The Tenth Stage required nearly 60,000 low-grade spirit stones.
Even if 46 Clones mined at full speed, it would still take about eleven days to collect enough. There was no need to hesitate over such a simple choice—just focus on cultivating first!
Without hesitation, Su Zhan stored away all forty of them.
The Clones cultivated for him, channeling their spiritual energy steadily into his body.
As soon as he settled down, Su Zhan could clearly feel the spiritual energy eroding and tempering his flesh, blood, meridians, and bones. Forty Clones, tripling his cultivation speed—this was no small boost!
"For the rest, keep mining as much as possible. Clone, head to Windstone Town immediately and wait there. As soon as the number of low-grade spirit stones reaches the target, go buy the corresponding low-grade spiritual weapons at once!"
"Yes, Master!"
As the Black Mark improved, the Clone's intelligence had risen to that of a four- or five-year-old child.
The process of exchanging low-grade spirit stones and purchasing low-grade spiritual weapons was something he was extremely familiar with.
"Seven days… as long as I have seven more days, the results will be earth-shaking!"
Su Zhan's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Once he broke through to the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm, he would command a total of forty-six Fourth-Level Mortal Realm death warriors!
Forty-six!
A standard mine punishment team only had ten Fourth-Level Mortal Realm members. This meant Su Zhan would effectively possess the equivalent of four and a half punishment teams on his own.
Not only that—once they reached the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm, mining efficiency would skyrocket, and the output of low-grade spirit stones would greatly increase.
His ability to kill and protect would be more than sufficient. Breaking into the Fifth-Level Mortal Realm, Sixth-Level Mortal Realm, Seventh-Level Mortal Realm—or even higher—would become far easier.
By then, what would Zhou Yueshan and four punishment teams matter?
Even if a Fifth-Level Mortal Realm expert came looking for trouble, Su Zhan could use sheer numbers to pin them to the ground and kill them!
"Seven days later, everything will be revealed."
Time passed, day by day.
On the Tenth Day—
Zhou Yueshan still hadn't appeared.
Su Zhan focused on studying his Blood Shadow Sword, gradually gaining new insights.
On the Twelfth Day—
Zhou Yueshan was still nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, with the Clone stationed outside Windstone Town, the remaining five Clones were producing nearly six hundred low-grade spirit stones per day, allowing him to acquire several low-grade spiritual weapons daily.
Among the forty-six Clones, the Clone became the second fully armed one—wearing a complete set of low-grade spiritual gear.
The first, naturally, was Su Zhan himself.
Long Sword, armor, helmet, boots—he had two complete sets. If one set was damaged, it could be replaced immediately. He had also stocked up on valuable pills for treating wounds, replenishing blood, and nourishing qi, ensuring he was prepared for anything.
From these arrangements, it was clear Su Zhan valued one thing above all: stability.
Finally, on the Fifteenth Day—
"It's almost here!"
"I can clearly feel it—just a few more minutes and my cultivation will reach perfection. Then, I'll attempt my first breakthrough to the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm!"
Su Zhan's eyes shone with excitement. He even put his Blood Shadow Sword technique aside, ignoring everything else.
During this time, Su Zhan couldn't help but investigate Zhou Yueshan's whereabouts.
This time, however, he didn't need to go out himself—he simply scattered low-grade spirit stones to hire people to look for him. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing.
None of these so-called informants had any idea where Zhou Yueshan had gone.
The only useful piece of news was that not only Zhou Yueshan, but also many punishment team members—including Fifth-Level Mortal Realm and Sixth-Level Mortal Realm cultivators—had all vanished.
Upon hearing this, Su Zhan felt reassured.
What was luck?
This was luck!
"Zhou Yueshan, I was planning to give you a gift. Looks like you'll be receiving something even better!"
Su Zhan grinned.
But at that moment—
"Master! A strong aura is approaching—fast!"
"The aura is dangerous! You should leave immediately!"
The five Clones mining nearby instantly dropped their pickaxes and surrounded Su Zhan, replacing their tools with low-grade spiritual weapons.
The next second—
A shadow leapt into the pit and stopped thirty meters from Su Zhan.
A tall, slender figure.
A face with edges as sharp as a sword.
And most telling of all—his uniform black attire marked him as a member of the punishment team. His sharp, piercing eyes locked onto Su Zhan with unprecedented intensity.
There was no doubt.
This was Zhou Yueshan!
"Damn… not now…"
Su Zhan sighed helplessly.
He wasn't surprised Zhou Yueshan had shown up—he had prepared for this possibility.
What pained him was the timing.
Just a few more minutes, and he would have successfully broken through to the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm. Then, he could have swarmed Zhou Yueshan with his overwhelming numbers and crushed him.
But right now—
Su Zhan was still at the Third-Level Mortal Realm.
The Clones were also at the Third-Level Mortal Realm.
Worse still, the Clone in town was deep in cultivation. Pulling him out now would interrupt his breakthrough, leaving him with only the option of protecting Su Zhan's escape.
"Su Zhan," Zhou Yueshan said coldly, "I was right about you. You are indeed… unusual. Tell me—what exactly are these things around you?"
From the moment he saw the Clones, Zhou Yueshan's eyes had gone from shock, to interest, to calculation—and finally, to greedy delight.
To be honest, after arranging spies earlier, he'd begun to think he had been overreacting. Perhaps Su Zhan was just an exceptionally talented cultivator with rapid breakthroughs, and his choice of the eighteen mining areas was odd but not inexplicable.
Still, just in case, Zhou Yueshan had left men to watch Su Zhan. But then, he received urgent orders for a high-priority mission. Nearly seventy percent of his men were dispatched, and for half a month, he put Su Zhan out of his mind.
When he returned, a bald subordinate reported that the five spies he'd assigned to monitor Su Zhan hadn't checked in for over two weeks—but were still alive. Su Zhan himself had been going about normally, unaffected.
That was when things started to smell suspicious.
At first, Zhou Yueshan thought perhaps Su Zhan had joined forces with other experts or associated himself with a certain faction. But when he arrived here and saw the Clones with his own eyes, everything became clear.
"The holes all over the mine walls—was that their work?"
"The five spies couldn't even escape, and they were captured alive—was that them too?"
"And half a month ago you were only Second-Level Mortal Realm, but now you're Third-Level Mortal Realm… such exaggerated progress, it's impossible without their help!"
With every word, Zhou Yueshan's excitement grew. The clues stacked together painted a clear picture in his mind. His curiosity, greed, and killing intent were now openly written across his face.
"You've seen them yourself," Su Zhan said with a helpless expression. "If I told you they had nothing to do with me, would you believe it?"
"I was right to bet on you," Zhou Yueshan sneered. "You really are hiding a treasure! And you knew I'd come for it—yet you stayed here. I assume you were planning to use these black shadow killers to deal with me?"