-zhang long segment of the "Earth Dragon Worm" carcass and a giant snake carcass emanating a Tier Three high-grade demon beast aura.

After some communication with the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, Zhouyang learned that the "Earth Dragon Worm" carcass was snatched from a Tier Four middle-grade demon beast, the "Gale Fox Wolf," and the snake carcass was a prey it later hunted along another trail.

"Very well, since you snatched this thing from the wolf's mouth, this large piece of Tier Five demon wolf meat will be your reward."

Zhouyang, satisfied, patted the head of the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle. With a wave of his hand, he took out a large piece of "Heart-devouring Demon Wolf" meat, about half a zhang long, to reward the beloved pet as food.