Chapter 11
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Chapter 11: The Mine Shocks Everyone
(Note: The weight units in this book are: stone (dan), jun, jin, liang, and zhu)
(1 stone = 4 jun, 1 jun = 30 jin, 1 jin = 16 liang, 1 liang = 24 zhu)
(A little fact: Half a jin in ancient times equals eight liang, hence the phrase "half a jin, eight liang.")
In the evening, with the ringing of a bell outside the mine, the busy crowd who had been mining all day finally freed themselves and collapsed onto the ground.
Even though they were cultivators, they could not work nonstop for twenty-four hours.
After the bell rang, the large man from earlier entered the mine with two others, beginning to check today’s haul against the list.
“Fu Xiu, third level of Qi Refinement, one stone two jun! Task completed!”
The first named youth cheered; he could finally eat!
“Tian Meng! Second level of Qi Refinement, half a jun short! No food! The half jun not completed today will carry over to tomorrow!”
A man at the second level of Qi Refinement sighed upon hearing this, not daring to argue.
Last night, he simply couldn’t resist sleeping, resulting in not having enough spiritual energy today to complete his task.
Adding it to tomorrow was a form of punishment; otherwise, it would reset the next day, making most cultivators who came for punishment attempt to starve themselves.
If, at the punishment time, there were still unfinished tasks, they would also be unable to leave and would have to continue facing punishment.
Of course, mining more wouldn’t get them released early; this was the sect’s punishment system!
As the tally continued, many cultivators completed their tasks, while a significant number sighed, admitting they simply could not dig anymore.
Ji Yang quietly glanced at the Ziying Mine in his storage bag, thinking it should be fine, right?
Upon tallying, Ji Yang also noticed that the daily tasks varied for cultivators at different levels.
Like him at the first level of Qi Refinement, the daily task was one stone; for each level gained, one additional jun needed to be mined.
Although it was only a thirty-jin difference, the Ziying Mine here was extremely solid, and crucially, it wasn’t heavy. A chunk of Ziying Mine the size of a head might only weigh a few jins.
It completely went against the law of conservation of mass! Truly a heavenly mine!
“He Feng! Seventh level of Qi Refinement, one stone short, carry over to tomorrow!”
Hearing the man’s words, a rather ragged-looking youth sighed.
Ji Yang’s gaze sharpened; this youth was the one who had reminded him earlier that the iron pick was a magical tool. He hadn’t expected him to possess the seventh level of Qi Refinement.
Ji Yang was even more surprised that a cultivator at this level had also failed to complete his task, being one stone short.
However, after observing for a while, Ji Yang had not spotted any cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, indicating that only those at the Qi Refinement stage were in this mine, while Foundation Establishment cultivators must have been assigned to other mines.
“Ji Yang!”
Soon it was Ji Yang’s turn.
Ji Yang stood up and handed over his storage bag. The two men behind the large man began to check.
Typically, cultivators at the first level of Qi Refinement wouldn’t attract their attention, but Ji Yang’s performance today sparked everyone’s curiosity.
The crowd leaned in, seemingly eager to catch a glimpse of how much ore was in his storage bag, but unfortunately, they couldn’t see anything.
As the two men behind the large man received the storage bag, they merely smiled slightly, their minds filled with speculation.
The newcomers in the sect who just started mining did not understand how challenging it could be. Almost none of them managed to complete their tasks; they would need a few days to adjust.
By that time, their accumulated failures would be significant, and the three-month mining punishment would be extended!
The two opened the storage bag and began to inspect its contents.
Once they saw the Ziying Mine piled up like a small mountain inside, disbelief filled their eyes.
“How is this possible?”
“Hm? What’s going on? Report the count!”
The large man, holding a pen, reprimanded them with irritation.
The two quickly started to tally, and when they finished, one of them looked at Ji Yang in surprise and said nervously,
“Elder Lu, a total of two stones three jun!”
Elder Lu paused for a moment, halting his recording. He looked at the two men with suspicion, then took the storage bag to examine it himself.
After checking, Elder Lu shot Ji Yang an odd glance; indeed, there was that much, and several pieces of the Ziying Mine looked quite good.
This amount had already reached the daily task required of a disciple at the eighth level of Qi Refinement!
Withdrawing his gaze, Elder Lu began to record and then stated,
“Ji Yang, two stones three jun, task completed!”
Elder Lu’s affirmation caused everyone, who had still been in doubt, to take a deep breath.
Could this kid really be that impressive?
Many people’s eyes shifted, and their thoughts about Ji Yang began to change.
However, Ji Yang did not notice this at all; he was absorbed in the results of his mining today.
【Name: Ji Yang】
【Age: 18】
【Level: First level of Qi Refinement】
【Technique: The Great Dao Returning to Origin Technique】
【Ability: Heart Sword】
【Cultivation Level: 12/99】
【Available】
The numbers on the panel showed only a four-point increase in cultivation level, but the unseen attributes had increased by countless points. Additionally, he had five green light points for his Superior flying sword stored within him, ready to be used at any time.
This was merely the result of one day’s mining, an incredible gain!
Most importantly, the button regarding his cultivation level was now lit up and in an available state!
Ji Yang was eager to try it out but decided to wait until later since there were too many people around.
After tallying everyone’s results, Elder Lu instructed his companions to distribute food to the disciples who had completed their tasks.
A palm-sized steamed bun?
Ji Yang stared at the bun he received, deep in thought.
In contrast, those who had received their food had already started to devour it, as if the bun in their hands was a delicious treasure.
“This bun is made from spiritual grains and contains a small amount of spiritual energy; it tastes pretty good.”
Just as Ji Yang was puzzled, he heard someone speak beside him.
Turning to look, he saw it was He Feng, the cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refinement.
Ji Yang took a half-believing bite and then his eyes lit up.
The taste was really good; he had never eaten such a delicious bun before!
Cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage could no longer consume mundane food, as it would be harmful to their cultivation. Spiritual grains were the main food for cultivators at both the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages. They not only subtly strengthened a cultivator’s body but also allowed better absorption of the spiritual energy within the food.
Eating spiritual grains was excellent, but cultivating them was not favored by people, thus they were used as punishment in the sect!
Ji Yang quickly finished the bun, feeling a bit unsatisfied afterwards.
He then sensed a weak wave of spiritual energy rise within him.
It was little, but still acceptable.
As for strengthening his body, he felt nothing.
This required long-term consumption of spiritual grains, and the higher quality, the better!
However, Ji Yang had worked for many years, gaining countless points in his attributes, so this provided him with limited benefits.
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother.”
After finishing his bun, Ji Yang turned to He Feng to express his gratitude.
“Don’t mention it; we’re all fellow disciples. Helping each other is the right thing to do.”
He Feng smiled and then asked,
“May I ask what brought you here, Junior Brother?”
