Immortality and cultivation begin with alchemy and accounting.

He held the Fire Dragon Sable in his hands, pressed his forehead against the demon's, and then made a hand seal.

An obscure rune appeared simultaneously on the foreheads of Bai Qingshan and the Fire Dragon Sable.

Only a few breaths later, the spell ended, and Bai Qingshan put down the Fire Dragon Sable, looking somewhat tired.

"Although the Fire Dragon Sable is my demon beast, I cannot always perceive what it sees and hears."

"The spell I just cast allows my consciousness to reside in the Fire Dragon Sable for a quarter of an hour. During this time, I can sense everything the Fire Dragon Sable encounters."

"However, in order to better receive the information transmitted back by the Fire Dragon Sable, I should concentrate and not make any other rash moves."

Seeing Bai Xuanjing's unusual expression, Bai Qingshan began to explain.

Then he said, "I'll send the Fire Dragon Sable to check how big this mine really is."

"You will protect me."

Having said that, the Fire Dragon Sable seemed to have received a command and leaped into the lava river.

Bai Qingshan sat cross-legged on the shore, creating a protective light barrier around him.

Bai Xuanjing looked nervous.

Even if Bai Qingshan didn't say anything, he would take the initiative to protect him and do everything in his power to ensure Bai Qingshan's safety.

Bai Qingshan possesses multiple blessings: he belongs to the "Qing" generation, has contributed to the family for many years, and is in the late stage of Qi Refining...

If a clan elder of this caliber were to die on Autumn Maple Island under mysterious circumstances, and the reason could not be explained, Bai Xuanjing's lightest fate would be to have his cultivation crippled and be expelled from the Bai family!

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Bai Qingshan ended the spell, his face showing undisguised disappointment.

"It's just a small vein. If it's fully mined and refined into Red Fire Stone Essence, it could probably sell for around a hundred low-grade spirit stones."

Discovering a valuable mineral vein is a great contribution to the Bai family. If he has other merits, there is even a chance that the family will step in and help him exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Bai Qingshan meets the requirements.

So when he saw the ore, he could hardly hide the excitement on his face.

But upon learning that the ore was red flint, that excitement turned into disappointment.

Now, his mood plummeted to rock bottom.

Fortunately, he was in good spirits; he was only frustrated for a short while before recovering.

"I'll draw the location of this mineral vein underground for you."

As they were talking, Bai Qingshan found a stone and started drawing on the ground.

"However, mining is a slow process. Although this piece of firestone is not very valuable, it may take several months to fully mine it without the assistance of suitable magical tools."

"With your cultivation level, it's impossible for you to enter the underground magma to mine this firestone ore."

"It would be best if a monster could help with the mining."

"But not just any monster can do mining. The Fire Dragon Sable is no good. Its claws are too short and too sharp. If it were to mine red firestone, its claws would probably break off or be worn down in just a few days."

"Let me introduce you to some monsters that are suitable for mining and are not afraid of lava rivers."

It's not worth buying a Beast Taming Token just to mine a Red Firestone ore.

But even for you, an alchemist, these hundred-plus low-grade spirit stones are equivalent to a year's salary.

You could consider cooperating with those young beast-taming disciples you know in the family to mine red firestone, and then split the profits...

At this point, Bai Qingshan suddenly realized he had said too much and was somewhat speechless, so he quickly added, "However, I must remind you that renting monsters for mining is fine, but don't bring people to Autumn Maple Island."

"If you bring people here for convenience, don't blame it on me if the family finds out later."

Although the Earth Fire Vein of Autumn Maple Island is only a low-grade first-order vein, its information is still quite secretive.

This is the family's red line, and it cannot be shaken.

Bai Qingshan is kind and gentle to the younger generation, but he doesn't want to take on responsibilities for no reason.

He was somewhat annoyed.

Under normal circumstances, one wouldn't say the wrong thing.

This experience of initial surprise followed by disappointment has left me somewhat disoriented, even though I'm generally composed.

However, Bai Xuanjing's emotions did not change much before and after seeing the Red Fire Stone, which really surprised Bai Qingshan and made him look at Bai Xuanjing's outstanding temperament in a different light.

"Having lived most of my life, my character is still inferior to that of a young junior. I still need to cultivate myself and cannot slack off!" Bai Qingshan thought with a bitter smile.

Bai Xuanjing nodded repeatedly.

He naturally wouldn't bring anyone else to Autumn Maple Island.

However, the beast-taming token that Bai Qingshan mentioned reminded him of some knowledge from the cultivation world.

The so-called Beast Taming Token is jointly crafted by Beast Tamers and Weapon Refiners, and can carry the divine soul of a demon beast and the Beast Taming Technique.

Even without having studied beast taming techniques, one can still use the beast taming token to control demonic beasts.

However, the methods and materials for crafting Beast Taming Tokens are not common.

This item is generally not available on the market.

Moreover, even low-level beast-taming tokens are quite valuable.

Unless it's a monster with a special purpose, no cultivator would buy a beast-taming token to increase their combat power.

From this perspective, although the red firestone is right under one's feet, it cannot be transformed into a spirit stone.

However, Baek Hyun-kyung's emotions did not fluctuate much.

More than a hundred spirit stones... are not a necessity for him, given his ability to settle accounts through alchemy.

If I gain it, I am fortunate; if I lose it, it is my fate!

The firestone mine was just a minor incident.

As evening fell, the Fire Dragon Sable once again emerged from the lava river.

Bai Qingshan used his Azure Wood Eyes to explore various parts of the underground magma for nearly half an hour, finally bringing Bai Xuanjing some good news: "The fireflies here have been eradicated!"

He then advised, "However, you can't be complacent. Generally speaking, when firefly eggs hatch, they release spiritual energy to accelerate the hatching of their companions. Therefore, fireflies in a field often hatch at the same time."

"But it's also possible that some fireflies will always hatch a little slower, and my Aoki Hitomi won't be able to sense the presence of the eggs."

"There might be a few that hatch slowly and slip through the net. If you find them, you can find a way to deal with them yourself. If there is a large-scale outbreak of fireflies, you can report it to the family or inform your second uncle."

Bai Xuanjing nodded: "I've got it!"

Bai Qingshan continued, "When we came, I said we'd split the profits 20/80. These past few days, the Fire Dragon Sable has caught a total of 736 Wildfire Worms. I'll round it down and give you 150."

Although the corpses of fireflies have medicinal uses, Bai Xuanjing has no use for them.

He remembered Bai Qingshan's earlier words: the insect corpses soaked in wine could be used as food for the Fire Dragon Sable.

Therefore, he went along with it and said, "I don't need these fireflies either, so I'll sell them all to you, Grandpa Qingshan!"

Bai Qingshan nodded. "According to the market price, 150 Wildfire Worms are worth 15 low-grade spirit stones. Do you want spirit stones or contribution points?"

"Spirit stones," Bai Xuanjing said without hesitation.

After taking out fifteen low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and giving them to Bai Xuanjing, Bai Qingshan hurriedly left.

Bai Xuanjing escorted him out of the Earth Fire Cave and then returned.

This is the first time I've felt so at ease since I transmigrated here.

With the fireflies no longer a threat, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief!

Since there are no external threats, then naturally...

Start the furnace and refine the elixir!