Chapter 178: Abyss Fiendish Iron Mineral Vein

That was about it. Both Elijah and Lin Li were wise enough not to touch the topic of the content of the task. This was no joke—it was a mission that involved Alanna’s six major mercenary corps at the same time. Elijah could not possibly have talked about it even if they shared a deep friendship. If news were leaked, he’d never be able to seek a living in Alanna ever again.

Lin Li was puzzled after sending Elijah away. With the position and strength of the Sword Sage of the Storm, what could he not do? He had actually gone so far, gathering the six major mercenary corps…

However, it was merely puzzlement. After contemplating for a while and not getting any answer, Lin Li put the matter behind temporarily. For him, although the private entrustment of Sword Sage was sensational, it did not involve his own interests. In Lin Li’s view, it was not even as important as Thuzadin’s last words before he died.

What the six mercenary corps wanted to do was their own business; as long as they didn’t hurt those black lotuses, even if they leveled the Fire Plume Ridge, it had nothing to do with Lin Li.

What he cared about at present was when he could get the black lotuses.

The effort he had spent in Blackhills Town was not in vain. With his position as their captain’s savior, Lin Li’s life in the camp could be said to be quite nourishing. The whole Silver Hand was grateful to him, and they responded to almost all his requests. During lunch, Lin Li just said casually that he wanted to get a map of Fire Plume Ridge; as soon as he turned around, a deputy head of logistics had sent the map to him. Before leaving, he even inquired warmly whether Lin Li needed any other help, then thanked him again and again for his generous help in Blackhills Town, making Lin Li feel slightly embarrassed over it…

After lunch, Lin Li stayed in the tent, studying the map over and over.

This was a map specially for the Silver Hand; it was many times more detailed than the ones sold by ordinary adventurers. After all, one was drawn by a single adventurer, and the other was continuously improved and supplemented by thousands of members. These were two different concepts.

This map was too detailed. From magical beast infested areas, to the origin of various herbs and minerals—all was labelled in detail on the map. Even some shortcuts that only the Silver Hand knew were completely drawn out.

Having learned that there were black lotuses growing on the Fire Plume Ridge, Lin Li had made a lot of preparations. He spent at least 10,000 gold coins just buying information from adventurers. But even so, he did not realize that there were so many things hidden on the Fire Plume Ridge until he got this map.

The Fire Plume Ridge really couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as the Nightmare Mountains.

Granted, magical beasts that were found at the foot of the mountain were really weak. Most of them were just about the level of the Fire Crow, which was very suitable for adventurers at the level of Sean and his father. However, once one got to the mountainside, it would immediately become dangerous. There were often groups of magical beasts above level-ten, and they’d occasionally have the opportunity to enjoy the heroic bearing of magical beasts above level-15.

As for the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge, it was the most dangerous of places. Without the strength nearing level-20, one should never even dream of going up to that place. Should a legendary magical beast appear, one would be swallowed whole, with not a chance to escape.

It was unknown what kind of luck Sean had had back then to escape all the way from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside. He had not even encountered any danger, and managed to escape in the dark.

If Sean’s luck was slightly worse, his corpse would probably be decomposed now with his strength at that time.

Lin Li felt fortunate the more he looked at the map in his hands. Luckily, he had stayed in Blackhills Town for the night; luckily, he had rescued Serena from Thuzadin. If not, who knew what kind of trouble he’d encounter if he had gone to the Fire Plume Ridge on his own.

But now that he had the map, everything would be much easier.

After studying the map, Lin Li went to Serena again, and told her that he needed to go out and might not be back until evening.

After all, the map was simply a map. Some things needed to be seen in person before the safest route could be planned.

Of course, these were things that he couldn’t tell Serena…

Otherwise, just wearing the label of a level-five warrior and monkeying about on the mountainside of the Fire Plume Ridge alone would take him half a day’s time to explain himself.

Lin Li’s statement was that he was just taking a walk around the foot of the mountain. He heard that there were many herbs and minerals around there. After that, of course, he had to reveal a little knowledge of mining and herbs in order to prove that he was not spouting nonsense…

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The Fire Plume Ridge was a place with abundant resources. Many adventurers who knew a thing or two about herbs and minerals would come to this place to make money. After listening to him, Serena did not doubt it, but showed a little surprise. “You are a talent in this field as well?”

“What kind of talent is mining and picking herbs…” Lin Li muttered as he exited the tent. He considered it for a while, and decided to call Sean to go with him. After all, Sean had spent a much longer time in the Fire Plume Ridge than himself. Now that Sean was at least level-10 in strength, it should be a lot easier to bring him along.

