A Bunch of Borers

"Hiss, good heavens, they really are selling their father's land without a care in the world." Hearing the words of the Huo Household, Sect Leader Kang Da's eyes widened and he gasped.

His scheme was hardly honorable; he had deliberately acted behind the Huo Household. He hadn't even had a chance to settle in before they caught wind of it and came knocking on his door.

The man in front of him was named Huo Chun, with Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. Kang Dabao vaguely remembered that he should be the great-grandson of Huo Bing, the younger brother of the Huo Household head.

This kind of relationship, which is already considered extremely close among direct descendants in many Lineage, is actually going to involve colluding with outsiders to undermine their own family's members?!

The Sect Leader Kang Da was alarmed and looked at the man in front of him with suspicion, worried that he might have set a trap to trick him.

"The county magistrate is the head of the family, but he doesn't know how difficult it is for us Lineage members to cultivate. If we don't use some means to make a living, how can we possibly pursue the Great Dao?" Huo Chun explained to Kang Dabao, his voice full of grievances.

His True Intention and shameless demeanor didn't seem feigned. After pondering for a moment, Sect Leader Kang Da said slowly, "Fellow Daoist Huo, what do you intend to do?"

Seeing that Kang Dabao had been persuaded, Huo Chun's smile widened, "Currently, the monthly quota for the teams in the thirteen counties is about nine hundred Spirit Stones. As long as the county magistrate can integrate the thirteen teams and calculate based on the output of Pingrong County, we can extract at least two thousand two or three Spirit Stone per month."

After deducting the thousand spirit stones to be handed over, and further deducting the money Huo needs to pay his family, the county supervisors, and the people from the governor's office, what's left are Spirit Stone. We two brothers can split it 50/50, and we should be able to get two or three Spirit Stone a month without any problem."

Huo Chun's appetite was far greater than that of Sect Leader Kang Da, leaving the latter speechless with astonishment.

They actually wanted to integrate 20,000 to 30,000 teachers from thirteen counties and get the supervisors from each county to do this together. This was a much bigger undertaking than Kang Dabao's previous plans.

If what Huo Chun said is true, even if one can earn two hundred Spirit Stone a month, that would still be more profitable than the Chongming Market Sect Leader Kang Da painstakingly established back then.

If they can truly make this a long-term business, then Jiang Qing's resources for Foundation Establishment will be gathered in no time!

"My method isn't hard to learn. Since Fellow Daoist Huo has such abilities, why not report it directly to your family? You could then legitimately obtain some supplies." Kang Dabao didn't lower his guard because of Huo Chun's promise. Instead of showing any joy, he asked.

"I also manage a fine iron mine in the Tanggu County. I tried using your method, and while the output was higher, it was still far inferior to yours. This shows that you, brother, are far superior to me in terms of worldly wisdom."

Huo Chun didn't directly answer Kang Dabao's question. Instead, he first flattered the latter's stinky feet for a while. When he saw that the Sect Leader Kang Da remained unmoved, he finally explained:

"These Spirit Stone were doubled in value and entered my family. After being distributed layer by layer by the family head and elders, they might not even be worth a fraction of what I have by the time they reach me. I originally had the cultivation of Triple Spirit Root and was also diligent in my cultivation."

The Four Spirit Roots's descendant, whose Spirit Root are inferior to mine and who is less diligent, still surpasses me in cultivation, and has even prepared Foundation Establishment Pill. The reason for this is none other than the patriarch's unfair treatment; he failed to give me the resources that were due to me."

Huo Chun's resentful demeanor when he spoke of his family affairs seemed genuine, and Kang Dabao listened attentively for a while until he grew somewhat annoyed. He then gestured for him to stop and asked, "How confident are you, Fellow Daoist Huo?"

"I'm very confident. The patriarch doesn't manage affairs much anyway. I'll first feed the elder in charge of the mine, and then use Spirit Stone to silence the supervising cultivators in the thirteen counties. The news won't reach the patriarch's ears."

Huo Chun patted his chest confidently, but saw that Sect Leader Kang Da was still frowning. He then said, "Brother, don't worry. You are the eldest son-in-law of the Fei Household, and you have Senior Black Shoes protecting you. Otherwise, I might not have chosen to cooperate with you."

Even if things were to go wrong, with your connections, brother, at most you'd just have to return your share of Spirit Stone and stand by and watch the supervising cultivators from the other counties lose their heads one by one. The patriarch wouldn't dare do anything to you."

Kang Dabao's brows did not relax after hearing this; instead, he asked, "And what about you, fellow Daoist?"

Huo Chun laughed heartily, "Although my cultivation has been delayed due to insufficient resources, I am still the only cultivator with Triple Spirit Root among the current Huo Household members. The patriarch may punish me, but he will certainly not harm my life. Besides, what's the point of keeping this life if I cannot reach the Foundation Establishment in this life?"

Kang Dabao couldn't tell whether the Huo Household was truly rotten to this extent, or whether Huo Chun was too stubborn to do something that would betray his Lineage.

Sect Leader Kang Da remembers this guy is only in his early twenties, yet his cultivation is almost at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, even faster than Little Sanzi back then. How can he be so young, yet so recklessly rushing to Foundation Establishment?

The energy of the young man before him made the man, who was nearly forty and had just become somewhat complacent, feel ashamed and embarrassed.

However, what Huo Chun said was indeed quite promising, much bigger than the deal he had previously envisioned, and after listening to Huo Chun's explanation, Kang Dabao felt that the risks had been reduced considerably.

If that's the case, then what is there that can't be done? Just as Huo Chun said, even if things come to light, Huo Bing might not dare to do anything to him.

