Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

To hundreds of millions of ordinary people, the area south of the Chu Kingdom was a range of mountains stretching for tens of thousands of miles, sparsely populated.

Unbeknownst to these mortals, countless ferocious and savage wild beasts lurk within these vast and boundless mountains.

This is the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains!

After several twists and turns, Li Xiuyuan and his group rode the mixed-blood demon beast, the Dragon Spirit Horse.

These spirit beasts were specially bred by cultivators to supply low-level cultivators and long-distance merchant caravans for their journeys.

The Longling horse has great endurance; it can last for seven days on a single meal and can travel a thousand miles a day, making it an excellent means of transportation.

The four traveled day and night, and after half a month, they finally arrived at Blackwind City.

When they were about fifty miles outside Black Wind City, Li Xiuyuan told everyone to rest on the spot before entering the market.

Li Xiuyuan chose a dense forest and sat down to meditate and recover his magical power.

Be careful when you're out and about; the four of them split into two groups.

Li Xiuyuan and Wu Wen were the first to recover their magical power. After they finished recovering, Zhou Li and the other two were relieved to recover.

Three hours later.

Seeing that everyone's magical power had recovered to about 80-90% and their mental energy had also been rested enough.

Li Xiuyuan began his speech: "When war breaks out, we will all serve our sect. We must be careful and cautious, and never be careless. It is a small matter if we miss our sect's mission, but a great matter if we lose our lives!"

"If you go out, you must go in pairs and are not allowed to go out without permission. In case of emergency, please contact me immediately."

"Anyone who flees in the face of the enemy shall be executed immediately!"

Li Xiuyuan's tone was harsh and showed no mercy!

With the spiritual energy fluctuations of the sixth level of Qi Refining spread out and a superior-grade magic sword in hand, no one dared to ignore his words.

Wu Wen was the first to respond, his face solemn as he said, "I will follow your teachings, Senior Brother!"

Zhou Li and Su Fei exchanged a glance, and under pressure from the situation, they clasped their hands and said, "We will definitely obey Senior Brother Li's orders and will not act on our own."

Li Xiuyuan finally relaxed, a smile appearing on his lips. "Let's all work together. I hope we can get through the next ten years peacefully. It would be best if all four of us came and all four of us went back together!"

Although the three of them were of average strength and cultivation, they were at least able to complete their daily patrol duties, freeing up more time for him to cultivate and investigate news about the Moon Essence Elixir.

After spending this time together, Wu Wen was still secretly ostracized by Zhou Li and the other woman.

However, Li Xiuyuan did not intervene, which made it easier for him to control the situation. If the three of them joined forces, it would inevitably create more trouble.

Seeing that everyone's magical power had been almost fully restored, Li Xiuyuan ordered them to continue their journey.

As the sun set, the four rode their tall horses toward the distant Blackwind City.

Blackwind City has walls that are eight or nine zhang high.

The city had about eight or nine thousand households, ordinary dwellings, which were not particularly remarkable in the Chu Kingdom.

When everyone arrived at the city lord's mansion, they met the person in charge of handing over this mission, outer disciple Wu Zhong.

This man had dark circles under his eyes and a pale face, looking as if he were depleted of vital energy.

It makes sense. Initially, he was sidelined and stationed in Blackwind City because of his lack of aptitude, but now that the Spirit Mine War has broken out, he has been transferred to the front lines.

When one feels hopeless and disheartened, indulging in pleasure and seeking immediate gratification is understandable.

"I'm sorry to have kept my fellow disciples waiting. You've certainly picked a good time!"

Wu Zhong smiled wryly.

Sending disciples to guard the mining area far from the sect was a helpless choice for them to end their lives, as they had no one in the sect and no powerful backers.

Unexpectedly, a war of spirit stones broke out among the sects, and the jobs that everyone used to avoid became coveted ones that didn't require going to the front lines.

He was filled with resentment, and his words were tinged with bitterness.

"Senior Brother Wu, you're too kind. We, Li and my companions, are simply serving the sect. When shall we proceed with the handover of the gold and iron ore?"

Li Xiuyuan ignored Wu Zhong's complaints and smiled as he cupped his hands in greeting.

He had already read Wu Zhong's information; he was fifty years old, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and had long since lost any hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

Wu Wen and the others bowed to him.

Li Xiuyuan could disregard Wu Zhong, after all, Wu Zhong's cultivation level was higher than his.

However, Wu Wen and the other two were different. The principle of "the accomplished first" was deeply ingrained in the Fire Sect, which had been passed down for thousands of years and placed great importance on seniority and hierarchy.

"Since Junior Brother is so concerned about the sect's affairs, let's set off now."

