Chun waded through waist-deep water in the tunnel and quickly found that the path ahead was blocked by a cave-in.
He had to move to a side passage and after circling around, discovered that six collapse points were sealed, eventually returning to the elevator.
Chun was puzzled, this mining area not only lacked NPCs, but it wasn't even large. Was everything hidden at the collapse points? Digging through might reveal a hidden scene?
Then let's dig, they're just medium-sized stones, I should be able to move them by hand.
Chun went back to the collapse point, carefully observed, and found a medium-sized stone to move—success!
But just as the stone loosened, a sudden flurry of strange sounds erupted from overhead!
Startled, Chun backed into the water, only to realize he'd disturbed a swarm of bats, scattering them and shedding a cloud of dust like moths.
——System Alert: Warning! Your Purification skill has detected toxic filth, would you like to purify it?
Holy Shit, it feels like a horror movie! So this is the passive warning effect of the Purification skill, let's see the active effect.
Purify!
Chun surged a water splash towards the air-borne dust, a flash of crystal light passed, and the dust dissipated and settled.
Um... it's hard to describe, kind of awkward. Can I still make money doing housework with this?
Once the bats flew away, Chun continued to move stones, now even more cautious and focused.
Suddenly, a red light flashed behind him——System Alert: Warning! Your Purification skill has detected...
Holy Shit, again!
But the attack was too fast, Chun couldn't turn back in time, and in his panic, he slapped the water, sending a splash skyward—Bam! A miserable shriek, something got obstructed by the water wave.
Chun managed to turn around, seeing a small shadow hit the wall with a metallic clang, then plop into the water, struggling. It was a silvery, almost transparent bat; its ferocious bloody aura made it exceptionally toxic!
Holy Shit, it's a rare elite monster with Invisibility!
Even dropping random junk material would be worth thousands, quickly purify and kill it!
But just then, its screams intensified——System Alert: It seems you've understood the Blood Concealing Bat's plea.
Chun was shocked, this was the communication alert I have with the Whale, it has it too! Is it because my 2 points in Wisdom enabled Spirit Communication?
Then I'll spare it, let's see what happens.
Chun stayed vigilant while watching the bat struggle out of the water, shake off the water, and slowly flutter away, emitting gentle squeaks.
Does it mean to follow it?
Chun followed along, still on edge. This little creature turned invisible and its appearance looked like silver or diamond, what kind of physical and magical defense does it have? Is this truly an ordinary rare elite monster? If I didn't happen to have Purification... So this place was indeed designed specifically for Cleaner Fish?
Finally, the bat reached the water surface platform near the elevator, circled while squeaking, then turned invisible and disappeared.
Don't go, hey?
Chun went into the water to explore under the platform, only to find compacted mud and stones, could there be something hidden below?
Then dig!
Though pressed tightly by the elevator, since it was submerged, it wasn't hard to dig through, and soon Chun touched a solid stone surface and kept digging!
Uncovered, it was an Array engraved with a hexagram, with six fist-sized depressions on the hexagram positions!
Holy Shit, that's what's hidden! This must be a Space Array leading to a hidden scene! But the depressions are empty, do I need to find six Magic Stones to fill them and activate the array?
Where are the Magic Stones? Chun immediately thought of the six collapse points, could it be one per collapse point? That's a must! If it were in the mining area, it might be found by miners, then it wouldn't be a hidden scene at all.
In any case, first use the phone to take photos of the array and depressions, memorize their appearance before refilling the sand and dirt to restore the platform to its original state.
Meanwhile, the Array might not just be about finding six stones to place; there could be an order requirement, better ask Sherry. Though she's just an apprentice who only knows the Frost Freeze Technique and unlikely knows about Space Arrays, she could ask her teacher, and even if Black Iron City mages aren't proficient, this Array appears simple and shouldn't be too complex.
Chun tried contacting with a badge: "Sherry, Sherry..."
Sherry responded immediately, though her voice was fuzzy: "I'm here... just woke up!"
Did I wake her? Chun apologized: "Sorry, mainly because I discovered a hexagram Array..."
Sherry quickly said: "Wait for me, I'll meet you outside your prison, closer so we can speak clearly."
"Okay!"
So Chun quickly went to the collapse point to move stones.
The proficiency in moving stones barely increased, but if finding a Magic Stone would cause rapid growth or even directly upgrade to Expert level? Just like how Jiang leveled up straight to Expert after mining a rare Mithril mine?
Thinking of this motivated Chun even more.
After carefully moving aside several large stones, sure enough, a small stone resembling the depressions wedged between the slopes.
Is it the one?
Chun pulled hard, extracted it, and felt a weight in his arm!
——System Alert: Congratulations! You've grasped the Essence of Mining, successfully excavating a stone filled with strange energy, you've received a blessing from the stone, temporarily increasing Luck, and your Mining Technique has advanced to Expert level! You've earned an achievement reward: Physical Strength +2, Carrying Capacity +2, talent skill 'Expert Mining Pickaxe Mastery'.