Translator: AnubisTL
A single stone cast into the water creates a thousand ripples!
The Heavenly River Sect's spirit stone mine had been attacked by unidentified cultivators!
The news spread like wildfire across the cultivation world, impossible to contain.
Rogue cultivators and members of other major cultivation clans alike nearly dropped their jaws in astonishment upon hearing the news.
"Unbelievable! Who had the gall of an Immortal to dare pull off something like this?"
"They're poking the sleeping dragon—they must have a death wish!"
"It's been ages since anything like this happened. Is this the start of a new cultivation world war?"
"I heard they used several incredibly rare Second-Tier Formation-Breaking Talismans in the attack. The mine's defensive formations didn't even have time to activate before half of them were obliterated!"
"The losses are staggering. Not only were the Heavenly River Sect disciples stationed there wiped out, but the Shi Clan members suffered heavy casualties as well."
"Does anyone know who's behind this?"
"Not yet, but the Heavenly River Sect has already dispatched several Foundation Establishment Realm Elders to investigate. The truth should come to light soon!"
"..."
In an instant, the entire cultivation world's attention converged on this shocking incident at the spirit stone mine.
Soon, more news began to circulate.
The entire stockpile of spirit stones accumulated at the mine over the past six months had been completely plundered!
It turned out that the Heavenly River Sect's spirit stone mine rotated its guard disciples every six months. At the end of their shifts, these disciples would transport the accumulated spirit stones back to the sect to fulfill their quotas.
For countless years, this system had operated flawlessly.
No one could have imagined anyone daring to strike directly at the Heavenly River Sect's spirit stone mine.
This wasn't merely pulling a tiger's whiskers—it was like plucking a dragon's beard!
As one of the leading forces in the Immortal Path of the Azure Ridge Domain, the Heavenly River Sect could never tolerate such brazen defiance.
Meanwhile, at the Liu Clan...
Having been among the last to leave the family's sphere of influence, the Liu Clan naturally became a subject of suspicion.
All spirit stone miners who had departed the mine that day were summoned for routine questioning by the Heavenly River Sect. Every individual would be thoroughly interrogated.
Even Liu Haitian was among them. Given the gravity of the situation, no one could be excused.
Standing in the crowd, Li Qing gazed at the stern-faced Heavenly River Sect disciples ahead.
The Heavenly River Sect disciples clustered around a gentle and graceful woman whose face was veiled in a thin gauze, like stars orbiting the moon. Her movements were poised and elegant, and her demeanor as soft and flowing as water.
Though her features remained obscured, her voluptuous figure and refined aura left no doubt that she was a woman of profound allure.
Yet few of the spirit miners dared to steal more than a fleeting glance at her. The aura she exuded stirred a primal unease within them.
Foundation Establishment Realm!
Undoubtedly, the only person capable of commanding such reverence from these young disciples of the Heavenly River Sect could be a Foundation Establishment Realm Elder of the sect.
"You, step forward!"
One of the male disciples, his posture haughty, pointed at a spirit miner and motioned for him to leave the crowd.
The miner appeared to be around Li Qing's age—a relatively young cultivator—but his demeanor was distinctly shifty, a result of years spent toiling in the dim depths of the mine tunnels.
"Master, I don't understand—"
"Enough nonsense! Take this jade disk and answer my questions!" The Heavenly River Sect disciple snapped, thrusting a cyan jade disk into the miner's hand, his tone curt and cold.
Faint, mysterious dao patterns flickered across the disk's surface. The shifty miner clutched the disk, utterly bewildered.
"Master, please ask whatever you wish! I'll answer everything to the best of my knowledge!" The spirit stone miner appeared visibly nervous.
The young Heavenly River Sect disciple, his eyes like chips of ice, demanded coldly, "Did you tamper with the Grand Formation protecting the spirit stone mine?"
The miner, his demeanor obsequious, shook his head vigorously, his voice trembling with fear. "No, absolutely not! I would never do such a thing!"
"Then have you been in contact with anyone involved in the attack on the spirit stone mine?"
"No! I wouldn't dare!"
The following questions were sharp and relentless, probing every possible angle to determine if the miner had any connection to the attackers.
As the interrogation progressed, faint halos of ethereal light flickered within the spirit patterns on the cyan jade disk.
Finally, the Heavenly River Sect disciple abruptly shifted his line of questioning, asking something no one expected: "What is your name?"
