Xuantian 1: Ancient Xuandongtian

Chapter 260 The Moon Rises
Most cultivators below the Spirit Origin Realm believed that...

The spirit stones in their hands are in their original form.

Actually, that's not the case.

They have all been processed.

There are no naturally occurring low-grade, mid-grade, or even high-grade spirit stones in the cultivation world.

It has undergone a series of refining processes.

Finally, the standard spirit infusion is performed.

That's why the spirit stone is square and irregular.

So what is a standard?
According to the rules of the Righteous Alliance:
The spiritual power contained in a low-grade spirit stone must not be less than the spiritual power required for a dual-root cultivator below the Spirit Origin Realm to complete one cycle of cultivation.

The spiritual power contained in a mid-grade spirit stone must not be less than the spiritual power required for a cultivator below the Spirit Condensation Realm to complete one cycle of cultivation.

The spiritual power contained in a high-grade spirit stone must not be less than the spiritual power required for a single cultivator below the Hunyuan Realm to complete one cycle of cultivation.

That is,

Low-grade spirit stones are equivalent to those below the Spirit Origin Realm.
One piece is enough for one practice session, and there may even be some left over and waste.

But upon reaching the Spirit Origin Realm...
Sometimes, one spirit stone might not be enough for a full cycle of cultivation.

If it weren't for the Great Perfection of Spiritual Origin,
Using mid-grade spirit stones is a waste.

Therefore, cultivators at the Spirit Origin Realm usually prepare several low-grade spirit stones for cultivation.

Instead of directly giving me a mid-grade spirit stone.

unless,

It is time to go into seclusion and break through to a higher realm.

The Spirit Condensation Realm and the Spirit Pill Realm are similar.

There are approximately 103 known types of spirit stones in the cultivation world.

Only 36 species are suitable for mature mining.

Besides the 36 types of spirit stones that can be maturely mined, there are 103 known types of spirit stones.
There are also 17 types of spirit stones for which mining techniques are not yet mature.
One of these,

It was the palm of Mu Hanchan's hand.

Under the moonlight

Moonstone that emits a faint, misty glow.

Overjoyed, Mu Hanchan suppressed her excitement and returned to her room to continue meditating until dawn.

At dawn
Mu Hanchan then went to find Song Zhong and asked, "Have any particularly special ores been mined at this mine recently?"

Song Zhong replied, "Yes, there is some, but it's not very useful. It's just piled up as waste in the quarry. But it looks unusual, so it's piled up in a corner."

"Take me to see it!"

Mu Hanchan said calmly.

"Huh?...Okay."

Song Zhong was taken aback for a moment, but didn't say anything.

A rocky wasteland.

Mu Hanchan looked around, her face expressionless, but she was somewhat disappointed.

Because he did not find any trace of the Moonstone in the rocky area.

"Could you take me down into the mine for a look?"

"Sir, what are you doing down in the mine? Although we are cultivators, there are still dangers when facing deep mines."

Unless you are an Earth element master.

Mu Hanchan shook her head and said, "I don't have an earth elemental root."

"Then what are you going down there for?"

Mu Hanchan then took out the Moonstone in her hand and showed it to Song Zhong, carefully observing his expression, and said, "Have you ever seen this kind of spirit stone before?"

After Song Zhong took it, he frowned slightly and examined it carefully.
He said, "This spirit stone was only recently mined and is not very useful. I've never seen it before."

I've never seen it before, but it's not surprising.

How long ago?

"About three months ago, the miners submitted an application, and after reviewing it, I decided to treat it as special waste rock."

Song Zhong said it very casually.

"Then take me down the mine right now!"

Mu Hanchan said.

"it is good."

Although he didn't know what this Lord of the Dead Spirits was up to so early in the morning, Song Zhong could only obey orders.

Fifty feet below the surface of the mine.

The group is resting.

"Oh my, it's actually Senior Song!" A foreman immediately went up to greet him.

Song Zhong covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve with a displeased expression, seemingly disliking the smell and environment in the mine.

Mu Hanchan also saw it.

Knowing this was only the first stop, he said to Song Zhong, "Let's continue."

Song Zhong said to the foreman, "Untie the rope and lower the cradle."

"it is good!"

As the rope was lowered and the cradle came close, Mu Hanchan suddenly said, "Come down with us."

The foreman hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Senior Song, who is this?"

Song Zhong waved his hand lightly and introduced, "This is the withered spirit envoy who came to the mine half a year ago. He was sent by the upper sect."
He was also the highest-ranking person in charge of this mine.

The foreman was very shrewd and quickly bowed to Mu Hanchan, saying, "Lord Kuling Envoy, my apologies for my disrespect."

Mu Hanchan then waved her hand as well.

No nonsense,

He said, "Let's go!"

As the cradle descended, Mu Hanchan asked, "How big is this mine?"

"Do you mean depth or length?"

How many respectively?

“The deepest part is five hundred zhang, and the horizontal length is also very large, about eight li.”

How many workers are there in this mine?

"There are a total of 800 miners, with 300 of them being core skilled miners. There are 15 foremen in total, including 3 senior foremen."

"and then?"

Mu Hanchan asked again.

"No, the senior foremen are the highest-ranking in the mine. They are the ones in charge of the cable cradle at 50 zhang, the ones in charge of transporting ore at 250 zhang, and the ones in charge of the front-line mining at 450 zhang."

