Late-Night Meeting

The outer sect disciples' posts were assigned very quickly, and Li Jun followed the corresponding steward to a cave dwelling.

The cave dwelling was bustling with heat and activity, bare-chested men visible everywhere.

They held large woks, long cloths tucked at their necks, and were working overtime to rush out everyone's meals.

Before coming, Li Jun had also learned a little about the work at the mine.

Generally speaking, it was mainly divided into three broad categories—miners, transport workers, and logistics.

Among them, the miners had the heaviest tasks, but their treatment was also the best.

Logistics work was the most trivial. Although they did not need to go down into the mines and the danger factor was lower, the treatment was also the worst.

"That old Xia really is unreliable. He couldn't have paid too little, could he?"

Li Jun was speechless.

In his view, transporting ore was the most comfortable work.

Most importantly, transporting ore allowed one to shuttle between several mine tunnels. If anything unexpected happened, he could just run.

But in the kitchen, with so many people and so many eyes, if an accident happened, it would be hard to avoid being seen.

"All right, our mining task this year is arduous, and the number of people we need is also the highest in all these years. You people will be responsible for feeding the livestock, and when necessary, you'll also assist the cooks with making meals. In addition..."

Li Jun listened to the steward go on and on, and more or less understood his own task.

To put it simply, wherever people were lacking, he would go there—the so-called all-purpose ox-and-horse man.

Li Jun sighed. According to the arrangements, he was assigned to a pig shed, where he would feed the pigs at fixed times every day and slaughter fresh pigs.

In addition, when mealtime arrived, he would go to the cave dwelling to help cook and prepare everyone's meals.

Once he was familiar with the work, Li Jun got straight to it.

No matter what had gone wrong with this arrangement, the most important thing for him right now was to familiarize himself with the environment. After all, he did not know how Yao Yuzhi would play her hand.

Only by becoming familiar with the environment faster could he make better judgments. This point was very important to him.

"Fellow Daoist, are you Li Jun from Medicine Peak?"

Inside the cave dwelling, Li Jun, who was washing meat, turned his head and found a lean man asking him a question.

"I am. And you are?"

The lean man leaned closer and grinned. "Brother, I'm from Medicine Peak too. My name is Li Fugui. Look, we're both surnamed Li. Maybe hundreds or thousands of years ago, we were from the same clan."

Li Jun nodded amicably and said nothing more.

Li Fugui moved closer and said in a low voice, "Brother, I heard you're the eldest senior sister's man. We're both outer sect disciples, so how did you do it, brother? Give me a pointer, will you?"

"Ah, what pointer could there be? It was nothing more than stepping in dog-shit luck," Li Jun replied.

"I don't believe it. You must have a way in. Otherwise, why would the eldest senior sister treat you so well?"

Li Fugui did not believe him, feeling that Li Jun was definitely hiding something. He continued, "I've been an outer sect disciple on Medicine Peak for five years, and I've never seen any outer sect disciple as unique as you. Just take the monthly salary, for example. You've been on Medicine Peak for more than half a year now. You probably haven't handed it over, right?"

"Monthly salary? Hand it over to whom?" Li Jun asked in confusion.

"Heh! From that reaction of yours, you definitely haven't handed it over." Li Fugui looked around, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Brother, don't say I didn't remind you. Among the outer sect disciples on Medicine Peak, your reputation isn't small. Quite a few people are saying in private that they want to come ask you for scripture. From what I see, there's an eighty percent chance they mean to make trouble for you."

"Ask me for scripture?" Li Jun was amused.

He quickly understood what Li Fugui meant. Inside Medicine Peak, there were likewise mountains and factions everywhere.

It was just that he worked for the eldest senior sister, and Steward Huang Yi, who was in charge of the outer sect disciples, was also one of the eldest senior sister's people. This had allowed him to do much less hard labor.

Although he did not socialize much, others would certainly see these things. Behind his back, they might even be jealous and criticize him.

