Chapter 330 My Luck Has Always Been Good
The creaking sound of the mine carts starting up echoed. After entering the depths of the mine, it was like a huge maze. The mine carts continued to move forward, selecting entrances to the maze one by one. But after a while, the towering mine caves became low, and the glow of the hanging inkstone lamps outside also disappeared. Only a headlight on the front of the mine cart itself was left to guide the direction.

At this time, even Zhou Tieyi deeply felt why ordinary miners had no objection even though they knew that the inkstone mechanism was harmful to the body. Just like Min Huorong said, using it would only be harmful to the body. If they rested in time, they could reduce the double damage to the mind and body. But if they didn't use it, then no one knew how many people would die in the mine.

This maze-like mining area was also divided into small mining areas. According to Zhou Tieyi's intention, the mine cart certainly could not stay in the safest mining areas outside. The entire mine cart kept moving forward. After a quarter of an hour, it finally stopped. Min Huorong said respectfully to Zhou Tieyi, "Lord Zhou, we have to walk the rest of the way. You..."

"Then walk."

Zhou Tieyi got off the mine car without hesitation. Min Huorong took out a number of mining lamps from the side and handed them to the dozen officials present.

This mining lamp has a peculiar structure. There is only a low-grade talisman in the middle. After being activated with blood energy, it can illuminate for about half an hour. However, the brightness is limited, and the talisman paper needs to be replaced during this process. It is not as bright as the inkstone lamp that can continuously illuminate the darkness.

Holding the mining lamp, Zhou Tieyi nodded slightly. This world's mining area is not without its commendable aspects, such as the mining lamp in front of him.

Although the talisman can only be guaranteed to have the greatest power if it is drawn by the painter himself, the mining lamp itself does not need too much power. It only needs to be activated by blood and energy and be able to illuminate the surrounding area for a few feet.

Without the tracks for the mine car sleepers, the terrain of the mining area ahead became more complicated. There were so many tunnels going downward or upward that people of Zhou Tieyi's height could only enter by bending over.

Many of these mine entrances are also marked, indicating that they are abandoned.

When he got here, Min Huorong did not move forward on his own, but looked at Zhou Tieyi and asked, "The mining in the future will depend a lot on feelings or the experience of experienced miners. Inkstones are distributed irregularly in coal mines, and often a little bit of luck is needed to mine them."

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "I've always had good luck."

He looked at the mine tunnels in front of him and pointed to one of the mines based on his intuition. Zhou Tieyi wanted to play a game of exploring the mines. Although the officials around him had many complaints about the damp, dark and hot environment, everyone knew that if they had fun playing with Zhou Tieyi, they would be relaxed during the trial of the case later.

Zhou Tieyi took the lead with a mining lamp in his hand. He crouched and walked forward for a few hundred steps. Suddenly, the mine tunnel above his head did not seem so cramped. He felt a sense of sudden enlightenment. After a while, when he came out of the mine tunnel, he actually came to a natural cave.

The dome here is at least thirty or four meters high and more than ten acres deep. There are traces of artificial mining around it, but it looks deserted and dilapidated, and it seems that no one has been here for a long time.

Min Huorong thought for a moment and said, "This should be an abandoned mine."

Zhou Tieyi jumped from the mine tunnel into the mine cave, walked in one direction, and asked, "Why was the mine cave abandoned?"

As he spoke, he found a spot and motioned Li Jianhu, who was holding a shovel next to him, to hand it over.

Min Huorong explained, "There are three main reasons why mines are abandoned. The first is that the ore veins have been mined out, and no new coal sources have been found. Naturally, no inkstone associated with coal can be found. At this time, experienced mine owners will choose to abandon this place and choose another vein that extends coal."

"The second reason is a mining accident. A landslide inside the ore body made it impossible to continue mining in this area."

"The third reason is that the mine beasts are rioting, making this place a dangerous area."

Hearing the words "mine beast riot", Li Jianhu slightly pinched his palms. If he really had to hate someone, he should actually hate the mine beasts more, because the mine beasts were the culprit that caused his father's death.

"Mine beast?"

Zhou Tieyi held a shovel and dug into the ground with it. The crisp sound of the ground cracking spread from under his feet like a spider web.

