148: Chapter 148 News about the Spirit Stone Mine

Heavenly Sword Sect, Qingyun Tower.

Today was the annual gathering day for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, so Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan to arrive at Qingyun Tower.

While passing the second floor, Qin Changsheng saw his fellow countrymen from Beihai Prefecture.

The looks they cast toward Hu Nan were filled with envy and jealousy.

Qin Changsheng ignored these countrymen and went directly to the fourth floor.

Inside the private room, it was already bustling with noise, mostly Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Heavenly Sword Sect, with a few from neighboring Sects who had come to interact. Everyone was sitting in small groups, whispering to each other, their tones occasionally touching upon Cultivation insights, discussing resource transactions, or chatting about the Sect's movements.

Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan to casually find a corner and sit down.

At this moment, Jiang Lijuan, Senior Brother Wu Yong, Lin Hao, and others were already sitting there.

"Sorry for being late!" Shortly after, the door to the private room was pushed open, and the figure of Li Hu walked in from outside.

"Brother Li, we were just waiting for you!"

"Congratulations to Brother Li for obtaining the post of guardian of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine!"

"Brother Li is truly impressive to have seized the guardianship of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine in one go!"

"The Danxia Spirit Stone Mine is a high-quality vein of the Sect; Senior Brother Li is powerful and is truly the only choice for the guardian position!"

Everyone spoke one after another, and the sounds of congratulations were endless; their eyes were filled with either pure envy or fawning with ulterior motives.

Li Hu slowly raised his hand but feigned humility: "Everyone is too kind. I merely had good luck to obtain the guardianship of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine."

Hearing the conversation between everyone and Li Hu, Qin Changsheng's mind immediately became active.

He had always wanted to find a Spirit Stone Mine to mine peacefully and accumulate resources; he hadn't expected the opportunity to be delivered right before his eyes.

The Danxia Spirit Stone Mine was a high-quality vein with extremely high Spirit Stone production. If he could enter the mine to dig, relying on his abilities, plus the blessing of Heavenly Dao - Cultivation's "One part Cultivation, ten parts harvest," and the convenience of his External Incarnation, he would certainly be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

An ordinary Cultivator might only harvest a small amount of Spirit Stones in a day of mining, but he had the blessing of the Heavenly Dao Trait, so digging one piece would yield ten times the profit. Then, having his Incarnation, Hu Nan, assist in secret, with both methods combined, it wouldn't be long before he could secretly hollow out the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine!

For one, he could quickly accumulate enough Spirit Stones, completely solve the problem of Spirit Stone scarcity, achieve his goal of one million Spirit Stones early, and lay a solid foundation for Repairing the Spirit Fixing Pearl and searching for the remaining heavenly dao fragments.

For another, Li Hu was the Young Lord of the Blood Demon Sect. His seizure of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine guardianship must be to accumulate resources for the Blood Demon Sect and strengthen the Blood Demon Sect's influence within the Sect. If he could hollow out the Spirit Stones in the mine, it would cut off Li Hu's retreat and severely sabotage the Blood Demon Sect's plans. It could be called killing two birds with one stone—benefiting himself while striking at the enemy.

Qin Changsheng's mind raced, meticulously deducing the details: Li Hu had just obtained the position of guardian and would inevitably recruit miners.

Qin Changsheng could completely go to the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine and join it as a Loose Cultivator.

Then, he would silently mine inside and transfer the mined Spirit Stones through his Storage Space.

Li Hu scanned the room, and his gaze also landed on Hu Nan.

At that moment, the smile on Li Hu's face instantly froze. Deep in his eyes, a killing intent, intense to the extreme, flashed like a thunderclap—cold, violent, carrying bone-chilling hatred and unwillingness, as if he wanted to devour Hu Nan alive.

That was the anger built up over an entire year, the humiliation of having his Secret Treasure stolen and his subordinates die miserably.

But this intense killing intent lasted for only an instant before being forcibly suppressed by Li Hu, so fast that it was as if it had never appeared.

A warm smile appeared on Li Hu's face once again as he arrived in front of Hu Nan.

"Senior Brother Hu, it has been a year, and your Cultivation has improved quite a bit!"

Hu Nan also stood up with a smile and said: "Brother Li's Cultivation has also improved a lot!"

Seeing the smiling Li Hu, Qin Changsheng felt more and more that Li Hu was terrifying.

He clearly remembered that a year ago at the bottom of Qingyun Lake, he had controlled Hu Nan to snatch the Secret Treasure from Li Hu's hands and, using the chaos of the Golden Core Yao Beast, caused Li Hu to lose fifteen subordinates, with even Old Chen dying at the hands of the Yao Beast, leaving Li Hu suffering a double loss.

