Martial Universe (Wu Dong Qian Kun)
chapter-57

“Lin Dong-ge, did something happen?”

Seated on Little Flame, Qing Tan inquisitively asked after she saw Lin Dong’s peculiar actions.

Lin Dong waved his hands and did not reply. He lifted his head and somberly surveyed the surrounding before he grabbed soil from north, south, east and west directions in order to test the concentration of Yang Energy contained within the soil.

“The soil to the north seems to contain more Yang Energy.”

Lin Dong dusted off the black soil on his hands and beckoned to Qing Tan before immediately dashing towards the north. Behind him, Qing Tan immediately urged Little Flame to follow.

Human and beast sprinted through the lush forest as softs ray of light penetrated through the tree leaves and illuminated the woods.

Most of the land in the Steel Wood Manor was made up of virgin forests. Upon cursory inspection, it seemed that the Lei Family had concentrated their efforts on the Steel Wood. Therefore, they did not bother exploring the other parts of the forest.

After running a short distance, Lin Dong would bend down to grab some soil in order to discern the direction before once again heading off.

This search lasted for approximately half an hour before Lin Dong finally stopped. The soil here was extremely dark in color, and when Lin Dong grabbed the soil, he could vividly feel that the Yang Energy contained within was more highly concentrated than anywhere else.

“Lin Dong-ge, this place is scorching!”

Seated on Little Flame’s back, Qing Tan’s exquisite face was now drenched with sweat. Since she arrived here, she felt as though she had entered a furnace. If Lin Dong had not insisted, she would have left immediately.

“Just endure it for a while.”

Lin Dong smiled as he tried to pacify her. He gazed around and discovered that they had nearly reached the end of the woodlands. He could also faintly smell some traces of wild beasts. Instantly, he went on guard while signalling to Qing Tan before he crouched down and slowly walked forward. Moments later, a valley appeared in front of his eyes.

As Lin Dong carefully scanned the valley, his eyes quickly concentrated on the two black figures that were hidden deep within the valley.

These two figures seemed to be two black Panthers. Their entire bodies were pitch-black and it looked like they were wearing a suit of black armour that completely covered every bit of their bodies. When the sun shone on them, a glaring light was reflected off and their verdant eyes revealed a savage and cunning temperament.

“Demonic Black Steel Panther.”

As he looked at those two black metal-like Panthers, Lin Dong involuntarily gasped. These two Demonic Black Steel Panthers were Demonic Beasts and they were equally fearsome as the Fire Python Tiger. A matured Demonic Panther likewise possess the same might as a Heavenly Yuan practitioner. Currently, from their sizes, it was clear that these two creatures were in their prime.

Therefore, these two creatures were the equivalent of two Heavenly Yuan experts. Lin Dong never expected that such deadly creatures were hidden in the depths of the Steel Wood Manor.

“It’s no wonder that the people from the Lei Family did not dare to venture this deep into the woods. It turns out that there was this kind of danger lurking about.” Lin Dong muttered to himself. Just as he planned to silently retreat, a mysterious undulation was suddenly emitted by his right palm that had been placed on the ground.

This undulation shocked Lin Dong. Soon after, he carefully bent down on all fours. If the Stone Talisman vibrated, something must have attracted its attention.

Lin Dong placed his right palm flat on the ground as he quietly felt the undulation. Meanwhile, he slowly moved his body in response. It was a long while later before he finally stopped at a slight depression in the ground.

As he stared at this slight depression, Lin Dong was somewhat puzzled. Soon after, his fist ferociously slammed down.Soil immediately flew in every direction and a inch wide hole was revealed. It was evident that this hole existed long ago, however it was covered by a layer of soil on the surface.

Just as this hole emerged, the undulations from Lin Dong’s right palm intensified. After some hesitation, he decided to stretch his hand into that hole and randomly fished about.

Seated nearby, Qing Tan looked at Lin Dong, who was now kneeling on the floor and digging rocks and soil out of the hole like a pangolin. An odd expression surfaced on her tiny face as she was evidently uncertain of what Lin Dong was up to.

Under Qing Tan’s strange gaze, Lin Dong’s continued to dig around in that hole for half a day. However, all he managed to uncover were some stray pebbles, and he found nothing of interest.

After he dug for a while more, he still did not uncover any treasure. Just as he was so frustrated that he was ready to call it quits, his hand suddenly grabbed onto a warm stone in the hole, and when he clenched the stone in his palm, the undulation of the Stone Talisman finally stopped.

“Found it…”

As he sensed the change in the Stone Talisman, Lin Dong was delighted. He immediately pulled out his arm as a light red rock appeared before his eyes.

That stone did not have defined edges, and was coloured a light-red. It was also translucent like a crystal. Holding the stone in his hand, he could feel a faint warmth, as if he were holding onto a ball of sunlight.

“This is… a Yang Yuan Stone…”

Lin Dong was lost in a daze as he stared at the light-red crystal-rock in his hand. Suddenly, he took in a deep breath and a look of awe surfaced in his eyes.

Yang Yuan Stone was a rather special crystal stone. It was said that it could only be formed in the deepest parts of a volcano. Not only did the crystal stone absorbed the Yuan Energy between Heaven and Earth, but after bathing in lava in a long time, they also managed to assimilate a part of the Yang Energy from the lava. This Yang Energy, was akin to the life blood for Heavenly Yuan practitioners.

Lin Dong had once heard from Lin Xiao that in the Great Yan Dynasty, many Heavenly Yuan Practitioners would carry around a few Yang Yuan Stones. However, these items were not cheap, therefore, they were rarely seen in Qingyang Town.

Lin Dong had never expected that he would actually uncover a Yang Yuan Stone. After all, it was rare for Yang Yuan Stone to appear by itself. Due to the special circumstances needed for its formation, anywhere a Yang Yuan Stone appears, there would tend to be a lode nearby. This lode could be small or large, however, even if it were an extremely tiny lode, it would still be considered as a massive fortune for the Lin Family.

“This place used to be a volcano. Therefore, it is not impossible for a Yang Yuan Stone lode to exist here…”

Lin Dong’s mouth could not help but twitch in excitement. He tightly gripped the Yang Yuan Stone in his hand and abruptly stood up.

“Growl!”

Just as he stood up, in the valley ahead, the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers suddenly growled. Their growls seems to be directed towards his location.

“We have been discovered…”

Lin Dong’s facial expression changed as he rapidly dashed back and lept on Little Flame’s back. Then, he held onto Qing Tan’s slim waist and shouted: “Quick! Let’s go!”

At his shout, Little Flame let out a tiny grow before it immediately stretched out its four limbs and dashed out of the forest like a whirlwind…

…

“Sigh, let’s first gather some workers to be stationed at this Steel Wood Manor and try to clear up the poison within the soil. As for the rest of the Steel Wood, lets cut it down first before testing if this area is still suitable for planting Steel Wood. If it’s impossible, lets not waste too much manpower here.” In the hall, after an afternoon of howling, Lin Zhentian finally stopped his pointless rage as he sat on his chair and solemnly commanded.

“Yes.”

Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiao and the rest forced a smile as they nodded their heads. They were evidently disappointed. Initially, what they thought would be a huge score turned out a be a dud.

“Bang!”

When Lin Xiao and the rest were nodding their heads, the door to the hall was suddenly slammed open as Lin Dong immediately barged in. After seeing his dirty appearance and flustered expression, everyone was shocked. Just as they were about to comment, Lin Dong took out a light-red crystal rock and heavily placed it on the table in front of Lin Zhentian.

“Grandpa. This time, our Lin Family has struck gold!”