As the sky darkened, Yu Xian dragged his weary body out of the mine cave.
He carefully wrapped four Scorching Sun Essence Stones and placed them inside his clothes, ensuring no one could detect them.
Similarly, the other disciples who had been mining returned with varied expressions—some full of joy, some with resignation, and others with anger.
Some of them, familiar with each other, formed groups.
Others, like Yu Xian, were solitary figures.
Some headed straight to the steward's residence to exchange their day's haul for spirit stones.
Others silently returned to their dwellings.
Yu Xian was one of those who silently returned to his dwelling.
He had found Scorching Sun Essence Stones but couldn't turn them in today!
Finding four high-quality Scorching Sun Essence Stones on the first day in an abandoned mine would definitely arouse suspicion among certain people!
The matter of the jade pendant must not be known to anyone else, or he would face grave danger!
Moreover, he didn't have a storage pouch, which was something only Foundation Establishment inner disciples could obtain.
So, even with the guidance of the jade pendant, he couldn't mine too many Scorching Sun Essence Stones.
Otherwise, without a place to store them, it would be easy for others to notice.
He understood the principle of a child holding gold in a busy market.
***
Back in his room, Yu Xian tidied up the dust before sitting cross-legged on the bed to cultivate.
Among the Minor Five Elements Spells, he had already mastered the Fireball Technique, and its power would increase with his cultivation level and the thickness of his Qi Sea.
Next, Yu Xian focused on the Minor Earth Shield Technique.
With offensive techniques, he naturally needed defensive ones as well.
***
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. During this time, Yu Xian didn't leave his room, focusing solely on cultivating the Minor Earth Shield Technique.
With a low shout, Yu Xian raised his hand, and countless earth energies gathered out of thin air, forming a thin earth shield in front of him in an instant.
Though the earth shield was only half an inch thick, its defensive power was quite impressive.
Yu Xian had to use all his strength with a short blade to barely pierce and shatter it.
With a look of satisfaction, Yu Xian waved his hand, and the earth shield dissipated completely.
He had thoroughly mastered the Minor Earth Shield Technique.
With both offensive and defensive techniques in hand, it was time to learn a healing technique.
Minor Water Healing Technique.
***
Another half month passed.
In his room, Yu Xian made a slight hand gesture, and a wave of water flowed through his body. However, since he had no external or internal injuries, the water wave disappeared after circulating once.
He had thoroughly mastered the Minor Water Healing Technique as well.
"Yu Xian!"
At that moment, a low shout came from outside.
Yu Xian's heart stirred. Knowing that what was meant to come would come, he got off the bed and opened the door.
Old Third stood at the door, looking at Yu Xian with a cold expression. "A month has passed. Where are your Scorching Sun Essence Stones? If you can't hand them over, uh..."
Old Third couldn't finish his sentence.
Because Yu Xian was already holding a Scorching Sun Essence Stone in one hand, presenting it to Old Third respectfully. "Disciple has not failed in his duty and has mined one."
Old Third looked at the Scorching Sun Essence Stone with a puzzled expression. He glanced at Yu Xian and then carefully examined the stone, unable to help but ask, "Did you mine this in that abandoned... that Dingzi No. 18 Mine Cave?"
"Yes."
Yu Xian nodded, looking fortunate. "Disciple worked hard for a month to mine this one. Elder, that mine cave, not to be presumptuous... but it might be depleted?"
"Heh, whether it's depleted or not isn't for you to say. We will measure it ourselves!"
Old Third grabbed the Scorching Sun Essence Stone with indifference. "Keep mining! There's more next month! If you work well for three years, we'll consider applying for a change of location for you!"
With that, he turned and left.
Yu Xian watched Old Third's departing figure and calmly closed the door.
With the jade pendant, Yu Xian didn't have to worry about not being able to hand over the Scorching Sun Essence Stones monthly.
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But at the same time, he couldn't just stay here forever!
The jade pendant's function was almost heaven-defying!
If he couldn't make good use of it and only focused on monthly payments, he would be even more foolish than a fool.
