Chapter 90

"Brother, this idea has been on my mind for quite some time. I originally planned to talk to you about it later, but I just heard that you're leaving soon. If I don't say it now, I might not get another chance."

Yang Junshan curiously asked, "Can you be sure I'll agree?"

Chu Chuang shook his head and said, "I can't be sure, but how will we know if we don't try!"

Yang Junshan said seriously, "Firstly, I can only relay a message to my father, as I can't make such decisions myself. Secondly, to be honest, how much cotton soil powder can you gather now? How much cotton soil powder do you have left after exchanging for spirit grains every day? If the accumulated cotton soil powder can only exchange for three or four hundred pounds of spirit grains, why would my father bother to make the trip from Mengyu County to Chenyu County?"

Chu Chuang's face lit up at the first part of Yang Junshan's words, but his expression darkened at the second part, and he couldn't help but sigh. His mouth moved, but he didn't say anything in the end.

Yang Junshan was right; the journey from Mengyu County to Chenyu County takes a day and two nights by carriage, and even with a faster grain cart, it still takes a day and a night. If the amount exchanged is small, it's not worth the round trip.

Moreover, in this era, spirit grains are scarce everywhere. Publicly driving a cart full of grain between the two counties, to prevent any envious hands from snatching the grain, at least one martial expert would be needed to guard it. For the sake of the small amount of cotton soil powder in the hands of the Green Tree Village residents, which is a one-time deal, it's not really worth it.

The next day, Yang Junshan switched to another mine shaft for excavation. He spent almost the entire day advancing the mine shaft by seven or eight feet but found nothing. In the evening, Yang Junshan returned to the mine shaft from the previous day, took a basket of raw ore, and after greeting Chu Chuang, left with a basket of refined ore. He could tell that Chu Chuang wanted to say something but seemed hesitant and ultimately didn't speak.

On the third day, Yang Junshan dug into a small stone cave at the bottom of the mine shaft and found a wu earth stone the size of a pigeon's egg. Although the wu earth stone was small, it made Yang Junshan feel relieved and finally allowed him to focus on cultivation again.

After three more days, the wu earth stones Yang Junshan had dug out in the second mine shaft reached eight or nine. Although he hadn't found a second wu earth essence stone, the harvest was still quite good.

During these days, Chu Chuang gave Yang Junshan a small flag with a large "Chu" character. Over these days, Chu Chuang and his few brothers and subordinates had conflicts with other miners over the mine shafts. Chu Chuang and his group had begun to purposefully occupy some rich mine shafts, planting the "Chu" flag at the entrance to inform other miners that this mine shaft was exclusively for Chu Chuang's group. If anyone dared to enter, it would be considered a challenge to Chu Chuang.

Chu Chuang had already gained a reputation among the miners, and this flag saved Yang Junshan a lot of trouble. With the flag planted at the mine shaft entrance, he had fewer disturbances whether he was cultivating or mining.

On the evening of the seventh day, Yang Junshan, as usual, carried a basket of raw ore to the gathering place of Chu Chuang and his group in the mine. Just as he was about to leave after exchanging for a basket of refined ore, Chu Chuang suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into a secluded mine shaft.

"Brother Yang, if I have a large amount of cotton soil powder, could you help me set up a meeting with Uncle Yang San?" Chu Chuang asked earnestly.

Yang Junshan was surprised, "A large amount of cotton soil powder? How much do you have, and how did you get it?"

Chu Chuang gritted his teeth and said, "Give me two months, and I can accumulate enough to exchange for a cart full of spirit grains!"

"Impossible!" Yang Junshan didn't believe it, "To accumulate enough cotton soil powder to exchange for 150 stones of spirit grains in two months, even if you and your subordinates don't eat, drink, or cultivate, it's impossible!"

Chu Chuang said, "Don't worry about that. I, Chu Chuang, have a way to gather enough cotton soil powder. As long as you can bring a cart of spirit grains, I won't let you down."

Yang Junshan narrowed his eyes and sized up Chu Chuang, but ultimately shook his head, "Brother Chu, it's not that I don't trust you, but it's a matter of great importance. You need to give me a reason to convince my father!"

Chu Chuang's gaze wavered, clearly torn. Finally, he seemed to make a decision, "Fine! Who would have thought we'd be in such a predicament. I, Chu Chuang, am willing to risk everything!"

Seeing Yang Junshan's questioning look, Chu Chuang said solemnly, "Brother Yang, we accidentally dug through a hidden passage at the bottom of a secluded mine shaft, a passage that bypasses the array and leads outside the mine!"

"What?" Yang Junshan immediately realized his voice was too loud and quickly covered his mouth, speaking in a low voice, "How is that possible? Is there an array expert among your subordinates?"

Chu Chuang smiled bitterly, "There's no array expert. It was just a lucky discovery. Chu Yang has already tested it by sending a basket of refined ore outside the mine. The array didn't trigger any warnings. After work, we quietly carried the basket back from the back mountain."

The array in the mine could detect if the miners were carrying anything out. Additionally, the array would alert the mine supervisors if the mine shafts were dug through to the surface.

Yang Junshan's expression was uncertain as he looked at Chu Chuang. Chu Chuang, not knowing what Yang Junshan was thinking, just looked at him nervously. Suddenly, Yang Junshan said, "That probably won't work. The mine supervisors and foremen aren't fools. They can roughly estimate the amount of refined ore mined each day. If you smuggle out the ore, the amount you mine will decrease, and over time, it will be noticed. Even if you dig more, the amount you can smuggle will be less."

