21: Chapter 21 Golden Spirit Stone

"Ask!"

Zhou Muyu replied crisply and cleanly.

"How did you know I came to the second level of the mine? Did you go specifically to pick me up just now?"

Zhao Yi asked just as directly.

Zhou Muyu pointed upwards.

"The one above, Zhou Muqing, is my own older brother."

"Also, for a ruthless person who dares to kill Bai Family Cultivators..."

"Pah, I mean a good person. For a good person who dares to kill Bai Family Cultivators, I am full of admiration."

There was one more thing Zhou Muyu didn't say: who wouldn't be envious of a ruthless person who could mine ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in a single day at the first level of the mine?

Zhao Yi looked at Zhou Muyu and nodded.

He understood. The Zhou family and the Bai family had a feud; even if they didn't, they certainly wouldn't get along.

Knowing this, Zhao Yi felt relieved.

He could now focus on mining Spirit Stones. At the very least, he had to mine back that Mid-Grade Spirit Stone; he couldn't really spend Spirit Stones to mine, could he?

True Qi wrapped around the hoe.

Bang!

Zhao Yi's hand shook.

The rocks here were even harder than those in the outer branch mines.

【You mined a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, experience points + 1.】

What was going on?

He mined a Spirit Stone on the first try?

Zhao Yi gained an understanding of the Spirit Stone density in the second level of the mine.

Next to Zhao Yi was a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator who looked very unhappy.

Zhao Yi was responsible for mining, while he was responsible for processing the rocks Zhao Yi dug out and picking up the Spirit Stones; this was to prevent anyone from embezzling them.

"Why should I be the one to process these rocks?"

"Hu Kun, stop whining. Everyone knows your luck is terrible. Have you mined a single Spirit Stone in the last three days?"

"Hurry up and assist Fellow Daoist Zhao."

The Cultivator nearby teased Hu Kun.

"Pick up the Spirit Stone, don't miss it."

Seeing Hu Kun's careless attitude, Zhao Yi reminded him.

"Spirit Stone?"

"Are you saying you mined a Spirit Stone on your first try?"

"How is that possible?"

Hu Kun sifted through the rocks Zhao Yi had dug out and, sure enough, found a Low-Grade Spirit Stone inside.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yi was already using the hoe to dig the third and fourth times.

On the fifth swing of the hoe, rocks tumbled down, and the System's notification sound rang out again.

【You mined a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, experience points + 1.】

"Be careful, there's also a Spirit Stone in that pile of rocks just now."

Hu Kun wore an expression of disbelief.

"How do you know?"

Zhao Yi naturally couldn't say it was the System's prompt, so he said indifferently: "I saw it."

Hu Kun sifted through that pile of rocks and, sure enough, found another Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Damn, Brother Zhao, you are too awesome."

It had only been a short while, and he had already mined two Spirit Stones; comparing people really makes one angry.

Hu Kun no longer had any complaints and efficiently cleared away the rocks Zhao Yi dug out, afraid of affecting Zhao Yi's performance.

That day, Zhao Yi mined forty-eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones, ranking fifth in Zhou Muyu's team.

"Today we mined a total of three hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Ten for each person. Everyone, come over, take your Spirit Stones, and then change shifts."

Zhou Muyu was truly fair and just; he actually distributed the Spirit Stones the same day.

Seeing Hu Kun's look of taking it for granted, Zhao Yi nodded. This person seemed pretty good.

"Here, these are ten Spirit Stones."

Zhou Muyu handed the Spirit Stones to Zhao Yi and explained in passing: "I know you mined forty-eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones today and must feel that this share is too little."

"But when it comes to mining Spirit Stones, luck fluctuates. Mining a lot today doesn't necessarily mean you'll mine a lot tomorrow."

"Take me for example: the day before yesterday, I mined three Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, but today I didn't even mine a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Yet, the day before yesterday I only received eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones, while today I received ten."

"Do you... understand what I mean?"

Zhao Yi...

