Reborn Medicine King

Jiang Fann didn't say much and continued downward. Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave way, and they found themselves falling. Quickly, they used their spiritual strength to steady themselves, landing in an underground chamber filled with jagged rocks. It looked like a passage carved out by an underground river.    

There was no waterway below, and they landed safely. The sound of flowing water came from nearby, and Jiang Fann conjured a fire mass to light up the surroundings.    

Once they could see clearly, Fang Xiang was thrilled to discover a purple glow in the water not far away. He rushed over and sensed the aura in the water, finding purple crystals resting at the bottom.    

Jiang Fann joined him, holding the fire mass to illuminate the shallow water, which seemed to be only about a foot and a half deep. Wasting no time, Fang Xiang reached into the water, trying to grab the crystals.    

As soon as he touched the surface, he jolted, electricity coursing through him. Jiang Fann watched as Fang Xiang's hair stood on end, as if struck by lightning. With a flash of purple light in his hand, Jiang Fann pulled him back. Fang Xiang stumbled and sat down, looking dazed, clearly unsure of what had just happened.    

He was also a cultivator at the Dao Understanding Stage, with strong resistance, yet he still got caught off guard.    

"What the heck! Why is this underground river electrified?"    

Jiang Fann chuckled, "It's probably because of those spiritual stones. You were too reckless."    

"How was I supposed to know the water was electrified? Hurry up and get those spiritual stones out; they're treasures."    

Jiang Fann approached the riverbank and used his lightning technique to manipulate his Spiritual Strength. The spiritual stones at the riverbed slowly floated up and eventually left the water, looking similar to the one they found underground. Fang Xiang quickly collected them.    

He crouched down again, cautiously touching the river water with his hand. As soon as he made contact, he pulled back immediately.    

"The current hasn't weakened."    

Jiang Fann said, "It seems like this place isn't as simple as it looks. But having a place like this means we're on the right track. Let's head upstream and see what we find."    

With that, the two of them walked along the riverbank towards the upstream.    

...    

On the surface.    

"Gone? You're telling me two grown men just vanished into thin air here?"    

The drunkard was a bit annoyed, questioning a young man in front of him. He had just seen Jiang Fann and his companion go behind a tree and never reappear.    

When he came over to check, he found they had disappeared, and none of their eyes had caught where the two went.    

The young man was equally frustrated.    

"Sir, I have no reason to lie to you, and it's not just me—others can vouch for it too."    

The middle-aged man with a stern look furrowed his brow and said, "Didn't that kid just vanish right in front of us?"    

"It's not surprising if he has some unique trick up his sleeve, but there's no way he could make Fang Xiang disappear with him, right? I know Fang Xiang's abilities, and there's no way he could just vanish into thin air. Did they discover something?"    

He turned his gaze back to the young man in front of him. "What were they doing here earlier? Didn't I tell you to make contact with them? Why didn't you follow through?"    

The young man replied helplessly, "We tried to approach them, but as soon as that guy sensed our intentions, he released an aura that clearly signaled he didn't want us near. I was afraid of offending them and getting blamed by you. But earlier, they were over by those rocks, digging for something. Follow me."    

With that, the young man led them toward the large rock not far away. As they reached the spot, the ground showed signs of being disturbed. The man who had been drinking crouched down and used his spiritual strength to expand the area, turning over the soil.    

Soon, a purple stone appeared, just like the ones he had been selling in town. The man was surprised but even more convinced of his suspicions.    

"That guy is really something. He managed to find the spiritual stones over such a large area. It looks like they've discovered something and are probably already on the move."    

The expert nearby glanced around but didn't notice anything. Frowning, he suggested, "If it comes to it, I'll give the order to mobilize the nearby teams. Let's find them first, then figure out our next steps."    

The drunk nodded. "Just track their movements. Don't alert them. Contact us the moment you spot anything."    

"I understand."    

After the expert left, the drunk turned to the young man beside him. "You've been here for months and haven't found a single spiritual stone. No luck at all. You must be slacking."    

With that, he tossed a shovel to the young man. "Take your crew and start digging here. Even if you have to dig three feet down, find those two for me. There are spiritual stones on the surface, so there must be more below. Don't say I never did anything for you; whatever you find is yours to keep."    

The young man, though a bit resigned, didn't argue. Instead, he got to work with his team, motivated by the prospect of finding spiritual stones and completing his mentor's task.    

