Chapter 673: Mine Cave (4800+ words)

Ten years later.

Shangong Hall.

Aaron completed the twenty-year garrison mission and exchanged it for one hundred Goodness Merit.

Walking out of the Shangong Hall gate, Shen Qingmei was standing by to serve; in her dealings with others, she seemed to have grown quite a bit.

However, she did not know that it was Aaron who had stepped in to save her, and he had also hidden the share of the fortuitous encounter he had obtained very well.

But Aaron did not care...

"This Ancestor favors his own people over principles!"

"Many thanks for the information. In truth, the reason I am willing to come here is that I feel that although my aptitude was acceptable during Foundation Establishment, it is difficult to make progress in my cultivation technique after Golden Core... I am prepared to exchange for one or two secret arts so that I will not be bullied among Golden Core Cultivators..."

The old man took it and looked, his expression immediately softening quite a bit, and he cupped his hands in a salute: "This old man is 'Zhaixingzi'... I had long heard that a fellow Daoist would come to replace 'Fellow Daoist Zhang', I did not expect you to have arrived already, please!"

Basically, there are no such idiots either.

No matter what, one must observe for ten years first before saying anything...

Aaron told him frankly.

The only thing they have to do is sit in front of the cave exit every day when collecting ore, supervising whether anyone is privately hiding precious associated spirit minerals.

And the Star Mine surrounding the entire Shu Province is under the control of the Shushan Sword Pavilion.

Although Zhaixingzi also did not know what use that Taixu Divine Crystal had, he clearly knew that this was a resource that the Shushan Sword Pavilion valued extremely highly, and the various storage regulations were also very harsh.

"I am Shen Fei, a Guest Deacon of the Shushan Sword Pavilion, here to execute the garrison mission!"

According to the mission description, there are three Golden Core Cultivators stationed at this mine.

However, the truly core Disciples actually still know a bit of the inside story.

Wanting to condense a Nascent Soul mainly relies on the cultivator's own fortuitous encounter!

For example, that Baifeng Xianzi, she also explored the ruins of the Xuantian Sect regardless of life or death for the sake of a future opportunity to condense a Nascent Soul.

Fellow Daoist Zhang was a bit impatient to finish the handover, and then left immediately...

Clearly, the other party did not want to stay in this place for even a moment longer.

Although he had a backer and had some face and background in the outside world, his path of Taoism was becoming increasingly desperate.

As a Golden Core Ancestor, one usually does not manage various matters, just leaving things to the Stewards below is fine.

Zhaixingzi sighed.

He was also a Loose Cultivator who reached Golden Core, and then joined the Shushan Sword Pavilion.

Basically, it seems it takes several months to have the luck to mine one piece.

Aaron toyed with a crystal-like mineral in his hand that emitted brilliant colors, secretly memorizing its form, and then looked at the miner who had a face full of joy: "Reward: one hundred Spirit Stones, one High-grade Magical Tool!"

However, after Aaron observed for a period of time, he discovered that the output rate of 'Taixu Divine Crystal' was pitifully low.

"Hehe... The Spirit Qi here is thin, Fellow Daoist Zhang is trapped here, and his cultivation technique has had no obvious progress for many years, so it is inevitable that he is anxious..."

"'Taixu Divine Crystal', one piece, weighing six jin, two liang, and three qian!"

Often, a slightly larger mine has several Golden Core Ancestors stationed there, and the degree of importance can be seen from this!

Aaron was just preparing to go and see the situation first, then think about how to tamper with things.

For example, Long Ling'er knew that this 'Taixu Divine Crystal' is an associated spirit mineral of the raw material for refining Flying Sword Magic Tools—'Star Iron', only the yield is extremely scarce.

Seeing the other party open the Great Array, Aaron swept his Divine Sense over, confirmed there were no problems, and followed them down into the mine.

Even the Golden Core True Inheritors of the Shushan Sword Pavilion are actually mostly unable to condense a Nascent Soul.

