CHAPTER 316: CHAPTER 178: DISCOVERY OF THE ORE VEIN MAP

Yun Sheng saw a faint reflection of her younger self in that boy.

Before she was six, she too was deemed incapable of cultivating magic by everyone, yet through her persistence, she eventually became a Mage.

Now, Yun Sheng had two great resources in her hands: the High-grade Magic Potion Moon God’s Praise and Blood Cloud Beast Blood. As long as one had perseverance and determination, be it as a Mage or a Martial Artist, she was absolutely confident she could nurture them.

For instance, within the Sky Hunting Corps, Yun Sheng had chosen a few individuals and through administering Moon God’s Praise, enhanced their magical perception.

"Uncle, please take him in. For a Martial Artist, it’s three parts talent and seven parts hard work. He is a sincere person. As for talent, I can perform Bone Marrow Cleansing for him." Yun Sheng admired those with determination the most; she was committed to giving this boy named Liu Zi her full support.

Having received Yun Sheng’s promise, Yun Canglang tentatively decided to take Liu Zi as his apprentice.

"Stand up. Becoming an apprentice is a serious matter. You are still young, and I need to discuss this with your parents," Yun Canglang said cautiously, inquiring about Liu Zi’s family situation.

Upon hearing Yun Canglang bring up his parents, Liu Zi fell silent.

"Hey kid, speak up. Don’t be afraid; if you have any trouble, just tell us. With the Sky Hunting Corps here, no matter how difficult it is, we’ll solve it for you," Zhou Quan blurted out anxiously from the side. They had asked about Liu Zi’s origins earlier, but the boy was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off, not uttering a single word.

"You’re from Jingkou Village, aren’t you? The waiter at the inn told us all about the situation in the village. Don’t be afraid; if you have anything to say, just speak up. If there’s trouble, my Uncle is here to handle it," Yun Sheng, close in age to Liu Zi, asked him with warmth.

It was apparent that Liu Zi was afraid that revealing the cause of the incident would put Yun Sheng and the others in danger.

Liu Zi looked at Yun Sheng, and for some reason, the elegantly dressed young master before him gave him an instinctive sense of closeness.

He bit his lip and began to recount what had happened in his village a few days earlier.

"Did you see the faces of those bandits?" Yun Canglang asked, frowning upon hearing the story.

The collective disappearance of villagers from several villages, with no trace of Demon Beasts such as the Blood Cloud Beast, and yet the garrison hadn’t thoroughly investigated, indicated a real problem with military discipline.

"I was in the cellar, I didn’t see the enemy’s faces clearly, but... I know who took away the villagers and my parents," Liu Zi’s words left everyone in utter surprise.

Everyone who knew about the villagers’ disappearance claimed that the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrators were unknown, yet Liu Zi claimed he knew where they came from?

"How do you know that?" Yun Canglang pressed for answers.

"It’s a long story... What I’m going to say today could cost me my head. I beg you, whether or not you can rescue my parents, you must not let this matter spread," pleaded Liu Zi, believing the people before him to be trustworthy.

After receiving encouraging looks from everyone, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Hidden close to his chest, he retrieved a piece of Beast Skin as thin as paper.

The map drawn on the Beast Skin with special Beast Blood was etched before them.

Liu Zi told everyone that this map depicted a Purple Gold Vein discovered years ago in the lands of Great Zhou, Hou Qin, and Tang Yuan.

"Is this map authentic, and where did you get it from?"

There were far too many versions of maps to the Purple Gold Veins, leaving the crowd skeptical to immediately believe that this map was the genuine article.

Sixth Son was indeed very young, which made everyone inevitably doubt the authenticity of the map.

"It was left by my father. To satisfy everyone’s doubts, my father was one of the early discoverers of the Purple Gold Vein years ago. He and several other hunters from nearby villages had come across it while tracking down a Fourth Rank Demon Beast that had invaded the area." Several years earlier, Sixth Son was only five or six years old, and he learned all this from what his mother told him later on.

Sixth Son’s father was a famous archer in Jingkou Village. During their hunt for the Demon Beast, they noticed several stones that were very beautifully colored.

At that time, no one knew that these were the extremely valuable Purple Gold Ore. Sixth Son’s father casually brought a few pieces back home for Sixth Son to play with.

Later on, the village chief accidentally stumbled upon Sixth Son playing with them and discovered that they were the incredibly precious Purple Gold Ore.

After the discovery of the ore, Yujing was immediately notified, but the news leaked out as well.

The military forces from Hou Qin, Tang Yuan, and even Great Zhou had sent people to inquire, and soon after, the war that shook all three nations occurred.

After the three countries signed a truce, the military summoned them and they went into the mountains accompanied by a troop of soldiers.

But in the mountains, a troop of soldiers from another country suddenly appeared, and both sides clashed. Unexpectedly, they were all wiped out, and even the informed hunters were killed.

Sixth Son’s father was also severely injured at the time, but he was lucky. After being injured, he feigned death and escaped the slaughter. He hid in the mountains for two to three days before escaping back to his original village.

After that incident, Sixth Son’s father took his mother and Sixth Son with him and moved out of Yunben’s village to live in seclusion in Jingkou Village, where they stayed for seven to eight years.

It was thought that the matter of the Purple Gold Mine would always remain sealed with the tragic death of the hunters, yet several years later, bandits raiding the villages occurred.

"Sixth Son, are you suggesting that those people kidnapped the nearby villagers because of the Purple Gold Mine? Why then would they take away everyone in the village, and moreover, abduct people from several villages at once?" Yun Sheng was not the only one confused; Yun Canglang also had his doubts.

"Because they need manpower for mining and can’t use the army or openly recruit people in town. Under the guise of bandits, taking all the villagers is the safest and most reliable method." Sixth Son had been hiding with his parents since he was young and was more sensitive than his peers of the same age.

After crawling out of the cellar, the first thing he did was find the map hidden by his father in the house, then traverse mountains and waters until he found the location of the Purple Gold Vein.

He secretly lurked in that area for a while and indeed spotted many mysterious people active around the Purple Gold Mine, and among those miners, he recognized some familiar faces.

One day, personnel patrolling the mining area discovered Sixth Son, who panicked and fled. However, during his escape, he was shot in the back by the enemy and also had several wounds from being bitten by their Demon Beasts.

The mysterious people possessed formidable strength; they kept tight security near the mining area, and with a large number of terrestrial and Flying Magical Beasts patrolling nearby, one could easily be discovered by the opponent if not careful.

Sixth Son, lacking in vision, did not know the full strength of the opposing forces, but he was sure they numbered over a thousand.

Having heard from Sixth Son, Yun Sheng and the others were also able to confirm the authenticity of this mining area map.

After listening, Yun Canglang pondered for a moment—things were much more complicated than he had anticipated.

Before setting off, the task for the Hunting Corps was only to locate the Purple Gold Mine,

"What do you all think of this situation?" After consoling Sixth Son with kind words, Yun Canglang gathered several key members of the Sky Hunting Corps to discuss the matter.