Qi Refining Seventh Layer

It's not that all martial artists in the world are devoid of courage, or that they would willingly submit to being slaughtered upon seeing so-called immortals.

There were certainly some martial artists who dared to resist, though few, and almost all of them died.

Perhaps every time this happens, one or two people will manage to escape, but they usually do so not through any special skills or tricks, but simply through luck.

It's not always because practitioners can't catch up that they let the rabbits escape; perhaps they just happen to be too lazy to chase them, just like a hunter returning with a full load of prey won't care about a rabbit slipping out of his overflowing wagon.

This stems from the arrogance that flows from the very bones of cultivators.

However, others don't need to feel too sorry for these martial artists. Most of them have been drawing on the blood and sweat of kind people in the fields since their ancestors' time to develop their excellent martial arts skills.

The cultivators allowed the martial artists to mistreat and exploit the common people, then periodically harvested the martial artists for forced labor, giving the people a chance to recuperate and rebuild their lives.

This non-interference approach to governance by the monks seems to have naturally formed a near-perfect ecological cycle over thousands of years.

Kang Dabao did not linger at the drill ground and Tie Xishan for long. With a casual wave of his hand, the minor officials waiting for instructions in the drill ground urged the laborers to squeeze into the beast-drawn carts that had been prepared in advance.

After the clerk locked the gate, the driver gently cracked his whip, and the pack animals exhaled a puff of white steam, snorted, and began to move.

The wagons transporting the convicts were incredibly cramped. Each of the twenty animal-drawn wagons was crammed with about a hundred people, forcing these Qi and Blood men to be forced into close physical contact.

"Grandmaster, where are these immortals taking us?" A burly young man, who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, asked the white-browed elder beside him in a low voice.

"Hmph, I don't know either. I suppose it's either mining or construction." The old man shook his head, recalling his experience of being conscripted when he was young.

Living a long life has its downsides; I've encountered this kind of bad luck more than once. I especially remember when I was still Skin Refining. After surviving by sheer luck, I worked hard and became Martial Ancestor, gaining considerable fame in the surrounding martial arts world.

Then, only now do I realize that there was no difference; it was still the same—I was stripped naked and locked in a cage.

Among the group of martial artists nearby were those who knew the old man well. They were aware of his martial arts skills and reputation. Seeing that he had ended up in the same situation as them, they felt even more pessimistic, and even their long-held martial arts beliefs began to waver.

Although the pack animals were pulling heavy carts, they were still much faster than ordinary martial artists on foot.

After traveling along the main road for less than ten days, the laborers who had set out from Pingrong County finally arrived at Gao Li Mountain in Tanggu County, the location of that barren Spirit Stone mine.

Accompanying them were also hard laborers dispatched by the governor's office from Jin County. Among the cultivators of Jin County, there was not a single outstanding figure, and they were the most obedient.

Unlike the Sect Leader Kang Da, who was somewhat kind-hearted and even arranged for the martial artists to take turns getting some fresh air each day.

The clerk leading the group from Jin County was utterly inhumane; the wagons carrying the convicts never drove during the five or six-day journey.

The carriages carrying about a hundred people were crammed together for several days, with everyone eating, drinking, and relieving themselves in one place. You can imagine the conditions. Even though the martial artists were physically strong, four or five of them still died from the exhaustion along the way.

When the Jin County magistrate saw Kang Dabao, he approached him with a smile to exchange pleasantries, but the latter remained cold and didn't even bother to respond.

One should never associate with people who are prone to harming others without benefiting themselves; this is pure evil, even more repulsive than those bandit cultivators or Evil Cultivator who habitually kill and plunder.

Tanggu, who had been waiting for a long time to welcome the two, was a fair-skinned scholar, just like Luo Heng. He was also a son-in-law of the Huo Household.

Thanks to Luo Heng and Qian Liu's personal experiences, Sect Leader Kang Da's reputation among the Huo Household's sons-in-law had already spread.

