The Yin Spirit Mine

True Person Lone Moon tucked away the trace of melancholy in her heart and swept her gaze over the four disciples standing respectfully below. "During my seclusion, did anything happen at Lone Moon Peak?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Wan hurried forward and admitted her fault to True Person Lone Moon. "This disciple is guilty. A few days ago, I accidentally damaged the secret key to the vault. I ask Master to punish me!"

Qin Wan lowered her head deeply and said nothing about how Pei Hongling and the others had pressured her earlier.

She knew full well that Pei Hongling's uncle was an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, as well as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. With that sort of backing, even her Master had to give him some face.

The sect's internal forces were deeply entangled, divided into the master-and-disciple faction and the Aristocratic Clan faction. The two factions were intertwined, yet secretly locked in fierce factional struggles.

In short, Qin Wan had neither the backing of a prominent Aristocratic Clan nor Foundation Establishment cultivation. If she clashed head-on with Pei Hongling, she would be the one to suffer in the end. So she simply said nothing.

True Person Lone Moon gave Qin Wan, kneeling below, a meaningful look. Her gaze shifted to Pei Hongling and the others, and her tone betrayed no emotion. "Hongling, tell me. Did Qin Wan really damage the key by accident, or... did someone force her?"

Though Pei Hongling usually threw her weight around, relying on her connections, her heart lurched when her Master's deep gaze swept over her. She faltered and looked away. "Maybe... maybe Junior Sister really was careless."

True Person Lone Moon neither agreed nor disagreed, and turned her gaze to Lu Qingshan.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Lu Qingshan's forehead. He quickly echoed, "Since Junior Sister says so, it's probably true."

At last, True Person Lone Moon looked at Feng Fei. He swallowed and hurriedly bowed, distancing himself from the matter. "Reporting to Master, I happened to be away from the mountain these past few days, so I truly don't know what happened here."

"Oh?" True Person Lone Moon's voice rose slightly. "Where did you go?"

Feng Fei answered through gritted teeth. "This disciple was gathering the spirit herbs needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills down the mountain."

At the words "Foundation Establishment Pills," True Person Lone Moon let out a soft sigh.

"Refining Foundation Establishment Pills in secret makes it all too easy for the authorities to catch you in the act. And these are troubled times."

True Person Lone Moon paused, as if she had made a decision. "Very well. When I emerged from seclusion, my senior brother, the Sect Master, sent me a message by flying sword. The Unborn Cult has been making quite a stir lately. Using the severe drought and plague as cover, they've been expanding wildly in secret, and they've set their sights on several important strongholds of our sect. Hongling, Qingshan, Feng Fei, the three of you will go down the mountain and guard the Red Fire Mine for three years. When your term is up, I'll personally ask the sect to reward you. You'll each receive a Foundation Establishment Pill."

At the words "Foundation Establishment Pill," the three, who had been uneasy moments earlier, all wore looks of delighted elation. Competition for Foundation Establishment Pills in the immortal sect was now fierce. Such a reward was practically a gift from heaven.

True Person Lone Moon continued, "In addition, the court's Eagle-Wolf Guard has sent people to help defend the Red Fire Mine. Once you arrive, be sure to keep an eye on their movements, and remember to report to me at all times."

"This disciple thanks Master for her kindness! We won't let you down!" The three bowed together to express their gratitude.

After dealing with the three, True Person Lone Moon turned her gaze back to Qin Wan, her tone growing stern. "Qin Wan, you were careless in your work. I'm taking away your authority over the secret vault and this peak's businesses. Go serve as a manager at the Yin Spirit Mine and reflect on your actions for three years."

"This disciple thanks Master for your leniency." Qin Wan remained calm and accepted her punishment respectfully.

At the side, Pei Hongling couldn't help letting a trace of gloating mockery show at the corner of her mouth.

Although the Yin Spirit Mine was nominally a Spirit Stone mine, its spiritual energy had long since dried up, and its yield was meager.

Worse still, before the Great You Dynasty was founded, the site had been an ancient battlefield left behind by the calamity that caused the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to wane.

After the savage battle, the lingering souls of many cultivators and martial artists haunted the place, while baleful yin energy blanketed the area and refused to dissipate. That was how the unusual Yin Spirit Mine had formed. The Yin Spirit Stones within had some use in crafting artifacts, but prolonged exposure to the mine's baleful energy severely damaged a cultivator's soul. It was impossible to quiet one's mind and cultivate in such a haunted place.

However one looked at it, Qin Wan had received a heavy punishment.

