While Meng Zhang was worried about the cultivators of Zhao Family making trouble, Zhao Family had their own troubles to deal with.
The cultivators of Zhao Family, including their patriarch Zhao Yanbei, suffered greatly while serving their sentence at Singing Sand Mountain. They endured hardship, working tirelessly under the watchful eyes of Twin Success Valley's supervising cultivators, who intentionally made things difficult for them. All the arduous tasks and heavy labor fell upon their shoulders.
Exposed to harsh winds, scorching sun, and drenching rain, they toiled day after day, leaving them with no time for cultivation and insufficient spiritual energy to meditate and recover.
After enduring three years of suffering, their first priority upon returning to the family was to quickly enter seclusion and restore their vitality. If they didn't attend to their physical well-being promptly, it could harm their foundation and severely damage their Cultivation Base.
It took over two months for Zhao Yanbei and the others to begin feeling revived after their return.
Upon their return, Zhao Dong suggested whether they should secretly cause some trouble for Taiyi Sect. They could send some skilled Refining Qilate stage experts from their family to constantly harass Taiyi Sect, making it difficult for them to focus on their cultivation and farming. They might even go further and hire assassins to secretly kill Taiyi Sect's disciples.
However, as soon as Zhao Dong made these suggestions, he was severely scolded by Zhao Yanbei, the patriarch of Zhao Family. Having suffered greatly during their time at Singing Sand Mountain, Zhao Yanbei had developed a deep fear of Twin Success Valley. It was evident that Taiyi Sect had the support of Twin Success Valley's Law Enforcement Elder, Shan Ying, which helped them win the battle and secure the spirit vein.
At this point, Zhao Family not only couldn't cause trouble for Taiyi Sect but also had to secretly pray that nothing would happen to Taiyi Sect's disciples. Regardless of any evidence, if any mishap befell Taiyi Sect's disciples, Zhao Family would be considered the culprits. If Shan Ying felt that Zhao Family opposed his actions, he could easily find various means to make life difficult for them.
After admonishing Zhao Dong, Zhao Yanbei announced the next step of their plan to the high-ranking members of the family. The family would concentrate all their efforts on taking over the abandoned mine as soon as possible.
During these three years, due to Zhao Yanbei and the others serving their sentence at Singing Sand Mountain, no one in the family actively pursued clearing the abandoned mine. However, they maintained constant surveillance around the mine, with Zhao Family disciples secretly observing its surroundings at all times.
For three years, there were no unusual incidents around the abandoned mine, and no one entered or exited it.
Having heard the reports from the disciples responsible for monitoring the mine, Zhao Yanbei felt relieved. It seemed that after the ghost cultivator who was once here had been relentlessly pursued by Flying Swan Sect cultivators, they had either been completely eliminated or had fled and never returned.
Regardless of the situation, Zhao Yanbei no longer needed to worry about that ghost cultivator.
Under Zhao Yanbei's strong leadership, the family mobilized a large number of experts and prepared numerous items to restrain ghosts. They began the process of clearing the abandoned mine.
The Yin Yang Reversal Formation within the mine had already been neglected for some time and had developed some flaws. After Meng Zhang's previous actions, the vulnerabilities had increased.
More and more Yin Qi leaked out, turning the interior of the abandoned mine into a veritable ghost domain.
When Meng Zhang had secretly entered the mine before, he had not encountered many corpses. This was because the bodies had been hidden deep within the mine, nourished slowly by Yin Qi. But now, with a large amount of Yin Qi leaking out, all the bodies had transformed into zombies and started roaming the mine.
As soon as Zhao Family cultivators entered the mine, it was as if their presence had attracted countless ghosts, who eagerly sought the flesh and blood of the living.
Led by Zhao Yanbei himself, the group consisted of elite cultivators from Zhao Family. These Refining Qilate stage cultivators had made thorough preparations and faced the multitude of ghosts fearlessly.
Unlike Meng Zhang, who could directly locate the Yin Yang Reversal Formation, Zhao Family cultivators had to clear the mine step by step, gradually exploring its depths.
After a considerable amount of time, the group finally reached the Yin Yang Reversal Formation.
With Zhao Family's deep background and great efforts, they managed to break the great formation.
During the past three years, the Yin Yang Reversal Formation had naturally operated and generated two drops of Jade Soul Fluid. Moreover, there were still many precious materials inside the formation that had been used to maintain the formation and convert into Jade Soul Fluid, many of which remained unused.
Zhao Yanbei, with his discerning eye, knew that this was a substantial gain. With these treasures, Zhao Family could secure the much-needed Foundation Building Pills.
After securing the gains, Zhao Yanbei and the Zhao Family cultivators left the mine and joined forces to use the earthshaking technique, causing the entire mine to collapse, erasing any traces.
Ever since Zhao Yanbei's return, Meng Zhang had been closely monitoring the movements of Zhao Family. Zhang Zhanlin, who had opened a store in Singing Sand City, brought him some news: several Zhao Family cultivators had purchased a batch of talismans to restrain ghosts in the market.
Meng Zhang immediately realized that Zhao Family had their sights on the abandoned mine.
After secretly infiltrating the mine and obtaining Jade Soul Fluid years ago, Meng Zhang had refrained from entering it again to avoid attracting attention from Ghost Path cultivators. He had even kept the information strictly confidential and hadn't revealed it to any disciples.
Now, Zhao Family intended to forcefully clear the mine.
As Zhao Family cultivators set out, Meng Zhang secretly followed behind. Having reached the Refining Qilate stage and mastered the Earth Escape Spell, he could track them without leaving a trace.
From a distance, Meng Zhang kept a close eye on the direction of the abandoned mine.
After a long time, Zhao Family cultivators began to leave the mine. Shortly after, there was a violent tremor, as if the earth itself was shaking.
Using the Deception Breaking Eye from a distance, Meng Zhang could tell that the interior of the mine had collapsed.
It seemed that Zhao Family had made significant gains inside the mine and decided to destroy it to eliminate any traces.
A strong sense of regret suddenly overwhelmed Meng Zhang.
Had he been too cautious and overly afraid of Ghost Path cultivators?
Despite the commotion caused by Zhao Family, no Ghost Path cultivators had appeared. Could it be that they had given up on this place?
If he had been bolder and entered the mine before Deep Earth Spirit General fell into slumber, he might have broken the Yin Yang Reversal Formation early on and obtained all the treasures inside.
His cautiousness had inadvertently allowed Zhao Family to reap the benefits. With the gains they made, they likely had the capital to acquire Foundation Building Pills. Once Zhao Family obtained those pills and cultivated Foundation Building stage cultivators, it would be an unstoppable and seamless process.
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