Chapter 883
Hunyuan Technique and Fire Spirit Crystal
After Steward Sun made some arrangements, everyone was sent down into the mine, including Chen Jie, Liu Xiaoshan, Ding Hua, Meng Wei, and the tall, thin man who had been seriously injured by Steward Sun. This man was so badly injured that he could barely keep up with the group.
Under the arrangement of Steward Sun and others, everyone entered the mine and lined up.
At a glance, there were at least thirty or forty ascendants who had ascended to the Earthly Immortal Realm. Judging from their different appearances and clothing, they must be ascendants from different countries. It seems that ascendants are not such rare things after all. Chen Jie thought to himself.
Suddenly everything went dark, and they found themselves in the mine's long corridor. The surroundings were dark and damp, so dark that they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces. They could smell a musty odor from afar, and the noisy voices of the officials behind them urging them to hurry up rose and fell.
The deeper you go, the more you hear the clanging and banging of metal, mixed with the cries of miners, echoing through the empty cave.
The stalactites hanging overhead were covered with glistening spiritual liquid. When they dripped down and hit the puddles, the splashing water droplets condensed into tiny ice particles in mid-air, refracting colorful halos and making the warning runes left by the cultivators of the Earth Immortal Realm on the cave walls flicker.
As you walk further in, you'll find huge lamps of the same style placed on the walls. These lamps are made of bronze and have an ancient and elegant luster. They are about half a meter tall.
However, these lamps did not contain flammable materials such as lamp oil, but instead each held a fist-sized white stone that emitted a soft glow.
The light emitted by this stone was much brighter than that of an ordinary kerosene lamp. It not only illuminated the color of the ore under the lamp, but also made the road in the nearby corridor clearly visible. This thing was truly exquisite! Seeing this, Chen Jie couldn't help but secretly marvel.
A luminous pearl? It is indeed a rare item, but it seems to be different from traditional luminous pearls. It truly lives up to its reputation as a celestial object.
As they went further in, the tunnels became increasingly narrow, and the various styles were nowhere near as refined as those above. Chen Jie then realized that the place they had just passed was where the foremen stayed, while they, the miners, stayed on a lower level.
The dim, gray light shone into the tunnel. The lighting here was also provided by glowing stones, but it couldn't compare to the bright luminous pearls above. There weren't even any copper lamp holders; these dim stones were simply embedded in the stone walls.
After walking through the long passage, the group finally arrived at the main mining area below. Here, there was a large open space with a table where several people were drinking water.
The leader was bald and seemed to be blind in one eye. He sat there surrounded by his underlings, who were serving him tea and water.
The bald man was enjoying the flattery from his underlings when he suddenly saw someone coming down. He jumped up and ran over with a fawning expression, saying, "Oh, Master Wang, what brings you here in person? If you had just let me know, I would have come up to greet you."
"Blind Cheng, stop talking nonsense. A new batch of people has arrived and been assigned to you. You'd better keep a close eye on them and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Hehe, don't worry, leave this to me, there won't be any problems."
"By the way, Master Wang, the bitter water here is really hard to drink. Could you please make us some more green leaf tea?"
As he spoke, Blind Cheng pulled a bright red, gem-like spirit stone from his pocket and secretly slipped it into Master Wang's hand.
"These were just dug up yesterday, and I reserved one for you based on the best quality."
Master Wang touched the spirit stone and determined that it was of medium grade, which pleased him greatly.
"Okay, I'll bring you a packet of green leaf tea when I go upstairs in a bit."
Master Wang said, and Blind Cheng immediately thanked him profusely. Master Wang then said, "The rest is up to you."
"Rest assured, Immortal Master, rest assured, Immortal Master."
After seeing Master Wang off, Blind Cheng turned to look at the group of newly arrived miners. He walked past each of them and came to the tall, thin man. He casually pinched the man's wound, causing the man to wince in pain. The man glared at Blind Cheng with fury in his eyes.
"Oh ho, looks like a troublemaker."
"Cheng the Blind said disdainfully, and kicked the tall, thin man to the ground. The man tried to get up, but was held down by his henchmen.
Blind Cheng then bent down to look at the tall, thin man, patted his face, and said, "Do you have the strength to fight me?"
The tall, thin man glared at him fiercely without saying a word. He seemed to know that although he was unwilling to submit, he had no choice but to bow his head when under someone else's roof.