Therefore, even though Tanggu's cultivation and official rank were higher than Kang Dabao's, he still spoke respectfully to the latter and dared not put on any pretentious behavior.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da, whose mood had been ruined by the Jin County magistrate, had no intention of chatting idly. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he called Tanggu over to explain the situation in the mine.

Tanggu organized his thoughts and got straight to the point. "The mine is now divided into east and west sides. The western part has been cleared. The two of you just need to guard your respective teachers and mine on this side. It's relatively safe."

In the eastern part, there are still Demon Beast that need to be eliminated. Originally, thanks to the concerted efforts of all colleagues, the situation was almost resolved, but the beast horde brought by the thieves of the Three Incense Cult ruined the situation.

Although the beast horde had been personally defeated by the governor, the mine is a winding and treacherous place, and the beasts have scattered and hidden in various branches. It will take a lot of effort to find and eliminate them, and the comrades sent by the governor's office are still working hard in the mine.

The remaining Demon Beast in the mine are mostly of the Gold-Devouring Rat clan, with occasional appearances of Fire Boar and Purple Fire Jackal, but in small numbers.

Half a month has passed since the beast horde wreaked havoc, and the remaining Demon Beast are of low rank. A high- First-Tier Superior-Grade Demon Beast has only appeared once recently. Just yesterday, a Fire Boar escaped because of that monstrous creature.

After listening attentively to Tanggu's words, Kang Dabao thought to himself that this fellow was indeed like Luo Heng —a brainless scoundrel who was good at deceiving and harming people—to be able to become a son-in-law in the Huo Household.

This guy perfectly embodies the phrase "avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial."

What do you mean by "the western mine tunnels are relatively safe"? If they were truly safe, then how did the previous batch of two thousand laborers in Pingrong County perish?! And how did Sun Bingdou die?!

That's an elder of the Grass Witch Cult who has cultivated to the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer, and anyone with the guts can even try to reach the Foundation Establishment!

Based on the scale of the Gold-Devouring Rat described by Tie Liuyun, Tanggu, with his mediocre appearance, would certainly be powerless to deal with them after they devoured Sun Bingdou.

This Spirit Stone mine is probably teeming with hordes of Gold-Devouring Rat now. They are individually weak; even an ordinary rat king would be no match for a typical Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator. But once they grow in number, they become far more terrifying than Fire Boar or Purple Fire Jackal.

Whether they are ordinary people mining in the west or cultivators hunting beasts in the east, neither is truly safe; they are constantly in danger.

Kang Dabao's gaze at the pale-faced scholar instantly made him wary. He had already made a careless move, falling for the trick of a son-in-law of the Huo Household, with considerable consequences. He had almost truly become loyal to the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty!

Once bitten, twice shy. This time, be careful that this son-in-law of the Huo Household might set a trap for you too.

After settling the master and establishing the procedures, Kang Dabao thanked Tanggu for the welcoming banquet and then found a nearby spot with a slightly stronger spiritual energy vein, where he carved out a cave, set up an array, and began his cultivation in peace.

He was merely a caretaker of the monks; he didn't have to spend most of his day in the mine like the laborers.

Those sent by various counties to supervise forced labor were mostly rootless and aimless cultivators. After being given official titles, their cultivation did not improve much, but their skills in exploiting the common people improved day by day.

Sect Leader Kang Da had no intention of cultivating himself properly with these county colleagues. How could he possibly cultivate if he spent all his time mingling with a bunch of insignificant creatures?

Kang Dabao secluded himself in seclusion and did not concern himself with other people's affairs. The laborers, following his arrangement, were organized into ten teams, each led by a Martial Ancestor master skilled in managing people.

Don't underestimate these Martial Ancestor just because they seem like worthless mortals in the eyes of cultivators. In their families, they are powerful figures who manage tens of thousands of people in various regions. Managing two hundred people is just a piece of cake for them.

These Martial Ancestor masters didn't need to supervise the work every day with whips; they only needed to keep track of the number of Spirit Stone each person collected daily and preserve them.

