108: Injuried

A cold light flashed in Situ Jun's eyes as he questioned:

"Do you not organize personnel to clean up?"

The middle-aged Cultivator shrugged, a teasing smile appearing on his face:

"A good question, Lord Situ, but I am about to evacuate. In the future, we will have to rely on Lord Situ to clean up. If you confirm there are no problems, please imprint your Spiritual Sense on the Jade Slip so that I can go to the border to receive my orders."

Situ Jun gave him a cold glance, his heart filled with displeasure. He picked up the Jade Slip and forcefully imprinted a trace of Spiritual Sense.

If it weren't for the fact that his Cultivation had improved and he no longer valued Foundation Establishment Cultivator servants, he would have really wanted to feed him a servitude pill to give him a good lesson.

The middle-aged Cultivator picked up the Jade Slip and said with a faint smile:

"I am leaving. I wish Lord Situ a peaceful year of garrison duty."

With that, he turned and left.

Situ Jun watched the retreating back of the middle-aged Cultivator, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, before putting away another Jade Slip on the table.

After a moment of silence, he roughly guessed the reason for the guy's unfriendly attitude; he probably felt unhappy because Situ Jun had snatched this lucrative post where he could embezzle Spirit Stones.

One hour later.

Zhu Changpo rushed over, drenched in sweat. Panting, he took out several pitch-black Ores from his Storage Pouch and said cautiously:

"Lord, these were found in the waste yard and the miners' houses. They look just like the previous one."

Situ Jun picked up the Ores and carefully sensed the aura within them. The more he investigated, the more pleasantly surprised he became; these were indeed netherworld profound gold.

He calculated secretly that if he could collect all this netherworld profound gold, he could not only reinforce his space ring but perhaps even refine a powerful Yin-attribute Magic Treasure.

"Pass down the order to increase the search efforts. Whether it is the Mine Tunnels, waste yards, or the surrounding ravines, everything must be searched thoroughly.

Not a single piece of this kind of stone can be left behind.

Additionally, arrange for Cultivators to clear out the wild beasts and Spirit Beasts in the Spirit Stone mining area to ensure the safety of the miners."

Situ Jun said with a firm gaze.

Zhu Changpo took his orders and left, and the mining area immediately became busy.

Shouts, digging sounds, sounds of fighting, and the roars of wild beasts intertwined, echoing over the mining area like a stirring yet chaotic battle song.

At night, without the roars of beasts, the mining area echoed with the laughter and curses of miners drinking wine and eating beast meat.

The boisterous sounds lingered in the vast mining area for a long time, filled with the flavor of the mortal world.

Situ Jun went deep into the Spirit Stone Mine Tunnel and found a quiet cave, preparing to continue refining the qiankun stone while researching how to integrate the netherworld profound gold into his space ring.

He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, slowly circulating his spiritual power. His natal ring floated before him, emitting a faint glow.

The qiankun stone and several pieces of netherworld profound gold were enveloped in white spiritual flames. The flames blazed fiercely, making a "crackle" sound.

As time passed, the qiankun stone remained incredibly stubborn. No matter how the spiritual flames burned, there was no sign of melting.

However, under the calcination of the flames, the netherworld profound gold slowly melted and seeped bit by bit into the ring.

Situ Jun was neither anxious nor impatient, focusing all his attention on controlling the spiritual calcination.

However, until dawn, this qiankun stone remained like an indestructible boulder, without a single crack appearing.

Situ Jun slowly opened his bloodshot eyes. The morning light filtered through the cracks in the Mine Tunnel and fell on his pale face, coating it with a faint golden glow.

That qiankun stone was like a slumbering primeval Vicious Beast; no matter how he surged his spiritual power, there was not even a hint of change on its surface.

On the contrary, the netherworld profound gold had completely merged into the ring, and the originally illusory barriers within the space shimmered with a faint blue light, showing signs of stabilization.

Situ Jun frowned. Remembering that the stone was given by the System, he had a thought and sought a solution from the System.

[Ding! The qiankun stone is formed from the Yin and Yang Qi of heaven and earth. To smelt it with the Host's current abilities, you can melt it using the spiritual power circulated by the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Derivation True Scripture.]

