Chapter 162: Chapter 161: Alternative Genius

According to the Qingfeng Sect’s rules, disciples who discovered and reported any type of ore vein to the sect would be rewarded with Contribution Points or Super Seize status, the amount and type varying based on the vein’s value.

For example, an Outer Sect Disciple could be promoted directly to the Inner Sect without having to go through the sect’s competitions.

Or, a Steward could be directly granted a Foundation Establishment Pill without having to wait in line.

However, when it came to Foundation Establishment Elders, such matters were handled differently.

If an elder could independently complete all the preliminary work, from surveying to initial development, and present the sect with a stable ore vein ready for mining...

...their reward would not be a fixed sum. Instead, they would receive twenty to thirty percent of the ore vein’s total profits.

For instance, the Spirit Stone Ore Vein that Mingluan discovered was simply too close to Hejian County, leaving no opportunity for private excavation.

Otherwise, that miniature Spirit Stone Ore Vein could have earned her a share of over one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

That was why, upon discovering a suspected ore vein, Zhou Suqing’s first thought was to secure control over it.

As a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator who still held hopes of reaching Core Formation, she was well aware of the vast amount of resources required for the process.

A Core Formation Spiritual Object was only the beginning.

For example, there was the Spirit Stabilizing Pill, which could stabilize the Sea of Consciousness and prevent it from collapsing if one’s Core Formation attempt failed.

Then there was the Vein-Protecting Pill to fortify one’s meridians; if the conversion of Spiritual Liquid into Magical Power failed, the immense backlash could destroy them completely.

All of these were Tier Three Elixirs, with prices that could bankrupt an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Although Ancestor Yangg had told her he would fund a portion of it, Zhou Suqing still wanted to gather as much as she could on her own.

It was just that her own combat prowess was truly nothing to boast about. Even against a Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beast, she could only suppress it with her higher realm and couldn’t achieve a quick victory.

This led to the strange scene of a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator inviting two newly-promoted elders, both Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, to explore an ore vein together.

"An ore vein?"

Bai Zichen’s interest was piqued. The sect hadn’t controlled Feiyue Lake for very long.

Coupled with their recent focus on the Spirit Fields, the surveys of other surrounding resources had fallen behind.

With a Tier Three Top-Grade Spiritual Vein nearby, it was perfectly normal for several ore veins to form in the vicinity.

"What tier and type of ore vein is it?"

Bai Zichen currently had a steady income of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones per year. An ordinary Tier One Vein certainly wouldn’t be enough to tempt him.

"I was trying to gather some Taiyin Moon Grass when I stumbled into a valley... The Yin Qi in the valley is extremely dense, and it’s dark all year round. I did a bit of digging and brought back a few ore samples. Junior Brother Bai, you can take a look."

Zhou Suqing opened her palm, and three or four gray crystals of varying sizes fell onto the table.

Bai Zichen picked one up. He couldn’t feel the slightest bit of Spiritual Qi. He squeezed it hard, and the gray crystal crumbled to dust.

"What kind of mineral is this? It doesn’t seem like any of the common Spiritual Materials."

Bai Zichen knew nothing about Artifact Refining; all his knowledge of minerals came from books.

"It’s not a Spiritual Material, but rather an ordinary stone that has been tainted by a trace of Yin Sha Qi and is in the process of crystallizing... Junior Brother Bai, did you not notice a slight corrosive sting on your skin when you crushed it? That was because of the Yin Sha Qi leaking from the crystal."

Although Zhou Suqing was weak in combat, she excelled at everything else.

She was proficient in magic, had created her own Qi Refining Technique, and was also an excellent teacher and mentor.

She also studied arrays, becoming a Tier Two Array Master in a short time, surpassing many in the Array Hall who had dedicated their entire lives to the craft.

She was extremely well-read; it was said she had even read through the tens of thousands of miscellaneous books in the Transmission Hall, earning her the nickname of a walking encyclopedia.

If there hadn’t been any books left for her to read in the Transmission Hall, she might not have even moved to Feiyue Lake.

"So it’s Yin Sha Qi. Could there be a fissure in the valley that leads deep into the Earth’s Lungs?"

