Mining

"You thirty-seven people are very good. Stay behind for a while, and Gu Changge will teach you the martial arts techniques and fighting styles of extraterrestrial bloodline Martial Artist."

"With each battle you experience, you will gain two thousand catties of Divine Source."

"Those of you who choose to mine, although you are working in the rear, the Divine Source Ore Veins Mine is unevenly distributed, and you may be plundered by martial Martial Artist from the alien realm. You can take a Cloud-Piercing Arrow. If you encounter a powerful enemy, use the Cloud-Piercing Arrow to send a distress signal. The team headquarters will receive the distress call and come to your aid as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Huangfu Lingge placed the Cloud-Piercing Arrow Cloud-Piercing Arrow from his Storage Pouch on the ground, allowing everyone to receive one.

After everyone had taken a Cloud-Piercing Arrow, Huangfu Lingge introduced several Starry Sky University representatives from the No. 13 Divine Source Mining Zone, namely Hua Yunduan, Gu Changge, Wenren Qingyue, and others.

"Let me reiterate the daily tasks. Anyone who mines Divine Source must hand over 500 catties of Divine Source each day if they are a Origin Aperture Stage Martial Artist, and 350 catties of Divine Source each day Heaven Aperture Stage artist."

After completing your daily tasks, you can use any extra Divine Source you mine, or you can save them. You can also take Divine Source outside of the tasks out of the university, but you all know the rules: once you leave, you must either give nine-tenths to Starry Sky University and keep one-tenth for yourself, or give Starry Sky University ten thousand catties of Divine Source directly, and the rest are all yours."

"Those of you who have come here should be traveling in groups of several. There are more than ninety mines in the No. 13 Divine Source Ancient Star Zone, and each mine is staffed with four to eight people. Please form your own teams with your companions."

After Huangfu Lingge, he instructed the Lower Divine Aperture and Blood Martial Artist at the Divine Aperture Stage or below to arrange for the newly arrived group to go to the mine.

"Four to eight people per group, four of us is just right!" Hou Yutan said.

Chen Lie followed the crowd and, together with someone who Lower Divine Aperture reached the Divine Source Ore Veins Zone, arrived at the outermost Divine Source Mine.

The leading Divine Aperture Stage Martial Artist explained, "This is an outer mine in the Divine Source Ore Veins area, making it more vulnerable to attacks from extraterrestrial martial Martial Artist. The secret realm has regulations that Origin Aperture Stage Martial Artist must choose the outer Divine Source mines; the inner Divine Source Ore Veins are relatively safer and are allocated to Heaven Aperture Stage individuals."

"This is a small mine, suitable for four people, requiring four Origin Aperture Stage cultivators to mine. Which of you would like to choose this mine to mine Divine Source?"

Of course, you can take a look first. Some Divine Source Ore Veins are relatively easy to mine, while others are not so easy to mine."

After the leader of the Divine Aperture Stage finished speaking, the group of Origin Aperture Stage cultivators all went into the mine to take a look.

The leader also entered the mine and introduced the mining of the Divine Source Ore Veins to everyone.

"In each of your Storage Pouch, there is a golden hoe, which is the tool for mining Divine Source. It is made of alloy and Xingchen iron, and it can cut through iron like mud. It is extremely sharp, and its sharpness is almost the same as the Treasure Artifact used by True Qi Martial Artist."

The Divine Source within the Divine Source Ore Veins is contained within the Starrock. The Starrock is a stone formed over countless millennia on Ancient Star; it is extremely hard and cannot be mined without such a powerful tool."

As the Martial Artist at the Divine Aperture Stage explained, he also took out a golden hoe to demonstrate the steps of mining Divine Source to everyone.

He picked up the golden hoe and began to vigorously chisel at the Divine Source Ore Veins. With the support of immense power, it took him dozens of strokes to break through the Starrock on the surface of the Divine Source Ore Veins, and a purple Divine Source fell out.

"Everyone, look carefully. This purple crystal is the Divine Source. The Divine Source has a very low density. This piece of Divine Source, the size of a palm-leaf fan, weighs less than half a pound."

The daily task for those at the Origin Aperture Stage is 500 jin of Divine Source per person. You must mine at least 600 jin of Divine Source every day to make this trip to the Ancient Star Secret Realm worthwhile."

A crowd gathered around and glanced at Divine Source.

How can the Divine Source be so light? A piece of Divine Source the size of a palm-leaf fan weighs less than half a pound?

It seems that mining Divine Source is really hard work.

"Does any of you have a four-person team that chooses this mine and stays to mine the Divine Source?"

After the leader of the Divine Aperture Stage asked the question, the scene fell silent, and no one responded.

