Feng Jun always feels like someone is ambushing him everywhere, but in fact, what Jing Quan said is truly how everyone feels about him.

This person has an unimaginable teleportation skill; not to mention Golden Cores, even True Immortals find it very difficult to locate him.

Of course, the place he often stays is White Pebble Beach, but True Immortal Jing Quan hasn’t visited, and True Immortal Wu Si dares not go, which already speaks volumes.

Originally, Jing Quan thought he had lost track of Feng Jun, but later he heard it was related to the Xuanshui Sect and then connected with the fellow disciples on the Ice Plate, mainly to try his luck.

Feng Jun came to the Ice Plate purely because True Immortal Cang Jing coaxed him, saying that the Spirit Stone Mine here had already been excavated, and invited Feng Jun to take a look, also representing the Xuanshui Sect to express that he could have a three percent stake. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Considering that each of the two True Immortals from the Jinwu Sect gets one percent, Feng Jun, as the discoverer, gets three percent, which seems a bit low, but in fact, it’s not like that; those two are True Immortals, Feng Jun is just a Golden Core!

The key is, their presence represents the Jinwu Sect, even if it’s just for show, they’re still part of the Seven Upper Sects.

Feng Jun doesn’t feel dissatisfied with this; since he’s not from an orthodox line, there’s no room for complaints. He’s grateful for getting a three percent dividend without doing anything; the Xuanshui Sect is already treating him well.

However, he is willing to come over and take a look at the process of mining Spirit Stones.

The place where the Spirit Stones are located is still icy and snowy, but a white wall has been built on the periphery, inside which houses have been constructed, along with three mine tunnels, each with a diameter of about three zhang.

Feng Jun furrowed his brows slightly, "Is this how Spirit Stone Mines are excavated?"

"Of course," Elder Cang Jing looked at him in surprise, "If not like this, then how else?"

"I haven’t had much contact with this," Feng Jun shook his head and answered honestly, "I always thought formations should be used for excavation."

Elder Cang Jing’s question had a probing tone, and she couldn’t help rolling her eyes when she heard his words, "Your sect must be wealthy, using formations for excavation, which would cause significant loss, and increase mining costs."

"Mining costs... don’t seem that high," Feng Jun calculated with a furrowed brow, and then replied, "It should be less than one percent."

"Less than one percent isn’t a lot?" Elder Cang Jing looked at him in shock, "That’s Spirit Stones we’re talking about, and using formations for forced excavation can damage the mine’s structure, with loss possibly exceeding ten percent!"

"I’m quite ignorant then," Feng Jun didn’t mind admitting his lack of knowledge, "But I think letting a Nascent Soul handle open-pit mining would be pretty good."

Elder Cang Jing helplessly shook her head, "Please understand, when we mine Spirit Stone Mines, it’s best to avoid the Taixu Sect, and moreover, the geological layers here are not only thick but the rocks are hard, making the cost of Nascent Soul intervention high."

In essence, Tianqin doesn’t lack low-level laborers. They can hire some Qi-Refining Practitioners to mine, providing meals and accommodations with a basic wage of thirty spirit fragments per day; there are plenty who sign up. You ask a Nascent Soul to intervene, one grab could consume over ten or twenty intermediate Spirit Stones.

The key is, even if a Nascent Soul intervenes, they could only grab some rock pieces; cutting them open to find Spirit Stones still requires the work of minor cultivators, so it’s better to directly hire minor cultivators to mine.

Feng Jun felt a sense of resonance; it seems regardless of the world, miners are relatively miserable existences.

Qing Ji and Xia Nichang were a bit surprised that Feng Jun had a stake in the Xuanshui Sect’s Spirit Stone Mine, but Feng Jun told them that he discovered the mine, and last time, the two Jinwu True Immortals accompanying him each had one percent stakes.

Elder Qing Ji then expressed that Elder Cang Jing is indeed considerate, "I’ll thank you on behalf of those two."

Those two were arranged by Qing Ji to protect Feng Jun, and the Xuanshui Sect’s actions could technically be considered as giving her face.

True Immortal Cang Jing stated it’s really no big deal, "Of course we’ll make money together... do you want to go into the mine tunnel and have a look?"

This invitation was specifically for Feng Jun; there’s really not much to see in a mine tunnel, they’re pretty much the same across realms — dark, dangerous, dirty, and suffocating... She just thought he was too ignorant about mining and wanted to let him broaden his horizons.

Feng Jun was hesitating when, far away, someone shouted loudly, "Taixu Sect’s Jing Quan, here to visit Mountain Master Feng and the fellow Daoists of the Xuanshui Sect, may I ask if you have time for a meeting?"

The phrase "may I ask" can really be ignored; when a local big gun arrives at the doorstep, the Xuanshui Sect cannot refuse to welcome.

However, a Xuanshui Sect True Immortal couldn’t help asking, "Is there still time to conceal the Spirit Stone Mine?"

"No need to conceal anything," Elder Cang Jing helplessly shook her head, "Jing Quan is also in the Nascent Soul Middle Phase, already so close. Do you really think he can’t sense abnormalities here?"

Of course, although she says this, the disciples of the Xuanshui Sect still slightly concealed the mine, and then Elder Cang Jing led the group to greet him, "Xuanshui Sect’s Cang Jing, greetings to Taixu Sect’s Jing Quan Daoist."