Blind Cheng was very satisfied with the tall, thin man's submission. He stood up and said, "Let me introduce myself. My surname is Cheng. You can call me Boss Cheng from now on. We don't care about things up here, but I'm the boss here in this mine."
"I know you might be dissatisfied, each of you thinking you're some kind of chosen ones, some kind of immortals, but let me tell you, the least valuable thing in this world is an ascendant. If you're a dragon, coil up; if you're a tiger, lie down. Put away all that arrogance you had in the lower realm, or you'll have nowhere to cry when you get beaten up."
"Alright, next I'll introduce the work here. There are eight mine shafts in total. We draw lots to go down into the mine every day. We work eight hours a day, and each person has to hand over five spirit stones every day. If you have any extra, you can get points. You can use these points to buy some living supplies here, such as delicious bread, clean water, and so on."
"In addition, the more points you have, the better your life will be in the future, and you can leave here as soon as possible and join our Green Wood Valley."
"start!"
With a roar, Blind Cheng's henchmen shooed everyone forward, each pulling out a bamboo tube and saying, "There are corresponding numbers on the slips inside. Draw the number and go to that mine. No switching mines is allowed."
"Let's draw lots."
After the man finished speaking, everyone lined up to draw lots. After a flurry of activity, Chen Jie was assigned to Mine No. 3. At this moment, Liu Xiaoshan quietly walked up to Chen Jie and whispered, "Brother Chen, what number are you?"
“Number three,” Chen Jie said.
"What a coincidence! I'm number three too!" Liu Xiaoshan said excitedly.
"That way we can look out for each other later."
“Okay,” Chen Jie said.
As everyone was whispering among themselves, Blind Cheng suddenly roared, startling everyone.
"Is everything sorted?"
The younger brother hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Boss, it's already been divided."
"Then what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and go down into the mine!" Blind Cheng shouted angrily.
The younger brother hurriedly replied, "Yes, boss."
Urged on by their younger brothers, everyone headed towards the mine they had drawn. Chen Jie followed the crowd, carrying a basket and a pickaxe, towards the mine. The entrance to the No. 3 mine was not large and was rather narrow, with several vines growing at the entrance. Stepping into the mine, a cold, damp chill hit them, causing them to shiver. There was also a pungent smell of sulfur.
Chen Jie frowned. The further they went, the dimmer the light became. Only by the light of the torches could they vaguely make out the various chisel marks on the stone walls, some old and some new. Scattered among the stone walls were red crystals, their red light flickering in and out of the cracks—these were fire crystals.
Chen Jie couldn't help but reach out to touch the fire crystal, and as soon as he touched it, a scorching heat surged from his fingertips.
As Chen Jie carefully examined the fire crystal, the leader of the henchmen turned to the group and said, "We've arrived at the mine. Let's get ready to start mining!"
Everyone put down their baskets, picked up their picks, and prepared to start mining.
Chen Jie picked up the pickaxe and vigorously began to chip at the fire crystal. After one strike, he found that the fire crystal did not react at all, but his own hand was numb from the impact. He bent down to examine it closely and found that the strike had only left a shallow mark on the fire crystal. Chen Jie was very puzzled. What kind of stone was this that was so hard?
Just when Chen Jie was completely baffled
"Damn it, what kind of stone is this? It's so hard! My hands are numb from the impact, but it hasn't reacted at all!" Liu Xiaoshan said angrily.
"Brother Chen, what kind of stone do you think this is?" Liu Xiaoshan asked, leaning closer to Chen Jie.
"Brother Liu, I don't know either!" Chen Jie said, coming back to his senses.
"These fire crystals are so hard, and our cultivation techniques are sealed. How can we possibly complete the task of mining five spirit stones every day?" Liu Xiaoshan said helplessly.
Upon hearing Liu Xiaoshan's complaints, an elderly man who looked quite old suddenly coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention.
Liu Xiaoshan quickly approached the old man and asked, "Senior, you're already this old, haven't you accumulated enough spirit stones to become a disciple of Qingmu Valley yet?"
The old man next to him glared at Liu Xiaoshan but ignored him.
"Please tell me, senior," Liu Xiaoshan said with a grin.
The old man didn't even look up, saying impatiently, "Please move aside, don't delay my gathering of spirit stones."
"Hey, you old man, you've got quite the temper," Liu Xiaoshan said unhappily as he followed the old man to his side.
