Chapter 17

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 17: Junior Brother, Stop Mining and Take a Break

Finally, it was Ji Yang’s turn again.

But like last night, they all completed their targets and received spiritual grain buns.

After finishing their daily tasks, Elder Lu turned to leave, no longer paying attention to everyone.

He typically wouldn’t interfere unless something special happened in the mines; his goal was to ensure that the disciples received their appropriate punishments and to account for their daily ore production.

Once he exited the mine, Elder Lu called out to the disciple who had just distributed the spiritual grain buns:

“Little Qin, bring me a bun.”

The called disciple was momentarily stunned:

“Elder Lu, what do you want it for?”

“Hmph, just bring it here. Stop with the nonsense.”

Hastily, the disciple took out a spiritual grain bun and handed it to Elder Lu, then turned to leave with the person beside him.

Before leaving, he cast a curious glance at Elder Lu, but since he didn’t see any further movements from Elder Lu, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

After the two left, Elder Lu looked around to confirm that no one was watching, then focused on the bun in his hand, took a big bite, and started chewing slowly.

As he chewed, Elder Lu’s brow began to furrow slightly.

What kind of bun is this? It’s so terrible.

However, Elder Lu didn’t spit it out; he swallowed it down and then turned to leave!

In the hall of the mine,

Since there were still some ores left, the group didn’t rush to begin their cultivation and instead started chatting back and forth.

The topics of conversation typically revolved around the sect, like which outer disciple had good strength, successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and became an inner disciple.

Or which peak had the most attractive female cultivators.

Well, there was no doubt that Wangxia Peak had the most female cultivators.

Eighty percent of the female disciples they saw in the sect came from that peak.

Although Ji Yang had been in the sect for a year, he spent that year in hard training and didn’t know much about the sect, not even its general situation, which he learned mostly from books on Jingtan Peak. So, he listened with great interest.

But recalling his earlier question, Ji Yang turned to He Feng and asked:

“Senior Brother, is there only Ziying ore here?”

“Of course, this mine is called Ziying Mine, so it only has Ziying ore.”

He Feng was a bit puzzled but still answered.

“Why do you ask, Junior Brother?”

“It’s nothing, just a bit curious.”

At this moment, Ruan Yong’an chimed in:

“Hey, hey, Junior Brother, you might not know this. Although this is Ziying ore, there are still significant differences among them. The qualities can vary greatly.”

“For instance, most of the Ziying ore we usually mine is low-grade, but occasionally we find mid-grade or high-grade Ziying ore, though those are quite rare. Many high-level formation techniques or high-quality magical tools in the sect require even higher-grade Ziying ore, so the better the quality of the ore, the more valuable it is.”

“Besides high-quality Ziying ore, there is also supreme Ziying ore. However, this type of ore is extremely rare; a mine often doesn’t yield much. But as long as you can dig it up, you can reduce a month’s punishment days! You can leave earlier.”

Upon Ruan Yong’an’s sudden interjection, He Feng beside him didn’t say much.

In the past two days, their relationship had improved and was no longer as tense as before.

After hearing this, Ji Yang felt he had gained new knowledge.

It seemed his light points were also affected by the quality of ore. He usually found low-quality Ziying ore, which mostly produced White Light Points, with an occasional Green Light Point.

Mid-quality Ziying ore usually produced Green Light Points, but there were also White Light Points, while high-quality Ziying ore corresponded to Blue Light Points.

Although this was not absolutely accurate, it should be pretty close.

In summary, the rarer the ore, the higher the grade of the light points he dug up.

Seeing everyone nodding, Ruan Yong’an chuckled:

“Hehe, actually, above supreme Ziying ore, there is an even more precious type called Zixin ore! It is said that this ore can already be used to refine treasures!”

“Senior Brother Ruan, is that true?”

“How much punishment time can it reduce?”

“Treasures? Some elders in the sect still use magical tools!”

Listening to their questions, Ruan Yong’an discouraged them:

“Of course it’s true, but don’t get your hopes up. I haven’t even seen supreme Ziying ore, let alone Zixin ore. Zixin ore rarely appears; a mine might not have a single piece. Even if it does, it would belong to the sect!”

The others nodded after hearing this, no longer hoping for anything unrealistic.

However, Ji Yang remembered this and thought that if he could completely excavate a mine, he might have a chance of encountering such ore.

But then Ji Yang looked around at the vast mine and dismissed his unrealistic thoughts.

This mine was large and couldn’t be easily exhausted; with this time, perhaps he could have already reached a higher realm and wouldn’t need such items.

Yet Ji Yang still felt a longing for it, curious about what Zixin ore light points would look like.

“By the way, when will you all be able to leave?” Ji Yang suddenly asked. He only needed to mine for three months, but it seemed that He Feng and Ruan Yong’an needed much longer.

“Ahem, I still need a year!” He Feng answered first, letting out a sigh.

“I still need a year, too.”

“I need a year and a half.”

…

Everyone spoke up, and most of them mentioned about a year. This made Ji Yang curiously ask:

“Senior Brothers, what sect rules did you all break?”

“I just had a little conflict with a few Senior Brothers.” He Feng said casually.

However, Ruan Yong’an chimed in with a laugh:

“Haha, you stood up for that Sister Qiaoyun, injured so many people, and you call that a little conflict?”

“You shouldn’t talk; you’re not much better for peeping at the female cultivators of Wangxia Peak while they bathe.”

The two began to air each other’s faults, but without exception, their mistakes were quite serious. Thus, their three-month penalties were multiplied, leading to the current situation where they still couldn’t leave.

Feeling a bit embarrassed for having caused this argument, Ji Yang took out his iron pick and walked deeper into the mine.

Seeing his actions, the others paused and quickly asked:

“Junior Brother, what are you doing?”

“I want to mine!” Ji Yang said with a shy smile.

“No, you can’t!”

“Junior Brother, stop mining and take a break!”

Seeing their sincere concern, Ji Yang ultimately couldn’t resist them and had to give up his idea.

However, Ji Yang also felt that he indeed needed a rest. Although he was full of energy, long periods of high-intensity mining could drain his spirit.

Resting was essential for better mining.

With still over two months left for mining, he wasn’t in a hurry!

Thinking this, Ji Yang felt much more at ease.

As the others began to cultivate, Ji Yang chose to sleep and recharge his energy.