Chapter 41

The mineral veins beneath the Taichu Sect were no ordinary jade or precious metal—they were the condensation of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, settling deep within mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas over eons.

The founder patriarch had chosen this place to establish the sect not for its scenic beauty or imposing peaks, nor for feng shui mysticism—it was purely for what lay buried below.

As long as this treasure endured, the spiritual energy of the Taichu Sect would remain abundant, allowing cultivators to breathe and refine faster than they could in the outside world.

When Yun Shuchen spoke those words, the elders were taken aback, never expecting she'd set her sights on such a thing.

"No." Elder Zhong, as her senior, was the first to object. "Regardless, the spirit mines cannot be touched. They are the very foundation upon which this sect was built."

"If something goes wrong," Zhou Shannan waved his fan, "we'd have no face to ascend and meet the patriarch. But that's none of my concern. Acting Sect Leader, you decide for yourself."

Yun Shuchen turned to Yue Changge and Liu Xunqin, an eyebrow arched. "And you two?"

"There are many veins in the Taichu Sect," Liu Xunqin said, staring straight ahead. "Just don't touch anything beneath Lingsu Peak."

"However," she looked at Yun Shuchen, "why do you want to dig up the sect veins? If it's only for money, it's not worth the cost."

The woman seated in the sect leader's chair flicked her wrist, and motes of spiritual power starlight coalesced into a vast, lifelike map of the entire sect that hovered before them.

She traced out a few outlying regions. "I've deduced with formations that, apart from these areas, the impact on the overall picture would be negligible. After the ores are removed, the better-positioned pits can be repurposed for new cultivation caves, and the rest can be used for storage depending on conditions."

"As for the ores themselves—everyone in the world wants them. We can sell off the lower-grade scraps."

"Those of the highest purity will be fully refined into pills, to be given as rewards for inner-sect trials and competitions."

Yun Shuchen swept her gaze across them all. "By now, you should all understand. What are your thoughts?"

To condense the essence of heaven and earth into a single tiny pill, one that greatly benefits cultivation when taken—this was something that could truly be internalized.

Compared to that, the magical treasures and weapons usually given as sect rewards were merely "external things," ornamental additions. For sword cultivators in particular—if one truly possessed the bearing of a swordsman immortal, even a flying petal or plucked leaf could carry sword intent. Why be constrained by external objects?

In times of peace, many inner disciples saw through this principle, lost interest in working for the sect, and focused solely on seclusion and cultivation, striving for early ascension.

For themselves, it was indeed a clear-headed choice.

But a sect as vast as the Taichu Sect still needed people to run errands, go on training missions, take on bounties, and explore secret realms—these were the living waters that kept the sect running inside and out.

And that meant disciples would inevitably lose precious cultivation time—these small tasks, apart from giving combat practice, were far less rewarding than even an hour of quiet meditation.

Just how lazy had the current generation become? They'd rather spend a whole morning chopping at illusionary warriors in the training grounds than dive into an ancient demon's lair to catch a big fish.

Using these pills as rewards would, first, raise the overall strength of the sect disciples, and second, serve as bait to rouse their dormant souls and get them working energetically for the sect. Like opening a water source, it would flow endlessly.

The moment her words fell, a delicate hand slammed onto the table with the force of a thousand pounds. "Let's do it!"

Yue Changge was positively beaming. "Why is this grand plan only being brought up now? Senior Sister, I've got to say—when this stuff gets dug up, should the elders get a bit more share as well?"

"..."

Yun Shuchen had no intention of touching the major veins of the sect, which put the others slightly at ease. After this explanation, though there were lingering doubts, it still seemed feasible.

"The spirit mines you've marked are only a few small spots, but the total amount is still substantial," Elder Zhong said. "Who's going to dig?"

"This lord has heard that there are over six thousand outer disciples, whom the sect has been feeding and providing for all these years—accumulating merit for them for nothing."

"It's time they repaid that."

Yun Shuchen smiled lightly. Then she added, "And the private vaults of the successive sect leaders have stored quite a few fine items. Just sitting there gathering dust, so why not take them out, sort through them carefully—sell whatever's useless for now, and distribute what's useful among the peaks. How about it?"

One of the ancestors once said that most people tend toward compromise. If she'd only proposed plundering the sect leader's private vault, the elders wouldn't have agreed so easily. But by first persuading them to mine the spirit veins—this ancestral land—the idea of opening the private vault suddenly seemed much more trivial by comparison.

In the end, the acting sect leader deliberated at length, then assured the elders that with this plan in place, every peak's monthly allowance would at least double.

Seeing that her calculations were sound, no one voiced another word of dissent.

Qing Zhouxue had been cultivating quietly on Heyi Peak for several days when she went to the Sword Pavilion to practice, only to find her fellow senior and junior brothers all absent. The entire main peak was empty and still, so quiet that even footsteps seemed to echo.

