"Dark Epiphyllum, it truly is the Dark Epiphyllum..." Zong Shou stared at it in stunned silence for a long time, unable to process the reality. Could it be that he had been blessed by some decree of fate? His luck was simply too good.

He had only intended to excavate the core of a second-tier Spirit Stone mine, and first, he unearthed Purple Spirit Iron ore, and now he had stumbled upon such an astonishing treasure.

Dark Epiphyllum—just hearing the name suggested this spiritual herb required growth in utter darkness. From what Zong Shou knew, this herb not only demanded abundant spiritual energy but also could not tolerate even the slightest hint of light or air; contact with either would cause it to perish instantly.

However, once it formed a bud, it required exposure to the air to bloom. It possessed a fleeting life of only ten breaths before immediately withering. This object could neither enhance Qi Refining cultivation nor increase soul power. But the seed produced after the Epiphyllum bloomed held a different, unique power, one that could drive all Spirit Masters into a frenzy. Even he could not help but have his heart shaken by it!

His breath hitched, becoming heavy. Zong Shou sharply pinched his own arm, and the resulting sting brought his mind back from being lost in delusion. Although the Dark Epiphyllum was marvelous, it could only be harvested after it had flowered. And at this moment, there were a full twelve hours remaining until it bloomed. He would have to wait an entire day to finally claim it.

He once again manipulated the stone puppets, directing them to continue digging downward. However, he proceeded with extreme caution, steering clear of the Dark Epiphyllum and boring through the side instead.

This location was indeed the site of the mine core. After two hours of digging, ten third-tier Spirit Stones of various types were successively unearthed, bringing a wide smile to Zong Shou's face. The attributes varied; there were quite a few water-element stones, likely due to the underground stream nearby. Next came earth-element stones, making up nearly half the haul. Spirit Stone production was typically most abundant in areas rich in terrestrial energy; thus, no Spirit Stone mine could lack earth-element stones.

Finally, the Spirit Stone mine core was buried deep beneath this underground channel, approximately thirty feet down from the opening, which itself was over eighty feet from the surface. By the time Zong Shou discovered this object, he had already commanded three stone puppets to dig continuously for four full hours.

This Spirit Stone mine core was different from the loose Spirit Stones. It was a silvery-white ovate object, no different from ordinary rock, yet he could sense the profound spiritual energy contained within—four times that of a common Spirit Stone. "It's a Metal-element core!"

Zong Shou’s eyes held a slight tinge of shame. This time, he had guessed wrong again. After excavating so many water and earth element stones, he had assumed the core would be one of those two attributes. Yet, what he retrieved was an entirely unrelated attribute: Geng Metal. "That's right! The principle of Metal generating Water, this place being rich in earth veins, and that piece of Purple Spirit Iron ore... It was my limited insight that led me astray!" The knowledge gleaned from books was truly different from real-world practice.

Sensing deeply again, the core offered him no further surprise. The Metal-element spiritual energy within was abundant, but he could only discern two relatively strong spiritual energy conduits. A mine core, in essence, was no different from a Vein Spirit Bead. The distinction was that the former condensed naturally: Spirit Stones formed where numerous spiritual veins converged and reacted. A mine core, however, was the product of multiple spiritual veins colliding, impacting, or even merging, often resulting in solidified veins within. Every medium or larger Spirit Stone mine might yield one to several cores, or perhaps none at all. A Vein Spirit Bead, conversely, was entirely man-made through refinement.

Sensing the intensifying reaction from Little Gold on his left arm, Zong Shou couldn't help but smile faintly. This little fellow was in for a treat today. While a Metal-element core was somewhat disappointing—only Water, Thunder, and Fire attributes, when converted and housed in the Vein Spirit Bead, would bring him truly immense benefits. But having these two Metal veins seemed quite good too; he could directly fuse them with the existing second-tier Metal Vein Spirit Bead. After reaching the fourth tier, it would barely meet the threshold for becoming an Outer Elixir.

"The spiritual energy here is as rich as some Spirit Lands. It's highly likely the Dark Epiphyllum and that piece of Purple Spirit Iron ore have absorbed too much energy from this location. Otherwise, this Spirit Stone mine would absolutely not be merely second-tier; it could have been elevated by at least half a tier..."

Having obtained the core, Zong Shou did not stop. He continued searching the surroundings and indeed, within another two hours, he found another twenty-odd third-tier Spirit Stones. This time, Metal Stones predominated, with a full seventeen pieces accounting for the majority of the find. When his consciousness could no longer detect any traces of Spirit Stones nearby, he ordered the stone puppets to halt. There should still be many buried Spirit Stones in the vicinity, but their positions were extremely hidden, making it hard to pinpoint them, and he was unwilling to waste effort searching further.

Climbing out of the massive pit he had dug, Zong Shou looked back at the Dark Epiphyllum, a look of difficulty crossing his features. His original plan was to come and go quickly, returning within one night. But waiting for the Epiphyllum to bloom required several more hours. Yet, even if he used his heel to think about it, he knew which choice to make.

