When the Branch Head finally reached the source of these chasms and their extremely dense Qi, his heart beat wildly.
He's spent years of planning and staying in such a shitty town filled with nothing but trash cultivators who have fallen into debauchery. He's given up years, if not decades, of cultivation all for this moment. The Mercenary Association sent him on this mission all those years ago because he wasn't someone who was too important to them, but he was trustworthy and strong.
More importantly, he was a guy who did what he wanted, when he wanted. If he wants to go to another continent then he will go to another continent. If he wants to exterminate a clan or a city, then he'll do just that. If he wants to cultivate for years on end, then there's nothing anyone can do to stop him.
That's the main reason the Mercenary Association sent him on this mission because nobody would watch or suspect his movements. While he was a rather well-known figure across the Major Sects, he wasn't strong enough nor did he have any powerful backing besides being part of the Mercenary Association so his threat level was rather low. Well, low enough that the other clans and powers couldn't be bothered to investigate his disappearance.
Now, all of his pain and suffering was about to come to an end. Not only that, but the rewards he'll receive by bringing back a High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source are immense. They are more than worth everything he's had to do and give up over the years. In fact, he thought that what he was doing was too little for what he is going to receive.
However, he knew that the benefits the Mercenary Association will reap by having a High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source will be much more than what they are offering him. More than likely, the Mercenary Association will continue to flourish for thousands of years even after he dies or ascends to the Immortal Realm.
That's how important a High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source is. Having a constant supply of High-Grade Spirit Stones can deepen the foundation of a worldly power, allow for faster cultivation, power higher-cost formations with more efficiency, and that's not even the end of it. After the Mercenary Association's foundation deepens for a few hundred or thousand years, they can even start a world war with the intent of becoming the sole power in this Mortal World.
They will control the flow of resources, the prices of things, and the lives of billions, while also having the ability and freedom to be the first to discover any secrets this world has to offer.
Nothing will be beyond their grasp and if they're lucky enough to survive for tens, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years, then they might even be able to establish a power in the Immortal Realm!
At least, those are the thoughts and aspirations of the Higher-ups in the Mercenary Association. Tons of things can go wrong in between, but that's not what matters. What matters is that the spark of all this is gaining access to a High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source!!
Although the Branch Head didn't know of their aspirations, he knew the importance of having a High-Grade Source like the one he was staring at.
The High-Grade Spirit Stone Source is actually nothing more than a pink translucent crystal in the shape of an octahedron. It was about the size of an adult human's head.
Surprisingly, this crystal doesn't possess any energy. Spirit Stone Mine Sources don't actually contain any Qi inside of them. Well, maybe when they were first created they contained Qi inside of them, but they lost all of that after creating their first Spirit Stone Mine. After that, they lose all of their energy and instead turn into something akin to a Qi purifier.
Spirit Stone Mine Sources suck in the surrounding Qi, refine it, condense it, remove any impurities, then release a much denser and purer form of Qi. This Qi is also highly susceptible to turning the surrounding Earth into Spirit Stones.
The density and purity of the Qi released are based solely on the grade of the Source.
Of course, there may be other uses for these sources, but there is very little research on that and most clans, sects, and powers are unwilling to use Spirit Stone Mine sources as test subjects. They are just too rare and important to risk losing.
Anyways, when the Branch Head broke into this room and saw the Source, although he was surprised and elated he calmed his emotions while at the same time realizing something important.
This room was entirely empty besides the Source. No Spirit Stones, no beasts, no nothing. It was just a large empty space, yet for some reason, looking into this room, he felt something in his heart that he hasn't felt in a long time: fear.
Yes, he felt an overwhelming amount of fear and dread when he looked at this Spirit Stone Mine Source. However, he didn't know where it was coming from.
All he knew was that without the proper preparations, his death was set in stone if he took another step into this room.
Fortunately, he wasn't idle during the time he spent on this mission. He's had plenty of time to come up with preparations and contingencies.
He never expected to get this Source without a fight and just from his intuition, he knew that a fight was inevitable.
With a slight grin on his face, the Branch Head took out numerous items. One was a Late-Stage Heaven Grade Spear. It had a black shaft with a golden blade at the tip. The aura released from this Spear caused the very air to tremble from its might.
Not bothered by this, the Branch Head took out a few more items such as arrays, pills, formations, and armor. All of these things had various uses, but there was one thing they all had in common. They were used to increase his combat power while decreasing his enemies.
Before even knowing who his enemy was, he consumed a few pills which caused his muscles to bulge and his cultivation to rise. The pills he just took was a Heaven-Grade Limit Breaking Pill and a Heaven-Grade Blood Boiling pill. These pills increase his bodily strength and cultivation for an extended period of time and since they are Heaven-Grade and he already has a high cultivation base and a strong body, the backlash is rather negligible.
He could probably take 5 to 10 of these pills before the backlash really hit and then he'd be out of commission.
Then he tossed the arrays and formations into the room while putting on his armor which was also black with gold trimmings.
The Branch Head felt his heart bleed using all of these things, but luckily the Mercenary Association gifted him a few for the missions while also discounting the others. Otherwise, he'd have to spend his entire savings and call in a few favors if he wanted to receive every one of these items.
He truly didn't wish to use these right off the bat, but his instincts told him that if he didn't do so then he'd surely regret it and while he may be a muscle-head, he wasn't stupid.
Sure, he likes fighting and isn't afraid of death, but he doesn't want to willingly throw his life away because he got arrogant. More importantly, he didn't want to fail this mission because of his arrogance and desire for battle.
He's spent too much time and resources on this mission and he will see it through to the end with a High-Grade Spirit Stone Mine Source in his hand!
With all of his preparations set, he jumped near the Source and acted like he was about to grab it in order to draw out whatever was protecting it.
*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR*
Sure enough, just as his hand was about to make contact with the crystal, a thunderous roar reverberated throughout the room. No, not just the room, but the entire chasm! It even reached all the other chasms and found its way towards Quake City!
The ground shook violently as an ancient yet volatile aura descended across the area causing the weaker beings to cough up blood and faint, while the stronger ones felt their internal organs shake and their minds buzz.
Some people and beasts even died on the spot just because of this beast, no, this monster's powerful roar!
The Branch Head, being the closest to this roar, also took the brunt of the damage, but fortunately he made ample preparations beforehand and wasn't affected by it.
The ground beneath him started to shake right after the roar before it quickly broke apart and something within the depths of the earth rose up.
In the darkness, a pair of golden snake-like eyes met the Branch Head's eyes as it tried using its ocular technique in hopes of killing this puny human on the spot for daring to covet its treasure.
Unfortunately for it, things wouldn't be so easy as its opponent did a lot more than just prepare a few last minute items before having a fight of this magnitude.
The Branch Head grinned wildly and immediately jumped into the abyss that this creature was sitting in.
"Haha! Let's fight you monstrous creature! Let's see who's truly deserving of taking advantage of such a treasure!"
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