Red Copper Mine

After leaving the Cave Mansion, Chen Daoxuan felt heavy-hearted.

To support his cultivation, Thirteenth Uncle had not hesitated to give up his own Dao path.

Such a debt of grace in attaining the Dao was truly soul-stirring.

Since being reborn into this world, Chen Daoxuan had heard and seen only cultivators resorting to every kind of treachery and deceit, plunder and slaughter, all for their own cultivation. Never had he heard of anyone giving up their own Dao path for the sake of a junior's cultivation.

Such self-sacrificing conduct would have been exceedingly rare not only in this world, but even on Earth in his previous life.

Yet when he thought of Chen Xianhe's patient teachings over the years, Chen Daoxuan could not help but feel relieved.

Using the Wind Riding Technique, Chen Daoxuan flitted through the misty mountain clouds like an immortal.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence.

After roughly the time it took to burn half an incense stick, a brownish mountain peak appeared before Chen Daoxuan.

Compared with the Cave Mansions of Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe, this mountain was utterly bare, like a featherless vulture, exceptionally ugly.

This was the tiny Spirit Mine occupied by the Chen Family of Twin Lakes Island—the Red Copper Mine. The Red Copper Mountain Range had also received its name because of this Spirit Mine.

As he neared the mine, Chen Daoxuan saw commoners in short hemp shirts entering and leaving the mine tunnels. They were all Chen clansmen from Changping County.

On Red Copper Mine Mountain.

Chen Liangyu, who was in charge of the mine site, spotted Chen Daoxuan flying over at a glance.

Before Chen Daoxuan had even landed, Chen Liangyu hurried forward and bowed with cupped hands. "Welcome, Immortal Master."

In this world, cultivators were the absolute ruling class.

Thus, even though Chen Daoxuan was only sixteen, Chen Liangyu did not dare slight him in the slightest because of his age.

"We are both Chen clansmen. There is no need for such formality."

Chen Daoxuan landed before Chen Liangyu and lightly raised a hand.

With a single glance, Chen Daoxuan saw that Chen Liangyu's cultivation had improved, breaking through from the Sixth Layer of Innate to the Seventh Layer of Innate.

Although Chen Daoxuan only conducted his routine inspection of the Red Copper Mine Site once a year, he still had some impression of Chen Liangyu, the man in charge of the mine.

But whether it was the Sixth Layer of Innate or the Seventh Layer of Innate, there was not much difference in a cultivator's eyes.

The Innate Stage and the Qi Refining Stage were fundamentally not on the same level.

After a pause, Chen Daoxuan smiled. "I came this time to inspect this year's Red Copper Mine output."

At those words, the smile piled across Chen Liangyu's weathered face immediately collapsed.

He said cautiously, "Reporting to Immortal Master, this year's Red Copper Mine output has fallen again. There are only a little over three point three jin."

Sure enough, Chen Daoxuan's brows furrowed slightly at this.

The situation was even worse than Chen Xianhe had estimated. This Red Copper Mine might already have run dry.

Even if they mined it at full force without regard for the cost, they likely could not squeeze much remaining ore from it.

Thinking this, Chen Daoxuan took a deep breath. "Come. Take me to have a look."

"This way, Immortal Master!"

Chen Liangyu bowed and made an inviting gesture. Chen Daoxuan then strolled toward the pavilion where the ore was stored.

At the Red Copper Mine Site, aside from the three mine tunnels on the mountain, the miners and stewards usually lived in simply built temporary wooden houses.

Among these crude wooden houses, however, stood a three-story pavilion that rose above the flock like a crane.

It was the storage room built to temporarily store Red Copper Ore.

Chen Liangyu usually lived in this pavilion, ostensibly to ensure the safety of the Red Copper Ore.

In reality, he simply did not want to squeeze into those foul-smelling makeshift work sheds with the miners.

Of course.

Despite the harsh conditions at the Red Copper Mine Site, the Chen clansmen were still willing to serve here. What drew them was not exploitation by the Immortal Masters, but the generous compensation offered by the family.

