Chapter 1: Ancient Mine

Yang Ling fell silent after hearing this, with several black lines appearing on his forehead. "Did the archaeological team make any discoveries?"

Yang Ling could not help but feel a sense of joy, as he finally made a discovery. Holding it in his hand and examining it closely, he found that it was a silver metal tag, with a small hole at the top, threaded with a thin metal chain, resembling a dog tag worn by soldiers. One side of the metal tag bore a series of strange symbols engraved in a dark manner, while the other side featured two Chinese characters in regular script: Chen Tuan.

Standing in front is a thin old man in his sixties, who says to a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six beside him: "Xiao Yang, did you notice anything?"

Grandmother's leg! The expedition has not yet succeeded! Indeed, not following the rules will lead to retribution.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously and pinched himself to confirm that he was not dreaming

Let us go. The archaeological team conducted several thorough inspections last month, and there is basically no danger inside. We will each take one side. Xiao Yang, you graduated with a degree in archaeology and have worked at the Geological and Mineral Bureau, so your experience is much richer than these little rascals. I hope you can make some discoveries! Also, please pay attention to safety

While deep in thought, the metal plate in hand suddenly emitted a hazy white light, projecting a square light screen measuring half a foot on each side in the air, on which appeared a line of Chinese characters: The miner system is being reinitialized. Then several lines of text followed.

This is a small square courtyard, approximately the size of a basketball court, surrounded by bright light. A dilapidated stone house leans against the courtyard wall. In the center of the courtyard, there seems to be an ancient well, with half of its stone rim collapsed. Beside the well stands a tall tree, over ten meters high, which has long since withered. Scattered on the ground are some stones, suggesting that no one has visited this place for hundreds of years. Outside the courtyard, a hazy mist envelops the area, rendering everything invisible.

After standing for about 2 minutes and confirming that he had arrived in another place, Yang Ling then walked towards the stone house. Scattered on the ground were some stones; casually picking one up to examine, he found it to be a piece of copper ore. Picking up a few more, he discovered a total of 6 or 7 different types of ores, including iron ore, tin ore, and lead ore, all of which were of high quality. What was strange was that they appeared in the same location. He felt increasingly perplexed until he entered the stone house, where he finally noticed the scene inside the room.

Yang Ling curiously picked up the stone, which was the size of an egg. It turned out to be a regular rhombus, with a smooth surface, and its material was unknown. There were also some bloodstains on it, presumably left from a head injury. Under the strong beam of the flashlight, the stone emitted a faint blue glow. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that there were several black marks inside, forming the shape of a small house.

It's utterly baffling! Yang Ling squatted on the ground, holding his scalp, as he finished reading. It is both a divine object and a malignant tumor. Could it possibly refer to this metal plate in his hand

The old man twitched his face a few times, sighed, "It's all the doing of those fools from the Cultural Relics Bureau and the museum! Last month, the local government heard from the mountain villagers who went up to gather herbs that they had discovered an ancient cave and found several broken pottery shards and dishes. So, they sent someone to investigate and reported the matter to the Cultural Relics Bureau. The Bureau then arranged for a small archaeological team from the museum to come and examine it. To show their hospitality, the local town government found a few people to clear away the weeds and stones in this valley, leveled the ground a bit, and even repaired the cave entrance, which is how it ended up looking like this now."

He struck it rich! Yang Ling couldn't help but feel overjoyed. Having engaged in archaeological and geological research, he had encountered numerous rare minerals, yet he had never seen anything like this before. This could be considered a stroke of fortune amidst misfortune, perhaps an extraordinary treasure. He needed to study it carefully. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the bluish light on the stone suddenly flickered, and with a "poof," the stone turned to dust in his hand. Following that, the air in the stone chamber began to ripple like water waves. Before he could react, he felt a sudden darkness before his eyes. When his vision returned, he found himself in a completely different place, seemingly no longer in the cave he had just been in, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

Then, the metal plate emitted a beam of light that swept chaotically towards Yang Ling. Yang Ling immediately felt as if he had lost control of his body, his mind became hazy, and he saw the words "Holder: Yang Ling" appear in the light screen. Following that, data began to scroll on the screen like a flowing stream, and finally, a line of text jumped out: "Initializing survival assistance..."

What on earth is this place

In October, the Qinling Mountains present a refreshing autumn atmosphere and picturesque scenery. Known also as the Nanshan and Zhongnanshan, the Qinling has been revered as a sacred mountain of Taoism and a blessed land for immortals since ancient times. The natural beauty of the landscape is exquisite, attracting a continuous stream of tourists.

Professor Cui looked up at the sky, called over a student, and gave a few instructions. The two of them then bent over, carrying a flashlight and a pickaxe, and entered the cave one after the other, leaving a group of students chattering outside.

The house was constructed from rough stones piled together naturally, and the roof was made of several large stone slabs. The light was dim, and Yang Ling turned on a flashlight. The room was empty, with only a mat placed in the center. He slowly walked to the mat and lifted it with his hands, only to find it shattered into several pieces. A silver metal plate clattered to the ground.