"I understand, I understand. Brother Zhou, since I joined your team, I have absolutely no objection to the distribution. I trust you."

Zhou Muyu looked at Zhao Yi in surprise. Seeing Zhao Yi's sincere face, he said: "Good!"

He slapped the Spirit Stones into Zhao Yi's hand.

"Follow me, and I will definitely not let you suffer a loss."

Night.

There was no time limit in the second level of the mine. Although Zhao Yi had rotated off, he didn't rest; instead, he worked hard to recover his cultivation.

"System!"

【Miner: Zhao Yi】

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Early Stage (Insufficient experience, cannot promote)】

【experience points: 413 / 1280】

【Rewards: None】

Although he only got ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones, Zhao Yi had gained forty-eight experience points.

"If it continues like this, won't I be able to reach the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in a month?"

Zhao Yi's expression was unreadable. If not for Hu Kun helping move the rocks he dug out, he would definitely not have had this efficiency.

So, was this taking advantage or suffering a loss?

The next day, it was Zhao Yi's shift. That day, he received seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Damn, this won't do. Although there are Spirit Stones today, there are no experience points."

"What can I do to get both Spirit Stones and experience points?"

Zhao Yi was confused.

After thinking it over, Zhao Yi had an idea, but he had just arrived and wasn't familiar with the other Cultivators yet, so he planned to wait a while and see how things developed.

On the third day, it was Zhao Yi's turn to mine Spirit Stones again. He declined Hu Kun's offer to swap shifts, and Zhao Yi swung his hoe and dug down.

Rocks kept falling, but he came up empty-handed all morning.

"Damn it, it was hard enough to get my turn to mine Spirit Stones, am I going to come up empty?"

"Isn't this screwed?"

"Damn it,"

"Three meters it is, Approximation Technique."

Zhao Yi leaned against the mine wall.

"Within three meters,"

"The Great Dao is Simple, Approximate Nature, Numbers Born from the Heart, All Things Take Form. A thought arises, Heaven and Earth blur, Rounding up or down, The Universe determines the count."

"Approximate: Zero."

"Damn, it really is empty."

Zhao Yi looked full of bad luck, and half of the True Qi in his body had disappeared.

"Senior Brother Zhao, are you tired?"

"How about you let me take over?"

Seeing Zhao Yi leaning against the mine wall, Hu Kun thought Zhao Yi was tired and spoke up.

"No, no."

"This direction is cursing me, I'm changing directions."

Zhao Yi gripped the hoe and moved three meters to the left. He wouldn't dig in this area anymore; whoever wanted to dig here could do it.

With one strike of the hoe, the System's voice rang in his ears.

【You mined a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, experience points + 100.】

As the rocks fell, an egg-sized Spirit Stone rolled right out.

"Mid-Grade Spirit Stone?"

Hu Kun said pleasantly surprised.

Zhao Yi also chimed in: "I told you, that direction was cursing me."

About half an hour later,

【You mined three Low-Grade Spirit Stones, experience points + 3.】

【You mined a Metal Spirit Stone, experience points + 10.】

【First time mining a Metal Spirit Stone, Reward: good luck card (60 seconds)】

Listening to the System notification, Zhao Yi was stunned.

Metal Spirit Stone, a metal-attribute Spirit Stone. Although it's also called a Spirit Stone, it cannot be used for cultivation; it is mainly used for Artifact Refining.

On the market, one Metal Spirit Stone is worth ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones, exactly corresponding to ten experience points.

Zhao Yi didn't expect that mining a Metal Spirit Stone would actually give experience points.

He didn't care that Hu Kun was nearby and hurriedly sifted through the rocks. Soon, three Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a thumb-sized Metal Spirit Stone were found by Zhao Yi.

Looking at Hu Kun's confused expression, Zhao Yi hurriedly explained: "I saw a glimmer of gold just now and thought I had dug up some treasure, but it turned out to be a Metal Spirit Stone."

Hu Kun wore an expression of envy.

"Brother Zhao, your luck is really good. This Metal Spirit Stone is worth at least ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones."