A Great Harvest

Yue Qianchou appeared inside the mine, listening carefully. It was very quiet all around. He put down the basket and pickaxe, put on the Mountain-Piercing Claws, and channeled True Qi into them. The gloves immediately merged with his palms, his ten claws dark and gleaming. He swung a claw at the cave wall, swish! rock fragments flew.

"Didn't they say these gloves could sense spiritual energy? Let's test them!" He placed both claws on the cave wall. As soon as he calmed his mind, he felt an urge from the gloves to pull him towards the left. Yue Qianchou's heart pounded. He could really feel spiritual energy! His hands moved according to the sensation from the gloves, stopping after moving three to four meters from his original position.

Although the distance moved wasn't far, it was completely different from the direction he had intended to dig. Right in front of him, he could clearly feel the Spirit Stones he wanted to mine. Yue Qianchou felt immense relief. If it weren't for these gloves, no matter how fast he dug, it would have been a futile effort.

"My treasure, here I come!" Yue Qianchou excitedly thought. His ten claws moved, attacking the stone wall with ferocity, swish, swish... There was no clinking sound, just like a sharp blade cutting through paper. The stone wall was no match, instantly ravaged and in disarray.

Before long, a several-meter-deep tunnel was dug. The sensation in front of him grew stronger, spurring Yue Qianchou onward.

When he swung a claw down and saw a section of crystal-clear white revealed amidst the wall's fluorescence, he couldn't help but cheer. He then quickly covered his mouth and chuckled, finally digging up Spirit Stones. Suddenly, he remembered his basket and pickaxe were still in the outer tunnel. He immediately crawled out, checked that no one was watching, and quickly grabbed his tools before retreating back into the cave.

He pried off the Spirit Stone and held it in his hand, examining it closely. It was the first time he had seen Spirit Stones so beautiful. Crystal clear, he found it adorable no matter how he looked at it. Unfortunately, it was only a low-grade Spirit Stone. Shaking his head, he tossed the Spirit Stone into his basket. Then, he slapped his head, as if remembering something. He picked up the pickaxe and the basket containing a single low-grade Spirit Stone and threw them directly into his spatial dimension.

"Keep working hard, maybe high-grade Spirit Stones are ahead." With this income, he became even more excited, tirelessly following the sensation from the Mountain-Piercing Claws. Before long, the Spirit Stones on the wall went from appearing one or two at a time to several appearing together. He happily tapped them into his spatial dimension with his finger. Although they were all low-grade, he accepted them all, not wasting any of his labor.

"Damn! A bonanza! One, two, three... nine, another ten low-grade ones." The ten low-grade Spirit Stones that appeared together vanished one by one as he counted them with his finger.

After digging nearly a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, a section of pure white crystal appeared before his eyes. This was exactly the same as the mid-grade Spirit Stones his Master had given him to use. Needless to say, the first mid-grade Spirit Stone was in his possession.

As he dug further, Yue Qianchou became more and more excited. The density of Spirit Stones increased. For every hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, he would find one mid-grade one. When he had dug nearly a hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones, he suddenly felt an unusual sensation from the Mountain-Piercing Claws.

"Could high-grade Spirit Stones be appearing?" After a brief pause, he immediately dug towards that direction with reckless abandon.

His correct judgment naturally did not disappoint him.

When a faint golden Spirit Stone appeared on the stone wall, Yue Qianchou carefully pried it loose. He took off the Mountain-Piercing Claws and held it in his hand, examining it closely. It was indeed a high-grade Spirit Stone. This was his first time seeing a high-grade Spirit Stone. He had heard about them from his Master; they were faint golden.

The faint golden Spirit Stone was as beautiful as amber, emitting a captivating luster under the illumination of the fluorescent stones. Yue Qianchou was mesmerized. Feeling the dense spiritual energy within the Spirit Stone in his hand, he desperately wanted to absorb it into his body in one go. However, he managed to control that impulse. Not for any other reason than for the increasingly abundant high-grade Spirit Stones. He swallowed his saliva and muttered, "You want me to hand over something this good? Hmph! I'd rather die!" The amber-like crystal disappeared from his hand.

The white fox within the golden bead confirmed his guess. Indeed, not long after Yue Qianchou disappeared, Spirit Stones began to fall from the sky, landing precisely in the courtyard until they piled up into a small mound. She merely shook her head. Those things held no allure for her. For someone who had reached the late Tribulation stage, they were at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, and Spirit Stones had little effect on her.

Yue Qianchou also discovered the pattern of mining Spirit Stones. Each time he dug in a certain direction, the first ones he found would be low-grade. For every hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, there would be a mid-grade one surrounded by them. And only after nearly a hundred such groups would a high-grade one appear.

Knowing this pattern, he was no longer interested in the low-grade Spirit Stones. They were a waste of time and not cost-effective. Digging directly for a high-grade one was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade ones. Only when it was convenient would he tap the mid-grade and low-grade ones he saw into his spatial dimension.

Calculating the time, about a day had passed. Excluding the wasted half-day, the remaining time was estimated to have yielded nearly a hundred high-grade Spirit Stones, several hundred mid-grade ones, and thousands of low-grade ones. His mood had changed from initial excitement to indifference. This was the psychological shift of transforming from a poor person to a rich one.