Song Zhong explained.

"You're a veteran foreman too, right?"

Mu Hanchan suddenly asked.

"Yes, I am not very capable. I spent thirty years in the mine before I became a senior foreman."

Song Zhong said to Mu Hanchan:

"The senior foremen have all been working in the mine for at least twenty-five years. They are very experienced and you can trust them completely."

In the past, the envoys of the upper sect never went down into the mines.

So they'd only heard a little about it, and hadn't really seen it.

"Alright, then let me ask you, have you ever seen this kind of spirit stone before?"

finished,

Mu Hanchan then took out a stone the size of a thumb and showed it to the senior foreman.

"Um... wait a minute, let me light a candle."

The faint candlelight illuminated the stone's appearance.

"This was mined three months ago; we call it... a green lump."

according to rules,

Every time a new type of ore is mined,
Everything must be reported to the seniors.

We submitted the application.
That was dealt with afterwards.

The foreman glanced at Song Zhong and then spoke to Mu Hanchan.

"Ahem, I was just following the usual procedure. At the time, you were focused on your cultivation, and we didn't want to disturb you."
The most important thing is...

We see absolutely no value in the spirit stones you possess.”

"It doesn't matter."

Mu Hanchan waved her hand in acknowledgment.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"My surname is Zhou."

"Alright, Foreman Zhou, let's continue."

The three continued downwards, reaching a point 250 zhang in length.

I met the second senior foreman.

Foreman Zhou introduced Mu Hanchan to him, and the other party also looked surprised, obviously not expecting it.

He also spent nearly thirty years in the mines.
I have never seen an envoy from the Supreme Court personally go down into the mine to investigate.

Let alone the envoy from the upper sect,

Even a manager like Song Zhong wouldn't personally go down into the mine.

"What's your last name?"

"Mu Hanchan asked."

"My surname is Chen."

"Alright, Foreman Chen, let's continue."

"Going further down?"

At this point, Song Zhong became somewhat displeased.

Because the environment becomes increasingly harsher as you go down, and most importantly, there are still three passageways between the upper and lower levels at this point.

Once we get to the bottom,
There's only one passage left.

If something goes wrong, I might lose my life down there.

I have worked hard to cultivate myself until I am sixty years old.
Only then was he able to break through to the Spirit Realm.

Now another twenty years have passed.
They managed to stabilize their progress in the early stages.

Even at eighty, I still have a long and healthy life ahead of me.

How could I risk my life with this naive young man?
but…

Although I was thinking this way,

He had no choice but to say, "Alright then, I'll accompany you this time."

So the three of them continued downwards.
We reached a distance of 450 zhang.

This depth is such that even earth-attribute cultivators below the seventh level of the Spirit Condensation Realm...
They dared not venture into it lightly.

Within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), is the area of ​​ability for earth-attribute cultivators at the Condensation Realm.

Within a hundred feet, it is the area of ​​ability for earth-attribute cultivators in the Spirit Origin Realm.

Three hundred and thirty-three zhang is a dividing line.
The sixth level of the Spirit Condensation Realm is the limit.

450 zhang is another dividing line.

The seventh level of Spirit Condensation is the limit.

Without a Spirit Pill Realm expert overseeing the mine, the maximum mining depth is only 450 zhang.

At a depth of over four hundred feet,

Mu Hanchan met the last senior foreman.

When did you start mining this type of ore?

"About three months ago, my deputy said this mine was different and should be kept until..."

But I don't think it's the kind of spirit stone mine that the older generation needs.
So it was smashed.
It has undergone special crushing treatment.

Mu Hanchan frowned and said, "What you did is fine, but don't break it like this anymore. Anything over a foot in size must be brought up intact."

"Okay, I'll do as you say, sir."

"By the way, what's your last name?"

"My surname is Zhang."

"What's your deputy's last name?"

"My deputy's surname is Li."

"Have your deputy come up with me."

"Ah?...Okay."

So, Mu Hanchan and Song Zhong's group went up.

We reached the ground.

Mu Hanchan asked, "Foreman Li, how long have you been at the mine?"

“I have been working here for twenty-five years.”

Mu Hanchan said to Song Zhong, "Let's add another senior mine manager to the mine, specifically to be in charge of this batch of special spirit stones."

After saying that, he gave Foreman Li a blue compass.

He instructed, "All the blue stones that are brought up must be tested with a compass. Any stone that reacts more than 90 degrees should be set aside."

If it exceeds 180 degrees, put it in another place.

For those exceeding 270 degrees, move them to another location.

"The villain understands."

He then produced three more batches of battle flags.
He instructed Foreman Li to place these array flags around the stones of different grades, using different grade array flags, and only to place them at night when there was a moon.

During the day, it is covered with a black cloth.

"What is the limit of the compass? A full circle?"

Foreman Li suddenly asked.

"The limit of this compass is 540 degrees. If you find a stone that extends beyond the full circle of the compass,..."

Come find me right away.

"Okay, my lord."

Just as Mu Hanchan turned around, a voice came from behind her.

"Li Xi thanks you for your promotion, sir!"

Mu Hanchan paused for a moment, then left without turning around or saying anything.

And so, the refining and production of moonstone slowly began.