Arrival

Chu Zheng slowly pulled back his technique, opened his eyes, and stood up. "Is the task settled?"

"Almost."

Fu Quanliang nodded slightly, not mentioning the task much more, and turned around. "Follow me, the handyman registration has already begun."

This time, the recruitment of handymen by the Phantom Spirit Sect caused quite a stir within Phantom Spirit City. The last time they recruited on such a large scale was a very long time ago.

When the two of them arrived at the registration site, the sky had already grown pitch black. Above the square, lamps were brightly lit, crowding out a shred of the night, and the din of voices at their ears was a chaotic roar.

This handyman recruitment was named after the Phantom Spirit Sect, but in reality, it was recruited by the Han Family.

This Han Family held a prominent and blazing power within the Phantom Spirit Sect. Their ancestor was a grand elder of the Phantom Spirit Sect, whose cultivation had reached the Late Nascent Soul Stage, and there was the possibility of advancing even further. This was the foundation of the Han Family for ten thousand generations.

Regarding the purpose of recruiting handymen on this trip, the Han Family did not conceal it, directly stating that they were going to mine. However, they concealed the existence of that Ancient Battlefield, likely fearing it would startle these martial masters.

Compared to other work, mining itself carried a relatively high risk, and if there were furthermore bizarre and strange events, it would be even more dangerous and would scare off quite a few people.

The selection of handymen was very simple and intuitive, without any complicated operations. Three bronze cauldrons were placed in the square, weighing five thousand catties, eight thousand catties, and ten thousand catties respectively.

Those who could lift the five thousand catties one received two hundred spirit coins and five Qi Augmentation Pills per month.

Those who could lift the seven thousand catties one received four hundred spirit coins and ten Qi Augmentation Pills.

For lifting the ten-thousand-catty cauldron with sheer strength, one thousand spirit coins and thirty Qi Augmentation Pills.

These were only the basics; the person with the most mining contributions each month would also receive twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones as a reward.

For most martial masters who toiled for an entire year and could only earn two to three hundred spirit coins, this errand was already a rare and lucrative gig.

The Qi Augmentation Pill was specially developed for these martial masters by an alchemist of the Phantom Spirit Sect.

A single Qi Augmentation Pill could save these martial masters nearly a year of bitter toil.

However, human strength had its limits. When internal energy grew to a certain degree of fullness, it would naturally stagnate.

For those martial masters who had already reached the realm of perfection, the effect of the Qi Augmentation Pill could only be to keep their cultivation from regressing, or to more quickly recover their own depleted internal energy.

In other words, in a shorter amount of time, they could do more work.

Chu Zheng observed from the side for a moment and found that not many people could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron—one in a hundred—and most martial masters chose the five-thousand-catty or seven-thousand-catty cauldrons.

Those who could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron were basically middle-aged martial masters right in their prime.

In the blink of an eye, it was soon Chu Zheng's turn.

Even if that ten-thousand-catty cauldron were ten times heavier, to the present Chu Zheng, it was nothing much. But now, it was clearly not the time to be too conspicuous.

He walked into the square, weighed things slightly for a moment, and took a middle path by choosing the seven-thousand-catty cauldron. When he lifted it, Qi surged through his entire body, his complexion turned slightly flushed, and at a glance, anyone could tell he still held a bit of spare strength.

Until the rising sun climbed into the sky, this recruitment finally ended completely. The people selected this time totaled four hundred and fifty-nine, and those who could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron were only seven. After the results came out, people began forming cliques and hugging together around these seven individuals.

Except for Chu Zheng, most of the martial masters planned to stay for a long time on this mining trip, so they naturally needed to unite early to avoid being weak and suffering oppression.

No matter what, watching others suffer was still much better than suffering oneself.

Not many people could lift the seven-thousand-catty cauldron, and coupled with his youth, Chu Zheng naturally received many invitations.