The family stipulated that anyone willing to voluntarily mine at Red Copper Mine Mountain needed to serve only three months to exempt their entire household from a year's taxes.

Moreover, working at the Red Copper Mine Site earned one tael of silver in wages every month.

Such generous compensation had made mining at the Red Copper Mine Site a hot commodity in the eyes of the Chen clansmen of Twin Lakes Island—a bona fide high-paying post.

If he had to compare this position to something from his previous life, it was probably like working for a state-owned enterprise?

Arriving before the pavilion where the Red Copper Ore was stored, Chen Liangyu hurriedly took out a key and opened the bronze lock on the doors, then led Chen Daoxuan inside.

After turning left and right through the building for about the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Chen Liangyu handed an exquisite wooden box to Chen Daoxuan.

When he was done, he cupped his hands. "Immortal Master, all the Red Copper Ore mined from last year until now is in this box."

"Mm."

Chen Daoxuan nodded noncommittally and lightly waved a hand, causing his true qi to surge.

Clack!

The wooden box sprang open. Inside lay four reddish ore chunks, three large and one small.

Unlike ordinary copper ore, an indescribable aura circulated over these red stones. Let alone cultivators—even commoners could tell that these ores were unusual.

Spiritual Aura!

This was also the greatest difference between Spirit Mines and ordinary ores.

Generally speaking, the grade of a Spirit Mine was determined by the amount of Spiritual Aura it contained.

After inspecting them and finding no problems, Chen Daoxuan patted the Storage Bag at his waist and put the four pieces of Red Copper Ore into it.

At the sight, Chen Liangyu let out a slight breath of relief.

Seeing his expression, Chen Daoxuan smiled faintly, then carefully relayed Thirteenth Uncle's instructions to the man in charge of the Red Copper Mine.

"What! The Clan Leader wants the Red Copper Vein mined at full force?"

Chen Liangyu was greatly surprised upon hearing this order from the Clan Leader.

But given Chen Daoxuan's status, he could never have falsely conveyed the Clan Leader's order. In other words, the Clan Leader truly intended to abandon the Red Copper Mine.

That made sense. The Red Copper Mine's profits had worsened year after year. Clearly, the vein had run dry.

Rather than keep mining it in this half-dead state, it would be better to intensify the work, dig the entire vein upside down, and thoroughly extract every last deposit.

With that thought, Chen Liangyu raised his head. "Immortal Master, if we are to fully mine the Red Copper Mine, I fear our current manpower will not be enough. Furthermore, the costs of mining will likely rise substantially."

Chen Daoxuan did not care in the slightest about the expenses Chen Liangyu mentioned.

At most, it meant spending some silver.

Silver still held value in commoners' eyes, but to cultivators, it was hardly any different from scrap iron.

"Rest assured. I will instruct the County Magistrate of Changping County to cooperate with you in this matter. I am only informing you in advance so that you can prepare yourself."

Hearing this, Chen Liangyu hurriedly lowered his head and acknowledged the order.

Though he agreed aloud, Chen Liangyu's mood was still dreadful.

Mining the Red Copper Mine at full force not only meant that the family had abandoned this Spirit Mine, but also that his time as the overseer of the Red Copper Mine Site had come to an end.

For all this time, relying on his position as Mine Overseer of the Red Copper Mine Site, Chen Liangyu's standing within the clan had been nearly equal to that of the County Magistrate of Changping County.

It could be said that, aside from the lofty Immortal Masters of the family, Chen Liangyu ranked next in status.

As the man in charge of the Red Copper Mine Site, Chen Liangyu held authority over its mining operations, personnel, and more.

On top of that, he could meet the family's Immortal Masters almost every year and interact with them at close range.

Who would want to give up such a cushy post?

But abandoning the Red Copper Mine was the Clan Leader's order. How could a mere clansman at the Seventh Layer of Innate oppose it?