Aspiring to the Immortal Path Chapter 9: The remaining traces of the evening

After the conversation, Qiu Shuyu led Tang Jie and Zhang Taixu up the mountain.

The Shimen Sect had already arranged a rich luncheon for Tang and Zhang in the sect and entertained them attentively.

After three rounds of drinking, Tang Jie gradually understood some of the local conditions.

There were originally three sects of cultivating immortals in the Yongsui Mountain area. However, since the discovery of the mineral vein, the Shimen sect has grown in power and gradually suppressed the other two sects. One of them was even forced to leave the place. But with the depletion of the mineral veins, the good days of the Shimen Sect are coming to an end.

At the banquet, Qiu Shuyu was even more lamented when he said this, and said to Tang Jie: "The Shimen Sect has indeed gained a lot of benefits from relying on this mine over the years. However, in order to protect the mine, it has also offended many villains. When the Yuhua Sect wanted to steal the mine, our Shimen Sect fought three battles with them, killing and injuring countless disciples. Even I myself suffered heavy losses before I could hold on to the mine. The heart of my Shimen Sect and the Xiyue Sect can be learned from the world. Ah!"

The Yuhua Sect was the sect that was forced out by the Shimen Sect. Tang Jie knew that the Shimen Sect had indeed fought several battles with the Yuhua Sect. As for whether it was to protect the mine, it was hard to say. Judging from the actual situation, it is more like fighting for control of the Yongsui Mountain area.

As far as the Moon Washing Sect is concerned, it doesn’t matter who controls the mine. Anyway, they only need to give them 80% of the profits. Even if the Yuhua Sect did seize the mineral vein, they would only seize the Shimen Sect's share. No matter how brave they were, they would not dare to take away the Xiyue Sect's share. Therefore, even if the Shimen Sect is fighting to defend the mine, they are not fighting for the Xiyue Sect, but for themselves. Qiu Shuyu said this just to show his loyalty and take the opportunity to ask for a price.

Sure enough, after speaking, Qiu Shuyu said: "But recently I heard that the Yuhua sect is still evil and has been waiting for an opportunity to retaliate. Now that the mine veins will be exhausted, I am afraid that the Shimen sect will have difficulty maintaining its current family business in the future and will inevitably shrink. I'm afraid that these thieves will be able to take advantage of it."

As he spoke, he looked like he was sighing.

Tang Jie was amused in his heart and said: "The defeated general is not brave enough. He is definitely no match for the Shimen Party. Headmaster Qiu is too modest."

But there was no hint of a conversational style that could be caught by Qiu Shuyu.

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Qiu Shuyu could only smile awkwardly and said nothing.

After a while, he was full of wine and food. Tang Jie wiped his mouth and said: "I have eaten, let's get down to business. Please also ask the headmaster to take me to the mine."

Qiu Shuyu said hurriedly: "Master, why should you be anxious? It's not too late to play with our Shimen sect for a few days before going to see it."

Tang Jie shook his head: "No, I still have things to do. It's best to finish them today."

As he spoke, he stood up.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Qiu Shuyu had no choice but to agree. Before leaving, Qiu Shuyu stuffed a mustard bag into Tang Jie. Tang Jie opened it and saw that it was filled with spiritual stones. The value was estimated to be no less than 100,000. .

Tang Jie smiled and returned the mustard bag.

Qiu Shuyu said hurriedly: "This is just the Shimen Sect's intention, and it has no intention of bribery."

But Tang Jie just shook his head firmly. Qiu Shuyu could only take it back and took him to the location of the mineral vein.

The Lingshi vein is located at Baile Peak of Yongsui Mountain, only five miles away from Shimen Peak. Qiu Shuyu, Tang Jie and others flew all the way and soon arrived at the mine. From a distance, they could see a crowd of people at the mine vein.

Just when Qiu Shuyu was about to drop down there, Tang Jie smiled and said, "Don't rush to alarm them. I'll think about it and check the situation first."

When Qiu Shuyu heard what he said, he could only nod his head in agreement. Everyone stayed far away and approached on foot.

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The entrance to the mine is always the busiest place.

A middle-aged scribe with a moustache is sitting behind a desk. There is a long line of people in front of the desk, all miners in ragged clothes holding mining picks. A boy in his teens.

