The Foundation Establishment-level Stone Mother in the Fire Source Stone Vein really isn’t something Lu Yuanshan and the other two can handle.
Even if they call over all the disciples in the entire sect, it would be useless.
This Stone Mother’s defense is incredibly robust, with the strength at the Qi Cultivation Stage, it’s very difficult to break through its defenses.
If you compare it with the Black Water Profound Snake from the Hidden Nether Mountain, the Black Water Profound Snake is much easier to deal with.
Therefore, wanting to mine this ore vein, the Stone Mother presents a very tricky problem.
Leaving such a significant threat unremoved and forcibly mining the vein would only cause the Cyan Mountain Sect a great loss.
Lu Yuanshan, being kind-hearted and warm-hearted, does not wish to see any disciples or common people perish under the Stone Mother’s hands.
"This exploration wasn’t entirely in vain; at least we confirmed that there is definitely a Fire Source Stone Vein here."
"According to initial observations, the mineral content of this ore vein can supply mining operations for over ten years, not to mention some areas deeper in the vein we’ve yet to explore, where hidden value might be even greater."
As he spoke, Lu Yuanshan still felt a bit of trepidation, pondering over that Stone Mother.
"As for that Stone Mother, let’s wait until Father emerges from secluded cultivation to discuss it. Or prepare to cultivate a Foundation Establishment Cultivator for the sect so that we can obtain the mining rights to this vein."
"That’s all we can do."
Upon hearing this, Lu Changfeng could only sigh in frustration.
With the exploration of the ore vein concluded, Lu Yuanshan decided to head back home.
"Let’s go, back to the sect first. We’ll think of a solution afterwards."
"Although this place is considered secretive, once we return, we’ll need to quickly purchase a concealment array to hide this location."
"Hahaha, elder brother thinks things through indeed."
The three accompanied each other all the way to Cyan Lotus Mountain.
On the way, Xuu Yi didn’t dare speak.
Traveling with an elder and the Sect Leader made him a bit nervous.
It’s hard to initiate a conversation with the Sect Leader.
And as for the impression Lu Changfeng gave him, it was that of someone with a fiery and explosive temper.
Worried he’d say something wrong and get rebuked, he simply kept silent.
Back at the Cyan Mountain Sect, Lu Yuanshan took a slight rest, his mind still dwelling on the Fire Source Stone Vein, filled with excitement for a long while.
If they could successfully secure this ore vein, the sect’s economy would swiftly soar, cultivation resources would significantly increase, and the sect would grow stronger by the day.
But the problem is that Stone Mother within the ore vein, which is quite a headache.
How to eliminate the Stone Mother? Lu Yuanshan pondered this for most of the day but couldn’t come up with any feasible plans.
Hiring someone to do it is obviously not an option; it would expose the location of the ore vein, effectively handing it over to others.
Kill and silence them afterwards?
Regardless of the moral implications, even if they wanted to do it, assuming those who can kill the Stone Mother, could they not wipe out a group of Qi Cultivation Stage disciples from Cyan Mountain Sect?
This matter still needs to wait until Father comes out of secluded cultivation to discuss further.
To conceal the Fire Source Stone Vein, Lu Yuanshan quickly ordered Xu Yecheng, who was far away in Qinghe Market, to purchase a concealment array ’Mist Concealment Array’ for the sect.
This array, a Tier One Middle Grade, is mainly used to conceal large area landscapes and achieve a hidden effect.
It took three days to set up the Mist Concealment Array around the Fire Source Stone Vein; after hiding this vein, Lu Yuanshan also dispatched Xuu Yi to guard it.
Xuu Yi didn’t object; after all, mining the vein was for the benefit of the sect, which also benefited him.
Moreover, since he discovered this vein, participating in its guard gave him some sense of achievement, feeling it was not unrelated to him.
Most crucially, when he first discovered the Fire Source Stone Vein, Xuu Yi’s first thought wasn’t to monopolize the vein.
He didn’t have the ability to mine it all, so it was better to report it to the sect and earn merit, building contributions for the sect; this was even better.
Upon discovering the vein, his first thought was—he wasn’t sure if the Ancestor Lu Ping was around him.
Perhaps the Ancestor had also discovered the vein and had already sent a message back to the sect?
Or simply reported the vein to the sect.
Time flew by, and by the next spring, as flowers bloomed everywhere and grasses sprouted with the song of oriole, Lu Yuanshan arranged manpower for the third task, which was to clear out the water ghosts in Yu Yang Town.
In order to deal with this group of water ghosts, the sect made quite an effort.
Throughout the year, they rehearsed the formation over a dozen times to achieve a decisive victory.
To tackle the water ghosts, they were led by Lu Changfeng, with Song Minghui and others in support, totaling sixteen disciples, forming a Li Fire Demon-Slaying Array against the enemy.
What’s worth noting is that Lu Changfeng recently experienced a significant increase in cultivation and successfully broke through to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, a remarkable advancement in strength.
He became the third Ninth-Layer Cultivator in the Cyan Mountain Sect.
Once everything was ready, the group set off for Yu Yang Town.
This group of water ghosts, due to reproduction or loss, numbered around seventeen.
The strongest among them was at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.
Even so, facing Lu Changfeng and his prepared group, they were no match.
Once the Li Fire Demon-Slaying Array was deployed, along with Lu Changfeng, a Ninth-Layer Cultivator, the water ghosts were quickly cleared away.
Being of the ghost type, water ghosts have nothing of inherent value, nor can they be used for Artifact Refining and Pill Refining.
After being cleared, the group returned to Cyan Lotus Mountain on the same day and reported the results to Lu Yuanshan.
Knowing that the last task assigned before Father went into secluded cultivation was completed, Lu Yuanshan felt greatly relieved.
Upon reflection, in fact, the difficulty of the three tasks wasn’t high, with opponents being at the Qi Cultivation Stage.
As for whether there were more advanced level tasks, Lu Yuanshan guessed there definitely were.
However, given the overall strength of the Cyan Mountain Sect, it wasn’t yet enough to handle them.
In the future, perhaps Father would assign Foundation Establishment-level tasks.
Time swiftly passed, and winter solstice approached.
Lu Zhiwei was still in secluded cultivation, without any signs of movement.
Meanwhile, in Cyan Mountain Sect, Lu Yuanshan had already arranged for people to invest in a marketplace shop.
After half a year of effort, Cyan Mountain Sect opened a new shop in Qinghe Market, named Cyan Cloud Pavilion.
At the same time, Lu Xuelian brought good news that after over a year’s investment, the Cyan-tailed Spirit Fish had been successfully cultivated and had entered the second spawning cycle.
Over eighty percent of the Cyan-tailed Spirit Fish were adult and ready for external sale, marking their most succulent period.
This time, the Cyan-tailed Spirit Fish in Yanyang Lake could provide 152 for external sale.
Because of this, the sect held a small meeting to decide to make the Cyan-tailed Spirit Fish a specialty of the Cyan Mountain Sect, selling it through the Cyan Cloud Pavilion.
Regarding pricing, it would remain unchanged, still at four Spirit Stones per fish.
Selling off this batch of spirit fish would bring the sect a revenue of 608 Spirit Stones.
Though the profit isn’t considerable, increasing the price for new shop openings isn’t appropriate.
What Cyan Mountain Sect needs to do now is first establish the reputation of Cyan Cloud Pavilion, spread it, and let the cultivators of Qinghe Market know the sect’s new shop is called Cyan Cloud Pavilion.
Having chosen a propitious date, Cyan Cloud Pavilion officially opened for business.