Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

"The Heavenly Gang Technique?"

Xia Dong felt a slight jolt in his heart.

He has been in this world of cultivation for several years now, and has gained a considerable understanding of the current magical system of cultivation.

But he had never heard of this so-called "Heavenly Gang Technique".

The immortal techniques of the Great You Dynasty are mostly based on the Five Elements, talismans, and formations. Even a prestigious sect like the Qixia Immortal Sect has never heard of any technique with this name.

"Could it be that this Heavenly Gang Technique is related to my identity as a 'Qi Refiner'?" Xia Dong pondered to himself.

He was well aware that his cultivation path was not entirely the same as that of the mainstream cultivators today.

Since the ancient bronze bell has given such a hint, then this Wind Control Technique after breaking the limit must no longer be a simple immortal technique, but probably involves deeper levels of Taoist magic and supernatural powers.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but yearn for that "superior spirit stone" even more.

But as much as he longed for it, Xia Dong knew that high-grade spirit stones couldn't be bought simply by saving up money; it depended on luck.

Even when they appear at auctions hosted by some immortal sects, they are often bought by important figures.

"There's no use rushing these things. Just keep an eye on it and let things take their course." Xia Dong breathed a sigh of relief and temporarily put the matter to rest.

Composing himself, Xia Dong began to examine his current situation.

Now his magical power has reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, with an extremely solid foundation; his divine sense is at the perfect fifth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

He was not worried about the breakthrough in his spiritual consciousness.

This business trip to the "Yinling Mine" was an important opportunity for him.

Places like the Yin Spirit Mine are teeming with Yin energy, inevitably giving rise to many powerful Yin spirits and ghosts. Most people would avoid it like the plague, but Xia Dong has the Ancient Bronze Bell in his possession. If he captures a powerful Yin spirit and refines it, he can probably obtain a higher-level Refining Spirit Pill than an ordinary Yin Spirit Pill.

At that time, it will almost certainly be a foregone conclusion that one's spiritual consciousness will advance further.

Over the next few days, Xia Dong did not rush to leave Tiger Hill Cave.

He first systematically summarized and analyzed his own strengths, and then practiced several life-saving methods until he was very proficient.

Afterwards, he opened the furnace and refined a large batch of Qi Gathering Pills, and drew many low-level talismans with decent power. After packaging them, he sent them to the city and handed them over to Zhao Ting.

In fact, his current assets are enough to support an ordinary rogue cultivator to slowly grind his way up to the late stage of Qi Refining.

The reason for continuing to ship goods is to maintain the relationship with Zhao Ting.

Although the two now call each other brothers, Xia Dong knows perfectly well that their friendship is ultimately based on mutual benefit.

If Xia Dong suddenly runs out of stock one day, Zhao Ting, whose interests are being harmed, will inevitably resort to some underhanded tactics.

Xia Dong already had a plan in mind.

Once he condenses a "talisman seed" and his talisman-making efficiency increases exponentially, he plans to directly refine enough low-level materials to sell for several years at once, and then create the Spirit Nourishing Talisman that requires a talisman seed to make, as described in the Taiping Yin Talisman Scripture.

This thing can also be used to maintain talismans and other cultivation materials that are prone to losing spiritual energy.

Then we can gradually hand over the goods to Zhao Ting for shipment.

In this way, he can completely extricate himself from the trivial business and concentrate his energy on the subsequent breakthroughs, as well as improving his alchemy and talisman-making skills.

As for higher-grade pills and talismans, he no longer planned to distribute them through Zhao Ting.

In the cultivation world, truly valuable items rarely flow into ordinary markets; they are mostly traded within the inner circle or appear at large auctions.

If he brings out something too good, even if Zhao Ting doesn't suspect anything, it will attract the attention of others when Zhao Ting ships it out. If they follow the clues, Xia Dong himself will inevitably suffer.

"I still lack a truly reliable backer," Xia Dong sighed inwardly.

Leaning against the big tree is good for the coolness.