Everyone also carried a basket on their backs, and the miners took out pieces of jade-colored stones of different sizes from the baskets, which were spiritual stones. These are only raw stones that need to be polished and processed before they can be used. However, through the thin stone coat, you can still feel the energy fluctuations contained in them.

The miners handed the rough stones to the middle-aged scribe, and someone nearby came forward to weigh them.

"Twenty-four kilograms of low-quality ore, and one kilogram of medium-grade ore, can earn two coins and nine cents of silver." The middle-aged scribe said, counted out some copper coins and handed them to the other party.

The miner was dissatisfied and shouted: "This medium-quality piece obviously weighs two kilograms, why is it one kilogram?"

The middle-aged scribe snorted coldly: "Shut up, you useless thing. If you keep making noise, I'll tell you to get out!"

Lingshi mines are also divided into qualities. According to the standards defined by the six major sects, they are divided into four grades: the upper, middle and lower grades. This is also the standard for collecting ore. Among them, low-grade ore is the cheapest, and only one tael of silver is given for every ten kilograms of rough stone. Medium-grade ore is 5 taels, top-grade ore is 3 taels, and top grade 20 taels.

In the cultivation world, ten kilograms of low-grade raw stone can produce about one low-grade spiritual stone. The price of one low-grade spiritual stone is about two hundred spiritual coins. Even if the black market price is not taken into account, the conversion ratio is one to two thousand.

This is the difference between cultivators and mortals. Between immortals and mortals, the former will always exploit the latter's labor force.

Looking for spiritual mines is an extremely tiring and dangerous task. Mines are never safe, and there are always various risks hidden inside. Even cultivators who enter often encounter unpredictable disasters. This is why mining is Everything is left to mortals. For most poor families, mining is dangerous, but the benefits are high. If they are lucky and get one or two good mines, they may be able to escape the fate of poverty. Therefore, they are willing to risk their lives in the mines, but even so, they will still be exploited from all aspects.

As for the middle-aged scribes' embezzlement, it is also inevitable for the mine foremen to embezzle.

Under normal working conditions, it is not a problem for miners to get an average of five silver coins a day, but three deductions and two deductions often leave only twenty or three coins.

At this moment, the miner knew there was nothing he could do, so he could only leave angrily. Behind the miner was a young man, also carrying a mining basket. He came to the scribe's case and tipped the mining basket over, but a lot of rough stones rolled out.

You can't tell that this guy is thin, but he has dug a lot of mines.

When the scribe saw it, he smiled for the first time: "Zanhen, the harvest today is not bad."

The young man just looked at the scribe coldly and said nothing.

The scribe's face suddenly darkened. Before the man weighing the weight next to him could speak, the middle-aged scribe said: "Ten pounds of inferior grade, give me one penny."

As soon as these words came out, the crowd was in an uproar.

Even if you look at the rough stones poured out by this young man, you can see that they weigh at least thirty kilograms, and two of them have a special luster and are obviously of medium variety. However, the middle-aged scribe wiped them all away in one gulp, and only counted them as ten. It's so low-grade, it's extremely dark.

Some miners behind me said angrily: "This is simply giving people no way to survive."

"Who said that there is no way for people to survive?" The middle-aged scribe snorted coldly: "One penny is enough for his brother and sister to eat and drink for at least three days. If he offended Mr. Jin, he could have survived. There are not many people there now. Xi Canhen, you should go back and think about it carefully, and send your sister to Mr. Jin as soon as possible. Things may turn around. Otherwise, I can collect your mine for one penny today. I may not even give you a penny tomorrow!"

The young man just looked at the middle-aged scribe coldly and said, "Wu Heixin, you are dreaming."

"What did you say?" The middle-aged scribe was furious when he heard this.

He presided over the mine collection in this mine. He had always done corrupt things and squandered the miners' hard-earned money. He had long been known as a ruthless scholar, but no one had ever dared to speak against him to his face. Unexpectedly, he was called out by this young man. He was furious in his heart and wanted to teach this boy a lesson. However, he remembered this young man's reputation and knew that this young man was brave and had never been afraid of death. He had done a lot of things with the foremen in the mine. He wanted to start a fight and gain some reputation. Nowadays, those foremen who specialize in exploitation are not very willing to provoke him, and he is the least searched. That is why they can hand over more ore every time.

I am too close to this kid now. If I really want to fight to my disadvantage, I have to be patient.