The camps of the six major mercenary corps were set up on the borders of the Fire Plume Ridge. Lin Li came out of the Silver Hand’s camp, and only walked forward for ten minutes when he felt the peculiar scorch of the Fire Plume Ridge.

To enter the Fire Plume Ridge from the south, one had to first cross a barren plain. This was the place where the Fire Crows liked to gather. Back then, Sean and his father hunted the Fire Crows here, and exchanged their feathers for the money necessary for their living. After crossing this barren plain, the terrain would slowly become complicated. There were several mountain roads leading to the mountainside, one of which was a shortcut only known to the core members of the Silver Hand.

This was the shortcut that Lin Li wanted to take.

However, for some unknown reason, when the Silver Hand drew the map, they were vague about the introduction of this shortcut; especially for one of the caves, which had no introduction at all. They directly marked it with a black line, which made Lin Li very dejected. He had to take a look at it in person. If there was no problem with it, then he could decide on the route after returning to the camp…

Lin Li had released a Mana Detector when he was crossing the plain. The Fire Plume Ridge was a place rich in natural resources. If he missed some precious mineral veins on the road, it would not be worth it…

The two men set out from the Silver Hand camp, and crossed the barren plain. It was quite calm along the way. Apart from several flocks of Fire Crows, there was hardly anything alive.

For these two guys, the Fire Crows were no trouble at all. Not to mention Lin Li, even the present Sean had at least the strength of a level-10 warrior. His body was emitting a cyan Combat Energy as he held the huge double-edged sword in his hand; coupled with his amazing natural strength, when he waved the double-edged sword, the surroundings were suddenly filled with plumes of blue flame. The Fire Crows were often turned into ashes before they even managed to go near them.

It could be said that their journey was without hindrances. About half an hour later, they had crossed the plain, and followed a rugged mountain road upward. Soon, they saw a withered yellow forest.

As soon as Lin Li saw the forest, he knew he had found the right place.

The shortcut marked on the map was near the forest. When he was studying the map earlier on, Lin Li had been wondering about something—what was the meaning of this area marked in yellow? If red meant danger and green meant safety, what did yellow mean? Did it mean erotica ¹ ?

Now that he got to the place, he could see that the meaning of yellow was “barren”.

It was indeed a barren forest; everything in it seemed to be listless. Although the trees had not completely died, they did not show any vitality at all. A few pitiful leaves hung on the branches, swaying around and making a clattering sound when the hot wind occasionally blew by.

This lifeless feeling seemed to be contagious—Lin Li constantly felt drowsy walking in the forest.

It was the activity transmitted by the Mana Detector that refreshed his spirits—there was a weak magical wave.

“There’s something!” Lin Li was too familiar with the magical wave. Back in the Endless World, he loved using this method of prospecting, but at that time, he had used a necklace with mana detection property, and this time, he had really mastered this spell.

The magical wave from afar was slightly weak, but Lin Li could judge almost immediately by experience that it was absolutely a magical wave emanating from the mineral veins, and it was most likely an Abyss Fiendish Iron vein, for only the Abyss Fiendish Iron could dye the surrounding land dark red.

Currently, the earth beneath their feet displayed a hoodooing dark red, which looked to have been soaked in blood. This was the most obvious growth feature of the Abyss Fiendish Iron. However, it was a pity that the soil was still not thoroughly red enough. If the color was darker, it could probably breed Demonsoul—an important ingredient of the Truth Elixir!

From the color of the soil, it should be a poor mine.

“Let’s go and have a look.” Nevertheless, Lin Li was not going to let it go even if it was a poor mine. The Abyss Fiendish Iron was a rare magical metal. Adding a little of it while forging could greatly enhance the power of a weapon. For a humanoid magical beast such as Sean, weapons integrated with the Abyss Fiendish Iron were especially powerful. If they could dig up some this time, Sean’s equipment set would be settled.

By virtue of his superior mental strength, Lin Li had always been the most sensitive to magical waves. He took Sean through the withered and yellow forest, and within a few minutes, he found the exact location of the mineral vein.

Looking from where Lin Li stood now, it was clear that there was a dim metallic luster in the dark red soil.

“It’s indeed a poor mine…” The mineral body was only slightly exposed on the surface, and Lin Li knew at once that it was a poor mine. If it were a rich mine, at least half of the mineral body would be exposed instead.