Cultivators of different regions had different customs and expressions.
Among these Mining Cultivators, there were some who mined Spiritual Mines, but they were rare.
The Spiritual Mines of the Minor Wilderness State Boundary were either under the control of the Taoist Court or occupied by some large Clans and Sects.
Spiritual Mines were extremely important, usually mined by practitioners from one's own faction, rarely assigned to these external Loose Cultivators.
What these Mining Cultivators extracted were mines containing copper and iron.
Copper and iron from the Cultivation World were incredibly tough and required Body Refinement cultivators, expending great effort to excavate.
The mined copper and iron were used for Artifact Refining, construction, Alchemy, and other industries.
Even the Formation Pen used by Formation Masters and Spiritual Ink occasionally contained a bit of copper or iron powder.
The Minor Wilderness State Boundary wasn't rich in other resources, but it had plenty of mines.
Therefore, local Loose Cultivators lived by selling their labor, excavating mines for sustenance.
In the many trades of Tao Cultivation, though it was never explicitly stated, Mining Cultivators also belonged to the bottom "vile trades" and were taken up only by impoverished Loose Cultivators.
Mining was not simple; it had its own special techniques.
Mo Hua, on the road, only glanced at them from afar, so he did not have a clear understanding.
But in general, the Minor Wilderness State Boundary was indeed as desolate as its name implied.
Due to the desolation, there were more bandits on the road.
It wasn't long after setting out that the carriage would be stopped by some bandits.
These bandits didn't spout nonsense like "This mountain was opened by me, and this tree was planted by me, to pass from here leave some toll money."
The mountains were excavated by the Mining Cultivators, and the desolate mountains had no trees to plant.
Instead, they got straight to the point by saying things like,
"Hand over your Spirit Stones," "Leave behind the carriage and horses," "and you can keep your lives," and such.
In these situations, Mo Hua generally treated them differently.
That's because the composition of the bandits was also very complex.
Some were genuinely poor, their families couldn't make ends meet, their wives and children were on the brink of starvation, and they had no choice but to cover their faces, arm themselves with knives, and rob passersby.
Mo Hua thought that this wasn't right, but given that they were driven by necessity, he wouldn't blame them harshly.
And these people knew how to behave themselves.
Although they talked tough, most could be dismissed with just a few Spirit Stones.
Often just a moment ago, they would be shouting, "Hand over the Spirit Stones, and we'll spare your lives!" or similar harsh threats.
Once Mo Hua gave them a few Spirit Stones, they would become extremely polite.
Some, probably desperate to their limits and having not earned Spirit Stones in a long time, would even kneel and kowtow non-stop, repeating:
"Thank you, thank you, young brother!"
These Cultivators didn't ask for much, just a few Spirit Stones to buy some coarse grains and bran, enough to feed a family for half a month.
They weren't greedy; a few Spirit Stones relieved them of their burden, and they would leave.
Watching this, Mo Hua felt both amused and a bit sad.
Some Cultivators were just lazy and fond of pleasure, intending to rob homes to make a fortune.
After Mo Hua gave them a few Spirit Stones, they would still be unsatisfied.
That's when Mo Hua would stop being polite.
With a Fireball Technique for each, he would knock them all down, letting them lie on the ground for a good "reflection."
Such laziness always accompanied the neglect of cultivation.
Therefore, these kinds of bandits generally didn't have high cultivation.
Used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, their martial arts and spells were both terribly lousy.
None of them were a match for Mo Hua.
Of course, there were also some "tough cookies."
These were considered local "habitual bandits," organized but not strong, having rules but not strict.
They simply had many people, each with a vicious and greedy nature.
They relied on their numbers and, seeing Mo Hua as a little Cultivator, would demand an exorbitant ransom.
After Mo Hua gave them Spirit Stones, they still thought it not enough.
They wanted Mo Hua and his companions to leave behind their horses and carriages.
The more outrageous thing was, they inadvertently caught sight of Bai Zixi and blurted out:
"The little girl stays!"
The other few bandits also looked on with drooling faces, "This little girl looks good, probably worth a lot of Spirit Stones if sold in the city."