However, the direction of that vein below only permits the simultaneous operation of five mining carts.

As for the efficiency of five mining carts operating at the same time, Song Chi was actually quite satisfied.

The only inevitable issue was that the Cang Qiong could not leave during their operation because it was necessary to ensure the continuous effect of the "Sonic Silence Field" component; otherwise, even deep underground, hundreds of meters down, the noise generated by the mining operation would surely attract the attention of nearby creatures.

Otherwise, Song Chi could entirely use the intermediate time to explore other places and search for other vein points.

"Why not call Little You over to help?"

Although Song You was weak, such a matter required no combat, only to be equipped with "Void Membrane" and "Sonic Silence Field" on the flagship.

After some thought, Song Chi quickly shook his head; it was still too risky, after all.

Even he himself could not ensure that they would definitely not be discovered by other Soul Spirit Clans; if something unexpected happened after calling Song You over, he didn’t even dare to think about the consequences.

Having no other choice, Song Chi could only enter the Ruins Market to cultivate the Guidance Technique and also take the opportunity to continue the visualization of the Mythical Mech Projection Imprint Blueprint with intermediate rank Soul Stones.

Of course, when he was inside the Ruins Market, he would have two Third Rank Soul Spirit Clan members guard the Cang Qiong outside; in case of any emergency, the two Third Rank Soul Spirits would notify him the first time through mind induction.

...

Time flew by quickly, and five days later, the intermediate rank Soul Stone Vein below was successfully mined, and Song Chi ultimately harvested 124,700 intermediate rank Soul Stones.

Once the mining was finished, he didn’t linger, retracted the five Furious Tiger Mining Carts and hurried back without stopping.

It wasn’t that he was eager to return to the base; rather, he was preparing to greet his grandfather and then head directly to the Western Region to embark on his previous exploration plan.

The Western Region was now completely under the control of his family, making it the safest place in this Soul Spirit Floating Land, naturally becoming Song Chi’s first choice for exploration.

While mostly all of the resource points marked by The First Direct Lineage that had not yet been mined were in this region, regardless of its size stretching over a million kilometers, The First Direct Lineage couldn’t possibly cover everything without omission.

Besides, another reason he was eager to go to the Western Region was that the time for his next exploration of the Alien Star Domain was rapidly approaching, and for the clansmen participating in the Floating Land expedition tasks, their first-choice landing zone for exploration was the Western Region.

Proceeding with caution, without any incidents along the way, Song Chi quickly arrived back within his family’s frontlines.

At the Mountain Base, Song Mingsong was very happy to see Song Chi return safely, but before he could rejoice for long, what Song Chi said next caused his face to stiffen.

"Going out again?"

Song Mingsong’s expression darkened, not too pleased.

The Soul Spirit Floating Land was not entirely safe, and if possible, he naturally preferred to have the family members stay under his supervision to better ensure everyone’s safety.

At his side, Grandma Bai Xiuqin gave a glance.

"Little Chi is going to the Western Region, not the Central Region or Eastern Region; what are you worrying about so much for?"

"Little Chi, don’t mind your grandfather; go ahead, just be extra careful on the road!"

Although she said so, Song Chi could still catch a thick worry in his grandma’s eyes.

He nodded solemnly and, under the watchful eyes of the two, left the base again and summoned Cang Qiong to head west.

As for why he didn’t inform his grandparents about the vein detection and mining,

Firstly, he couldn’t be sure if he would definitely find other suitable resource points subsequently; if not, it would inevitably waste a lot of their time for no reason.

Secondly, shortly after arriving at the Soul Spirit Floating Land, his Grandma Bai Xiuqin’s "Sky Zither" had already officially started the warship promotion mission, with the goal of killing Third Rank Soul Spirits on the Floating Land with Grandpa’s help to increase the promotion success rate of Sky Zither.

The other Third Rank Blackwater Xuan Snake in the cave space below had been handed over to Grandma by Grandpa, becoming part of the success rate for the promotion of Sky Zither.

