30: Star iron sold by the inch

Spoon Mountain had no spoons; on the map, it looked like a compass.

Xiao Qingyuan and his companion secretly sought out Xiao Yance and Xiao Tianheng.

The four of them crept into the cave under the cover of darkness, immediately halting all the miners.

Without a word, Xiao Tianheng took out a rare Metal ElementEscape Talisman (Escape Talisman) and vanished into the mine pit in a flash.

When he reappeared, he held a transparent stone with fine,Zhanblue threads.

Xiao Qingyuan didn't know the origin of those hair-like, tangled fine threads.

But just the outer skin that encased it made his Niwan Palace throb.

Clearly, it was extremely beneficial for Divine Sense; even the outer skin was an extraordinary Heaven And Earth Treasure.

The four exchanged glances, and excitement was visible in each other's eyes.

"star iron, a good item!"

star iron is a precious Material that, even in small quantities, can greatly improve Artifact Refining quality.

It is usually sold by the inch.

It is a good item that even a Golden Core True Person would covet.

They couldn't afford it, couldn't protect it, and couldn't sell it.

Before they had the Artifact Refining Legacy, it could only remain a secret for now.

Conversely, the outer skin, formally known as an accompanying source crystal, was itself a good Heaven And Earth Treasure.

Just as Xiao Qingyuan thought, it could increase Divine Sense strength.

It could even allow a Cultivator at Qi Training Completion to prematurely activate Foundation Establishment Divine Sense.

This would increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment by thirty percent.

The preciousness of this mine was evident; it could even cause a huge stir throughout the Wei Kingdom.

More importantly, this was only the surface layer of the Spiritual Vein.

"Phew..."

Having understood all this, Xiao Tianheng immediately spoke.

"Qingyuan, we owe this matter to you. This place can become the foundation of our clan, and it can also lead to our clan's instant demise. In any case, profound iron cannot be mined anymore."

As he spoke, he glared at Xiao Yanshi with annoyance.

Xiao Yanshi also knew she had been foolish.

She had actually kept the news hidden, almost ruining a major undertaking.

Now, she was filled with lingering fear, her neckShrinklike an ostrich.

Xiao Qingyuan, however, understood a little.

After all, she was only a twenty-six-year-old girl, and most of her time was spent in seclusion.

She had never really left home in her life.

How much intrigue could she have witnessed?

To reach her current state was already a result of her intelligence.

Xiao Tianheng had just gone down, using up one Escape Talisman, and only then did he encounter the star iron.

Going back and forth consumed two Escape Talismans.

This showed how deep the mineral deposit was.

For a short period, there was no concern about the Spiritual Vein being exposed.

Thinking of this, Xiao Tianheng spoke again: "The events here cannot be exposed, but the Spiritual Vein can be utilized. A large amount of Spiritual Qi has accumulated in the mine; even the periphery has a concentration comparable to a second-order Spiritual Vein.

Whether for Cultivation or Breakthrough, it offers immense benefits.

Originally, I thought I had no hope of Foundation Establishment in this life, and might even remain at the Qi Refining Stage - Late Phase.

I never thought that the heavens would still grant this Opportunity to my Xiao Family."

"Second brother, starting today, you will be the first to use an Escape Talisman to go down and Cultivate, and you must try your best to improve your Divine Sense and raise your Realm to Qi Training Completion."

"You must be extremely careful and cautious, absolutely do not cause any unusual phenomena. For now, this matter is limited to just a few of us; no one else can be told."

Xiao Yance nodded solemnly upon hearing this.

Then, the old man's eyes flashed with fierce light.

"This is my Xiao Family's Opportunity. Those miners and the surrounding villages, leave no one behind. Make sure it's done cleanly."

"Wait!"

Xiao Qingyuan was shocked to hear this and quickly explained: "Grandfather, that won't do. It's too conspicuous!"

"Oh?" A satisfied look flashed in Xiao Tianheng's eyes, but he feigned confusion and asked: "Qingyuan, what are your thoughts?"