Under this kind of environment, he did not play any lone-wolf games. Through the Qi Observation Method, he joined a faction that looked like it could fight the most.

A powerful faction would save him a lot of trouble. Historical experience told him that roaming outside the masses would definitely never have a good ending.

After the recruitment ended, the Phantom Spirit Sect gave everyone a day to return and pack their luggage, settle their current affairs at hand, and then board the flying boat to set out.

Fu Quanliang had disappeared without a trace at some point. Chu Zheng turned back to look for a while, but found no sign of his movements, so he could only let it go for the time being.

He had nothing much to pack. He only took a trip back to the medical clinic, buried his storage bag beneath the medical clinic, opened the doors to do business for one last day, and requested a long leave from those patients.

This naturally drew a round of sighs.

When the time was about right, he finally brought along a few pieces of clothing, as well as three battered magical tools, and hurried to the square where the flying boat was parked.

The inspection before boarding the flying boat was meticulously detailed beyond Chu Zheng's expectations, with over a dozen cultivators who were at least above the Spiritual Spring Realm keeping watch.

Among them, one person gave him a feeling that was terrifying to the extreme, no less than Qin Feng whom he had seen previously at the Song Manor.

This person looked to be around thirty years of age, with an elegant countenance and a blue robe. He had a jade belt tied around his waist, a golden crown binding his hair, and an unangry prestige. At a single glance, he did not look like someone from an immortal sect, but rather resembled a feudal lord of a region, exuding an air of high-born nobility.

The items Chu Zheng carried had no particular anomalies, and he passed the inspection smoothly.

Once aboard the flying boat and looking around in a circle, Chu Zheng caught sight of Fu Quanliang sitting in a corner at a single glance.

With his expression hard to conceal his astonishment, he unobtrusively leaned closer and, through the Life Bond Seal, established a connection with Fu Quanliang, secretly transmitting his voice:

"Why are you here too? Are you going as well?"

"I'm afraid of you dying inside."

Fu Quanliang had black lines all over his forehead and his teeth clenched tight as he transmitted back: "What you've got tied to your belt right now is my head. I hope you can attach a bit more importance to your own safety."

It was naturally impossible for Fu Quanliang to feel at ease leaving Chu Zheng to go mine and explore alone; he wished he could follow him wherever he went.

"You said earlier that this task belongs to the Han Family. Do you still have a connection with people from the Han Family?"

Chu Zheng was somewhat puzzled. If Fu Quanliang had this layer of connection, there was no way he would have been reduced to this state.

"Yeah, thanks to you, starting from yesterday, I am a person of the Han Family."

Fu Quanliang bit down again with teeth he had just loosened: "I entered the sect for ten years, walking on thin ice precisely because I feared getting entangled in the struggles of noble clans and never dared to take a side. I thank you for helping me make up my mind."

"You and I now are not brothers, yet are just like brothers. There's really no need to be this polite."

Chu Zheng waved a hand, pulled back his gaze, and swept it across the cabin.

At this moment, all the handymen had already boarded the flying boat. The surrounding environment was slightly clamorous, and the doors leading to the cabins had been cut off by a magic array. Clearly, those cultivators did not wish to be disturbed by the outside world.

Half an hour later, the flying boat slowly started up and sailed into the clouds.

A burst of gasps rang out on the flying boat, with cries of praise and astonishment rising endlessly.

When arriving at Phantom Spirit City, Chu Zheng had already witnessed flying boats and felt no major ripples, but many of those martial masters were taking to the sky for the very first time, making it hard for them to suppress themselves.

After traveling for about half a day's effort, the flying boat slowly landed amidst a mountain range, startling countless living creatures.

Birds streaked across the empty air, azure hawks spread their wings, and from the distant forest, the howls of wolves and roars of tigers faintly traveled over, sounding both near and far.

"Once you get off the flying boat, come to my side immediately. I will do my best to arrange for you to be under my command."

Fu Quanliang transmitted a sentence, stood up, and stepped off the flying boat first.