Then, he handed the ore to Jiu Popo beside him; Jiu Popo was an old woman with crane-white hair and chicken-skin complexion, her expression was meticulous, carrying an air of unreasonableness like an elderly Dean of Students, she weighed it for the third time, then put the ore into her Storage Bag.

Looking from the outside, this place is a huge depression, which made Aaron think of the scene of a huge meteorite impact.

Watching the other party's escape-light as they left, which was like fleeing from a disaster, Aaron could not help but be speechless.

Under the Divine Sense of a Golden Core Ancestor, it is impossible for those ordinary Qi Refining cultivators or even mortal laborers to hide anything.

From Long Ling'er's memories, Aaron knew that the main material needed to forge a Dharma Treasure-grade 'Invisible Sword' is a type of 'Taixu Divine Crystal', which is not circulated on the market at all; even for True Disciples of the Shushan Sword Pavilion, they collect auxiliary materials themselves after reaching Golden Core, and then the sect bestows the main material.

He immediately took out a brush and recorded it in a legal register.

At the very least, Aaron had never heard of any of the ten great sects of Great Gan that could stably produce Spirit Medicine that increases the probability of Nascent Soul condensation.

Such trivial matters naturally have Foundation Establishment Stewards to do them; he directly handed the ore to Zhaixingzi beside him.

"Garrison the Star Mine for forty years... But first go to the Library Pavilion to exchange for a secret art."

By comparison, Star Iron, which is only a material for Magic Tools, is relatively common, and several large warehouses have been built to store it.

Ever since he had the idea of refining an 'Invisible Sword', he had been calculating this matter.

Not long after, a Daoist with white hair and beard came to greet him: "Who is the fellow Daoist?"

Star Mine.

Aaron threw his Identity Token and Task Jade Slip over together.

One was Zhaixingzi, one was a female cultivator named 'Jiu Popo', and the last one, Fellow Daoist Zhang, was the youngest and also the person Aaron was here to replace.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the old Daoist Zhaixingzi, they went to look at the mine cave, warehouse, and Cave Abode one by one.

When Aaron approached, he was immediately discovered, and then a Divine Sense of a Golden Core Cultivator swept over him.

He certainly would not be stupid enough to take action immediately.

"What mission has Uncle-Master chosen this time?"

Jiu Popo's expression was sinister; her cultivation was the same as Zhaixingzi's, both were early-stage Golden Core, clearly her path was hopeless, and she was still an outside Guest Elder.

Regardless of how this old Daoist Zhaixingzi and Jiu Popo viewed him, Aaron just worked honestly every day anyway.

Shen Qingmei asked curiously.

Zhaixingzi also swept with his Divine Sense and stroked his beard: "Confirmed to be correct, register it!"

At the edge of the "giant pit," there were dense, crisscrossing plank roads spiraling downward.

"Sigh... how are we Loose Cultivators any different? It is hateful that we cannot be born directly into the Inner Sect of the Sword Pavilion to comprehend the true Taoism of the Sword Cultivator..."

From time to time, the escape light belonging to a Foundation Establishment cultivator would fly out from the mine pit.

Zhaixingzi chuckled, then turned solemn and said: "Let me explain the rules to you, fellow Daoist. Aside from some minor details mentioned before, the most important thing is the mining of the 'Taixu Divine Crystal'... Every day when leaving the mine cave, the two of us must be present to carefully inspect with our Divine Sense; any miner caught hiding it privately will die! Once a piece is mined, it shall be weighed by one of the three Golden Core Cultivators, registered by another, and kept by the third... The three of us perform our own duties, supervise each other, and rotate every five years. Then, it is regularly sent to the sect..."

Such a precious spirit mineral is not safe even in an outside warehouse, so naturally, the Storage Bag of a Golden Core Cultivator is the safest.

Aaron replied with a smile.

'I am a newcomer. From this point of view, at least one of Zhaixingzi or Jiu Popo has passed the test of the Shushan Sword Pavilion and is considered absolutely loyal to the sect? Or perhaps both?'

Aaron recorded the process, thinking to himself.

(End of this chapter)