Danxia Spirit Stone Mine.
Guarding the Main Hall.
"How's the spirit stone mine's income this year?" Li Hu stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the crowd below.
Chen Peng quickly stepped forward: "Young Master, the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine's income for this year has been tallied. A total of 300,000 spirit stones were harvested."
After saying this, Chen Peng lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Hu.
"What? Only 300,000?" Li Hu's eyes were filled with astonishment.
Even last year, with the fluctuations in spiritual energy, they harvested 350,000 spirit stones.
But this year, he hired many new miners, yet they were still short 50,000 spirit stones.
Chen Peng trembled, quickly replying, "Young Master, the mining difficulty increased this year. Many miners only managed to dig a few spirit stones a day."
Li Hu stared at Chen Peng, speechless for a long time.
Last year could be attributed to an accident, resulting in a decrease in spirit stone production.
But for this situation to continue for two consecutive years, it couldn't possibly be due to a decrease in spirit stone production.
Li Hu's gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on the avatar of Wang Cheng: "Is there anything unusual within the mine?"
He suspected something was amiss. The sudden drop in spirit stone production must be abnormal; either there was an internal problem, or someone was sabotaging it.
The avatar of Wang Cheng stepped forward and said, "Young Master, I have patrolled the mine daily for the past year and found nothing unusual. The miners are all performing their duties diligently; no one is slacking off. I haven't found anyone hoarding spirit stones, nor have I detected any signs of outsiders trespassing."
Hearing Wang Cheng's words, Li Hu became even more suspicious.
After all, spirit stone production wouldn't decrease without reason.
After a long pause, Li Hu finally spoke: "Wang Cheng, from today onwards, you will organize men to patrol the spirit stone mine day and night. Every mine shaft and every mining point must be thoroughly inspected, without any oversight. If any abnormalities are discovered, report to me immediately, without delay!"
Li Hu still had great trust in Wang Cheng.
After all, Wang Cheng was a member of the Blood Demon Sect, and it was Ma Yingjie who recommended him here.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Wang Cheng bowed again.
Li Hu glanced at everyone, then asked, "Last year, I asked you to collect materials for your natal magic treasures. Did you find anything?"
Before he finished speaking, Chen Peng quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Reporting to Young Master, last year in the secret realm, your subordinate luckily found a Purple Spirit Grass."
As he spoke, Chen Peng took out an exquisite jade box from his storage bag. The jade box was smooth and radiant, exuding a faint spiritual energy, clearly used to store rare spiritual herbs.
Chen Peng respectfully presented the jade box to Li Hu with both hands.
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Hu's eyes. He reached out and took the jade box, slowly opening it.
Inside the jade box, a layer of snow-white spiritual velvet covered the surface. A purple spiritual herb with glistening leaves lay quietly within, radiating rich spiritual energy, its leaves still adorned with glistening dewdrops.
Upon seeing the Purple Spirit Grass inside the jade box, Li Hu's gloomy expression vanished instantly, replaced by a broad smile: "Good! Good! Chen Peng, you've done well! This Purple Spirit Grass is exactly what I urgently need. You've rendered a great service this time, and you'll surely be richly rewarded!"
Chen Peng was overjoyed and quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "This subordinate dares not take credit. It is my duty to share the burdens of the young master."
Deep within the spirit stone mine, Qin Changsheng also heard the news.
Qin Changsheng knew that the Purple Spirit Grass was a crucial auxiliary material for refining a natal magic weapon, rare and precious, and one of the special materials he planned to acquire.
Qin Changsheng focused his mind on his sea of consciousness, summoning the golden inscription information.
As the inscription's power was activated, a condensed golden divine sense surged from Qin Changsheng's sea of consciousness, like an invisible thread, traversing mountains and rivers, spreading directly towards the Danxia spirit stone mine.
[Purple Spirit Grass: Auxiliary material for natal magic weapon, holder: Li Hu!]
"It really is the Purple Spirit Grass." A hint of seriousness appeared in Qin Changsheng's eyes.
If this Purple Spirit Grass were in the hands of Lin Hao and the others, Qin Changsheng could easily obtain this treasure.
But Li Hu was the young master of the Blood Demon Sect, and his strength was extremely high.
Moreover, many experts guarded Li Hu, indicating a deep and powerful foundation.
