Chapter 83

Yang Junshan went down the mine every three days, and the refined ore he brought back each time was entirely spent on the more than ten processes over the next two days. In a month, he only managed to obtain a mere six taels of soft earth powder, which was far from enough for the minimum requirement of a single magical artifact.

This was just one type of spiritual material. The refinement of any magical artifact, even a low-grade one, required at least seven to eight types of spiritual materials, and sometimes even more. To gather the materials needed for a single magical artifact, cultivators often had to spend several years, or even over a decade.

Even after preparing all the spiritual materials, cultivators still needed to find a refinement master to refine the artifact for them. There was also the possibility of failure during the refinement process, and these risks had to be borne by the cultivators themselves. If the refinement was successful, that was fine; if not, it often meant that years of effort were wasted.

This series of processes naturally led to the scarcity of magical artifacts in the cultivation world. Of course, the power of magical artifacts was undeniable. A martial realm cultivator, when holding a magical artifact, would generally have a 30% to 50% increase in their strength, unless the cultivation gap was too large.

During this month, Yang Junshan did not just mine in the mine of Green Tree Village. He also explored the extensive mine tunnels formed over the years due to mining, gradually narrowing down the possible locations of the treasure based on the rumors from his previous life about where treasures were unearthed.

One day, after entering the mine, Yang Junshan headed towards the few tunnels that had been narrowed down. However, when he reached a tunnel intersection, he was suddenly blocked by two adult miners who rushed out from the intersection, trapping him in the middle.

"Kid, do you know why we're stopping you?" The man in front of Yang Junshan was a burly man with a muscular build, his chest exposed and bronzed.

Yang Junshan shook his head honestly and said, "Big brothers, I haven't offended either of you. Please let me go; I have connections with Manager Han..."

The burly man waved his hand impatiently and said, "I know you have connections with Han Xiusheng, but don't think you can use him to pressure me. Since I dare to block you here, I'm not afraid of you reporting me. If I get angry, I can snap your neck and throw you deep into the mine. Who would know?"

Yang Junshan had grown quickly recently, but his youthful face was unmistakable. The burly man didn't believe that this young boy wouldn't be scared by his threats.

Yang Junshan indeed became frightened, his voice trembling and disjointed, "Big, big brothers, we have no grudges, you, you..."

The man behind him said impatiently, "Boss, this kid is a coward. Just beat him up and go back to collect the money. Why waste time talking? The mine tunnels are extensive. If someone passing by hears us, it could be a problem if they tell Han Xiusheng."

The burly man glared at the man behind him and said, "What do you know? You just know how to dig with your ass in the air. How many jade coins can you earn that way?"

After scolding his partner, the burly man grinned at Yang Junshan, "Kid, I've been watching you for a long time. Miners always dig in one tunnel, but you go to different places every day. The refined ore you bring out is always of higher quality than others. Kid, there must be some secret, right? Tell us, how do you manage to select such high-quality ore? What's the trick?"

The man behind him also looked pleased and said, "So you noticed that too, boss. Kid, speak up, speak up. If you speak well, we might go easy on you. If not, well, don't blame us for being rude. Who made you offend the Yang family?"

"Shut up!" the burly man growled, then looked at Yang Junshan, "Kid, you heard that. The Yang family is not someone you can offend. My brother and I are just doing our job. But if you tell us your method of selecting ore, I can let you go. If the Yang family sends someone else to deal with you later, it won't be our problem. What do you say, think about it!"

Fights over tunnels and ore in the mine were common. Yang Junshan had seen a few in the past month, but because he always handed over the ore to Han Xiusheng and was just a young boy, no one paid much attention to him.

However, he didn't expect that his actions had been noticed by someone with ulterior motives. The only person who would use such underhanded methods to cause trouble for him was his twelfth uncle, Yang Tianshou.

In his previous life, Yang Junshan had also mined for three months to obtain soft earth powder, but that was after the treasure had been unearthed. Although he had heard many rumors from the miners, he wasn't sure which tunnel the treasure came from. However, he vividly remembered which tunnels had produced rich ore during those three months.

Now, although the tunnels had not yet reached the places from his previous life, following the memory of where the rich ore was located was a good strategy. In fact, the six taels of soft earth powder he had obtained from the refined ore he selected in the past month was already an impressive achievement, even surprising Han Xiusheng. To avoid drawing attention, the refined ore he handed over each time was mixed with others.

Despite this, Yang Junshan didn't expect to still be noticed.

"Kid, have you thought about it? I don't have the patience to wait!" The burly man's face showed impatience as he took two steps towards Yang Junshan, seemingly ready to attack if Yang Junshan said "no."

Unexpectedly, the seemingly honest Yang Junshan suddenly smiled and asked, "You were incited by Yang Tianshou, right? Do you know who I am?"

The burly man was taken aback and asked subconsciously, "Oh, who are you?"

"I also have the surname Yang!"

Before the burly man could react, Yang Junshan stepped forward and charged at him.

"Bold!"

The burly man roared, his palms glowing with brown spiritual light, and he lunged at Yang Junshan from both sides.

"Little brat, you dare to fight back!"

The man behind Yang Junshan, surprised by his resistance, was a step slower but still roared and chased after him, striking his back with a fist charged with spiritual energy.

The two men attacked from both sides, and it seemed that Yang Junshan was about to be in trouble. However, Yang Junshan suddenly pushed his hands outward, grabbing the burly man's wrists. With a burst of strength, he found that the burly man's strength was not greater than his own.

At the same time, Yang Junshan kicked backward, hitting the man's fist. A burst of spiritual light exploded, and a chaotic force spread from the point of impact. The man grunted and took a step back, while Yang Junshan used the momentum to charge forward, headbutting the burly man's face.

The burly man couldn't dodge in time, and the headbutt would have left his face in ruins. However, Yang Junshan suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air, about to fly over the burly man's head.

The burly man, unable to free himself from Yang Junshan's grip, used the momentum to lift Yang Junshan, causing the headbutt to miss.

Yang Junshan released his grip and tried to grab the burly man's head, but the burly man had already anticipated this move. As he fell backward, he kicked upward, aiming for Yang Junshan's chest and abdomen.

Yang Junshan, airborne, couldn't dodge in time. His body twisted strangely in mid-air, and before the burly man's leg could reach him, his arms had already grabbed the man's ankle, wrapping around him like a snake.

The burly man realized the danger too late. Yang Junshan's hand, charged with spiritual energy, struck his ankle, causing a painful groan. His ankle was dislocated, and with Yang Junshan's grip on his leg, earth spiritual energy had already invaded the surrounding blood vessels. Any further movement would make it impossible to reattach the dislocated ankle.

"Kid, you're asking for death!"

The man behind Yang Junshan, who had been forced back, was now enraged. He held a red flame talisman stone, and brown spiritual light instantly filled half of it, ready to unleash a red flame spell.

"Stop! Do you want to burn me too?"

The burly man roared, stopping the man's reckless action. Fights in the mine tunnels were common, but using spells or talismans was rare. First, the confined space made it hard to avoid, risking harm to others and oneself. Second, if it caused a tunnel collapse, everyone would be in danger.

Even if everyone survived, the use of powerful spells in the mine would not go unnoticed by the mine owner and the managers. The least punishment would be expulsion from the mine, and the worst could be death or the loss of cultivation.

Yang Junshan was also startled, not expecting the man to have mastered the red flame spell. The narrow tunnel left no place to hide. Once the spell was cast, the only option was to resist. As the burly man shouted, Yang Junshan already held a talisman and a talisman sword in his hand.