Meng Guan's Letter

Over the days that followed, the two gradually traded cup after cup, throwing everything to the back of their minds and focusing solely on enjoying the pleasures of food and drink.

Lin Cong had not only successfully broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage this time, but had also been warned by He Song, sparing him a life-or-death crisis. He was therefore in exceptionally high spirits, showing no reluctance at all to spend Spirit Stones as they drank.

And precisely because of that,

after cup upon cup of spirit wine went down his throat, he soon drank himself senseless.

He Song, on the other hand, did not drink much.

Even within the Immortal Market, He Song remained vigilant at all times.

While his cultivation still stood at the very bottom of the cultivation world, He Song had no desire to let drunkenness ruin his affairs.

After this bout of drinking, He Song was only slightly tipsy, still far from truly drunk.

Fortunately, Lin Cong had settled the bill beforehand. Seeing him unconscious with drink, He Song naturally supported him back to his home.

After bringing Lin Cong back to his own house,

He Song went out again and returned to his own home.

As neighbors, the two saved He Song quite a bit of time.

Time drifted on.

The years flowed by.

One morning, half a month later, He Song received a Sound Transmission Paper Crane.

The handwriting on the paper crane was Meng Guan's.

"Fellow Daoist He, I have now been at the Red Spirit Gold Mine for a month. Today, I received thirty-five Spirit Stones. This should have been a cause for celebration, but the Red Spirit Gold Mine restricts entry and exit, and I cannot leave. I can only use the Sound Transmission Technique to share this happy news with you."

"Thanks to Brother Wei's help, there were not many people in the Ore Vein when I arrived. When the mine overseer learned that I had originally been a cultivator of the Immortal Market, he had me lead a team of Rogue Cultivators and supervise their mining. Thus, my monthly stipend gained another five Spirit Stones."

"Counting the days, today is the day our three-person gathering would normally take place. Unfortunately, I cannot make it back. Fellow Daoist, please do not blame me."

"When I am able to leave in the future, I will certainly apologize to you in person and punish myself with three cups."

"Meng Guan."

His gaze passing over line after line of writing on the paper, He Song remained silent for a long while.

Yet in the end, he still folded the paper and carefully stored it in his quiet room.

Walking out of his house,

He Song headed toward the Spirit Fields under his care, letting out a sigh of relief as he went.

"Leading a team of Rogue Cultivators means Meng Guan is not at the bottom rung in the Red Spirit Gold Mine. At the very least, he is some kind of minor overseer."

"With that, his safety naturally increases again, and the chances of him dying in the mine tunnels decrease considerably."

With those thoughts in mind, He Song no longer felt the same sighing regret as before over Meng Guan's decision to go to the Red Spirit Gold Mine.

Every person had their own fate.

Just like Meng Guan.

Originally, he had only wanted to mine for Spirit Stones.

Yet the moment he entered the mine, he was promoted to a minor leader.

With that, he had directly avoided the dangers of the Ore Vein that were originally filled with malice toward miners.

Perhaps there were other dangers within the Ore Vein, but as a minor leader, he naturally had more chances to preserve his life than an ordinary miner.

On top of that, Meng Guan was at Qi Refining stage 6, and lacked neither Spirit Talismans nor magical treasures. His chances of survival would rise substantially as well.

Thinking of it this way, Meng Guan's journey to the Red Spirit Gold Mine truly could no longer be considered a situation of nine deaths and one life.

It was certainly dangerous.

But his chances of staying alive had increased by quite a lot.

With a jumble of thoughts flashing through his mind, He Song soon arrived at the Spirit Fields and began casting the Spirit Rain Technique.

After half an hour of casting the Spirit Rain Technique,

He Song turned on his heel and headed straight for Lingjian Pavilion.

Today was once again the time for their monthly gathering.

Although Meng Guan was no longer there and their original gathering of three had become one of two, He Song naturally still had to attend this tradition that had continued for several years.

Lingjian Pavilion.

When He Song arrived, he discovered that Wei Fan had already been waiting for quite some time.

At that moment, Wei Fan held a sheet of paper in his hand. His eyes rested upon it, and it was impossible to tell whether the expression on his face was joy or worry.

"Brother Wei, did you receive Old Meng's Sound Transmission Technique as well?" He Song asked casually as he came to sit beside Wei Fan.

Since Meng Guan had sent a Sound Transmission Technique to him,

he naturally would not have forgotten Wei Fan.

He Song was asking a question whose answer he already knew.

"Mm. Old Meng said I did him a huge favor, and that when he gets back, he'll treat me to wine and women." Hearing this, Wei Fan set down the paper in his hand, a faint smile on his face.

Within the small circle of the three of them,

although Meng Guan looked old and decrepit, his personality was rather lively. He was usually the one who made the most jokes, so He Song was not surprised to hear Wei Fan say this.

But the fact that Meng Guan was still in the mood to joke meant his current circumstances were likely not too bad.

He Song felt even more at ease.

As for wine and women, it was only a joke and could not be taken seriously.

But if Meng Guan truly returned, he would likely indeed thank Wei Fan properly.

"Forget it. It'll be enough if he can return safely. But have you heard any other news about the Red Spirit Gold Mine recently?" Shaking his head, He Song did not pay much attention to the matter and instead asked about news concerning the mining area.

Wei Fan was at the Qi Refining Late Stage. The information he could obtain within Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market was far more plentiful than He Song's.

A Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator belonged to that small group at the very peak of the pyramid in Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.

Above them were only a few cultivators stuck at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, as well as that Foundation Establishment Realm True Person.

"I haven't heard any news, but I keep feeling that this Ore Vein is not as simple as we originally thought." Wei Fan lifted his teacup and took a light sip, speaking thoughtfully.

"Logically speaking, an Ore Vein worth merely tens of thousands or a hundred thousand-plus Spirit Stones should not have several Foundation Establishment True Persons guarding it."

"Perhaps there are some hidden details we don't know about. I'll keep an eye out lately. If anything really happens, I'll tell you immediately." As he finished speaking, Wei Fan did not forget to offer He Song a reassuring word.

His instincts told him there was surely something strange about the place where the Ore Vein lay.

But without concrete information, he did not dare conclude anything.

Still, if anything happened, he would certainly send word to He Song at once.

As for whether something would truly happen,

he could not be sure either.

At his side, He Song's expression shifted upon hearing this.

"Several Foundation Establishment True Persons guarding it?"

Those words flashed through his mind, and He Song immediately grew wary.

That was what the information he had heard before had said as well.

It was said that several Foundation Establishment True Persons were stationed in the Ore Vein where the Red Spirit Gold Mine was located.

But he had not taken it seriously before, believing it to be false information.

Foundation Establishment True Persons were not cabbages that could be sent out in heaps anywhere.

Even though the Thick Earth Sect was a great Golden Core sect, it did not have that many Foundation Establishment True Persons within it. It could not dispatch them at will.

However, when Wei Fan also confirmed this news, alarm bells immediately rang in He Song's heart.

Then, thinking of how close the Red Spirit Gold Mine was to him, He Song felt as though thorns pressed against his back. A chill instantly spread through his entire body, and the hairs on his body nearly stood on end.

If something truly happened in the mining area of the Red Spirit Gold Mine, the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market where he lived would likely soon be caught up in it.

When that time came...