Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 76: Garrison

As the bell rang, the battle between the two sides officially ended, and several first-tier mid-grade magic artifacts, summoned by their respective masters, transformed into streams of light and returned.

"Thank you both, fellow Daoists of the Chen family, for showing mercy. Otherwise, my brother and I would not have been able to hold out for even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Upon receiving the confirmation, Tong Bingfeng did not immediately leave the arena. Instead, he sincerely expressed his gratitude to the other party.

It seems that the reason he was able to survive this fight was truly because his opponent held back, rather than because of his own strength.

"Both of you are exceptionally capable and qualified to guard resource points in place of your families. Congratulations."

One shouldn't hit a smiling face, let alone a cultivator who is deliberately saving face for them. The stiff expressions of the two Chen family cultivators softened considerably.

"My brother and I will take our leave now. If you have the time in the future, you two fellow Daoists of the Chen clan are welcome to visit the Spirit Ice Mine to exchange cultivation experiences."

After extending the invitation and expressing his stance, Tong Bingfeng left the arena first. As for the situation of the spirit ice mine, he did not receive detailed information.

His humility and initiative in befriending the two Chen family cultivators stemmed from his desire to secure stable allies within the Chen family in the future, a sacrifice he was willing to make at any cost.

Although guarding resource points such as the Spirit Ice Mine can earn them a share of the spiritual items, they are still ultimately relying on the Chen family's resources. Therefore, it would be ideal to obtain some favorable information through a stable channel.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, what is the situation with this spirit ice mine? Why can't we choose which resource point we want to defend?"

After leaving the arena, Tong Bingfeng couldn't wait to ask the questions in his mind. After all, according to the rules set before the competition started, cultivators who stayed for one incense stick's time could choose to guard different resource points based on the length of their stay.

But no sooner had the two won than the old man at the ninth level of Qi Refining, who was in charge of hosting the competition, hastily announced that the resource point he was stationed at was the Spirit Ice Mine, leaving everyone completely baffled.

As the name suggests, the Spirit Ice Mine is a mine that can stably produce Spirit Ice, a unique mineral resource in the cultivation world of the Northern Ice Region.

Thanks to the unique ultra-low temperature environment of the Northern Frontier Ice Region, a few spiritual veins located deep within the ice region have been combined with the thick ice layer for a long time. Nourished by the spiritual energy of the spiritual veins, ordinary ice blocks undergo a transformation, sealing the spiritual energy within them. Over time, nourished by the long history, they turn into blocks of spiritual ice.

These spiritual ices have a wide range of uses. Stepping into the spiritual field can nourish and replenish moisture and spiritual energy, gradually improving the quality of the spiritual field.

In addition, because the spiritual energy in the spirit ice has evolved over a sufficient period of time, its purity is quite high. And because of its low value, some independent cultivators will try to buy it. After it melts, they can refine the spiritual energy inside to assist their own cultivation.

When Tong Bingfeng was in the early stages of Qi Refining, he worked as an ice harvester. Although ordinary ice was needed, spirit ice was naturally more valuable and could be exchanged for a greater number of spirit crystals.

The Spirit Ice Mine is a mine that specializes in producing high-quality Spirit Ice. Its higher price creates a wonderful complement to the ice harvesters.

"The Spirit Ice Mine is the only one among all the Tier 1 mid-grade resource points this time. The others are all resource points that require daily hard work. Fellow Daoist Tong, please rest assured."

"The only drawback is that this spirit ice mine is quite far from Ice Crystal Island. You and I will have to face the greed of demonic beasts and the covetous eyes of evil cultivators, so the danger is not small."

Liu Zong seemed to have a clear understanding of the situation, having obviously obtained fairly detailed information from Elder Meng before coming here. However, he did not elaborate on whether he could sustain himself for the duration of an incense stick burning.

"Fortune favors the bold. If it's a miniature spirit ice mine of high quality, it can produce at least a hundred pieces of first-grade low-to-mid-grade spirit ice every day."

As a rogue cultivator, he is not afraid of the risks from demonic beasts and evil cultivators. As long as there are enough rewards to help him go further on his future cultivation path, he will never be afraid of any battles or risks, even if it costs him his life.

A single piece of Tier 1 mid-grade spirit ice is publicly priced at one spirit stone, while three pieces of Tier 1 low-grade spirit ice are priced at one low-grade spirit stone. In fact, they are usually in short supply, and as long as production is stable, one can obtain a continuous supply of spirit stones.

Of course, this first-tier mid-grade spirit ice mine belongs to the Chen family, and most of the spirit ice produced must be handed over to them.

However, the remaining output was still a considerable fortune. After the two of them divided it according to the agreed ratio, it was still enough to meet their daily cultivation needs.

The competition on the stage continued without pause because of the two of them, but the subsequent struggles became even more intense.

Encouraged by the recruitment, the cultivators no longer hesitated to use high-value methods (except for spirit talismans). Fearing defeat, the Chen family cultivators increased their offensive intensity and frequency, and in some cases, they were even willing to pay a certain price to win.

The competition lasted for half a day, and three groups of cultivators successfully held out for the duration of an incense stick, thus passing the first round of recruitment assessment by the Chen family.

The remaining rogue cultivators who did not even last an incense stick's time were all injured to varying degrees. The most tragic one was the one who lost an arm and a leg. After the arena battles ended, these losers were forced to leave by the Chen family cultivators, without receiving any compensation or even time to recuperate.

Perhaps the only saving grace in this competition is that no cultivators perished. Although the external injuries were terrifying, they will eventually heal.

"Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the recruitment and obtaining the qualification to guard resource points. All resource points have been allocated by the end of the battle. This jade slip contains the specific locations of the resource points and the corresponding instructions for guarding them. Of course, the most important thing is the amount of spiritual items to be paid."

"Every month, the family will send cultivators to the resource points to collect spiritual items. If the task is not completed the first time, a late fee of 10% will be charged for the following month. If the task is not completed twice, it means that the cultivator is not suitable to be stationed at the resource point, and the family will immediately take them back. This is the bottom line, and there must be no delay whatsoever. Do you all understand?"

The battle ended successfully, and the Chen family elder, who was in charge of organizing this recruitment and was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, reappeared to emphasize some basic requirements.

He tossed down a jade slip, turned and left, showing absolutely no interest in the six independent cultivators from the three groups who had passed the assessment; it was all just a routine matter.

"We will obey the family's orders and will certainly complete the delivery of the spirit items as required, ensuring that the family's interests are not harmed in the slightest."

Tong Bingfeng and the others immediately and readily agreed. In any case, this was the most basic statement. From this day forward, they would also be considered vassal cultivators of the Chen family.

"The first round of recruitment is complete. You must leave immediately and complete your posting duties within two days."