Chapter 17 – Struggle for the Mines
Yi Xinpu lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Senior Song. Do you know about the Qianyin Ice Mountain (Thousand Sound Ice Mountain)?”
Song Qiao nodded. “I know it.”
“They discovered a large deposit of copper crystal ore some ten thousand years old. Senior must know the uses of copper crystal, right?”
Xin Zhaolun couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. “Large copper crystal deposit? Are you joking? How can such a thing exist? Every time a vein has been discovered, it’s always in small amounts…”
“Just because it’s never been seen before doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” countered Yi Xinpu.
Xin Zhaolun stopped talking, sinking into his thoughts. He also wished to obtain some copper crystal ore. It was one of the main materials to construct Hidden Doors with. He came here this time mainly for Biyasi, and maybe a few copper crystals while he was at it. He’d never have thought that a large deposit would exist.
“Is this information accurate?” Song Qiao asked.
“Very. However, it’s difficult to get there. Qianyin Ice Mountain is beyond the Ice Cave. It’s already hard to get to the Ice Cave, not to mention how hard it is to go past it. As you know, we can only stay at the Ice Cave for some dozen days. So without the help of a Monarch, we can’t get to the Qianyin Ice Mountain.”
Lei Xinfeng knew that the three of them wanted to borrow Song Qiao’s power to go bring them to the mountain. He wasn’t opposed to it either. They provided the intel, while Song Qiao sends them there. Of course, the benefits would be reaped together.
Jin Daya scrunched up his eyebrows, muttering under his breath. “Copper crystal? Copper crystal…copper crystal…it sounds so familiar, but I can’t think of anything.”
“What can’t you think of?” Xin Zhaolun asked.
“The name of the copper crystal is supposed to be familiar, but I can’t remember why…”
“What do you mean why? Back where we came from, we call it Fengmo copper as well.”
“Yes! Fengmo copper! That! Heh heh, it’s very valuable!” Jin Daya said, clapping.
“Alright. I’ll take you there. But you must know that Qianyin Ice Mountain is not a fun place to be,” Song Qian warned. “There are many Ice Beasts there. They should be out and about after the frost. With your strength, you should be able to handle it, but it’s still dangerous.”
Yi Zhong smiled. “Well, we have you!”
Song Qiao laughed as well. “Alright, you three little bastards. Alright. We’ll go together. We were originally planning to go to the Ice Cave, but we can take a detour to Qianyin Ice Mountain and see what we can get.”
Lei Xinfeng already knows about the importance of materials. This time, he only created a small Lightning Stamp, yet he already used so much of his precious materials. He even had to borrow! He needed to return them, even if they weren’t the exact same materials he borrowed. That’s why he was anxious to go mining.
Hongjie came out. “Take me with you this time.
Xin Zhaolun nodded. “Does Miaolin have someone guarding here?”
“Yes, there shouldn’t be any problems. She’s just cultivating at home. It’s quick here. After her ascension, she’d already stabilized. It wouldn’t be strange if she could ascend soon again.”
To Miaolin, mining was useless. Cultivating here was to her greatest benefit. However, to the leader of her guards, Hongjie, this chance could not be passed up.
Song Qiao scowled. The number of people increased again. The only light at the end of the tunnel was that he was opening the Gate in the same world; it wouldn’t take as much energy. “Alright, count the number of people. Don’t accept any more. You want to kill me?”
“This is all from us,” Xin Zhaolun said.
Lei Xinfeng had Jin Daya, Fengying, and Shihu, four total. Xin Zhaolun was alone. He didn’t take Xiao Diya since the latter was too weak. Xin Zhaolun didn’t have the confidence to protect him. Lastly, Hongjie came along this time. Futou and Chuizi went home with a large amount of food.
Then there’s Yi Zhong and his friends.
After counting, Song Qiao nodded. “Nine total, plus me, so ten. A little much, but it can’t be helped. Alright, I have a request. I hope that none of you will reject it.”
“Name it, Senior,” Xin Zhaolun said.
“This time, no matter what we get, I want a fifth of it.”
“That’s not a problem…however, we also have a…wish.” He didn’t dare ask directly.
“What?” Song Qiao asked.
“I wish for you to ensure the safety of all of us,” Xin Zhaolun said.
Song Qiao didn’t mind. He could be considered at the peak of strength in this place. There was almost nothing living that could threaten him, so he agreed immediately. He turned to the three others. “What about you? Do you agree with my request?”
They agreed quickly as well. Even if Song Qiao asked for half, they’d have gladly agreed. Song Qiao’s presence saved them so much time and effort. It was doubtful if they would’ve been able to go all the way to Qianyin Ice Mountain in the first place without Song Qiao’s help.
