Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 80: Trading Point

The spirit ice is heavy and covers a considerable area. This place is also quite far from Ice Spirit Island. Tong Bingfeng and Liu Zong have limited strength and cannot transport all the mined spirit ice back to Ice Sea Market for sale.

Therefore, trading nearby is the only option. Although this place is remote, there are always some cultivators who do not like to be bound by restrictions who hide in areas with rich spiritual energy to live and multiply.

In addition, some cultivators who were expelled from Ice Spirit Island for various reasons would also choose to temporarily hide in the depths of the Ice Domain.

Wherever cultivators live and reproduce, there will naturally be a demand for trading spiritual items, and trading points of all sizes will naturally emerge.

In order to avoid the attention and attacks from Foundation Establishment stage families who control various spirit islands, these trading points are usually small in scale and located in secluded places. Outsiders would need to spend enough time exploring and searching to find them.

Tong Bingfeng and Liu Zong naturally had no objections to this simple division of labor. As for the mining of spirit ice, the Chen family usually hired Qi Refining stage cultivators to mine the spirit veins not far from Ice Spirit Island, requiring only a small price to pay.

It was obvious that the spirit ice mine did not meet these conditions, and the small amount of spirit ice they had left over from their second cultivation was not enough to warrant hiring a cultivator to mine it. Therefore, the two of them had to personally mine the spirit ice of different qualities one by one.

Fortunately, this was not difficult for cultivators who had experience working as ice harvesters. They only needed to find mature, stopped growing spiritual ice in the mine and use a special magic tool to remove it.

Moreover, compared to the early-stage Qi Refining cultivators who are ice harvesters, the two Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators, whose strength is now vastly different from before, are undoubtedly more efficient.

Of course, once the spirit ice mine is on the right track, the two of them will have more time to cultivate.

"Luckily, we were prepared. Otherwise, this stone chamber would be completely empty, and we wouldn't even be able to guarantee a basic quiet environment, let alone anything else."

As night fell, darkness once again enveloped the entire world, and apart from the howling winds sweeping across the icy land, there was no other sound.

The stone chamber where Tong Bingfeng was located had a simple warning array at the entrance constructed with the help of three array flags. Inside, apart from a wooden bed, there was only a green futon.

The wooden bed was only for temporary rest, while the futon was a genuine first-grade low-level magic artifact. Its function was similar to that of a spirit-gathering array, which could actively gather the spiritual energy within a radius of ten feet around the cultivator to assist in cultivation and improve cultivation efficiency.

This futon was obtained by Tong Bingfeng in exchange for his last trophy, a spirit beast egg containing abundant life force.

"Although this spirit ice vein is only small, it is already fully mature. The entire vein is nearly 700 meters deep and is densely covered with mature first-grade low-to-mid-level spirit ice. Even if it is mined at full capacity, it will be more than enough to supply the next ten years."

Tong Bingfeng recalled his experience exploring the depths of the Spirit Ice Mine today, and couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction.

After all, according to the classification of the cultivation world in the Northern Frontier Ice Region, the area of ​​a miniature spirit vein is usually within the range of 500 to 1,000 meters.

More than 80% of the micro-veins are between 500 and 600 meters deep, and the Lingbing vein, which is 700 meters deep, is one of the best among them.

Furthermore, through careful observation, it was found that the Chen family had indeed never conducted any substantial mining of the spirit ice vein; the few traces they left were probably only for judging the quality of the spirit ice.

With these thoughts in mind, Tong Bingfeng began to circulate his magic power to replenish the mana he had lost from traveling at high speed for a long time and fighting against demonic beasts.

Regardless of future arrangements, for a qualified cultivator, daily practice and ensuring sufficient mana in the dantian are the most basic requirements.

As the Water Spirit Technique circulated through the Great Cycle, with the assistance of the Spirit Gathering Futon, Tong Bingfeng felt surrounded by layers of dense ice-attribute spiritual energy. He only needed to circulate the Great Cycle to receive a surge of spiritual energy.

Moreover, the quality of the spiritual energy is far superior to that in a mid-grade first-tier courtyard, and the efficiency of completing one full cycle is comparable to one and a half cycles of the original.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, you can rest assured and start mining spirit ice. Prioritize mining mid-grade first-level spirit ice. For low-grade first-level spirit ice, you only need to complete the task with the Chen family. I will now head to the Ice Domain to find a trading point."

The next morning, full of energy, Tong Bingfeng couldn't wait to leave the mine and head to the Ice Domain to find a trading point, as assigned the day before.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, please rest assured. I am well aware of the importance of this matter. There are many demonic beasts in this area. While searching for a trading point, please prioritize your own safety."

"Also, be extremely careful of those wicked cultivators who make a living by stealing spiritual items and killing other cultivators. These guys are extremely troublesome, even more so than demonic beasts."

Liu Zong gave a few brief instructions and then said no more. At this time, the spiritual ice mine was not yet fully set up, and the safety of the two of them was not yet fully guaranteed. Naturally, they were in a state of sincere cooperation.

After an incense stick's time, Tong Bingfeng used the great array to leave the mine. This invisibility and spirit-concealing array could be left from the inside without the need for a token.

Furthermore, when they return, Liu Zong will be there to receive them, so there will be no need to use a token to control them. In this way, the location of the Spirit Ice Mine can be kept secret as much as possible.

"This place is located deep within the Ice Domain, far from Ice Spirit Island, and the number of cultivators appearing here is even smaller. This also means that the number of demonic beasts has increased, and the frequency of appearance of some water-attribute spiritual creatures is also higher."

"These two pairs of large incisors have been hidden for some time, but today is the perfect time for them to show their true colors. While searching for spiritual treasures, they can also avoid the lairs of some powerful demonic beasts."

This is also the fundamental reason why Tong Bingfeng volunteered for the task, knowing that finding trading points was more dangerous, yet still actively sought it out and moved forward.

With the help of Big Fang's keen perception of ice-attribute spiritual power, the earlier one appears on the ice field, the higher the possibility of snatching high-quality spiritual items from the beasts' mouths.

In addition, based on his experience of using these two pairs of four molars more than a hundred times over the years, he has gained some insights into their use through summarizing some lessons learned.

The auras emitted by different types, ranks, and lifestyles of demonic beasts are clearly distinct, and there is also a fundamental difference between the auras of demonic beasts and spiritual beings.

After leaving the spirit ice mine, Tong Bingfeng quickly determined the direction, then activated the "Concealing Breath Technique" to fully suppress his aura and continued to travel deeper into the ice domain.

Meanwhile, as he moved forward, his eyes flashed with sharp light as he scanned the ice surface for any possible aura of cultivators.

The fundamental purpose of this trip is to find trading points, but searching aimlessly is obviously a waste of effort. The trading points are located in secluded places, and it is unrealistic for outsiders to find them directly.