Chapter 114: Sightings at the Mine

Li Xuanxuan left seclusion a few months after Lu Sisi left. He broke through to the fifth level of Fetal Breathing, the Yujing Wheel. His strength ranked third in the family, followed by his two capable assistants, Li Qiuyang and Chen Donghe, both at the fourth level of Fetal Breathing.

A large area of small huts was located along the mineral vein. With the joint efforts of the three families, a decent small town had been established in these few months. The first year, the Li family sent a Qi Refining cultivator to guard the green crow mine.

According to the agreement, the three families each sent a Fetal Breathing cultivator to the mine to supervise each other. Li Xuanxuan had already sent Li Qiuyang out, and it had been several months.

When Li Xuanfeng landed on the mine on the wind, the three Fetal Breathing cultivators were already waiting on the ground, and the surrounding miners knelt down.

"Welcome, Senior!"

The three shouted in unison. Li Xuanfeng just waved his hand, nodded at Li Qiuyang, and called out:

"Clan uncle."

Only then did he look at the Fetal Breathing cultivators of the Lu and An families, nodded and said:

"No need to be polite."

With a sweep of his spiritual sense, the two people in front were only at the third or fourth level of Fetal Breathing, and they were all in their forties or fifties. He waved his hand to disperse the two and whispered:

"Clan uncle, how has the mineral vein been in the past few months? Why did you call me here in such a hurry?"

Li Qiuyang cupped his hands. The boy who swallowed the snake-dragon fruit in the mountains was now over thirty years old and had grandchildren. He was handsome and held a long knife in his hand, with the demeanor of a family elder. He replied:

"Mining has just begun. Seven pieces were mined in three months. The output should gradually increase in the future. It's just that since a few months ago, miners have often lost their speech. Last month it was one or two, and this month it has increased to dozens. We had to send a letter to the family."

"Lost speech..."

Li Xuanfeng carried a long bow on his back, frowned and didn't understand, and replied:

"Take me to see these people."

Li Qiuyang nodded repeatedly, led Li Xuanfeng for a while, passed through the large and small camps, and came to a large courtyard.

There were many Shanyue on the mine, and the architectural style was mostly Shanyue-featured. This large courtyard was mostly built by the Lu and An families. Inside, a dozen people were squatting against the wall, most of them were Shanyue miners moved by the Li family, all looking uneasy.

Seeing Li Qiuyang and Li Xuanfeng coming, the manager in the courtyard was very nervous. He called the Shanyue miners who were squatting one by one, knelt them firmly on the ground, and stared at the yellow soil full of ground.

Li Xuanfeng put his hand on the shoulder of the Shanyue miner at the front, and the true essence circulated for a few laps, but he didn't find anything unusual. His face was slightly strange, but he found a spirit aperture that swallowed spirit energy in the Qi Sea point of this middle-aged man.

"Possessing a spirit aperture, what a pity."

These words were like a thunderbolt, shaking the middle-aged man to cry out twice, his expression was excited and sad. Looking at the middle-aged man's slightly white temples and complex expression, Li Xuanfeng turned his head and ordered:

"Take this person back and find a clan girl who looks right to marry."

Li Qiuyang nodded, and several clan soldiers stepped forward to hold the person who was crying and laughing, and took him down. Li Xuanfeng picked a few more from the dozen people to check, but all found nothing. He asked:

"Did these people have any abnormalities before they lost their speech?"

"No..."

Li Qiuyang shook his head and replied:

"It's just that four of these dozens of people have mined green crow mineral..."

Li Xuanfeng nodded thoughtfully, his eyes stayed on the few people in front of him for a while, took the green crow mineral raw stone handed by Li Qiuyang, and between the circulation of true essence, realized a trace of sharp golden stone energy, so he said in a deep voice:

"It's mostly because of this green crow mineral... Trouble clan uncle to call those two over."

Li Qiuyang nodded when he heard the sound, and found the cultivators of the Lu and An families. The two stood in front of Li Qiuyang with trepidation, estimating in their hearts that this Li family Qi Refining cultivator mostly wanted to find their family's mistakes, and they were all terrified.

"Do you know that people on the mine often have the symptom of losing speech?"