Meanwhile, by the underground river, Jiang Fann and Fang Xiang had traveled far. The riverbed often revealed crystals of excellent quality, and Fang Xiang eagerly collected them all.    

Jiang Fann appeared much calmer. This wasn't a mineral vein, but it certainly held plenty of crystals, likely washed down from upstream. As they moved forward, the number of crystals on the riverbed increased. Jiang Fann's spirits lifted because the current situation matched the descriptions in the treasure guide, at least in terms of the environment.    

Splash—    

A sound of something falling into the water echoed from afar. Jiang Fann cast a fireball in that direction, but found nothing. Both of them had keen hearing and knew it wasn't just their imagination, which made Fang Xiang, who had been cheerful, immediately become alert.    

They stood still, looking ahead. Fang Xiang focused on the river while Jiang Fann looked upward. The fireball, sustained by Jiang Fann's spiritual strength, illuminated everything clearly.    

"Could it be some kind of creature?" Fang Xiang wondered.    

Jiang Fann didn't answer. After a moment, something climbed out of the water on the opposite bank and scurried away. He quickly activated his Divine Eye and saw it was a giant water rat with purple fur, completely unfazed by the water's current. Its level wasn't high enough to pose any threat to them.    

"A rat!" Fang Xiang relaxed upon hearing Jiang Fann's words.    

"I thought we were in for a real fight. But what kind of rats are these? They can swim in this underground river? I was just stunned by a shock..."    

"They've probably evolved from living in this environment for so long. They're not even close to being demonic beasts, so don't worry about them."    

With that, the two continued forward. This time, Jiang Fann kept a fire mass floating about thirty feet ahead, allowing them to see what was coming.    

Soon, Jiang Fann spotted a few more of the same rats. They were timid, diving into the water and swimming to the other side long before getting close to Jiang Fann and his companion.    

But as they moved forward, the number of rats increased. From a distance, they saw a rat gnawing on a crystal. The hard crystal had a small chunk bitten off, which was impressive, showing just how strong the rat's teeth were.    

"Could these rats have survived all this time by eating these spiritual stones? Are you sure they're not even demonic beasts?"    

Jiang Fann replied, "It's a waste for them to eat these stones, but it doesn't matter. This is just the appetizer."    

Splash—splash—    

The sound of rats diving into the water became routine for Jiang Fann and his companion.    

After about half an hour, they saw a massive rock hanging down, with part of it dipping into the underground river.    

A large number of rats scattered in all directions upon seeing Jiang Fann's fire mass, clearly wary of the two newcomers.    

Fang Xiang focused intently on the massive boulder, his brow furrowed. The boulder dipped into the river, and beneath it lay a pile of crystals, at least a few dozen. Their collective purple glow made them stand out.    

He pointed out to Jiang Fann, "Look over there!"    

Jiang Fann remained calm and said, "You're looking at the wrong thing. The real treasure is above."    

Fang Xiang glanced upward, puzzled, seeing nothing special. "Above? There's only that big boulder."    

Jiang Fann didn't respond directly. Instead, he walked toward the boulder, clearly in high spirits. Fang Xiang followed as Jiang Fann circled the boulder and continued casting fire masses to illuminate the river path.    

Jiang Fann advised, "Take a look at the riverbed."    

Fang Xiang looked upstream, initially noticing nothing unusual. But after a moment, his eyes widened in surprise. "Why are there no crystals in the riverbed?"    

The riverbed held only the rushing water and some ordinary stones. The crystals that had been increasingly abundant suddenly vanished at this point. Fang Xiang quickly turned back to the boulder, realizing it seemed to mark the end of the crystal trail in the river.    

"Could those crystals be related to this?"    

Jiang Fann nodded, getting straight to the point.    

"I mentioned before that these crystals are companion stones to the immortal gold. The crystals in the riverbed are the result of years of water erosion on this massive rock. The shattered crystals downstream were formed the same way."    

Hearing this, Fang Xiang felt his mouth go dry. He swallowed hard, eyeing the massive rock in disbelief.    

"Don't tell me this entire rock is made of that special crystal! With so much of it, why would I even need the immortal gold? Just this piece alone is enough for me to start my own legacy."    

But Jiang Fann quickly brought him back to reality.    

"Don't get too excited just yet. There are definitely crystals in this rock, but we can't be sure how many. Their quantity depends directly on the size of the immortal gold. However, since the immortal gold here has been removed, the soil above no longer has its nourishing essence, so it won't be possible to produce these crystals anymore."