The Fisherman Reaps the Rewards

Tian Ming hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

"Fifth Elder, then tell me... shouldn't we have provoked this man surnamed Shen, only to invite trouble for nothing?"

Tian Chengye's eyes widened.

"The Wang Household is untouchable because Wang Household 're weak. How can my Tian Household be compared to them?"

"We are Golden Core Lineage."

Tian Zheng's eyes darted around.

"Fifth Elder, don't you think that with the Wang Household wiped out, this place is now without a master?"

"With such abundant Spiritual Qi on the mountain, shouldn't there be a Spirit Vein buried beneath it?"

Tian Chengye was taken aback, then slapped his thigh.

"Hey kid, you're really quick-witted! I was so focused on catching that guy surnamed Shen that I forgot about this."

"Yes, there must be Spirit Vein in this mountain. Let's dig it out!"

"That man surnamed Shen only has a broken Spirit Vein in his possession; what's buried underneath must be a whole one!"

Tian Ming was stunned.

"But... how do we dig out this Spirit Vein?"

Tian Chengye put his hands behind his back, looking confident.

"How you dig is none of your business."

Tian Chengye acted immediately, making the decision on the spot.

"Let's get started now. We came here specifically to find a Spirit Vein; if we find another one, the ancestor will surely be pleased."

"You two follow me and perform this service for the Lineage. When we return, I will recommend you for commendation, and each of you will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill —it's a done deal."

Upon hearing this, Tian Zheng and Tian Ming beamed with joy.

"Then thank you in advance, Fifth Elder. We'll follow your instructions."

Tian Chengye made the arrangements.

"Tian Ming, you stay here and keep watch on that man surnamed Shen. Don't let anyone near him. Tian Zheng, you stay with me."

He closed his eyes, pushed his Divine Sense to its maximum, and probed the ground repeatedly before finally landing on an open space.

"Dig from here."

Tian Chengye then instructed, "I'll dig down below; you take away the soil and rocks I dig up."

He drew his Movement Method sword, channeled his Spiritual Power, and the sword light entered the earth.

The sword tip sliced through the air like tofu, sending large swaths of earth and rocks flying upwards.

The methods of Foundation Establishment cultivators are indeed extraordinary.

Tian Zheng dared not delay. He collected all the excavated soil and stones, put them into his Ring, and then flew away on his sword to dump them, repeating this process back and forth.

After digging to a depth of fifty zhang, Tian Chengye sheathed his sword and took a breather.

He took out a pill and swallowed it to replenish his Spiritual Power, then continued digging.

The deeper you go, the harder the soil and rocks become, making it increasingly difficult to transport them up.

It took another hour or so, and the pit was over a hundred feet deep.

Tian Chengye lit up with joy; they had arrived at their destination.

A faint Spiritual Qi seeped out from the bottom of the pit, growing stronger the further one went.

He stopped digging straight down and started digging horizontally, using very light pressure in his hands, as if afraid of damaging something.

Tian Zheng followed behind, glancing at the faint light ahead, and couldn't help but ask.

"Fifth Elder, this is such a large Spirit Vein, how... how can we possibly bring it back?"

Tian Chengye laughed and cursed.

"Idiot. Who told you to bring the whole thing?"

"We'll just take the core part, also called the Spirit Marrow, and store it in the Ring."

"That Spirit Marrow is only about ten feet long; it's the foundation of the entire vein."

"How big do you think this entire vein is? It's anywhere from a dozen or so miles long to tens or even hundreds of miles long. Who could move it?"

"Take this Spirit Marrow back and bury it in the Lineage's grounds. Before long, it will grow into a new vein. This is what was sold at the last auction."

Tian Zheng suddenly realized.

Tian Chengye held his breath and carefully peeled away the rock layers around the Spirit Marrow, completely removing the core.

He held it in both hands, carefully, and put it into the Ring.

Having accomplished his task, he leaped upwards and landed at the edge of the pit. Tian Zheng followed, and Tian Ming also came closer.

