Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 139 - 128: Guarding the Domain and Volunteering for the Bed
"As for the rest...
Luo He didn’t finish his sentence, leaving only a meaningful glance.
Zhang Yao understood instantly.
Since the rise of the Haihe Association, they have aggressively seized numerous interests inside and outside the Fang Continent, making fierce collisions with other noble families and sects inevitable.
Most of the miner slaves in Suiyu Mountain are likely people from minor sects and small noble families. After being defeated by the Haihe Association, their disciples were demoted to miner slaves, forced to work until their death.
These people are already in a desperate situation, naturally trying to revolt and escape whenever they have the chance, unwilling to sit and wait for death.
"No wonder a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is required to sit and guard Suiyu Mountain for a long time..."
Zhang Yao comprehended and asked about some details which Luo He diligently answered.
Guarding Suiyu Mountain is relatively leisurely overall. Large-scale miner slave revolts may not happen for several years, and strong enemy invasions are even rarer.
As for small-scale miner slave revolts, mine collapses, or someone stealing or robbing ores, as long as it doesn’t cause serious consequences, the people below can handle it themselves and report it afterward, so he doesn’t have to bother.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, please hold on."
Luo He cheerfully said:
"I have already sent a message with my Divine Thought, notifying a few supervisors below to come here and wait for a meeting."
"These mines are mainly managed by them. Once you meet them, we’ll calculate the accounts and inventory, which will count as the completion of the handover."
Zhang Yao nodded readily, chatting idly with Luo He about life in the mines and discussing some cultivation experiences.
A moment later.
"Greetings to Lord Luo He and Lord Qingxu."
In the hall, four mine supervisors deeply bowed, their demeanor very respectful.
"Mm, no need for formalities."
Zhang Yao nodded in acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping over the four supervisors.
These four, three men and one woman, all had Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, with varying ages, the youngest being a maiden.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu."
At the side, Luo He introduced each of the four supervisors:
"This is Lao Zhou, responsible for managing over a thousand miner slaves; this is Old Chen, in charge of matters related to mine production."
"Then there’s Zhang He, a master with excellent skills, responsible for purifying and refining Black Jade and Taibai Pure Gold ores."
Luo He paused for a moment, his tone slightly peculiar:
"And finally, this is Li Shuixian, Miss Li, responsible for storing and guarding the refined ores, a task of great responsibility." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Zhang Yao nodded in acknowledgment, politely saying:
"Thank you, supervisors."
"For the next ten years, I’ll be stationed here at Suiyu Mountain, hoping for your close cooperation to maintain the stability of this important place."
"We dare not, the lord overpraises us..."
The four supervisors echoed humbly, bowing with fear and trepidation.
"Alright, you may leave now."
After encouraging them a few more words, Zhang Yao dismissed them, but Luo He spoke:
"Miss Li, please stay."
"Yes."
The pretty Li Shuixian responded softly, while the other three supervisors bowed and withdrew.
Immediately, Li Shuixian took out the account book for the past ten years. Luo He and Zhang Yao verified it and, after confirming it to be correct, proceeded to the warehouse together.
This small mountain city on the main peak of Suiyu Mountain is covered with strict and powerful arrays, mainly serving as a refining workshop and warehouse.
Most of the over one hundred cultivators residing in the mountain city are under Master Zhang He, their daily work involving refining the two types of ores.
Suiyu Mountain also has dozens of overseers, with higher cultivation and stronger combat ability, living in the deep mountain mining areas.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, we’re here."
Luo He led Zhang Yao to a storeroom inside the mountain city.
He took half a command token from his sleeve and combined it with the half in Li Shuixian’s hand, channeling Magical Power and casting the appropriate Spell.
"Rumble..."
As rays of Spiritual Light flickered, the array gradually closed, with the door opening amidst roaring sounds.
Upon entering with Luo He, Zhang Yao found that although the warehouse wasn’t large, it was entirely made of Spiritual Gold, practically indestructible.
With layers of Protective Arrays, as long as there were no traitors, even Foundation Establishment Cultivators would find it hard to breach this small warehouse in a short time.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, please check."
Luo He pointed to two types of ores piled in the warehouse, smiling:
"This is the entire stock from the past year."
"If everything checks out, I’ll take them upon departure and deliver them back to the Cangjiang Water Mansion."
Zhang Yao nodded slightly, his Divine Thought scanning and completing the check instantly.
There were 124 pieces of Black Jade Ore and even fewer Taibai Pure Gold Ore, only 76 pieces - nearly a year’s stock.
These two types of ores were only preliminarily purified and refined, to be further refined by an Artifact Refining Master into Second-grade Spiritual Objects of great value.
Suiyu Mountain used to transport the refined ores once every ten years, but there were always people eyeing this stock, taking the risk to steal it; later it was changed to annual transportation, significantly reducing the risk.
"No problem."
After completing the check, Zhang Yao nodded decisively.
"That’s good."
Luo He continued smiling and proposed:
"I’m just about to leave, why not have a little gathering at my cave residence?"
"I’ll gladly accept the invitation."
Zhang Yao agreed willingly, accompanying Luo He back to the cave residence, while Li Shuixian, unable to disturb them, could only bite her lower lip and watch the two walk away.