They had just heard that all mines are different; some are easier to extract Divine Source from, while others are more difficult. None of them had ever seen other Divine Source mines before, and this particular mine was difficult to extract Divine Source from. Wouldn't they be making a huge mistake by choosing it?

They might work hard all day, but it probably wouldn't be as good as someone else working half a day.

At this moment, Chen Lie raised his hand from the crowd and said, "We choose this mine!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Hou Yutan, Qiao Xuanxi, Nie Cheng next to him all looked at Chen Lie with puzzled expressions.

"Brother Chen, we haven't even seen any other Divine Source mines yet, why did you choose this one directly?" Hou Yutan couldn't help but ask.

"That's right. Look at that leader of the Divine Aperture Stage just now. It took him dozens of strokes to dig out half a pound of Divine Source. This mine might be the kind that's difficult to mine," Nie Cheng said.

Qiao Xuanxi also glanced at Chen Lie with a dissatisfied expression.

The leader, a cultivator at the Divine Aperture Stage, said, "Oh? You've chosen this mine. State your names and hand over your credentials, and I'll record them."

"Chen Lie, Hou Yutan, Nie Cheng, Qiao Xuanxi."

As Chen Lie spoke, he handed the certificate to the leader of the Divine Aperture Stage.

Seeing this, Heavy Rain Star and the other two also handed over their credentials along with Chen Lie.

The leader, who was at the Divine Aperture Stage, nodded and said, "This is the No. 17 Divine Source Mine. I will register the names of the four of you."

Mine No. 17 is a remote mine. To avoid trouble, you don't need to hand over tasks daily. You can put the Divine Source you mine each day in your Storage Pouch and hand them in every ten days, or you can wait until the end of the month and hand over 15,000 catties of Divine Source all at once."

After speaking, the leader of the Divine Aperture Stage students led the remaining Starry Sky University students of the Heaven Aperture Stage and Origin Aperture Stage away from the area.

As soon as everyone left, Qiao Xuanxi couldn't help but scold, "Hey! What's wrong with you? You haven't even looked at the other mines yet, why are you in such a hurry to make decisions for us?"

"What if the Divine Source in this mine is difficult to extract? Wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?"

Chen Lie said, "If you suffer any losses, I'll take responsibility!"

"I'm not saying this to make you bear any losses, nor will we make you bear any losses, and there's no guarantee that you'll suffer any losses. I just want to ask you, why didn't you consult with us before making this decision?"

"I've read about the Divine Source Ore Veins in an ancient book. Based on the description in the book and the distribution of this mine, it is relatively easy to mine because the Divine Source is concentrated here. Choosing this mine will make mining the Divine Source much easier," Chen Lie said.

"Real?"

Qiao Xuanxi's eyes flashed.

At this moment, Hou Yutan said, "Brother Chen is the number one Blood-Qi Realm expert in the Eastern Star Region. I believe he wouldn't speak without reason."

Furthermore, the amount of Divine Source extracted is also related to his interests; no one would be foolish enough to disregard their own interests.

After hearing Hou Yutan's words, Qiao Xuanxi and Nie Cheng both nodded in agreement.

Next, the group began to study how to mine the Divine Source.

Nie Cheng first took out the golden hoe from his Storage Pouch and began mining.

He gripped the golden hoe tightly with both hands and fiercely hoeed at the Starrock on the surface of the Divine Source Ore Veins. He used almost all his strength, and with the support of his qi and blood, he finally managed to hoe through the Starrock and a palm-sized piece of Divine Source fell out.

"This mining is too difficult. At this rate, let alone 600 jin, we can't even finish the 500 jin task a day."

Hou Yutan stepped forward and picked up the Divine Source that had just fallen, saying, "This palm-sized piece of Divine Source of yours probably doesn't even weigh two ounces, yet you went through so much trouble to mine it. At your efficiency, even if you worked day and night, you probably couldn't mine six hundred catties of Divine Source in a day."

"I did the math. If I mine 600 catties of Divine Source every day, I can only accumulate 3,000 catties of Divine Source in a month. If I take it out, I have to give 2,700 catties to Starry Sky University. I can only keep 300 catties of Divine Source for myself. It's like I came here for nothing and mined for a month for nothing."

"Therefore, we need to mine at least 700 jin of Divine Source every day for this trip to the Ancient Star Ruins Secret Realm to be worthwhile," Nie Cheng said.

Hou Yutan shook his head and sighed, "Starry Sky University's cut is way too much!"

Qiao Xuanxi said, "The Divine Source is such a precious thing, Starry Sky University certainly won't let anyone take too much of it."

