Lu Qing entered the mine before the three siblings did.
He had to find out what was going on with the Stonemother.
A conquest mission had popped up when he saw the Stonemother for the first time just now. It had come from the system interface.
[Newly born Stonemother. Conquest Level: Level Two]
[Quantity: 1]
[Power Level of the Leader: Level Two mid-grade]
[Conquest Reward: 175 Karma. Level Two treasure: Thousand-Ton Heavy Earth]
From the conquest information, Lu Qing knew that the Stonemother was Level Two mid-grade and that it was no match for Lu Chaoxi. It had used its powerful defensive capabilities to withstand Lu Chaoxi's attacks. It had sustained severe injuries, but it managed to retreat into the cave successfully.
Even though a large number of Energy Stones in the mine could increase the strength of the Stonemother, Lu Qing estimated that the maximum power level of the Stonemother could only reach Level Two high-grade. Lu Chaoxi alone could deal with five of such Stonemothers. Along with Mingchao and Chaohe, they should comfortably be able to defeat the Stonemother.
However, it paid to be cautious. Even though the conquest information interface had told him about the Stonemother, Lu Qing still decided to have a look.
The Stonemother could reach Level Three through the boost it got from the Energy Stone ores. If that happened, Lu Qing would immediately send the three of them a voice transmission and stop them from entering the cave. He would have no choice but to give up on the mine for the time being.
A Level Three Stonemother was not something Lu Chaoxi and the rest of them could deal with.
However, that situation did not happen.
Lu Qing went into the mine and took a look, only to realize that while the Stonemother was a little stronger in the mine than in the outside world, its abilities were limited. It had only reached Level Two high-grade and not Level Three.
That meant that the problem was not too big.
Sometime later, he saw Lu Chaoxi and his siblings arrive at the scene.
The Stonemother saw its enemies and recognized that its strength had increased. It showed no hesitation and immediately activated its spiritual strength to launch its attacks.
The mine was the Stonemother's home ground. Under the control of its earth-element spiritual strength, the earthen walls on both sides of the mine became contorted and transformed. Several shards of rock fell off and flew toward the three siblings.
The three of them each activated their techniques and avoided the attack.
Lu Chaohe's overall abilities were the weakest out of the three, only being a third-tier Foundation Building cultivator. However, he mainly focused on Earth Elemental Techniques, which proved useful in such an occasion.
He formed a hand gesture, and a yellow-brown seal appeared in his hand. It was a piece of magic equipment that could increase the user's control over earth-element spiritual strength called the Combat Rock Control Seal.
With the help of the Combat Rock Control Seal, his spiritual strength extended outward and repelled large masses of falling rock. He even fought for control over the rocks against the Stonemother.
Of course, he could not win over the Stonemother for the time being. However, he managed to reduce the strength of the Stonemother's attack drastically.
"Elder Brother! Ninth Sister! Seize the opportunity!" Lu Chaohe shouted.
Lu Chaohe had already shattered a Spirit Stone and absorbed the spiritual energy inside when he entered the cave at that moment. He had brought his condition back up. Then he continued using the Jade Suppression Plate as protection while he formed a hand gesture to summon a bolt of golden lightning.
He activated the Xuanyin Yang Lightning Incantation once again!
Then a bolt of lightning came crashing down. The Stonemother could not tolerate such an extent of damage and let out pathetic cries. Affected by the severe trauma, the Stonemother's control over the rocks in the area suddenly dropped. Lu Chaohe seized the opportunity and increased the magnitude of his technique. He seized control over the rocks in the surrounding area.
At the same time, Lu Mingchao took action.
She took out an ancient cup that looked like it was made out of green jade. She formed a hand gesture and summoned a ball of white, spiritual mist. Under her control, the mist entered the cup. When it floated out again, the mist had turned dark green.
The jade cup was called the Cloud-Gathering Poison Conversion Cup. Although it was the only Level Two magic equipment Lu Mingchao had, it could convert any water that it held into water laced with a corrosive poison.
The mist was made out of water.
Lu Mingchao controlled the mist, enveloping the Stonemother in a poisonous cloud.
The Stonemother was not made out of flesh and blood. Instead, it was a spirit monster that had granite as its body and could not consume poison. However, the poisonous mist brewed by the Cloud-Gathering Poison Conversion Cup had corrosive properties. So not only could the cloud of poisoned mist corrode the granite that made up the Stonemother's body, but also it could also directly corrode its spiritual strength.
This time, Lu Chaohe's wrestle for control over the earth-element spiritual strength became much smoother. The number of granite blocks that the Stonemother summoned and hurled toward them also decreased as a result.
First, the Stonemother had been hit and severely injured by yang-element lightning and then was surrounded and corroded by poisonous mist. At the same time, Lu Chaohe was wrestling for control over the rocks in the area. The Stonemother could not use its strength no matter how powerful it was.
Lu Chaohe would not waste the opportunity his siblings had created. He sent his flying sword and cleaved the enemy while he tried his best to regain his energy. Sometime later, he gathered another bolt of lightning and blasted it toward the Stonemother. The Stonemother let out a pathetic cry. Its body had sustained too severe damage.
Lu Mingchao took advantage of the situation and sent the poisonous mist into the Stonemother's damaged body. The Stonemother's powerful regenerative capabilities became heavily restricted. Its control over the earth-element spiritual strength became even weaker that it could no longer attack the three cultivators.
The pressure on Lu Chaohe was greatly alleviated. He joined in on the offense.
By the time Lu Chaohe sent out the third Xuanyin Yang Lightning Incantation at the cost of depleting his spiritual strength, the Stonemother was reduced to a pile of pebbles amidst a pathetic howl.
The three cultivators panted heavily but smiled as they looked at one another.
Even though it had been hard on them and the spiritual strength in their bodies had been significantly depleted, the three siblings had joined forces and triumphed over a powerful opponent. They had protected the assets of the clan.
"Chaohe, go have a look. The Stonemother that had been born in the mine was extremely powerful. It must have left some treasures behind."
Lu Chaohe walked forward after he heard the instruction. Sometime later, he returned with a squarish stone that emitted specks of light.
Lu Mingchao was rather disappointed. "Is there only an Energy Stone? Even though it is quite large, but…"
"It's not that simple." A smile was painted on Lu Chaohe's face. "I can sense that this Energy Stone harbors an exceptionally vast amount of spiritual energy. It must be a Level Two high-grade treasure! If we use this as the main ingredient along with some other materials, Fourth Brother might be able to create a powerful Level Two magic equipment!"
"That's good." Lu Chaoxi was also smiling. "Fourth Brother is already extremely well-versed in forging defensive magic equipment like the Jade Suppression Plate out of Energy Stones. If he managed to create a Level Two Jade Suppression Plate, we might be able to sell it for 700 to 800 Spirit Stones!"
Lu Qing was furious when he heard his eldest son's words.
"You unlucky child! What are you talking about? Do you want to sell a Level Two magic equipment the moment you forged it? Look at how poor you are. Do you look like an eighth-tier Foundation Building cultivator?" Lu Qing thought.
Fortunately, Lu Mingchao thought differently. She advised, "Elder Brother, your injuries have recovered, and the clan's situation has improved considerably. There's no need to do that. Didn't Father inform us to prepare for the attack on the Water Ghosts? You'll definitely be our main force then. You'll need a good piece of defensive equipment."
"But…"
"No buts, Elder Brother. Listen to Mingchao," Lu Chaohe also advised by the side.
"All right then." Lu Chaoxi hesitated for a moment before saying, "But we have to see what Fourth Brother says. We have to see if he is confident in succeeding."