"These are human bones." Wen Qingye’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw them. ’It seems a master at the Peak of Life and Death Realm is buried here, at the very least.’

Wen Qingye took a deep breath and continued to pick away at the surrounding soil with his sword.

More bones continued to appear, slowly revealing the lower half of a body—the left thigh and waist. Judging by the frame, it seemed to be the skeleton of a man.

’The bones are as white and smooth as jade. If it wasn’t poison, could he have simply died of old age?’

The stark white bones gradually emerged, appearing before Wen Qingye. They still emanated an aura of death that spread into the surroundings. Years of burial had not reduced the skeleton to dust; on the contrary, the bones had become even whiter and brighter.

Suddenly, Wen Qingye noticed a ring on one of the skeleton’s finger bones.

Wen Qingye squatted down and slowly picked up the ring. It had a circular pattern on it, engraved with seven stars. The arrangement of the stars actually formed the Big Dipper Seven Stars Array Map.

’A ring made of Star-Shining Stone!’ Wen Qingye examined the ring in his hand, unable to suppress his astonishment.

Star-Shining Stone came from Outer Heaven Meteorites and was extremely hard. Even some Immortal Artifacts were forged with Star-Shining Stone to increase their hardness, a testament to how precious the material was.

’This ring must be a symbol,’ Wen Qingye mused after a moment. ’And there must be a faction behind it.’

After putting the ring away, Wen Qingye’s gaze returned to the skeleton on the ground.

’Wait!’

Suddenly, a fissure in the skull made Wen Qingye’s heart skip a beat.

The fissure looked as if something had drilled right through, boring a hole in the skull. Looking at the tiny crack, Wen Qingye could imagine the scene: a technique used to strip away all of a person’s Essence Blood and Divine Soul while torturing them to death. This was because the hole was located precisely at the Celestial Yang Acupoint, the point of connection to the Divine Soul.

’What a vicious Magic Technique. With this method, the victim’s Divine Soul would be scattered forever. Forget Reincarnation—they must have suffered unimaginable agony before death. Who was this person? And who could have been so cruel to him?’

His brows knitted tightly as his mind filled with questions.

After a while, Wen Qingye examined the skeleton again and found that besides the fissure in the skull and a sharp wound on the leg, there were no other distinguishing marks.

"After death, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Your Divine Soul is already shattered, so let your remaining bones rest in peace." As Wen Qingye spoke, he waved his sleeve, and the deathly aura above the skeleton slowly began to dissipate.

After setting the skeleton to rest, the surrounding deathly aura dissipated, and the sinister winds in the area died down.

Wen Qingye got up and continued forward. The Four-Eyebrow Mountain Mine Cave was a labyrinth of passages; blocking one path didn’t affect the others.

However, Wen Qingye was now deep within the Four-Eyebrow Mountain Mine Cave, and getting out would still take some time.

.......

Inside the Four-Eyebrow Mountain Mine Cave.

Seven or eight Registered Disciples from the Dayan Dynasty, all dressed in white, were furiously digging for Primordial Stones. Each held a pickaxe, and some were so pale it was clear they had overexerted their Primordial Qi.

One of the men said to a square-jawed man with thick brows and large eyes beside him, "Senior Brother Hao, in my opinion, it’s too difficult for just a few of us to find Purple Vein Stones here. We don’t know where they’re hidden. It took us half a month just to find three of them. Besides, we have to hand over seventy percent to the Sect, leaving us with only thirty. Trying to gather what Brother Yu needs is practically impossible."

Senior Brother Hao nodded in deep agreement. "But Brother Yu needs a large amount of Purple Vein Stone to refine the peak King Grade Magical Artifact, Thousand Wonders Peak. If we delay this, we’ll be in for a world of hurt."

"Then...?" the shifty-eyed disciple next to him asked, his eyes darting around.

Just then, Senior Brother Hao suddenly spotted a figure walking towards them. His eyes lit up. "I have an idea."

With that, Senior Brother Hao walked towards the figure, a broad smile on his face. "Greetings, Junior Brother. Where might you be from? What’s your name?"

