Chapter 166: Chapter 162: Men Die for Wealth, Birds Die for Food
Du Youqian figured that after a few more reincarnations, after a few more enhancements to his Spirit Root, he might just be able to meet the requirements for the *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*.
The reason he was drooling over a severely incomplete Cultivation Technique was that after studying the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture*, he discovered it was far more exquisite than his current main technique, the *Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique*.
On several occasions, he even found his resolve wavering, wanting to compete for the position of True Inheritor just to earn the right to cultivate the *Crimson Scripture of Profound Mystery and Spiritual Mechanism*.
After witnessing firsthand the chasm between a "Scripture" and a mere "Technique," Du Youqian felt his current Cultivation Technique had completely lost its appeal.
And that *Supreme Cave Truth Nine Revolutions and Nine Transformations Celestial Dance Scripture*... ’It’s probably top-tier, even among Scriptures.’
Du Youqian used the Mystic Clear Concealing God Hidden Breath Skill to change his appearance and aura to match Fang Zhongying’s, then secretly met with Fang Simin. He gave the man a transcribed copy of the *Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture* and ordered him to switch to it.
Fang Simin was resistant, but he had no way to support himself. His cultivation resources all came from Du Youqian. How could the weak defy the strong?
In the end, he could only comply, full of grievances.
The effects of Fang Simin’s new Cultivation Technique had yet to be seen.
On this day, Gu Xiaofang came to report that the known Flower Cyan Gang Jade Vein was nearly mined out.
Du Youqian was a bit dazed for a moment.
’It’s over already?’
’I spent so much effort and years planning this.’
’To occupy this Ore Vein legitimately, I spent nearly a year laying the groundwork, even building a Guardian Envoy’s Mansion right on top of it.’
’And now, after just four years, the whole thing is mined out?’
’I can’t help feeling a little... let down.’
’And also a little happy.’
’I finally made it through!’
Of course, the profits had already been pocketed.
To date, the miners had extracted Flower Cyan Gang Jade ore worth over 170,000 Spiritual Jade for him.
Half of it, as promised, had already been given to Feng Xiaoyi.
As for the rest, Du Youqian had only sold a small amount for now.
Because anyone with a basic understanding of economics would know that flooding the market with too much of it at once would cause the price to plummet, affecting his profits.
Selling it off slowly, a steady trickle, was the only way to maximize its value.
"Brother Fei, a miner reported to me that he suspects there’s another hidden ore vein beneath the current pit, and it might be even bigger."
Du Youqian frowned slightly. "There’s more?"
He wasn’t excited to hear this news.
Mining was no easy task, especially when trying to hide it from everyone.
Keeping all the spoils for yourself was great, of course, but the problem was that if anyone discovered he was secretly mining ore, he would undoubtedly face severe punishment from the Sect.
He had spent the last few years on pins and needles, terrified of being exposed.
But the steady stream of massive profits was too addictive to give up.
It was, as they say, a painful pleasure.
’I’ve finally, almost finished mining, and now you’re telling me there might be another vein underneath?’
A deeper ore vein would be harder to mine and harder to keep secret.
’How should I handle this?’
’This juicy prize... am I strong enough to devour it?’
Resting his chin on his hand, he thought for a long while before instructing, "Survey it. Confirm if there’s an ore vein down there. If there is, then survey its scale and the difficulty of mining it."
"Yes, I’ll get right on it," Gu Xiaofang understood implicitly. "Brother Fei, after it’s confirmed, those responsible for the survey... should I...?"
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Du Youqian thought for a moment. "Restrictions have already been placed on all of them, so there’s no rush to deal with them. However, after the survey is done, house them separately from the other miners. Make sure they can’t communicate."
"Understood."
The survey took a full month.
The conclusion left Du Youqian completely astonished.
"Brother Fei, the preliminary survey shows the ore vein below is also Flower Cyan Gang Jade, but it’s not pure; it’s mixed with some other ores. The reserves are at least twenty times the size of the part we just finished mining. However, the mining difficulty will be very high. It’ll be almost impossible to mine it without alerting anyone if we can’t use Magic or Magical Artifacts. And if we want to set up an Array to block probes and insulate magical fluctuations, that will also be extremely difficult. The ores cause massive interference with Arrays. I’m afraid even a Tier Three Early Stage Array Master wouldn’t be able to set up an Array properly. And hiring a Tier Three Array Master is a risk in itself."
Du Youqian nodded. "I understand. You can go for now. I need to think about this."
With such huge potential profits, Du Youqian certainly couldn’t just give up casually.
But with such great difficulty in mining, the risks also had to be taken seriously.
If he were discovered and reported to the Sect, it would all be over.
Not only him, but his followers like Luo Jinyu, Fang Hua, and Gu Xiaofang would also receive severe punishment.
It was debatable whether they could even keep their lives.
After thinking for a long time, Du Youqian was already leaning towards being more conservative about this matter.
However, before making a final decision, he went down into the Ore Vein himself to see the situation with his own eyes.
What Gu Xiaofang had said was not the slightest bit exaggerated.
He also tried setting up an Array, but the Ore Vein’s interference made it completely impossible.
Returning to the Guardian Envoy’s Mansion, Du Youqian could only sigh.
’This prize, however tempting, was more than he could chew.’
’I’ll just have to see if I can trade it for something else.’
