First Achievement

One month later.

Inside the secret chamber, Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged on the ground. He opened his clear black and white eyes, a glint flashing in them, and rose to his feet.

At once,

his bones and muscles crackled in unison, popping nonstop like firecrackers.

"My injuries have completely healed. Next, I need to find resources and continue cultivating, and replenish my Spiritual Power Value!"

As for the eight Spirit Stone Raw Ore storage sites, he could forget about them for the time being. The Mine Overlords weren't fools; they'd surely made preparations on every front.

He wasn't an idiot who'd keep banging his head against a wall without turning back. He'd wait a while, then go investigate again.

For now, there was no way he could reap any benefits from them.

Cheng Buzheng muttered to himself, "Now I can only rely on my own two hands!"

After more than a year, he had mapped out the underground workings of the Spirit Stone Mine. He knew every Rich Ore Deposit and every Barren Ore Deposit like the back of his hand.

He'd made these preparations for just this day, when he could no longer reap benefits from others. After all, he hadn't spent all that time in the Spirit Stone Mine Cave for nothing.

Before, he'd thought mining for Spirit Stone Raw Ore was too slow and troublesome, and that it interfered with his cultivation, so he'd ultimately abandoned the idea of mining for himself.

Things were different now. He had to rely on his own two hands.

Before long,

Cheng Buzheng reached a Mineral Point, the richest one he'd ever discovered.

It was in a remote location, three zhang underground, so no miner had ever found it.

He flipped his right hand, and the Purple Crystal Bracelet floated above his palm. Then he raised his right hand and forced open a space one zhang in size.

After putting away the Purple Crystal Bracelet, he stepped into the space he'd just opened.

Cheng Buzheng glanced at the surrounding rocks and saw that one wall was studded with Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

Only this rocky wall shimmered with irregular flashes of light. The other three walls were pitch-black.

Following the miners' example, he put his strength into his waist, then his shoulders, elbows, and wrists, before swinging the Mining Pick.

"Clang!"

A spray of sparks flashed.

The scene turned awkward at once. Fortunately, there was no audience.

Cheng Buzheng's face darkened. He swept his gaze around and muttered to himself,

"A dignified cultivator can't even dig without using magic power? Looks like it's true... This really is hard to mine. How much magic power could an Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator have?"

Then he poured a strand of magic power into the Mining Pick and swung it again, striking the Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

"Boom!"

With a tremendous crash, a large chunk of rock came loose, containing several pieces of Spirit Stone Raw Ore. He kept swinging the pick, gradually extracting all of them.

After some practice, Cheng Buzheng had learned how to use the least magic power to achieve the best results.

This was a Rich Ore Deposit, so unlike the other miners, he didn't need to dig around searching for Spirit Stone Raw Ore. He only had to keep his head down and swing his Mining Pick.

He kept at it for half a day, stopping only when more than half his magic power was spent. He put all the Spirit Stone Raw Ore into his basket and slung it over his back.

A flash of yellow light later, he vanished from the spot.

Back in the secret chamber, he emptied all the Spirit Mine from his basket into a corner.

Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged and beckoned a freshly mined piece of Spirit Stone Raw Ore into his hand. Holding it in his palm, he began to cultivate.

From then on, Cheng Buzheng spent each morning mining and each afternoon cultivating. He stored the remaining Spirit Stone Raw Ore in a corner of the secret chamber.

His days passed in this cycle. Apart from going to the entrance of the Mine Cave each month to hand in his monthly quota, he spent all his time cultivating in seclusion.

Even with ample cultivation resources, he sometimes felt restless and lonely.

Cheng Buzheng knew that if he wanted to continue along the path of cultivation, he had to learn to keep loneliness as his companion and solitude as his friend.

One day, after finishing his cultivation for the day, Cheng Buzheng headed for the Mineral Point.

Just as he was about to step into the space he'd opened, he thought that calling it a secret chamber was no longer quite right. What had once been a secret chamber only one zhang across had now become a network of long tunnels.

