Chapter 84

This was already the second time that Yang Junshan had defeated a cultivator at the Fourth Level of the Mortal Realm in a direct confrontation, and this time he faced two people, both of whom were far stronger than the waste of a man, Yang Tian Shou.

The duration of this confrontation was short but exceptionally dangerous. The burly man and his companion were clearly well-prepared. If not for Yang Junshan's strength, which truly exceeded their expectations, he might have suffered a loss this time.

All of this was largely due to Yang Junshan's recent progress in body tempering techniques, especially when he delved into a low-grade boxing technique called "Python Walking Fist." By referring to the essence of body tempering left by Chen Ji, he cross-referenced the techniques of the "Buffalo Fist" and the "Python Walking Fist," managing to practice both low-grade boxing techniques in a way that balanced hardness and softness. The effect on his physical body was almost on par with that of a mid-grade boxing technique.

More importantly, before Yang Junshan advanced to the Fourth Level of the Mortal Realm, these two boxing techniques proved to be even more effective in combat. First, it was Yang Tian Shou, and then the two cultivators before him, who were defeated by the alternating use of these two boxing techniques.

However, these two boxing techniques were ultimately at the extremes of hardness and softness, and their conversion often caused conflicts, leading to significant impacts on the internal organs of a cultivator. Yang Junshan, however, had no concerns about this. During this period, he had been refining the body tempering techniques passed down by Chen Ji, including the mysterious "Six Viscera Brocade" specifically used to temper the six internal organs. The heavy load these two boxing techniques placed on the internal organs was well within the range that the Six Viscera Brocade could handle.

"Kid, let go of my boss, or you'll be dead!"

The burly man, though clearly putting on a brave front, held a red flame talisman stone that was glowing with spiritual light, ready to be unleashed.

Yang Junshan, with talismans and a talisman sword in hand, was not afraid, but if they really fought in the mine tunnel, it could lead to a cave-in, resulting in a lose-lose situation. Therefore, Yang Junshan ignored the man's threat and instead looked down at the burly man lying on the ground, saying, "Boss Chu, what do you say?"

"Do you recognize me?"

The burly man looked at Yang Junshan in surprise, then glanced at the talismans and talisman sword in his hand, and said, "Kid, you're also from the Yang family. Why did you go through Manager Han's connections? What's your name?"

"My name is Yang Junshan, and Manager Han is my uncle."

The burly man suddenly understood and said, "You're the son of the third master of the old Yang family?"

Yang Junshan frowned and said, "Do you know my father?"

The burly man laughed and said, "The third master of the Yang family was a prominent figure in Qing Shi Town a few years ago. How could Old Chu not recognize him? You're the descendant of Master Yang, no wonder Yang Tian Shou hates you. I heard that Master Yang left Qing Shi Town five years ago to live separately, but many people in Qing Shi Town still remember him."

Yang Junshan nodded. In the past, the second generation of the old Yang family, Yang Tian Chen, Yang Tian Lei, and Yang Tian Gang, successively advanced to the Martial Realm, following the momentum of the first generation of the Yang family, the four siblings. They were known as the "Three Little Tigers of the Yang Family" and were praised for the continuation of the old Yang family. Although several years had passed, many still remembered Yang Tian Gang.

The burly man was straightforward and said, "Since you're the descendant of Master Yang, we two must have been blind. We apologize for today's incident. We will not and dare not get involved in the conflict between you and your uncle. Please let Old Chu off, and if you have any future requests, we will do our best to help!"

Yang Junshan believed him. Since he had already revealed his identity, if these two still dared to be relentless, they would be courting death. Unless they could drag Yang Junshan to a mutual destruction, but clearly, the enmity between them was not that deep.

Moreover, Yang Junshan recognized this man named Chu from his previous life. His name was Chu Chuang, the leader of a group of miners in Qing Shu Village, with the cultivation of the Fifth Level of the Mortal Realm. He was known for his generosity and righteousness, having united the miners of Qing Shu Village to force the mine owner, Hu Siping, to reduce the quota of spirit ore to be handed over. He had a high reputation among the miners of Qing Shu Village.

After the treasure was unearthed in Qing Shu Village, Chu Chuang was among the first to start excavating. After exchanging the items for sufficient cultivation resources to advance to the Martial Realm, he promptly stopped, thus surviving the large-scale massacre of miners. When Yang Junshan began digging for Mian Tu Powder in the Qing Shu Village mine, Chu Chuang was already a cultivator at the initial stage of the Martial Realm. At that time, Han Xiusheng not only visited the mine owner Hu but also visited Chu Chuang, presenting them with generous gifts.

Now, Chu Chuang was just an ordinary miner with a cultivation level below the Fifth Level of the Mortal Realm, lacking the commanding presence he had in his previous life. However, his behavior and speech were still straightforward and generous.