Yet Lu Qingshan and Feng Fei, standing nearby, exchanged a glance, each deep in thought. Unlike Pei Hongling, they weren't fools. They clearly remembered an old story from the sect: their Master, True Person Lone Moon, had once been sent to serve as a manager at the Yin Spirit Mine as punishment.

It was only after that that their Master had risen above the rest of the sect and eventually claimed a peak of her own, teaching the Dao and passing on her cultivation.

What was more, Junior Sister Qin had a Thunder Spirit Root.

Thunder techniques were supremely yang, naturally suppressing evil spirits and yin entities. Sending her to an ancient battlefield mine blanketed in baleful energy and haunted by lingering souls—how could that be mere punishment? It was plainly an excellent place to temper her Dao.

At this thought, Lu Qingshan and Feng Fei felt rather conflicted.

They were all personal disciples of their Master, yet her arrangement clearly showed greater favor toward Qin Wan. She even seemed to be grooming her as the heir to her legacy.

Each of the three had their own thoughts. Pei Hongling was smug, while Lu and Feng were secretly wary. Together, they took their leave of True Person Lone Moon and exited the main hall.

The main hall fell silent once more. It stood empty, with only True Person Lone Moon and her disciple Qin Wan remaining.

True Person Lone Moon's stern gaze softened as she looked at her young disciple, standing with her head bowed. "Do you feel wronged about having to go to the Yin Spirit Mine and reflect for three years?"

"This disciple does not." Qin Wan raised her head, her expression calm and resolute.

True Person Lone Moon nodded slightly, then changed the subject. "Good. How has that boy down the mountain been lately?"

Qin Wan knew her Master meant Xia Dong. Her heart skipped, but she kept her expression unchanged. Carefully omitting the secret deals the two of them had made to buy and sell Talisman and pills in bulk, she reported only the changes that were public knowledge. "He recently distinguished himself, and has already become a Flag-Bearer in the Eagle-Wolf Guard. Also, his martial cultivation has progressed extremely quickly. He's now reached the Internal Strengthening Realm."

At the first part, "Flag-Bearer," True Person Lone Moon remained composed, even finding it only natural. After all, with a Dao Registry in the Great You Dynasty, once someone entered the court's system, an invisible force would naturally push things along from behind. His promotion was only a matter of time.

But at the second part, a trace of astonishment crossed True Person Lone Moon's clear, cold eyes.

"How many years has it been? He's already reached the Internal Strengthening Realm?" True Person Lone Moon asked softly.

Though mortal martial arts were not as profound as the immortal path, tempering the skin, flesh, sinews, and bones through the first three stages was grueling. Many martial artists spent most of their lives without ever reaching the threshold of Internal Strengthening. And that boy had made such progress?

"He truly has a gift for martial arts, and his perseverance is astonishing," Qin Wan answered truthfully.

"He's quite the talent... What a pity." True Person Lone Moon sighed softly.

No matter how dazzling his martial prowess, without a Spirit Root, his achievements would ultimately be limited. A hundred years later, he would still be a heap of yellow earth, unable to attain the path to immortality.

True Person Lone Moon asked no more.

Her recent attempt to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm during seclusion had failed. Though her Dao foundation remained undamaged, she had lost much of her spirit.

If she couldn't open her Purple Mansion, she was destined to form only an ordinary Golden Core in this lifetime, with no hope of Spirit Transformation.

Since that was so, she had nearly given up on using the Ascension Order to travel to the wider Three Islands Sea Region in search of immortality and the Dao.

If that was the case, Xia Dong's value to her was somewhat negligible.

Still, as a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, she had a lifespan of nearly two hundred years and plenty of time. There was no need to force a Core Formation breakthrough right away.

After all, although reason told her the hope of opening her Purple Mansion was now exceedingly slim, who among those who cultivated the Dao would truly give up and accept their fate before their lifespan ran dry and they had no other choice?

So she could leave the Xia Dong connection in place for now. There was no harm in building goodwill, but she truly no longer needed to watch him as carefully as before.

She had taken the opportunity to send Qin Wan to the Yin Spirit Mine to temper herself. If she could endure it, the road ahead would be easier.

If she couldn't, then True Person Lone Moon would have misjudged her.

The legacy of Lone Moon Peak could not fall to Pei Hongling and the other two.

They were all common vessels, incapable of great things.

"I've failed to condense a Talisman Seed again. Do I really have to use the extreme method described in the Peaceful Yin Talisman Scripture and find a place of absolute yin and baleful energy?"

Xia Dong felt a pang of disappointment.

He had expected condensing a Talisman Seed to be difficult, but he hadn't expected it to be this hard.