It was proof of all his hard work.

But now, another living creature had appeared in the tunnel, and he had to take it seriously.

Ever cautious by nature, he didn't show himself right away. With a thought, his aura, Spirit Power fluctuations, and Spirit Pressure vanished without a trace along with his figure.

He cautiously extended a sliver of Divine Sense and watched from afar.

If anything changed, he'd flee at once.

At the far end of the tunnel, an Earth Civet Beast two chi in size was digging at the Spirit Stone Raw Ore embedded in the rock wall with its cold, gleaming claws.

The creature looked something like a civet, though not quite. It resembled a wild fox, but had an extra bushy tail.

Its entire coat was black and gleamed faintly. Its four sharp claws dug firmly into the rock wall, and its pointed snout revealed a glimpse of its razor-sharp fangs. Its eyes glowed green.

Cheng Buzheng cautiously observed the Spirit Qi fluctuations emitted by the Earth Civet Beast. It was only a First-order Low-grade Demonic Beast, roughly equal in strength to an Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

He knew that Earth Civet Beasts were born with the Earth Escape Technique, so its appearance here didn't surprise him. But he hadn't expected a Demonic Beast to show up so suddenly.

Cheng Buzheng had been in the Mine Cave for over a year, and this was the first time he'd encountered a Demonic Beast. It seemed the rumors were true: Demonic Beasts really did roam the Mine Cave.

Still, he breathed a sigh of relief. The situation was still under his control.

If it had been a First-order Mid-grade Demonic Beast, he would have had no choice but to reluctantly abandon this place.

After all, this wasn't the only Mineral Point rich in resources. He had several others with plenty to offer.

Although this was the richest Mineral Point, he wasn't about to fight a Demonic Beast to the death without being absolutely sure of victory.

Demonic Beasts held grudges, too. If he couldn't kill it with a single, overwhelming strike, it might return with its whole family to cause trouble. Then he wouldn't be able to cultivate in peace.

Not only might he lose the fight, but he could also end up fleeing in a sorry state.

The Earth Civet Beast was wholly absorbed in mining the Spirit Stone Raw Ore, utterly unaware of the danger about to strike. It happily tossed the ore into its mouth and chewed away, wearing a satisfied expression.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng burrowed underground again and arrived one zhang beneath the Earth Civet Beast. It showed no sign of sensing anything and kept mining with single-minded focus.

Cheng Buzheng wasn't surprised. Everything was under control. He had the distance measured down to the last inch.

He flipped his right hand, and the Purple Crystal Bracelet floated above his palm.

With a thought,

a purple Rosy Cloud surged up from underground and spread out around the Earth Civet Beast. Then the Purple Crystal Bracelet swiftly broke through the rocky ground.

"Boom!"

The air exploded. Waves of force spread out from the Purple Crystal Bracelet, slamming into the tunnel walls.

The Purple Crystal Bracelet spun like mad, its frigid cutting light slicing through the solid air. Ripples spread around it as it rushed toward the Earth Civet Beast.

Just as the Earth Civet Beast sensed the Spirit Power fluctuations and tried to flee, a purple Rosy Cloud enveloped it, freezing it in place.

Its four legs relaxed as it was about to drop into the tunnel and use the Earth Escape Technique. At that moment, the Purple Crystal Bracelet glowed with a hazy purple light and shot toward it with a thunderous crash.

Suddenly, a dark Protective Spirit Light flashed into existence, wrapping around the Earth Civet Beast.

"Boom!"

The air exploded, and a wave of force slapped against the surrounding rock walls, shaking loose chunks of stone.

Inside the tunnel, the Purple Crystal Bracelet spun like a gear, furiously grinding against the dark sphere of light in front of it, as if it wouldn't stop until it had sliced it in half.

A moment later,

"Bang!"

The dark shield shattered. Flesh and blood went flying, and countless droplets of blood sprayed through the tunnel.

The Earth Civet Beast had been cleaved in two. A great deal of blood poured onto the ground and spread in every direction.