Chapter Seventy-Nine: Unexpected Joy

  Jiang Hao's words sparked a strong killing intent in Lei Xiang, but looking at the smile on Jiang Hao's face, Lei Xiang felt deeply powerless. Not to mention whether he was his opponent or not, there was also a Nine-Star War Master staring fiercely beside him.

  Lei Xiang let out a soft sigh and finally chose to compromise. "Jiang Huan, do you know why we have to station troops in this desolate land?"

  "Of course, I know. It's said that a large amount of titanium ore was discovered here, so the surrounding empires all want to get a share, and our Empire of Fia, as the first country to discover it, naturally doesn't want to share with other countries. The war broke out at once, and it has been going on for several hundred years."

  Lei Xiang let out a wry smile and said, "The name 'Barbaric Land' is indeed apt. This place is devoid of even an inch of grass, with only vast expanses of rocky mountains. Even ordinary magical beasts cannot survive here. I once thought of venturing deeper to explore, but just a few hundred meters in, I almost didn't make it back. The magical beasts there are at least third-tier, and they're all extremely poisonous. The miasma there is very potent, and even a warrior below the rank of War Master would find it hard to defend against."

  Jiang Hao nodded and said, "En, although the treasure is right in front of us, it can't be mined on a large scale, what a pity."

  Lei Xiang glanced at Jiang Hao and said, "Then do you know about Titanium Crystal?"

  "Titan crystal?" This time it was Jiang Lie who exclaimed, "The basic material for casting spiritual artifacts?"

  "That's right, it's titanium crystal. Its value is more than a hundred times that of titanium steel, and it's priceless." Lei Xiang said.

  Jiang Hao's face changed slightly, and he said in a low voice: "Could it be that you are stationed here because..."

  Lei Xiang nodded and said, "Your guess is correct. Under this mountain range, there is a titanium crystal mine with hundreds of cubic meters in reserve according to the exploration."

  Hiss!

  Jiang Hao and Jiang Lie simultaneously took a cold breath.

  After calming down, Jiang Hao said: "Vice General Lei Xiang, what you said is true, but I have two questions. Firstly, since there are such rich titanium crystal mines here, why didn't Ouyang Sheng cherish them at all and instead gave them up easily? Secondly, why do you live so frugally when you could easily mine some to enjoy?"

  Lei Xiang sighed and said, "You don't know that titanium steel stone is extremely tough as a material for refining precious instruments. It must be extracted with instrument-grade tools. And titanium crystal stone, being the concentrated form of titanium steel stone, is even harder than that. Only spirit-grade tools can move it. So we have a fortune but can't use it. However, this mine is unknown even to the imperial family of the Phya Empire and is our military department's biggest secret."

  Lei Xiang thought, it doesn't matter if I tell you, anyway, without a spiritual tool of the same level, it can't be mined.

  "Lei Xiang, Deputy Commander, can you take me to see this mine?" Jiang Hao said.

  "What?" Lei Xiang's face showed a hesitant expression, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, you come with me, but you guys have to swear not to spread this matter out."

  Jiang Hao said: "Lei Xiang, Deputy Commander, rest assured that if I and my second brother spread this news, we will be punished by heaven."

  Lei Xiang glanced at Jiang Hao and Jiang Lie, also feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart. He couldn't help but secretly scold Ouyang Sheng, "Since you're not taking care of us anymore, we don't need to keep this secret either. Don't blame me, I'm being forced into this too."

  Lei Xiang stood up and walked towards Jiang Hao, then went around to the back of the large chair where Jiang Hao was sitting and patted him on the back several times.

  With a loud crash, the back of the chair fell off, revealing a hole as tall as half a person. The inside of the hole was pitch black, and Jiang Huan's spiritual power suddenly extended out, but as soon as it entered the hole, a strong suction force was generated, startling Jiang Huan to hastily withdraw it.

  Lei Xiang's left hand made a move, and a ball of water emitting orange-yellow light suddenly appeared, and the next moment, his figure had already flashed away.

  Jiang Hao was about to follow when he was pulled back by Jiang Lie, "Fourth brother, be careful."

  Jiang Hao smiled and said: "Second brother, don't worry, let's go down too."

  As soon as he stepped into the cave, Jiang Heng felt like he was falling into an icy abyss. The sudden chill made his body hair stand on end, and he hastily circulated his battle energy to feel much better.

  The entrance is a seemingly endless stone staircase, obviously man-made, with very rough steps and some protruding stones on both sides. The cave is extremely cold and dry, even the air feels oppressive, giving off an aura similar to that of the sixth floor of the library's violent energy, making one feel stifled in their heart.

  The stone steps were steep, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Jiang Hao followed behind Lei Xiang, walking neither quickly nor slowly. Jiang Lie's face was full of vigilance, his attention completely focused on Lei Xiang, fearful of any unexpected changes.