The two were stunned when they heard Li Xuanfeng's words, and responded vaguely, slandering in their hearts:

"Does the Qi Refining cultivator still care about the illness and death of mortals? Losing speech is not a disability. As long as they can work, no one cares about their life or death..."

"How is the shift arrangement on the mine now?"

Li Xuanfeng waved his hand and said:

"Divide into four shifts to mine. Don't let the miners stay on the mine for too long. Later, I will return to the clan to adjust people to rotate shifts many times."

Seeing the two nodding repeatedly, Li Xuanfeng shook his head and rode the wind back to report to Li Tongya. Li Qiuyang watched the two wait respectfully until Li Xuanfeng left, and then looked quite disapproving in private, secretly frowning, secretly thinking:

"No wonder the population of the two families is only two or three thousand. My Li family has grown to more than sixty thousand in decades. These people clearly don't treat people as people. I am afraid they haven't even supervised farming, let alone maintained any people's livelihood. These two or three thousand people are all supporting their one clan..."

"Brother Qiuyang!"

The two greeted with a smile. The Lu family cultivator winked and laughed:

"This is a good job on the mine! You don't have to look at the face of the one in the family, everything is handled by Li Qiuyang of the Li family, how comfortable!"

"That's it!"

The An family cultivator laughed loudly, sipped the spirit wine in his hand, smacked his lips beautifully, and replied:

"That Li family is an upstart after all, rising too fast, the Qi Refining cultivator is too young, and he actually still cares about mortals in his heart. Who in the entire Guli Road doesn't treat mortals as objects? Only mortals serve cultivators, where do cultivators consider mortals!"

The Lu family cultivator nodded, his expression relaxed and comfortable, and laughed:

"Look at this Li family, although they are strong, they are dragged to death by the Shanyue in the west, acting as a barrier for us. It is said that there are more than a dozen Qi Refining in the Shanyue, and a peak Qi Refining king, which is not easy to deal with!"

Selling the news he got, the Lu family cultivator raised his head slightly, but heard the An family cultivator ask:

"But I heard that your Lu family has high cultivation in the Qingchi Sect, which is a great backer."

The Lu family cultivator shook his head, his expression a bit dejected, and replied:

"You and I have been in-laws for many years, and everyone knows the roots. That person is cultivating on Yuehu Peak. He was at the peak of Qi Refining early on, but died when he failed to establish a Foundation. It has been more than eighty years! Except for the Yuehu Peak Master in the sect who still has some incense with my family, where else can it be considered a backer."

After speaking, he lowered his head and said to the An family cultivator:

"Where can it compare to that genius of your An family!"

The An family cultivator sighed slightly and said indignantly:

"That genius of my family is really loved by that An Jingming. All the cultivation resources of the whole clan are at his disposal! It is said that the rice he eats every day is spirit rice, which makes us very jealous. If the family cared about me like this, I might be able to rush to Qi Refining."

"Sigh."

The Lu family cultivator sighed lowly, his expression became more frustrated. In the sound of the silk and bamboo in the courtyard, it was particularly abrupt. He hung his head and said:

"You and I are already over fifty, but we haven't even cultivated the Yujing Wheel. Where is there any hope for Qi Refining in this life! Just enjoy the rest of the fifty years, not in vain to walk in this world!"

The An family cultivator heard this and was also very sad. After drinking the wine, he choked:

"Life is not satisfactory... I have long looked down on it."

The two cried and hugged each other in the sound of the silk and bamboo.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 115 =====

The Lu family cultivator sighed low, his expression growing more dejected. It was jarringly abrupt amidst the music of strings and bamboo filling the courtyard. He hung his head and said:

"You and I are already over fifty, yet we haven't even achieved the Jade Capital Wheel. Where is there any hope for Qi Refining in this lifetime! I might as well enjoy the remaining fifty years of my life to the fullest; it won't have been a wasted trip to this world!"

The An family cultivator was also deeply grieved upon hearing this. After finishing his wine, he choked out:

"Things in life rarely go as planned... I have long since taken it lightly."

The two of them sat there amidst the languid music of strings and bamboo, raising their cups to weep together, holding each other and sobbing.

(End of chapter)