Chapter 306 The human heart is not enough and the snake swallows the elephant.

Ye Fan's performance at the Loose Cultivator Conference did attract a lot of attention, especially his extraordinary talent and calm fighting style, which made many high-level officials and audiences look at him with new eyes. However, as Ye Fan expected, he had no background and no master's protection. In this Tianyuan Domain full of strong people, his performance alone was not enough to get him the tilt of resources.

Although the top leaders of the Loose Cultivator Alliance admired his strength, they valued those geniuses who had the support of big forces. After all, these geniuses not only represented their personal strength, but also the resources and forces behind them, which were more valuable in future cooperation. However, Ye Fan was just an unknown lone cultivator, and there was no reason for the alliance to spend effort on him.

Recently, the news about the spiritual mine caused a sensation in Tianyuan Domain. After Ye Fan heard it, a thought suddenly came to his mind: "This may be my chance." He knew that he had no competitiveness in the competition for large spiritual mines. Those sects and alliances with the strongest power would definitely control the most core mineral veins. However, the small mineral veins around the spiritual mines were the only chance for casual cultivators like him to survive.

The importance of spiritual stones to cultivation is self-evident, especially since Ye Fan is now in a critical stage where he needs to quickly improve his strength. Without the support of spiritual stones, even if he has a strong talent, he cannot make rapid progress in a short period of time. Now, he realizes that the spiritual mine is a rare opportunity.

Ye Fan ran back and forth in the Loose Cultivator Alliance, quietly trying to find out the exact location and distribution of the spiritual mines. Under the cover of hunting monsters, he mixed with some lone cultivators who were also interested in the spiritual mines and listened carefully to their discussions. Sure enough, he learned from them that several small mineral veins had been discovered outside the large spiritual mines.

"It is said that spiritual energy is overflowing in those places, and any piece of ore dug out can be used to refine spiritual stones!" said a casual cultivator excitedly.

"But it's not easy there either. There are powerful monsters guarding the spiritual mines, so it's hard for ordinary people to get close to them, let alone mine."

Ye Fan's heart sank slightly after hearing this. Obviously, although small mineral veins are not as popular as large mineral veins, the competition is still fierce. It is not uncommon for independent cultivators to fight each other secretly in order to compete for resources, not to mention the threat of those powerful monsters.

"If I want to get a piece of the pie in this melee, I must have enough strength and means..." Ye Fan secretly made up his mind that he must find a reliable plan.

Ye Fan knew that fighting alone was not a long-term solution. He tried to contact some trustworthy independent cultivators and proposed teaming up. After several collaborations, he selected a small team, all of whom were reliable friends he knew in the independent cultivator alliance. Although these people had ordinary backgrounds, their strength should not be underestimated. Like Ye Fan, they were eager to change their fate with the help of the spiritual mine.

"Our target is not the large mineral veins, but the small mineral veins on the periphery," Ye Fan said at a private gathering. "We will not confront those big forces head-on, but we must act quickly and mine the mineral veins as soon as possible after finding them. Even if we can only dig a small part, it will be enough for us to benefit greatly."

"But what if someone else is targeting us?" someone asked.

"I will be responsible for dealing with emergencies," Ye Fan responded calmly, "You just need to focus on mining, and all spirit stones will be distributed according to contribution."

After hearing this, everyone felt that this proposal was feasible and agreed. Ye Fan's calmness and determination gave them confidence in his plan.

The small team quickly set off and headed in the direction of the outer mineral vein. Along the way, they carefully avoided the patrols of those large forces, and at the same time remained vigilant to guard against sneak attacks from other independent cultivators. Ye Fan used his keen perception ability to detect dangers in advance many times and successfully avoided potential conflicts.

When they finally approached a small mineral vein, Ye Fan immediately took action. He summoned his spirit beasts and asked them to scout the surroundings to make sure there were no powerful monsters ambushing near the mineral vein. After confirming that it was safe, the team quickly began to dig for ore.

Although the mineral vein was not large, they were lucky and dug up a lot of high-quality ores. Looking at the ores that were glowing with spiritual light, everyone's face showed joy.

"So many spirit stones, enough for us to use for a while!" someone said excitedly.

Ye Fan did not let down his guard. He knew that in this situation, someone else might come to snatch it at any time. He set up some simple traps and early warning formations to try to buy more time for the team.

After several days of hard work, Ye Fan and his team successfully dug up a batch of spiritual stones. While other teams were busy competing for the core mineral veins, their actions were relatively low-key and therefore did not attract much attention.

