Mortal: I, Zhang Tie, started by joining forces with Han Li to kill a strategist.

The spiritual energy circulated along specific routes in the meridians. After a few breaths, the spiritual energy fluctuations of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage on Zhang Tie's body were rapidly compressed and contained, and his aura also began to change, dropping directly from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the early Foundation Establishment stage, and then from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

Zhang Tie opened his eyes and examined himself with his divine sense. He found that the fluctuations of spiritual power on his body were indeed much weaker. If his soul power was not as strong as his, people would only think that he was a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"The things deduced from the Book of Cause and Effect are all good!" Zhang Tie nodded in satisfaction.

That's much safer.

After leaving the cave and arriving at several halls on Lingxian Peak, Zhang Tie was able to conceal his aura to the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Several Foundation Establishment cultivators who passed by merely nodded slightly when they saw him, without showing any abnormality.

Zhang Tie chuckled inwardly. With this concealment technique, he could safely hide his strength and avoid attracting attention.

Next, it's time to go and guard that spirit stone mine.

A year is neither too long nor too short; it's just the right amount of time to consolidate one's mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation and see if any opportunities can be found.

...

After packing his belongings and leaving the black jar by the spiritual spring in his cave to nourish it, Zhang Tie summoned his flying boat and headed north towards the Cangqiu Mountains.

According to the markings on the token, the spirit stone mine Zhang Tie was going to was a small spirit stone vein, but its location was deeper into the mountains than the previous red jade mine.

It is important to know that the further you go into the heart of the mountains, the more ferocious the monsters become. Level 2 monsters are everywhere, and Level 3 monsters are not uncommon either.

Zhang Tie's flying boat flew over the mountains, circling several times to avoid dangerous areas, which were the territories of level-three avian monsters. Encountering them in the sky was not a good thing.

"No wonder this mine needs three Foundation Establishment cultivators to guard it!" Zhang Tie thought to himself as he narrowly avoided an area where the aura reached level three.

After flying for about two or three hours, a low hill appeared ahead, with several small hills shrouded in an array between them.

Before Zhang Tie even landed, he sensed a rich spiritual energy. Having cultivated the Spirit-Seeking Technique, he could sense the fluctuations of the underground spiritual veins from afar.

This was the first time Zhang Tie had ever seen a spirit stone mine!

Zhang Tie landed his flying boat at the entrance of the mine. Several Qi Refining disciples at the entrance, upon recognizing him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator from within the sect, quickly stepped forward to pay their respects.

"But the two stewards of the mine, who are stationed here by the sect, are waiting for you!" one of the Qi Refining disciples said respectfully.

Zhang Tie nodded and walked into the mine.

The layout of the mine is similar to that of the Red Jade Mine, but the scale is much larger and the concentration of spiritual energy within the mine is almost at the top-grade level one. This is not like a spiritual spring, but rather anywhere within the mine.

"With such abundant spiritual energy, setting up a spirit-gathering array would probably allow me to easily reach the second rank. I've definitely come to the right place!" Zhang Tie nodded to himself.

Inside the mine, the residences of Foundation Establishment cultivators were much more elaborate than those in the Crimson Jade Mine; they weren't wooden houses, but small courtyards built of inkstone.

Two people walked out from a small courtyard in the middle.

The leader was a middle-aged cultivator in his forties, with a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level. He had a plump face, a short beard, and wore a robe. Most importantly, there was a beast-shaped mark on his cuffs.

The other person was a gaunt old Taoist priest with early Foundation Establishment cultivation. He didn't have anything particularly noteworthy about him and looked quite ordinary.

"This must be Junior Brother Zhang!" The gaunt old Taoist priest greeted him with a smile.

"I am Tang Zixu, and this is Xie Changkong. Senior Brother Xie, we are both cultivators from the Spirit Beast Peak, stationed here by order of our sect!"

The surname is Xie!

Zhang Tie's pupils contracted; what a small world!

There's no mistake. With that beast-shaped emblem and the surname Xie, there aren't many Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivators with the surname Xie in Spirit Beast Mountain.

According to what he knew, the Xie family had two Foundation Establishment cultivators in Spirit Beast Mountain. One was Xie Duanfeng, whom he had met before, and the other was probably the one in front of him!

However, Zhang Tie didn't show any surprise on his face, and returned the greeting, saying, "Senior Brother Tang, you're too kind!"

He also nodded to Xie Changkong, but to Zhang Tie's surprise, Xie Changkong did not show any hostility towards him.

"Junior Brother Zhang, you'll be staying in that small courtyard. The conditions are simple, so please make do!" Tang Zixu pointed to the stone house on the east side of the mine.

"Thank you for your trouble, senior brother!" Zhang Tie clasped his hands in a fist salute and walked towards his stone house.

However, Zhang Tie secretly observed Xie Changkong's every move with his divine sense as he walked, but the expression on Xie Changkong's face made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

It's too calm, so calm it looks unnatural!

And that Tang Zixu, he was too enthusiastic. Zhang Tie knew that most cultivators from families within the sect looked down on cultivators from independent cultivation backgrounds, not to mention that he had clashed with the Xie family. The Xie family's plot to take his Foundation Establishment Pill was known to everyone, and he lost face.

Xie Changkong wouldn't recognize him? Absolutely impossible!

"Either he really doesn't care, or he has ulterior motives!" Zhang Tie thought to himself.

As soon as Zhang Tie entered the courtyard, Tang Zixu's smile vanished. He turned to look at Xie Changkong, and the two exchanged glances, their eyes subtly tinged with divine sense and spiritual energy fluctuations.

As Zhang Tie entered the courtyard, his eyes turned slightly cold. A telepathic technique? With his soul power comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage, he naturally sensed the fluctuation. However, Zhang Tie did not make a sound, deciding to see what the two were up to behind the scenes.

Sigh, all he wants is to cultivate in peace, but he's always causing trouble wherever he goes!

Zhang Tie initially thought the two were secretly plotting to deal with him, but he remained secretly on guard from then on.

He even considered taking the initiative and defeating one in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and the other in the early-Foundation Establishment stage very quickly!

However, Zhang Tie quickly dismissed the idea. There were nearly a thousand people in the spirit stone mine, including more than thirty disciples in the Qi Refining stage. It would be difficult to capture Xie Changkong and Tang Zixu without their knowledge.

Surprisingly, everything went smoothly at the mine for the next month or two.

The mining of spirit stones was almost non-stop, with miners working in three shifts to extract pieces of raw spirit stone ore from the mine shafts.

Zhang Tie and his two companions were tasked with patrolling the area around the mine and driving away the monsters attracted by the rich spiritual energy.

There are indeed more monsters in the heart of the mountain range than in the outer areas. Not to mention level one monsters, Zhang Tie encountered two level two monsters in just one month: an Iron-Bone Wolf and a Two-Headed Snake. Before figuring out the purpose behind those two creatures, Zhang Tie did not reveal his strength and simply drove them away.

Tang Zixu was always very enthusiastic towards Zhang Tie on the surface, and sometimes he would even send him spirit wine and spirit meat, and show concern for his well-being.

But the more this guy acted this way, the more wary Zhang Tie became. What good could come from a weasel paying respects to a chicken?

Xie Changkong was rarely seen, hiding in the small courtyard. He would only take action to drive away level-three demonic beasts when they appeared.

Days passed by, but nothing happened.