After the two returned to the cave abode, they indulged in Spirit Wine and Jade Dew, exchanging cultivation experiences, and talked through the night until the early morning of the next day.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu."
Above the small mountain city, Luo He withdrew his gaze and sighed:
"For the next ten years, I’ll leave Suiyu Mountain to you."
"Luo Mou takes his leave, let’s meet again at next year’s Dharma Assembly."
"Alright, take care, Fellow Daoist Luo."
Zhang Yao bid farewell and watched Luo He’s Escape Light travel through the sea of clouds, soon disappearing into the horizon.
......
Within Suiyu Mountain.
The change of the stationed Foundation Establishment Cultivator caused a small commotion, but it soon calmed down.
Aside from the four main supervisors and other high-level members, the rest of the Qi Refining Cultivators didn’t even have the qualifications to meet Zhang Yao, and the order of the entire mine continued to run smoothly.
After Luo He left, the previous cave abode was vacated, and Zhang Yao moved in.
"The spiritual energy environment here is indeed subpar..."
In the Quiet Chamber of the cave abode, Zhang Yao opened his eyes and shook his head.
Suiyu Mountain is not a Spirit Vein location, the cultivation environment is poor, and the cultivators of the Haihe Association here are basically equivalent to being ’exiled’, with a bleak future.
The stationed Foundation Establishment Cultivator receives much better treatment, with an entire layer of Spirit Stone laid under the cave abode to set up a Spirit Gathering Array.
But the overall effect is only equivalent to a miniature Spirit Vein, far from the Cangjiang Water Mansion.
"Well, it’s only ten years anyway."
Zhang Yao quickly adjusted his mindset:
"Since cultivation speed is lacking, I might as well spend more time practicing Divine Soul Dao Skill and Yellow Talisman Daoist Skill to enhance combat power."
"Besides, the search for Six-sided True Blood might also start from the mines..."
He remembered Luo He mentioning that among the thousand miner slaves in Suiyu Mountain, there were Demon Cultivators present.
These Demon Cultivators may not be many, and their cultivation may not be high, but at least it’s a breakthrough point, preventing him from being completely clueless.
"However, looking at it presently, this matter seems quite challenging and requires careful planning."
Zhang Yao pondered in silence, thinking to himself.
For all Demon Cultivators, the first step in practicing Demon Race Technique is to modify their own bloodline, and this step requires the corresponding Demon Race True Blood for the technique.
This Demon Race True Blood either comes from demon beasts or from other Demon Cultivators of the same kind.
This means that the bloodlines of Demon Cultivators are very closely connected, with each one essentially backed by a tight-knit organization.
The problem is, these exposed and captured Demon Cultivators are mostly likely already abandoned by their organization, cutting off all ties.
To use them to track down Foundation Establishment Stage Demon Cultivators will require some special means.
"Among Demon Cultivators, in addition to the level of cultivation, the main thing is the quality of bloodlines."
"If only I had a way to discern the grade of Demon Cultivator bloodlines..."
Zhang Yao fell into deep thought, continuously contemplating feasible solutions.
"Lord."
Suddenly, a pleasant voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Li Shuixian is here to report to the Lord."
Zhang Yao returned to his senses, hearing the voice outside the cave abode, and frowned slightly.
By this time, he had been stationed at Suiyu Mountain for over a month. The other few supervisors were very well-behaved, reporting regularly, diligently, and never causing him any worry.
Only the warehouse supervisor Li Shuixian seemed to have some issue, finding excuses to come by every so often.
"Could it be that this person is a spy, deliberately probing my situation?"
Zhang Yao squinted, a thread of suspicion arising in his heart.
He waved his sleeves open the door to the cave abode, speaking nonchalantly:
"Come in."
"Yes."
Li Shuixian entered the cave abode, respectfully saluted, and produced an account book.
"Reporting to the Lord, this is the specific output after the refinement of Black Jade Ore last month, compared to the month before last..."
"Enough."
Zhang Yao waved his hand, staring at the young girl in front of him, his tone slightly cold:
"Miss Li, I find your recent actions to be quite suspicious."
"I don’t have so much leisure to beat around the bush with you. If you have any plot, just say it directly to save us both time, otherwise, don’t blame me for using my means."
Hearing Zhang Yao’s words, Li Shuixian turned pale, hurriedly kneeling on the ground, continuously saying:
"Lord, it’s a misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding!"
"I, I just..."
Her voice suddenly paused, after biting her lip, she lowered her head and said:
"I just admire the Lord’s heavenly appearance and wanted to get closer."
"If the Lord doesn’t mind, this young girl is willing to offer herself as a humble attendant, just hoping for the Lord’s kindness."
"Hmm?"
Zhang Yao was taken aback, his expression peculiar.
He completely did not expect that Li Shuixian would have this kind of thought.
"Could it be that I’ve gone too long without interacting deeply with women, that even my thinking has become sluggish?"
Zhang Yao muttered to himself, glancing down at Li Shuixian from above, his expression indifferent:
"Full of lies, not a word of truth."
"You probably said the same thing to Fellow Daoist Luo, didn’t you?"
