books44 Chapter 409 - 237: Exploring the Nether Realm, The Foreman (Part 2)
Chapter 409 - 237: Exploring the Nether Realm, The Foreman (Part 2)
Su Chen felt a sense of relief. It seemed his identity as a Deceitful God’s Follower was indeed an all-access pass in the Nether Realm.
Without another word, he walked straight into the mine, his figure disappearing inside without any interference.
The mine was spacious, showing signs of excavation. Every so often, crystal lamps resembling fireflies hung from the stone walls.
Su Chen moved closer for a look and discovered they were knuckle-sized insects housed in Nether Iron Crystal casings. Their fingernail-sized heads were covered in fine compound eyes.
Su Chen’s face darkened. He shuddered, losing all interest, and tried his best to avoid the crystal lamps as he walked straight toward the end of the tunnel.
The mine wasn’t very deep, only about two to three hundred meters, before it split into several side tunnels.
He randomly picked one and walked another few hundred meters until he reached the end.
The color of the stone walls gradually shifted from silver-gray to pure silver, even faintly glowing.
’Netherworld Stone...’
Su Chen looked at the pockmarked ore before him, swung his pickaxe, and smashed it down. CLANG! Sparks flew, and a shard of silver rock broke off.
’All that for such a small piece?’ Su Chen stopped, his brow furrowed.
Any action in the Nether Realm consumed Spiritual Power, especially a forceful swing like that. The more Spiritual Power he used, the greater his strength.
’How long will it take to dig out a Mother Stone at this rate?’
Though his brow furrowed at the thought, his hands didn’t stop moving. The sound of CLINK CLANK echoed through the mine.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally hammered out an irregular, blackish-brown stone from the silver ore.
Su Chen jolted and quickly picked it up, only to be greatly disappointed. ’Its color doesn’t reflect light, and it has natural fissures inside. This is a Child Stone.’
Su Chen sighed. The Netherworld Mother Stone and Child Stones were not naturally found together; rather, they were linked through a special method after their formation.
Therefore, whether one dug up a Mother Stone or a Child Stone was purely a matter of luck.
And this piece of raw ore, based on the information he had researched, was clearly a Child Stone.
’All that digging just for one Child Stone.’
Su Chen took a breath, estimating that he had already used up more than half of his Spiritual Power.
Even with the reserves stored by the Gourmet, he wouldn’t last much longer, nor would he be able to dig up much.
’No wonder the Sect had to mobilize so many people. This stuff is really hard to mine...’
Su Chen leaned against the stone wall, lost in thought. He estimated that even if he advanced to Tier Five, it would still be difficult to mine efficiently.
’If I keep hacking away like this, I might get something, but it’s nowhere near enough to purchase the Deceitful God’s Power in bulk.’
’One person’s strength can’t compare to an entire Sect, after all... If only I could...’
His brow was tightly furrowed in thought when suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he hurried out of the mine.
Sure enough, in that short time, a number of Netherworld Creatures had gathered outside the mine again.
However, the moment he appeared, they scattered in all directions like startled birds, moving with incredible speed.
Su Chen projected a wave of spiritual energy, shouting, "All of you, halt!"
Accompanied by the Deceitful God’s aura from his Spirit Body, most of the Low-tier Netherworld Creatures froze. They wanted to move but didn’t dare, wanted to run but couldn’t bring themselves to, and simply stood in place, trembling.
He glanced at the size of the mine, scanned the area, and pointed. "You, you, you, and you. All of you, stay."
Given the rudimentary intelligence of these Netherworld Creatures, the ones he pointed to—some with facial features, some without—all looked utterly terrified.
As for the Netherworld Creatures that weren’t chosen, they scurried away as if granted amnesty.
The few High-tier Netherworld Creatures perched on the mountain peak merely glanced down without a word.
Their limbs were either latched onto the mountain or burrowed into it. Vaguely, streams of black energy could be seen being drawn from the ore veins and absorbed into their bodies.
The two sides did not interfere with each other. Su Chen led the four Netherworld Creatures he had selected into the mine.
These creatures were not very tall. One resembled an ape, while another crawled on all fours like a turtle.
