Chapter 419: Spirit Mine

Another autumn hunt arrived.

Marquis Yuan, remembering old ties, chose the Qinghe Hunting Grounds as the location.

Everything had proceeded smoothly at first, but unluckily, during the hunt, a Qinghe official went missing.

An Nan Town sent people to search for him.

Who would have thought they discovered a shocking secret—a spirit mine.

The matter was first known to Yuan Dingting; the Saint of Warfare immediately dispatched officials to negotiate, only to learn that the spirit mine was occupied by Qingwei Sect.

So officials were sent to negotiate.

Soon after, Wu Country learned of it.

Now the three sides are in a heated dispute.

In short, the Ten Thousand Mountains have become a complete mess!

But all this had nothing to do with Li Rui, an official stationed at Qingwei Sect.

He had returned to Changqing Peak several days ago.

He appeared to have no connection to the matter.

"Big brother, these Qingwei Sect folks hid it well—they actually found a spirit mine!"

Ning Zhongtian muttered, shaking his head.

He had already told Li Rui.

All of them cultivated within Qingwei Sect; naturally, they understood the importance of a spirit mine.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the foundation of a nation or sect.

"If not for that man accidentally stumbling into the formation, we'd still be in the dark."

Li Rui sat in meditation, listening.

Accidentally?

Of course not.

That day, after he, Yao Xue, and He Qianian discovered the spirit mine, they did not act alone to infiltrate it; instead, they swiftly reported it.

Only then did this autumn hunt come about.

As for the official going missing, it was all deliberately arranged.

Merely an excuse to seize the spirit mine.

Or rather, this autumn hunt was staged for the spirit mine.

Haven't you noticed the hunt is already over, yet Marquis Yuan Dingting of An Nan still resides at the Qinghe Hunting Grounds? He's clearly there to back them up.

"Fourth brother, has Commissioner Zhou made any arrangements?"

Li Rui asked.

The man from Yu Country responsible for negotiating the spirit mine was Zhou Dinghai.

Ning Zhongtian: "Commissioner Zhou says, Big Brother, it's time for you to step forward."

Li Rui nodded.

He was the bridge between Yu Country's imperial court and Qingwei Sect; he couldn't avoid this.

Negotiation is always better than slaughter.

No real danger.

Moreover, all three sides had already held several rounds of secret talks beforehand.

As Li Rui and Ning Zhong spoke, a loud laugh echoed from outside the courtyard.

"Big Brother Li, you're my good brother, my own blood brother!"

One could tell at once—it was Sang Kong.

Sang Kong was grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears.

He was bursting with joy.

It was he who leaked the news of the spirit mine to Wu Country—but he knew about it only because Li Rui pointed him to it.

He'd earned himself a colossal merit!

With this merit, he might even have a chance at promotion to second-rank proper.

After all, it was a spirit mine!

Word had it even the third princess, long married away, was paying close attention.

Second-rank positions were never honorary—they were held by the highest-ranking figures.

How could he not be delighted?

"Little Brother Sang."

Li Rui stepped out the door and bowed from afar.

The spirit mine matter was too big.

Yu Country alone could not negotiate effectively with Qingwei Sect—but if Wu Country was brought in,

even Qingwei Sect would have to bow.

That's called letting go to gain.

Only by letting go can you gain.

Yu Country could never hope to monopolize it alone; better to settle for second best.

Li Rui had also gained a massive favor from Sang Kong.

Sang Kong: "Big Brother Li, I heard your General Zhou is nearly at Qingwei Sect. Funny enough, our Minister Lu has arrived too—why not go together?"

Li Rui smiled and nodded:

"That was exactly my thought."

On the spirit mine matter, Yu and Wu were each other's most steadfast allies.

The two descended the mountain.

They waited at the mountain gate for about half an hour.

Then they saw a group of riders slowly approaching.

At their head was Yu Country's Provincial Military Commander, Zhou Dinghai.

Besides Zhou Dinghai, several officials had come from the capital.

"General Zhou."

Li Rui stepped forward to greet him.

Zhou Dinghai looked at Li Rui with clear admiration.

For the spirit mine matter, Li Rui deserved the foremost merit.

"Commissioner Li."

Zhou Dinghai's smile never faded.

After the greetings, Li Rui informed Zhou Dinghai that Minister Lu of Wu Country was also nearing.

Zhou Dinghai heard this.

He was delighted and immediately decided to wait at Qingwei Sect's mountain gate for Minister Lu before entering together.

After about twenty minutes,

a group of riders mounted on various demonic beasts appeared among the crowd.

At their head was an old man in a black robe, riding a three-eyed black panther demonic beast.

It was Minister Lu Xin of Wu Country's Ministry of Rites.

"Minister Lu."

Zhou Dinghai bowed from afar.

Lu Xin, seeing Zhou Dinghai, smiled: "General Zhou."

The two exchanged glances and understood each other without words.

After some polite exchanges,

they headed toward Qingwei Sect's main peak.

The negotiation site was chosen in a side hall of the main peak.

When the group entered the side hall, seven or eight people were already seated inside.

Li Rui recognized most of them.

Xuanwei Daoist, the eldest disciple of Grand True Person Qingding, and Xianyu Daoist, the second disciple, were both present; the others were all elders of Qingwei Sect.

As for why Grand True Person Qingding did not appear,

it was to leave room for maneuver.

Qingwei Sect could not completely break ties with Yu and Wu.

As long as Grand True Person Qingding stayed out of sight, even if today's talks failed, there would still be room for further negotiation.