Wen Qingye had just walked out from the crisscrossing tunnels of the Four-Eyebrow Mountain Mine Cave when he was blocked.

He looked at Senior Brother Hao before him and said with an amused tone, "Wen Qingye, from the Celestial Martial Country."

These people’s cultivation was not weak; most were at the Yin Yang Realm First Layer Heaven. Senior Brother Hao had the highest cultivation, at the Yin Yang Realm Second Level.

’Celestial Martial Country?’ Senior Brother Hao thought it over and mused to himself, ’This kid looks like he’s from some backwater little country. Perfect.’

Senior Brother Hao tilted his head back and said softly, "Hmm, Celestial Martial Country, is it? You’ve heard of my Dayan Dynasty, I presume."

Wen Qingye didn’t hesitate, nodding as he said, "The Dayan Dynasty is the greatest of the Four Great Ancient Countries in the Celestial Profound Sect. I doubt there’s anyone in the Sect who hasn’t heard the name."

Senior Brother Hao lifted his chin and said arrogantly, "Good. In that case, you are now conscripted by the people of my Dayan Dynasty. You will start collecting Purple Vein Stones here. For every one you find, you’ll be rewarded with ten Top-grade Primordial Stones."

’Purple Vein Stone?’ Wen Qingye sneered internally. ’How precious is a Purple Vein Stone? A single, ordinary one can be exchanged for over a thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones. Even if I handed it over to the Sect, I’d still get three hundred Top-Grade Primordial Stones back. Besides, I don’t have time to waste on these people.’

"Not interested." Wen Qingye shook his head and started to walk away.

"Hold it!" Senior Brother Hao stretched out a hand, his gaze turning sharp as he looked at Wen Qingye. "Kid, do you have any idea who I am? I’m from the Dayan Dynasty, and this Purple Vein Stone is for..."

Wen Qingye said nonchalantly, "What does you being from the Dayan Dynasty have to do with me?"

"Hmph! I don’t know if it has anything to do with you, but I do know that offending my Dayan Dynasty *will* have something to do with you! Today, whether you want to be a laborer or not, you will be one!" Senior Brother Hao barked, his hand shooting out to grab Wen Qingye.

Senior Brother Hao’s claw-like hand grabbed Wen Qingye’s arm. Seeing this, a smile curled on his lips, but a moment later, his smile froze. A trace of terror appeared in his eyes.

BANG!

Wen Qingye’s body trembled once, and Senior Brother Hao immediately stumbled back. A cloth bag at his waist came loose, and two Purple Vein Stones fell out.

"What are you doing?" Senior Brother Hao roared as he saw Wen Qingye use a suction force with his palm to pull the Purple Vein Stones into his hand.

Without so much as a glance at Senior Brother Hao, Wen Qingye walked forward at an unhurried pace.

"You!" Senior Brother Hao stared at Wen Qingye. He was about to step forward and block him, but then he saw Wen Qingye’s eyes.

HISS!

Those eyes were like two swords!

At that moment, he felt as if he was being stared down by death itself. His entire body felt frozen solid, and his very heart trembled in fear.

"S-Senior Brother Hao, that guy’s leaving," the shifty-eyed disciple beside him said softly. "He also took the Purple Vein Stones..."

"I know!" Senior Brother Hao roared, snapping back to his senses. He stared with a venomous glare at Wen Qingye’s departing figure. "That kid has some skill, daring to ignore my Dayan Dynasty. Wen Qingye of the Celestial Martial Country, is it? Good. I’ve memorized it. The Dayan Dynasty will definitely not let this kid off the hook!"

Senior Brother Hao shot a look full of resentment toward Wen Qingye’s back, then turned and roared at the others: "What are you waiting for? Get back to collecting Purple Vein Stones! Even if we have to report this to Brother Yu, we first need to present him with some Purple Vein Stones! Otherwise, forget you lot, my life will be hell too!"

The surrounding disciples, frightened into silence, hurried back to their spots and resumed mining.