txolops Chapter 36 Suspected Area
Chapter 36 Suspected Area
After putting away the spirit-seeking jade tube, Zhang Tie asked Sun Feng about the doubts that had been bothering him.
"Senior Brother Sun, is accepting sect missions the only way for Foundation Establishment cultivators to earn contribution points?"
Sun Feng nodded.
"More or less. There are over thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators on Lingxian Peak. Apart from those in seclusion, no more than a third of them usually stay on the peak. Most of them go out to do missions. Some hunt demonic beasts, some search for spirit mines, and some guard the mines... all to earn contribution points and exchange them for cultivation resources!"
"Then there are stewards like me from various spirit peaks. Although we don't need to go out on missions, our contribution points are fixed—enough, but not much!"
Zhang Tie's face showed a look of sudden realization. Lingxian Peak was indeed wealthy and powerful, but the cultivators below also had to work hard.
A sect is not a charity; you have to rely on yourself for everything!
Although he didn't have the miraculous effect of Han Li's little green bottle in cultivating spiritual herbs, he still had his own cheat code.
After bidding farewell to Sun Feng, Zhang Tie returned to his cave and refined the jade tube of the Spirit-Seeking Technique.
The jade tube transformed into a beam of spiritual light and entered his brow, flooding Zhang Tie's mind with a large amount of information.
A full hour later, Zhang Tie finally opened his eyes again.
This "Spirit Seeking Technique" is more complex than he imagined, even involving some aspects of array formations. No wonder Sun Feng said that many Foundation Establishment cultivators on Lingxian Peak are unwilling to practice it.
If an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator were to cultivate and comprehend step by step, it would probably take a year or two before they could even begin to grasp the basics, but Zhang Tie is different!
Zhang Tie turned his gaze to the book of cause and effect in his mind.
Although my karma value is only 200 points, it is still more than enough to cultivate the "Spirit Seeking Technique".
[Do you wish to begin learning the "Spirit Seeking Technique"? 100 Karma Points required.]
【Yes! 】
Golden light flashed on the Book of Cause and Effect, and the information about the "Spirit Seeking Technique" in Zhang Tie's mind was quickly sorted and summarized.
Soon, the principles, methods, and operational techniques of the Spirit Seeking Technique were all imprinted into Zhang Tie's mind.
After an incense stick had burned, a golden light flashed in Zhang Tie's pupils, and he had successfully entered the first level of the Spirit Seeking Technique!
The core of the Spirit Seeking Technique is the perception of spiritual energy!
Ordinary cultivators can only sense the existence and concentration of spiritual energy, but those who have cultivated the Spirit-Seeking Technique can distinguish the attributes, source, and flow of spiritual energy with their pupils...
Just as an ordinary person can only see a river, but the spirit-seeking technique can see the stones at the bottom of the river, the fish in the water, and even the undercurrents.
Rather than calling it "Spirit-Seeking Technique," it would be more appropriate to call it "Spirit-Seeking Eye Technique"!
"Sensing spiritual energy, discerning attributes, tracing the source..." Zhang Tie muttered to himself.
Inside the cave, Zhang Tie stood up and looked at the spiritual spring not far away, his spirit-seeking technique swirling in his eyes.
In the next instant, Zhang Tie seemed to see another world. In the spiritual spring, wisps of spiritual energy circulated and overflowed.
Beneath the spiritual spring, a pure spiritual energy route extends deep underground, seemingly leading to the sealed-off summit area of Lingxian Peak.
"I never imagined this sacred spring was a man-made creation!"
"That's true. There are over a hundred first and second-tier cave dwellings on Lingxian Peak. Where would we find so many natural spiritual springs to dig up!"
However, it does bear some resemblance to the heating system of my previous life!
At Lingxian Peak, Zhang Tie used the Spirit Seeking Technique and saw mostly underground spiritual veins, among which the spiritual veins at the peak of Lingxian Peak were the most abundant, with a concentration that probably reached the upper third rank. That was the location of the cave dwellings of the two Core Formation cultivators.
The art of spirit scavenging requires a lot of practice. Although Zhang Tie has enough theoretical knowledge, without actual operation, no matter how much he talks, it's just empty talk.
"Perfect, I can go out and practice my skills on the red jade mine mission!" Zhang Tie thought to himself.
The garrison mission had to be completed within half a month, but the mine was three or four hundred miles away from the mountain gate. Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly there in less than half a day, but Zhang Tie did not have a flying magic weapon!
