Chapter 26: Arriving at the Canyon

Before his arrival, he had already gained a detailed understanding of the spirit stone vein.

A total of over twenty Qi Refinement cultivators were stationed at the spirit stone vein, and two Foundation Establishment stage senior uncles were also presiding over it.

Under normal circumstances, one of the two senior uncles would bring the mined spirit stones back to the sect every half month. It was impossible for a senior uncle to make a trip every two or three days; after all, they also needed to cultivate.

However, they could not wait too long, otherwise, the massive amount of spirit stones might attract the interest of high-level cultivators.

Typically, resource production sites such as spiritual medicine, spiritual mines, and spirit stones are key protected areas for a sect.

The spirit stone vein was neither too far nor too near from the White Cloud Sect. As long as a distress signal was sent, a large number of cultivators would arrive quickly under the leadership of the sect's high-level cultivators.

To the point that, up until now, no evil cultivators had dared to attack this place.

Of course, this was also due to the strict guarding of the spirit stone vein.

The guarding senior brothers of the spirit stone vein were primarily there to defend against evil cultivators and to deal with the occasional demon beasts that emerged from the mine shafts.

Otherwise... with a demon beast popping out every now and then, setting aside the casualties among the miners, even the most courageous miner would likely be unable to mine in peace.

This would greatly affect the efficiency of the spirit stone mining.

Cheng Buzheng did not delay any further and walked up to the array's light screen.

Suddenly, a young cultivator dressed in the grey attire of the White Cloud Sect stepped out from within the array. He emitted a powerful spiritual pressure and walked out behind a defensive shield, holding a flying sword artifact in his hand.

He maintained a state of readiness to attack at any moment, as if Cheng Buzheng would be attacked immediately if he gave the wrong answer.

Sensing that powerful spiritual pressure, Cheng Buzheng secretly guessed that this person was at least in the late stage of Qi Refinement, while also marveling at how strictly this place was guarded.

Even when facing a minor cultivator like him at the second level of Qi Refinement, they were so highly vigilant; this was enough to show the level of security here.

Although the guarding senior brother saw that Cheng Buzheng was also wearing the sect's attire, the look of wariness on his face did not diminish in the slightest.

After all, sect attire could be easily obtained by killing a sect disciple; it was not enough to earn his trust.

"Who are you?" the guarding senior brother barked, looking at Cheng Buzheng warily.

Cheng Buzheng replied quickly. He did not want to cause even the slightest misunderstanding; otherwise, if he were killed as an evil cultivator, he would have nowhere to seek justice.

"White Cloud Sect, outer disciple Cheng Buzheng, here to accept a mission from the Command Talisman Pavilion! This is my mission talisman and my identity token!" As he spoke, he brushed his hand against the storage bag at his waist, bringing the talisman and token into his hands.

Seeing that Cheng Buzheng made no unnecessary movements, the guarding senior brother relaxed slightly. After all, examples of "playing a pig to eat a tiger" occurred frequently in the cultivation world.

With a wave of his hand, the talisman and token in Cheng Buzheng's hands slowly flew into his grasp. During this process, his gaze remained fixed on Cheng Buzheng to prevent a sudden sneak attack.

The guarding senior brother carefully checked the authenticity of the talisman and token, keeping his peripheral vision on Cheng Buzheng; he did not fully let down his guard.

A moment later, the inspection was complete.

The guarding senior brother lowered his guard and said calmly, "I hope you don't mind, junior brother. This is the regulation of the mine; even the Foundation Establishment senior uncles must follow this when entering or exiting."

As he spoke, the guarding senior brother tossed the talisman and token back to him.

Cheng Buzheng took them back without a hint of resentment on his face, instead saying with a smile, "Senior brother overthinks it! This is your duty. I admire your rigor in your work; how could I possibly mind such things?"

Hearing this, the guarding cultivator's expression improved slightly, and he said indifferently

"You are here for a mining mission. In the future, if you wish to leave the valley, you must report to me. In a moment, I will give you a copy of the regulations for the spirit stone mine. You must abide by the rules recorded within; otherwise, once violated, you will be dealt with according to sect rules. Junior brother, although my words may not be pleasant, that is the reality. None of the cultivators who violated the regulations had a good end."

After speaking, he turned and walked to the entrance of the array.

The entrance to the valley was covered by a layer of array light. The guarding senior brother took out a token and injected a trace of spiritual power into it. The token emitted a white spiritual light that wrapped around the layer of array light.

The white light, like a child's scribbles, continuously drew upon the array light.

Before long, a complex pattern appeared on the layer of array light, and in the blink of an eye, an opening large enough for people to pass through appeared.

The guarding senior brother entered first, and Cheng Buzheng followed closely behind, entering the canyon following the senior brother's footsteps.

Upon entering the canyon, octagonal pavilions built on the mountainsides on both sides came into view, one on the left and one on the right. Inside each pavilion, a cultivator was sitting cross-legged.

Cheng Buzheng muttered to himself: "These should be... the senior brothers on duty! The spiritual pressure they emit is not much different from the guarding senior brother; they are likely also late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators."

Then, his gaze swept around. On the distant mountainsides, he also saw two more octagonal pavilions, where the silhouettes of people sitting cross-legged could be faintly seen.

"As expected, there are senior brothers on duty in all four directions: East, South, West, and North!"

The canyon was approximately a thousand feet square. Within the valley, wooden houses of uniform size were built and arranged in an orderly fashion, with only a few pavilions scattered about, which were likely the important locations within the canyon.

At this time, the canyon was quite quiet. Occasionally, two or three cultivators could be seen. It seemed most of the fellow disciples had gone down into the mine to dig for spirit stones!

While observing his surroundings, Cheng Buzheng closely followed the guarding senior brother.

Before long, the guarding senior brother led him to a wooden house, which was different from the others.

Throughout the entire canyon, there were only pavilions and wooden houses, and all the wooden houses were identical in shape and size.

The guarding senior brother turned to look at Cheng Buzheng and said calmly, "This wooden house is yours to use. Usually, when you are mining in the shafts, you won't need this room, but every month you have two days of rest. During those two days, you don't have to go into the mine, and you can stay here. You can also choose not to rest for a year in exchange for twelve days of rest. During your rest period, you may leave the valley, but no matter where you go, you must return within the specified time. Additionally, storage bags are not allowed inside the mine shafts. You will leave your storage bag in the Custody Pavilion. There are fellow disciples on duty there, and no one will steal your private belongings; if anything is lost, you can ask a senior uncle to mediate. In a moment, I will give you the mining equipment and the spirit stone mine regulations!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guarding senior brother turned and left, walking toward a pavilion in the center of the canyon.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Buzheng expressed no opinion. Even if he had one, he would keep it to himself; anyway, he had nothing of value in his storage bag, the most valuable item being three bottles of Fasting Pills.

In less than fifteen minutes, the guarding senior brother returned.

He brushed his hand against the storage bag at his waist, and a mining pick, a back basket, and a jade slip floated into the air, drifting toward Cheng Buzheng.

Cheng Buzheng quickly put the items away and then cupped his hands. "Thank you, senior brother!"

"Enough... there is no need for that, it is merely my duty! I have given you the things; you decide for yourself when to go to the mine. The mission time begins from the moment you enter the mine shaft... Don't try to be clever. I have matters to attend to, so I'm leaving."

After saying this, the guarding senior brother drifted away.

Cheng Buzheng quietly watched the senior brother's retreating figure.