He couldn't help but think of the "Journey to the West" he had read in his previous life: those monsters with powerful backers and backgrounds, no matter how much trouble they caused, were ultimately only taken back by their masters and locked up in confinement; while those earth monsters without backgrounds who only wanted to live forever, no matter how hard they cultivated, mostly ended up being beaten to death with a stick and their bodies separated.

"What exactly is behind my Daoist identity?" Xia Dong was actually quite curious about his current background, but he didn't dare to ask too many questions, because he was afraid of attracting the attention of powerful figures or forces who would see through his secrets.

But Xia Dong knew very well that even if he didn't investigate, the truth might come to light one day.

He has to be prepared for both the bad and the good.

Tiger Hill Cave and the giant snake are his trump cards, but these alone are not enough.

After finishing her chores, Xia Dong set off for the Yinling Mine.

...

...

Deep within the Yinling Mine, the sun never shines.

The rocks on all four sides had an eerie bluish-black color, and constantly exuded a chilling aura.

Crack!

A faint flash of lightning lit up the dim stone chamber, only to be instantly swallowed up by the dense Yin energy surrounding it.

Qin Wan put away the magic spell and exhaled a long breath of turbid air mixed with white frost.

When she was first sent to this Yinling Mine, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

She possessed a lightning spiritual root and cultivated lightning techniques that were extremely yang and powerful. However, the mine was filled with yin and evil, and the clash between the two caused her to experience a painful and unbearable sensation in her meridians every time she practiced her cultivation.

But as time went on, she gradually discovered that although the process of fighting against the cold energy in this extreme environment was extremely painful, once she adapted, the lightning-attribute magic power in her body became more and more refined through this process of tempering.

Only then did Qin Wan truly understand the good intentions of her master, Master Gu Yue.

Master is having her use the environment of the Yin Spirit Mine to help her solidify her foundation.

"But we still have three more years to endure this awful place..." Qin Wan rubbed her aching shoulders and sighed helplessly.

Some time ago, she received a decree from the sect, saying that the Eagle Wolf Guard would send a captain to be stationed at the Yinling Mine to assist in the defense.

Qin Wan waited for many days, but no one came.

She secretly thought that this Eagle Wolf Guard official must have found out about the harshness of the Yinling Mine and didn't want to suffer, so he was deliberately making excuses to delay his arrival.

Just then, Qin Wan finished her training and heard a subordinate come to report, "Steward Qin, the Eagle Wolf Guard's commander has arrived!"

Qin Wan then straightened her clothes and led her people to the mine entrance to greet them.

When Qin Wan recognized the familiar face, she was first taken aback, then both surprised and delighted: "Brother Xia? It's you!"

She originally thought that Xia Dong's previous statement in Pingyang County that he wanted to visit her was just a polite remark, since the conditions in the Yinling Mine were too poor, and who would be willing to travel so far to suffer?

Unexpectedly, he actually came, and he even rightfully settled here as the commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard.

Xia Dong, dressed in the black flying fish robe of the Eagle Wolf Guard, looked at her with a beaming smile: "What, aren't you welcoming me?"

"No way, please come in!" Qin Wan happily welcomed Xia Dong into the main hall.

The two sat down, drank hot tea, and reminisced about their time apart.

Afterwards, Xia Dong asked Qin Wan to show him around and give him a detailed understanding of the layout and condition of the Yinling Mine.

Qin Wan led Xia Dong deep into the mining area.

The entire Yinling Mine is built against the mountain, with crisscrossing underground tunnels resembling a giant maze. The deeper you go, the heavier the yin and cold atmosphere becomes, and a layer of hazy, malevolent mist even permeates the air.

"We're currently on the main mine road, which is usually patrolled by formations and soldiers, so it's relatively safe." Qin Wan pointed to several forks in the road blocked off by thick iron fences, her expression becoming more serious. "Those are abandoned mine shafts. Brother Xia, please don't go there."

"Did you hollow it out?" Xia Dong asked calmly.

