Spirit Stone Mine

Cheng Buzheng pushed open the wooden door. Inside the wooden hut, there was only a wooden bed and nothing else, not much different from the accommodations within the sect.

This was the way of cultivators; they never had much desire for external possessions.

Cultivators weren't devoid of desires. On the contrary, they possessed endless desires: alchemical pills to advance their cultivation, powerful treasures, and long lifespans.

Seated on the bed, Cheng Buzheng held a Jade Slip in his hand, examining it carefully.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

He finally put away the Jade Slip. The Jade Slip contained the Prohibitory Regulations for the Spirit Stone Mine. Essentially, it stipulated that one must not harm the sect's interests, such as privately hoarding Spirit Stones, leaking the mining output of the Spirit Stone Mine, and the requirement to hand over the monthly quota of Spirit Stones, or face a halved reward.

However, as long as one didn't openly carry Spirit Stones out, there wouldn't be any issues.

As for staying in the Spirit Stone Mine Cave and not mining Spirit Stones, but instead using Spirit Stones for cultivation, that was wishful thinking.

If the monthly Spirit Stone quota was not met, cultivators would immediately come to inspect. Moreover, there were Guard Senior Brothers patrolling the mine cave.

Cultivation required a calm mind and sufficient time to meditate, refine, and absorb the Spirit Energy from Spirit Stones.

These issues were not problems for him at all. His Earth Escape Technique had already reached the Perfection Realm, allowing him to move through Rock as if it were Mud, with exceptional smoothness.

At the same time, the Jade Slip clearly stated that certain daily-use Alchemical Pills, such as Bigu Pills and Shengji Pills, could be carried. However, Alchemical Pills for advancing cultivation were strictly prohibited.

Upon reading this, Cheng Buzheng finally felt completely at ease, as his greatest Wealth was, after all, the three bottles of Bigu Pills.

In a rather good mood, he took out a Mining Pick. This was a Magic Tool, and it was the first Magic Tool he had obtained. Although he would have to return it in the end, it didn't hinder his current sense of novelty.

This Mining Pick was a Special Magic Tool, entirely black, made primarily of Black Crystal Iron, mixed with various Auxiliary Materials.

Although the Mining Pick's grade was not high, being a Low-grade Special Magic Tool, its special characteristic was its extreme hardness, making it difficult to damage. It was a somewhat trashy kind of special.

As for the Back Basket, he had no interest in looking at it. It was just an ordinary Back Basket, only slightly more durable, woven from Spirit Bamboo.

After clearly understanding the Prohibitory Regulations of the Spirit Stone Mine, he didn't wait for a few more days to go to the mine cave. He planned to head to the mine cave early the next morning.

With these thoughts, Cheng Buzheng began his final Cultivation Night before mining.

As he started circulating the Crimson Fire Technique, following the Circulate Heavenly Energy, visible wisps of Spirit Energy gradually gathered around him.

With each complete cycle of Circulate Heavenly Energy, a large amount of Spirit Energy was drawn into his body.

This repeated, circulating through his body time and again.

The next day.

The Golden Crow rose, and the Jade Rabbit retreated.

A ray of sunlight pierced through the window, illuminating Cheng Buzheng's face. His eyelashes fluttered, and his clear black and white eyes suddenly opened.

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

A quarter of an hour later.

Cheng Buzheng arrived in front of a pavilion. He saw the words 'Storage Pavilion' carved on the plaque above the main entrance. Without hesitation, he walked into the hall.

The hall could accommodate dozens of cultivators without feeling crowded. Three walls were lined with huge grid cabinets.

Each grid cabinet was divided into countless small grids. The three walls looked like they were made up of countless small grids.

At this moment, only a few small grids were open, and they were empty.

Most of the small grids were covered by a layer of spirit light, making it impossible to see the items inside clearly.

The entire hall, apart from the dense small grids, was somewhat empty on the east side. Apart from a counter, there was nothing else on that side.

Behind the counter, a round-faced senior brother, dressed in the sect's grey robe, was half-reclining on a rocking chair, swaying back and forth with considerable ease. However, from the spirit pressure emanating from him, Cheng Buzheng knew that this senior brother had likely cultivated to the Peak Qi Refining Stage.

Because no cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage possessed such terrifying spirit pressure. This showed how much the sect valued this place.

Cheng Buzheng took two steps forward, stood in front of the counter, and called out softly:

"Senior Brother."

Hearing this.

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

He cupped his fists and said:

"Senior Brother, I am about to go down to the mine. Where can I store my storage bag?"

"No wonder, I haven't seen you before. You just arrived at the Spirit Stone Mine, didn't you!"

Cheng Buzheng said with some surprise:

"Senior Brother... How did you know?"

The round-faced senior brother smiled slightly and said:

"Because all the secret rings are distributed by me!"

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

Cheng Buzheng took the so-called secret ring and examined it carefully. This secret ring was composed of eight small spirit jade pieces and one large one, totaling nine spirit jade pieces, strung together by monster sinew.

The largest spirit jade piece was yin-carved with complex patterns. The patterns seemed quite similar to spirit patterns. In the center, the number '1520' was carved.

"Senior Brother, what is this?"

The Round-faced Senior Brother pointed to the dense small grids and said.

"Find the corresponding small grid on the Secret Ring, place the Storage Bag inside, then inject Magic Power into the Secret Ring, and it can be closed. Unless the Secret Ring can be opened, the only way is to forcibly destroy it."

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for clearing my doubts!"

"No need for that. Go on! I'll take another nap." With that, he closed his eyes and began to sway leisurely in the Rocking Chair.

After bidding farewell to the Senior Brother, he began to search for the small grid corresponding to '1520' on the Spirit Jade.

Not long after.

Cheng Buzheng found the '1520' small grid. He reached out and brushed his waist Storage Bag, and three porcelain bottles appeared in his hand. He poured all the Bigu Pills into a Long-necked Porcelain Bottle and then stored it close to his body.

Next, he took out his Back Basket and put it on his back. With his right hand holding the Mining Pick, he placed the Storage Bag from his waist into the '1520' small grid.

Then, he injected a trace of Magic Power into the Secret Ring. The Secret Ring emitted a faint light, and a beam of Spirit Light shot out from the complex Pattern, which seemed to be composed of Spirit Patterns, and wrapped around the '1520' small grid.

Suddenly.

A layer of Spirit Light appeared on the '1520' small grid, blocking his view. He could no longer see the items inside, just like the other small grids that were emitting a layer of Spirit Light.

Seeing that there were no problems, Cheng Buzheng put the Secret Ring on his wrist.

He subconsciously glanced at it, which reminded him of the bathing tokens from his previous life.

He sighed softly in his heart.

Then, suppressing his thoughts, he did not delay any further and headed directly towards the Spirit Mine Cave entrance, following the illustration in the Jade Slip.

As he walked, Cheng Buzheng occasionally saw several cultivators rushing towards the mine entrance.