"These spiritual stones may not be enough for my revenge, but at least it's a good start." Ye Fan looked at the results he had harvested, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes. He knew that this was only the first step towards becoming stronger, and the road ahead would still be difficult, but he would never stop.

Around the spiritual mine, with the competition among the major forces, the small spiritual stone veins on the periphery have been divided up and there are few left. In order to compete for these insignificant resources, the independent cultivators almost tried their best, and conflicts often broke out. The reduction of spiritual stones did not dampen people's enthusiasm, but instead made more people turn their attention to the interior of the mine, the area known as the "rich mining area".

This area is said to contain more spiritual stones of higher purity than those in the outer spiritual stone veins, and most importantly, it may also contain some rare mineral resources, or even natural treasures. For cultivators, this is simply an irresistible temptation. Therefore, whether it is the elite disciples of major forces, the geniuses of the loose cultivator alliance, or the lone strong cultivators, they all flocked to this area to try to get a piece of the pie.

The mine gradually became bustling with monks gathered in groups of three or five, discussing the distribution of the mine. Some lucky monks found some hidden veins of spiritual stones and dug them on the spot, but they quarreled over the distribution of the minerals and even drew swords against each other.

"I was the first one to discover these spirit stones. What right do you have to interfere?" A casual cultivator roared, his face full of anger.

"Hmph! In a place where the strong prey on the weak, there is no such thing as first come first served. It's a skill of yours that you can dig out spirit stones!" The other party was a cultivator from a small force. He smiled coldly and took action directly, sending the cultivator flying with a palm.

Such fights happened every day. The greed and conflicts brought by spiritual stones gradually turned the spiritual mines into battlefields for cultivators to fight. As for the big forces, their vision was obviously longer-term. They were not distracted by these small-scale fights, but concentrated their forces to attack the depths of the spiritual mines. They set up formations, arranged manpower, and regarded the rich mining areas as their own possessions.

Unlike those who were scrambling frantically, Ye Fan remained calm. He knew that although he was not weak, he still needed to be cautious in these spiritual mines where many forces and masters gathered. He never rashly broke into the rich mining area, but instead set his sights on some relatively hidden small veins.

"Although the spiritual energy in this area is slightly weaker, there are still opportunities." After observing the terrain, Ye Fan quietly took action. He used his spiritual sense to lock onto a seemingly inconspicuous hill, quietly dug, and indeed found a small spiritual stone vein. Although the scale was not large, for him who acted alone, it was already a considerable harvest.

"If these spirit stones are exchanged for cultivation resources, they will be enough for me to further improve my cultivation." Ye Fan calculated and continued to collect spirit stones silently. He always kept a low profile and did not attract the attention of the surrounding cultivators. In this way, he accumulated a lot of resources in just a few days.

It’s not that Ye Fan had never thought about breaking into the rich mining area, but he was very clear that it had become the focus of competition among major forces. Once he went in, he would likely fall into a dangerous situation.

"If you are not strong enough, greed will only hurt yourself." Ye Fan secretly warned himself. Although the spiritual stones in his hand could not compare with the harvest in the rich mining area, they were safer and were enough for his current cultivation.

Whenever he saw those monks who died fighting for spirit stones, he became more alert. He knew that no matter how precious the spirit stones were, they were just tools to help with cultivation. What really determined everything was one's own strength. Only by surviving and constantly improving could one truly control one's own destiny.

As time went by, the spiritual stones on the periphery of the spiritual mine were almost mined out, and many cultivators began to turn their attention to deeper areas. Those casual cultivators who were still wandering around the periphery also gradually realized that if they did not venture into the rich mining area, they might never have the opportunity to obtain spiritual stone resources again.

"I heard there are ancient ruins in the rich mining area, maybe we can find some lost heritage!"

"Inheritance? Even if there is no inheritance, as long as I can dig up a few top-grade spirit stones, this trip will be worth it!"

"But I heard that the people from the big forces have already blocked that place, so we casual cultivators probably don't stand a chance."

Various rumors made the atmosphere inside the spiritual mine more tense, but Ye Fan chose to continue to endure. He knew in his heart that the battle for this mine had just begun, and the real danger might not have appeared yet.

"Watch the situation and don't get into danger. Wait until the opportunity comes before making a decision." Ye Fan looked at the monks who were flocking in and made up his mind silently. He put away the spirit stone, turned around and merged into the crowd, and continued to look for his own way.