When Bai Zichen had crushed the gray crystal just now, there was indeed an imperceptible wisp of air that escaped.

But he hadn’t felt the so-called stinging on his skin at all, so he hadn’t made the connection to Yin Sha Qi.

’The amount was probably too small, and my Glazed Body absorbed it directly.’

"There are two possibilities. The valley contains one or more Earth Evil Yin Veins, which are leaking Yin Sha Qi. Or, there’s a Netherworld Stone Ore Vein hidden underground, which would also gather Yin Sha Qi."

Besides Zhou Suqing, there really weren’t many among the Sect Elders who understood such knowledge about mountains, rivers, and Earth Veins.

She stated her judgment, her reasoning sound and logical.

"As for a connection to the depths of the Earth’s Lungs, that’s unlikely... If that were true, it would surely be accompanied by Earth Core Poison Flame, which would have turned the valley into a Desolate Land!"

An Earth Evil Yin Vein only required simple maintenance. By using a special technique to extract the Evil Qi, one could obtain a wisp of Gang Sha every so often.

Depending on the properties of the Yin Vein, the type of Gang Sha obtained varied, such as the Qingfeng Sect’s Pure Yang Gang Sha, the Black Water Gang Sha stored in the Transmission Hall, or the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Profound Yin Gang Sha...

Each wisp of Gang Sha can be refined into a Spiritual Artifact of a matching attribute, slightly increasing its power.

But its more common use is as a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, to be consumed and refined using a Secret Technique.

’An Earth Evil Yin Vein isn’t bad. We could harvest a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object every ten years... As for Netherworld Stone, it would depend on the scale of the ore vein. If it’s less than a hundred thousand catties, it’s not really worth mining.’

Bai Zichen tapped his fingers lightly. Ever since he had the Dragon Tooth Rice, his stable Treasure Basin, his standards had risen.

’One Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object every ten years, split three ways, with Zhou Suqing taking the largest share... In terms of Spirit Stones, it’s not really worth much. But what I value is the rarity of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object. I might not need it, but I could bestow it upon my own disciples or juniors. Compared to the uncertainty of the Foundation Establishment Pill, a steadily produced Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object is more practical for an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator. As for Netherworld Stone, it’s a very common Tier Two mineral. It can be used as a supplementary material for Demon Path Spiritual Artifacts, so it would definitely have no market within the Black Mountain region. It isn’t a particularly rare material, so it wouldn’t be profitable to specially transport it to other regions for sale. Even if we mined it, we could only sell it cheaply to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. With the extensive channels they’ve established, they would naturally be able to offload the Netherworld Stone. There’s the initial exploration, and then after the Sect begins official mining, the elder who discovered it also has the responsibility of guarding and overseeing it. Netherworld Stone is useless to the Qingfeng Sect, so the Sect wouldn’t dispatch too many people, resulting in a yearly output of at most a few thousand catties. After deducting all the costs, the Spirit Stones that would end up in one person’s hands would be one or two thousand at most. How could that compare to the simplicity of discovering an Earth Evil Yin Vein, setting up an Array Restriction, and just extracting the Evil Qi once every ten years? Besides, unlike with an ore vein, the Sect doesn’t demand a share from the discoverer of an Earth Evil Yin Vein.’

Zhou Suqing’s and Su Li’s expressions flickered. In their hearts, they were obviously hoping it was a Netherworld Stone Ore Vein.

"I only hastily explored about a third of the valley before leaving immediately. Before I left, I heard a few low hisses. Based on the pressure I felt, they should be Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beasts. But the sounds came from three or four different directions at the same time, so there must be quite a few..."

Bai Zichen was speechless. ’This Senior Sister Zhou is a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, for crying out loud. Did she really need to be driven off by a few Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beasts? And now she needs to find helpers, form a team, and share the profits.’

"Let’s err on the side of caution. We’ll assume there are five Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beasts in the valley. I can tie up two of them with my Talismanic Technique. Senior Sister Zhou... your realm is high, so holding up another two should be no problem?"

As Su Li spoke, he glanced at Zhou Suqing, his confidence wavering slightly.

It was just that Zhou Suqing’s past combat record was too astounding: as an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was fought to a draw by a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator; at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, she was no match for a Golden-Winged Thunder Roc and had to flee all the way back to the Mountain Gate while relying on her Defense Spiritual Artifact.

