The morning sun had barely crested the jagged peaks when the patrol returned to the spirit stone mine. With the iron-fanged wolves repelled, today's work shifted from violence to recovery and fortification.
Elder Huo Rong stood at the center of the pit, his presence commanding immediate attention. "You three, shore up the eastern supports. Fifth-layer disciples, begin extraction from the primary vein. Sixth and seventh layers, I want a complete perimeter sweep before noon."
The disciples obeyed with sharp focus, their exhaustion from yesterday's battle pushed aside. Across the broken rock face, the work began. Disciples moved with practiced rhythm, prying glittering fragments of mid-grade spirit stones from the jagged quartz.
Every strike of a pickaxe sent vibrations through the floor. The stones were stowed in reinforced leather pouches that hummed with trapped energy.
At the collapsed entrance, senior disciples channeled their Qi in synchronized flow, erecting translucent barriers to shore up the splintered support beams. "Elder Rong, the western barrier is holding steady!"
"Good. Maintain the flow for another hour, then rotate with the next group." Huo Chen stepped forward. "Elder, I volunteer for perimeter sentry duty." Several sixth-layer disciples glanced up, relief flickering across their faces. Sentry duty was tedious work.
"Very well, Huo Chen. Take the far edge, near the secondary tunnels." Huo Chen moved to position, planting his feet against the uneven ground. He leaned against a jagged pillar of stone, granting him a clear line of sight across the entire pit and into the shadowed secondary tunnels—the dark passages where the wolves had established their dens.
Once the patrol's focus turned inward toward the primary vein, Huo Chen closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. Deep within his dantian, his Earth Element Clone stirred. Two bodies, one mind. The concept was simple, but the execution was seamless in a way that still occasionally surprised Huo Chen.
There was no division of consciousness nor splitting of attention. He was simultaneously in two places, experiencing two sets of sensory input as naturally as a person might be aware of both their hands.
The transition was instant. His clone advanced into the collapsed side passage with the silence of a drifting cloud. Its earthen aura, though only at fifty percent of Huo Chen's baseline power, harmonized perfectly with the surrounding minerals, rendering it indistinguishable from the stone walls.
The clone navigated deeper into the secondary tunnel, pressing its palm against the cold stone at intervals, feeling for any shift in density. Most of the tunnel revealed nothing—solid basalt, stable and unremarkable.
Nearly thirty meters in, the clone pressed its palm against a section of wall near one of the wolf dens. There. A telltale shift in density vibrated through the clone's hand. A secondary vein—hidden, sealed by an ancient rockfall. Absent from the clan's official maps.
The clone's fingers traced the wall, following the resonance. Behind a thin layer of basalt, raw mid-grade spirit stones sat nestled in the rock, their Qi pure and stable. The recent battle or the wolves' scratching had cracked the shell just enough to expose them.
Two hundred and fifty to three hundred stones, at minimum. The clone continued mapping the vein's extent before Huo Chen triggered the reabsorption command. It dissolved into concentrated ochre light, rushing back and settling into his dantian. Every detail remained crystal clear.
Huo Chen opened his eyes, his expression neutral. He watched Elder Huo Rong oversee the main entrance, waiting for the right moment. When it arrived, Huo Chen approached quietly.
"Elder Rong." The Elder turned. "Yes?" "While maintaining the sentry line, I sensed a residual Qi flow from the collapsed secondary tunnel. The vibration felt denser than the main vein. It may be worth an inspection before we seal the area." Rong's expression shifted to skepticism, but he extended his spiritual sense toward the dark passage.
For a long moment, he remained still, brow furrowed. Then his eyes widened. "You possess a keen sense for the earth, Huo Chen. There is indeed an unmarked branch vein here." Rong moved toward the passage. "Small in surface area, but the Qi is remarkably pure. The wolves must have been drawn to this resonance."
"Disciple Huo Yan, Huo Wen—with me. Bring the heavy picks." Under Rong's command, two disciples used their Qi-infused picks to widen the crack. Within minutes, the first chunks of high-quality mid-grade ore fell into the dust, glowing with fierce light. The Elder marked the location with a glowing yellow array and made a notation in his jade ledger.
"Your observation has saved the clan significant resources, Huo Chen. Six additional merit points will be added to your record for this contribution. Your diligence is noted." Huo Chen bowed low. "I only seek to serve the clan's prosperity, Elder." "Well done. Return to your post." The points were logged.
The surrounding disciples muttered among themselves, some casting curious glances at Huo Chen. Within his heart, Huo Chen felt genuine satisfaction settle. Six merit points was excellent. He had established himself as someone with sharp senses and useful instincts.
And beneath that satisfaction lay quieter anticipation. The clan would take time to organize a proper extraction team for the secondary vein. Planning sessions, resource allocation, delays.
And when the time came for him to return—perhaps assigned to the extraction team itself—he would have the opportunity to pocket a few mid-grade stones for his own use. Small ones, nothing the clan would miss from such a rich vein. Just enough to fuel his cultivation. Just enough to finally hold a mid-grade spirit stone of his own.
As the patrol continued their work throughout the day, Huo Chen returned to his sentry position. The afternoon sun slanted low across the hills. The hidden vein remained mostly untouched, its riches waiting for organized extraction.
The eighteen merit points he had earned across two days—twelve for the defense, six for the discovery—served as the first foundation stones of his rise. The ninth layer of Qi Refining was no longer a distant peak. It was a destination he was already approaching.