First Look at the Situation

Before long.

Cheng Buzheng arrived at the mine cave entrance and found more than a dozen people already queuing for inspection.

He joined the line in a practiced manner, quietly waiting for his turn and observing how the senior brothers conducted the inspections.

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

There were a full ten senior brothers stationed at the entrance, and each of them was a cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage.

The leading senior brother was quite burly and appeared to be middle-aged. He exuded a Spirit Pressure comparable to the Round-faced Senior Brother from the Storage Pavilion, likely also a cultivator at the Peak Qi Refining Stage.

This demonstrated tight security and the sect's emphasis on the matter.

The first inspection was conducted by this leading senior brother using his Divine Sense. Under the scrutiny of a Peak Qi Refining Stage cultivator's Divine Sense, any minor tricks were impossible to conceal.

The second inspection was handled by the Small-eyed Senior Brother, who sat behind a table. He was specifically responsible for checking the items being carried.

The first and second inspections were carried out almost simultaneously.

The third inspection was performed by a crimson-gold rat, a Spirit-Seeking Mouse. This spirit mouse was about a foot long and appeared to be forged from pure crimson gold, hence its name. Its most formidable asset was its nose, capable of detecting even the slightest trace of Spirit Energy.

This third inspection effectively extinguished the dreams of overnight riches for any cultivator attempting to play tricks.

Due to the meticulous nature of the inspections, the queue did not move quickly, but it did advance steadily.

Two quarters of an hour later.

Cheng Buzheng saw that the person in front of him had completed their inspection and was walking towards the mine cave entrance.

He stepped forward and, following the procedure, placed the porcelain bottle from his embrace onto the table. He then removed his Secret Ring and placed it alongside the bottle, and set his Back Basket and Mining Pick on the ground.

Afterward, he approached the leading senior brother, cupped his fists, and said:

"Senior Brother, I am ready. You may proceed with the inspection!"

The burly leading senior brother nodded. Cheng Buzheng then felt as if he had been stripped bare, standing naked under the sun.

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

The leading senior brother said calmly:

"Alright, proceed to the next inspection."

After taking his leave, Cheng Buzheng headed towards the third inspection. He couldn't help but cast a glance at the senior brother inspecting items, as his belongings were there.

He saw the Small-eyed Senior Brother open the lid of the porcelain bottle, seemingly inspecting it with his Divine Sense before closing it and setting it aside. He then proceeded to inspect the Secret Ring, Back Basket, and Mining Pick.

However, the time spent inspecting each item was considerable, unlike the quick check of the Alchemical Pill. After all, there was ample room for tampering with these items, necessitating the senior brother's utmost caution and diligence.

Cheng Buzheng withdrew his gaze and came to the third level for inspection.

The one responsible for the third check was a thin young senior brother. At this time, he was holding a compass-like magic tool, and at his feet was a rat that was crimson gold all over, which was precisely the 'Spirit-Seeking Mouse'.

The young senior brother communicated with the Spirit-Seeking Mouse using the compass, then took out a spirit fruit and placed it in front of the mouse, before reaching out to pet it.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse ignored him and was quickly chewing the spirit fruit in its mouth.

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

"This must be the Beast Control Compass! The spirit beasts controlled by this magic tool not only have their lives in the hands of the compass owner, but can also communicate with the spirit beasts. It's quite magical!"

He took two steps forward and said to the young senior brother:

"Excuse me, Senior Brother!"

The young senior brother, without even looking at him, said:

"Wait a moment."

Not long after.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse, having finished its spirit fruit, slowly ran over, circled Cheng Buzheng once, and then trotted back to the young senior brother.

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

The young senior brother holding the compass listened, then squatted down, petted the Spirit-Seeking Mouse for a while, and then stood up, looking at Cheng Buzheng.

"Alright. No problem!"

Next, Cheng Buzheng retrieved the items for inspection, put on the Secret Ring, slung the Back Basket over his shoulders, and holding the Mining Pick, walked towards a cave entrance that was two zhang high and one zhang wide, resembling an arched gateway.

With the large Back Basket on his back and the Mining Pick in his hand, he walked down the main path of the mine cave. In the pitch-black mine, ordinary people would surely be unable to proceed.

But as a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, even if he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, the night was still as bright as day in his eyes.

To cultivators, this was merely a trivial ability, which showed how terrifying cultivators could be.

Along the main path, Cheng Buzheng walked down for several hundred zhang before he heard the sound of "ding-dong, ding-dong...". He knew this was the sound made by White Cloud Sect disciples mining.

At this moment, the main path of the mine cave had reached its end. He saw as many as eight forks. Cheng Buzheng did not hesitate and chose the seventh fork from the left, counting from the right. This number, whether in his past life or this life, was his favorite number.

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

Cheng Buzheng saw three cultivators covered in stone powder. Two of them were middle-aged cultivators with haggard faces, and the third was a thin old man. They lowered their heads, carrying full baskets of irregular Raw Spirit Stones, and walked towards him. He moved to the side, clearing the path.

The three cultivators passed by without a word or looking up, as if they hadn't noticed him.

As Cheng Buzheng continued walking inside, he suddenly felt something was amiss. It was then that he carefully sensed the spirit pressure of these cultivators. The cultivation of the three cultivators was similar to his own, all at the first or second level of Qi Refining.

But what felt wrong was their appearances. The two Middle-aged Cultivators were both at Qi Refining Level 1. Based on the age calculations within the sect, these two should have been from the previous batch of disciples, with cultivation at least at the Qi Refining Mid-stage. He hadn't heard of any disciple from the previous batch who hadn't broken through to the Qi Refining Mid-stage.

Not to mention the Old Man, who was likely several generations older, his cultivation should have been at least at the Late Qi Refining Stage.

Cheng Buzheng, frowning, watched the cultivators walk out of the intersection. He was slightly stunned, then continued to walk inside. He was a bit confused.

Unless these cultivators weren't from the White Cloud Sect. Considering the difficulty of the missions here, almost no one accepted these mining tasks. Then the identities of these cultivators were self-evident.

However, for him, this was a good thing.

Not long after, Cheng Buzheng saw several Big Men at the Early Qi Refining Stage mining.

"Clang, clang..." the sounds echoed in the Mine Cave.

Along the way, he saw several mining cultivators. These cultivators, like the ones he encountered earlier, were all at the Early Qi Refining Stage.

Seeing this.

Cheng Buzheng completely relaxed. He estimated that those mining in the Mine Cave were all at the Early Qi Refining Stage, and even if there were any Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivators, there wouldn't be many.

After all, mining alongside Qi Refining Mid-stage and Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators felt completely different from mining with cultivators of the same Early Qi Refining Stage cultivation.

This was because his own safety was greatly guaranteed.