Suddenly, Sect Leader Kang Da felt that he had underestimated the value of the title "son-in-law of the Fei Household". Thinking about it, even if he had refused Huo Bing's personal signature and disobeyed his orders, and stayed in the sect to cultivate diligently, Huo Bing would not have dared to do anything.

However, it was also a stroke of luck. If I hadn't come here, I might not have been able to break through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer so quickly.

The two reached an agreement and, amidst laughter and conversation, finalized their plan to undermine the Huo Household's reputation. They then went their separate ways to prepare.

Huo Chun was very efficient. He not only gathered all the supervising cultivators from the other twelve counties in just ten days, but also returned all the Spirit Stone that Pingrong County had handed over in the first quarter that exceeded the average amount to Sect Leader Kang Da as a sign of sincerity.

Without a doubt, the mine manager whom Kang Dabao had previously been unable to persuade had been dragged into the mess by Huo Chun.

However, having these hundred or so Spirit Stone in hand did reassure Sect Leader Kang Da, who was doing business with him, quite a bit. At least it proved that Huo Chun was not the kind of arrogant, pampered rich kid who could only talk big.

Sect Leader Kang Da, was even less likely to hold back. He followed the same method and trained the conscripts in various counties. Before long, the conscripts were motivated and the results were initially visible.

When these supervising monks heard that there were Spirit Stone to earn, they were naturally willing to use their ingenuity to incentivize the laborers in various ways.

The laborers finally began to live a good life. Not only did they get new trousers, but they were also able to respond quickly to attacks from Demon Beast. Gambling dens, brothels, restaurants, and other entertainment venues sprang up like mushrooms after rain near the Spirit Stone mines.

As long as you mine a lot, you can still live a life of luxury here.

However, not everyone is willing to put in so much effort to learn from Kang Dabao; some are Qi Ingestion and willing to find another way.

The Jin County magistrate casually scattered the Gu worms he had cultivated onto all the laborers, forcing them to meet their daily quotas. Those who failed to do so would have their organs emptied by the Gu worms and die.

Mining Spirit Stone was a matter of luck, and fewer and fewer of the laborers from Jin County were able to complete their daily quotas, until finally one-fifth of them died or were injured.

In their frustration, a dozen or so Martial Ancestor secretly gathered two or three hundred laborers, falsely claiming to have discovered Demon Beast, and lured the Jin County magistrate into the mine. There, they nearly beat him to death.

Fortunately, the magistrate of Jin County was a mid-stage cultivator, so even when suddenly surrounded, he managed to escape with serious injuries and was rescued by fellow cultivators who came to his aid.

Although everyone disliked the Jin County magistrate's self-righteousness, the rebellious laborers were all purged.

We can't set this bad precedent. If all the tens of thousands of laborers in the mine follow suit, killing them all wouldn't be a big deal, but it would take time to catch them, which would delay everyone's efforts to earn Spirit Stone.

The magistrate of Jin County didn't fare well afterward either. After being forced by Sect Leader Kang Da to remove the Gu worms from the remaining laborers of Jin County, he was then severely beaten by Huo Chun, who had a bad expression on his face, and was beaten to death.

This young master, born into the direct line of the Huo Household, wasn't so polite to everyone; he had to be selective about who he treated.

The death of the county magistrate of Jin County will not have any negative impact. It is perfectly normal for a few Qi Refinement cultivators to die from time to time in an uncleaned mine.

Besides, with such a large deal, it's really necessary to make an example of someone to scare the rest.

Because of Huo Chun's swift and decisive actions, the foolish actions of the Jin County magistrate did not inspire resentment and hatred among all the laborers.

Even the laborers who survived the ordeal quickly returned to mining work after recovering, so as not to have a significant impact on the production of Spirit Stone.

Kang Dabao, on the other hand, was unaffected. He continued to focus on his cultivation and consolidating his realm.

Once, while exorcising Demon Beast for the laborers, after killing a Fire Boar, he surprisingly found a litter of fully formed cubs that could already howl from its belly.

I often hear mountain dwellers who make a living on the outskirts of the Cold Crow Mountain Range say that they found some beast eggs or Demon Beast cubs in a certain place in a certain year and month. This is the first time in all these years that Sect Leader Kang Da has encountered such a lucky thing.

It is said that newborn Demon Beast cubs are the easiest to tame, so Kang Dabao sent a message to Zhou Yixiu, asking him to bring Duan Anle to Tanggu County when he had time, so that he could take this Fire Boar cubs back and see if he could raise them.

Fire Boar meat is a type of Spirit Cuisine ingredient that cultivators in Cloud Horn Prefecture quite like. If Chongming Sect could develop it into an industry and regularly produce some Fire Boar meat, they would not have to worry about sales.

Zhou Yixiu and Duan Anle arrived quickly, and Kang Dabao did not ask them to stay any longer.

The Gold-Devouring Rat in the Spirit Stone mine haven't been completely eradicated yet. Even though they haven't reappeared recently, it can't be considered a safe place. Given their weak strength, the two should return to Sect Leader Kang Da as soon as possible to put their minds at ease.

The days passed quickly amidst the hard laborers' high spirits and enthusiastic work.

On the first day of the third month, when the mine manager checked again, the output of Spirit Stone had reached 1,600. Although it had not yet reached the double that Kang and Huo had expected, it had still increased significantly.

All the cultivators staying at the Spirit Stone mine benefited, and Kang Dabao and Huo Chun also became more popular there.

On the first day of April, the mine manager could hardly suppress the smile on his face; the output of Spirit Stone had reached 2,100.

On the first day of the fifth lunar month, the mine manager was overjoyed to see that the output of Spirit Stone had reached 2,452.

On the first day of June, the mine manager died before he could take inventory.

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