Mythical Scroll Artist: Starting with the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming

Chapter 61 The Heaven-Defying Laurel Tree

Inside the intricate mine shafts, the previously arrogant group had not yet noticed anything amiss.

At this moment, they were arguing and cursing around a highly paid prospector.

"Hey Master Yang, are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah, weren't you supposed to be very professional? How long has it been?"

The leading level-five spirit master was already getting impatient.

They've been in this wretched place for almost five days and haven't been able to find a single Thunder Fiend Stone. How are they going to explain this to the mayor?

“This place has been ransacked by mining rats, how easy is it to find a second Thunder Fiend Stone?” Master Yang said helplessly. “I even doubt that there is a second Thunder Fiend Stone here at all.”

"You have to find it for me even if you don't have it," the leading level-five spirit master threatened in a deep voice.

"Aren't you making things difficult for me?" Master Yang was on the verge of tears.

If I had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn't have come no matter how much money I offered.

As they spoke, the amulets protecting them from evil spirits began to flash frequently.

The leading level-five spirit master frowned and cursed coldly, "These monsters are as annoying as flies."

Over the past five days, they have become accustomed to this situation.

But as long as the monsters don't actively seek death, they won't bother with them.

But this time, things seem a little different.

Om-!
The amulet on the teammate behind him emitted a piercing buzz, and the amulet began to tremble slightly.

"Watch out, there seems to be an elite ghost approaching!" a teammate warned in alarm.

"You're courting death!" The leader's face darkened, and he coldly tossed out a scroll. "You ignorant fool."

It turned out to be a powerful scroll painting with five stars on a silver axis.

As the scroll shimmered with a ghostly light, it transformed into a somewhat rugged griffin. Purple smoke rose from the griffin's body, and its dark, deep eyes sent chills down one's spine.

The sinister griffin roared, intimidating the surrounding monsters.

However, the talismans on the individuals only remained calm for a moment before they began to flash rapidly again.

The reaction grew stronger and stronger until all the amulets began to emit a piercing buzzing sound.

"Something's wrong!" one of the teammates exclaimed, seemingly sensing something. "Such a massive and eerie aura!"

The leader also realized something was wrong; a huge, eerie aura seemed to be surging in from the interconnected mine shafts.

ooh ooh...

Hundreds and thousands of monsters seemed to have gone mad, surging in from all directions, including several elite monsters of the third or fourth rank.

"What's going on?" Everyone exclaimed in shock. "Have these monsters gone mad?"

Having roamed the eerie abyss for so many years, the group had never encountered such a bizarre situation before. They were all on high alert, pulling out their respective scrolls to deal with it, and the scene was chaotic.

The team members were quite capable, but they couldn't withstand the sheer number of monsters, which was comparable to a swarm of insects in the Zerg world.

"Could something have happened deep inside the mine?"

"What are you still worrying about at a time like this?" Master Yang said frantically, "Saving your life is the most important thing."

As the group retreated, they saw a large number of strange creatures surging into the mine behind them.

……

Meanwhile, Wu Xian, following the aura of wealth, quickly located the Thunder Fiend Stone.

However, this Thunder Fiend Stone is located quite deep, so it will take a lot of effort.

Boom boom boom...

Brother Zhu transforms into a miner and begins digging.

"Hiss~ My spiritual energy is being consumed too quickly!"

Seeing his spiritual energy rapidly depleting, Wu Xian had no choice but to release the laurel tree to help him recover his mana.

As soon as the cool and dark laurel tree appeared, the cave seemed to be illuminated by moonlight, and the rich spiritual energy filled the surroundings, slowing down the decline of spiritual power.

Suddenly, the laurel tree's aura began to stir. Its roots, which had been floating and swaying, quickly took hold in the mine and began to draw upon the Xuan Yin and Di Sha power from the ore vein.

"?!"

On the rock walls of the mine, the layers of Xuan Yin ore and Di Sha ore quickly darkened and turned into ordinary rock layers.

