Chapter 44: Chen Ming, Am I Digging My Own Grave?
This was a mine pit located an unknown number of meters underground. Before Chen Ming and the others arrived, people with grim expressions had already begun lining up to receive tools.
The mine cave was extremely large, illuminated entirely by rows of vertical soul tool lamps. The rocky ground had been roughly leveled by brute force, and several large wooden counters stood in a line. On the ground nearby were several broad platform scales, similar to the scrap collection stations from Chen Ming's previous life, clearly used for weighing ore.
There were 3 types of items being distributed at the tool collection point: a mining pick, a back basket, and a safety helmet with a headlamp.
Anyone who collected all 3 would head straight into one of the mine tunnels and begin digging. Since the minerals near the outer edges had long been exhausted, the miners had no choice but to follow the shafts deeper and deeper underground.
As Chen Ming watched the "leader" of his group speak with several nearby Spirit Masters of similar status, it was clear they held the same role in other caves.
Under the supervision of a manager-like figure, Chen Ming and the others were forced into a line to receive their tools.
Chen Ming's body had developed quickly because of his Spirit, but that did not change the fact that he was not yet even 8 years old this year. His height was only a little over 1.5 meters, making him look rather small.
The basket on his back was nearly a meter tall and more than half a meter wide. If he curled up, he could almost fit inside it entirely.
Newcomers like Chen Ming were singled out and arranged in a row. Once their number reached a certain point, they were taught the rules here and shown what kind of ore they were meant to mine.
"Our mine serves the Consecrated Elders. After the ore here is refined, it can produce rare materials that assist cultivation. Within the Holy Cult, the Eight Great Elders and the Twelve Consecrated Elders are all Titled Douluo. You should feel honored to serve such great figures!"
"Look at what's in my hand. This dark-brown crystal is the raw ore. Every one of you must collect at least 100 jin of mineral ore each day."
"Working for the Consecrated Elders means there is no shortage of benefits. Besides being able to exchange extra ore for money, the mine provides 2 meals a day, one at noon and one in the evening. Each person gets one bowl of rice, one piece of salted meat, one dish of pickled vegetables, and one bowl of soup. At the very least, you won't starve to death!"
"Sir, how are we supposed to know when it's noon and when it's evening?" one of the newcomers asked, clearly confused.
"I don't care how you tell the time. If you're late, then you don't eat." The supervisor waved his hand impatiently.
"Since you already know what the ore looks like, get moving. If you ruin the mood of the Consecrated Elders, be careful your heads stay on your shoulders."
The supervisor cracked the whip in his hand as a warning.
Chen Ming took the first step, carrying his equipment deeper into the mine to search for ore. Seeing him move, the others also ducked into the different mine tunnels one after another.
Still, Chen Ming felt somewhat awkward inside, because the moment he saw that unrefined piece of raw ore, he immediately remembered where he had seen it before.
In Zhang Peng's cultivation field, the entire floor had been paved with crystals refined from this very material.
Back then, Chen Ming had casually asked Zhang Peng about it out of curiosity, and Zhang Peng had told him that these crystals were called yin wind stones, a special mineral that appeared only in small amounts within ore veins rich in yin-cold aura. They were named so because the energy they released would affect the surrounding environment, and when a Spirit Master cultivated there, the energy drawn into the body would naturally produce a yin wind.
A cultivation field paved with this ore could effectively suppress Qi Deviation and stimulate the growth of mental strength. The only drawback was that the aura of the ore would also wear away at a person's mind. If one cultivated in it for too long, mental problems would appear.
Even so, a mineral that could assist Spirit Master cultivation was still extremely precious. Shrek and the various great sects throughout the continent all collected and refined this material to create cultivation fields, but most of them only possessed a very small amount of yin wind stones.
Chen Ming had never known where Zhang Peng's floor full of yin wind stones had come from before, but now he did.
As for why the output of this ore had suddenly increased so much that local thugs had started dragging people in to mine it, Chen Ming also happened to have a rough guess.
Because during a casual conversation not long ago, Zhang Peng had seemed to mention that he wanted to prepare a suitable, exclusive cultivation field for him.
With a trace of awkwardness, Chen Ming walked deeper into the mine while wearing his safety helmet. Since most of the ore in the easier sections had already been mined out, he could only continue deeper while leaving marks behind to remember the way.
At first, Chen Ming did not feel much. But as he gradually advanced, he began to feel a subtle sense of discomfort.
As Chen Ming moved and circulated his spirit power, certain elements in the surrounding air were activated. The airflow caused by his movement stirred the chaotic energy around him, and it gradually formed a wind-like current that began to circulate through the mine tunnel.
If the yin wind stones in Zhang Peng's cultivation chamber had been refined and produced a pure yin wind that pierced straight into the Spirit, then the wind in this mine was a vile wind formed from stagnant Qi and a mixture of chaotic energies.
Yin wind stones caused mental damage because they were too pure, gradually stripping away emotional fluctuation and making the cultivator lose their sense of reality. This vile wind, however, also attacked the mind, but it provided almost no tempering effect at all. Instead, the mixed energy within it battered the mind continuously.
If refined yin wind stone was like water with a purity above ninety-nine percent, then this vile wind was like a muddy pool mixed from dozens of different energies. It did not merely damage the mind, it also caused negative energy to build up in the physical body.
Still, compared to mental damage, the Evil Spirit Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult generally possessed a certain degree of resistance to negative energy accumulating in their flesh. So for Spirit Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult, this problem, which would have been a disaster for normal people, was not especially serious. At the very least, it would not leave behind physical sequelae.
But as long as one moved or used spirit power here, the vile wind would be stirred up. Although it could be resisted with spirit power, the more spirit power one used, the more easily a chain reaction would be triggered.
Low-level Spirit Masters inevitably had to endure the vile wind here simply by moving around. Their minds would be worn down over time, their bodies would accumulate congestion and hidden damage, and even their spirit power would gradually become impure.
No wonder they had to force Evil Spirit Masters into mining. Only Evil Spirit Masters could somewhat endure this kind of environment while still weak.
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