Chu Chuang smiled, "I've already thought of that. First, with Brother Yang's guidance, we can always find rich ore veins, increasing our yield. Second, as you know, I'm currently leading my brothers to monopolize some mine shafts, saving us from daily competition with other miners."

"So you've already thought it through!"

Yang Junshan inwardly admired Chu Chuang's thoroughness, no wonder he could become the leader of over a hundred miners in Green Tree Village in his previous life. However, this was a great opportunity for Yang Junshan: "No, it's a matter of great importance. I need to see the hidden passage myself."

Such loopholes in the array could indeed exist, especially since the mine's array might not be a high-level one. With Yang Junshan's current abilities, if he could see the array's layout and foundation, he might find a hidden passage in the mine. But for Chu Chuang to find a loophole by chance in the mine shafts, it could only mean he had extraordinary luck.

Chu Chuang's face changed when he heard Yang Junshan wanted to see the hidden passage, "Brother Yang, that's unnecessary. The mine shaft was found by my brothers and me at great risk. How about this: you give me something, and I'll return it to you the next day without going through the mine shaft. This will prove that I have the hidden passage, right?"

Yang Junshan knew that personally verifying the hidden passage was a bit too much to ask. Seeing Chu Chuang's opposition, he didn't insist, "Alright, tomorrow, tell Chu Yang not to work. I'll go down the mine and give you something. Then I'll leave the mine early, and you stay. After I leave, we'll meet at a designated location with Chu Yang. If he can bring me the item, it will prove that you have a hidden passage. How does that sound?"

Chu Chuang thought about Yang Junshan's proposal and, finding no flaws, nodded, "Alright, it's a deal!"

The next day, after entering the mine, Yang Junshan didn't immediately seek out Chu Chuang but quickly headed to the mine shaft where he was digging wu earth stones. However, just as he reached the fork near the mine shaft, his steps faltered, and his face turned pale.

Clank! Clank! ...

Not good, someone has already started mining here before me!

Yang Junshan slowed his steps and approached the mine shaft he was working on, finding it empty and breathing a sigh of relief. But when he followed the sound to the mine shaft being mined, his face darkened. This mine shaft was another one producing wu earth stones.

How did someone notice this mine shaft so quickly? Yang Junshan remembered that in his previous life, the wu earth stones were discovered a year and a half later, and he only started mining two years later!

Seeing the pile of ore at the bottom of the mine shaft, Yang Junshan realized the reason. Anyone seeing such a large pile of ore would assume the mine shaft was rich and attract many miners.

Seeing the two miners persistently working at the bottom of the mine shaft, Yang Junshan, who had already mined nearly twenty wu earth stones and one wu earth essence stone, wondered if there were any left.

Yang Junshan turned and ran to the bottom of another mine shaft. The secret of the wu earth stones might have been exposed. His top priority was to dig as many wu earth stones as possible before the news spread. His cultivation, after advancing to the fourth level, required far more spirit energy than other cultivators of the same level. Without enough wu earth stones to ensure his cultivation speed, he might fall behind the talented cultivators.

Fortunately, after transferring to a new mine shaft, Yang Junshan moved the wu earth stones and the wu earth essence stone hidden under the ore to the new mine shaft, otherwise, things would have become even more complicated.

Clank! Clank! Clank! ...

Yang Junshan started mining frantically again, the sound of his pickaxe almost matching the miners in the adjacent mine shaft.

One, two, ... Yang Junshan replaced his broken pickaxe with a new one.

Three, four, ... Yang Junshan gritted his teeth, chewed the last Fa Yun Pill, and a heavy surge of spirit energy spread through his body as the Wu Earth Spirit Technique circulated.

When the fifth wu earth stone was dug out, Yang Junshan's pickaxe broke again.

Replacing the last pickaxe, he finally dug out the sixth wu earth stone. Yang Junshan was now exhausted, the continuous high-intensity work almost draining his last bit of energy.

With no choice, Yang Junshan slowly walked out of the mine shaft, his posture resembling a mountain tiger strolling through the wilderness. He was using the Tiger Walking technique from the Eight Diagrams of the Mountain Tiger to recover his energy, while the Wu Earth Spirit Technique circulated to restore his depleted spirit energy.

Returning to the mine shaft entrance, the sound of mining continued.

A voice suddenly came from the mine shaft, "Old Qin, we've been here for half a day. Look at what we've dug out. The ore quality is too low. Let's go, do you want to waste the whole day here?"

"Old Zhao, why don't you try another place? I don't believe this pile of ore is worthless. I'm determined to find something!"

"Alright, alright, I'll help you. We'll spend the day here, but if we find nothing, we'll change places tomorrow..."

Yang Junshan didn't listen further and quickly returned to the mine shaft, picking up his pickaxe and continuing to mine.

"Clank," another empty strike. Yang Junshan was surprised, thinking, "Not this lucky!"

In fact, it was not just lucky, but extremely lucky!

A large piece of hollow stone was pried open, revealing a nearly four-foot-high stone cave. A much larger golden-yellow stone ball rolled out, which Yang Junshan quickly grabbed.

Wu Earth Essence Stone, the second wu earth essence stone!

Yang Junshan carried a basket of raw ore to Chu Chuang. The basket was tightly tied, and no ore could fall out.

Chu Chuang was surprised, "Brother Yang, what's this?"

"Send this basket of ore out without opening it. I'll wait at the designated location for Chu Yang. I've marked this basket with my family's unique mark. Once the basket is in my hands, I'll trust you!"

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A chapter of 4,000 words, thank you all for your support!