"Hey, you're pretty handsome. Why wear a mask?"
"Your Sword Technique isn't bad. Who did you learn from?"
"My name is Ye Qi. What's your name? How old are you?"
The battle ended, and the girl in green, Ye Qi, revealed her true nature. She sheathed her Treasure Sword and began chattering endlessly.
Chu Qingyun shook his head and said helplessly, "I'm Chu Qingyun, and I'm fifteen this year."
After speaking, Chu Qingyun picked up his hoe again and resumed mining.
"Fifteen... one year younger than me. To have such a Sword Technique at your age, you could be considered a minor genius."
Ye Qi muttered to herself, but her words gave Chu Qingyun a shock.
This girl was only sixteen, yet she had the strength to defeat him in a single strike.
Based on that last strike, Chu Qingyun deduced that she had to be at least a Fourth Level Martial Artist, and possibly even a Fifth Level Martial Artist!
A Fifth Level Martial Artist at sixteen... Compared to her, even the so-called genius Zhao Guangshui wasn't worth mentioning.
"Hey, Chu Qingyun, why are you mining here?"
Ye Qi asked curiously.
"Cultivation."
As he spoke, with a CLANG, he dug out a piece of a Lower Grade Primordial Stone.
"Don't be angry. I was just sparring with you for fun."
"Fine, fine. How about this: I'll tell you a secret as compensation."
Ye Qi said, waving her hand.
Chu Qingyun was a bit speechless. Of course he wasn't angry; he just wanted to mine in peace.
However, upon hearing the word "secret," he said nothing and listened intently.
"In a large mine tunnel over there, there are a lot of Primordial Spirit Fruits."
"But, it's guarded by a lot of Elemental Ore Rats, so it's hard to get close."
"So? Want me to take you there to give it a try?"
Ye Qi gave a wicked smile.
The Elemental Ore Rat could be considered one of the weakest Demon Beasts. Even an adult one only had the strength of a Martial Disciple Ninth Layer.
However, their one advantage was their numbers—their vast, overwhelming numbers.
The number of Elemental Ore Rats in that mine tunnel was enough to make even a Fifth Level Martial Artist like Ye Qi's scalp tingle.
And Ye Qi's reason for wanting to take Chu Qingyun there was, naturally, to see the look on his face when he was scared out of his wits.
Hearing the name "Primordial Spirit Fruit," Chu Qingyun's eyes couldn't help but light up.
The Tier One Spiritual Medicine, the Primordial Spirit Fruit, was a type of Spiritual Medicine that grew within Yuan Stone Ore Veins, absorbing the Primordial Qi from the soil and air of the vein.
The energy it contained was very gentle, making it highly suitable for low-level Martial Artists to use for cultivation.
"Alright, let's go take a look."
Chu Qingyun hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Ye Qi's offer.
After all, if he could obtain even one Primordial Spirit Fruit, it would save him a great deal of mining time.
And time was exactly what Chu Qingyun lacked right now.
"Hee hee, let's go, let's go! Don't worry, with me looking out for you, no one in this Yuan Stone Ore Vein will dare to bully you."
Ye Qi waved her small hand and led the way toward the Primordial Spirit Fruits.
Just as she had said, although they encountered a few groups of people along the way, the moment Ye Qi released the aura of a Fifth Level Martial Artist, no one dared to make a move, even if they stared at her with fervent eyes.
Standing on a stone platform in a large mine cavern, Chu Qingyun saw several Primordial Spirit Fruit Trees not far below.
The Primordial Spirit Fruit Trees were short, only about half a meter tall. Each tree bore several fist-sized white fruits—the Primordial Spirit Fruits.
However, what shocked Chu Qingyun wasn't the Primordial Spirit Fruit Trees.
It was the Elemental Ore Rats!
Below, the floor was densely packed with Elemental Ore Rats, covering the entire cavern like a living carpet!
"Haha, Chu Qingyun, scared stiff, are we..."
Ye Qi was about to taunt Chu Qingyun a little.
Unexpectedly, not only was there no terror on Chu Qingyun's face, but he instead wore a thoughtful expression.
"Ye Qi, what are your Martial Soul and Soul Techniques?"
Chu Qingyun turned his head and asked.
Ye Qi was startled and couldn't help but say, "Chu Qingyun, you're not actually thinking of going for those Primordial Spirit Fruits, are you? If you're looking to get yourself killed, don't drag me down with you! I'm not crazy enough to join you!"