They followed behind him miserably with their heads hung low. Su Chen led them to the end of the mine, pointed at the fresh excavation marks, and made a motion. "Smash!"
The creatures possessed simple intelligence and were able to understand the command.
After a slight hesitation, the ape-like black Netherworld Creature was the first to act. It stepped forward, wound up its four arms, and smashed them against the stone wall.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Rock fragments flew. Su Chen’s eyes twitched, and he stepped back to avoid them. ’So efficient?’
He couldn’t help but be surprised. This Netherworld Creature was probably only around Tier Five, yet it moved nonstop, as if it didn’t need to worry about consuming Spiritual Power.
’That’s right. They’re native creatures of the Nether Realm, so of course they’re different. My being here is like a normal person diving underwater; I have to consume oxygen.’
’But they’re the fish living in that sea. They naturally don’t need any extra consumption and can even recover on their own.’
Realizing this, a glint flashed in Su Chen’s eyes.
The ape’s movements were fast and heavy. In just a few moments, Su Chen saw a Child Stone get knocked loose.
He led the other Netherworld Creatures into the other side tunnels and had them start working too. Each of the Netherworld Creatures showed off its unique abilities—some used their heads, some used their hands to smash, and others sprayed beams of energy.
’Now this is more like it!’
He was quite satisfied. ’What future is there in digging by myself? I have to rely on these fully automated production lines.’
He walked to the junction of the tunnels, listening quietly to see if any of the Netherworld Creatures were slacking off. His identity as a Deceitful God’s Follower was truly useful; these creatures didn’t dare to be negligent.
He estimated that an hour or two had passed when he heard a clear "DING."
Su Chen’s eyes shifted, and he darted into one of the side tunnels.
Sure enough, on the ground lay a fist-sized, irregular blackish-brown stone that was crystal-clear and glossy. The turtle-like Netherworld Creature had stopped its work, its pea-sized eyes staring greedily at the stone.
’A Mother Stone.’
Su Chen immediately picked it up and examined it closely. Its surface refracted a faint light. A single piece was worth tens of millions of Star Coins, and just five or six of them were equivalent to one portion of essence.
"What are you looking at? Get back to work." Su Chen glanced at the black turtle. The little turtle shuddered in fear and resumed ramming its head against the stone.
Satisfied, Su Chen left. He only drove all the Netherworld Creatures away an hour before the Dark Sun’s duration was about to end.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to keep them working, but during the period of the Flame Fire’s burning, the Sect would also send people here to inspect.
Moreover, if he wasn’t there to supervise, Su Chen guessed these Netherworld Creatures probably wouldn’t keep digging honestly.
’These creatures have too little intelligence; they rely mostly on instinct.’
’If I could strike a deal with those big guys outside, maybe this could become a 24-hour, non-stop production line.’
After commanding these Netherworld Creatures, Su Chen realized he had barely scratched the surface of what his identity as a Deceitful God’s Follower could do.
If he could find the right method, the Nether Realm would be a treasure trove for him.
Normal Deceitful God’s Followers, even with this advantage in the Nether Realm, wouldn’t develop it so deeply.
All they needed to do was act as the tentacles of the Deceitful God, continuously spreading its corruption.
Su Chen rubbed his chin. The Nether Realm was full of special resources that were extremely valuable and irreplaceable in the outside world.
But getting those highly intelligent Netherworld Creatures to obey his commands, or even cooperate with him, would be no simple task.
The Low-tier Netherworld Creatures feared him because of the natural intimidation from the Deceitful God’s aura.
But the High-tier creatures knew the difference: a Deceitful God’s Follower was merely a follower, not the God itself.
At most, they would maintain a state of mutual non-interference with him. But to command them...
’I’ll have to think of something.’ Su Chen’s gaze fell on the pile of blackish-brown stones before him.
This time, the harvest was bountiful. He had dug up two Mother Stones and a pile of Child Stones.
Now, he needed to get them out.
’Completely envelop them with Spiritual Power to take them out.’ Su Chen recalled the method Steward Feng had briefly mentioned. His Spiritual Power surged forth, attempting to wrap around the Netherworld Stones.