However, he couldn't be too hasty either. If others discovered he could mine quickly, the late Qi Condensation steward and several mid-Qi Condensation elders would surely be envious. No matter what means they used, they would force him to reveal his secret.
Yu Xian's eyes flickered as he pondered, then calmed down and began cultivating the Minor Wind Blade Technique.
Although he now had offensive, defensive, and healing techniques, he needed to continue increasing his offensive capabilities!
***
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
In his room, Yu Xian raised a hand, and the wind condensed like a blade, slicing a thick wooden board in half in an instant.
The Minor Wind Blade Technique was complete.
Yu Xian withdrew his hand, exhaled, calculated the time, and then opened the door, striding towards the residences of the steward and the elders.
During this time, he also learned that the steward's name was Zhao Mulin.
The other three elders were named Sun Bingcheng, Liu Xue, and Old Third Zhang.
The steward and the three elders didn't have to mine; they were only responsible for collecting and exchanging spirit stones for the mining disciples.
At the end of the year, when the mines were collected, the chief steward and the master of the Hundred Mines Workshop would naturally record their contributions.
As the steward and elders, their dwellings were much larger and more luxurious than those of the mining disciples.
Yu Xian stood at the door, knocked, and said, "Disciple Yu Xian requests to see the steward."
"Yu Xian? What do you want?"
Zhao Mulin's voice came from inside.
"Disciple has just mined a Scorching Sun Essence Stone and wishes to exchange it for spirit stones."
The door suddenly opened, and Zhao Mulin sat cross-legged in the center of the room, looking at Yu Xian with suspicion. "You've mined another one? In the Dingzi No. 18 Mine Cave?"
"Yes, disciple's luck is not bad."
Yu Xian smiled shyly, approached Zhao Mulin, took out the Scorching Sun Essence Stone from his bosom, and respectfully handed it over. "Please, steward, verify it."
Zhao Mulin squinted slightly, raised his hand, and the Scorching Sun Essence Stone flew into his palm.
Mining two Scorching Sun Essence Stones in a month and a half wasn't much, but that mine cave was an abandoned mine.
He had originally planned to find an excuse to kick this kid out of the White Cloud Sect, following Senior Brother Huang's suggestion.
Unexpectedly, this kid could mine two Scorching Sun Essence Stones from an abandoned mine?
Was it luck?
Zhao Mulin flipped his hand, and the Scorching Sun Essence Stone disappeared without a trace.
With a half-smile, he said, "Your luck is indeed good. Very well. But if you exchange it for spirit stones now, and you can't mine any more in the next half month, do you know what will happen? Why not consider this as an advance submission?"
Yu Xian replied calmly, "Disciple's luck is alright. With some effort, I should be able to mine another one in the next half month. Moreover, disciple urgently needs spirit stones for cultivation. Please, steward, exchange it."
Zhao Mulin's expression froze slightly, and a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes. "Fine, I'll wait for your luck."
With a wave of his hand, ten low-grade spirit stones fell to the ground.
Spirit stones, the currency of the cultivation world, were indispensable treasures for cultivators.
It was Yu Xian's first time seeing spirit stones.
These ten low-grade spirit stones emitted a soft white glow, each the size of a fist, with dense spiritual qi sealed within, ready to be absorbed at any time.
Yu Xian's expression remained unchanged. He bent down, picked up the ten spirit stones, wrapped them in cloth, bowed, and said, "Disciple takes his leave," then turned and left the room.
"Ungrateful wretch..."
Zhao Mulin watched the door indifferently, muttered to himself, and with a wave of his hand, the door slammed shut.
Carrying the package containing ten low-grade spirit stones, Yu Xian returned to his dwelling under the envious gazes of several people.
Taking out another Scorching Sun Essence Stone after half a month didn't arouse Zhao Mulin's suspicion.
However, if he took out another one at the end of the month, they would likely become suspicious.
After all, it was an abandoned mine cave, confirmed to have no ore resources after thorough investigation.
But now, with ten spirit stones, he had more flexibility.
Yu Xian peered through the crack in the door, looking at the teleportation array in the distance, his eyes shining.
