The Big Miner Slime had no choice but to select another small iron ore and shape a small iron pickaxe within its belly.
At this point, the Little Miner Slime finally possessed its own iron pickaxe.
Li Cunxu asked, "Yi Yi, has your Fate Points increased with the birth of the Little Miner Slime?"
"Sisi~ (They have, but only a tiny bit.)"
Li Cunxu was very pleased. The increase in Fate Points indicated that his line of thinking was correct.
The Little White Spider Yi Yi had mutated into a Miner Slime, and the Miner Slime had given birth to a Little Miner Slime. Thus, the wings of fate began to flutter.
Without Yi Yi, there would be no Miner Slime, let alone a second or third generation of Miner Slimes.
Therefore, as the Miner Slime population grew, Yi Yi's influence on fate increased. As long as Miner Slimes existed in the world, Yi Yi could continuously harvest Fate Points from them.
And this was just one type of Slime. Once Yi Yi mutated other types of Slimes, there would be even more Fate Points to gain.
Having entrusted the task of increasing the Miner Slime population to the Little White Spider, Li Cunxu went back to meditating. He was just one step away, one foot away from advancing his spiritual power to the Black Iron Intermediate Stage.
Li Cunxu had a premonition that this meditation session would surely succeed.
However, as it turned out, Li Cunxu's premonition was wrong. After finishing his meditation, he still hadn't broken through.
This time, it was the Little White Spider who woke him up.
It wasn't because a Mutated Slime had appeared, but because the Little White Spider's Black Iron Avatar had discovered an underground river.
"Time is of the essence. Let's go immediately."
The Blood Demon Jewel was buried somewhere deep within the Vein Realm, with no coordinates or pathways to guide them. Li Cunxu only had vague clues, and since their time in the Vein Realm was limited, they had to act quickly.
The mine's branching tunnels were like a labyrinth, and Li Cunxu disliked such environments. He had gotten lost countless times in this Secret Realm, developing a slight phobia of underground settings.
On the way, Li Cunxu realized that sending Earth Slimes to find the underground river wasn't a good idea. The mine was too complex, and many Earth Slimes had gotten lost.
In a circular tunnel, a group of Earth Slimes was gathered, endlessly circling around a stone pillar, trapped in an infinite loop.
"The tunnels beneath the Ranch never confused the Earth Slimes. Could it be because they're unfamiliar with this place?"
In contrast, the Little White Spider navigated the mine with precision, as if returning home, and led them to the tunnel where its Black Iron Avatar had found the underground river.
"Even the Earth Slimes, creatures of the underground, get lost here because they're unfamiliar with the terrain. Why don't you get lost? Oh, I forgot, the Widow Red Spider Queen's lineage belongs to the Cavern Creatures."
The air in this tunnel was extremely humid. Water droplets could be seen slowly dripping down the walls, forming tiny streams that flowed quietly in the underground silence, producing a gentle gurgling sound. The light from the mining lamps reflected off the damp stone walls, casting a mosaic of light spots that danced like stars on the water's surface. Dust particles floated in the beams of light, like lost spirits searching for a way out in the darkness.
At the deepest part of the tunnel, a winding underground river flowed quietly. The water was crystal clear, and the light reflected off its calm surface, emitting a faint blue glow. Strange-shaped stalactites hung from the ceiling, resembling naturally carved murals.
"This calm underground river must be it."
Li Cunxu took out a waterproof suit from his backpack, drank a bottle of warm Warmth Sheep Milk, and then downed an Underwater Breathing Potion. Holding a glowing oil lamp, he stepped into the icy underground river.
The oil lamp was waterproof, so there was no need to worry about it extinguishing.
"Should I go downstream or upstream?"
It had been too long, and Li Cunxu couldn't quite remember whether he needed to reach the end of the river or its source.
"Let's go upstream first!"
If he went downstream first and reached the end of the river only to find it wasn't the right place, he would have to turn back and head upstream, which would be exhausting, especially if he had to traverse the entire underground river against the current.
If he went upstream first and reached the source, only to find it wasn't the right place, the journey upstream would indeed be tiring, but the return trip downstream would be much easier. Going downstream along the entire underground river would be far less strenuous than going upstream.
After swimming for an unknown amount of time and stopping to rest three times along the way, he finally reached the source of the river.
The source of the underground river was a deep pool, with a hole in the middle of the cave ceiling from which water continuously poured down, forming a column of water.
"No memory of this place, it probably isn't here."
Li Cunxu turned around and headed downstream.
He made a mental note of this location, curious about what lay above the cave ceiling at the source of the underground river.
Was it another underground river? Or something else?
Among players of Divine Taming, there was a saying: "Never ignore anomalies. Anomalies could be dangers, but they could also be opportunities."
The return journey was still long, but it was fruitful.
Li Cunxu picked up two gold nuggets of different sizes from the riverbed, leading him to suspect that there might be a gold mine beneath the river.
The underground river was unexpectedly long, and he had to rest five times along the way, even drinking another bottle of the Underwater Breathing Potion.
The potion he had bought lasted for two hours, and ten minutes before its effect wore off, he would start to feel difficulty breathing underwater.
When he reached the end of the river, he found that a collapse of earth had blocked the flow.
"This should be the place. It feels familiar."
"What's the next step? I remember having to dig straight in one direction, but which direction should I dig?"
"Left, right, or straight ahead?"
Li Cunxu couldn't recall; it had been too long.
"Since I can't remember, I'll dig in all three directions. After all, I have the Earth Slimes."
He released the Earth Slimes and Miner Slimes from his Pet Pouch.
These slimes were more than enough to dig one hole, but three holes would stretch them a bit thin.
"Xiao Yi, your Black Iron Avatar is still over there, right? Have it send the Earth Slimes from that side."
Before descending into the underground river, Li Cunxu hadn't brought all the Earth Slimes with him, as there wasn't enough space in the Pet Pouch.
"Sisi~ (I can't command the Earth Slimes.)"
"Just have your avatar throw them into the river. They'll float downstream and end up here."
Earth Slimes disliked water but weren't afraid of it, unlike Fire Slimes, which could drown in water.
Li Cunxu had lost his Iron Pickaxe, so he couldn't participate in the digging. He sat on a large bluestone, meditating.
He had felt several times that he was on the verge of a breakthrough during meditation, but each time he had been wrong.
Each time, he was just a little short, and it left him restless and unable to focus on his meditation.
"I need to take a break. I might be too tense."
He sat on the bluestone, pondering life, gazing at the clear water below. Suddenly, a question occurred to him.
The river here had been cut off due to a collapse. Logically, the water should have accumulated to a great depth, but it was even shallower than the pool at the source of the underground river. So where had the water gone?
Li Cunxu leaped into the riverbed to search for answers.
This search only deepened his confusion.
There was no outlet at the riverbed.
Without an outlet, how could the water have disappeared into thin air?
Something was amiss.
There might be something beneath.
Mining at the riverbed was extremely difficult.
Earth Slimes were too light and couldn't sink easily, while Ore Slimes, armed
with Iron Pickaxes, could sink without trouble.
However, the water resistance slowed the mining progress.
After three days of digging, the secret beneath the water was finally uncovered.
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