Yes, Du Youqian had already decided. After completely mining out the easily accessible Flower Cyan Gang Jade above and eliminating all traces of his private mining, he would report the Ore Vein to the Sect.
The Sect would naturally offer a reward.
Although the reward would be nothing compared to mining it himself, he had no way of pulling off a grand deception. He could only take the share that was already his for the taking and not be greedy for more.
’I must always remember: humans die in pursuit of wealth, just as birds die in pursuit of food.’
’I must never be one of those insatiably greedy people who court their own destruction.’
For this reason, Du Youqian made a special trip back to the Sect to report the situation to Feng Xiaoyi.
"Oh? You’re saying that besides the part you’ve already mined, there’s an even larger Flower Cyan Gang Jade Vein underneath, with reserves worth over 4 million Spiritual Jade, but it’s extremely difficult to mine?" An unreadable light flashed in Feng Xiaoyi’s beautiful eyes.
"Yes, Master," Du Youqian said respectfully.
Feng Xiaoyi raised a hand to cover a yawn.
With every gesture, her magnificent, jade-like peaks trembled, the light gauze barely concealing her graceful figure. "Why the lack of greed this time?"
Du Youqian gave a bitter smile. "You jest, Master. How could I possibly be greedy in this situation? I’m afraid even you couldn’t handle the fallout."
Feng Xiaoyi shot him a look. "Me? Unable to handle it? It’s simply not necessary. Since you’ve decided to report it to the Sect, that’s not bad. It’s better than those whose hearts are blinded by greed. Even if such a person gets lucky and nothing happens, they can forget about reaching Core Formation in this lifetime. Even if you gave them a ninety percent chance, they would still fail their Core Formation. A clouded heart-state is the path to self-destruction."
Hearing Feng Xiaoyi’s warning, Du Youqian was drenched in sweat.
He had indeed struggled with the decision for a long time.
It was mainly that huge sum... it was just too much.
He was certain that even the combined fortunes of several Core Formation Ancestors couldn’t possibly reach 4 million Spiritual Jade—a staggering 400 million Spirit Stones.
"Yes. This disciple will remember your teachings."
Feng Xiaoyi smiled again. "You’re still hoarding some Flower Cyan Gang Jade ore, aren’t you? Aside from the portion you plan to keep for crafting Treasures, you should get rid of the rest as soon as possible. Once this massive Ore Vein goes into production, the price of Flower Cyan Gang Jade will drop by at least thirty percent."
"Speaking of which, building the Guardian Envoy’s Mansion on the Flower Cyan Gang Jade Vein was a stroke of genius. In the upcoming fight for this Ore Vein, our Sect will definitely have an advantage. The Taihe Sect will only be able to drink the soup."
Having been immersed in this world for years, Du Youqian had also learned many secrets he could never have come into contact with in his previous life.
For example, the Taihe Sect and the Holy Blood Sect appeared to be mortal enemies, one righteous and one demonic, but in reality, their upper echelons were on quite good terms.
Of course, this didn’t stop the disciples of the two sects from trying to kill each other and compete for supremacy whenever they met.
But at the higher levels, the cooperation between the two sects far outweighed the competition.
No ore vein in the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert could be completely occupied by a single group.
For smaller ore veins, if one was given to the Profound Sects Orthodox Camp, the next would certainly be allocated to the Demon Sect Camp. It was all about maintaining balance.
For a large Ore Vein, one camp would be responsible for its development and take the lion’s share, while the other would still get to drink the soup.
It wasn’t just Ore Veins.
Evil Pools, Gang Domains, Secret Realms, Relics... they all followed this same principle of development.
The resources controlled by the Demon Sect and the Profound Sects had to be kept in a fundamental balance.
It was said that this was due to some ancient agreement.
But Du Youqian hadn’t reached that level yet, so this was all just hearsay.
Whether that agreement actually existed was not something a person of his level could confirm.
Feng Xiaoyi thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Don’t you want the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique?"
Du Youqian nodded eagerly. "I do! Master, do you have a way to get it?"
Feng Xiaoyi smiled. "I didn’t before, but now, you’ve earned yourself an opportunity. It just depends on whether you’re willing to part with what you have."
Du Youqian wasn’t a fool, after all. He quickly understood. "Master, do you mean I should report this to the Sect, forgo the contribution points and other rewards, and only ask for a copy of the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique?"
"No," Feng Xiaoyi shook her head. "That’s impossible. You’re not a True Inheritor. Why would the Sect bestow the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique on you? However, you could choose not to report this to the Sect. Instead, you could find someone to trade with privately. Let them acquire the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique and transfer the rights to cultivate it to you, and in exchange, you hand over the Ore Vein. Whether they report it to the Sect or not, the risk won’t be yours to bear."
Du Youqian thought about it and felt it was a good idea.
So he quickly latched onto his powerful backer. "Master, I’m a nobody; my words carry no weight. No one would believe me. Worse, someone might decide to just take what they want and attack me from the shadows instead of paying the price. So, could you please handle this for me?"
Feng Xiaoyi sighed. "I didn’t take on a disciple, I took on a master to serve!"
Although she said that, the smiling light filling her eyes let Du Youqian know she wasn’t really angry.
"Don’t be upset, Master. Let me show you my devotion." Saying this, he walked over to Feng Xiaoyi’s back and began massaging her shoulders.
Comments