"Looks like I need to get a flying artifact, otherwise getting around is too inconvenient!"
The cheapest first-tier low-grade flying artifact only costs about thirty or forty spirit stones, but its speed is still slower than Zhang Tie's own use of the Wind Control Technique.
A decent one would cost around 100 spirit stones, while a top-tier first-grade one could even fetch 400 or 500 spirit stones!
Zhang Tieqing counted his spirit stones and found that he had about 150 spirit stones in total, plus the 30 spirit stones that Lingxian Peak had given him this month!
One hundred and fifty spirit stones should be enough to buy a mid-grade first-tier flying magic weapon. It's faster than traveling on your own. You can upgrade to a better one later when you have more resources!
...
Three days later, in the central region of the Cangqiu Mountains, a streak of azure light swiftly swept across the mountain ranges and soon stopped at the mouth of a valley.
"This must be where the red jade mine is located!"
Zhang Tie looked at the map in his hand, confirmed that the location was correct, and then jumped off the cyan spirit boat.
This spirit boat was a mid-grade flying artifact that he purchased from the sect's Spirit Treasure Pavilion before setting off. It cost him more than eighty spirit stones and was quite fast and comfortable.
After putting away the spirit boat, Zhang Tie scanned the area with his divine sense and quickly discovered the restriction set up at the entrance of the valley.
The commotion caused by Zhang Tie's landing also alerted the cultivators in the valley, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator in black robes soon appeared at the valley entrance.
Upon seeing Zhang Tie dressed in the robes of an inner disciple of the Spirit Beast Mountain, the man immediately came forward to greet him.
"So you're the new guard assigned from within the sect?"
Zhang Tie presented his mission token: "Yes! I am Zhang Tie, a disciple of Lingxian Peak!"
The black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator accepted the token, confirmed its authenticity, and nodded: "My name is Zhao Dashan, one of the managers of the Crimson Jade Mine. You've come at the right time. Your predecessor just finished his mission and left two days ago. I'm relieved to see you here!"
Zhao Dashan led Zhang Tie into the valley, explaining the situation as they walked.
"This red jade mine isn't large; it can only be considered a small spirit jade mine. There are currently 150 miners, all of whom are miscellaneous workers in the sect, mostly early-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Besides me, there are three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators on the mine, responsible for daily management. Our task is to drive away the nearby demonic beasts and protect the mine's safety!"
"Are there many monsters around here?" Zhang Tie asked.
"Not many. They're usually level one demonic beasts that wander around the area. Level two demonic beasts are very rare. I've been here for almost two years and I've only seen one level two demonic beast. That beast ran away before we could even make a move!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tie felt a sense of relief.
It's good that there aren't many monsters; it gives him a chance to do other things!
Zhao Dashan quickly led Zhang Tie to a wooden hut inside the mine: "This is your residence. You can cultivate here when you're not busy. If any monsters come, we'll deal with them together!"
Zhang Tie nodded and went into the wooden house.
The wooden house wasn't large, but it had everything you needed. There was even a man-made spiritual eye in the corner. Although the concentration of spiritual energy was average, it wasn't a sect after all, so it was usable enough.
"The conditions are basic, but please make do!"
"By the way, this is a map of the area. The red markers indicate places where monsters frequently appear, while the green ones are generally safe! Junior brother, familiarize yourself with this!"
Zhang Tie took the map and unfolded it to examine it.
The map shows the terrain within a hundred miles of the Spirit Jade Mine. You can see that the surrounding area is full of continuous mountain ranges. There are three or four red markers distributed in different directions, which represent the activity areas of level two demon beasts.
Zhang Tie scanned the map, his gaze suddenly stopping on a blue mark in the northwest corner.
"Senior Brother Zhao, what does this blue mark mean?" Zhang Tie asked, pointing to the map.
Zhao Dashan leaned over for a glance, then thought for a moment: "That place was marked by the previous garrison commanders. I heard it's a deep ravine, possibly inhabited by a level-two demonic beast, and filled with dense yin energy. They didn't investigate it thoroughly, so they just gave it a blue mark. But that place is almost a hundred miles away, so there shouldn't be any problems. No need to worry too much!"
The yin energy was intense? Zhang Tie's heart skipped a beat.
Although abundant Yin energy does not necessarily mean the presence of Earthly Fiend Qi, Yin energy is one of the necessary conditions for the formation of Earthly Fiend Qi!
This place is suspected to be inhabited by evil spirits!
Zhang Tie secretly kept this in mind, determined to investigate it when the opportunity arose!