Seeing that his fellow disciples were unwilling to chat, Wu Zhong wisely took the lead and headed out of the city.

Li Xiuyuan winked at the three men, signaling them to act according to the situation, and then followed Wu Zhong out of the city lord's mansion.

The group left the city and headed southeast of Blackwind City.

The gold and iron ore vein is located about ninety miles outside Blackwind City.

Li Xiuyuan and his group arrived at the place in half an hour.

If Wu Wen and the others hadn't had such low cultivation levels and were so slow, they could have been much faster.

Li Xiuyuan and his companions stopped at the entrance of the mining area on their dragon spirit horses.

The gold and iron produced from the gold and iron ore veins are only materials for refining low-grade magical artifacts.

It's not possible to earn more spirit stones by hiring cultivators to mine; most mining is done by mortals.

Although the mining speed of ordinary people is slow, the sheer number of people means that they can fill their stomachs with just a little rice porridge and wild grass each day, so the monthly output is quite considerable.

It was lunchtime.

When ordinary people emerged from the mine, they were dressed in rags, their worn-out clothes consisting of only a few strips of cloth covering their private parts. Their bodies were covered in a mixture of sweat and mine dust, making them look no different from beggars.

Some were old and weak, skin and bones. They were whipped by the overseer for not handing over enough ore. Their skin was torn and they cried out in pain. They received very little food. Others were young and strong, with robust bodies. They easily dug up enough ore, received a full bowl of food, and walked past the former with their heads held high.

The overseers watched the scene with a mocking expression, as if they were gods who held the power of life and death over the miners, ready to lash them out at the slightest provocation, and laughing as they watched the miners suffer.

Blackwind City publicly claimed that these mortals were all heinous criminals, thugs with blood on their hands.

As for whether it was true or false, Li Xiuyuan had no interest in distinguishing between them.

As long as he could hand over the full amount of gold and iron ore each month, Li Xiuyuan didn't care.

This is a world where people eat people. Cultivators hold the power of life and death over mortals. High-level cultivators can kill Li Xiuyuan's life with a flick of their wrists!

Even though a pang of reluctance flashed through his mind, what could he do?

He would also be punished if he failed to complete the sect's mission.

He recalled his miserable life of being bullied as a fire-tending boy for decades, and the ripples in his heart disappeared, replaced by endless indifference.

Wu Wen and the others remained expressionless. Coming from a sect, they were already used to the aloofness of cultivators. They wouldn't care about rogue cultivators either, let alone those who regarded mortal lives as worthless.

Li Xiuyuan and his group arrived at the wooden house where the mine manager lived.

Many people in the mining area saw the sudden arrival of the immortal masters. Several of them came at once, and soon chaos ensued. Only after the overseer killed a few troublemakers on the spot did things quiet down.

Soon, an old man with shifty eyes, who stood out from the other overseers, stepped out from the crowd.

Dressed in the attire of a steward, he immediately bowed to Wu Zhong, who was in charge.

The obsequious smile on his face was impossible to hide. "This servant greets Immortal Master Wu. What are your orders, Immortal Master? This servant will do it immediately!"

Wu Zhong sneered, showing utter disdain for his behavior. He then turned to Li Xiuyuan and the others and said, "Alright, get up. I'm about to return to the sect. These are my fellow disciples who will be taking over the mining area from me. Immediately notify the rest of the junior brothers in the mining area to come over. I have some instructions to give."

The shifty-eyed old man understood and quickly stood up, his knees almost touching the ground. He didn't dare look up at Li Xiuyuan and the others, and said in a respectful and humble tone, "This servant obeys. I will go and inform the other immortal masters immediately. This servant is a burden. If the immortal masters need anything, just tell this servant, and this servant will certainly do it well!"

After Fei Wu finished speaking, he kept bending over and backing away until he could no longer see Li Xiuyuan and the others, then he led three or five strong men down into the mine.

Fei Wu quickly led the three outer disciples stationed in the mining area back to the wooden house.

Li Xiuyuan exchanged a few pleasantries with the group before commencing the handover.

Wu Wen and his group inquired about the details of the mining area from the disciples stationed there: the power and consumption of the formation, the daily maintenance of the formation, whether the mortals in the mining area were obedient, and so on.

Wu Zhong then handed over the records of gold and iron ore transactions to Li Xiuyuan for inspection, and then handed over the jade token controlling the formation to Li Xiuyuan. Finally, he handed over a small brown cloth bag.

This is a high-grade storage bag, issued by the sect for collecting and submitting gold and iron ore. Its storage space is more than three times that of a mid-grade storage bag.

After handing the three items over to Li Xiuyuan, Wu Zhong's expression was complicated; he feared he might never return.