The officials from both nations took their seats.

Xuanwei Daoist then spoke: "You've traveled far—how weary you must be. We've prepared lodgings; you may rest for a few days. Qingwei Sect's scenery is quite pleasant."

Zhou Dinghai replied coolly: "Thank you, Daoist Xuanwei, for your hospitality."

Minister Lu Xin across from him also bowed slightly, saying nothing.

But though neither spoke,

the civil officials beside them could no longer sit still.

A minister from the Honglu Temple took the lead in challenging: "Under heaven, all land belongs to the Son of Heaven; all who dwell on the earth are his subjects. Spirit ore is a creation of heaven and earth—since it has emerged, it must be shared by all under heaven."

They had come to Qingwei Sect not for sightseeing, but to claim their share of the spirit ore.

Zhou Dinghai chuckled: "Forgive me—Official Liu has a fiery temper and can't hide his thoughts."

That's what he says.

But Zhou Dinghai had no intention of stopping him.

The Wu state's civil officials, hearing this, immediately chimed in: "Official Liu speaks wisely. Spirit ore is born of heaven and earth—it belongs to all under heaven."

Several elders of Qingwei Sect could no longer sit still.

You learned scholar!

Always talking about "all under heaven."

Who doesn't know that in the end, spirit ore always ends up in the imperial court's hands?

A young Daoist countered sharply: "The Ten Thousand Mountains are Qingwei Sect's private property—this is proven by contract."

"Contract?"

"We in Yu State have never heard of such a thing."

The young Daoist flew into a rage, nearly slamming his fist on the table: "How dare you be so shameless?"

The Honglu Temple official from Yu State showed not a flicker of embarrassment: "Reverend, let us stick to the matter at hand."

Li Rui kept his eyes lowered, his mind still, showing no intention to join the debate.

Not just him—even Zhou Dinghai and the others did the same.

Let the Honglu Temple officials do the talking.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were street thugs.

Grand elegance is just grand vulgarity.

Arguing has nothing to do with realm or status.

It's all the same.

Zhou Dinghai and the others would never lower themselves—that's why they brought the Honglu Temple officials along.

This is called entrusting professional work to professionals.

As always:

As long as they don't step in themselves, even if the two sides come to blows, the negotiations won't collapse.

Negotiations dragged on for over ten days.

Both sides had argued until their throats were dry.

That day:

They argued again until dusk, and it was time to disband once more.

Though they had shouted fiercely,

Master Xuanwei still invited the officials from Yu and Wu states to a banquet.

Just as the dishes were served and everyone prepared to eat,

Master Xuanwei suddenly said: "Gentlemen, what do you think of dividing the spirit ore into three equal shares?"

Zhou Dinghai's lips curled slightly:

"Agreed."

Lu Xin also chuckled: "Excellent."

The matter was settled.

The civil officials, exhausted from their heated arguments, froze in surprise.

Is it over already?

After days of endless debate, it was settled in mere words from a few senior figures.

But their efforts these past days weren't wasted.

It was merely a necessary formality.

The matter was settled.

The following procedures became much simpler.

Changqing Peak.

Zhou Dinghai smiled warmly at Li Rui:

"The spirit ore needs someone to guard it—you're perfect for the role. This is also the Emperor's wish."

"By the way, in a few days, the Emperor will send an Imperial Prince to inspect. Be prepared."

Li Rui grinned: "The Emperor is wise."

Zhou Dinghai was in high spirits: "Well then, if I stay here any longer, Master Xuanwei might grow annoyed. I'll take my leave."

Saying this,

Zhou Dinghai swept his sleeves and descended the mountain, accompanied by the Honglu Temple officials, who strutted like roosters after a victory.

The next day,

Li Rui led Ning Zhongtian and the others to the spirit ore site.

The great array had already been partially lifted.

After entering,

they saw a towering peak, half its interior excavated—clearly resembling a mining district from the previous world.

Mining spirit ore was no task for ordinary laborers.

One needed at least the Breath Holding realm—a true cultivator—to extract it.

Hmm. An ideal destination for impoverished Daoist academy students without employment.

The pay for spirit ore miners was not low.

Aside from the hardship, there were no flaws.

In fact, the imperial court had already recruited a group of miners from the Five Great Daoist Academies; they had been on the road for several days and would arrive soon.

Ning Zhongtian stared at the awe-inspiring scene before him, feeling the spiritual energy so thick it nearly solidified around him.

Every pore of his body sighed in comfort.

He grinned: "Big brother, you'll always be my big brother!"

Wei Ming and Ge Hong also wore broad smiles.

Why?

Because their big brother, Li Rui, was now the guardian of the spirit ore.

Li Rui walked halfway up the mountain,

took a newly mined spirit stone from the hands of a lowly servant disciple,

and felt its spiritual energy far purer than natural ambient spiritual energy.

With such spirit stones, cultivation speed could accelerate by several times over.

No wonder it was the hard currency of the cultivation world.

Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

The position of spirit ore guardian carried immense authority—he had earned it solely due to his great merit in this spirit ore affair, which is why the Dragon Throne had entrusted him with such a vital post.

Had he even once entertained the thought of concealing the spirit ore from the court and keeping it for himself,

he would now be facing exile, not a high-ranking post.

But now,

things had become much easier.

As an official tasked with guarding the spirit ore, taking a few spirit stones for inspection purposes—wasn't that perfectly reasonable?

(End of Chapter)

(End of chapter)