“Speaking of which...”
Qimeng suddenly remembered something.
“When I cleared the Blood-Sucking Vines before, didn't I sense a hidden vein beneath the flowing water nearby?”
Although she had explored it several times before, her mana had been insufficient at the time, and her underground perception range was limited, yielding no results in the end.
But now, things were different!
The Demon Tree's main body was now a genuine 【High-tier Advanced】 rank!
The breakthrough in rank brought not only a simple doubling of her total mana but also elevated her microscopic perception deep within the earth to a whole new dimension!
“Hehehe, let me take a close look~”
With anticipation, Qimeng controlled her pure white roots, drilling straight toward that direction with a clear goal in mind.
As the depth increased, the faint mana fluctuations in the water flow became more and more frequent!
The next second, tap, tap, tap!
The tips of her roots felt a texture different from ordinary soil, as if they had bumped against a rock wall.
“Wait, this texture...?!”
Qimeng sat up straight! Even her dangling legs stopped swinging!
Through the underground vision sent back by her roots, a dreamlike blue world came into view within the pitch-black subterranean cavity!
Crystal-clear ores were embedded in the rock walls, emitting a pure halo of mana that illuminated the underground cave like a brilliant night sky!
【Blue Magic Stone Mine】!
The quality was higher than the previous red magic stones, and the reserves were even more staggering.
Furthermore, the yield of mid-grade blue magic stones far exceeded that of the red magic stones from before!
“Striking it rich! This is definitely striking it rich with a single mine!!”
Qimeng's eyes instantly turned into the shape of gold coins.
Although she had reached the High-tier Advanced rank, where these mid-grade magic stones could no longer directly provide the mana source energy needed for her to break through, this stuff was pure wealth!
Not only could it serve as a mana reserve for her territory, but it could also boost her subordinates' strength. It was incredibly luxurious!
“I can also trade the excess magic stones with other magical beast tribes in the forest for rare materials or daily supplies. Perfect!”
Just as Qimeng was envisioning the grand blueprint of a 【Tree Court Commercial Magic Kingdom】 in her mind, a strange noise suddenly echoed from deep within the dark mine.
“Hiss, hiss... Clack! Clack!”
Dozens of rock-scaled magical beasts, each as large as a heavy armored vehicle, crawled out from the shadows of the cave one after another.
These were 【Rock Land Wyrms】, Intermediate Rank magical beasts that inhabited the underground.
Although they had "wyrm" in their name, they shared no kinship with the dragons of the sky, looking more like a pack of earth-attribute ore crocodiles.
“Oh? There are actually native residents here.”
It wouldn't be hard to pierce through these Intermediate Rank magical beasts using only the Demon Tree's roots, but those were fragile organs meant for absorbing nutrients after all. There would definitely be damage, and repairing broken roots would consume mana.
It was much easier to handle it herself.
【Tree Vein Movement spell】
The next second, the space within the blue mine fluctuated, and Qimeng's figure materialized beside the rock wall.
Roar! Roar!
“Intermediate Rank magical beasts dare to bark before this High-tier Advanced lady?”
Qimeng waved her small hand.
The Wood Core and Water Core inside her body operated simultaneously.
Wood-attribute mana condensed into a massive wooden fist, its surface coated in a layer of freezing water-attribute frost!
Boom!!
She threw a punch, unleashing a gale of white frost that sent the pack of Rock Land Wyrms flying and froze them solid!
Her pure white roots seized the opportunity to extend, piercing into the shattered ice.
Devour All Things! Life Deprivation!
In the blink of an eye, the group of Intermediate Rank magical beasts crumbled into dust. Qimeng also successfully integrated the mana structure of 【Rock Armor Generation】 in her mind.
“Oh? Another defense skill acquired?”
Come to think of it, Qimeng had acquired quite a few magical beast traits recently, but she hadn't thoroughly analyzed them yet. She was planning to find some time to refine her composite skill system of 【Myriad Manifestations】.
Though, knowing her personality, the progress on this agenda would likely be extremely slow.
“Roar!!”
Just then, a stone crocodile three times larger burst out from the deeper parts of the mine, smashing through the rock wall!
The aura it exuded had actually reached the 【Low-tier Advanced】 rank!
“A Rock Land Wyrm King?”
Facing this aggressive behemoth, Qimeng's gaze turned cold.
“Hmph, still not submitting?”
Her slender body erupted with unbelievable strength as she delivered a flying kick straight to the Rock Land Wyrm King's massive head!
Channeling her dual cores of water and wood once more, she condensed an even larger frost-covered wooden fist out of thin air, slamming it heavily into the ground!
A barrage of impact sounds and mana pressure erupted afterward!
Double suppression.
After half a minute of education by the frosty wooden fist...
“Aoo... woo...”
The Rock Land Wyrm King lay twitching on the ground, wagging its stone tail ingratiatingly, its desire to survive dialed to the maximum.
“Hmph, wouldn't it have been better if you were this honest from the start?”
Qimeng sized up the massive creature.
“Wait a minute... If I ride this Land Wyrm King through the underground, wouldn't I be a legendary 【Wyrm Rider】? Even though this guy looks like a giant crocodile!”
With a trace of expectation for her subterranean supercar, she leaped onto the broad back of the Rock Land Wyrm King and directed it to stroll around the underground.
However...
“Ugh... this doesn't feel right.”
After riding for less than three minutes, Qimeng frowned.
This thing jolted up and down with every step, its rock-hard scales dug uncomfortably into her, and its efficiency was far worse than her Tree Vein Movement spell!
“Riding this is so boring. I might as well just teleport myself...”
Qimeng simply hopped down.
Sensing that this bringer of death seemed to have lost interest in it, the Rock Land Wyrm King felt as if it had received a royal pardon. It lay on the ground, not daring to move a muscle, only daring to peek at her with one half-opened eye, terrified that she would change her mind and smash it into meat paste.
Qimeng kicked the pseudo-wyrm head.
“Listen up, giant crocodile! I shall spare your life, but from now on, you will work as hard labor for me, mining and transporting in this cave!”
“You are responsible for transporting the mined blue magic stones back to my Tree Court territory every day. Remember, no stealing or eating them on your own! My roots will be watching you at all times. If even one is missing, I will drain you dry and turn you into dried crocodile jerky!”
“Of course, as long as you work honestly and dutifully, I will pay you a fixed allowance of magic stones as wages. Do you understand?”
The Rock Land Wyrm King, who had thought its life was forfeit, suddenly heard that it could not only survive but also earn magic stones to eat as wages. Its stone tail wagged even more vigorously, and it frantically nodded its massive head against the ground.
Having settled the hard labor employee and happily acquired a second magic stone vein in the process, Qimeng was in an excellent mood.
And what was even more amusing...
Not long after, this Rock Land Wyrm King actually recruited a large pack of younger brothers of the same species one after another!
A pack of Intermediate Rank Rock Land Wyrms worked hard at mining in the cave, while the king itself comfortably lay on a nearby pile of waste rocks, acting as a supervisor and minor boss, occasionally roaring at any younger brother who slacked off.
This fellow actually knew a thing or two about worldly wisdom!
With this labor force, the mining efficiency of the ore increased by several times.
Watching the carts of blue ore being wheeled into the territory after being taken over by the Wood Elves, Qimeng was extremely satisfied with the results.
Rate on N.U.