He probably didn't know that his income from this half-day was equivalent to the entire Spirit Stone mine's output for a day. This was naturally attributed to the credit of the fox clan's supreme treasure, the 'Mountain-Piercing Claws'.

For three consecutive days, he had almost been continuously digging. Unlike others who submitted their Spirit Stones once a day, the Spirit Stones in his hand were enough for him to submit for three days at once.

It was only at the end of the second day that he felt a bit hungry. After all, he hadn't reached the Core Formation stage where he could abstain from eating. He went into the golden bead and roasted a wild chicken to eat. Seeing the Spirit Stones piled up in almost half the courtyard, he smiled very happily, lamenting that his hard work had not been in vain.

However, the white fox warned him that if he dared to throw another Spirit Stone into the courtyard, she would take back the 'Mountain-Piercing Claws'. This threat was quite effective. All subsequent Spirit Stones were thrown by him into the woods outside the courtyard.

The three-day deadline arrived, and Yue Qianchou came out with a basket full of Spirit Stones. At the cave entrance, more than ten supervisors were checking the Spirit Stones for the miners. Standing in the back, he waited for a while before it was his turn.

As soon as he walked over, he heard someone say, "Let me take a look!" He looked up and saw Gao Shiping, his face full of rough flesh, grinning at him.

"Junior Brother Yue, I've been waiting for you to come out! How did the task go?" Gao Shiping said with a fake smile.

"This guy's attitude isn't very friendly!" Yue Qianchou unloaded his basket and placed it on the large table at the cave entrance, smiling and saying, "I wasn't quite used to it the first time, but luckily, I've managed to complete the task."

A pile of Spirit Stones was laid out on the table, shining brightly. A trace of greed flashed in Gao Shiping's eyes, quickly concealed. All of this was seen by Yue Qianchou, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, revealing a smile. The former waved his hand, and two supervisors came to count the Spirit Stones.

"Senior Brother Gao! I have something to ask you." Yue Qianchou made a gesture as if to invite him to speak closer.

Gao Shiping frowned, thinking, "You've gotten a little leeway, and you're already getting presumptuous. Calling you Junior Brother is just politeness on my part, and you actually dare to act like an equal? Haven't you inquired about this place?" Recalling the instructions from the two enforcement Senior Brothers, he couldn't afford to offend him too harshly. Perhaps one day, when the other returned to the Qingguang Sect and gained power, he might need to ask for favors. With a stern face, he walked to the side and said coldly, "What is it, Junior Brother Yue?"

"Junior Brother, as I'm new here, I'm afraid I might have done something improperly. If I've offended you in any way, please bear with me, Senior Brother." Yue Qianchou bowed to Gao Shiping, and a faint golden light inadvertently flashed in his hand. He glanced around, found no one paying attention, and as he lowered his hand, that faint golden light slipped into the latter's collar.

The alluring faint golden light was seen by Gao Shiping the moment Yue Qianchou raised his hand. He naturally recognized what it was. Before he could react, the item had already slipped inside his clothes.

Gao Shiping trembled, his hand subconsciously pressing on the thing at his abdomen. His eyes flickered as he stared at Yue Qianchou. The temptation of a high-grade Spirit Stone was too great; he was considering whether to accept it. As a cultivator at the Core Formation stage, he could only obtain twenty-five mid-grade Spirit Stones per month. One high-grade Spirit Stone could replace four months' worth! Although he was the overseer of the Spirit Stone mine, he had never dared to take even a single Spirit Stone from here. If he were discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable, especially with three Nascent Soul stage Elders guarding this place.

Gao Shiping lowered his voice and said, "Taking care of Junior Brother is only right. However, Junior Brother was sent by the Sect to do hard labor. If you fail to complete the task or do anything you shouldn't, I won't be able to help. After all, there are three Elders here, and some things are beyond my control."

He understood the meaning behind his words: he could offer help with some things, but not others. For example, failing to complete the task, or stealing or secretly absorbing Spirit Stones.

"Damn! You have the desire but not the guts!" Yue Qianchou rubbed his nose, patted Gao Shiping's hand on his abdomen, and smiled slightly, "Senior Brother, don't worry. I definitely won't do anything that would make things difficult for you. I just want to live a more comfortable life here. I believe this won't make things difficult for you!"

Gao Shiping was still a bit hesitant. The supervisor on the side called out, "Yue Qianchou, task completed, exceeding quota by five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. Come over for inspection."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother!" Yue Qianchou said softly and walked over. The supervisor shone a bronze mirror on him, and no abnormalities were found.

Gao Shiping, who had been watching the entire time, breathed a sigh of relief. He then shouted at the supervisor beside him, "Keep a closer eye!" After that, he walked over to Yue Qianchou and said with a smile, "Junior Brother, for your first mining trip to exceed five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, I've been here for so many years and this is the first time I've seen it. Truly admirable!" This was not just a polite remark. If you included the one high-grade Spirit Stone he had accepted, it would be equivalent to ten thousand five hundred low-grade ones, which was indeed unheard of for a newcomer.

"Luck, pure luck. I just happened to hit a good vein," Yue Qianchou said humbly. The two walked away talking and laughing, which made others somewhat incredulous. Gao Shiping had always been secretly called 'Gao the Butcher' here, and the number of miners he had killed was countless. When had anyone ever seen him treat a miner with such a good demeanor?

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