It was impossible for Qin Changsheng to seize Li Hu's Purple Spirit Grass.
However, Qin Changsheng already had a plan in mind.
Li Hu had always wanted to possess Hu Nan.
Qin Changsheng could work on this.
He would use Hu Nan as bait to seize the Purple Spirit Grass from Li Hu.
...
A few days later.
Qin Changsheng and Hu Nan had returned to the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan as they headed towards the Azure Cloud Tower.
The Azure Cloud Tower was the core gathering place for many cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Not only Foundation Establishment cultivators, but even Qi Refining cultivators liked to gather and exchange ideas here.
The tower was bustling with activity, the aroma of wine mingling with spiritual energy, laughter and hushed conversations rising and falling—a lively scene.
Qin Changsheng's divine sense was attached to Hu Nan's body, controlling his figure as he slowly stepped into the Azure Cloud Tower.
Inside the first-floor lobby, cultivators gathered, mostly Qi Refining stage cultivators exchanging pleasantries and inquiring about various cultivation resources and opportunities.
Upon stepping onto the second floor, several familiar figures came into view.
These were Qin Changsheng's fellow villagers, all from Beihai County, who had entered the Heavenly Sword Sect together.
However, Zhang Han, Zhao Lei, and the others had always looked down on Qin Changsheng.
After Qin Changsheng established his Foundation Establishment, he rarely interacted with these people.
Zhao Lei was the first to notice Hu Nan's figure. Looking up, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly stood up and waved, his tone enthusiastic: "Isn't that Uncle-Master Hu?!"
The other fellow villagers also looked over, their faces showing warm smiles, preparing to rise and greet Hu Nan.
However, Qin Changsheng didn't stop at all, nor did he respond, heading towards the fourth floor.
The fellow villagers watched Hu Nan walk away, their faces extremely unpleasant.
However, they dared not complain about Hu Nan.
After all, Hu Nan was already a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
While they were still hovering around the fifth level of Qi Refining.
When Qin Changsheng pushed open the door to the fourth-floor private room, he found it already packed with people.
Even Li Hu from the Blood Demon Sect had arrived.
Li Hu was the first to notice Hu Nan's arrival. He looked up, and his previously cold face instantly transformed into a warm smile.
"Senior Brother Hu! We've been waiting for you!"
"Sorry, I was delayed on the way!" Hu Nan cupped his hands in greeting.
Li Hu also very warmly invited Hu Nan to sit down a short distance away.
Seeing Li Hu's enthusiasm towards Qin Changsheng, many cultivators assumed that Hu Nan and Li Hu were friends.
Only Qin Changsheng knew perfectly well that he and Li Hu were sworn enemies.
And sworn enemies at that.
As Qin Changsheng sat down, the Foundation Establishment gathering officially began.
The waiter outside brought in many delicacies and spiritual wines.
"Everyone, now that everyone is here, why not take this opportunity to exchange our cultivation experiences from the past year, learn from each other, and improve together?" Jiang Lijuan stood up and said.
"Senior Sister Jiang is absolutely right!" a Foundation Establishment cultivator was the first to agree, standing up and saying, "This past year, I've been stuck at the first level of Foundation Establishment for a long time, unable to break through, and I've been wanting to ask you all for some guidance."
The other cultivators nodded in agreement, their faces showing approval. The path of cultivation is inherently lonely; exchanging cultivation experiences can indeed save one from many detours, and naturally, no one wanted to miss this opportunity.
The exchange of experiences quickly began, with cultivators rising to share their cultivation insights from the past year.
Some spoke of their understanding of spiritual energy circulation, others shared their spell techniques, and still others lamented the bottlenecks and confusions they encountered in their cultivation. They discussed and shared their opinions, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Everyone chatted animatedly, exchanging ideas with great enthusiasm. Some found answers, others benefited, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
Qin Changsheng, controlling Hu Nan, remained silent throughout, only occasionally nodding slightly, pretending to listen attentively. He silently noted down some important insights.
At this moment, Lin Hao slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing directly on Hu Nan.
"Junior Brother Hu, how's your cultivation of the Vajra Body Refining Technique you bought last year?"
Upon hearing this, many cultivators in the room once again focused their attention on Hu Nan, some curious, some puzzled.
After all, last year Hu Nan spent 15,000 spirit stones to buy the Vajra Body Refining Technique from Lin Hao.