"It would be better if we really dug it all out." Qin Wan shook her head and explained, "The deeper the Yin Spirit Mine goes, the higher the quality of the Yin Spirit Stones and Cold Iron Sand it produces. But the reason those abandoned mine shafts were sealed off is because we dug too deep back then, disturbing the taboos deep underground."

She paused, then continued, "Those deep mines are infested with extremely powerful ghosts and spirits. In addition, there are swarms of 'Yinming Worms.' These worms feed solely on the flesh and blood of the living, and their carapaces are hard, making them extremely difficult to kill. Let alone ordinary Dao soldiers and miners, even cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining would inevitably end up covered in dust if they went in without taking the slightest carelessness. Therefore, the sect simply sealed off those deep mines, only mining in the shallow and middle layers."

Xia Dong listened quietly, his gaze sweeping across the dark, abandoned mine entrances, lost in thought.

Besides these dangers, the biggest problem in the mine is "mine thieves." There are always some reckless cultivators or ordinary martial artists who are willing to risk their lives for money and try every means to sneak into the mining area to steal ore. Catching mine thieves is one of Qin Wan's important responsibilities as the manager.

However, Qin Wan didn't really care much about the affairs of the mine.

As long as she could hand over the quota of ore to the sect on time and in the correct amount each month, she was too lazy to investigate those petty thefts every day.

After listening, Xia Dong made up his mind. His purpose in coming here was to use the ghosts in the Yin Spirit Mine to break through his divine sense and to use the Yin Sha Qi to condense a talisman seed, so he naturally did not want to cause any trouble.

So he simply followed the established rules, indicating that everything would remain the same and the Eagle Wolf Guard would not interfere with Qin Wan's daily management.

Initially, some of the foremen and seasoned veterans in the mine were quite wary of this new Eagle Wolf Guard commander, fearing that the new broom would open.

However, after observing for a few days, they discovered that Xia Dong spent his days meditating and drinking tea in the courtyard, showing no intention of seizing power. Moreover, he had an extremely close relationship with Qin Wan, the sect leader.

Gradually, the ripples that had initially appeared in the mine subsided completely, and everyone went about their duties peacefully.

Xia Dong figured the time was about right.

That night, he took the initiative to find Qin Wan and made a request: "Wan'er, I would like to ask you to do me a favor and protect me."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan immediately became serious: "Brother Xia, tell me, how exactly do you plan to protect me?"

Xia Dong pointed to an abandoned mine shaft not far away: "To be precise, I need you to guard the outside of that abandoned mine shaft for me for a while."

Seeing Qin Wan's slightly puzzled look, Xia Dong explained without changing his expression, "I've recently been practicing a rather powerful martial arts technique, and I've reached a critical bottleneck. This technique is special; it requires the use of abundant Yin energy to temper the body. After much thought, I think the Yin energy in that abandoned mine is the most suitable. However, I'm worried about being disturbed while practicing, which could cause unnecessary trouble, so I can only ask you to keep an eye on things at the entrance for me."

Although Qin Wan knew that the depths of the abandoned mine were dangerous, she also knew very well that the outer passages and the area around the entrance were actually very safe. Over the years, no mine insects or powerful ghosts had ever come out. As long as one didn't go too deep inside, there would be no danger at all.

She had some understanding of Xia Dong's strength and wasn't worried about him getting into trouble on the outside, so she readily agreed: "No problem, Brother Xia, you just focus on your cultivation. I'll guard the outside, and I guarantee not even a fly can get in."

After discussing their plan, the two headed to the abandoned mine.

...

...

In a secluded corner of the main mine shaft, people were quietly exchanging words, and an invisible killing intent was brewing.

"That slut and that Xia-surname government lackey went to the abandoned mine. What a golden opportunity!"

"But this kid surnamed Xia is indeed a member of the Eagle Wolf Guard. I wonder how formidable he is?"

"I've inquired about this man. He's just a doctor who got the position of captain through connections. He definitely doesn't have much ability. We won't kill him; we'll just knock him out."

"It's better to just kill him. All the court's lackeys deserve to die anyway. Besides, this kid is probably quite lucrative."

"Hmm... alright, when you do it, be sure to be swift and decisive."