C457 Kacha!

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they followed the young man into the dense forest, arriving at a cluster of mine entrances. Yes, a whole cluster. Among the trees, there were hundreds of mine openings, though the signs at the entrances suggested they hadn't been used in a long time.

"These were left by those who came before you. You can dig along their tunnels or start your own. Tools are inside; help yourselves," the young man said before turning and leaving. The Qi Blood Crystals held no value for him, so he wasn't worried about anyone hoarding them.

Once he left, the group rushed into the mines. Woo Zhengyang and Liu Dahu picked one at random and went inside. From the outside, the hundreds of mine entrances seemed overwhelming, but once inside, Woo Zhengyang and Liu Dahu were amazed to find that each tunnel wasn't just a single path. There were numerous branches, and many of the tunnels were interconnected.

It was no wonder the young man mentioned starting new tunnels. The existing ones had almost completely connected the underground area. Without creating new paths, they would have to venture deeper, risking getting lost in the maze of branches. It might be easier to carve out their own way.

The portal to the gravity room was now in Woo Zhengyang's possession, but he wasn't particularly interested in the blood-red crystal. Since he was already there, he decided to make the most of it. Ultimately, Woo Zhengyang chose to delve deeper into the mine, not to dig for minerals, but to study some formations recorded in the Array Origin Bead.

Liu Dahu was unaware that Woo Zhengyang had already figured out how to manipulate the gravity room's time. He was still quite interested in the Qi Blood Crystal and grabbed a tool to start digging separately. Woo Zhengyang didn't stop him and let him go on his way.

Even Rice picked up a hoe almost as tall as she was, eager to give it a try. Woo Zhengyang found this amusing and didn't stop her, allowing Rice to follow along, swinging the hoe and tapping around.

After walking a bit further, the mine became quite dim. Although there were glowing stones along the walls, their light was very faint. Woo Zhengyang considered taking out a luminous pearl but decided against it.

As they ventured deeper, Woo Zhengyang stopped and, after giving Rice a few instructions, took out the Array Origin Bead. With his previous experience, the process went smoothly this time. In just over an hour, Woo Zhengyang mastered the operation of the teleportation array.

Afterward, Woo Zhengyang took out his identification card and began to study it.

The teleportation array was complex, but the mechanism inside the badge was quite simple. Woo Zhengyang easily figured out the source of the time restriction and knew that with a slight adjustment, he could break the limit. However, he didn't rush to make changes.

First, he used the Array Origin Bead to meticulously record the imprint inside the badge. These badges had to be returned eventually, and it wouldn't be good if someone from the Azure Sun Martial Mansion discovered any tampering.

Only after this did Woo Zhengyang use his Qi Blood Crystal power, combined with the Profound Heaven Fire Power, to slowly alter the imprint inside the badge. Now, when this badge entered the gravity room, it wouldn't be subject to time limits.

Having completed this, Woo Zhengyang was eager to test the results. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Rice wasn't nearby. Standing up, he followed the signs of Rice's tinkering.

Finally, at the bottom of a mine shaft, Woo Zhengyang found Rice. She was swinging a pickaxe, tirelessly digging. The sight of her small figure wielding such a large tool was both amusing and endearing.

Judging by the pile behind her, Rice had been at it for quite some time. Woo Zhengyang had assumed Rice's interest was fleeting, but seeing her fascination with the red stones, he decided to put his own plans on hold for a while and let Rice dig out a Qi Blood Crystal to play with.

As Woo Zhengyang slowly approached Rice, she suddenly let out a cheer, tossed her hoe aside, and crouched down to dig with her hands. Moments later, Woo Zhengyang saw her holding a blood-red stone—the very Qi Blood Crystal that a young man had once shown them. Rice had actually dug up a piece, and it looked significantly larger than the one the young man had displayed.

Woo Zhengyang couldn't help but marvel at Rice's luck; it had only been a little over an hour. If everyone could dig at this pace, they'd all be able to spend five or six hours in the gravity room every day, which was clearly impossible.

He wanted to congratulate Rice, but before he could speak, he was stunned by what he saw next. Rice picked up the blood-red stone and brought it to her mouth as if she intended to take a bite. Woo Zhengyang was left speechless. Rice had indeed mentioned wanting to eat the stone the young man had shown, but he hadn't expected her to actually try it once she found one herself.

Woo Zhengyang couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Little foodie, you really want to munch on a rock, huh?"

"Mr. Zhengyang!" Rice exclaimed upon hearing his voice. She abandoned her plan to bite the stone and, as usual, ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and playfully protested, "I'm not a little foodie; I'm Rice..."

"Even stones look appetizing to you, and you say you're not a little foodie? Let me see it."

"I just get so hungry when I see things like this!" Rice pouted, handing the Qi Blood Crystal to Woo Zhengyang.

Seeing Rice's expression, Woo Zhengyang felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. He handed her some snacks before examining the Qi Blood Crystal closely.

"Mr. Zhengyang, these Qi Blood Crystals don't seem like stones. They look more like some kind of fruit." Rice munched on her snack, her wide eyes fixed on the crystal.

"Fruit?" Woo Zhengyang replied skeptically, drawing the No Life Sword and slicing at the crystal. It left no mark.

With the No Life Sword's sharpness, even the Profound Heavy Gathering Silk Gloves would show a white scratch. Yet, this Qi Blood Crystal was harder than those gloves?

"Have you ever seen a fruit this hard?" Woo Zhengyang chuckled, pondering what this thing really was.

Although the young man mentioned that everyone wanted these, Woo Zhengyang felt there had to be a purpose for them. Otherwise, why would people be digging for them?

A sudden crunching sound snapped Woo Zhengyang out of his thoughts.

He turned to see Rice had somehow brought her little mouth close to the crystal.

What truly astonished Woo Zhengyang was seeing Rice actually bite off a piece of the Qi Blood Crystal...