To avoid having Starry Sky University take a cut, the only option is to use more Divine Source in the Secret Realm.

"It's not a matter of using it more or less; it's that the mining efficiency is too low!"

As he spoke, Hou Yutan took out a golden hoe and began to mine and extract Divine Source.

After observing for a while, Qiao Xuanxi also started to try it out.

The three of them were mining together, but their efficiency was extremely low. They struggled for almost half an hour before they managed to extract about twenty kilograms of Divine Source.

"Damn, how can Starrock be so hard? I had to swing the golden hoe with all my might, averaging 170 or 180 strokes, to mine a piece of Divine Source that was neither too big nor too small. It was too much effort!"

Hou Yutan couldn't help but complain.

On the other side of the mine, Qiao Xuanxi gritted his teeth, channeling all his energy into his golden hoe, and with a full swing, the clanging sounds of the hoe striking the ground were incessant.

She hoeed over a hundred times in two minutes before finally breaking through a layer of Starrock and mining out a relatively large piece of Divine Source.

"Wow, Qiao Xuanxi, that piece of Divine Source you dropped must weigh four or five pounds!" Hou Yutan exclaimed upon seeing the large piece of Divine Source that Qiao Xuanxi had mined.

Qiao Xuanxi put the Divine Source into her Storage Pouch and sighed helplessly, "At this intensity of mining, I can only last seven or eight hours a day at most, and I'll barely be able to complete the task of handing over five hundred catties."

Hou Yutan and Nie Cheng were also helpless, and they both looked at Chen Lie, who hadn't started mining since the beginning.

Chen Lie then stepped forward, took out a golden hoe from the Storage Pouch issued by Starry Sky University, and said, "Mining Divine Source isn't that difficult; it's just that you lack the skills, which is why your efficiency is so low."

"What? Did you work in the mines before?" Qiao Xuanxi asked.

"Never dug it!" Chen Lie shook his head.

"Then how did you know we lack skills?"

Chen Liedao, "I discovered it from the demonstration by the person leading the Lower Divine Aperture earlier."

The leader from the Divine Aperture Stage just now didn't actively teach mining techniques; instead, he deliberately hid them. It's probably on the orders of Starry Sky University, to prevent people from taking away too much Divine Source."

"What do you mean?" Heavy Rain Star and the other two asked in unison.

"The technique for mining Divine Source is simple in a way. You should be able to master it in a little over a week. But don't even think about completing the task of 500 jin per day during the first week."

Once you master the mining techniques, doubling your mining efficiency won't be difficult, but it will waste about a third of your time. I estimate you can only take away seven or eight thousand catties of Divine Source at most. After Starry Sky University takes nine-tenths, you'll only have seven or eight hundred catties left."

"Damn, Xingkong has such a vicious mind!" Hou Yutan exclaimed.

"So, do you even know the techniques for mining Divine Source?" Qiao Xuanxi asked.

"Let me demonstrate it for you, watch carefully!"

Chen Lie took the golden hoe and came to the side of the Divine Source Ore Veins. He used the golden tip of the hoe to chisel at the Starrock on the surface of the Divine Source Mine.

Chen Lie focused his efforts from top to bottom, concentrating on one point, and chiseled a circle around the Divine Source Mine.

After chiseling, Chen Lie flipped the golden hoe and began to strike hard.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Chen Lie struck the Starrock only three times, and a piece of Divine Source, larger than a millstone, was directly mined out.

Heavy Rain Star and the other two were dumbfounded.

"This piece of Divine Source must weigh at least ten pounds, right?"

"Yeah, how is it so easy? We struggled and used all our strength to remove just a small piece of Starrock Starrock, while Chen Lie easily removed a whole large piece."

After unearthing a large piece of Divine Source, Chen Lie looked at Heavy Rain Star and the other two and said, "You all saw it clearly, right?"

The technique involves identifying the vulnerable spots in the Divine Source ore, using the tip of a gold pickaxe to concentrate force on chiseling the edges, and then using a muffled force to strike the center.

When used properly, these techniques can not only double mining efficiency but also save physical energy.

Chen Lie spoke, he demonstrated it again for the three of them, and then let them try it out.

Following Chen Lie's instructions, Hou Yutan skillfully chiseled through a piece of Starrock and extracted a large piece of Divine Source weighing seven or eight jin.

He was overjoyed. "Damn, it really is! It's much easier and more efficient than using brute force. It really saves time and effort."

You guys should try it!

Qiao Xuanxi and Nie Cheng also began mining the Divine Source according to the method taught by Chen Lie, and found it to be easy and extremely efficient.

"With the right techniques, mining Divine Source in this skillful way can easily yield over a thousand catties a day," Qiao Xuanxi said with a slight smile.