"Phew..." Xiao Qingyuan took a deep breath: "Grandfather, leave it to me. I will handle this matter."

"I guarantee that not a single bit of information will leak."

It wasn't that Xiao Qingyuan was a bleeding heart; it was that those workers didn't even know what profound iron was.

Killing them would clearly tell others that there was a mine here.

"I killed the miners to silence them?"

Xiao Tianheng nodded upon hearing this and immediately agreed to the idea.

After giving a few more instructions, he took advantage of the night to disappear first.

Xiao Qingyuan and his father exchanged glances.

"Father, Cultivate here with peace of mind. Leave the other matters to me."

Xiao Yance nodded and said, "How do you plan to deal with those miners?"

Xiao Qingyuan replied: "I have mastered a clever and ingenious technique for rapidly smelting ordinary iron, called blast furnace steelmaking."

"Under the guise of forging steel, all the miners and their families can be relocated to the vicinity of the iron mine in Xiaowang Village to establish a steel factory."

"All their living needs will be met according to the highest standards."

"However, to keep the secret, they will have to live within the mining area for their entire lives."

"As for this place, it will be used as a cover for training clan soldiers, and a mountain villa will be built with great fanfare. Even if someone finds it, they will only think it's a secret of the soldiers."

Xiao Yanshi was somewhat speechless upon hearing this; these scheming minds were truly devious.

Xiao Yance, however, nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this.

"This is good. A Mortal industry will not attract the covetousness of an Immortal clan."

"Whether the iron factory forges farm tools or armor, it's not too big of a problem."

"Using one secret to cover a larger secret, you've done well."

After speaking, Xiao Yance instructed him to inform Yang Yan, then also took out an Escape Talisman.

He disappeared with a whoosh.

He had already gone deep underground to Cultivate.

His father's meaning was very clear: before the dust settled, he and Xiao Tianheng would take turns guarding this Spiritual Vein to ensure everything was foolproof... "This old man greets the Immortal."

The next morning, Xiao Qingyuan and his aunt gathered all the miners.

He spoke of the matter with a smile on his face.

Fortunately, there were quite a few blacksmiths among these people.

After a brief exchange, they immediately began studying the blueprint in their hands with excitement.

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"

The elderly leader, having thought of something else, immediately asked with trepidation.

"The owner is sure to relocate our families to Xiaowang Village as well?"

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Xiao Yanshi beside him.

This Immortal Maiden had been quite formidable among the Mortals recently.

She had overthrown the rich and redistributed land.

Many heads had rolled.

Many clan elders had been put through a lot.

Although these people had also received land and subsidized food, they were still trembling with fear, worried that they might inadvertently offend her.

The factory matter was fake; finding a place to kill them was real.

How could they not be terrified?

Xiao Qingyuan smiled, but secretly observed everyone.

Fortunately, no one showed any abnormal behavior.

"Elder, please rest assured."

"To be frank, I am a third-generation member of the Xiao Clan Immortal Family, ranked seventeenth in my family."

"Qingxuan Department Store, Juxian Tower, Tongfu Tower, these are all my properties."

"When you go to the iron mine, you will be my people."

"In terms of living, I will give you the greatest welfare, and building towns around the mine is also not a problem."

The master craftsmen's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Qingxuan Department Store?

Who didn't know about that?

Immediately, their gazes towards Xiao Qingyuan changed.

The person before them was precisely the God of Wealth of their Qingxuan Town... No! Now Qingxuan County!

He quickly pulled his companion next to him, knelt, and shouted: "I've long heard of Seventeenth Master's reputation; he canceled all exorbitant taxes for the common people under his rule. Old folks, Seventeenth Master has given us the grace of life."

"Now he's offering us such generous terms. If we don't agree, are we even human?"

"Come quickly with me, and kowtow to the Seventeenth Master, who saves us from suffering."

"Seventeenth Master, you are our righteous official!"