No mining area would prevent disciples from using the teleportation array to return to the sect.
However, a round trip required four low-grade spirit stones, so unless there was something extremely important, no disciple would waste spirit stones on this.
Their spirit stones would only be used for diligent cultivation.
But Yu Xian... could return!
The value of Scorching Sun Essence Stones in the sect's Weapon Forging Workshop was undoubtedly higher than with Zhao Mulin, and no one knew his identity.
Retracting his gaze, Yu Xian sat cross-legged, took out two spirit stones, held one in each hand, and closed his eyes to cultivate.
Even though they were low-grade spirit stones, their spiritual qi was very pure for Yu Xian, who was in the early Qi Condensation stage.
With the continuous infusion, his Qi Sea surged, expanding bit by bit, while the cloud-like Qi Sea began to thicken, moving towards liquefaction.
After an unknown amount of time, the two spirit stones turned into ordinary stones, their spiritual qi completely absorbed, and Yu Xian opened his eyes.
Getting out of bed, he picked up his mining blade and, under the cover of night, entered the Dingzi No. 18 Mine Cave once more.
After three hours, with the sky still dark, Yu Xian emerged from the mine, his eyes gleaming with energy.
He didn't even return to his dwelling but went straight to the teleportation array, placed two low-grade spirit stones, activated the teleportation, and disappeared from sight.
In the next moment, he was back in the Grand Hall where he had initially entered the teleportation array.
The Grand Hall at night wasn't as bustling as during the day, but there were still many disciples coming and going from the teleportation array.
It seemed he wasn't the only disciple who, after finding valuable ores, chose not to exchange them on-site. It all depended on whether the ore's value justified the expenditure of four low-grade spirit stones for a round trip.
Leaving the teleportation array, Yu Xian headed straight for the Weapon Forging Workshop.
In over a month, he hadn't just been cultivating; he had almost finished reading "Hundred Mines Record" and "World Miscellany."
"World Miscellany" covered a wide range of topics, including the layout of the White Cloud Sect.
The Weapon Forging Workshop was located on the west side of the giant peak, occupying the mountain's fire vein, producing a large amount of basic materials daily for inner disciples to use for refining tools and treasures.
Yu Xian walked for over half an hour from the Hundred Mines Workshop's teleportation hall to the west side's Weapon Forging Workshop.
Due to the fire vein, the temperature around the Weapon Forging Workshop was noticeably higher, and many disciples hurried about, either buying what they needed or selling various mineral materials.
Yu Xian entered the hall and, as if familiar with the place, headed straight for the side hall where items could be exchanged.
Though the six major workshops of the outer sect all served the inner sect, they didn't completely cut off the outer disciples' paths.
Outer disciples could also exchange for the elixirs and materials they needed for cultivation, albeit at a cost.
Yu Xian entered, glanced around, and walked towards a middle-aged man behind a counter.
The middle-aged man had just completed a transaction with a disciple, exchanging three pieces of Golden Marrow Ore for eighteen spirit stones.
Seeing Yu Xian approach, he glanced at him and said indifferently, "What ore are you selling?"
Yu Xian's clothing was easy to identify; while the outer disciples of the White Cloud Sect seemed to wear the same attire, there were subtle differences between the workshops.
Yu Xian replied calmly, "I wonder how many spirit stones a Scorching Sun Essence Stone can be exchanged for?"
"Scorching Sun Essence Stone, huh..."
The middle-aged man sized up Yu Xian, noting his young age. A sly look flashed in his eyes as he said indifferently, "One can be exchanged for twelve low-grade spirit stones."
Yu Xian knew he was likely being taken advantage of, but compared to exchanging it with Zhao Mulin in the mining area, he was already making a lot more.
So Yu Xian nodded. "Alright!"
With that, he reached into his bosom, and his slightly bulging chest instantly flattened as he took out a package.
The middle-aged man's eyebrows twitched, and his eyes lit up!
When the package was opened, twelve Scorching Sun Essence Stones, like twelve light bulbs, illuminated the surroundings!
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