Chapter 184: Underground

The hands numbed from biting cold and digging into the ice, faces damp with ice particles and looks haggard. The ice boulders laid about, sturdy and solid as stones or iron, but the group hauled this damn adamantine ice with lots of hard work and formed a long passage on the mountain foot. No matter how freezing it was, still not enough to shake their resolve. The group peered at the new found discovery, the hole, and exchanged excited glances.

"The thing must be in there," Ayaan exclaimed. He looked at his companions and urged them to dig faster, and he dug vigorously with newfound energy after looking at the hole in front of them. Eventually the hole enlarged, and a passage formed. When the hole was about the size of the human, the group stopped digging. Now they could go inside and see what was hiding there.

The space was dark as a dark night without a moon, colder than ice, far colder than the ice they have encountered before. Even Ayaan shivered and grimaced when the cold pierced through his clothes. His legs stumbled through the hole and entered a dark and cold and weird looking space in front of him, followed by his companions one by one. With Ayaan was Rebecca, while Leafwhisk watched their back. The two children had come in between the group, so everyone could protect them if something unusual occurs.

Ayaan looked into the dark room and specially at the one and only single place that produced a little light—White Light. However, it wasn't enough to crush the looming darkness in the space around. As Ayaan moved towards the source of light, the group followed cautiously. He stood in front of the light and saw a slope going downward. Shocked, bewildered, confused, Ayaan exchanged glances with everyone else. Does this mean the thing is hiding in this fucking ditch!? He had the urge to curse and cry and shout. He had already dug so much and he still needed to work, fuck!

However, for his beloved wife's sake, he took little time and went along with this shitty thing. He jumped with his companions inside the glittering hole and shouted along with everyone, as the children shouts while enjoying the hammock. Ayaan looked around when his legs didn't find ground while his body continued to swing on the ice slope continuously. The shining crystal! All around! Yes, the shining crystals shone all around him. They looked no different from the diamond with different shapes and sizes. Some were as big as the enormous boulder, while others were as small as a pebble on the ground.

"Bang!" 

Ayaan fell on the ground as he groaned and cursed, and when he stood a kick landed on his butt, smashing him far away. The man winced miserably and had the urge to curse, but when he saw it was his sweet demoness Isobel, he swallowed his words and smiled. Isobel used her head and hurried aside from her place and avoided being kicked by others. And others did the same thing to avoid the same fate as Ayaan. Ayaan's face turned red abashedly when he saw the scene. Why the hell he was the only one who got kicked?

"Spirit Stones!" 

"Spirit Stones!"

"Spirit Stones!"

Leafwhisk exclaimed in excitement, and her shout echoed throughout the place. The lady didn't bother with so many shouts echoing and rushed towards one of the large glittering boulders. It was white, large, round. It wasn't only a single boulder here, there were many, scattered all about the place. Ayaan could feel that these boulders were filled with unusual energy. Lots of energy.

"Wow! Spirit Stones!" suddenly one more shout resounded, but it wasn't coming from out but from Ayaan's soul sea. Ayaan heard and released the cheap hamster that called himself Handsome. The white cute hamster emerged on his shoulder and jumped excitedly, looking around with glittering eyes. "So many Spirit Stones! It's Spirit Stone Mine!" exclaimed the hamster.

"Shout not only, explain to me," Ayaan chided the hamster when he saw he was just babbling nonsense without explaining. Though he knew they had stumbled upon something good, but he knew nothing about this thing they were calling Spirit Stones.. 

"Humph! You country bumpkin knows nothing," snorted Handsome disdainfully. "Now I have to explain such a small thing to you."

"Do you want to go back once more to my soul sea again?" said Ayaan coldly. This stupid thing was getting on his nerve now. "Don't forget, Leafwhisk knows about these things as well. So don't act so pompously, you stupid thing!"

The little creature was furious when he heard Ayaan insulting him, but after thinking about lonely days inside the soul sea, he swallowed his word and snorted. "It is a cultivation resource. Though anyone could use it, these are ice elemental spirit stones, so obviously, its effect is best for ice elemental cultivators."

Ayaan's eyes lit up when he heard the explanation. Does that mean he could also practice with these stones? "Anything else?" he asked the arrogant thing.

Handsome once more snorted, not willing to answer. "Do you want…"

"Alright," shouted the creature. "They could also be used to deepen the mystery of the ice elements. It would increase the cultivation of cultivators at the same time it would let the cultivator understand the mystery of the ice element. That is why the ice elemental cultivator has the most effect, while others could use it to increase their cultivation, they won't be able to understand the mysteries."

After hearing the explanation, Ayaan couldn't help but be thrilled, because he could practice all the elements, and ice was no exception. So he could learn about the ice element and increase his cultivation at the same time. What is better than this? His shitty luck is turning around now, hehe. The man chuckled when thought about becoming the strongest man in the group, and from now on, he would protect his women, not the other way around.