"Yangyuan Stone?"
Lin Zhengtian stared blankly at the pale red spiritual stone Lin Dong placed firmly before him. Suddenly, he pulled out a red spiritual stone from his chest pocket. A glance was enough to tell that the two stones, the one Lin Dong had retrieved and his own, were identical.
"Haha, you little rascal, your luck is truly something..." Lin Zhengtian chuckled, casually picked up the teacup beside him, took a small sip, and then said, "Give this Yangyuan Stone to your father; he needs it right now."
"This was dug up from deep within Ironwood Manor. Grandfather, deep underground beneath Ironwood Manor, I'm afraid there might be a Yangyuan Stone mine!" Lin Dong said, his face flushed red.
"Pfft!"
As soon as Lin Dong finished speaking, Lin Zhengtian spat out the tea in his mouth, suddenly shot to his feet, his eyes wide and bloodshot as he stared at Lin Dong, and tremblingly asked, "What did you say? A... a Yangyuan Stone mine?"
In the main hall, Lin Xiao and Lin Keng also turned pale with fright at Lin Dong's words. They, of course, understood the use and value of Yangyuan Stones best. For some Tianyuan Realm experts, these stones were truly extremely attractive. If they could be mined, it would undoubtedly yield an enormous fortune, an amount that would surely dwarf Ironwood Manor's current ironwood trade.
However, the Lei Family had been in this very place for years and never imagined that such enviable resources lay beneath Ironwood Manor.
Naturally, if they had known, even if they used ten young Fire Python Tigers as bait, they would not have used Ironwood Manor as a bargaining chip.
Lin Dong nodded, pointing at the pale red spiritual stone, and said, "This is what I dug up from that place. Grandfather, you should know that this type of Yangyuan Stone rarely appears alone..."
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
Lin Xiao and Lin Keng let out a long breath, exchanged glances, and then, after a moment, Lin Xiao spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "Ironwood Manor was once a volcanic land a long time ago, a place very suitable for the formation of Yangyuan Stones. If this place is a Yangyuan Stone mine, it's not impossible."
Lin Zhengtian's breathing became ragged. He paced back and forth anxiously in the main hall, then said in an urgent voice, "Lead me to that place!"
Lin Dong nodded in response, "However, there are also two Black Iron Demonic Leopards there."
"What?"
Hearing that there were two Black Iron Demonic Leopards there, Lin Zhengtian's expression changed. He then gritted his teeth and said, "Never mind! If that place truly is a Yangyuan Stone mine, let alone two Black Iron Demonic Leopards, even if there were more, we must find a way to eliminate them quickly!"
Hearing this, Lin Dong nodded again, said nothing further, turned and left the main hall. He called Xiao Yan and once again mounted it, leading Lin Zhengtian, Lin Xiao, and Lin Keng as they swiftly rushed into the deep forest opposite the manor.
***
At their fastest speed, in a mere dozen minutes, the group appeared at the spot where Lin Dong had discovered the Yangyuan Stone earlier.
"Indeed, Black Iron Demonic Leopards."
Standing above the valley entrance, Lin Zhengtian looked towards the two black demonic leopards at the bottom of the valley, his expression solemn, and nodded his head. These two beasts, after all, were on par with Tianyuan Realm experts; dealing with them would be a bit troublesome.
Lin Zhengtian muttered to himself, then turned his head. On the other side, Lin Xiao and Lin Keng were behind him, holding shovels and rapidly excavating the cave entrance where Lin Dong had just discovered the Yang Yuan Stone. This matter was extremely important, and ordinary people couldn't be allowed to help for the time being, so the two of them could only do it themselves.
On one side, Lin Dong saw Lin Xiao and Lin Keng laboriously digging the earth and couldn't help but smile.
Lin Xiao and Lin Keng had no time to pay attention to Lin Dong's secret smile at that moment; they were only focused on using their shovels to vigorously widen the cave entrance.
When the two Tianyuan Realm experts acted as laborers, what was originally a moderately sized cave entrance became a large pit with a radius of over ten zhang after about half an hour. However, what made Lin Dong frown was that despite digging so deep, no other Yang Yuan Stones were found. Yet, the Stone Talisman in his palm kept emitting fluctuations, proving that there must be something hidden here.
The setting sun cast long shadows on the ground and gradually faded, giving way to the faint moonlight rising, making the space instantly grow dimmer.
"Father, this time, I'm afraid it was just Dong'er's... good luck..." In the deep pit, Lin Xiao wiped his sweat, looked up at the side of the pit, and seeing Lin Zhengtian's anxious expression, said with a bitter smile.
Hearing this, Lin Zhengtian sighed, his eyes filled with disappointment. It seemed his thoughts were truly too optimistic; how could a Yang Yuan Stone mine be found so easily by chance?
"Let's stop working, it's getting late..." Lin Zhengtian waved his hand, his face looking tired.
In the deep pit, Lin Xiao and Lin Keng also shook their heads with bitter smiles. It seemed nothing went smoothly today; first, the Ironwood Manor came into their hands in a ruined state, and now they had to dig the earth and work so hard for so long here...
Seeing their three disappointed and weary figures, Lin Dong's eyebrows furrowed even deeper. Suddenly, he jumped straight into the deep pit, took the shovel from Lin Xiao's hand, and then vigorously began to excavate the ground.
Seeing Lin Dong's appearance, Lin Xiao knew he wouldn't give up so easily. He sighed softly and patted Lin Dong's shoulder, just about to tell him to relax a bit, when suddenly, at the spot where Lin Dong had just brought his shovel down, a crisp sound rang out!
In the silent forest, although this sound was not loud, it made Lin Zhengtian, who was already disappointed, tremble. His gaze instantly shifted towards where Lin Dong's shovel was. There, a faint pink glow now appeared beneath the mud, flickering in and out of sight.
The three of them stared blankly at the pink glow. In a flash, Lin Zhengtian immediately jumped down, his sleeves sweeping up, and a gust of strong wind rose, blowing the layer of mud and earth aside.
When the mud and earth flew away, a layer of faint pink light met their eyes. Before them was a layer of pale red rock. The rock layer was transparent; if one looked closely, one could vaguely see that inside the rock layer, it was surrounded by pale red crystal blocks, like a kind of precious gem, emitting sparkling light.
The pink glow from the deep pit shone on the faces of the four people, revealing expressions of daze and shock...
"It really is... a Yang Yuan Stone mine..."
Lin Keng stared blankly at that layer of red rock, his body suddenly trembling violently. Their Lin family had encountered a timely opportunity to change their fate.
"Heaven takes pity on my Lin family!"
Lin Zhen Tian tilted his head back, tears streaming down his agitated face. With this mineral mine, the development speed of their Lin family would almost certainly skyrocket. By then, let alone this Qingyang Town, even across the entire Tiandu Commandery, their Lin family would gain considerable renown!
Watching the three extremely emotional people, Lin Dong let out a sigh of relief, threw the shovel in his hand down, and slumped onto a stone slab. His hand gently stroked the faintly warm rock layer that had appeared, and then the corner of his mouth curled up, revealing a mocking smile. If that Lei family knew there was such a treasure beneath the ground of this Ironwood Manor, would Lei Bao be so enraged he'd cough up blood and die?