The middle-aged scribe thought about it, glared at him, and the young man took the money and left.

Seeing that the boy was far away, the middle-aged scribe shouted: "Are you losers blind? Didn't you see that kid insulting me? Why don't you take him down!"

Several big men with round waists and thick arms behind him had already rushed towards the young man at the same time.

The young man named Xi Canhen turned around and ran away. Seeing that he was about to run, several thugs chased him even more closely. Just when they were about to catch up, the young man suddenly dodged and grabbed an iron pillar beside him. He spun around in the air and kicked a strong man in the face.

This roundhouse kick was so powerful that it knocked the strong man directly to the ground.

The young man landed lightly, turned around and ran again. He suddenly grabbed a small stone platform next to him, threw it back violently, and hit another strong man's feet. Of the four strong men who were chasing, only two were left, but this obstruction also put the young man into a critical situation.

A strong man grabbed the boy first and said with a ferocious smile: "Good boy, let's see where you run this time!"

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, the young man turned around and grabbed the pearl with a second dragon, poking him in the eye. This move was urgent and cruel, as if he was going to dig out his eyes. The big man covered his eyes in pain and screamed wildly, then stopped his hand and backed away.

At the same time, another strong man punched the young man in the back.

The young man staggered out after being beaten by the strong man, with blood pouring from his mouth. The black-skinned man hugged the young man with his arms wide open, and held the young man with his arms like iron hoops, unable to move any longer. It kept tightening, and it looked like it was trying to strangle the boy's arms.

The two strong men who had been accepted earlier also came up to meet him. Looking at their angry looks, they almost wanted to tear the young man into pieces. At this moment, a ray of brilliance suddenly flashed across the young man's body. At the same time as this brilliance emerged, the arms of the strong man holding him had been stretched open. At the same time, the young man flew up his legs and kicked the two people who were coming towards him, and knocked them down with another double flying kick. , his head hit back and hit the bridge of the nose of the strong man hugging him. The man in pain wailed and covered his face.

All four people were hit on the face. At this moment, they all covered their faces and screamed in pain, which made everyone stunned.

The young man then walked back to the middle-aged scribe and said coldly: "Wu Heixin, before Mr. Jin kills me, I can actually kill you first. So..."

He waved to the scribe. The middle-aged scribe trembled and offered the embezzled silver again.

The young man looked at the silver, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Because you still want to collect the ore, I won't knock you unconscious."

"What?" The middle-aged scribe was stunned. The young man punched the middle-aged scribe in the stomach, causing his face to become deformed in pain.

Wu Wenshi twisted his face and said: "Hello...hello..."

He screamed: "Guard, guard!"

Several miners have already pushed the young man: "Zhanhen, hurry up, you are guilty of hitting Wu Heixin, the iron guards to protect the mine are coming."

The young man nodded, turned around and ran away.

Exiting the mine entrance, two black-armored puppets have appeared. They are Xuanjia soldiers of the Xiyue Sect.

A Shimen Sect disciple also appeared with the Xuanjia soldiers. When he saw the young man, he snorted coldly: "Xi Canhen, it's you again, you really know how to cause trouble."

With a wave of his hand, two black armor soldiers were already chasing the young man.

When the young man saw this, he turned around and ran away. His speed was so fast that he couldn't catch up to the two black armor soldiers.

The Shimen sect disciple gradually showed impatience in his eyes. He took out a large sword without an edge, pinched the seal and pointed at the young man: "Go!"

The big sword roared loudly in the air and rushed away in pursuit.

Although this sword has no edge, it carries a powerful force. Once it collides with it, even stones can be smashed into powder, and the young man will never survive.

The young man was shocked when he saw this, but no matter how hard he dodge, he couldn't escape. He was about to die under the sword, when suddenly his eyes flashed, and a figure appeared in front of him.

A hand appeared across the edge and grasped the sharp sword. It was strong and steady. The sword made an unwilling low roar, but it could not get rid of the entanglement of that hand.

The young man narrowly escaped death and was lying on the ground panting.

Only then did he realize that a young man was standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.

"Who are you, so brave!" The Shimen Sect disciple was very angry when he saw someone trying to disrupt his spellcasting.

Just as he was about to step forward to teach him a lesson, he saw a few more people appear, and the leader looked at the Shimen disciples in shock.

