Chapter 5154 — Mining Again

Apart from these two, the other targeted figures were still only at the stage of cozying up to people—a vast distance yet from being genuinely won over.

This was only natural. Everyone spent their days in cultivation, after all; even fellow disciples of the same sect rarely found occasion to gather together, and those with real bonds of friendship were rarer still. Under such circumstances, adding the prerequisite of harboring resentment toward the Primordial Alliance made the odds naturally minuscule—and every one of the Primordial Alliance's people was exceedingly guarded. To approach them out of the blue without sufficient prior acquaintance made the difficulty all but insurmountable. That only two could be won over in a month was entirely reasonable.

Time slipped past, and in the blink of an eye a full three months had gone by since the quasi-disciples entered the transfer archipelago. On this day, Xin Yi'an did something unprecedented: he gathered everyone on the small island where the teleportation formation stood. The isle was not large—compared with the true islands it was little more than a speck of standing room—yet it was more than ample to hold a hundred-odd people.

When everyone had arrived, Xin Yi'an spoke aloud: "Everyone, three months have passed, and I trust the quasi-disciples of every Primordial sect have grown familiar with this place; your strength has advanced considerably as well, and no few of you stand at the very brink of breakthrough. I congratulate you. Still, you must press on without letup, strive to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as may be, and not disappoint the hopes of the senior brothers leading your respective sects."

"Yes!" the crowd answered in unison.

"There is one other matter—indeed, it is the chief reason I have called you all here today. After so long, I trust everyone has heard of the Primordial Trial?" Xin Yi'an asked.

Heads nodded on every side. This was no secret; even these quasi-disciples from the mundane world could learn of it from their leading senior brothers or others. The Primordial Trial, after all, was what the disciples of the entire Primordial Alliance awaited most eagerly—it came up every few days, and there was simply no avoiding it.

"Very good. So beginning tomorrow, we shall make preparations for the Primordial Trial," Xin Yi'an announced.

"Preparations? What preparations?" The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Was this a reminder to hone their strength well before the Trial began?

Word had it that this Primordial Trial was no ordinary affair—to plunge in without sufficient strength was little short of courting death. For the quasi-disciples, of course, the pressing task was to break through to Foundation Establishment; otherwise they did not count as members of the Primordial Alliance at all, and talk of the Trial was nonsense.

"Do not misunderstand me. The preparations I speak of are not your personal preparations, but preparations for all of us. Entering the Primordial Trial requires spirit jade to activate the teleportation formation; that formation has lain sealed for ages, and reopening it demands spirit jade in enormous quantity. If that condition cannot be met, the formation cannot be opened, and everyone's Primordial Trial goes up in smoke." Xin Yi'an explained the situation to them.

"Spirit jade? Where are we supposed to get that?" Now it was not only the quasi-disciples; even the training disciples of the various Primordial sects looked at one another in dismay. They were neither sect elders nor people of deep background—how could they possibly get their hands on such a rare commodity, especially when the quantity required was no small sum?

"Have no fear. According to the Primordial Alliance's records, there is a spirit ore site on the seabed of this archipelago. Mining it will not be easy, but I trust it will not defeat you. So beginning tomorrow, every person present must labor without exception at the undersea spirit ore site to mine spirit jade. Otherwise you forfeit the right to take part in the Primordial Trial. Understood?" Xin Yi'an declared in a ringing voice.

"Elder Xin, if I may ask—must all the spirit jade we mine be turned over to the authorities?" someone asked, raising a hand. This was the question on nearly every disciple's mind. Even setting the Primordial Trial aside, the undersea spirit ore site alone was no small temptation; if the jade they mined could be kept for themselves, most would surely not slack off.

"Not so. Out of consideration for everyone's enthusiasm—so long as the spirit jade mined on a given day exceeds one piece, the surplus belongs to the individual who mined it," Xin Yi'an said with a smile. Rough as the rule sounded at first hearing, as though riddled with loopholes, it was after all only a stopgap measure; it would suffice to rouse everyone's energy, and the jade ultimately gathered, he trusted, would not be small.

Sure enough, at these words every eye in the crowd lit up. Exceed one piece and the rest was yours—that condition did not sound harsh in the least; it was rather stirring.

Still, a handful frowned. Many of them stood at the very threshold of breakthrough, and to go undersea mining at such a time was sheer waste—mining might yield nothing at all, and a day of hard labor could well come to naught.

"Naturally, to look after everyone's cultivation, the undersea mining will be divided into two groups, rotating every three days. If someone's turn comes and they would rather not go, they may pay a single piece of spirit jade to be excused one shift. Does anyone object?" Xin Yi'an asked.

Heads shook all around. The arrangement was already considerate enough; any further objection would be hard to justify—and to abstain altogether meant forfeiting the right to join the Primordial Trial, a risk no one dared take.

"Hold on!" At this, Xue Jianming suddenly stepped forward and cast a malicious glance at Wei Zhao and the others. "Since everyone is going, shouldn't these people go too?"

"In name they are not disciples of the Primordial Alliance, nor has anyone said they must take part in the Primordial Trial. Naturally they need not go," Xin Yi'an said, shaking his head.

Qiu Lingshan, Wu Chengtian and the rest stood at the very gate of breaking through to Foundation Establishment; of course they would not go undersea mining—and moreover, as Xin Yi'an had said, to this point they had no intention of joining the Primordial Trial. This undersea mining was nothing to do with them.

"Nothing to do with them? How can it be nothing to do with them? They occupy the island's cultivation resources for nothing, and when it comes time to put in some effort they don't lift a finger. I'm afraid such conduct won't convince anyone," Xue Jianming snorted coldly.

"But—" Xin Yi'an still wanted to argue, but the other Primordial sect disciples had already begun muttering among themselves. They themselves must toil at mining, while Qiu Lingshan and the others alone went free and easy—it truly rankled.

Just then Wei Zhao stopped Xin Yi'an. Under the gaze of all present he walked slowly to face Xue Jianming and said mildly, "You want all of us to go mining, do you?"

"It is only right and proper!" Xue Jianming declared, with the confidence of righteousness.

"Very well. What you say is quite reasonable." Wei Zhao nodded, then suddenly tossed out a great chest. When it was opened, it promptly blinded every last dog's eye in the place—it was packed full of spirit jade!

"This... this..." Xue Jianming and the others were struck dumb, unable for a long while to utter a single word.

"Here, these are all leave requests. If they're not enough, come ask me for more." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Qiu Lingshan and the others were many in number, but one piece excused one shift; this great chest of spirit jade was enough to buy them long leave for several months.