Chapter 28: Initial Exploration of Form

Before long.

Cheng Buzheng arrived at the entrance of the mine, where he found over a dozen people already queuing for inspection.

He joined the line in a proper manner, waiting quietly for his turn while observing how his senior brothers conducted the checks.

It was only then that he realized the inspection at the mine entrance was far more rigorous than he had imagined.

There were a full ten senior brothers stationed at the entrance, and every single one of them was a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

The leader was a rather burly, middle-aged-looking senior brother. The spiritual pressure radiating from him was similar to that of the round-faced senior brother from the "Storage Pavilion," suggesting he was likely at the peak of Qi Refinement.

From this, it was evident that the defense was tight and the sect placed great importance on this location.

The first layer of inspection—using divine sense—was conducted by this leader. Under the scrutiny of a peak Qi Refinement cultivator's divine sense, any small tricks or hidden items simply could not remain concealed.

The second layer of inspection was conducted by a small-eyed senior brother sitting in a chair. A table sat before him, as he was specifically responsible for inspecting carried items.

The first and second inspections were conducted almost simultaneously.

The third layer of inspection was handled by a crimson-gold rat known as a "Spirit-Seeking Rat." This spirit rat was about a foot long and appeared as if it were forged from crimson gold, which was how it gained its fame. Its most formidable feature was its nose; it could detect even the slightest trace of spiritual energy.

The third inspection was enough to extinguish the dreams of overnight wealth for almost any cultivator attempting to use trickery.

Because the inspection was so meticulous, the queue moved slowly, but it was steadily progressing.

Two quarters of an hour later.

Cheng Buzheng saw the person in front of him finish the inspection and head toward the mine entrance.

He stepped forward two paces and, following the procedure, placed the porcelain vial from his bosom onto the table. He then removed his secret ring and placed it on the side of the table, before setting his basket and the mining pick in his hand on the ground.

Then, he walked up to the leading senior brother, cupped his fists, and said

"Senior Brother, I am ready for inspection!"

The burly leader gave a slight nod. Immediately, Cheng Buzheng felt as if he had been stripped naked, standing exposed under the sunlight.

In the blink of an eye, that sense of shame vanished, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

The leading senior brother said indifferently

"Alright, proceed to the next inspection."

After taking his leave, as Cheng Buzheng walked toward the third inspection, he couldn't help but glance toward the senior brother inspecting the items, as his belongings were still there.

He saw the small-eyed senior brother open the porcelain vial, seemingly inspecting it with divine sense before replacing the lid and setting it aside. He then proceeded to inspect the secret ring, the basket, and the mining pick.

However, he spent a significant amount of time on each item, unlike the brief check for medicinal pills. After all, there was much more room for tampering with these objects, necessitating the senior brother's extreme caution.

Cheng Buzheng withdrew his gaze and arrived at the third level of inspection.

The person in charge of the third inspection was a slender young senior brother. He was currently holding a dharma treasure that resembled a compass, and at his feet was a crimson-gold rat—the Spirit-Seeking Rat.

The young senior brother exchanged a few words with the compass and the rat, took out a spiritual fruit, placed it before the rat, and then reached out to stroke it.

The Spirit-Seeking Rat ignored him, busily chewing on the spiritual fruit in its mouth.

Cheng Buzheng glanced at the compass in the slender senior brother's hand and thought to himself

"That must be a Beast-Control Compass! A spirit beast controlled by such a treasure not only has its life held in the hands of the compass owner, but one can also communicate with the beast. It is quite miraculous!"

He stepped forward and said to the young senior brother

"Sorry to trouble you, Senior Brother!"

Without even looking at him, the young senior brother replied

"Wait a moment..."

A short while later.

Having finished the spiritual fruit, the Spirit-Seeking Rat trotted over slowly, circled Cheng Buzheng once, and then ran back to the young senior brother.

"Squeak, squeak..." it chirped incessantly.

After listening, the young senior brother holding the compass crouched down to pet the rat for a while. He then stood up and glanced at Cheng Buzheng.

"Fine... no problems!"

Following this, Cheng Buzheng retrieved his belongings, put on his secret ring, shouldered his basket, gripped his mining pick, and walked toward a cave entrance that was two zhang high and one zhang wide, shaped like an arched gate.

Carrying his large basket and holding his pick, he walked down the main mine road. In the pitch-black mine, an ordinary person would certainly be unable to proceed.

But as a Qi Refinement cultivator, even if he could not see his own hand in front of his face, the darkness appeared as bright as day to his eyes.

For a cultivator, this was merely a trivial ability, which served as a testament to how formidable they truly were.

Following the main road, Cheng Buzheng walked down for several hundred zhang before he heard the "clink, clink..." sounds. He knew this was the sound made by the disciples of the White Cloud Sect while mining.

At this point, the main road reached its end, revealing eight different forks. Without hesitation, Cheng Buzheng chose the seventh fork from the left. This number had been his favorite in both his past and present lives.

He did not delay and walked straight inside. A moment later.

Cheng Buzheng saw several cultivators covered in stone dust walking toward him. Among them were two haggard middle-aged cultivators and one thin, elderly man. They walked with their heads bowed, carrying baskets full of irregular spiritual ore. He stepped aside to clear the path.

The three cultivators said nothing and did not look up, passing him directly as if they hadn't noticed him at all.

As Cheng Buzheng continued inward, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. He carefully sensed the spiritual pressure of these three cultivators; their cultivation levels were similar to his, both at the first or second layer of Qi Refinement.

But the anomaly lay in their appearances. Both middle-aged cultivators were at the first layer of Qi Refinement. Based on the sect's age progression, these two should have been from the previous batch of disciples, meaning their cultivation should have been at least at the middle stage of Qi Refinement. He had never heard of any disciple from the previous batch failing to break through to the middle stage.

Not to mention the elderly man; it was unknown which generation he belonged to, but his cultivation should have been at least at the late stage of Qi Refinement.

Frowning, Cheng Buzheng watched the cultivators exit the fork. He was momentarily stunned before continuing inward, feeling somewhat confused.

Unless these cultivators were not members of the White Cloud Sect. Considering how difficult the tasks here were, almost no one accepted these mining missions; if that were the case, the identity of these cultivators was self-evident.

However, for him, this was a good thing.

Shortly after, Cheng Buzheng saw several burly men in the early stages of Qi Refinement mining.

The "clink, clink..." sounds echoed through the mine.

Along the way, he encountered several more mining cultivators, all of whom, like the ones he had met earlier, were at the early stage of Qi Refinement.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng felt completely at ease. He estimated that most of the miners in the cave were in the early stages of Qi Refinement, and there were likely very few at the middle stage.

After all, mining alongside middle-stage or late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators felt entirely different from mining with those at the same early stage as oneself.

Ultimately, his own safety was greatly assured.