He first rubbed his eyes to confirm that he had seen it correctly, then he knelt down on the ground like pushing a mountain of gold toppling a jade pillar, and shouted: "Disciple Chu Junyu has seen the master, the second uncle, the third master, and the fourth ancestor. Great uncle!"

With this call, everyone around was stunned.

It was actually the headmaster of the Shimen Sect who arrived in person?

To those mortals, a sect leader like Qiu Shuyu is no different from a god-like existence.

The next moment there was a sound of cheering, and everyone was kneeling down one after another.

Then I heard two banging sounds.

But the two puppets were still chasing the boy, but they were knocked away by Tang Jie with two punches. At the same time, they closed the control circle of the black armor soldiers, making them unable to move. Then they said: "Before kneeling next time, remember to first Stop what needs to be stopped."

Chu Junyu blushed and said angrily: "Who are you? How dare you..."

"Shut up!" Qiu Shuyu had scolded: "This is the envoy of Xiyue, the Tang Dynasty's master, and you are not polite."

"Sir Xiyue?" Chu Junyu was startled and hurriedly said to Tang Jie, "I have met Mr. Tang."

Tang Jie Shi Ran came over and said, "No need to be polite, you look like you are quite busy."

Chu Junyu said hurriedly: "I dare not, it is true that these unruly people love to cause trouble too much. They know how to make trouble all day long. If there is no thunder, they will repeat it frequently."

Tang Jie nodded: "If there is no thunder, I agree with this statement. The more people there are, the easier it is to cause trouble. This is true."

Chu Junyu was overjoyed when he heard that he agreed with what he said.

"But..."

This just made Chu Junyu's heart fall to the bottom immediately.

Tang Jie said leisurely: "Is it really the way to solve the problem without distinguishing between good and bad, without asking right from wrong, and regardless of the root cause?"

Chu Junyu and the middle-aged scribe were trembling with fear. Tang Jie's words clearly meant that the middle-aged scribe was the source of the problem.

Sure enough, some thoughtful miners shouted when they heard this: "Yes, it's Wu Heixin, he exploits us every day, scrapes the ground three feet away, and is extremely unscrupulous."

Wu Hei was shocked, thinking that something was wrong, and was about to ask for mercy, but Tang Jie raised his hand: "I am not Master Qingtian, and I am not here to investigate the miners' life. If you have any grievances, don't worry. Shout to me."

As soon as these words came out, everyone felt chilled again, but Wu Hei felt relieved. Even Qiu Shuyu couldn't help but praise Tang Jie for his ability to handle things and his lack of power.

In fact, the issue of undermining miners occurs everywhere, so it may not be unusual here.

In a storehouse of rice grains, there must be moths; in a full storehouse, there must be rats.

As far as the upper sect of the Xian family is concerned, none of the subordinates are honest, and corruption of ink is inevitable. In this case, instead of looking for something that is not greedy, it is better to look for something that is useful, not to mention that there are other wonderful uses at critical moments.

This Wu Xiucai is flexible and easy to use. He never forgets to make offerings every year, so he has been using it to this day.

Although Tang Jie is not responsible for the affairs here, for the sake of his superior, Qiu Shuyu will definitely not protect Wu Xiucai and offend Tang Jie for a mortal, but in his heart he must despise his excessive justice.

Now that Tang Jie didn't do this, Qiu Shuyu had a great impression of him.

"But..." Unexpectedly, Tang Jie added these three words in a protracted tone.

As soon as these words came out, Wu Heixin was certainly shocked. Even Qiu Shuyu couldn't help but smile bitterly. Can't you, kid, talk properly? Can you stop breathing so heavily?

Tang Jie said: "In any case, the miners are also the people under Wen Xin's rule and are protected by our Xiyue Sect. If the people's lives are too poor, wouldn't it also show that we, the Xiyue Sect, are incompetent?"

As soon as this big hat appeared, everyone changed their minds.

Tang Jie has already said: "Moreover, this kid must be greedy a lot. If we send someone to check, we will find that his family's wealth is very huge..."

He didn't say any more. Qiu Shuyu understood what he meant and laughed loudly: "What Mr. Tang said is that sometimes we have to give an explanation to the people. I will re-appoint someone to take charge of the ore collection. As for the As for this person, go back and check how much benefit he got, and just confiscate it."

Then he lowered his voice and said: "Young Master has done a great job for us in discovering the huge corruption. I must be grateful."