But all of this was normal. Wherever there were people, there was a jianghu.

As for making trouble for him, he was already at the Fourth Level of Qi Refining now, and his overall strength was no weaker than someone at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.

With this kind of strength, he was already among the top outer sect disciples. He feared no one.

"Thank you for the reminder, but I really don't have any experience to teach. It was all just luck."

The conversation broke up unhappily.

When mealtime arrived, Li Jun finally noticed that there were actually some ordinary people at the mine as well.

These people stayed at the mine year-round, just like he had before at Oak Garden.

Quite a few of them came from small villages around Fire Cloud City. They had followed traveling merchants here to earn some silver and support their families.

Li Jun looked at these people, especially some of the older ones, and when he ladled out food, his ladle would give them a little extra.

Only after everyone had finished eating was it the kitchen workers' turn to eat.

"The taste really is average. I can only make do."

Li Jun sighed with feeling. Then his eyes watched his nose, his nose watched his heart, and in his heart he silently comprehended the "Myriad Apertures Universe Art."

Time waited for no one. Not a single moment could be wasted. Only like this could he break through his realm faster.

"Li Jun, go to Cave Dwelling No. 10 tonight. Senior Brother Lu told us outer sect disciples to all head over together." Li Fugui walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"All right, I understand."

A flicker passed through Li Jun's eyes. What was supposed to come had indeed come after all.

The Senior Brother Lu that Li Fugui had mentioned was named Lu Jinxuan. His cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and he was a core disciple of Medicine Peak's Fire Hall.

On Medicine Peak, those at the seventh level of Qi Refining could apply to become inner sect disciples, and those in the Foundation Establishment Realm could apply to become core disciples.

Of course, whether inner sect disciples or core disciples, they all had to complete the corresponding assessment.

This time, as the strongest existence among Medicine Peak's disciples, Lu Jinxuan naturally carried far more on his shoulders than what was apparent on the surface.

Besides completing the task Elder Pan had assigned, he also had to think of a way to make Medicine Peak seize first place in one stroke when mining the Obsidian Ore.

Elder Gu Yang had already made a point of reminding him of this on the way here.

"Liu Pan'er told me to listen to her. There's definitely a pit hidden in this."

Li Jun pondered. Fortunately, he had verified Liu Pan'er's identity earlier.

Otherwise, if he had just come in like this, he would not even know who had dug a pit for him.

The human heart was hard to fathom!

Late at night, Cave Dwelling No. 10.

The Azure Cloud Sect's mine stopped work at night.

When Li Jun arrived, the Medicine Peak disciples had already gathered in sevens and eights, almost everyone there.

He found a corner and sat down on the ground.

About half an hour later, Cave Dwelling No. 10 was packed with people.

"Everyone, I am Lu Jinxuan. I asked you all to come over today to discuss how we can mine more Obsidian Ore and help Medicine Peak take the top spot."

Li Jun looked toward the center of the crowd.

Lu Jinxuan wore a white dark-patterned robe. Though his looks were not outstanding, his bearing was extraordinary.

"Senior Brother Lu, we'll all listen to you. As long as Medicine Peak can take first place, everyone will receive rewards. I don't think anyone has any objections," someone shouted.

"That's right. The sect's rewards have always been generous. If we can take first place, that'll be far better treatment than mining."

The scene was filled with discussion, but most people were extremely excited.

Especially the outer sect disciples. Many of them had mediocre aptitude.

If they wanted to raise their cultivation, they needed large amounts of Spirit Stones.

But with an outer sect disciple's monthly stipend, if they wanted to reach Foundation Establishment, they probably would not manage it even after several decades.

However, if they could obtain the sect's rewards—especially some high-grade pills like Spirit Gathering Pills, Yellow Dragon Pills, and Qi Boosting Powder—then the speed at which they broke through realms would greatly increase!