Therefore, it’s unlikely they would have the time to assist him in mining those Soul Stone veins.

Furthermore, they had clearly taken on patrol duties from the southern headquarters, and the base could not be left undefended.

...

In the Western Region of the Soul Spirit Floating Land, hustling as quickly as possible, it took less than twenty minutes for the Cangqiong to arrive. Afterward, Song Hai activated the "Void Membrane" component and began a detailed exploration of the Western Region.

The reason he used the "Void Membrane" component was that he feared the Cangqiong’s leisurely roaming over the Western Region would attract the attention of those from The First Direct Lineage.

Another two days passed.

In the Southern Region, within the Melting Soul Mountain Range, at the Tenth Direct Vein stronghold cave.

Enjoy more content from empire

In the Warship Summoning Room deep under the stronghold, Song You stood on the Ghost Energy Cultivation Platform within the flagship, cultivating the Guidance Technique with all his might.

As the weakest member participating in the mission, the First Rank Song You, who had been following his second uncle, Song Hai, for over twenty days, was not allowed to act alone and had no opportunity to earn extra resources.

This made Song You feel bored, so he spent most of his time cultivating the Guidance Technique.

Just then, a strange sensation emerged from his forehead, as the Seed of Torch trembled unexpectedly several times.

Sensing this movement, he stopped his cultivation of the Guidance Technique and quickly connected to the temporary Torch Bureau local network using the Seed of Torch. If he wasn’t mistaken, someone was contacting him via the Torch network.

The next second, Song You’s eyes lit up with joy.

"Are you interested in a trip to the Western Region? I should mention, there’s a benefit in it!!"

Seeing the message was from Song Chi, Song You replied without a second thought.

"Yes, but over here with Grandpa..."

"No worries, I’ve already spoken to Grandpa, Grandma, and your second uncle. You come out, I’ll come pick you up!"

Traveling at full speed, it didn’t take long to go from the Western Region to the Southern Region. To ensure Song You’s safety, Song Chi still decided to make the trip personally.

After more than ten minutes, the two successfully met above the stronghold and then headed straight for the Western Region again.

On the way, Song Chi gave Song You two brand-new "Void Membrane" and "Sonic Silence Field" components, adding a remark.

"These cost money, a total of ten thousand Merit points, which will be deducted from your later earnings!!"

Upon hearing this, instead of being disappointed, Song You was overjoyed. From Song Chi’s words, it was clear that his personal share of the earnings in the upcoming actions would likely be well over ten thousand Merit points.

For him, still a First Rank Torch Ship Captain, this was not a small profit at all.

On the easternmost side of the Western Region, close to the Central Region, in a gorge, two warships equipped with "Void Membrane" components slowly descended.

Through the warship’s communication projection, Song You tentatively asked:

"Fourth brother, are you sure there’s a small Intermediate Rank Soul Stone Vein in this gorge?"

Song Chi did not answer at length, simply nodding affirmatively.

Indeed, during the last two days, he had discovered a small Intermediate Rank Soul Stone Vein in the Western Region.

It’s not that the entire Western Region was such a barren place, but rather that the actions of The First Direct Lineage were swift. Additionally, their ability to search for veins was not weak; essentially, they had already discovered the more valuable veins first.

Hurriedly dispatching three Furious Tiger Mining Carts from the warship, Song Chi admonished:

"Xiao You, stay here and guard. Remember, as soon as the duration of that ’Core Barrier’ component passes, immediately stop the mining operations below until the cooldown is complete. That vein below should yield at least 30,000 Intermediate Rank Soul Stones, and I’ll give you 3,000 of them once we’re done!"

Having said that, Song Chi controlled the Cangqiong to soar into the sky and set off toward the Southern Region.

The region he was going to explore next was the Southern Region, known for its rich mineral resources.

ps: This shouldn’t count as filler, right?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read