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Chapter 81: Mining
Deep EarthSpirit General arrived at this location, and without much explanation from Meng Zhang, he took action on his own initiative. He first looked around the surroundings, then his figure flickered, and he began to sprint wildly in all directions. After running a certain distance, Deep Earth would stop and look around, occasionally examining the ground as if his gaze could penetrate deep into the earth.
After running quite far, Deep Earth directly cast the Earth Escape Spell and dived into the underground. It was unclear what he was doing down there, but after a long time, he returned to the surface and came before Meng Zhang.
"Sect Master, the reserves of this scarlet copper mine are abundant. With Taiyi Sect's current manpower, even if everyone participated, it would take 20-30 years to completely extract the veins," Deep Earth reported.
"I didn't venture deep into the mine, just observed the periphery. Inside this scarlet copper vein, there should be associated ores," he continued, "The associated ores in the scarlet copper vein are usually Xuantong, Xuajin, and Flame Crystals. From the aura, the main associated ore here should be Xuajin, with a small amount of Flame Crystals."
After Deep Earth's exploration, he determined the approximate reserves and associated ores of the scarlet copper mine, which made Meng Zhang value it even more.
"Given the current situation of Taiyi Sect, it's not advisable to openly mine this scarlet copper mine," Meng Zhang said, expressing his concerns. Having been in Taiyi Sect for some time, Deep Earth had gained a good understanding of the sect's situation and its position among the neighboring forces. He was well aware of Meng Zhang's apprehensions.
"This scarlet copper vein is not buried deep, making it easy to mine," Deep Earth responded. "The situation on the Sweetwater Oasis side is on track, and it doesn't require my constant attention. I'll take a few extra storage bags each time and spend some time down there. After secretly mining the scarlet copper ore and selling it all, it should cover a significant portion of Taiyi Sect's expenses. As long as I'm careful with my comings and goings, the situation here shouldn't be exposed."
As the Guardian Spirit General of Taiyi Sect, Deep Earth was not only infinitely loyal to the sect but also actively considered the sect's interests. Since he had plenty of free time and volunteered for the task, Meng Zhang agreed to his proposal.
From then on, Deep EarthSpirit General was busily engaged in the mining work. Apart from establishing spirit fields at Sweetwater Oasis, most of his time was spent clandestinely mining the scarlet copper mine. Each time he went, in about half a month, he could fill seven or eight storage bags with scarlet copper ore.
Instead of selling the scarlet copper ore directly, Meng Zhang refined it with True Fire before selling the finished scarlet copper products. Unexpectedly, Tian Zhen's disciple, Tian Li, showed an interest in forging. As he cultivated the Fusion Gold Technique, he displayed considerable talent in this area.
Considering Taiyi Sect's current situation, it might not have the resources to cultivate a true tool refiner. However, it was feasible for internal disciples to learn the basics of forging and some entry-level techniques.
Before becoming a tool refiner, apprentices mainly focused on refining various materials. Meng Zhang purchased a First Rank refining furnace and a large quantity of Spirit Charcoal from Singing Sand City for Tian Li's use. After becoming proficient in refining scarlet copper ore, Tian Li was about to become a qualified apprentice tool refiner.
With the accumulation of scarlet copper within the sect, Meng Zhang would take it to the market for sale, exchanging it for Spirit Stones to support the sect's expenses. Additionally, the white hidden earth crystals brought back from the abandoned mine were being polished by some disciples and yielded many finished products. These white hidden earth crystals were even more popular than scarlet copper, and the Flying Swan Building was willing to purchase them at a high price without questioning their origin.
With these two sources of income, Taiyi Sect's financial situation improved significantly.
Time passed quickly, and Meng Zhang was now twenty years old, and it had been almost two years since he obtained the "Sun-Moon Wheel Turning Sutra." During these two years of arduous cultivation, Meng Zhang not only achieved a minor accomplishment in the "Sun-Moon Wheel Turning Sutra" but also broke through to the seventh level of Refining Qi. Except for Deep EarthSpirit General, Meng Zhang was the only Refining Qi stage cultivator in Taiyi Sect. With his talent, as long as he steadily cultivated, fusing the Solar True Qi and Lunar True Qi in his body to generate Sun and Moon True Qi, he would be able to enter the Foundation Building realm.
Apart from Meng Zhang, other members of Taiyi Sect had made significant progress in their Cultivation Base. With the improvement of the sect's financial situation in recent years, disciples could access relatively abundant cultivation resources.
Tian Zhen, who originally cultivated the Yellow Sand Technique, switched to the Fifth Earth True Secrets. Although the new technique was of a higher level and more powerful, it was also much more difficult to cultivate. Despite reaching the sixth level of Refining Qi, his cultivation speed had slowed down considerably. It seemed far from easy to break through to Foundation Building late stage, not to mention Foundation Building itself.
Daoist Clear Spirit's focus was entirely on Spirit Plants, completely neglecting his own Cultivation Base.
In the past two years, three new disciples had joined the sect, but their spiritual roots were very poor, limiting their future prospects. On the other hand, the progress of the original two disciples pleased Meng Zhang greatly.
Tian Zhen's disciple, Tian Li, reached the third level of Refining Qi and showed remarkable talent in forging. It seemed he would soon become a qualified apprentice tool refiner.
Wen Qiansun, who joined at the age of thirty-five, also reached the third level of Refining Qi, demonstrating the advantages of a middle-grade spiritual root.
By chance, Meng Zhang encountered Wen Qiansun reading a book on formations in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion. These books were compiled by Meng Zhang and contained precious knowledge he obtained from the Trial Ground.
After casually asking a few questions, Meng Zhang unexpectedly discovered that Wen Qiansun had some talent in formations. After thinking it over, Meng Zhang believed that even if Wen Qiansun couldn't reach Foundation Building due to age limitations in the future, if he became a Formation Master, it would still be very beneficial to Taiyi Sect.
Meng Zhang handed over a copy of "One Origin Formation Chart" to Wen Qiansun. Not only was it an excellent introductory material for formation cultivators, but it also contained a Refining Qi technique. After cultivating it, cultivators would have certain advantages in setting up and manipulating formations. While Taiyi Sect's disciples had relatively abundant cultivation resources, not everyone could obtain additional resources at will; each person's resources were limited. To acquire additional resources, disciples had to accept sect missions and earn merit.
Since the sect was small and had limited affairs, the main task assigned to disciples was taking care of spirit fields. After Meng Zhang brought back a batch of white hidden earth crystals, polishing them proved to be a profitable task until they were exhausted. Other simple tasks like guarding the mountain gate or patrolling the area between Taiyi Sect and Sweet
water Oasis had limited returns.
As Tian Li studied forging, Meng Zhang personally gave him a refining furnace. Now that Wen Qiansun was practicing formations, Meng Zhang provided him with a batch of Spirit Stones.
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