Thinking of this, he suddenly shivered, clearly because the three phoenixes and dragons he had played with last night had exhausted him.

Li Xiuyuan took the three items and, seeing his listless appearance, remained silent.

He immediately checked the accounts. Cultivators have extremely strong memories and can read ten lines at a glance. He finished reading an account book in just a few breaths. Then he opened the storage bag to check the quality and quantity of the ore for this month and found that it was correct.

The figures were almost identical to those in the accounts, and a rough calculation of the daily ore submissions showed that they were sufficient to meet the monthly quota.

They handed the array token to Wu Wen, asking them to check if the array in the mining area was correct.

"Yes, Senior Brother Li!"

Wu Wen was the first to accept the token, and the others said in unison, looking extremely honest.

Li Xiuyuan nodded secretly, then instructed Fei Wu to take him and Wu Zhong on a tour of the mining area.

The group of men were naturally not foolish enough to go down into the mine shaft; even the foremen rarely went down there.

They didn't care about the conditions inside the mine, as long as they handed over the required amount of ore each month.

In reality, Li Xiuyuan didn't care about the spirit stones rewarded for completing the mission; he could earn them by refining a few bottles of pills at will.

His purpose in coming here was to avoid the forced conscription before it went online, and incidentally to complete the task that Du Wuxin had instructed him to do.

If he weren't worried about being recalled by the sect for insufficient monthly ore production, he would only need to arrange for Wu Wen and the others to hand over the ore on time.

With Fei Wudi's explanation, the three of them quickly got a general overview of the mining area.

Fei Wu was eager to curry favor. Having served as a supervisor for over thirty years, he knew that as long as he pleased this handsome immortal master, his future would remain happy and prosperous.

Half an hour later.

Li Xiuyuan and his two companions turned to the wooden house, just as Wu Wen and the others returned from activating and verifying the array. They all nodded to Li Xiuyuan, indicating that the array was correct.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Li Xiuyuan's smile became more sincere. "Junior brother, I have no doubt about that. Thank you, senior brother, for your years of dedicated management of the mining area and your conscientious performance of your duties. I thank you in advance."

"I have other duties to attend to, so please excuse me for not seeing me off any further. Farewell, Senior Brother!"

In these extraordinary times, the group worked hard to secure the task of guarding the mine, and naturally, they didn't care about the feelings of Wu Zhong and the others.

If they know what's good for them, that's fine; otherwise, even if they kill Li Xiuyuan and the others on the spot, they won't cause any trouble.

Wu Zhong and the others were just ordinary disciples who were ostracized. They had no hope of ever reaching the late stage of Qi Refining in this lifetime, so how could they possibly fight against Li Xiuyuan and the others?

Of course, it's best to avoid taking action if possible.

Seeing Li Xiuyuan announce that the guests were to be seen off, Wu Wen and the others were not fools, and they all clasped their hands in a salute to bid farewell to Wu Zhong.

"With my junior brother here, I can rest assured!"

Wu Zhong sighed softly, smiled bitterly, and turned to leave with his men.

When Li Xiuyuan saw Wu Zhong off, his smile faded and his expression became calm.

He turned to look at everyone present, his eyes revealing a hint of pressure, which startled Wu Wen and the others.

"From now on, my fellow disciples, please remain stationed in the mining area. If you encounter an enemy attack, immediately activate the formation to block it and send a telepathic message to me."

"You two will patrol the mining area in pairs as usual, rotating every ten days, to ensure that gold and iron ore mining proceeds normally."

Li Xiuyuan gave Wu Wen a few instructions and assigned them their tasks without further ado.

As for whether to provide support upon receiving the message, that depends on the enemy's strength.

If the formation is insufficient to resist, he will naturally send a message to his sect and will not come to his death.

To protect the sect's safety?

Stop making your brother Li laugh!

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wu Wen spoke first with a fawning expression, consciously placing himself in a subordinate position.

"Sycophants deserve to die!"

Zhou Li and her companion cursed inwardly.

Having witnessed Li Xiuyuan's superior-grade magic weapon and his cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining, Wu Wen immediately sided with Senior Brother Li. The two exchanged a glance, unable to muster any resistance, and could only clasp their fists and accept the order.

Seeing that the group was quite sensible, Li Xiuyuan nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Fei Wu.

"Manager Fei, Li only hopes that there will be enough ore to be handed over each month. You must record the daily mining income and give it to these junior brothers on duty. If there is a shortage of manpower or difficulties, just report it to them and the city lord."

"If you do a good job, you'll be rewarded with gold, silver, and jewels, even an elixir of immortality. But if you fail, I'll replace you with someone more capable. Watch your head!"