Song Qiao was very satisfied. Although a fifth isn’t a lot by itself, there were nine other people. With so many to help him, the cost to use the Hidden Door paled in comparison.
As for ensuring the safety of everyone present, it was easy. As long as none of the truly strong Ice Beasts appears, they’d be fine. Everyone except Lei Xinfeng were Ninth Ring Sages, and Lei Xinfeng himself had offensive power on par with a Ninth Ring Sage.
He was basically getting twenty percent of everyone’s harvest for free.
He was a good mood. “Alright. Is everyone done preparing? If so, let’s go!” he said, smiling.
Because they were all practitioners, they could just pack into their Hidden Lun space. They were ready whenever.
Xin Zhaolun surveyed his group. Lei Xinfeng nodded. “We’re ready.”
“I’ve no problems,” Hongjie said.
Then Xin Zhaolun addressed Song Qiao. “We can go immediately.”
Yi Zhong, Yi Xinpu, and Yi Zhou exchanged glances and nodded. “We’re ready.”
“Very good! Let’s go!” Song Qiao said. He waved his hands about, and suddenly, a door appeared. “Hurry”
Everyone rushed in. When the last person entered, Song Qiao entered as well. As soon as Song Qiao vanished, the door disappeared.
With the Hidden Door, everyone arrived at the Qianyin Ice Mountain.
The moment Lei Xinfeng walked out of the secret door, he heard a cacophony of sounds, like gibberish whispers, roars of beasts, cries of birds, or sounds like a sword swinging through the air. Thousands of strange sounds came all at once, giving him a headache.
Xin Zhaolun grimaced. “As expected of something named for a Thousand Sounds,” he said.
“It’s just the wind,” Song Qiao said.
The Qianyin Ice Mountain was a mountain range of ice. Countless holes were formed in the ice, and as the wind blew through them, it produced the headache-inducing noise. For that reason, it was called the Ice Mountain of a Thousand Sounds.
“I’ve come here a few times and found many kinds of ore. However, it’s my first time hearing about any copper crystal ores here,” Song Qiao said.
Yi Zhong and his friends walked out and spent a long time looking around. Some twenty minutes later, Yi Zhong ascertained where they were. He said, “Alright, follow me. Thank goodness the frost just passed. It’s when the wind is the weakest, so we can all fly. However, stay near the ground, or you’ll attract Ice Beasts.”
Fengying and Shihu came to Lei Xinfeng’s side, each grabbing onto his arm. “We’ll fly with you for a while.”
Lei Xinfeng then realized that he could fly too. However, he’d never flown before. Knowing this, Fengying and Shihu came by to help him get used to it first. He thanked them, excited. Together, they flew after everyone else.
Fengying and Shihu occasionally released his arm. After a few times, Lei Xinfeng finally got used to flying and began to fly under his own power. Although he still couldn’t control it perfectly, he managed to nail the basics.
After an hour of flying, Yi Zhong landed in an ice gorge. He went to Song Qiao’s side. “Senior, it should be near. I wish to request for you to do a brief search.”
Song Qiao nodded and vanished. After a few seconds, he appeared again. “I thought you found the deposit.”
Yi Zhong nodded. “Yes, we heard the news by chance. There’s probably someone already here, right?”
Song Qiao nodded. “There are six people, three Eighth Rings, and three Ninth Rings. They’re not very strong. What will you do?”
Yi Zhong bowed. “We await your orders.”
Xin Zhaolun wasn’t stupid either. “Senior’s opinion first.”
Song Qiao sighed. “I’m really going to have to work for that fifth of ores. Fine, we’ll do it this way. We will chase them away. If they resist, we will kill them all. None of them will escape.”
Lei Xinfeng now realized how pragmatic Song Qiao was. He reminded himself of the values of this world. Back in his previous world, no matter how deep the animosity was, people rarely died because of it. However, people here often died without even knowing why.
With Song Qiao’s blessings, Yi Zhong and his friends became excited and rushed in.
The cast keeps increasing. As if eleven people wasn’t already too much. We’re already barely seeing the others. This author has a bad habit of throwing out materials after establishing it.
Fun Fact: Lei Xinfeng (Lei Xing Feng (雷星峰))’s name could be interpreted as Lightning at the Starry Peaks. His grandfather is Lei Bao (雷暴) which could mean either Chaotic or Violent Lightning. I have no idea about his sister though. She just sounds cute. If you think she’s cute in the English translator, she’s even cuter in the Chinese version.
Also, l3lacksheep said he’d be my editor. I have no idea how it’s going to work, but yay, I can now dump all the work on him.
Someone asked if I was going to drop it suddenly. I promised that I’d translate at least two whole volumes (Book 9 and Book 10). I’ll probably keep going.