Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 79: Current Situation

This spirit ice mine is located deep within the ice domain, in a remote location teeming with demonic beasts. Once it loses the protection of the array, the consequences are unimaginable.

At that time, not to mention successfully mining spirit ice and earning extra income to supplement daily cultivation needs, the mere threat of monster attacks would be difficult to deal with.

Although the formation set up by the Chen family is only of the first-tier mid-grade level, it has the advantage of being able to powerfully conceal and hide one's aura.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, have you been waiting for a long time? During my subsequent formation, I was pursued by a first-grade superior Hundred Flower Snake, and only managed to save my life by sheer cunning."

"It is commendable that you, fellow Daoist, were able to survive and escape successfully amidst the pursuit and interception of the Crocodile Spirit Turtle."

Two full hours passed, and the sun was about to disappear behind the distant mountains in the icy northern frontier, before Liu Zong finally arrived, panting heavily, to meet up with them.

After briefly explaining why he was late, he didn't hold back in showering Tong Bingfeng with compliments and praise.

"It's just luck. It's getting late. The best course of action is for us to quickly activate our tokens, open the formation, and enter the spirit ice mine."

Although Tong Bingfeng had forcibly suppressed his dissatisfaction during the waiting period, there was still an unavoidable hint of urging in his words.

After all, in addition to the extreme low temperatures that corrode the ice zone at night, some monsters that are good at moving and hunting at night are also extremely troublesome.

"Fellow Daoist Tong is right. We should quickly open the mine and settle in. That's the most important thing. I was being presumptuous."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zong expressed his agreement and then eagerly took out the other half of the token, which was engraved with half of the character "Chen," from his storage bag.

"Tokens united, Chen Clan command, location confirmed, grand formation activated, proceed."

The two cultivators strictly followed the instructions in the jade slip, simultaneously reciting simple incantations in spoken language, using the magical power in their dantian for control.

The two halves of the token rose into the air from their respective hands, intertwined, one above the other, and merged into one, bursting out a bright light from the middle of the character "Chen".

This beam of light seemed to have an innate ability to locate the great formation. It transformed into a pillar of light and struck an inconspicuous ice surface from a distance.

The instant the beam of light met the ice surface, it seemed as if it were the key to unlocking some mysterious entity. A dark opening, more than ten feet in diameter, opened smoothly, and a unique chill and rich spiritual energy poured out from it without reservation.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, this is the entrance to the Spirit Ice Mine. The spiritual energy here is abundant, so we must not delay. Quickly enter the mine, seal the formation, and prevent it from attracting the attention of the surrounding demonic beasts."

In terms of being more knowledgeable, Liu Zong was undoubtedly superior. The moment the Spirit Ice Mine Formation was activated, while Tong Bingfeng was still in a daze, his reminder and urging had already reached his ears.

At the same time, his eyes also shot out highly vigilant gazes, looking around at the movements within a radius of several feet, fearing that the leakage of spiritual energy might attract some of the demonic beasts lurking in this place.

"Fellow Daoist, please go first; I will cover the rear."

As a qualified cultivator, one would naturally not lose one's mind because of such a slight shock, and would respond immediately and make more reasonable arrangements.

After several collaborations, the two cultivators had developed a basic level of trust and understanding, and they headed towards the mine one after the other.

Of course, as independent cultivators, seeing and about to settle in a real mine for the first time, their faces were filled with uncontrollable joy.

"Great formation, close."

Once the two successfully entered the mine, they immediately sealed off the great formation, doing everything they could to minimize the loss of spiritual energy.

After all, besides mining spirit ice, the pure water-attribute spiritual energy in the spirit ice veins is also essential for the two cultivators' daily cultivation.

The more concentrated the spiritual energy, the more obvious the effect of circulating it through the Great Heavenly Cycle will be. Over time, this will also be a significant amount for cultivation.

"The spiritual energy emitted by this mid-grade first-tier miniature spirit ice vein is in no way inferior to that of a high-grade first-tier spirit vein, and its purity is even better. This is truly an unexpected delight."

Feeling the rich spiritual energy around him, Liu Zong, who was also a rogue cultivator, was also immersed in a strange state of happiness.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, apart from a mid-grade first-level concealment and spirit-hiding array and two simple stone caves, there are no other arrangements in this spirit ice mine. The rest will probably need to be arranged by you and me."

Tong Bingfeng was also satisfied with the rich spiritual energy here, but he did not immerse himself in it. Instead, he remained rational and looked around, revealing a troubled expression in his words.

Because no family cultivators were prepared to be stationed here, the Chen family managed this place rather haphazardly. The invisibility and spirit-concealing array was hastily set up with twelve array flags, and the stone chamber was dug out from the mine and could be used for the daily rest of the cultivators.

However, both stone chambers were completely empty, not even a simple futon remained.

"Since the Chen family is willing to release the spirit ice mine to us rogue cultivators to guard, they will naturally not invest any additional spirit materials. You and I can procure them one by one in the future. All the consumption of spirit materials is just mining some spirit ice. All we need to do is work hard and spend a little time."

"This spirit ice mine does not belong to you or me, Fellow Daoist Tong. Feel free to start mining. Apart from handing it over to the Chen family, the rest is ours."

Liu Zong clearly had anticipated the situation here, and the ruthlessness in his words was undisguised.

"Indeed, you and I are just independent cultivators after all. Once we have mined most of this spirit ice mine, we can naturally hand it over to the Chen family."

A bright light flashed in Tong Bingfeng's eyes, instantly banishing all worries from his mind.

The original planned output was based on the rational and orderly mining of spirit ice. Although the output from this mining method was limited, it was conducive to the long-term and sustainable output of the entire vein and would not affect the vein during the mining process.

Within the cultivation world of the Northern Frontier Ice Domain, due to the extreme cold climate and the sealing of the ice surface, the number of spirit mineral veins is already limited, and each one is naturally extremely precious, with people wishing they could extend their mining period indefinitely.

Therefore, the kind of violent mining they planned was extremely rare, after all, the difference between a watermelon and a sesame seed is obvious.

However, the Chen family was unwilling to give up anything and wanted to gain most of the benefits for free, which the two of them naturally refused to agree to.

Tong Bingfeng and Liu Zong were both rogue cultivators. From the moment they embarked on the path of cultivation, they had been vying for meager spiritual items in various ways to barely sustain their cultivation. As a result, they both possessed an unusual greed, and they hit it off immediately on this matter.

"Starting tomorrow, you and I will take turns mining spirit ice, while the other cultivator will find some trading points nearby."