"There are still a full seven hours until the Dark Epiphyllum opens. Forget it. This is the perfect time to let Little Gold devour these Spirit Stones." Zong Shou selected a relatively open area nearby. He then commanded the three puppets to dig sideways, creating a wider space, extending six feet in all directions—left, right, front, and back.

However, when Zong Shou began setting up the spirit array, a headache struck him. The third-tier Beast Crystals in his spatial pouch were nearly depleted. After racking his brain, he tossed in two more Spirit Stones to barely scrape enough together. The vital energy and soul power naturally nurtured within Spirit Stones were exceedingly pure, no less potent than the essence he absorbed from the Thunder Luan egg; in theory, Little Gold could devour them directly. Zong Shou established this array not for absorption, but for another purpose.

Looking around with satisfaction, Zong Shou tossed two Metal Spirit Stones to the side, treating the leading goose-like Chu Xue. "You won't learn much from this. Go over there and use these two stones. You've already devoured two Human-tier Pills; with the aid of these stones, you should reach the Spirit Nurturing realm within a few days." "Huh? These stones are for me?" Chu Xue took the stones in her hand but looked utterly bewildered. "But... how do I use them?" She hadn't practiced spiritual arts in a long time, only habitually cultivating her soul power daily, yet she remained stuck at the Soul Observation realm. Although she had learned the method for absorbing Spirit Stones before, she hadn't had the opportunity to use it for years and had forgotten it entirely.

Seeing Zong Shou's face instantly darken, becoming extremely grim, Chu Xue managed an awkward smile, inexplicably feeling guilty. She let out a nervous little laugh. "Ah! Young Master, Xue'er remembers! I have some recollection! No, I remember clearly. How could I forget?" Zong Shou frowned, a thought striking him, and his expression smoothed into calmness. "Xue'er, just say if you don't know! I won't scold you. By the way, I drew three runic arrays just now. Did you learn anything? The runes used were extremely common; you should have encountered them before..." He had come for the mine core alone, but he had brought Chu Xue along precisely so she could observe him drawing runes and setting up arrays. There was no better way to grasp the true meaning of runes than by directly observing a high-tier Spirit Master or Rune Master at work. This was why Spirit Masters, whether ten thousand years ago or now, always valued inheritance above all else.

Chu Xue immediately breathed a sigh of relief, yet she still seemed doubtful, asking with pitiful eyes, "Really? Young Master truly won't scold me?" Only after Zong Shou nodded did she finally calm down, still blinking wide-eyed. "Young Master, you promised not to scold me, we agreed! Xue'er, well, Xue'er has forgotten everything! I've been learning the art of absorbing Spirit Stones for many years, how could I remember it? And those runes—they know Xue'er, but Xue'er doesn't know them; I’ve forgotten them long ago!"

Zong Shou felt a surge of frustration. Before Chu Xue could finish, he grabbed her small face and squeezed it repeatedly from side to side. "You're still acting defiant! If you don't know runes, how can you be a Spirit Master? You might as well just focus on martial arts." Seeing Chu Xue's eyes redden, sparkling like stars, and her chin nodding vehemently as if to say Yes, I'll just study martial arts; spiritual arts and runes are too troublesome, I don't want to learn them, Zong Shou felt both exasperated and amused. He squeezed a little harder. "You silly girl, you have the War Martial Body, yes, and you can reach the peak of martial arts without delving into sword principles or fist theory. But if you meet truly monstrous foes in the future, you'll be finished! Understand? By cultivating spiritual arts as well, at least if you can't win, you can escape! Are you still pretending to be cute for me? Hmph, playing pitiful won't work! When we get back, you will copy the Great Desolate Rune Scripture one hundred times, do you hear me!"

Ultimately, he could not withstand the devastating power of Chu Xue's gaze, and he was afraid of genuinely kneading her little face out of shape. Zong Shou released her after administering a small, light punishment. Chu Xue immediately bounced three feet away, hiding to the side, covering her face with both hands, whining pitifully, "Young Master, you broke your word! You said you wouldn't scold me!" "I was pinching you directly, not scolding! How is that breaking my word?"

Zong Shou muttered this with a hint of smugness, still thinking about the sensation in his hands. He then sobered his expression and began explaining the incantation for absorbing Spirit Stones. Martial cultivators only needed to circulate their true energy to directly absorb the elemental power within Spirit Stones. Soul Masters had it slightly more complicated; they needed spiritual arts to extract the soul energy within. He taught her the incantation and several necessary runes. Zong Shou worried the girl might misunderstand and waste the Spirit Stones, so he patiently guided her through the process several times before letting her begin absorbing the stones nearby.

Zong Shou also sat down in the center of the spirit array and let Little Gold slide down from his arm. The act of a Sticky Beast devouring something was very straightforward; he just needed to toss the Spirit Stone over. In less than half an hour, Zong Shou watched as an entire Spirit Stone was ground to dust by Little Gold. It absorbed every last speck of soul energy and vital power before spitting out the remaining powder entirely. Despite being third-tier, these Spirit Stones caused it no painful burden whatsoever.