Recuperation

Inside the secret chamber in the Spirit Stone Mine.

Cheng Buzheng returned to the secret chamber in a sorry state. His expression was grim, a trace of blood marked the corner of his mouth, and blood blossoms speckled his robe.

This time, he had been this close... Even now, thinking back on it sent a shiver of fear through him!

Fortunately, a year of honing his temperament had kept him from panicking at the crucial moment. Instead, he had faced the danger calmly.

Otherwise,

his ashes would already have been scattered to the winds. Clearly, tempering one's character was essential.

"I was careless this time. Sentiment overruled reason, and greed nearly got me killed~~

"Luckily, they didn't know about my trump cards. But if I fall into their trap next time, I'm afraid I won't escape."

Cheng Buzheng silently reflected. He knew that after a year of smooth sailing, he had grown less cautious than before.

This time, if he had carefully searched the Stone Cave with his Divine Sense, he would definitely have noticed something amiss. But he had only given it a cursory inspection and left it at that.

It also showed that his spell repertoire was still too limited. He lacked spells for searching and scouting.

That was why he had ended up so helpless, nearly killed.

He had known full well that there might be tremendous danger there, yet he still couldn't bear to give up that tempting prize and had taken the risk anyway. If it had been something essential to his Dao Path, taking that risk might have been justified.

As for Spirit Stone Raw Ore, so long as he followed his plans, he wouldn't be short of Spirit Stones. Why take an unnecessary risk now just to grab a windfall?

Besides, he had relied too heavily on the Earth Escape Technique. He had always assumed that no matter the situation, he could get away unscathed. But the Cultivation World was full of treasures, and there was always a way to counter him.

He had been lucky this time. They were all at the Qi Refining Mid-stage and couldn't get their hands on treasures that could counter him, but they had still managed to buy Earth Escape Talismans. Clearly, the Earth Escape Technique wasn't something he could rely on without fear.

He had grown far too sure of himself. He had to change his mindset.

Otherwise,

sooner or later, he would die because of his own arrogance.

This encounter had made him realize, more deeply than ever:

"In this dangerous Cultivation World, only by being 'steady,' constantly pushing myself to stay alert and constantly understanding my own limits can I avoid being weeded out by this perilous path of cultivation. Only then will the Great Cause of Longevity have any hope of success!"

Otherwise, sooner or later, someone would scatter his ashes to the winds.

Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged in the secret chamber, examining his injuries as he reflected on what had happened.

The blows to his internal organs had caused minor damage. It was nothing serious; a few days of recuperation would be enough.

But the damage to his meridians was a bigger problem. They would need at least a month to heal. In such an abundant environment of cultivation resources, having to stop for a full month to recover was a considerable loss.

He thought it over in silence.

"I have to move to a different secret chamber. They know I can use the Earth Escape Technique, so they'll surely guess that my Cave Mansion is underground.

"My current chamber is too close to the surface. It has to be at least thirty zhang underground, where the Divine Sense of cultivators at the Qi Refining Mid-stage will be greatly restricted and unable to search freely.

"Buying an Earth Escape Talisman costs two Spirit Stones, and it only lasts for a limited time. They probably won't keep searching for me indefinitely.

"But I still need to be careful. I must plan for the worst, and moving the secret chamber is essential.

"First, I need to restore my magic power to its peak. It's nearly depleted now; I used far too much today!"

With that thought,

Cheng Buzheng closed his eyes and began circulating the Starry Sky Technique along the Lesser Celestial Circuit through his meridians.

At once,

strands of Spirit Energy gathered rapidly around him, visible to the naked eye, forming a thin Spirit Energy Layer. With each cycle of the Lesser Celestial Circuit, he absorbed a great deal of Spirit Energy into his body.

As each Lesser Celestial Circuit ran its course again and again, Cheng Buzheng's magic power quickly recovered.

Half an hour later,

Cheng Buzheng opened his eyes and looked around the secret chamber. Then he rose to his feet and gave his magic power a slight surge. The bloodstains on his robe vanished in an instant.

He flicked his sleeve, sending the remaining Spirit Stone Raw Ore flying into his basket. Then he slung the basket over his back and gripped his Mining Pick.

With a thought,

a flash of yellow Spirit Light appeared, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from where he stood.

A flash of yellow Spirit Light sped underground through the rocky layers of the Spirit Stone Mine. The deeper it went, the greater the pressure from the earth, and the more rapidly his magic power drained away.

Before long,

the yellow Spirit Light appeared forty zhang underground.

Cheng Buzheng felt his magic power running low, so he stopped and thought to himself,

"Forty zhang deep should be safe enough!"

Then he flipped his right hand. The Purple Crystal Bracelet spun above his palm, and he raised his hand.

In the blink of an eye, the Purple Crystal Bracelet expanded to one zhang across.

Then it squeezed the surrounding earth, again and again.

A moment later,

a secret chamber one zhang across had taken shape.

For the next month,

Cheng Buzheng stayed peacefully in the secret chamber, recovering from his injuries. He didn't go out and stir up trouble again, but remained as quiet as a refined and gentle young man.

He was afraid he'd get himself killed if he went out while injured.

After all, being 'steady' had always been the guiding principle of his cultivation.

During this time, the Spirit Stone Mine Cave was abuzz with activity.

The miners, who usually kept their heads down and worked hard, weren't as diligent about mining as before. After all, a scoop this big was a rare sight.

"Have you heard about the reward offered by the Eight Mine Overlords? They're looking for a cultivator with a Magic Tool shaped like a small disc..."

"No! Who cares? As long as the reward's worth something!"

"Exactly. Then we'll have plenty of time to cultivate, and they'll even provide the share owed to the White Cloud Sect. We'll also get a good amount of Spirit Stone Raw Ore to cultivate with every month."

In the eight Branch Mine Tunnels, groups of two or three miners who knew one another chatted together. Every one of them wished they could be the one to find the wanted cultivator.

In one of the branch tunnels,

"Brother Zhang, are you interested in this reward?"

A burly man radiating the Spirit Pressure of the Third Level of Qi Refining turned to the Black-clothed Youth beside him.

"No... From what I've heard, those eight Qi Refining Mid-stage Mine Overseers joined forces to ambush him, and still couldn't capture him.

"That's enough to show he's no ordinary opponent.

"Though the Mine Overseers never saw what he looked like, his Magic Tool was clearly visible.

"Anyone could tell that Magic Tool was no ordinary item. I'm at the Third Level of Qi Refining too, and I'm not putting myself down, but I'm definitely no match for him.

"I don't have what it takes to escape unscathed after being ambushed by eight Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivators!

"I'd rather stay put and be a small mine overseer."

"What's the matter, Tieniu? You've got ideas of your own?" the Black-clothed Youth teased, turning to look at the burly middle-aged man.

The burly man was caught off guard. He hadn't expected the other fellow to be so blunt.

"I'm not interested. Anyone who is... might get the reward, but not live long enough to spend it!

"That Magic Tool drawn on the reward notice is clearly a deadly weapon. I'm not looking to get myself killed!"

Then the burly man shook his head, his interest gone, and fell silent.

The Black-clothed Youth glanced at him and said nothing more. As if by tacit agreement, neither of them brought up the subject again.