"Alright, let's consider this matter settled. I trust you!"

Yang Junshan twisted Chu Chuang's ankle, and with a "crack," the dislocated bone was reset. He then stepped back and put away the talismans and talisman sword in his hand.

Chu Chuang moved his ankle, trying to stand up, and then glared at the man still holding the red flame talisman stone. The man hesitated for a moment and also put away the talisman stone.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, let's part ways. Rest assured, we won't say anything about your affairs."

Unexpectedly, Yang Junshan's eyes flashed, and he said, "Not so fast. We've become acquainted through this conflict. I'm actually troubled by the slow collection of Mian Tu Powder. Although I have some knowledge of mining, I am alone. If you two have the time, could you help me? We can divide the refined ore equally among the three of us."

Chu Chuang and the other man exchanged glances, surprised by the unexpected offer but also with some concern. Chu Chuang pondered for a moment and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but why do you trust us so much, Young Master Yang? After all, just now..."

Yang Junshan smiled and said, "Old Brother Chu, let's be frank. If you weren't in the mine, you would just be an ordinary spirit farmer in Qing Shu Village. Moreover, you have a family. You wouldn't dare to offend me, or rather, the people behind me!"

Chu Chuang's expression changed, and his gaze toward Yang Junshan was uncertain. In the end, he laughed bitterly and said, "You're right. Whether it's your father or the family behind you, crushing us spirit farmers would be as easy as crushing ants."

With two more subordinates, Yang Junshan could save more time to investigate the mine tunnels where the treasure was most likely to be found, while the mining work was left to Chu Chuang and his cousin, Chu Yang.

Yang Junshan only needed to point out the locations of the rich ore veins based on his previous life's memory. With the brothers' familiarity with the mine tunnels, they could quickly find the correct locations and dig intensively, yielding a significant amount of rich ore, saving the time spent on blind mining.

However, when it came to crushing the ore and selecting the refined ore, Yang Junshan found that the brothers' methods were still very crude. They not only discarded many ore pieces rich in Mian Tu Powder but also mixed in a lot of useless rubble.

With no choice, Yang Junshan had to correct these mistakes and teach them some improved ore selection methods from his future life, significantly increasing the efficiency of selecting refined ore. This also allowed Yang Junshan to save time on ore selection and continue investigating the mine tunnels. The Chu brothers took care of all the procedures, and Yang Junshan only needed to take his share when they left the mine.

Yang Junshan did not expect that his guidance in mining and the unintentional teaching of ore selection methods would earn such deep gratitude from the Chu brothers. In his view, the locations of the rich ore veins were just based on his previous life's knowledge, and the ore selection methods were widely used in his previous life. Many of these methods were even improved by the Chu brothers themselves after they united the miners of Qing Shu Village. Yang Junshan was merely passing on these methods a few years earlier.

However, he forgot that the Chu brothers made their living from mining. Yang Junshan's guidance in finding rich ore veins and improving the ore selection methods had a significant impact on their livelihood. Yang Junshan's willingness to share these techniques without reservation made the Chu brothers deeply grateful.

After another half a month, the amount of Mian Tu Powder collected by Yang Junshan had already exceeded the estimated quantity. However, he had no intention of leaving the mine. Based on his previous life's memory and continuous verification, he had identified five mine tunnels where the treasure was most likely to be found. He had personally excavated and ruled out two of them, leaving only three.

Han Xiusheng also did not expect that Yang Junshan would complete the collection of Mian Tu Powder so quickly. Seeing that Yang Junshan had no intention of stopping, he assumed that Yang Junshan was planning to accumulate more to exchange for jade coins in the future, so he did not stop him.

One day, as Yang Junshan arrived at the entrance of the mine, he saw dozens of miners gathered outside, shouting angrily.

Seeing Chu Chuang and his brother, along with five or six other miners, casually sitting on the rocks behind the crowd, he walked up to them and asked, "Why isn't everyone going into the mine to work? What happened?"

Chu Chuang sighed, and Chu Yang cursed, "That damn Hu Siping. Starting today, he's charging a mining fee. Each miner has to pay ten stone coins to enter the mine and dig."

"That's right," another miner chimed in, "Every time we go down to mine and dig stones, we have to hand over 90% of the refined ore. The remaining 10% takes two days to yield a tiny bit of Mian Tu Powder. We barely earn any jade coins in a month. Now, we have to pay ten stone coins each time we go down to mine. How can we live like this?"

"I heard that seven of the ten stone coins are ordered by the Heaven-Shaking Sect to be collected from all the mines in Yu Prefecture. Hu Siping is taking advantage of the situation to charge ten stone coins."

"The price of spirit grains has been sky-high for the past two years. Even if we earn jade coins, we can't buy much spirit grain, let alone often can't buy any at all."