Because of Feng Tianlan’s actions, the secret guards and Chuling were on high alert, monitoring their surroundings and keeping their guard up anxiously. As the vine continued drilling downwards, they became more and more tense, afraid that an ancient Demonic Beast might come up at them from below. If that happened, they would really die here today.
After about half an hour, Feng Tianlan retracted the vine from the ground, and it disappeared into her palm.
“Your Highness!” the secret guards called her worriedly.
Feng Tianlan curled the ends of her lips up slightly. “The Spiritual Crystal Mine is about ten feet beneath the ground.”
“Because Miss is kind-hearted, that’s why your reward is here.” Chuling felt an overwhelming sense of relief after hearing that it was the Spiritual Crystal Mine that was below the ground.
Feng Tianlan shook her head gently. Her hands had been stained with the blood of countless men; how could she possibly be rewarded for that? This was just a coincidence.
After burying Big Furball in the hole she had dug, Feng Tianlan noticed a deep, dark cavern nearby. That must be the entrance to the Spiritual Crystal Mine.
“Can my people and I go in?” Feng Tianlan lowered her head and looked at Little Furball, who was lying on top of Big Furball’s grave like a cub burrowing in its mother’s arms.
Little Furball opened its big round eyes and stared at Feng Tianlan. Then, it licked its bloody paws and nodded.
Feng Tianlan kneeled beside Little Furball and washed its paws. She tore the corner of her dress to bandage its paws. “I might be a disturbance to this place for a little while.”
Little Furball blinked adorably as it leaped up and landed on Feng Tianlan’s shoulder. It waved its paw as if telling Feng Tianlan to do as she pleased.
“Miss, could it have decided to rely on you?” Chuling glanced at Little Furball who gave no greeting from on top of Feng Tianlan’s shoulder but closed its eyes and promptly went to sleep.
Feng Tianlan listened to Little Furball’s soft breathing for a moment. “It’s just a little furball about the size of my palm. It can do whatever it wants. Let’s go in and have a look.”
They lit a fire on a stick and made torches. Feng Tianlan entered the cave with the others following close behind. At the entrance of the cave lay a pile of a Demonic Beast’s bones—most likely caught and killed by Big Furball. The path leading into the cave was rather narrow, but there were no more corpses to be found. With Big Furball protecting the cave, no one could enter it without getting slaughtered so there was probably no danger within.
The cave descended downward in a spiral staircase. Someone had built this here once upon a time, but judging by the moss on the wall, it was a long time since it had been used.
They walked for half an hour until they reached the end of the staircase. The path in front of them was a meter wide. Torches and minecarts ran along the path on both sides. There were also human bones scattered all over the ground.
“Your Highness, look over there!”
After turning around a corner, the cavern, which had been lit only by the light from their torches, was suddenly bright as day. In front of them stood, not a stone wall, but a path piled high with shimmering Spiritual Crystals.
“So many Spiritual Crystals!” Chuling couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the sight before her.
The entire South Winds Nation possessed no more than seven Spiritual Crystals; their existence was like that of a rare treasure. But right now, in front of their eyes, Spiritual Crystals were piled in tall haphazard mountains like it was a trash dump. They had stumbled across a treasure vault! There were enough Spiritual Crystals here to buy the whole Guiyuan Continent.
The secret guards couldn’t help themselves but reach out to check that the Spiritual Crystals before them were real. One of them grabbed a Spiritual Crystal and felt the spiritual force it released. He exclaimed, “This is a real Spiritual Crystal! In fact, this is probably one of the best Spiritual Crystals I’ve seen.”
“Did you guys bring the storage ring?” Feng Tianlan glanced over at them, squatting down to examine one of the human corpses.
“The storage ring won’t be able to fit so many Spiritual Crystals.” The secret guards were mesmerized by the piles of Spiritual Crystals in front of them. It was too dazzling to look at for long. They wanted to lay on top of the piles to relish in the abundance of spiritual energy.
“Call someone to take the Spiritual Crystals away.” Feng Tianlan picked up a token that had turned black over time next to the corpse.
One of the secret guards couldn’t help himself. He took a Spiritual Crystal and bit on it with his teeth. “Your Highness, you are really an extraordinary person! Meeting you must be His Highness’s good fortune.”
