Translator: AnubisTL
After listening to Senior Zhou's explanation of how to search for the spirit stones, Li Qing returned to his courtyard, still savoring the experience. "Today has been incredibly rewarding," he thought.
Suddenly, Li Qing found himself eagerly anticipating tomorrow's descent into the mine to excavate spirit stones.
That night, Li Qing didn't rest. Instead, he sat in meditation, cultivating his Qi.
The night passed uneventfully. As dawn broke, all the spirit stone miners received notification to prepare for their descent.
Dong dong dong!
Li Qing reluctantly emerged from his deep Qi Refining cultivation, then quickly and efficiently began preparing.
"Each mine shift lasts ten days, with three days needed for the round trip," he mused. After careful consideration, he decided to leave Fan Tong in the courtyard and leave his storage artifact behind. He only took some personal rations with him.
No storage artifacts are allowed in the mine pits to prevent miners from secretly hoarding spirit stones. Before entering and exiting the mine, everyone undergoes a thorough inspection.
Though Li Qing possessed nothing of great value, as a cultivator in the Early Qi Refining Realm, it was best not to reveal the few jade slips he had obtained or the Mid-Grade Magic Tool, the Crimson Shadow Umbrella.
"I've left you plenty of food. Stay here in the courtyard and watch the house for me these next few days, understand?" Li Qing patted Fan Tong's head.
The response was a lazy tiger's roar: "Aowr!"
Ever since moving to the Spirit Vein Land, Fan Tong's essence, qi, and spirit had been in excellent condition. It was clear that, like Li Qing, it was thoroughly enjoying the abundant spiritual energy here.
After confirming everything was in order, Li Qing followed the instructions to the gathering point.
Outside the Liu Clan's protective array, nearly thirty cultivators had already gathered, mostly in the Mid and Early Qi Refining Realms.
Leading the group was Liu Haitian, a high-ranking member of the Liu Clan. His cultivation was in the Late Qi Refining Realm, and the aura he subtly exuded sent a slight tremor of unease through Li Qing.
Li Qing scanned the crowd until he spotted Old Zhou. He immediately ducked past the others, adopting a sincere expression.
"Senior Zhou, thank you for looking after me on the journey," Li Qing said with a sheepish grin.
The unkempt old miner, whose name was Zhou Tong, snorted. "The Liu Clan's spirit colts are docile and swift. With Senior Liu Haitian leading the way, who in this entire region would dare cause trouble?"
Someone nearby chuckled. "Hey, Old Zhou, did you take on a new disciple? Haha."
"He looks honest enough, but his cultivation is a bit low. Can he even tell a spirit stone from a rock?"
"Hahaha! Don't end up digging up a treasure and not even realizing it, only to lose it!"
These playful jabs were mostly harmless teasing directed at the newcomer, Li Qing.
Li Qing showed no offense, maintaining his simple, rustic demeanor. He instinctively scratched the back of his head, appearing slightly bewildered.
Seeing Li Qing's reaction, many people couldn't help but chuckle.
After waiting for another quarter of an hour, the team of spirit mine workers had grown to over forty people.
Liu Haitian, standing at the front, confirmed everyone had arrived and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, ahem. Now that everyone's here, let's prepare to depart."
"I won't waste any more words. Once you enter the Mine Pit, each of you better behave yourselves. Focus on mining spirit stones and don't do anything you'll regret for the rest of your life, something that would sever your Dao path!"
Boom!
As his words fell, Liu Haitian's powerful aura erupted, sending a chill down the spines of everyone present.
Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, nearing the Ninth Layer.
This was the most powerful cultivator Li Qing had encountered so far.
Just then, one spirit horse colt after another was led out.
These colts all carried spirit beast bloodlines, though most were impure and not yet considered demon beasts.
However, after years of cultivation, they had become quite exceptional breeds. Any one of them, taken to the mortal realm, would be considered a peerless treasure horse.
"Hee-lu-lu!"
Li Qing led over a reddish-brown spirit horse colt. These spirit horses were all tall and imposing, with impressive auras.
For Li Qing, riding a horse was no challenge. Moreover, the spirit horses were docile, not wild beasts, so he didn't make any embarrassing mistakes.
"Follow me closely! Let's move out!"
Liu Haitian waved his hand, vaulted onto his horse, and charged toward a hidden passage leading out of Longevity Valley.
More than forty Qi Refining Realm cultivators surged out, creating a formidable, imposing aura.
A day and a half of non-stop travel was nothing for cultivators.
For Li Qing, who possessed considerable Martial Arts skills, it was even less of a concern. Going three or four days without sleep was commonplace for him.
The spirit horse colt's stamina was surprisingly impressive, its speed exceeding Li Qing's expectations. Though not even a low-level Demon beast, its displayed speed and endurance far surpassed that of Fan Tong.
The journey passed without incident, just as Old Zhou had said. In this territory, no one dared provoke the Liu Clan.
Ahead, the Spirit Stone Mine belonging to the Heavenly River Sect finally came into view.
Unlike the mine Li Qing had imagined, this wasn't barren land. Instead, due to the abundance of spiritual energy, the area was covered in lush, vibrant trees, teeming with life.
The Spirit Stone veins were contained within several towering peaks, all shrouded by a powerful array that made any forced entry impossible.
