Cultivation: I Forge Immortality with My Spiritual Eyes

The next day.

Deep within the mine, in a low and narrow side passage, the clanging of chisels gradually subsided.

Jiang Yi and Niu Yaojin, their faces covered in dust and their clothes soaked with sweat, were carrying bamboo baskets as they walked back along the same path.

The two of them had been busy all day, each digging up a piece of spirit ore that was barely enough to get by, and also managed to get a general idea of ​​the distribution of the nearby mineral veins.

It was almost time to finish work.

The two of them packed their things and hurried toward the cave entrance.

at this time.

Niu Yaojin was rambling on about something, which made Jiang Yi shake his head and laugh.

He was about to answer when he suddenly fell silent, paused, and looked warily toward a hidden corner above.

next moment.

Three figures emerged from the shadows, slowly blocking the way, subtly forming an encirclement.

His eyes swept over the two of them, his face full of ill intent.

Their cultivation levels were not low either; two were at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and the one in front of them had a more dignified aura, having reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Niu Yaojin frowned, placed his hand on his waist, and said in a deep voice:

"Fellow Daoists, what is the meaning of this? We two are complete strangers to you, why are you blocking our way?"

A man with a long face on the left glanced into the baskets on the two men's backs.

Seeing that there was indeed spirit ore inside, he immediately grinned and winked at his companion, saying:

"How about that? I wasn't wrong, were I? These two lads really do have something."

The square-faced man at the head of the group gave a forced, insincere smile and said slowly:

"You must be new here, barging into Ma's territory to mine without even saying hello."

"Considering you're new here and unfamiliar with the rules, we'll let it go if you leave the spirit ore here; otherwise..."

He sneered twice, his threat undisguised.

Niu Yaojin wasn't buying it and immediately refuted it:

"What do you mean 'your territory'? This is the mine owned by the Liu, Luo, and Wang families. If you dare to break the rules, there are people from the Liu family guarding it. If you don't want trouble, get out of the way!"

"Hahaha!"

The square-faced man, far from being annoyed, burst into laughter. After laughing, his expression darkened, and he said in a sinister tone:

"The Liu family is in charge? You must be dreaming. There are plenty of monster rats in this mine. It's perfectly normal for them to snatch a person or two occasionally. If you know what's good for you, put the things down. Don't be stubborn."

As soon as they finished speaking, the three of them simultaneously unleashed their magical power, their aura pressing down on the enemy, ready to attack at any moment.

Niu Yaojin's face flushed red, and he still wanted to argue, but Jiang Yi grabbed him and shook his head.

He reached into the baskets on their backs, took out the spirit ore, and without further ado, tossed it over, saying:

"Fellow Daoists, please forgive us. It was our ignorance of the rules. We offer these two spirit mines as compensation and hope you will not hold it against us."

The square-faced man grabbed the spirit ore, weighed it in his hand, and a smug look appeared on his face.

He scrutinized Jiang Yi with great interest, a hint of amusement in his eyes:

"Kid, you're smart enough to know your place, but look closely, there are three of us brothers. You think you can just fob us off with these two pieces of junk? That's a huge underestimation of us."

His gaze swept over the two of them, and he grinned maliciously.

"You don't still have any spirit ore you haven't handed over, do you? Come up here and let us search you one by one, that way we'll all feel at ease."

Jiang Yi's eyes turned cold as he slowly reached into his sleeve and said in a deep voice:

"Spirit ore is hard to mine, and it's all here. If the three of you still want to be aggressive and push things to the extreme, then the two of us will have no choice but to fight it out."

"Your cultivation is indeed superior to ours, but if it really comes down to a fight to the death, I am absolutely confident that I can at least take one of you with me on the way."

He slowly swept his gaze across the three faces, and with a slight thought, deliberately stirred up a wisp of energy from the magical artifact and talisman.

Niu Yaojin also flipped his hand and summoned a copper hammer, pouring his magic power into it, assuming a desperate stance.

Upon seeing this, the three men's eyes immediately flickered.

They were after spirit ore, and seeing how cowardly this guy was, they wanted to take the opportunity to squeeze more money out of him.

Now that things have been said to this extent, pushing further will only lead to a fight to the death.

Fighting for two spirit ores is something only a fool would do.

There are more than just a few of them in this mine. If they cause a big commotion, it won't benefit anyone.

The three exchanged a glance, and the square-faced man snorted coldly, dropped his stance, and turned to leave.

Two companions followed closely behind and soon disappeared into the darkness of the side passage.

"You bastard!"

After they had gone some distance, Niu Yaojin spat angrily and cursed with a face full of resentment:

"If you ask me, we shouldn't have given them the spirit mine! If we're going to do something, we should do it. We're not putting up with this nonsense. I refuse to believe no one can stop us!"

Jiang Yi patted his shoulder and comforted him:

"Forget it, the other side has more people and higher cultivation. The situation is stronger than theirs. Fighting them head-on is not the best strategy. Even if we take it to the Liu family, there will probably be no follow-up."

The spirit ore will never be lost; it will eventually end up in their pockets. As for who mined it, does it matter?

Niu Yaojin was still furious and cursed through gritted teeth:

"If this were at sea, I'd slaughter them and feed them to the fish! All that hard work all day, and in the end it all benefits these bastards."

