I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

"The feng shui here is quite good. It seems that there are indeed treasures in the places guarded by spiders."

Zhang Yangqing stepped into the space behind the narrow opening. The miner's lamp illuminated the space, and he saw that it was not the narrow passage he had imagined, but a relatively open, irregularly shaped natural stone chamber of about ten square meters.

The air was much drier, and the perception of the flow of earth vein energy became clearer, faintly pointing towards the center of the stone chamber and the surrounding rock walls.

He habitually turned his head, wanting to call the old miner, his "capable assistant," to come and start digging, but then he remembered that the old miner had already gone to the Qing Tong family to become a charioteer.

"Tsk, without any underlings, I'll have to do it myself."

Zhang Yangqing didn't find it troublesome; he just slightly lamented the efficiency issue.

He took off the pickaxe he was carrying and prepared to walk toward the rock face where he sensed the most concentrated energy.

Just then, he felt the lame little mouse in his pocket move slightly, as if its curiosity about the outside world had overcome its earlier fright.

A thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Yangqing's mind: It is said that "like begets like."

The rats in this world of strange tales live underground year-round, and perhaps they have some innate ability to dig and find treasure?
Especially this one that has eaten the flesh of a demon beast and been nourished by my own aura, maybe it's a little different?

Thinking it over, Zhang Yangqing reached into his pocket, pulled the little mouse out, and placed it in his palm.

The little mouse seemed to have gotten used to it and wasn't afraid. It just tilted its little head up and looked at him with its black bean-like eyes.

Zhang Yangqing pointed to an inconspicuous crevice at the bottom of the rock wall he had just spotted, and said in a calm tone, "Go, dig it open and take a look."

Upon hearing this, the lame little mouse seemed to truly understand!
It sat up straight, nodded its little head vigorously, and the action was somewhat comical.

Then he jumped down from Zhang Yangqing's palm, limping but running fast to the crevice.

Instead of scratching around like a normal mouse, it stood upright, and the claws on its two front paws suddenly shone with a very faint yellowish-brown luster, as if a thin, hard keratin layer had been covering its originally soft claws!
It began to dig rapidly and rhythmically into the cracks in the rock wall, its movements exceptionally efficient!
Hard rocks are easily torn apart and crushed like soft soil by its pair of "hardened" front claws!
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Yangqing's eyes.

Wow, they've got some skills!

This "hardening" skill is practically a treasure-hunting marvel in the underground world!

It seems that once this little thing is full, it can actually play an unexpected role.

Not long after, having dug less than a foot deep, the lame rat stopped.

It carefully used its front paws to scoop out a strange crystal about the size of a thumb from the small hole it had dug. The crystal was crystal clear and seemed to have a misty purple aura flowing inside.

The little mouse, carrying the crystal, limped back to Zhang Yangqing's feet, raised its head, squeaked twice as if to ask for praise, and then placed the crystal on Zhang Yangqing's shoe.

Zhang Yangqing squatted down and picked up the crystal.

It feels warm to the touch, but unlike ordinary jade, it doesn't have a cold feel; instead, it carries a strange warmth. Inside, purple energy swirls, flowing slowly as if it were alive, and a pure and powerful energy aura almost seems to emanate from within!

With his discerning eye, he immediately judged that this was definitely a top-tier cultivation material, its quality probably even surpassing the "Dragon Blood Stone" he had obtained before!
However, being new to this world, he did not know the specific name of this thing.

If the old miners were here and saw this crystal, they would probably be so excited that they would faint on the spot and shout its name at the top of their lungs: Dragon Soul Crystal!

Legend has it that only after the death of truly powerful dragons in ancient times, their essence and the essence of the earth's veins could possibly condense into a rare treasure of heaven and earth over a long period of time!
In the Nine Netherworld, this is almost a legendary item, its value immeasurable. A single piece is enough to make a medium-sized family fight tooth and nail for it, and even trigger a bloody war!
For other chosen ones, obtaining such a "Dragon Soul Crystal" would be an incredible stroke of luck!
This is enough time for them to cultivate carefully and methodically for a long time, until their strength undergoes a qualitative leap.

However, in Zhang Yangqing's view, this piece is far from enough; it's just the tip of the iceberg!
He patted the lame mouse's head with satisfaction, took out a small piece of fragrant roasted horned tiger meat from his pocket, and handed it to it as a reward.

The little mouse happily took it and started munching away, its enthusiasm growing even stronger.

"Keep going, there should be more around here."

Zhang Yangqing's gaze swept over the rest of the stone chamber. Relying on his feng shui skills to accurately locate the energy nodes of the earth's veins, and combined with the little mouse's talent for hardening and digging, he began an efficient sweep.

For the next hour or so, Zhang Yangqing directed the lame little mouse to dig continuously in the stone chamber and its connected hidden crevices.

Guided by feng shui principles, he avoided useless areas and accurately located energy nodes.

The little mouse was incredibly efficient, digging out one piece after another of Dragon Soul Crystals or other rare crystals of the same level, all of varying sizes but of extremely high quality.

In the end, he collected a total of ten top-quality crystals ranging in size from a thumb to an egg!

Each piece contains a breathtakingly pure energy.

As for the by-products that were dug out but were of relatively ordinary quality—only relatively speaking, but in reality, each piece would be enough to make miners fight tooth and nail for them—Zhang Yangqing didn't even glance at them and simply threw them on the ground.

These treasures, which would drive indigenous people mad with envy, are nothing more than troublesome garbage in his eyes.

Finding a relatively dry and secluded corner in the stone chamber, Zhang Yangqing arranged the ten crystals according to a preliminary formation of a special array that could attract and amplify the convergence of energy.

He wasted no time, sat cross-legged in the center of the formation, and prepared to begin his cultivation.

Most viewers outside the big screen thought that Zhang Yangqing would take advantage of the temporary removal of the chip shackles in his brain to carefully and methodically absorb the crystal energy, slowly explore the limits of this body's endurance, and gradually improve his cultivation.

However, Zhang Yangqing's next move left all the viewers, especially those knowledgeable superhumans, dumbfounded and terrified!

He first took out a small piece of the strange rat meat that he had collected beforehand, which had a distinctly polluted smell, and ate it without hesitation!
Instantly, a cold, chaotic, and corrosive power erupted within his body!
His skin began to show abnormal bluish-black lines, and his eyes were shrouded in a faint bloody light. He was actively guiding himself toward becoming "weird"!
Immediately afterward, just as the pollution spread to a certain extent, Zhang Yangqing quickly took out the "antidote" ear he had collected from healthy rats, bit off a small piece, and swallowed it.

The purifying and polluting powers of the antidote clashed and neutralized fiercely within his body, eventually reaching a delicate balance, achieving a semi-monstrous state!
His left side has bizarre physical features, while his right side remains relatively normal.

But what happened next completely terrified those top-tier superhumans! (End of Chapter)