The miner blinked in surprise, then hurriedly replied, "Huang Kang!"
As soon as the name left his lips, the disciple turned around. His previous arrogance vanished, replaced by utmost reverence. "Elder Su Xin?"
The graceful, mature woman, Elder Su Xin, merely shook her head slightly, offering no further response.
One by one, each miner was subjected to detailed questioning, though the questions varied slightly.
When they reached the thirteenth miner, Su Xin, a beautiful woman, subtly furrowed her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows and finally spoke:
"That's not right. Your name isn't Tang Heng!"
Her voice was lovely, like the melodious babble of a clear spring flowing through a pine forest, imbued with gentle warmth.
However, the other Heavenly River Sect disciples immediately grew wary. "Speak!" they demanded sternly. "What is your real name?!"
The rogue cultivator who had given the false name earlier looked flustered. He stammered awkwardly, "My parents named me Immortal Emperor Tang, but I felt the name didn't suit me, so I changed it to Tang Heng years ago."
The once-solemn atmosphere instantly dissolved into absurdity. Many of the miners couldn't contain themselves, and some burst into laughter.
Even Li Qing's lips twitched upward. What an audacious name!
Once the Heavenly River Sect disciples confirmed that Immortal Emperor Tang wasn't lying, they chuckled softly, clearly lacking professional composure.
"Ahem, you may return to your place."
As the Qi Refining cultivator named Immortal Emperor Tang returned to the queue, Li Qing finally understood what was happening.
The cyan jade disk was likely a Magic Artifact similar to a lie detector, allowing the Foundation Establishment Realm Elder from the Heavenly River Sect to sense whether someone was being truthful.
How exactly it worked remained a mystery to Li Qing.
The cultivation world was vast, and there were countless things he didn't know. Perhaps it required a combination of a miraculous cultivation manual and this unique Magic Artifact.
Soon, several more spirit mine workers were questioned in succession before it was Li Qing's turn.
Li Qing stepped forward, accepted the jade disk, and suppressed his urge to examine the artifact, standing obediently in place.
During the process, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward the maturely beautiful woman, and he couldn't help but marvel inwardly at her gentle, water-like demeanor.
The questions were the same as before. As Li Qing answered, he felt a faint sensation of being observed by some unknown presence.
Finally, after stating his name, Li Qing turned and rejoined the crowd without incident.
After a lengthy interrogation that yielded no substantive evidence, the Heavenly River Sect's investigation finally concluded. They could only confirm that the rogue cultivators working the Liu Clan's spirit mines were ordinary individuals.
The process left even the beautiful Foundation Establishment Realm Elder visibly fatigued, suggesting that sensing the mental states of others was a taxing endeavor.
Just as the Heavenly River Sect members were preparing to depart, a clear, cold voice rang out:
"Elder Su Xin, esteemed Senior Brothers of the Law Enforcement Hall, you've worked hard on this trip. Why not rest on Lake Heart Island at my Liu Clan?"
A slender, graceful woman in pristine white robes descended from the sky on her sword.
It was Liu Hanyue herself, who had returned to the Liu Clan days ago but had remained unseen. Now, at this critical moment, she finally revealed herself.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Hanyue!"
"Junior Sister Hanyue!"
Elder Su Xin glanced at Liu Hanyue and gave a slight nod. With gentle politeness, she declined, "Thank you, Hanyue, but others await our investigation. We shouldn't delay too long. Besides, you must be busy yourself lately. Don't trouble yourself over us."
After their investigation, the Heavenly River Sect's team finally departed. The spirit stone miners who had been questioned returned to their residences.
Back in his courtyard, Li Qing immediately began pondering his situation.
"Judging by the current circumstances, it seems the investigation won't yield much in the short term. Does that mean we can't mine during this period?"
Suddenly, Li Qing realized that, given the way things were going, he was essentially unemployed!
The sudden loss of his spirit stone income didn't particularly worry him. He still had a substantial amount saved, enough to last him quite a while if he conserved them carefully.
Besides, this unexpected free time was perfect for him to focus on refining his Artifact Refinement Technique.
However, all the temporarily jobless spirit stone miners now faced the same pressing question: How would the Liu Clan accommodate them during the indefinite downtime while the spirit stone mine remained closed?
The mine's defensive formations had suffered severe damage, and re-establishing them would undoubtedly take time.