In contrast, the scent of the laurel tree was rapidly increasing. One and a half stars, two stars, two and a half stars…

The laurel tree, which originally had only one star, has climbed to three stars at a speed visible to the naked eye, and is still drawing power from the mineral vein.

Perhaps because large areas of the mineral veins have been completely depleted, the laurel tree's improvement has slowed down significantly.

"Can it still be like this?"

Previously, I only knew that some spirit plant scrolls could absorb spiritual energy from the world to increase their level. For example, you could find a treasure land with abundant spiritual energy in various other dimensions, plant the spirit plants there, and let them absorb the power of this area to grow.

But he never expected that the laurel tree would be so extraordinary, capable of even absorbing mineral veins.

Is this the value of Pangu's eyelashes?
As the laurel tree's level increases, the concentration of spiritual energy it gathers and transforms also continuously increases.

The previously barely stabilized trend of spiritual energy consumption actually began to reverse and rebound, with the recovery rate far exceeding the consumption rate.

While everyone was still in shock, Brother Zhu had already unearthed the Thunder Fiend Stone.

After collecting the Thunder Fiend Stone, quickly head to the next wealth spot.

Soon after, Wu Xian acquired all three remaining Thunder Fiend Stones in the area.

As the laurel tree continued to absorb minerals, it unknowingly leveled up to three and a half stars, but then it couldn't level up any further.

[Remnant - Innate Laurel Tree]

Version: Original (with gold embroidered border)

Grade: Bronze Axis

Painting Spirit: ★★★☆

Spirituality: 31
Innate Trait: Taiyin Spiritual Root
Having obtained the three Thunder Fiend Stones, Wu Xian did not hesitate at all and quickly retreated out of the mine.

There was no other way; having caused such a commotion, we naturally had to run as fast as we could.

The three Yin generals quickly retreated, and Wu Xian rode the Chicken King at breakneck speed.

After a perilous evacuation, they were surprised to find that the Xuan Yin Ore and Di Sha Ore that had originally shimmered with light in the mine had all lost their spiritual power and turned into ordinary stones.

"Did they drain the entire vein dry?"

Wu Xian's heart pounded wildly, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

When he burst out of the mine and saw the light of day again, the scene before him left him dumbfounded once more.

woo woo woo...

Air raid sirens blared from the mines of various mining companies, echoing throughout the mining area.

Within the mining area, almost all the Xuan Yin and Di Sha mineral veins had become dim and lifeless.

"You inhaled that much?"

Wu Xian swallowed hard.

The key is that even after draining most of the ore vein, it only managed to upgrade the Laurel Tree to three and a half stars.

How big must a laurel tree's "appetite" be?
Keep in mind that this is only the "crippled" laurel tree. How terrifying will it be after the "crippled" label is removed?
At this moment, the entire mining area, including the mines, miners, and mine rats, was in complete chaos, and everyone was bewildered by this bizarre situation.

Wu Xian rode the Chicken King and silently fled the scene.

They finally breathed a sigh of relief after evacuating a long distance away.

Looking back at the mining area, he was shocked to find that there were more than a dozen level two or three ghostly monsters following behind him.

"What do you mean? Are you trying to cling to me?"

Amidst their confusion, they released the Ghost King once more to intimidate them.

But they found that these dozen or so monsters were behaving themselves in front of the Ghost King, looking as if they were waiting for orders from their superior.

"No, no, these monsters seem different from before."

Wu Xian gradually noticed the abnormality of these strange things. The eerie aura around him decreased significantly, and he became much more lively, as if he had gained a certain level of intelligence, or rather, "self-awareness".

Trying to get closer to these strange creatures and using mental energy to investigate, I discovered that their spiritual structure had also undergone some changes.

This greatly surprised Wu Xian.

"This is... being enlightened?"

With a slight thought, he attempted to control the Ghost King.

The Ghost King raised his hand to signal a wave, and more than a dozen strange monsters obediently dispersed, wandering around as usual.

(End of this chapter)