Tian Chengye said to them.

"Your fortuitous opportunity lies ahead."

"Right next to the Spirit Marrow, where Spiritual Qi energy has been nurtured for years, those are all high-grade and Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Hurry up and dig them up."

"Further outwards, in more distant areas, the Spiritual Qi is thinner, and the Low-Grade Spirit Stone; don't miss those either."

"I'll take a break and keep watch. Tian Ming, you and Tian Zheng go down and dig. We're going to be busy this time."

Tian Chengye had made up his mind. "I'll take charge of this matter. The extracted Spirit Marrow will be handed over to the Lineage."

"You don't need the high-grade and Mid-Grade Spirit Stones right now, so they're all mine."

"You two can split the Low-Grade Spirit Stones yourselves; consider it your hard-earned money."

Tian Zheng and Tian Ming exchanged a glance, overjoyed, and readily agreed.

Tian Chengye's expression turned serious, and he lowered his voice.

"Just one thing, all of you shut your mouths."

"You are not allowed to utter a single word about what happened today. Otherwise, even if you get the goods, you'll have the life to earn them but not the life to enjoy them. Do you understand?"

The two men felt a chill run down their spines and nodded in unison.

"Fifth Elder, rest assured, we know what's important."

After saying that, the three of them went their separate ways.

The Spirit Stones in this underground mine are not the regular-shaped ones found on the market, but rather large pieces embedded in the rock strata, each with a different shape.

First, the large chunks of raw ore must be extracted, then cut and polished to make uniform, standard Spirit Stones before they can be counted and sold.

During cutting and polishing, those that are not of good quality or contain impurities are picked out as defective products.

The fragments and powder that come off during polishing are called Spirit Sand when fine and Spirit Bead when small.

Although Spirit Sand and Spirit Bead Spiritual Qi, they can still be used for drawing talismans, refining artifacts, feeding spirit beasts, and for small-amount payments.

Tian Zheng and Tian Ming used their swords to pry off large pieces of Spirit Stones one by one and put them into their Rings.

After digging through the inner circle, they found a large area of low-grade ore outside. Their Rings weren't very big to begin with, and they were filled up in less than half a day.

They had no choice but to fly up on their swords, dump the Spirit Stones from their Rings into the room, leap into the air, and then turn around and go back down into the pit.

Despite the exhaustion from all the back and forth, the two of them worked with great enthusiasm and didn't slack off at all.

When his Spiritual Power ran out, he took out a Qi Recovery Pill, put it in his mouth, circulated it twice on the spot to recover, and then continued digging.

Shen Jingchuan and Xian'er could clearly see the Tian Household digging for Spirit Stones underground.

A day later, Shen Jingchuan woke up from his cultivation and probed the light sphere in mid-air with his Divine Sense. Everything had been upgraded, and he took it all out.

Elixirs, spiritual herbs, and magical Law Artifacts —a dazzling array, piled up in a huge heap.

Shen Jingchuan searched for a while and picked out the Geng Metal Mountain-Slaying Talisman.

Looking at the talisman again, the original gold edges had turned silver-white, and its spiritual light had become more restrained.

As soon as the fingertips approached, a faint stinging sensation was felt on the skin, and the sharpness was more than twice as intense as before.

Xian'er leaned closer to take a look and nodded in satisfaction.

"It's done. This is now a second-tier, high-grade Geng Metal Mountain-Slaying Talisman."

"This attack is almost equivalent to the full-force attack of Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator. Tian Chengye is only at the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer; he's in for a rough time."

"If used accurately, a single strike can kill him."

Shen Jingchuan's eyes lit up as he carefully put the talisman away.

"Sister Xian'er, I've figured out what to do."

"Let them dig for now, no rush. Once they've all cleaned up, I'll reap the benefits. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He shook his head, looking smug.

Xian'er rolled her eyes at him.

"You little rascal, you're really naughty."