Moreover, Li Qing suspected that the Heavenly River Sect wouldn't allow mining operations to resume until they had identified and apprehended the culprits behind the attack on the mine.
During this downtime, the spirit miners found themselves idle.
However, being idle also meant getting a free pass to use the Liu Clan's Spirit Vein Land.
Would the Liu Clan really be content with so many miners sitting idle within their territory, without finding new ways to re-employ and exploit them?
Li Qing doubted the Liu Clan's benevolence. With the Flying Eagle Bandits recently subdued, many of their businesses were desperately short-handed.
In particular, the vast stretches of spirit fields along the shores of Willow Lake in Longevity Valley remained largely untended.
"Mining isn't so bad," Li Qing muttered, "but if I were forced to become a spirit farmer, spending all my time tending to those fields, when would I have time to cultivate or refine artifacts?"
"Sigh, I'll just take things one step at a time. If it comes to it, I might have to leave the Liu Clan altogether."
As he spoke, a flicker of reluctance stirred within Li Qing. After all, being a spirit miner had its perks, and the pay wasn't bad.
He briefly considered working part-time as a spirit farmer until the Heavenly River Sect uncovered the culprits behind the mine attack, after which he could return to his old job.
But as soon as the thought surfaced, Li Qing swiftly dismissed it.
"No! How could I even entertain such thoughts?"
"I'm an independent individual! Can't I survive without the Liu Clan?"
"I originally joined the Liu Clan as a spirit stone miner simply to integrate into the cultivation world and gather information. I continued mining afterward because the hours were flexible and the pay was decent."
Li Qing suddenly grew wary. He sensed a shift in his mindset, a growing complacency creeping in.
When he first embarked on the Immortal Path, he had vowed to ascend to greater heights, to witness the breathtaking landscapes and majestic mountains and rivers of the world.
Yet now, that ambition had gradually eroded, replaced by a reliance on the spirit stone mining job provided by the Liu Clan.
Admittedly, his ability to freely traverse the World of Eternal Night had allowed him to amass a considerable fortune in spirit stones through mining.
But now that mining was temporarily suspended, must he stoop to the tedious labor of a spirit farmer?
What if the mastermind behind the mine attack remained at large? What if future mining expeditions were ambushed by thugs? Or what if the spirit stone vein dried up entirely?
Li Qing relentlessly questioned himself, lost in deep introspection.
Finally, he exhaled deeply, his eyes hardening with newfound resolve.
In that moment, the martial arts grandmaster who had once dominated the mortal realm, Li Qing, who had vowed to tread the Immortal Path, had returned!
"Hah! It's hard to believe how one's spirit can be worn away, drop by drop, without even realizing it."
"Senior Zhou, is this the real reason you kept warning me all those years ago?!"
Suddenly, Li Qing remembered Zhou Tong, who had resolutely chosen to take the Spirit Condensation Pill and accept the Liu Clan's mission to subdue the Flying Eagle Bandits.
Li Qing had never understood that decision before, but now the truth dawned on him.
After years of navigating the treacherous cultivation world, how could Old Zhou not have grasped the immense danger of confronting the Flying Eagle Bandits?
But after years of grueling mining work, Old Zhou's spirit had likely been completely eroded. His decision to accept the mission was probably born from a deep dissatisfaction with his current circumstances.
When newcomers first enter the cultivation world, no one dreams of being trapped in a dark mine tunnel for life, toiling away as a lowly spirit stone miner with no prospects.
Who wouldn't rather soar through the skies on a sword, living a life of unrestrained freedom and adventure?
"Fortunately, I realized this before it was too late," Li Qing muttered, unclenching his tightly clenched fist and allowing a genuine smile to spread across his face once more.
In the cold, shadowy mine tunnel, each swing of his pickaxe shattered not only the stubborn ore but also one's spirit.
One must never be complacent, always mindful of potential dangers, even in times of peace!
Having reached this understanding, Li Qing immediately made up his mind.
First, he would refine the Magic Artifact version of the Storm Pear Blossom Nails. Then, he would pack his belongings and leave this place behind.
The cultivation world was vast and beckoning—he had to explore it!
Next stop: Heavenly River Market!
"If the mine hadn't been attacked, who knows how much longer it would have taken me to see this clearly?"
As he spoke, Li Qing retrieved the components of the Storm Pear Blossom Nails, his excitement surging!
(End of the Chapter)
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