"I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing."
Inside a wooden hut for menial disciples of the Azure Pool Sect, in the Imprisoned Dragon Realm.
Having handed in his spirit ore once again, Lu Li sat cross-legged on his bed.
Reaching the Qi Refining Second Layer had indeed made Bai Sheng pay less attention to him.
This time, when he left the mine, not only had Bai Sheng refrained from sneering coldly at him, he had even nodded.
Lu Li found it exceedingly strange.
He could not make heads or tails of it.
Fortunately, he had passed the hurdle, and his situation in the Azure Pool Sect had begun to open up.
Now, with a little time to spare, he could not help missing his parents.
"Mom and Dad must be worried sick by now."
"But with the country there, their daily needs should be taken care of."
"Maybe I should just tell them about my situation the next time I make contact."
His feelings complicated, Lu Li thought it over, but ultimately shook his head.
If his parents learned that their son was stranded in a dangerous otherworld...
And whether he could ever return in this lifetime was still in question...
It would undoubtedly be an enormous torment and disaster for them.
Better to keep it from them for now.
"I could ask Director Li to help me put on an act, though. Say I've been called up by the country or something."
"Mm, with the country helping cover for me, Mom and Dad probably won't be too suspicious."
"At the very least, it'll keep them from worrying and put their minds at ease. That's enough."
Having settled his thoughts, Lu Li planned to tell a white lie the next time he made contact.
After all, it was not as though Great Xia had never seen cases like this.
Hadn't those predecessors who quietly devoted themselves to Great Xia and its people also concealed their identities, rarely managing to return home throughout their lives?
And he would have the country to "vouch" for him.
That made this excuse quite credible.
"Mm, that settles it."
"If I can reassure Mom and Dad for now, I won't feel so pressed either."
"According to the timeline calculated by the comrades at Bureau 749, the safest course is for me to lie low in the menial disciples' area for six months before advancing to the outer sect."
"In that case, I'll just cultivate steadily."
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, Lu Li reaffirmed his short-term goal.
He slowly immersed himself in cultivation.
Hum!
The improved Five Elements Instruction, otherwise known as Five Elements Instruction Version 2.0, began circulating at his will.
Thin wisps of Spiritual Power squeezed out of the air.
They flowed toward his meridians.
The steady spiritual glow drew envious looks from every menial disciple nearby.
It also made Ye Chenfeng open his eyes in the corner.
"This fellow..."
"Elder Jian, you said this person comprehended the Five Elements Instruction to the intermediate level through his disposition and talent alone."
"Does that mean he might have some considerable good fortune ahead of him?"
While refining the sword essence within his body, Ye Chenfeng secretly transmitted his voice to the sword pellet in his Dantian.
His voice entered the sword pellet, but received no reply.
Only after a long while did that slightly aged, stern voice ring out with a trace of indifference.
"Good fortune?"
"You're overthinking it. With his aptitude, Foundation Establishment is as far as he'll ever get in this life."
"Even if he lucks into forming a core. Heh..."
At the mention of Core Formation, the voice called Elder Jian seemed to recall something.
A hint of disgust seeped into his words.
"Even if he lucks into forming a core, he'll still need to live long enough to leave the Azure Pool Sect's territory."
"Whew, how did I never notice there was such a filthy place in the Western Continent?"
"Hmph, had I known before..."
Elder Jian's voice gradually fell silent.
It carried a trace of anger and unwillingness, along with deep regret.
Ye Chenfeng scratched his head, not quite understanding.
But he understood that the Azure Pool Sect was definitely not as simple as it appeared.
In the days that followed, Lu Li did nothing but cultivate every day.
The cultivation speed of the 2.0 Five Elements Instruction improved his cultivation by the day.
The distance to the Third Layer of Qi Refining shrank bit by bit.
Unfortunately, Lu Li could not use the azure gold spirit ore in the Jade Pendant Space.
Otherwise, he could have shortened that time considerably.
This made him look forward even more to his goal of advancing to the outer sect.
"Once I enter the outer sect, I'll have my own private cave abode."
"Whether I'm contacting Great Xia or cultivating on my own, it'll be much more convenient."
"Unlike now, when I have things I can't even use. It's downright stifling."
As he cultivated, Lu Li recalled the azure gold spirit ore he had stockpiled on his last trip into the mine and badly coveted it.
Equipped with multiple batteries, the Dexi Power Drill could rightly be called a divine mining tool.
In two days, it had helped him stockpile nearly a hundred pieces of spirit ore.
If others learned of this efficiency, their jaws would surely drop.
Without using a Law Artifact, someone would probably need to reach Late Qi Refining to match that efficiency.
He now had a modest nest egg.
"I just wonder how the country's research into purifying spirit ore is progressing."
"Mm, regardless, stockpiling more spirit ore in these few months before I enter the outer sect is the right move."
"If they really succeed in purifying it, my cultivation speed will definitely rise dramatically once I enter the outer sect!"
"I have to lie low for six months anyway."
With these thoughts turning in his mind, Lu Li began making careful calculations.
During these six months in the menial disciples' area, he would enter the mine once every seven days.
That meant twenty-five opportunities to go mining.
With two days per trip, he could stockpile nearly a hundred pieces of spirit ore.
Twenty-five trips would mean...
"A full two thousand five hundred pieces!"
"Gasp! That's almost a quarter of this mine's total annual output!"
Calculating the haul that would soon be his, Lu Li could not help growing excited.
Over two thousand pieces of spirit ore-although he did not know their exact value.
Still, he believed that a quarter of a mine's annual output would probably tempt even a Foundation Establishment True Person.
"If I can enter the outer sect with such a huge stockpile of spirit ore,"
"Then my cultivation path in the outer sect will undoubtedly be much smoother."
"Even if it can't be purified efficiently, exchanging it for some Spirit Stones or other resources would be excellent."
"I could even send what I get back to Great Xia for the country to research. It's wonderful no matter how I look at it!"
Having thought all this through, Lu Li grew increasingly excited.
He actually began eagerly anticipating his next trip into the mine.
Time passed, and seven days went by in the blink of an eye.
It was time to enter the mine again.
"Everyone, into the mine!"
As Bai Sheng's familiar, icy voice rang out.
The menial disciples filed inside.
They spread out through the mine tunnels running every which way.
As usual, Lu Li took turn after turn, walking a long way off on his own.
After confirming that no one was nearby and that it was safe, he cautiously reached into his robes.
He took out an ancient-looking fish-shaped jade pendant.
Hum!
Spiritual Power flowed into the jade pendant.
Specks of light spilled out.
A familiar voice instantly came from the other side of the pendant.
"Hello, Comrade Lu Li!"
"Hello, Director Li!"
Once they had exchanged polite greetings.
Lu Li prepared to transmit his recent cultivation insights as usual, then bring up the matter of "putting on an act" while he was at it.
But before he could do anything.
The voice on the other side of the jade pendant immediately changed.
It seemed someone else had taken over speaking.
Immediately afterward, Wang Zhiwen's extremely excited voice came through.
"Comrade Little Lu! Could you send back another batch of azure gold spirit ore samples?"
"We've made a major breakthrough in our research into purifying spirit ore!"