However, Jiang Chen was in absolutely no position to act rashly at this stage. He knew full well that his understanding of treasures of this nature was sorely lacking — any reckless move could easily spell disaster.
If it were to erupt, even Jiang Chen might find himself completely helpless.
After all, memories from his past life were not omnipotent. When confronted with truly absolute danger, the knowledge of a previous existence could sometimes prove woefully inadequate.
The Taisui White Tiger, on the other hand, had eyes that gleamed with sharp brilliance, radiating utter confidence. It looked positively thrilled.
Seeing the Taisui White Tiger like this, Jiang Chen felt a small measure of reassurance settle in.
He also knew that in this vast world, all things operated under the principle of mutual generation and mutual overcoming. For anyone else, this place might be an exceedingly ominous and deadly ground.
But for the Taisui White Tiger, the more baleful and murderous a place was, the more it relished it. After all, the Taisui White Tiger race was inherently a clan of slaughter.
The Taisui White Tiger bounded through the underground expanse, each leap landing with perfect precision. Seeing the creature grow ever more excited, Jiang Chen knew it had truly entered its element.
Jiang Chen lay flat against the Taisui White Tiger's back, covertly observing this subterranean realm. He had to admit — this underground world was profoundly deep and eerily strange.
It looked as though they had entered a living body, complete with all manner of organs and meridians of every kind, creating an extremely bizarre sight.
"The underground world beneath Cloud Camel Mountain really is one of a kind." Jiang Chen was no stranger to subterranean realms. In the past, he had roamed beneath the earth with ease, relying on the Gold-Munching Mouse clan and the Ice Fire Demon Lotus to navigate the deep.
But here, he dared not let his guard down for even a moment.
He knew that in this region, those eerie, faintly glowing subterranean lights could pose a lethal threat to him at any time and without warning.
The deeper they ventured underground, the more oppressive, damp, and gloomy the surrounding air became, casting an overwhelmingly somber feeling over everything.
At the same time, the killing intent lurking in the depths grew ever thicker and more palpable.
Jiang Chen looked around, and the sensation was as though he were walking through some spectral underworld. Faint lights of strange colors scattered in every direction like clusters of ghostly fire, arranged in row upon row. Just looking at them sent a chill crawling up his spine.
After a short while, the Taisui White Tiger finally slowed its pace.
"Chen Shao, do you see it?" the Taisui White Tiger transmitted through its divine sense.
Jiang Chen followed the Taisui White Tiger's gaze and spotted, at the very edge of his vision, an extraordinarily magnificent pillar of light stretching across the underground expanse like a subterranean rainbow. It resembled an enormous dragon, spanning from east to west and coiling serpentine through the void ahead, its ends vanishing into the infinite distance in both directions…
"Is this... is this a complete earth vein?" Jiang Chen blurted in disbelief.
"It is." The Taisui White Tiger nodded. "It looks close, but getting there won't be easy. The spatial distance is actually very far from us — it only appears near because of the visual illusion. Chen Shao, even up to here, I wouldn't dare go any further."
The Taisui White Tiger tilted its head, gazing at the long rainbow in the distance that seemed to lead to the very edge of the plane, its eyes brimming with longing.
"Even you wouldn't dare go?" Jiang Chen was shocked.
"Mm, if I broke through to the Heavenly position, I might be able to give it a shot." The Taisui White Tiger's power was slowly awakening, but it still hadn't broken through to the Heavenly position.
Of course, the Heavenly position was only a single step away for it.
"How long will it take you to break through to the Heavenly position?" Jiang Chen couldn't help but ask.
"If I cultivate here, it feels like the perfect environment for me. Perhaps ten days to half a month would be enough. Even at a slower pace, it wouldn't take more than three months."
Jiang Chen considered this. The Genius Sword Discussion was still three or four months away. He could afford to wait for Little Bai to break through to the Heavenly position.
However, if Little Bai was cultivating here, his own safety in this place would be hard to guarantee. If Little Bai accidentally triggered the various natural restrictions of this underground world, he wouldn't be able to find a proper way to deal with them in time.
With that thought, Jiang Chen said, "Little Bai, in that case, you can cultivate here first. I'll wait outside for your good news?"
The Taisui White Tiger thought for a moment and said earnestly, "Chen Shao, when I'm cultivating, I won't be able to look after you, and I don't know whether it might cause changes in this area. So you'll be safer outside."
Jiang Chen knew this was the truth, so he nodded immediately. "Fine, I'll head out first. You cultivate here, and in about half a month, I'll come back. If you've broken through by then, we'll regroup outside. If you haven't, I'll wait for you out there. How does that sound?"
This was the best solution available. In truth, when Jiang Chen had seen this magnificent vein, he had been thoroughly stunned.
If he could, he would certainly want to excavate this vein. He knew very well that a perfect vein like this must contain limitless deposits of supreme-grade minerals. If he could claim it for himself, the wealth would be immeasurable. Jiang Chen wasn't coveting riches for their own sake.
Rather, he understood clearly that the treasures hidden in this vein could prove enormously useful in the future.
Although Jiang Chen had never fought the demon race, he knew full well how powerful they were. The demons' immortal bodies were incredibly difficult to kill.
Perhaps the ores and minerals here, if they could be mined, would become the ultimate weapons for countering and slaying the demon race.
Of course, this was merely a preliminary notion of Jiang Chen's. Whether it could actually be realized was anyone's guess.