112: stationed outside to oversee the spirit stone mine

Taihe Sect, Qingmu Peak.

Yu Xuzi stood before the entrance of his Immortal Cave, looking at the newcomer expressionlessly.

"Senior Brother Qiu, this is a transfer order from the Deacon Hall."

A young Qi Refinement Stage Disciple dressed in the robes of the Deacon Hall respectfully presented a Jade Slip.

Yu Xuzi took the Jade Slip and probed it with his Divine Sense, withdrawing it a moment later with no change in emotion on his face.

[Inner Sect Disciple Qiu Dao of Qingmu Peak, hear your orders:

You are to depart with the team in three days to guard the Qinglin Spirit Stone Mine Vein. There must be no delay! Otherwise, you will be punished according to Sect rules!]

This was the general content of the Jade Slip.

"You may go. I will depart in three days."

"Yes."

The messenger Disciple bowed with hands clasped, and after performing the rites, he hurried away from Qingmu Peak.

Yu Xuzi accepted the task without any refusal.

Because this was a firm transfer order, not a consultation; it was a clear sign that the Taihe Sect's front line was nearly unable to hold on!

His neighbor, Wan Tiansheng, had already left the mountain on orders to carry out a mission three months ago.

The vast Taihe Mountain Range had long since begun to feel empty.

He had been able to remain until now because, on the surface, he had just made a Breakthrough, and his public image was that of one focused on the Dao of Alchemy and unskilled in combat. Furthermore, he had spent the last two years using Spirit Stones to clear a path and build some connections within the Taihe Sect.

"In the end, it cannot be avoided."

"Fine, it might be good to go to the front line and see. Perhaps I can strike it rich again!"

Yu Xuzi shook his head and returned to his Immortal Cave to begin packing.

Ever since obtaining the Taihe Furnace Divine Ability, he refused no Resources, especially Magical Artifacts and Spiritual Gold—things that could easily be refined into Taihe Essence.

He wouldn't even look down on a thousand low-grade Magical Artifacts.

Refining them all in the Taihe Furnace would certainly improve his taiyin sword by a lot... Three days later.

Yu Xuzi arrived at the Taihe Sect's mountain gate.

Two others were traveling with him, both at the Early Dao Foundation Stage.

One was tall and rugged, carrying a broad-bladed heavy sword that was completely out of place with the robes of a Taihe Sect Core Disciple. Upon seeing Yu Xuzi, he cupped his fists and said, "I am Shi Jian. Greetings, Senior Brother Qiu."

He was a newcomer who had only broken through to the Dao Foundation last year, so calling Yu Xuzi "Senior Brother" was appropriate.

Yu Xuzi returned the greeting, "Greetings, Junior Brother Shi."

The other person was much younger.

He looked to be only in his early twenties with a handsome face, but there was a clear arrogance in his expression.

The cuffs of his Daoist robe were embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns in gold thread, and a warm jade pendant hung from his waist, its spiritual light flickering—clearly no ordinary object.

"Are you Qiu Dao of Qingmu Peak?" The young Cultivator looked him up and down, his tone somewhat slighting. "I heard you only broke through a few years ago and are an Alchemist who is not good at killing. Therefore, for this mission, you two must follow my command and deployment. Any objections?"

Shi Jian frowned but said nothing.

Yu Xuzi's expression remained unchanged. "This Junior Brother is indeed not good at combat. I will have to rely on you two for this trip."

The young Cultivator gave a light snort. "My name is Shen Feiyang. Elder Qinglian of Tiangang Peak is my great-grandfather. So as long as you listen to me, the trump cards I have are enough to ensure the safety of the three of us!"

Displeasure flashed across Shi Jian's face, but upon hearing the words "Elder Qinglian," he ultimately said nothing.

This was a veteran Immortal Master at the Peak of the Middle Profound Fetus Stage who had been an Elder of Tiangang Peak for nearly three hundred years, wielding immense power within the Sect.

Naturally, almost no one dared to provoke Shen Feiyang.

Yu Xuzi nodded slightly. "We shall follow Senior Brother Shen's orders."

He couldn't be bothered to fight over this.

Moreover, while this person was arrogant, his heart seemed okay; he was just somewhat obsessed with power and being flattered by others.

Shen Feiyang nodded with satisfaction. "Then it's settled."

"Although the Qinglin Spiritual Vein is only a small Spirit Stone mineral vein and is located behind the battle lines, it was only recently discovered and hasn't been mined for long, so its value is significant."

"Recently, those scoundrels from the Xuan Yin Palace have been using small squads to raid our Sect's rear, so perimeter patrols and daily maintenance are still indispensable."

The three of them took to their Escape Lights and hurried toward the outside of the Sect... The Qinglin Spirit Stone Mine Vein was located in a hidden valley surrounded by mountains, with only a narrow entrance to the east.

Currently, over a hundred Qi Refining Cultivators were working hard to mine Spirit Stones. The light of Spells bloomed in the valley, and the rumbling sounds continued day and night.

After all, a Spirit Stone mineral vein is different from a Spiritual Vein!

A Spirit Stone mineral vein is usually an Acquired gathering place of spiritual essence formed by certain human factors, Feng Shui patterns, or the general trend of heaven and earth.

Over time, under the influence of dense spiritual essence, a large number of Spirit Stones are generated underground, becoming a Spirit Stone mineral vein.

It does not actively release Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence to the outside world.

The volume of the mineral vein is also quite massive, usually spreading ten, a hundred, or even a thousand miles underground. Each Spirit Stone varies in size, and the distances between them are quite large.

It is not easily discovered by the outside world, and mining it is also very difficult.

But a Spiritual Vein is natural!

Spiritual Vein Cores are born from earth vein nodes, converting the energy of the Chaos Void Realm from outside the world into Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence, which is continuously born and dissipated into the world from within, expanding outward along the Spiritual Vein Core.

Thus, Spiritual Veins are the foundation of spiritual essence in every world!

The Spirit Stones clustered around the Spiritual Vein Core are merely "byproducts" of the Spiritual Vein.

Naturally, mining a Spiritual Vein is much simpler.

For instance, the number of Spiritual Veins Yu Xuzi had dug up in the past was at least a hundred and fifty, if not two hundred. He only needed to dig toward the core, which was both effortless and worry-free.

Though it was a bit like draining the pond to catch the fish, and quite unethical.