"Let me do the math. If we don't try to be greedy, even if we mine 1,100 catties of Divine Source a day, hand over 500 catties, and still have 600 catties left, in a month, each of us can take out at least 18,000 catties of Divine Source."

Instead of taking 90% of the profits from Starry Sky University's settlement, if we directly hand over 10,000 jin to them, we can still save 8,000 jin.

"What's the market price of Divine Source per pound?" Hou Yutan asked.

"Divine Source are unique to the Ten-Star Alliance. When geniuses on planets of the Ten-Star Alliance break through to the Divine Aperture Stage, they receive Divine Source from their respective planetary authorities. They are almost never circulated in the Canglan Star Domain, so there is no standard price."

"However, Divine Source is a precious item, so there's no worry about finding a market for it, and its price will inevitably be high," Nie Cheng said.

Hou Yutan naturally knew the value of the Divine Source. It was an indispensable item for those at the Divine Aperture Stage, and a rare treasure that was hard to come by even for Martial Artist at the Primordial Aperture and Heaven Aperture stages.

He asked Chen Liedao, "Brother Chen, that leader was deliberately hiding his skills, how did you figure it out?"

"It's precisely because he deliberately concealed it that I was able to see through these techniques," Chen Lie said.

"Alright, enough talk, let's get to work! I'm going to extract at least a thousand catties of Divine Source from him today!"

After talking for a while, the group each found a spot in the mine and began digging.

Chen Lie went to a corner, picked up a golden hoe, and started digging.

His strength was extremely high, far surpassing that of Heavy Rain Star and the other two, so his efficiency was exceptionally high.

In a very short time, Chen Lie unearthed hundreds of kilograms of Divine Source.

After half a day, Chen Lie had only managed to dig out a little over a thousand catties of Divine Source.

As Chen Lie dug, he suddenly stopped. He put the Divine Source and the golden hoe back into his Storage Pouch and went to the entrance of the mine.

He originally intended to mine enough Divine Source for the Lower Divine Aperture himself before going out to plunder Divine Source, but mining was too time-consuming. Even if he worked non-stop for a whole day, he might not be able to mine three thousand catties of Divine Source. When would he be able to?

"I now have five Divine Aperture, and each Divine Aperture requires absorbing 100,000 Divine Source. Relying solely on mining here, even half a year wouldn't be enough. I'll have to go out and rob!"

In general, a Divine Aperture Stage cultivator can absorb at most 10,000 to 20,000 catties of Divine Aperture Divine Source per Divine Aperture. However, Chen Lie is different from the Divine Aperture Stage in the Canglan Star Domain. He has sixteen times the Strength Value, has undergone sixteen Blood Tempering, and has opened the Primordial Spirit Aperture. Such an achievement is extremely rare even among the top geniuses of the Central Galactic Empire. Naturally, his method of cultivating the Divine Aperture cannot be inferior to that of the top geniuses of the Central Galactic Empire.

Using 100,000 jin of Divine Source to cultivate a single Divine Aperture is a conservative estimate; the amount of Divine Source he would need would only be more.

"What's more, there are still two thousand cubic meters of Storage Pouch waiting to be filled!"

However, having just arrived at this Ancient Star Ruins, we should first investigate the situation before taking any action.

In one day, Qiao Xuanxi, Hou Yutan, and Nie Cheng, who had mastered mining techniques, each mined nearly a thousand catties of Divine Source.

Because it was the first day of mining, their techniques were still unfamiliar, so the three of them didn't produce much. Qiao Xuanxi mined 900 Divine Source, while Hou Yutan and Nie Cheng each mined 800 Divine Source.

Hou Yutan stepped forward and asked, "Chen Lie, how many kilograms of Divine Source did you dig up today?"

"About a thousand catties."

"Wow, that's impressive. I saw you only dug for half a day and you dug up about a thousand catties of Divine Source. The three of us dug for a whole day and we didn't even dig up a thousand catties."

As the four talked, they took out the martial arts meal prepared by Starry Sky University from their Storage Pouch and began to eat.

Mining is physically demanding, so the ingredients in martial arts meals are all designed to replenish energy.

After dinner, the group shared their mining experiences.

Nie Cheng asked, "How are you going to rest today?"

Qiao Xuanxi said, "It's only a month or so, there's no need to rest every day. Just sit cross-legged and meditate."

"Shouldn't someone keep watch at night? What if a martial Martial Artist from another star system attacks?"

Chen Lie then said, "You all rest, I'll keep watch!"

Seeing that Chen Lie had volunteered, the other three nodded. "Alright then, you'll be on night watch first, and we'll switch tomorrow."