"It should be possible... I am now a Tier Two Top-Grade Array Master. Ancestor Yangg taught me the skill of instantaneous Array Formation, and I have a rudimentary grasp of it."

Zhou Suqing hesitated slightly, then nodded firmly.

"I can set up a Tier Two Low-Grade Array to trap the Demon Beasts. I guarantee they won’t escape for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!"

"That’s great. Senior Brother Bai is a Sword Cultivator with astounding combat power... He has a record of slaying Tier Two Demon Beasts during the reclamation war. As long as he quickly kills the remaining Demon Beast and then comes to support one of us, we can pick them off one by one!"

Su Li clapped his hands and smiled. This was doable.

"If there are fewer than five Demon Beasts in the valley, all the better. It will be even easier for us."

Bai Zichen put a hand to his forehead. There were a thousand things he wanted to say, but in the end, it all came out as a single sigh.

"Senior Sister Zhou, you’re already a Tier Two Top-Grade Array Master?"

’If it’s just a few Tier Two Low-Grade Demon Beasts, what’s the point of setting up an array? I could just go in, sword in hand, and kill them all. Caution depends on the opponent. During the reclamation war several years ago, my strength was far from what it is now, yet I could slay the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc and the White Ape on my own. It goes without saying what I can do now.’

What made his heart skip a beat were the five words: Tier Two Top-Grade Array Master.

’If I remember correctly, when she came back from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, Zhou Suqing was controlling the Three Thousand Six Hundred Rings Water Smoke Array on behalf of Ancestor Yangg. Back then, she was still a Tier Two Mid-Grade Array Master. It’s only been a few years. Even if progress in arrays relies on epiphanies, you can’t improve this fast.’

"That’s right. I’ve focused my main efforts on arrays these past few years... Coupled with Ancestor Yangg’s careful guidance, I’ve managed to make some progress."

Zhou Suqing’s expression was calm; she didn’t seem at all proud of her Array Realm.

’No wonder Ancestor Yangg hasn’t been asking about my progress in arrays. With an heir like her, why would he care about a disciple who just happens to have naturally strong Divine Sense...’

Bai Zichen thought of his own situation; he had also spent some of his free time on the path of arrays.

So far, he could barely set up a Tier One Mid-Grade Array, and not with any proficiency—it was the kind of thing that required repeated attempts.

"Let’s go. It’s only several hundred miles from Feiyue Lake. There can’t be any overly powerful Demon Beasts... Otherwise, Ancestor Yangg would have sensed them long ago. How could they have survived until today?"

Bai Zichen sighed at the thought that there was always someone better out there, and got up to leave.

His two neighboring fellow disciples had come to him for help. Regardless of whether there was any benefit in it for him, he was willing to make the trip.

’It’s a good chance to test myself against some Demon Beasts. After several years in seclusion, is my Flying Sword still sharp?’

Tier Three Demon Kings had an extremely strong sense of territory and also required a large enough domain to provide them with food.

For this reason, it was impossible for a Tier Three Demon Beast to appear within hundreds of miles of Feiyue Lake.

Even the probability of a Tier Two Peak Demon Beast appearing was minuscule.

At a distance of seven hundred *li*, a single burst of Sword Control could get him back within the protective range of the Three Thousand Six Hundred Rings Water Smoke Array. Naturally, Bai Zichen could fight without holding back.

"Good! With two junior brothers accompanying me, my confidence in this trip has greatly increased! We’ll divide any spoils from the valley into four shares. I’ll take two, and Junior Brother Bai and Junior Brother Su will each take one."

Zhou Suqing slapped the table and stood up as well.

"Do you have any objections to this arrangement, Junior Brother?"

Su Li had certainly discussed this with Zhou Suqing before coming, so he naturally had no objections.

Bai Zichen pondered for a moment, then agreed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

As the discoverer and the one who called them together, it was only natural for Zhou Suqing to receive an extra share.

In other words, if not for her exaggeratedly weak combat skills, she could have claimed the entire valley for herself.

For Bai Zichen, this trip was more like a chance to test his blade after a long period of seclusion. The amount of reward was not important.