Chapter 3584 — The Stolen Spirit Jade Incident

Every newcomer present drew a sharp breath! Some had indeed been entertaining that very thought, but Meng Jueming's words drenched them in cold sweat. Once the meridians in one's hands and feet were crippled, one would be a complete cripple for the rest of one's life, with no hope of cultivating ever again. For experts of the Heavenly Rank like them, that was far more terrifying than death itself!

Whether one cultivated internal or external techniques, life on Cloudstep Island would thereafter be worse than a dog's.

"And let me add one more thing: this rule applies not only inside the spirit-jade mines but outside them as well. In the past, a newcomer once foolishly stole someone else's spirit jade, and the outcome was exactly the same!" Meng Jueming let out a sinister chuckle, yet his meaningful gaze lingered on Wei Zhao. Only after a moment did he wave his hand and say, "All right, disperse. Those who signed up to enter the mines, assemble here tomorrow morning!"

Wei Zhao cast Meng Jueming a puzzled glance. That meaningful smile told him instinctively that something was afoot, but he could not see what it was. All he could do was remain secretly vigilant and deal with matters one step at a time.

"Junior Brother Lin, you may have made the wrong choice in signing up." Brother Kubi sighed beside him. "Even if you fail to mine any spirit jade, you will at least have wasted your cultivation time for nothing. Before long, your own cultivation will fall further and further behind..."

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai were equally perplexed. Mining under Meng Jueming was bound to be a losing proposition; even they could see that clearly. They could not believe that Wei Zhao, who was far more decisive than they were, had failed to see it.

"There is no need for you to worry. I know what I am doing. I simply want to see the spirit-jade mine. Think about it: the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth there must be abundant. Even if I do not mine anything, cultivating inside would still be well worth it!" Wei Zhao offered no further explanation and merely said this.

"Exactly!" Brother Kubi slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened. "How did I not think of that? The spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth in the spirit-jade mine is indeed abundant. It may not compare with the finest grottoes, but it is still better than most. It should certainly be a little stronger than your Grotto No. 14, Junior Brother Lin! Still, you ought to think it through. If you fail to mine even a single piece of spirit jade for a long time, they will not let you go in again. So this trick can only be used once... And you cannot sit cross-legged and cultivate peacefully in there. You will have to cultivate while mining, which will make the results much worse."

"If it can be used, I might as well use it first." Wei Zhao gave a wry smile.

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai both felt somewhat embarrassed. Wei Zhao had given the better grottoes to them, while he himself was going to cultivate in the spirit-jade mine. That would indeed be hard on him.

One had to understand that the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth in the spirit-jade mine might even be comparable to that in Grotto No. 10 at the foot of the mountain. Yet no one could sit there motionless and cultivate in peace; one had to keep working.

Thus, with one's attention divided between two tasks, the effectiveness of cultivation was drastically reduced. That was why ordinary people would rather take Grotto No. 13 than go to the spirit-jade mine.

It was simply that Wei Zhao's Grotto No. 14 was truly too poor. Perhaps that was why he had resorted to this desperate measure.

"Brother Lin, why don't we go mine instead? You can still come stay in our grotto..." Qiao Hongcai and Xiao Che exchanged a glance and spoke at the same time.

"No need. Besides, if I tried to change it now, Senior Brother Meng certainly would not be pleased. He would only find an excuse to make trouble for me. You do not want to see me get scolded, do you?" Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Well..." Qiao Hongcai and Xiao Che thought it over and realized that he was indeed right.

"All right, I will head back first. You two should return and cultivate as well!" Wei Zhao nodded and bade the three farewell before turning back to his own grotto. He was rather eager to carry out the spirit-jade experiment he had conceived earlier.

Yet the moment he reached the entrance, Wei Zhao stopped in his tracks. The ward covering the entrance to his grotto had vanished!

Ordinarily, such a grotto ward might not last forever, but it could never fail within such a short time. Moreover, the wards on the cultivation grottoes in the Welcoming Pavilion had all been set up anew when the newcomers arrived. They were nowhere near the point of failing.

A thought suddenly struck Wei Zhao. Could someone have broken through the ward on his grotto? He had not mastered this kind of ward himself, but common sense was enough to tell him that if it had not failed on its own, then this was the only remaining possibility.

With that in mind, Wei Zhao hurried into his grotto. At the same time, he felt somewhat fortunate. Thankfully, he had the jade-pendant space and had left nothing valuable inside. Otherwise, if someone had broken in without his knowledge, the loss would have been enormous.

Yet the moment he entered the grotto, his gaze sharpened.

The grotto was spacious and bare, with virtually no furnishings, so anything inside could be seen at a glance. And now, right in the center of the grotto, in the most conspicuous place of all, two pieces of spirit jade lay there in plain sight, white and crystalline.

Compared with Wei Zhao's own egg-sized piece of spirit jade, these two were considerably larger, both well above average. The larger one even looked strangely familiar to him. After standing there in a daze for a moment, he finally recalled it: was this not the very piece Meng Jueming had given Meng Zhou back then?

Just then, a sudden commotion arose outside. With the grotto ward gone, Wei Zhao heard it clearly. The uproar was coming from Grotto No. 15 at the foot of the neighboring mountain, whose owner was none other than Meng Zhou.

"Cousin Ninth, you have to stand up for me! Someone broke through the ward on my grotto, and even stole the spirit jade you gave me!" Meng Zhou wailed loudly. His cries immediately drew out the other newcomers who had yet to close their grottoes, and they gathered around to watch the spectacle.

At the same time, another anguished cry came from elsewhere. It was Li Zhengming, who occupied Grotto No. 2 at the foot of the mountain. In Wei Zhao's memory, he was the newcomer in the entire Azure Cloud Pavilion who was closest to Meng Zhou, and had therefore received considerable special treatment from Meng Jueming. His grotto and spirit jade were both excellent.

"Senior Brother Meng, the ward on my grotto was broken through as well, and my spirit jade was stolen!" Li Zhengming wailed loudly, his face crumbling in despair.

Could they really have attracted outside thieves?

The moment those words were spoken, the newcomers who had merely been watching the commotion were startled. They hurried back to inspect their own grottoes and valuables. If their spirit jade had been stolen like those of the other two, they would truly be left with nothing but tears.

"Everyone, check immediately. If anyone else's grotto ward has been broken, or if any valuable item has been stolen, report it at once!" Meng Jueming ordered in a deep voice. RS