Min Huorong looked solemn. "Yes, the mine beasts are a great hazard to the mining area. Although we have thought about encircling and suppressing the mine beasts, the effect is not significant. The mine beasts feed on inkstone ore, so they are naturally irritable and like to attack miners and plunder flesh and blood. However, they have a keen judgment of powerful spirits like wild beasts. Therefore, every time when the mine beasts are difficult to erupt, although our mining area sends powerful practitioners to encircle and suppress them, the mine beasts will always retreat quickly after plundering ordinary miners, making the encirclement and suppression unsuccessful, unless we can ambush in advance and encounter the mine beasts..."

Zhou Tieyi dug the shovel again, and a boundary was opened by Zhou Tieyi. Suddenly, Min Huorong, who was talking, stopped talking.

In the crack that was pried open, the chaotic spirit and energy was like a spring gushing out from the ground, tangible but intangible, forming a spiritual shock.

Fortunately, the people around are all powerful practitioners. Although the spiritual impact caused by the inkstone mine is like chaotic music, everyone can still barely endure it.

But everyone's eyes towards Zhou Tieyi suddenly changed.

Just now Zhou Tieyi said that he was lucky, but no one took it seriously. But now he can accurately knock out inkstone ore in an abandoned mine with just two shovels. This can no longer be described by luck. Zhou Tieyi must have some special way to lock the inkstone vein.

Among them, Sun Shiheng of the Mohist School had his eyes shining. If this method could be copied and promoted from Zhou Tieyi, then its effect would be limitless.

Zhou Tieyi stretched out his palm, and a bright, full, yet illusory moon appeared in his palm. When this illusory moon enveloped everyone, everyone could clearly feel that their breath was weakening, and only the spirit exhaled by the ink stone continued to spread outward.

After waiting for about a cup of tea, suddenly the sound of flapping wings came from far away, and then the sound became louder and louder, more harsh than the energy emitted by the inkstone mine itself.

Mine beast!

Everyone realized what it was instantly.

Mine beasts are a general term for many wild beasts and exotic animals.

They can be ordinary burrowing animals, such as bats, or exotic beasts with unique bloodlines, such as earth dragons and bass snakes.

The biggest reason why they are called mineral beasts is that they actively or passively devour a large amount of inkstones. The chaotic and dead spirits in these inkstones not only give them strength, but also make them like evil spirits, constantly looking for living people or inkstone mines to devour. At the same time, the more they devour, the crazier they become.

Generally speaking, even ordinary animals, when they devour enough ink stones, will gradually transform into exotic beasts with unique bloodlines, because ink stones themselves are fossils left behind after the death of ancient powerful exotic beasts.

In addition to gods who hold power like Zhou Tieyi, there are also those who can activate the activity in the ink stone and turn death into life.

Of course, nature itself can do that too.

When ordinary animals devour a large amount of inkstone, their bodies and spirits will change. While going mad and dying, they can reproduce through natural mating and pass on the changes in their bodies and spirits to their offspring. In this process, as long as the base number is large enough, the dead blood in the inkstone will have a chance to "revive". Through this kind of reproduction, they will be reborn from the dead and manifest in new species.

Even if they are lucky enough, the new life forms can get rid of the habit of devouring inkstone and only live on flesh and blood. In this case, they will not completely lose their minds like their parents, but will have complete self-consciousness.

This is also the origin of the dragon veins and phoenix veins of many exotic beasts in this world. They are not entirely the offspring of living high-quality exotic beasts through mating. After they die, their corpses will also inherit their genes and power.

A dark cloud finally appeared in front of everyone. It was a group of mineral beasts consisting of hundreds of bats. These bats were more dry and hideous than ordinary bats. Their bones were exposed, and the alienation and disease of the ink stone made their wings covered with layers of long hair like horse mane. Their necks were more slender, feeling like snakes, and there was a huge tail behind them, with the luster of metal barbs.

Not only did the strange beasts in the sky change, but the veins under everyone's feet, which had already cracked due to Zhou Tieyi's hammering, continued to crack outward, as if some huge monster was about to emerge from it.

Zhou Tieyi held a bright moon in his hand and smiled at everyone, "I said, I have always had good luck."

(End of this chapter)