Joe Di knew about Crimson Iron—it was a decent material for forging artifacts. High-quality Crimson Iron was considered a sixth-tier material, suitable for crafting top-grade mid-tier spiritual artifacts. Ordinary Crimson Iron was only a fourth or fifth-tier material, used for making standard low-tier spiritual artifacts.
However, few cultivators went out of their way to look for Crimson Iron, as it was incredibly difficult to mine. The places where Crimson Iron was found were extremely hard, requiring vast amounts of true essence and spiritual sense to excavate. Even then, the yield was low and not worth the effort.
What was truly valuable was not the Crimson Iron itself, but the Crimson Iron Crystal. Yet, if mining Crimson Iron was already difficult, obtaining Crimson Iron Crystal was even more challenging.
Crimson Iron Crystal was a genuine seventh-tier material, capable of forging high-grade spiritual artifacts. Don’t be fooled by the one-tier difference between sixth and seventh-tier materials—the gap was immense.
Seeing Joe Di still hesitating, Simon Su urged again, “Joe, come with me to mine Crimson Iron. I promise to take you to the Mad Domain afterward. Besides, if I don’t bring you, with your Soul Formation cultivation, you’d probably get killed the moment you step into the Mad Domain.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you to mine Crimson Iron.” Joe Di saw that Simon Su was determined and could only agree to accompany him.
This ruined planet was already small. Simon Su led Joe Di around for less than the time it took to burn an incense stick before stopping. Before them lay a vast expanse of dark red iron-rock mountains, riddled with pits and craters—clearly, many cultivators had already come here to mine Crimson Iron.
Simon Su had already picked out a spot. He said to Joe Di, “Joe, let’s dig here. Your true essence is limited, so follow my lead when I start. If we combine our true essence, it’ll be much easier for both of us.”
Crimson Iron was notoriously hard to mine, and Joe Di understood Simon Su’s plan. When Simon’s true essence struck, Joe would add his own, allowing Simon to conserve energy and expand the excavation area.
Simon Su acted immediately. After explaining the method to Joe Di, he summoned a low-tier spiritual artifact—a long shovel—and struck down with force.
Crack! The iron-rock shattered, splintering into countless fragments. Simon Su’s strike only managed to carve out a pit less than two feet across.
“Why didn’t you help? You wasted my true essence!” Simon Su frowned, seeing that Joe Di hadn’t moved at all after his shovel struck.
Joe Di shook his head. “Digging here is pointless. Even if you spent a month, you’d only get a handful of low-grade Crimson Iron.”
“Then where should I dig?” Simon Su blurted out. Realizing something was off, he stared wide-eyed at Joe Di. “Joe, didn’t you say you came from a mortal planet? You have no master or sect legacy, so how do you know about Crimson Iron? And how do you know there’s none here?”
Joe Di shook his head and replied, “I don’t know, maybe it’s something I picked up from my inheritance. There are a lot of things I just seem to understand naturally. Not only that, I can refine artifacts and pills too.”
“What kind of inheritance did you get? That’s incredible!” Simon Su stared at Joe Di, barely stopping himself from asking to see it.
Joe Di spread his hands. “I don’t know what inheritance it was. After I got it, the inheritance pearl disappeared. How would I know?”
By now, Joe Di understood that his inheritance was actually the recovery of memories from his previous life, but he couldn’t tell Simon Su that.
Simon Su slapped his forehead. “It’s lucky you met me. If you’d run into someone ruthless, they’d have tried soul-searching you for sure.”
Joe Di just smiled faintly and said nothing.
Simon Su’s cultivation was several levels above Joe Di’s, yet Joe Di couldn’t help but feel he didn’t fear Simon at all. That confidence had come ever since he tempered his body to extraordinary strength in the vast starry sky.
“Alright, alright, just tell me—where’s the Crimson Iron?” Simon Su waved his hand, dropping the subject.
“Let me take a look.” Joe Di walked past Simon Su to the area riddled with pits, dug over and over again.
He passed one pit after another, and only after the time it took to burn an incense stick did Joe Di suddenly stop. He pointed to a large, excavated pit ahead. “I think there’s Crimson Iron here. And quite a lot of it.”
Simon Su laughed loudly, pointing at Joe Di. “If I didn’t know a thing or two about Crimson Iron’s properties, you might have fooled me. This place is called a barren pit. A barren pit is one that’s been dug out many times, leaving a dark gray bottom. That means there’s no Crimson Iron left in the area.”
Joe Di shook his head but didn’t move from his spot. He knew it from the surrounding Rule changes—his cultivation technique was somehow connected to the laws of heaven and earth, letting him sense the shifts in cosmic Rules. And here, the Rule changes were especially unusual.
Besides, he was very familiar with Crimson Iron and could vaguely sense the aura of its Rules here.
Seeing Joe Di unmoved by his theory, Simon Su grew suspicious again. Could Joe Di really have a talent for finding treasures? Unable to resist, he grabbed his low-tier spiritual artifact shovel again. Digging a few times wouldn’t hurt, so he might as well try—what if Joe Di was right?
Simon Su was a Cauldron Ascendant cultivator. He struck down with the shovel dozens of times, thunderous and relentless, quickly digging out another large pit.
“Joe Di, I did give you a few pills, you know. Isn’t this a bit unethical?” Simon Su stopped digging, convinced Joe Di was messing with him. There was no Crimson Iron here—the deeper he dug, the grayer the soil became, meaning the chance of finding Crimson Iron was even less.
Joe Di said, “Almost there. Just keep digging along this spot.”
Simon Su snorted. “Fine, but if there’s still nothing, I’ll lose my patience. As for taking you to the Mad Domain, forget it. Maybe even…”
Perhaps feeling things weren’t settled yet, Simon Su stopped himself after saying ‘maybe even’ and left it at that.
Boom! Dozens more shovel strikes sent iron shavings flying. Even as a Cauldron Ascendant cultivator, Simon Su was starting to tire.
Just as he was about to question Joe Di, a glint of golden-red caught his eye. Simon Su instantly forgot his complaints and swung the low-tier spiritual artifact shovel with renewed vigor. After a dozen strikes, a broad swath of golden-red appeared before him.
“Crimson Iron—it really is Crimson Iron! I’ve never even heard of it appearing in such large piles, and the quality is so high! Joe Di, you’re amazing. We’ll split it evenly…” Simon Su’s hands moved faster than ever, piling up huge chunks of top-grade Crimson Iron as he dug.
Joe Di still didn’t help, but he started to think highly of Simon Su. Despite his superior cultivation, Simon Su was willing to split the haul evenly. With so much top-grade Crimson Iron, he still offered half—truly a decent person.
“Hey, why aren’t you helping?” Simon Su couldn’t help but ask when he saw Joe Di just watching as he dug out a mountain of top-grade Crimson Iron.
Joe Di shook his head. “I’m really not interested in this stuff. I just want you to finish digging and take me to the Mad Domain. No need to talk to me—just look below, what do you see?”
“Crimson Iron Crystal?” When Simon Su saw a vast patch of Crimson Iron shimmering with white light, he lost all interest in conversation and dug furiously. Piece after piece of Crimson Iron Crystal was unearthed and piled up beside him.