The collected Spirit Stone were moved outside the mine at fixed times and locations, and then handed over to Kang Dabao and the mine manager sent by the governor's office for counting.

The reward and punishment regulations were also very simple, except for the usual rules such as not being allowed to rob or fight and kill.

Those who mine more will be rewarded, not only by returning home earlier but also by receiving Cultivation Method Secret Manual; those who mine less will be punished, but without beatings, scoldings, or cutting off hands or feet, only by extending their service period.

If someone thinks the mine is a beautiful place with clear waters, lush forests, and tall bamboos, then they can simply leave without collecting any spirit fragments and let Sect Leader Kang Da keep them in the mine to live out their days.

In the days that followed, Kang Dabao focused solely on his cultivation, only occasionally venturing to the areas where Demon Beast appeared after receiving reports from the laborers.

On several occasions, he was lucky enough that the attacking Demon Beast were of low rank, and Kang Dabao could kill Demon Beast and collect their corpses, thus making some profit.

However, the terrain in the mine was complex and difficult to navigate, and most of the Demon Beast could escape even if they were defeated. After the first few lucky events, Sect Leader Kang Da was unable to collect many more Demon Beast corpses.

The ten stewards of the Martial Ancestor, like the old donkeys watching the carrots by the stone mill, were full of energy, eager to Gui Household as soon as possible. They even spontaneously offered rewards within their own ranks to encourage the laborers to work even harder.

The person who mines the most Spirit Stone on a given day will receive personal instruction from a Martial Ancestor master. The person who mines the most Spirit Stone in a month will receive a promise from the Martial Ancestor master: money and beautiful women are theirs for the taking.

The laborers' enthusiasm for mining Spirit Stone suddenly rose to another level. Although these Martial Ancestor were now as poor as everyone else, with only half a pair of trousers left, they were all wealthy landowners back home with vast estates and plenty of assets. Naturally, everyone had something to strive for.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. When the mine supervisor sent by the governor's office checked the amount of mining done in Pingrong County this season, he was so shocked that he almost jumped up.

This was because they mined more than twice as much as other counties' laborers of the same caliber, and apart from the unfortunate ones who were bitten and eaten by Demon Beast, almost no one died in the cave.

When the Sect Leader Kang Da learned of this, he was not surprised at all. These measures were actually nothing new and could be come up with without much thought.

Even if you lack that kind of intelligence, as long as you are kind-hearted and treat these laborers as human beings, without being overly harsh or abusive, it will still be effective.

The cultivators who supervised the hard labor clearly knew that copying Sect Leader Kang Da's method would greatly increase the production of Spirit Stone, yet they still refused to learn it, which was nothing more than "arrogance".

"Why mine so many Spirit Stones? They won't even end up in our own pockets."

"What if the laborers get injured? Then just go and catch more; there are plenty."

The common people gossiped amongst themselves, then turned back to their own pleasures with prostitutes and banquets.

Kang Dabao paid no heed to the dust and chaff. At this moment, he was sitting in the simple cave abode he had carved out, feeling the pure spiritual energy flowing into his Dantian. As it circulated continuously throughout his body, it gradually filled all the meridians.

This is the crucial moment; every meridian is like a fully drawn bowstring, poised to unleash its power.

The spiritual energy in his Dantian surged forth like a rushing river, unstoppable. One by one, the tightly closed acupoints could not withstand this fierce attack and were forced open.

Finally, all the obstacles in Kang Dabao's path were swept away, and spiritual energy surged forth, revealing a smooth road ahead.

Sect Leader Kang Da exhaled a breath of stale air, accompanied by a satisfied groan.

Kang Dabao opened his eyes, feeling an unprecedented abundance of spiritual energy within his body, and couldn't help but laugh, "Late Qi Refinement, Qi Refining Seventh Layer, Foundation Establishment in sight!"

(Thank you all for your continued support and voting during the one-day break!)