"The term ’Daoist’ is something I don’t deserve; you are an elder of the Xuanshui Sect," Jing Quan smilingly waved his hand and suspiciously glanced at the nearby white wall, "What is this place..."

Actually, there was no need to ask; he already had a guess in his heart. Such a large piece laid out before him, it was impossible to pretend he hadn’t seen it.

"Discovered some mineral deposits," Elder Cang Jing replied calmly, "Jing Quan, what are you doing in the Xuanshui Sect’s territory?"

"I have come in pursuit of Mountain Master Feng," True Immortal Jing Quan spoke earnestly, "Master Yuan from the Hot Spring Plate has already formed a Nascent Soul, reportedly under the guidance of Mountain Master Feng. My disciple Moran is also in closed cultivation, and my other disciple is currently stuck at the Golden Core Peak..."

At this point, he paused but unexpectedly found that no one opposite him continued the conversation.

He understood and continued earnestly, "I wish to request a deduction for my disciple, but I don’t have the leverage of saving one to kill another. Fellow Daoist Yi Jue is also in closed cultivation, so it’s inappropriate to go directly to White Pebble Beach. Luckily, I discovered someone tracking down Mountain Master Feng."

He then glanced at the three True Immortals of Wu Si, "So I brought them along to inquire on behalf of Mountain Master Feng."

Upon hearing this, True Immortal Wu Si couldn’t hold back and had to explain, "True Immortal Jing Quan, I followed because I heard you could find Mountain Master Feng; you didn’t compel us."

True Immortal Jing Quan glanced at him, not bothering to explain further, though the implication was clear: if you have guts, don’t follow me then.

Feng Jun narrowed his eyes listening to this, looking blankly at True Immortal Wu Si, "Tracking... have I offended you, True Immortal?"

"No, no, not at all," True Immortal Wu Si hurriedly waved his hands.

To prevent misunderstanding, he frankly laid out his intentions, "I am Wu Si of the Artifact Refining Path, you can look me up. My hobby is merely artifact refining, the only reason I tracked down Fellow Daoist was to purchase some Void Materials, nothing more."

Feng Jun frowned slightly and asked softly, "Didn’t you know I was at Kunhao White Gravel Beach?"

This question was a bit embarrassing, as True Immortal Wu Si really didn’t want to answer directly. However, with so many True Immortals present, he had no choice, so hesitatingly he replied, "I know it’s there, but Kunhao’s Spiritual Energy is sparse, not very friendly to Nascent Souls."

"Haha," Feng Jun laughed, his face showing obvious contempt, "At most, there were nine Nascent Souls there."

After a pause, he spoke earnestly, "Actually, you’re afraid to go there, aren’t I right?"

"There’s nothing about daring or not," True Immortal Wu Si responded seriously, "I’m just seeking to purchase some Void Materials, just worried about misunderstandings with you."

Feng Jun shook his head helplessly, "So you don’t dare, isn’t it? Actually, you want to control me, right?"

"That’s not it," True Immortal Wu Si firmly denied, expressing his lack of malice in very straightforward terms, "I’m just worried that if I went to White Gravel Beach, there might be materials you’d be reluctant to take out, but those materials... are essentially useless to you."

Feng Jun sighed helplessly, "Useless, yet they are my materials. I can’t stand people like you... Should I sell temporarily useless materials to you? Is not selling to you considered a waste? I’m really curious, where does your sense of superiority come from?"

True Immortal Wu Si quickly shook his head, "That’s not what I meant..."

"That is exactly what you mean," Feng Jun stated without hesitation, "I’ve seen many like you and I’m fed up with it, using the guise of justice... If you want to improve your artifact refining skills, you should act within your capacity. Not acquiring materials is your problem, do I owe you anything?"

True Immortal Wu Si was immediately speechless, feeling there wasn’t much to discuss with this person— I just wanted to dig out a few more Void Materials, why are you making such a big deal about it?

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Feng Jun glanced at True Immortal Qing Ji, "Elder Qing Ji, could you help me investigate the identity of these three? They say one thing, but it may not be just selfishness... the tragedy of True Immortal Wan Qing must not repeat!"

In the end, he still doubted the other’s intentions— as for using righteousness as a form of coercion, that wasn’t a big deal.

Elder Qing Ji truly couldn’t bear the mention of "True Immortal Wan Qing", upon hearing this her eyes reddened, "Alright, leave it to me."

True Immortal Wu Si got anxious, "Elder Qing Ji, our Elder Lan Wen has a good relationship with you and often goes to Jinwu."

The relationship between the Artifact Refining Path and Jinwu is relatively close because the plate controlled by Jinwu contains various spirit fires. Although the Artifact Refining Path has its fair share of spirit fires, they often need to borrow from Jinwu.

"Then you can rest assured," Elder Qing Ji looked at him expressionlessly, "I indeed have some connection with Lan Wen, if you have no ulterior motives, trivial offenses won’t bother Mountain Master Feng, nor will I... As long as your conscience is clear, there’s no problem."

True Immortal Wu Si clenched his teeth, "I truly have a clear conscience!"

For a stubborn person, they don’t believe their stubbornness is wrong; even after hearing Feng Jun’s words, making him feel he might have been a bit overly self-centered, he still wouldn’t admit it.

(To be continued, calling for monthly votes.)