Shortly after the Liu Clan's forces arrived, the array ahead shimmered, revealing a clear path.
Soon, a young man in a white robe, standing on a Flying Sword, with a handsome and otherworldly appearance, floated out.
"Uncle Liu, it's been a while. I hope you're well," the dignified young man said, clasping his hands in a respectful greeting to Liu Haitian. He didn't even glance at the other miners.
Liu Haitian, unwilling to act as an elder, adopted a respectful demeanor. He chuckled lightly. "Thanks to Young Friend Yan's blessing, my health is fine. I'm grateful for your assistance with this mining operation."
The cultivator surnamed Yan replied with a carefree laugh. "Haha, no trouble at all. We're all just fulfilling the sect's mission."
Indeed, the young man before them was a disciple of the Heavenly River Sect!
All the miners present gazed at the young man standing on his Flying Sword with a mixture of respect and envy.
Joining the Heavenly River Sect was a dream come true for rogue cultivators.
Unfortunately, given their cultivation aptitude, they were destined to never have a chance to enter the sect in this lifetime.
Guided by a disciple of the Heavenly River Sect, Li Qing arrived at the checkpoint.
A beam of spiritual light descended from the array formation, bathing all the spirit mine workers for a long moment. Only after confirming that no one was carrying storage artifacts were they allowed to pass.
Bathed in the pure white spiritual light, Li Qing felt as though every inch of his body had been laid bare, even the Earth Essence Heart-Protecting Plate he had just finished crafting was completely exposed.
Next, each worker, led by another Heavenly River Sect disciple, received a special storage bag for holding spirit stones and a restriction token before being dispatched to the Mine Tunnels within several Spirit Stone Mines.
"Once you're down in the mine, you are forbidden from entering other people's Mining Areas, fighting, or secretly using the spirit stones you excavate for cultivation. I trust I don't need to spell out the consequences, do I?"
Yan Hong, the Heavenly River Sect disciple, declared in a condescending tone. The aura he subtly exuded was even stronger than that of Liu Haitian, whom Li Qing had met just moments ago.
At such a young age to already be in the Late Qi Refining Realm—no wonder everyone wanted to join a cultivation sect!
Li Qing sighed, then took his restriction token and entered his assigned Mine Pit.
The Mine Tunnel was deep and had been excavated for many years. It took a long time to reach the bottom.
In the pitch-black tunnel, Li Qing took out two Brilliant Night Pearls for illumination.
With the faint light, he could see the marks left by pickaxes on the tunnel walls.
"I wonder if the mining area I've been assigned is actually a rich vein," Li Qing muttered.
Once he entered the silent Mine Tunnel, Li Qing no longer suppressed his surging Vital Energy. He let it flow freely.
He would be trapped here for ten days before seeing daylight again, with no company but his pickaxe—a rather crude, low-grade magic tool.
Li Qing infused a trace of spiritual energy into the pickaxe. The metal-element spirit patterns on its surface faintly glowed, and the pickaxe head emitted a sharp aura, more than enough to shatter stone.
Fortunately, the spiritual energy in the tunnel was relatively dense. Aside from the oppressive atmosphere, there was nothing else to worry about.
After walking for a while, they finally reached the Spirit Stone Mine. Several Brilliant Night Pearls hung on the walls, serving as illumination.
These treasures, priceless in the mortal realm, were utterly worthless in the cultivation world, as common as pebbles.
Inside the Mine Pit, there were three excavated tunnels—remnants of previous miners' work. Li Qing only needed to follow these tunnels to continue digging downward.
"I wonder... can I travel back to the World of Eternal Night from here?" Li Qing muttered absentmindedly, then froze in place.
Wait!
Realizing this, his heart began to pound wildly.
If he could travel to the World of Eternal Night, wouldn't he be able to mine Spirit Stones here and then simply toss them into that world?!
"Hiss!"
Li Qing gasped, followed by a surge of intense excitement.
"Wait... the World of Eternal Night is currently in the End of Dao Era. I don't know if the spiritual energy of the Spirit Stones will dissipate after I throw them in!"
"But I have to try. Old Xiang, the old man I met before, said that when the End of Dao Era began, it took several months for the spiritual energy of Spirit Stones in the World of Eternal Night to dissipate."
"I could mine for nine days and store the spirit stones in the World of Eternal Night on the last day. Then, after returning to the Liu Clan, I could secretly retrieve them."
The more Li Qing thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and a surge of excitement washed over him.
"The only question now is, since this place is enveloped by a formation, will I be detected when I travel back and forth to the World of Eternal Night?"
Regardless, he had to try.
If it worked, he wouldn't be working for the Heavenly River Sect or the Liu Clan anymore—he'd be working for himself!
All the spirit stones he mined would belong to him, and he'd only need to hand over a portion. Moreover, he'd get to keep a tenth of the portion he handed over!
In essence, this spirit stone mine, which belonged to the Heavenly River Sect, would become Li Qing's personal source of free spirit stones!
In that moment, Li Qing felt he had achieved a class transformation, no longer just a mere worker.
"But if I hand over too few spirit stones, it'll definitely raise suspicion. It might be excusable while I'm still new and inexperienced, but if this goes on for too long, they might think I'm slacking off, which would be bad."
Li Qing pondered seriously for a moment, and a surge of motivation for his mining job surged through him.
(End of the Chapter)
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