Chen Tuan? Yang Ling is quite familiar with this name. In Chinese history, there is only one famous person named Chen Tuan, who is a legendary Taoist figure from the late Tang to early Song period, known as the Sleeping Immortal, Master Chen Tuan. He was so excited that he almost lost control of himself; after all, he is a divine figure. If it truly is something left behind by him, wouldn't that be a tremendous fortune for him!

The two of them walked forward, one stepping deeper and the other more shallowly, for about two hundred meters, when they came across two diverging paths. Looking at the dark and gloomy mine, the two exchanged a few words.

Binder: Longxi Clan Member

Civilization Level: 2

Yang Ling took it and examined it repeatedly several times. This is indeed copper ore, but it appears to have a very high copper content, almost like a block of copper. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Professor Cui, is this the raw ore? How does it look like it has such a high content?"

Professor Cui shook his head, "I have dedicated my entire life to geological research and have a deep understanding of minerals. Generally, the copper content in copper ores is around 1%, and the purity of high-grade compounds is only about 60% to 70%, which is rarely seen. However, this ore has a copper content of over 80%. In ancient times, it could have been directly cast into money upon extraction, yet it shows no signs of having been smelted. It is simply incomprehensible!"

Yang Ling shook his head and turned to look at the valley entrance, saying: "There is nothing particularly noteworthy, and no special chronological markers have been found. The surrounding area has been severely damaged, making it quite difficult to make a judgment at this moment. However, based on some traces at the site, it should be no problem to conclude that this is an ancient mine."

My name is Chen Tuan, and my Daoist title is Fuyaozi. I obtained a divine object from overseas, the extraordinary nature of which is beyond description, something I have never encountered in my life. Initially, it brought me great benefits; however, at the moment of my death, I had a profound realization. This object is a malignant tumor in the human world, akin to the most wicked of demons. If used, it will destroy the foundation of our nation, corrupt the spiritual veins of the world, and bring calamity to the common people, the consequences of which cannot be reversed for generations. This object must not be destroyed; I will seal it within the boundary stone and abandon it in Zhongnan. If future generations happen to find it, they must never open it. Remember! Remember! Remember!

I heard that they were also very angry. After casually looking for two days, they did not find anything of value, so they picked up a bunch of pottery shards and stones to take back. I only heard about this last week. The results they researched are very complex, with a chaotic mix of pottery shards from various periods, the earliest being from the early Song Dynasty and the latest from the Republic of China period. They did manage to identify the minerals, which turned out to be copper ore. Here, this is it!" Professor Cui handed a stone in his hand to Yang Ling.

He leaned against the cave wall to rest for a while, feeling better before getting up. He shone his flashlight around and saw a sharp stone protruding from the spot he had just bumped into. In a fit of anger, he struck it several times with his pickaxe. With a few loud thuds, a sharply angled stone rolled down from the cave wall, glimmering faintly with a bluish light under the beam of the flashlight

Deep within the Qinling Mountains, a group of people is currently in a steep valley, carrying large and small bundles, gazing at a dark cave ahead.

Yang Ling nodded, looking at the copper ore in his hand, feeling quite puzzled. If it truly is raw ore, it would be a miracle of nature. Generally speaking, copper is not like gold or silver; it easily oxidizes in the natural environment and reacts with other substances, ultimately turning into a lump of stone containing copper elements. It certainly would not exist in a pure form like dog-head gold. It seems that this mine is worth studying thoroughly. He glanced at his phone and said, "Professor Cui, it's still early; why don't we go in and take a look first?"

After flipping through it several times, Yang Ling recalled the strangeness of this place and thought that if it were truly something left behind by the old ancestor Chen Tuan, there might be other clues nearby. Thus, he took a flashlight and surveyed the surroundings. Unintentionally, he noticed that there were actually inscriptions on the stone floor beneath the mat. He was instantly overwhelmed with excitement, using both hands and feet to clear away the fragments of the mat and dust, revealing several lines of Chinese characters before his eyes

Level: Mining Apprentice

After Professor Cui finished speaking, he drilled into the cave on the left. Yang Ling watched as the halo gradually disappeared into the cave, and then he crouched down and walked into the cave on the right. The cave was very dark, and within the beam of the flashlight, there was hardly any difference between the cave and the outside. Without a measuring rope, Yang Ling had no idea how far he had walked, and he did not stop much along the way. After about twenty minutes, it seemed that the beam of light illuminated the cave wall ahead, prompting him to quicken his pace. Unexpectedly, his foot kicked against a protruding rock, causing him to stumble forward and crash solidly against the cave wall. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his forehead and, feeling dizzy, sat up and touched his head, finding his hands sticky.

Yang Ling, feeling frustrated, picked up the flashlight and saw that his hands were indeed covered in blood. He quickly pulled out a pack of disinfecting wipes from his backpack and wiped his hands a few times, then randomly stuck a few adhesive bandages on his forehead.