  But everything was quiet, Lei Xiang didn't say a word and continued to walk forward, for about half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, without reaching the end. At this point, the stone steps had become very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through at a time, and the air was also becoming increasingly hot.

  It was another unknown length of time before the slope of the stone steps began to ease, and finally, it reached a flat ground. The stone walls on both sides started to emit a faint glow here. Jiang Huan was shocked to discover that the stone walls here had become semi-transparent, and he could vaguely see his own figure. The feeling of touching them was smooth and warm, and they were actually high-quality white jade.

  Lei Xiang finally spoke up: "The white jade here is all naturally formed, and we initially discovered these white jades. The titanium crystal mine was completely wrapped under this white jade, so it's extremely difficult to find."

  "This white jade is not rare, and its quality is good. However, the mainland is not lacking in white jade mines, and the reserves here are not that much. So even if ordinary people discover this white jade mine, they won't bother to extract it." Lei Xiang continued to say.

  A moment later, a jade gate appeared in front of the three people. The gate was shining with a soft light, which seemed to be due to the engraving of an array pattern on it. Lei Xiang snapped his fingers, and the light rippled like water waves. In the next instant, the jade gate had quietly opened without making any sound.

  After the Jade Gate, there is a small room. On all sides of the room are blocks of protruding rhombus-shaped stones. Some of the stones have already cracked open to reveal a faint golden color. At first glance, these protruding stones number in the thousands, resembling stone bamboo shoots that hang upside down and grow horizontally, forming a magnificent sight.

  "Underneath this rock are all titanium crystals, the titanium steel rocks appear in a silver white color, while the titanium crystals show a light gold color, it's very easy to distinguish. This is also why we thought you possessed a spiritual artifact after seeing your attack." Lei Xiang said, pointing at those light gold colors.

  Jiang Hao looked at the rhombus-shaped stone pillar in front of him, stepped forward slowly, and stroked a stone bamboo shoot with his right hand. The stone fell off like a defeated broom, revealing the crystal-clear titanium crystal underneath. The titanium crystal was sharp on top and square on bottom, surrounded by faint wavy patterns, and the light golden glow emanated from the center, exceptionally beautiful.

  Hmph!

  Jiang Hao's single-handed chop landed on the titanium crystal, producing a dull thud. To his surprise, the stone column didn't budge. Jiang Hao couldn't help but feel a sense of competitiveness rising within him. He clenched both fists, and with a concentrated burst of battle energy, he slammed them onto the stone column once more. Yet, it still remained motionless. This time, Jiang Hao felt frustrated. With his current strength as a four-star Battle Master, he should be able to dent even steel, let alone a mere stone column, especially when he was using his battle energy.

  Lei Xiang smiled and said: "You don't have to try, without a spiritual tool, it's impossible to move, Ouyang Sheng Jun also tried, all in vain."

  Jiang Hao pursed his lips, and his eyes flickered as if he had thought of something. A faint smile actually appeared on his face.

  A faint golden light burst out from his body, transforming into dragon energy that converged on Jiang Hao's right fist. On the surface of his right fist, a dense layer of scales emerged, and his fingertips began to protrude sharp claws, emitting a cold, icy glow.

  At close range, Jiang Hao's half-dragon body was on full display, and Lei Xiang only then felt what it meant to be terrified. It was an instinctual reaction - Lei Xiang's head involuntarily drew back slightly, because from those sharp claws, he seemed to feel his skin being torn apart.

  Hiss!

  A faint light flashed by, and a piece of titanium crystal had fallen to the ground, caught in Jiang Huan's hand. Lei Xiang widened his eyes, staring at Jiang Huan as if he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes. The titanium crystal that no matter how hard he tried could only be cut into two halves, was now being sliced like tofu in Jiang Huan's hands. Lei Xiang's first reaction was, "It's over, I've been outsmarted after all."

  Jiang Hao was also startled by himself, and it was so easy to cut down the titanium crystal stone. This half-dragon body was terrifying.

  "What's the big deal?" Tiān Yīn's voice echoed in Jiāng Hào's mind, "This trashy stone can barely hold a half-dragon body, you're underestimating yourself too much. Titanium crystal, back in our time they were all over the place, nobody bothered to pick them up, but you guys are treating it like treasure."

  Jiang Hao rolled his eyes and felt speechless in his heart. The corners of his mouth twitched, but he restrained the urge to curse.

  "Lei Xiang, Deputy Commander, looks like I'm your lucky star, haha." Jiang Hao said with a smile, glancing at Lei Xiang.

  Lei Xiang is now dead-hearted, if Ou Yang Sheng finds out about this matter, he will probably come to settle the account with himself.

  Just as Lei Xiang was indulging in his fantasies, Jiang Huan made a series of moves, and the bamboo shoots fell down like rain. Without saying a word, he directly stored them into his spatial pendant. In just a few minutes, there were already several piles of titanium crystals in Jiang Huan's spatial pendant.