Situ Jun was delighted. He immediately withdrew his ordinary spiritual power and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique with all his might.

The black-red spiritual flames, like surging lava, began to frantically calcine the qiankun stone.

Slowly, the outer layer of the qiankun stone began to burn and peel off, oozing wisps of black mist that seeped into his body through his pores, causing a sharp pain in his Meridians as if countless steel needles were weaving through them.

Simultaneously, the qiankun stone also began to melt, and the grey-black solution started dripping into the ring.

After a moment, Situ Jun suddenly felt his spiritual power become obstructed, and a surge of blood welled up.

He slowly opened his eyes, wiped away the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth, and muttered:

"This qiankun stone..."

Suddenly, he noticed a slight tremor coming from the space inside the ring.

Looking down, he saw that the originally smooth inner walls of the space had cracked into spiderweb-like fine lines, and deep blue runes were wriggling like living things, attempting to repair the cracks.

"Not good!"

Situ Jun was horrified, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and he hurriedly forced an interruption to the refining process.

But it was already too late. A piercing roar erupted within the space, and a powerful shockwave sent him flying backward, crashing heavily against the cave wall.

The natal ring let out a "buzz" and turned into a stream of light, vanishing into his Dantian.

It turned out that the Yin and Yang Qi of the qiankun stone was too overbearing, directly bursting the spatial barriers of the ring and causing severe damage to the mind and Spiritual Sense left within it.

Originally, the netherworld profound gold was of the Yin attribute and had not yet been absorbed and transformed by the ring. When a treasure like the qiankun stone, which contained the dual Qi of heaven and earth, entered, it forcibly merged and expanded the space, triggering a spiritual power rampage.

Situ Jun's cold sweat soaked his clothes. If it weren't for the powerful physique brought by the advancement of his Cultivation Technique, he would likely be too heavily injured to get up now.

He leaned against the cave wall and slowly stood up. The sharp pain from his Dantian came in waves like a tide, and every breath was accompanied by a piercing ache.

Enduring the discomfort, he dragged his injured body and sat down in a hollow in the cave wall, circulating the Dragon-Phoenix Grand Derivation True Scripture in an attempt to repair his damaged mind and Spiritual Sense.

The black-red spiritual power moved through his Meridians but felt as if it were hitting a bronze wall. Every cycle of circulation was accompanied by unbearable pain.

"Damn it!"

Situ Jun gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly. He had not expected the qiankun stone to be so overbearing; just a little bit of black mist had damaged his Meridians.

He took a deep breath, pulled a healing pill from his Storage Pouch, and continued to treat his injuries.

At noon.

Situ Jun slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

Upon inspecting the ring in his Dantian, he found that the internal space had grown slightly larger. Furthermore, the barriers within the space had turned into a greyish mist that would vanish whenever his Divine Sense approached.

"At least these injuries were not for nothing. I will just refine it slowly in the future; I was too impatient this time."

After muttering this, he stood up, put away the jade Formation Plate at the cave entrance, and walked out of the Mine Tunnel.

Inside the hall built in the mining area, Zhu Changpo was pacing back and forth anxiously. Seeing Situ Jun enter, his face immediately lit up with joy:

"Lord, you are finally back."

Situ Jun glanced at him and said:

"What is it?"

Zhu Changpo was startled and said:

"Lord, you have just arrived at the mining area. Do you have any instructions?"

Situ Jun waved his hand, signaling him to sit down, and said:

"Hand over the affairs of the residence and take charge of the Spirit Stone mining area here. I have things to do and will not be staying here to guard it. Also, raise your Cultivation to the Golden Core Stage."

As he spoke, he took out a gold condensing pill from his Storage Pouch and tossed it to Zhu Changpo.

Zhu Changpo caught it and looked, instantly overjoyed:

"Thank you for the reward, Master!"

Situ Jun nodded and said:

"Call me Lord or Steward Situ, lest others hear and cause unnecessary trouble."

"Yes, Lord!"

Zhu Changpo bowed respectfully.

"Focus on your Breakthrough. I will clear out any harassment from the direction of the Zhou Kingdom. As for the other directions, arrange for people to guard them well."

Having said that, he waved his hand for him to leave.