Chu Mu asked again, "Then what kind of ore is it, exactly? Why is it so cursed?"

"Who knows!"

Wu Shuo waved his hand. "That stuff is cursed as hell!"

"We’ve been mining it for so long, and so many have died. I heard from the mine that even now, we’ve only extracted a little over two thousand pounds of Ore Materials at most!"

"Besides, there aren’t many Ore Veins left in that mine shaft. I reckon it’ll all be dug out in another month or two..."

"Once this whole mess is over, things can finally get back to normal for us!"

"This business has us on edge all day, and now even the Iron Ore mining has practically ground to a halt. If this keeps up, we’ll all be starving!"

"Countless families all over Qinghe County are depending on that Iron Ore to put food on the table..."

For once, Chu Mu retorted, "Under the circumstances, it might be a good thing to stop for a while. It’ll keep the Immortal from the Li Family from noticing and causing another disaster."

After saying this, Chu Mu seemed to think of something and suddenly asked, "All those Ore Materials flowing out of our mine each month... who exactly is taking them off our hands?"

This question had been puzzling Chu Mu for a long time. At first, he assumed it was traveling merchants, but after recently learning the true details of this vast network, he had completely dismissed that theory.

The reason was simple: the amount being skimmed off was just too large!

From what he understood, at least twenty to thirty percent of the mine’s total output was being siphoned off by this cabal in Qinghe County.

A single mine, with thousands of Forced Laborers digging day and night, and twenty to thirty percent of its annual output skimmed off... such a massive quantity was far more than small-time traveling merchants could ever handle. There had to be one, or even several, established channels to absorb it all.

Moreover, these channels had to operate completely out of sight of the Nanshan Li Family, a Cultivation Immortal Clan.

After all, as far as he knew, both the County Magistrate and the Thousand Households, Li Jinghong, were part of this corrupt network.

"You know the person."

Chu Mu was startled. "I know him?"

"Yes. It’s just a guess, but I’m pretty sure I’m right."

Wu Shuo’s expression turned solemn. "That old man at Mingxin Hall, the one you visit often... he’s no simple character."

"There’s no direct proof that he’s the mastermind behind the ore merchants, but he’s definitely connected..."

Chu Mu’s pupils contracted, and his heart pounded.

"Isn’t Elder Li a doctor at the apothecary? How could he be mixed up with ore merchants?"

"I found out by chance. One night, I was leaving Fengyue Tower and passed by Mingxin Hall. I just happened to see those ore merchants coming out of there. I kept an eye on it for a long time after that..."

The corner of Chu Mu’s mouth twitched. ’If that’s true, Wu Shuo is incredibly lucky to still be alive!’

’Secretly investigating a Cultivator?’

’It’s a good thing Elder Li isn’t the type to treat human life as worthless. Otherwise, even if Wu Shuo had eight heads, it wouldn’t have been enough to save him!’

Then, a realization dawned on Chu Mu. ’So... Elder Li has stayed in Nanshan Town all these years for the sake of this Iron Ore?’

’Buying up large quantities of smuggled Ore Materials and then selling them in the Cultivation Immortal Realm?’

Chu Mu pursed his lips. He was suddenly beginning to realize that in this era, the Cultivation Immortal Realm’s control over the mortal world was probably far deeper than he had imagined.

In the feudal eras of his past life, there were surely plenty of ordinary, undiscovered iron mines that were secretly exploited.

But in this era, even a mighty Cultivator had to hide their identity and live off scraps just to get their hands on Ore Materials.

This undoubtedly meant that resources like Ore Materials were tightly controlled by Cultivators everywhere. Otherwise, they could just find an un-mined deposit and excavate it themselves. Why go through all this trouble?

However......

On second thought, Chu Mu felt a flicker of doubt. Based on his current understanding, both medicinal plants and Ore Materials were clearly divided into two categories: mortal and those of the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

’For medicinal plants, there are "Spiritual Plants" that grow beyond normal limits?’

’He wasn’t sure if that was the right term, but that was the general idea.’

And as for Ore Materials, the mysterious kind found in the Nanshan Iron Ore clearly demonstrated its difference from ordinary mortal ores.

’This was unlikely to be an isolated case. In other words, Ore Materials were also divided into mortal ores and "Spirit Ore," right?’

Ordinary mortal medicinal plants were clearly not considered precious. Even for him, they were just a matter of being short on cash at worst.

’But mortal Ore Materials... are they also in high demand by Cultivators?’

’It seemed that way, didn’t it?’

Chu Mu suddenly recalled the information he had gathered from all over.

All around Qinghe County, wherever there were mineral deposits, they were all being mined just like the Nanshan Iron Ore.

You could see the whole picture from this one small part; it was likely the same in other places.

This clearly pointed to one fact: even mortal Ore Materials were needed in large quantities by the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

And such a huge demand for Ore Materials implied the existence of an enormous market that could absorb it all.

’In my past life, why was there such a large demand for ore materials?’

’Was it because of industrialization?’

’That was the root cause, but in the end, wasn’t it all just because of humanity’s own fragility, which created a need for external power?’

’But in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, great power is concentrated within the self...’

The anticipation in Chu Mu’s heart grew a little stronger.

’This Cultivation Immortal Realm... perhaps it really isn’t what I thought it was...’

...

It was not until night fell that Chu Mu finally left Wu Shuo Mansion.

The sky was dim, with no stars in sight. Only a bright moon, veiled by dark clouds, still cast its light upon the land.

The evening breeze was cool and refreshing.

As the breeze caressed his face, Chu Mu’s once-restless heart gradually began to calm.

Now, everything was clear.

Chu Mu looked up at the night sky. The moon, once veiled by dark clouds, was slowly revealing its full face.

It was just like him; all the fog that had shrouded him since his arrival in this world had finally dispersed.

Chu Mu surveyed the peaceful town before him, then gazed toward the distant mine where specks of firelight flickered.

He knew that before long, a greater storm would once again engulf this town and this mine.

And after the storm, regardless of who won or lost, the impact on Nanshan Town and the Nanshan Iron Ore would be profound.

As for him, Chu Mu, pulling chestnuts from the fire was clearly impossible.

’He was neither qualified nor inclined to do so.’

’All he needed to do was play it safe and protect himself.’

’And how was he to do that?’

’By leaving. Leaving this town that he had nearly managed to build into a safe harbor.’

’He would have to step into another unfamiliar land, with unfamiliar people, unfamiliar affairs, and an unfamiliar environment...’

Chu Mu looked at the Light Curtain Panel in his field of vision. The data, item by item, was clear proof of his diligence since arriving in this world.

A diligence he had never possessed in his past life—the drive to study painstakingly...

And now, he had finally accumulated a small foundation.

The world was vast. As long as he remained in the mortal realm, he could go anywhere he pleased.

Under the night sky, Chu Mu walked alone down the street. His pace was unhurried, but his thoughts were racing...

...