Jiang Yi took a deep breath and calmly said:

"We were careless. We were already being watched when we went down into the mine. They calculated our route and ambushed us here."

The underground mine tunnels are interconnected; next time, we'll take a few more detours and avoid them by retracing our steps. It shouldn't be difficult to avoid them.

The two had their spirit mine completely robbed, and they had no other recourse at the moment.

It was time to finish work, so I had to go upstairs for now and talk about it tomorrow.

"..."

After this incident, the two became even more cautious in their actions.

Jiang Yi became much more restrained, no longer venturing into crowded mines, but instead exploring secluded and quiet side paths.

Most of my energy was spent observing the vein's trajectory, which I considered a way to broaden my horizons.

He had long since given up on the idea of ​​making a fortune here.

The harvest remains at the level that prevents the deduction of spirit stones.

It won't attract attention, nor will it lead to punishment.

Xiao Li was also frequently sent ahead to scout the way.

The little guy is very clever; with it running ahead, we've never been intercepted halfway.

Before we knew it.

The ten-day deadline has passed.

That morning.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the sky and sea mist rolled in, crowds thronged the Black Reef Island pier.

Jiang Yi and Niu Yaojin mingled in the crowd and boarded the spirit ship returning to Qingluo Island.

A cultivator dressed in royal robes stood coldly beside the gangway, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his tone chilling:

"When you get back, keep your mouths shut and don't leak anything about the island. If anyone is found to be spreading rumors or maliciously slandering you, you won't want to know what will happen to them."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines and lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

Soon after.

The spirit ship slowly sailed out of the dock.

Two other large ships guarded by Luo family monks followed closely behind.

The three ships sailed side by side on the sea for a while, then adjusted their course, dispersed, and disappeared into the vast sea fog.

"..."

Several hours later.

At noon, the spirit ship cut through the waves and smoothly entered the port of Qingluo Island.

More than ten ragged cultivators filed off the spirit ship.

Jiang Yi and Niu Yaojin were among them.

The two glanced at the cultivators carrying packages, waiting to head to Black Reef Island to mine, and a smile inexplicably crept onto their lips.

Some people with sharp eyes came up to ask about the situation on the island.

The two remained silent and hurriedly left the dock, heading straight for their lodgings.

Not long after.

Jiang Yi pushed open the courtyard gate and returned to the small courtyard he had been away from for ten days, his gaze slowly sweeping across the courtyard.

Sure enough, someone had come in and rummaged through the place; some of the furnishings had been moved, and the bedroom door was wide open.

Fortunately, the water-bearing stone remained quietly at the bottom of the tank, untouched by thieves.

Jiang Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, swept away the dust with his sleeve, and walked to sit down at the front of the stone table.

He remained calm, reaching out to scoop up the sleeping Xiao Li, placing her on his lap and gently stroking her, his deliberate annoyance gone.

This trip to Black Reef Island took ten days of exhausting work, and all I got in total were twelve spirit stones.

Fortunately, the island was rich in spiritual energy, and the speed of cultivation was much faster than before, so it wasn't entirely without gains.

If it weren't for Niu Yaojin's eagerness to return home, Jiang Yi would have actually planned to stay a little longer.

That black iron ore vein has quite a few interesting aspects...

His eyes flickered, his thoughts raced, and he sat quietly for a long time before being brought back to his senses by Xiao Li, who had just woken up from her nap.

"Hehe, stop fooling around."

Jiang Yi smiled slightly and pushed away the little guy who was rubbing against his face.

He picked it up and went out, rushed to the market to buy fifty catties of spirit rice, and then went home to start a fire to cook porridge.

After dinner, they visited Yang Hongmei and Qin Ruyi separately, sat and chatted about their recent lives, and returned to the courtyard at dusk.

After feeding Xiaoli again.

Jiang Yi moved the Water-Containing Stone back to its original place in the bedroom and took out a Qi-Gathering Pill.

He then closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and quickly immersed himself in meditation.

"..."

Several days have passed in the blink of an eye.

At dawn, a storm raged with wind and rain, lightning and thunder, and the waves on the sea rose one higher than the next.

At Qingluo Island Wharf, a small fishing boat rocked its way into the berth.

A figure wearing a straw hat deftly tied the rope, leaped onto the dock, and disappeared into the vast rain.

It was after spending the night away from the island, taking advantage of the calmer winds and waves, that Jiang Yi returned from a deserted island several miles away.

Not long after, in the bedroom of the small courtyard.

Jiang Yi changed into dry clothes and took Xiao Li out and placed her on the bed.

The little guy had been breathing in and out the thunderous energy for several hours and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

If it weren't for the concern that it would cause too much trouble on Qingluo Island and attract attention, it wouldn't have risked sailing out to sea yesterday.

With a smile on his face, Jiang Yi gently stroked the ball a few times, then turned and walked to the eaves, gazing at the stormy sky.

With a slight movement of his fingertips, a wisp of crystal-clear water quietly condensed, moving and changing in his palm, sometimes gathering and sometimes dispersing.

"Bang bang—bang bang bang—!"

After an unknown amount of time, a sudden, urgent knocking sounded, startling Jiang Yi, who had been standing still for a long time, awake.

He frowned as he looked towards the courtyard gate, his five fingers suddenly clenched together, crushing the water arrow in his palm, and he uttered a single word in a deep voice:

"who!"