Lao Bulu showed great enthusiasm, not only providing Meng Zhang with many useful suggestions but also offering skilled miners. He promised to purchase all the white hidden earth mined at a fair price. Meng Zhang believed that among the miners provided by Lao Bulu, there must be his spies. This had nothing to do with their friendship; it was a necessary measure.
Flying Swan Sect's secret attention to the white hidden earth mine couldn't be avoided, so they might as well accept it openly. If only ordinary mortal miners were involved, Meng Zhang had plenty of means to deceive them and conceal the true output of the white hidden earth mine.
With Lao Bulu taken care of, the mining of the white hidden earth finally proceeded smoothly. When Meng Zhang and his men arrived at the white hidden earth mine, all traces of the ghost cultivators and the Zhao Family cultivator's battle had long disappeared.
Twin Success Valley had organized matters in a systematic and thorough manner. They dispatched two cultivators to be stationed near the mine, ostensibly to supervise Taiyi Sect's mining and ensure that the proper share of white hidden earth was handed over to Twin Success Valley. This was a common practice; all subordinate forces of Twin Success Valley were required to submit a certain proportion of their mining yield as an offering.
With this arrangement, Twin Success Valley had both overt and covert surveillance over the white hidden earth mine. The specific details of mining and other related tasks kept Meng Zhang extremely busy, despite Lao Bulu's prior guidance and reminders.
Organizing the miners, transporting supplies, and managing various tasks proved to be quite complex and chaotic. Eventually, Meng Zhang called upon Li Xuan to take charge of these affairs while he himself went to investigate the Zhao Family's oasis.
With the Divine Ability of Mind Reading, it was effortless for Meng Zhang to discern the thoughts of mortals. Nevertheless, reading their minds was still a laborious task. The minds of ordinary people were cluttered with various thoughts, and many seemingly honest individuals had remarkably dirty minds, which disgusted Meng Zhang.
Despite Meng Zhang's strong determination, these mental contaminations still made him extremely uneasy. Nonetheless, he cleared out all the Zhao Family members' thoughts related to the Taiyi Sect, sending them to work in the mine and severing the Zhao Family's roots, eliminating any hidden dangers in the oasis.
Mining operations progressed smoothly with the help of skilled miners provided by Lao Bulu and various spells from the cultivators. In no time, the white hidden earth mine began producing a continuous stream of the valuable resource.
Lao Bulu's hidden agents among the miners were soon discovered. As these agents were covertly controlled, they had no knowledge of the true output of the white hidden earth mine, thus keeping Lao Bulu in the dark as well.
Outwardly, all the mined white hidden earth was sold to Lao Bulu, and even Twin Success Valley's share in this mine was entirely exchanged for spirit stones. However, the majority of the white hidden earth was secretly transported to Twin Success Valley.
Of course, Twin Success Valley did not mistreat Taiyi Sect either. All the white hidden earth was purchased at market prices. Unbeknownst to them, two years had already passed, and Meng Zhang had turned twenty-three.
During this year, Meng Zhang's Cultivation Base broke through to the Refining Qi 8th heavy stage. Despite the complexities of sect affairs, they did not significantly slow down his cultivation progress.
The once-sleeping Deep EarthSpirit General finally awakened. However, when Meng Zhang inquired about past events, he either remained silent or evaded the questions. Meng Zhang understood now.
Deep EarthSpirit General was loyal to Taiyi Sect, but he wasn't genuinely convinced by Meng Zhang as the Sect Master. At best, he showed surface-level obedience. This was not surprising, as Deep EarthSpirit General's memory was still incomplete, and although his Cultivation Base had not fully recovered, he was once a Gold Core Daoist Master. It was nearly impossible for Meng Zhang, a mere Refining Qi cultivator, to earn his wholehearted respect.
Deep EarthSpirit General seemed honest and simple, but his underlying arrogance couldn't be hidden. Meng Zhang, however, was not narrow-minded and intolerant. As long as Deep EarthSpirit General remained loyal to Taiyi Sect, Meng Zhang accepted him. In time, there would be opportunities to win him over gradually.
Furthermore, Deep EarthSpirit General was immensely valuable to the current Taiyi Sect. His Cultivation Base was at the Refining Qi completion stage, and his regular dharma meetings within the sect greatly benefited the disciples. Meng Zhang rarely missed these sessions and found them deeply enlightening.
Taiyi Sect's disciples were increasing in number, and over the past two years, several loose cultivators had joined the sect. Even among the ordinary mortals under their rule, there were those awakening spiritual roots and becoming Taiyi Sect disciples.
With the growing numbers, the previous organizational structure was no longer suitable. Meng Zhang decided to establish a certain hierarchical distinction. The disciples were divided into Inner-Sect Disciples and outer disciples. The Inner-Sect Disciples were selected by the Sect Master from those at the mid-Refining Qi stage and above.
Tian Li and Fang Qiansuan, whom Meng Zhang had high hopes for, reached the Refining Qi 4th stage during these two years and became Inner-Sect Disciples. Similarly, Wang Shengli, the son of Wang Shitou and a disciple of Daoist Clear Spirit, also became an Inner-Sect Disciple.
Zhang Zhanlin, who managed the grocery store in Singing Sand City, not only brought various Cultivation World information to Taiyi Sect but also earned a considerable profit, surpassing Meng Zhang's expectations. Meng Zhang promoted him to Inner-Sect Disciple and handed over most of the sect's commercial affairs to him.
Among the newly recruited loose cultivators, a female disciple named Hu Jing showed great talent in taming and nurturing spiritual beasts. Meng Zhang also promoted her to an Inner-Sect Disciple. Additionally, Zheng Chao, another disciple from a loose cultivator background, impressed Meng Zhang and was promoted as an Inner-Sect Disciple as well.
The distinction between Inner-Sect Disciples and outer disciples went beyond mere status, as there were significant differences in the sect's allowances and privileges. With this group of Inner-Sect Disciples, Taiyi Sect had a reliable middle-management backbone. These Inner-Sect Disciples were like small leaders who could effectively manage the outer disciples.
After expending all the crimson feather liquid, nine out of the over ten retrieved eggs hatched successfully, while the rest remained dormant. Among the hatched eggs, three large Crimson Feather Eagles could be tamed as flying mounts, while the other nine small ones were useful as scouts and spies.
To accommodate these living creatures, Meng Zhang purchased a batch of spirit beast bags from the Firewell Market at a high price. Each bag capable of carrying living beings cost at least thousands of top-grade spirit stones and was frequently in short supply. Meng Zhang made several trips to the Firewell Market to acquire these bags.
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