“Brother Liu had no intention of offending you, please forgive me,” Chen Jie said, bowing slightly as he approached the old man.
The old man turned to look at Chen Jie, who was squatting beside him, and then at Liu Xiaoshan, before slowly saying, "I won't hold this young man against you."
"In that case, could you please enlighten us, senior? Why are these spirit stones so hard, and what are they used for?" Chen Jie asked sincerely.
"This stone is a 'Fire Crystal Stone,' an essential item for cultivators in the Earthly Immortal Realm. It possesses the fire attribute and is an energy crystal containing pure fire spiritual energy. Those cultivating fire-attribute techniques can directly absorb this spiritual energy, increasing cultivation efficiency and replenishing the spiritual power of their techniques, doubling their strength. It can also be used for alchemy. By engraving fire patterns inside the alchemy furnace and inlaying three to five Fire Crystal Stones, the temperature within the furnace can be effectively controlled, resulting in superior-grade pills that are more than twice as effective as those produced in ordinary furnaces. This Fire Crystal Stone is highly coveted by cultivators. Although the mines are full of Fire Crystal Stones, this particular stone is extremely hard and very difficult to mine."
"It's lucky if you can collect three to five spirit stones a day. Besides, you're also exploited by those beasts above. It's even more difficult to accumulate enough points to get out of here."
"This is why I haven't been able to leave yet," the old man said with a helpless sigh.
"How many years have you been in this mine, senior?" Liu Xiaoshan asked cheekily.
"I have been here for twenty years now," the old man said helplessly.
"Twenty years!"
"Won't I be a whole old mountain by now, twenty years from now?" Liu Xiaoshan sat down on the ground and mocked himself.
"Is twenty years a long time? I still haven't gotten out, and I don't know how long I'll have to endure it," the old man said, glaring at Liu Xiaoshan.
Everyone was dejected after hearing the old man's words, feeling that there was no hope for them.
After listening to the old man's words, Chen Jie lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
However, Chen Jie wasn't thinking about when he could leave; he was thinking about the wonders of the Fire Crystal Stone, something that didn't exist in the Lesser Thousand Worlds.
Furthermore, the strength of some spirit stones is difficult to purify using martial arts techniques from the lower realms. However, he managed to extract the "Primordial Chaos Technique" from Xu Daoyuan.
I wonder if I can absorb this fire-type spirit stone. If it does work, then I can open my storage ring and won't have to worry about supplies anymore. I can also conserve my stamina.
"Get to work! Stop chatting and stop thinking about when you'll be able to leave. You'll get a beating if you don't hand over the spirit stones later," the old man advised.
After listening to the old man's words, everyone picked up their pickaxes and continued working, deciding to get through this hurdle first!
Looking around, Liu Xiaoshan kept muttering to himself, "This damn rock is so hard and so hard to mine. I don't know when I'll be able to get out of this wretched place." He was digging at the rock listlessly.
The others also dug at the stones in front of them with deathly pale faces. Chen Jie also turned around and dug at the fire crystal stone in front of him. Since arriving in the Earth Immortal Realm, Chen Jie hadn't even had time to catch his breath or eat. At this moment, his physical strength was gradually decreasing. Chen Jie used all his strength to dig off a spirit stone.
The spirit stone was about the size of an egg, oval-shaped, and entirely crimson, with a faint red glow, as if there was a ball of fire inside. When Chen Jie held the spirit stone in his hand, he felt a warm spiritual energy emanating from it, and he felt much more energetic.
Chen Jie held the spirit stone tightly in his hand and silently recited the "Primordial Chaos Technique". In an instant, he felt a surge of spiritual energy flowing from the crystal, through the meridians in his arm, and into his dantian, where it slowly coalesced into a ball.
At this moment, Chen Jie felt a warmth in his dantian, and a power slowly rose from within, nourishing his limbs and bones.
"There's a chance," Chen Jie muttered to himself.
Chen Jie continued to absorb spiritual energy, feeling more and more of it gathering in his dantian, where it formed a small flame. The flame greedily absorbed the spiritual energy, growing stronger, and the transformed spiritual energy then nourished his limbs. Chen Jie felt his strength slowly returning.
Just as Chen Jie was getting into the swing of things, Liu Xiaoshan suddenly spoke up.
"Brother Chen, why have you stopped digging at the rocks? I've seen you standing here in a daze for ages."
"I just unearthed a spirit stone, I need a break," Chen Jie replied. (End of Chapter)