Quantity can lead to a qualitative change.
With so many Elemental Ore Rats, forget a Fifth Level Martial Artist; even a sixth or seventh-level Martial Artist probably couldn't escape unscathed if they fell in.
Chu Qingyun smiled and said, "Don't worry. When I go down, you'll be in charge of support."
"My Martial Soul is the Tier Two Earth Element Sword, and my Soul Technique is the Earth Element Sword Prison."
"Chu Qingyun, if you need to cultivate, I can lend you some Primordial Stones. Going for the Primordial Spirit Fruits is too risky."
Seeing the serious look on Chu Qingyun's face, Ye Qi couldn't help but try to persuade him.
She even felt a little regretful for bringing Chu Qingyun here.
'A Tier Two Sword Martial Soul, impressive.'
"When I jump down next to the Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree, you'll be responsible for providing support with your Soul Technique..."
Once the plan was laid out, Chu Qingyun summoned his Martial Soul.
A vine grew to five meters, shot into the ground, and impaled two Elemental Ore Rats.
Using that force, Chu Qingyun launched himself into the air, leaping toward the nearest Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree.
"Ye Qi, now!"
Before he even landed, Chu Qingyun shouted from mid-air.
Ye Qi's face grew serious. With a wave of her hand, a somewhat ethereal sword radiating a white light appeared in her grasp.
"Earth Element Sword Prison!"
Ye Qi pointed her Sword Martial Soul and let out a low cry.
In a three-meter radius around the Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree, four enormous Elemental Power Longswords rapidly erupted from the ground.
The four Elemental Power Longswords spun rapidly, hugging the ground.
Because they were spinning so fast, the four longswords seemed to form a cylindrical Elemental Wall, sealing Chu Qingyun, the Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree, and a few Elemental Ore Rats inside.
'What a powerful Soul Technique! A Tier Two Martial Soul is truly something else!'
"Autumn Wind Sweeps the Leaves!"
Chu Qingyun praised her inwardly. The moment he landed, he swept his longsword several times, easily dispatching the Elemental Ore Rats inside the sword prison.
The Elemental Ore Rats, with their strength topping out at the Martial Disciple Ninth Layer, couldn't block his Sword Aura at all.
After finishing off all the Elemental Ore Rats, Chu Qingyun didn't dare waste any time and quickly began picking the Primordial Spirit Fruits.
Outside, the Elemental Ore Rat Swarm was enraged. All the nearby Elemental Ore Rats fearlessly threw themselves, one after another, at the isolated Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree.
However, under the power of the Tier Two Martial Soul's technique, all the Elemental Ore Rats that lunged forward were ground into paste.
The blood and death only further incited the remaining Elemental Ore Rats.
They devoured the flesh and blood of their own kind while madly charging the Earth Element Sword Prison like a tide.
In less than ten seconds, Chu Qingyun had picked all five Primordial Spirit Fruits.
"Withdraw!"
Chu Qingyun yelled, and Ye Qi instantly dispelled the Earth Element Sword Prison.
Seeing the now-bare Primordial Spirit Fruit Tree and Chu Qingyun, the surrounding Elemental Ore Rats became even more frenzied and enraged.
SKREEEEEE...
All the Elemental Ore Rats roared, their eyes red as they pounced on Chu Qingyun.
On the stone platform, Ye Qi instantly clenched her fists. This was arguably the most dangerous moment.
Facing the overwhelming swarm of Elemental Ore Rats, Chu Qingyun just gave a mysterious smile. He flicked out two vines, which instantly grew to five meters in length.
Using the two vines to touch the ground, Chu Qingyun took a few huge strides as if on stilts, then leaped onto the stone platform, grabbed the dumbfounded Ye Qi, and bolted.
Behind them, the furious, crazed Elemental Ore Rat Swarm quickly submerged the stone platform and pursued the two of them.
But after they exited the mine tunnel and were exposed to the sunlight, all the Elemental Ore Rats became unusually panicked. Some that had charged out too forcefully even started bleeding dark red blood from their eyes.
SKREEE... SKREEE...
All the Elemental Ore Rats quickly retreated, shrinking back into the dim mine tunnel.
Only after all the Elemental Ore Rats had withdrawn did Ye Qi snap back to her senses.
Now, she stared at Chu Qingyun with even greater astonishment and said, "Chu Qingyun, you... you can actually use your Martial Soul like that!?"