Chapter 27: Spirit Stone Vein

Cheng Buzheng pushed open the wooden door. Inside the wooden hut, there was nothing but a single wooden bed, making it no different from the standard lodgings within the sect.

This was also the nature of cultivators; they generally harbored little desire for external material possessions.

It was not that cultivators lacked desire; on the contrary, they possessed endless cravings: pills to advance their cultivation, powerful treasures, and long-lasting longevity.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Cheng Buzheng held a jade slip in his hand, examining it meticulously.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he finally put the jade slip away. The slip recorded the prohibitions and regulations of the spirit stone mine. In essence, one must not harm the interests of the sect—such as by privately hoarding spirit stones or leaking the mining quantities within the mine. Furthermore, the monthly quota of spirit stones must be met in full; otherwise, rewards would be halved, and so on.

However, as long as one did not brazenly carry spirit stones out, there would be no issues.

As for those who thought they could avoid mining spirit stones in the mine to focus solely on using spirit stones for cultivation, they were dreaming.

If the monthly quota of spirit stones was insufficient, cultivators would be sent immediately to inspect, and there were senior brothers acting as guards patrolling the mine shafts.

Cultivation required a calm and composed mind, as well as sufficient time to sit in meditation to refine and absorb the spiritual energy within the spirit stones.

These issues were not problems for him at all. His Earth Escape Technique had already been cultivated to the stage of perfection; rocks felt as smooth and easy to traverse as mud.

At the same time, the jade slip explicitly stated that one could carry a few types of daily-use pills, such as Inedia Pills and Flesh-Regenerating Pills... but pills used to advance one's cultivation were strictly forbidden.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng finally felt completely at ease. After all, his greatest wealth consisted of three bottles of Inedia Pills.

In a pleasant mood, he took out a pickaxe. This was a dharma tool, and the first one he had ever obtained. Although he would eventually have to return it, it did not stop him from satisfying his current curiosity.

This pickaxe was a special dharma tool, entirely black and forged primarily from black crystal iron mixed with various auxiliary materials.

Although the pickaxe was of low grade—a low-tier special dharma tool—its specialty lay in its sufficient hardness, ensuring it would not be easily damaged, even if its specialty was somewhat mediocre.

As for the basket, he had no interest in looking at it. It was merely an ordinary basket, just slightly more durable, woven from spiritual bamboo.

Having understood the regulations of the spirit stone mine, he decided not to wait several days before heading to the mine; he planned to go early tomorrow morning.

With these thoughts concluded, Cheng Buzheng began his final night of cultivation before mining.

As he began to circulate the Crimson Fire Technique, following the celestial cycles, wisps of spiritual energy could be seen gathering around him bit by bit.

With every completed cycle, a vast amount of spiritual energy was drawn into his body.

The process repeated, cycle after cycle, following the celestial path.

***

The next day.

The Golden Crow rose and the Jade Rabbit retreated.

A ray of sunlight filtered through the window, shining onto Cheng Buzheng's face. His eyelashes flickered slightly, and his clear, dark eyes suddenly snapped open.

He pushed open the door, glanced back at his wooden hut, and then followed an illustration in the jade slip toward the Storage Pavilion.

A quarter of an hour later, Cheng Buzheng arrived before a pavilion. He saw three large characters carved on the plaque above the main door: "Storage Pavilion." Without hesitation, he walked into the hall.

The hall was large enough to accommodate dozens of cultivators without feeling crowded. Three walls were lined with massive grid cabinets.

Each cabinet was divided into countless small cubicles, making the three walls appear as if they were composed of endless tiny compartments.

At this moment, only a few cubicles were open, and they were empty. Most of the cubicles were obscured by a layer of spiritual light, making it impossible to see the items inside.

Aside from the dense grid of cubicles, only the eastern side of the hall appeared somewhat empty, containing nothing but a single counter.

Behind the counter sat a round-faced senior brother wearing the sect's grey robes. He was currently half-reclining in a rocking chair, swaying leisurely. However, from the spiritual pressure emanating from him, Cheng Buzheng knew this senior brother had likely reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage.

No cultivator in the late stages of Qi Refining possessed spiritual pressure as terrifying as his. This was a testament to how much the sect valued this location.

Cheng Buzheng took two steps forward, stood before the counter, and called out softly

"Senior Brother..."

Hearing this, the round-faced senior brother on the rocking chair opened his eyes. After glancing at Cheng Buzheng's attire, he said indifferently, "So it's Junior Brother! What is it?"

Cheng Buzheng cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother... I am about to head down to the mine. Where should I place my storage bag?"

"No wonder I haven't seen you. You've only just arrived at the spirit stone mine, haven't you?"

Cheng Buzheng said with surprise, "Senior Brother... how did you know?"

The round-faced senior brother smiled slightly. "Because all the secret rings are issued by me!"

As he spoke, he took a secret ring from behind the counter and handed it to him.

Cheng Buzheng took the so-called secret ring and examined it closely. The ring consisted of eight small pieces and one large piece of spiritual jade, totaling nine pieces, strung together by demon beast tendons.

On the largest piece of spiritual jade, complex patterns were incised. The patterns looked somewhat like spiritual runes, and in the very center, the number "1520" was carved.

"Senior Brother, this is...?"

The round-faced senior brother pointed toward the dense grid of cubicles.

"Find the corresponding cubicle for the number on the secret ring, place your storage bag inside, and then inject your dharma power into the ring to close it. Aside from using the ring to open it, the only other way is through forced destruction."

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for clarifying!"

"No need for such formalities. Go on! I'm going to nap for a bit longer." With that, he closed his eyes and began to rock leisurely in his chair.

After taking his leave, Cheng Buzheng searched for the cubicle corresponding to "1520" on the spiritual jade.

Before long, Cheng Buzheng found the "1520" cubicle. He reached for the storage bag at his waist, and three porcelain bottles appeared in his hand. He poured all the Inedia Pills into one long-necked porcelain bottle and tucked it close to his body.

Next, he took out the basket, put it on his back, gripped the pickaxe in his right hand, and placed the storage bag into the "1520" cubicle.

He then injected a sliver of dharma power into the secret ring. The ring emitted a faint glow, and a streak of spiritual light shot out from the complex patterns resembling spiritual runes, wrapping around the "1520" cubicle.

Suddenly, a layer of spiritual light appeared over the "1520" cubicle, obscuring his vision. He could no longer see the contents inside, making it look exactly like the other cubicles shrouded in spiritual light.

Seeing that there were no issues, Cheng Buzheng slipped the secret ring onto his wrist.

He instinctively glanced at it, which reminded him of the "shower wristbands" from his previous life.

He let out a faint, silent sigh in his heart.

Suppressing his thoughts, he did not delay further and headed straight toward the mine entrance following the illustration in the jade slip.

As he walked along the road, Cheng Buzheng occasionally saw several cultivators rushing quickly toward the mine entrance.