Mo Hua looked around, puzzled, “What danger could there possibly be here?”
This was a mining cave, and everyone around was a familiar Monster Hunter.
Yu Chengyi coughed, “Just in case.”
Mo Hua said, “Uncle Yu, you should go about your business. Don’t you have to deal with the Qian Family? I suppose there’s still plenty of work to be done, right?”
If there’s really nothing to do, you could go mine some Spiritual Stones, rather than watching me…
In his heart, Yu Chengyi silently said, “There’s nothing more important than you. If we lose some Spiritual Stones, my dad would just be aggrieved for a decade or so, but if we were to lose you, he might even contemplate slaughtering me…”
“It’s fine, you carry on with your Drawing Formation, pretend I’m not here.”
How can someone just pretend a full-grown person isn’t there…
Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, “Uncle Yu, if you’re not too busy, take me to see the Spiritual mines inside.”
He had been Drawing Formations since entering the mine and hadn’t yet seen what Spiritual Stones actually looked like.
“Aren’t you going to continue Drawing Formation?”
“I’ll take a break and then continue.”
After thinking for a moment, Yu Chengyi nodded, “Alright, I’ll take you to have a look.”
Mo Hua instantly perked up.
Yu Chengyi led Mo Hua further into the depths of the mining cave.
The deeper they went, the more humid it became, the smell of earth and stone grew stronger, and the Spiritual Energy became thicker, some of it almost condensed into a faint blue color.
Throughout the mining cave, the “ting-ting, clink-clink” sound echoed everywhere.
It was the sound of mining picks extracting Spiritual Stones.
Spiritual Stones in the mines grew intertwined with common rocks, and it required a Body Cultivator using a mining pick to chisel out the Stones bit by bit.
The mined ores were raw and irregularly shaped; some contained other impurities like ordinary rocks and were generally not ready for use. Cultivators could not directly refine them either.
One could trade these raw ores with the Taoist Court, exchanging them for purified, standardized Standard Spirit Stones at a set ratio.
These Standard Spirit Stones were used by Cultivators for daily cultivation and transactions.
The raw ores would then be processed and refined uniformly by the Taoist Court.
Refining Spiritual Stones from the mines was a specialized category of Artifact Refining, a tedious process with complex methods. According to Taoist Law, only the Taoist Court was qualified to refine Spirit Stones.
Any Noble Clans, Sects, or individual Loose Cultivators were not permitted to refine them on their own.
Violators would be held accountable by the Taoist Court, and in severe cases would be considered rebellious, facing suppression by the Taoist Court, and even execution!
While walking, Yu Chengyi briefed Mo Hua on the knowledge about Spiritual mines related to Tao Cultivation.
Mo Hua, having an epiphany, realized that the Taoist Court’s control over Spirit Stones was extremely strict.
The Spirit mines held by Noble Clans and Sects were out of the Taoist Court’s reach, so the Court had to control the terminal Spirit Stone refining processes to monitor and balance the major powers.
Spirit Stones were the lifeline of a Cultivator; controlling Spirit Stones meant controlling the entire Tao Cultivation World.
Mo Hua then asked, “With such rich Spiritual Energy here, can I cultivate directly?”
“That won’t do,” Yu Chengyi said, “The Spiritual Energy here seems rich, but it’s impure, mixed with moisture, fishy smells, and various other kinds of filthy and miscellaneous Qi accumulated over the years. Direct cultivation could easily lead to problems.”
Mo Hua didn’t fully understand, “What exactly are moisture, fishy smells, miscellaneous Qi, and Filthy Qi?”
Yu Chengyi was stumped by the question, thinking that this child had many intricate questions…
He did his best to recall and explain according to his understanding:
“Qi is akin to a kind of fundamental force in Tao Cultivation. Spiritual Energy is one of the purest types of Qi, closest to the source, which Cultivators can absorb without any toxic or harmful effects. The Spiritual Power of a Cultivator is derived from refining Spiritual Energy.”
“Apart from that, there are various other kinds of Qi in the Tao Cultivation World. Generally, these Qi are mixed, deviant, or even filthy. Should a Cultivator refine them, or if they invade the body, one could face all sorts of problems with their Blood Qi, Qi Sea, or meridians.”
“As for more specific details, I’m not too clear. However, in the future, you should be careful not to absorb any Qi other than Spiritual Energy, or you will encounter trouble.”
“Hmm,” Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, taking note silently.