As he said this, he held out three fingers, meaning that after ransacking Wu Xiucai's home, 30% of the benefits would go to Tang Jie.

Tang Jie smiled and said nothing.

This time, he accepted the money unceremoniously.

The face of Wu Xiucai changed greatly: "Master Qiu, this is not allowed!"

Over the years, he has collected minerals for the Shimen Sect. Although he has gained a lot of benefits, a considerable part of it has been given to the Shimen Sect, Zhang Taixu and others. Now Qiu Shuyu wants to collect it all for him at once, which is tantamount to giving up He pleads guilty.

What he doesn’t know is that in the eyes of the Shimen Sect, people like him are like pigs that can be slaughtered after being fattened. Eighty percent of the benefits gained from the mine will be handed over to the Xiyue Sect, while the benefits gained from Wu Xiucai can be kept by himself.

From this point of view, Wu Xiucai is a useful tool. Through his greed for ink and marrow, the Shimen Sect can get a lot of extra benefits, but at best it will be accused of lax supervision. It will not be considered as a due contribution by the Xiyue Sect.

The arrival of Tang Jie just made Wu Xiucai unlucky earlier. Without him, the pig would have been killed sooner or later.

After dealing with Wu Xiucai at this moment, Tang Jie came to the miners and said loudly: "I, Tang Jie, have been ordered by the Xiyue Sect to come to explore the mines and need a guide. Come forward to understand the situation in the mines. , if you perform well, you will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver."

As soon as these words came out, many people were immediately moved and expressed that they could be the guide. The young man from before also stepped forward. He was right next to Tang Jie, so it was easy to speak. He said directly: "No one is more familiar with this mine than me, but if you want to use me as your guide, I have a condition."

Tang Jie looked at the young man: "I just saved you, are you going to negotiate terms with me?"

The young man's face turned red: "I don't want your money, but I want you to promise me something. This mine is full of forks and dangers, and no one is more familiar with it than me. If you don't believe me, ask them. Who has mined the most here in the past few years!"

If he said that if you ask them if I am the most familiar with them, most of the miners will shout that I am no worse than you. But when he asked who mines the most, all the miners immediately fell silent. Obviously, in this matter , no one can compare to the young man.

Tang Jie nodded: "It sounds like you really have your wits about you. What do you want?"

The young man bravely said: "The young master of the Jin family has taken a fancy to my sister and wants to take her as his concubine. You must be a great person. I want you to help me deal with the Jin family."

Tang Jie turned around and asked loudly: "Who are the Jin family?"

Zhang Taixu replied: "There is a mortal family in this area. There are many shops in the nearby towns that are run by his family. He has some thugs under him, including a spiritual master. He is quite powerful and can be regarded as A well-known local tyrant."

Although this last sentence is a bit superfluous, it is based on Tang Jie's needs.

Tang Jie nodded, turned to the young man and said, "I can only guarantee that he will not get your sister, and you must also agree to one condition."

The two of them are addicted to making demands on each other.

The young man asked: "What conditions?"

Tang Jie has taken the young man aside, whispered in his ear: "Let you open the treasure or secret book of Jade Gate."

As soon as these words came out, the young man's face changed drastically, and he immediately realized that his previous move when he was surrounded by four strong men showed some clues, and the man in front of him actually saw it. If people knew that he could actually practice, they would immediately ruthlessly rob and kill without a word. Thinking of this, Tang Jie's face was filled with fear.

But Tang Jie still looked at him with a smile, as if telling him that he would not take away his treasure, but would only exchange it.

The young man calmed down and finally said: "Then I have to add a condition."

This is really adding conditions and adding flowers.

Tang Jie asked: "What?"

"Teach me how to cultivate immortality. ~IndoMTL.com~ This is not difficult, but it also depends on the value of the thing. The higher the value, the more I can do for you."

The young man secretly put something into Tang Jie's hand.

As soon as he got this thing, Tang Jie was shocked and asked in a low voice: "Where did you get it?"

"In the mine." The boy replied: "But I am the only one who knows where that place is."

Tang Jie nodded and put away the things calmly: "The matter of cultivating Taoism is taken care of by me."

"What about the Jin family?"

"There will be no more Kims."

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ps: The football playing activity organized by Zongheng this time has relatively large monthly tickets, and the amount is given to the author. Friends who have tips can use this to support more. Thank you everyone.