This humiliation was undoubtedly a great disgrace to the arrogant Li Hu. He must hate Hu Nan to the bone and wish to tear him into ten thousand pieces.

Yet now, Li Hu clearly recognized Hu Nan and clearly hid monstrous killing intent in his eyes, but he was able to forcibly suppress it, pretend to be intimate and friendly, not flare up on the spot, and even take the initiative to step forward and chat.

This level of forbearance and hypocrisy was simply not something an ordinary person could compare to.

It was also at this time that Jiang Lijuan raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Thank you all for giving me face today to gather here at Qingyun Tower."

She slowly scanned the entire room: "The annual Foundation Establishment gathering is mainly for exchanging Cultivation insights. First, it allows us to learn from each other and progress together; second, it can enhance the friendship between you Fellow Daoists, so that you can look out for each other on the path of immortality in the future. Today, please share your Cultivation insights and gains from this past year in turn."

As the words fell, Lin Hao was the first to stand up.

As the son of Lin Zhentian, he had always been arrogant, and with his own Cultivation having just had a Breakthrough, he naturally wanted to show off.

Lin Hao raised his hand and slightly cupped his fists: "Then I will throw out a brick to attract jade and say a few words first. This past year, I have devoted myself to cultivating the Sect's Sword Flight Technique, honing it day and night without daring to slacken in the slightest. After countless exercises and insights, I have finally achieved something today—I have luckily cultivated the Sword Flight Technique to the realm of Major Achievement."

"What?! Sword Flight Technique at Major Achievement?"

"Senior Brother Lin actually cultivated the Sword Flight Technique to Major Achievement?"

"This is the first among us to Cultivate the Sword Flight Technique to Major Achievement."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Lin!"

"Senior Brother Lin, you are the most talented person among us!"

As soon as Lin Hao's words fell, a burst of exclamation sounded in the private room. The Cultivators revealed expressions of disbelief one after another, their eyes filled with envy and admiration.

Although the Sword Flight Technique was easy to get started with, for an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator to reach Major Achievement, it would take at least several decades. Even for those with outstanding talent, it would take several years or even more than a decade to Cultivate it to Major Achievement.

But now, Lin Hao had only used a few short years to Cultivate the Sword Flight Technique to Major Achievement; this talent and perseverance were truly astonishing.

Listening to everyone's congratulations, the look of pride on Lin Hao's face grew stronger. He lifted his chin slightly and scanned the room, enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention.

His gaze moved slowly and finally landed deliberately on Hu Nan in the corner, a flash of undisguised mockery and contempt appearing in the depths of his eyes.

In Lin Hao's view, although he had been defeated by Hu Nan twice, he still believed that Hu Nan could not compare to him.

After all, the resources and talent he possessed were not something Hu Nan could compare to.

Qin Changsheng, far away in the small courtyard, also noticed Lin Hao's gaze. Regarding Lin Hao's pride, Qin Changsheng did not care much at all.

After all, Qin Changsheng had already cultivated the Sword Flight Technique to Perfection.

And he had already cultivated it to Perfection several years ago.

After Lin Hao finished sharing the news of his Sword Flight Technique reaching Major Achievement, he talked in detail about his own insights on sword flight.

How to condense Qi, control the sword momentum, how to use the wind to increase flight Speed, and how to flexibly turn and avoid danger during high-Speed flight. Although there was some arrogance in his words, they were also full of solid content.

The Cultivators present nodded in agreement. Occasionally, someone would ask a question, and Lin Hao would answer them one by one calmly, appearing increasingly high-spirited.

After Lin Hao sat down, many Cultivators also stood up one after another to share their Cultivation insights.

Some talked about having cultivated Body Refining to Major Achievement, significantly increasing their Physical Body strength; some shared their Breakthroughs in Alchemy, successfully refining high-grade Qi Gathering Pills;

Others spoke of their insights in the way of Formation, being able to set up simple defensive Formations, greatly increasing their ability to protect themselves.

Everyone expressed their own views, exchanged ideas, occasionally argued and explored, and occasionally cupped their fists to ask for advice.

Qin Changsheng, far away in the small courtyard, also silently recorded the insights of the many Cultivators.

Unknowingly, the sharing of Cultivation insights was drawing to a close. A Cultivator changed the subject and talked about the recent movements of the Sect, their tone carrying a bit of concern and curiosity: "Fellow Daoists, I wonder if there is any major news within the Sect?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone echoed, their eyes varied, clearly all quite concerned about the major events of the Sect.