Leaving Foundation Establishment aside, as long as they could be promoted to inner sect disciples, they could do fewer dirty and exhausting jobs, and the treatment was simply not something outer sect disciples could compare to.

Li Jun looked at the excited crowd. The path of cultivation was difficult; for many people, becoming an inner sect disciple already counted as reaching the shore.

"Good. I can feel everyone's drive." Lu Jinxuan waved his hand. "The sect's rewards are very generous. No matter what, I feel we should fight for them."

"As for this, I have two ideas. First, I suggest that we rotate shifts and mine directly at night as well. Second, there are many mine tunnels in the mine. We need to find the one with the richest ore and dig there."

The moment Lu Jinxuan said this, discussion broke out all around.

"Senior Brother, doesn't the sect forbid mining at night? If we do it, will we be punished?" someone asked.

"Heh, this junior brother need not worry. The reason that rule existed before was because those mortals' bodies couldn't endure it. If they continued mining at night, people would die."

"But everyone seated here is a cultivator. Your physical strength is far beyond ordinary people. Not to mention, with us working in two shifts, everyone will definitely be able to hold on."

In the corner, Li Jun curled his lips.

Why did those words sound so familiar no matter how he heard them? As long as it didn't work you to death, they would work you to death. Even immortality cultivation had to be a rat race.

"Senior Brother Lu, then how do we determine which mine tunnel has abundant ore? And how do we transport it out?" someone else asked.

During the day, there were laborers around, so the transportation of ore could be guaranteed.

But at night, without laborers, in such long mine tunnels, transporting the ore alone would take no small amount of effort.

"This junior brother asks a good question. As for the mine tunnels, a few senior brothers and I will think of a way to settle that. As for transporting ore, we do have a few storage bags, but they probably won't be enough. So, regarding transport, do any junior brothers or junior sisters have good ideas?"

Everyone looked at one another, not knowing what to do for a moment.

"Senior Brother, can't we use magic tools? If we use some flying-boat-type magic tools, they should be able to carry quite a lot, right?" someone said.

"I've thought of that too, but that type of magic tool consumes no small number of Spirit Stones. Doing that would be somewhat like losing more than we gain." Lu Jinxuan shook his head.

Everyone nodded. They had originally come for the rewards. If they had to spend large amounts of Spirit Stones while mining, it would not be worth it.

More importantly, whose Spirit Stones would be spent, and how they would be used—those were all problems.

Without support from Medicine Peak, no one wanted to contribute their own Spirit Stones.

The scene once again fell into silence.

"Senior Brother, I actually have an idea." In the crowd, Li Fugui raised his hand in signal.

"Oh? This junior brother, feel free to speak."

Li Fugui cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Lu, I heard there's a kind of level-one demon beast on Cangwu Mountain called the Fiery Mane Horse. It has good stamina and is easy to tame. If we tame a few Fiery Mane Horses, when the time comes, we can use them to transport ore, and it'll greatly improve our efficiency."

The moment these words came out, everyone present's eyes lit up.

"Not bad. That's a good idea. We're all cultivators, so even if the Fiery Mane Horses don't behave, we can control them in time."

Lu Jinxuan's eyes brightened, feeling that this junior brother's idea was quite good.

"What's your name?"

"Senior Brother Lu, my name is Li Fugui. I'm an outer sect disciple of Alchemy Hall," Li Fugui said, scratching his head.

"Junior Brother Li, your idea is good. But taming demon beasts isn't easy. More importantly, there's feeding and caring for the horses. After all, this round will last a long time. If the horses die of exhaustion when the time comes, it'll be hard for us to win," Lu Jinxuan mused.

"Senior Brother Lu, that part might be solvable. Junior Brother Li Jun of our Medicine Peak specializes in feeding Eldest Senior Sister's cow. I heard he fed that cow into a top-grade cow. If we leave this matter to him, there shouldn't be much of a problem!" Li Fugui said with a smile.

Hearing this, Li Jun, who was in the corner, felt his gaze turn cold.