This was a far cry from its usual liveliness.

She went to Chunqiu Hall, where no one else was present—only Yun Shuchen, her eyes closed, sitting back in the sect leader's high seat, the dim slanting sunlight illuminating the dust motes floating before her.

"Master?"

Yun Shuchen slowly opened her eyes, studying her for a moment. "Why have you come?"

"I came to learn swordsmanship," she said, "but no one was on the peak."

Her disciple was, as always, drawn to her like she had a habit of drifting close—within a few words, Yun Shuchen watched her walk from the doorway to the edge of the sect leader's seat. The spot was roomy enough, and her gaze lingered on the space beside her, as if she were thinking of sitting down.

Yun Shuchen casually let one hand drop, seemingly idly pressing it against the cushion at her side—a silent rejection.

Qing Zhouxue stopped beside her, not moving any closer.

But her gaze rested on Yun Shuchen's face unashamedly, noting how pale it seemed again. "Master, you haven't come back at night these past days."

"Have you not been sleeping?"

With the turmoil in the sect recently, Yun Shuchen had indeed gone several days without rest. She pressed a hand to her brow. "Aren't I sleeping now? You come, and you disturb my rest."

"Sleeping like this is bad for your back," Qing Zhouxue said, unmoved, her voice clear. "Master has to sit for long periods dealing with these affairs, which already strains your back, so you should be more careful..."

"Stop." Yun Shuchen was still rubbing her brow. "So nagging."

Her disciple had only just turned eighteen, but while she usually kept her feelings hidden, whenever she started lecturing on health, she sounded like she was eight hundred and eighty years old.

Suddenly, a white silk sleeve dropped before her eyes like a cloud drifting across the sky—it was Qing Zhouxue's. Then Qing Zhouxue's fingers brushed it aside.

At some point she'd circled around behind Yun Shuchen, and with gentle force propped her fingers against Yun's temples, massaging slowly.

Cool fingertips touched near her eyes.

Yun Shuchen turned her head to dodge, trying to keep some distance. "No need."

But then a sect leader's token dangled before her eyes, swaying lightly.

Qing Zhouxue held it up, her expression serious. "Master, you see this—according to sect law, you have to obey me."

The wooden token looked rather old. It was the one the sect leader had given Qing Zhouxue in the year she first joined the sect.

Yun Shuchen blinked in surprise.

Satisfied, her disciple pocketed the token, then lowered her head and continued pressing her acupoints in silence.

A lock of dark hair fell by her ear, brushing against Yun Shuchen's cheek now and then, carrying a faint, ticklish sensation.

The technique was, it had to be said, moderate in pressure and quite pleasant—not like a beginner. Yun Shuchen, unsure of her own motives, asked, "Where did you learn this?"

"I went to Bai Su to pick it up recently."

Her disciple's voice was clear and gentle, her fingers moving down to press at her shoulder. "I know this spot too."

Yun Shuchen suddenly pictured it—Qing Zhouxue and Bai Su, just as intimate, one sitting, one standing, one teaching, one learning, exactly as it was between them now.

At that thought, she stopped.

Why bother thinking of that?

Just as her mind was churning with annoyance, Qing Zhouxue hit a particularly effective spot, easing the soreness in her shoulder just right. Lost in thought, she let out a soft, involuntary moan of comfort.

Qing Zhouxue's hand froze. "Did I hurt you?"

What hurt? What was she babbling about?

She knew the girl meant nothing ordinary by it, but the moment it hit her ear, it burned, making Yun Shuchen's whole body stiffen for a beat before she slowly recovered her senses.

"No."

She abruptly rose, taking a few steps forward, and turned back. "You seem to have plenty of free time."

Because of the sudden movement, Qing Zhouxue had no chance to withdraw her hand, leaving it awkwardly suspended in midair. She looked at Yun Shuchen with puzzled eyes. "You don't want me to continue?"

Yun Shuchen picked up a few registers from the table and pushed them into Qing Zhouxue's hands, not sparing her another glance.

"Since you're free, go supervise some work."

*

As she left the main hall, Qing Zhouxue felt Yun Shuchen's expression had been a bit off.

But exactly what was wrong, she couldn't say. Still, one day it just started—Yun Shuchen's demeanor toward her had grown much more distant, and for no reason she knew.

When there was something she couldn't figure out, Qing Zhouxue had a habit of shelving it and thinking on it later. Perhaps someday the answer would come to her.

She glanced through the register in her hands; most names were unfamiliar—since they were the sect's outer disciples.

When she reached the mining site, the scene stunned her. Piles of outer disciples, drenched in sweat, were hauling ore—shoulder to shoulder, like Qin Shihuang's laborers building the Great Wall.

Ruan Mingzhu had also come to help, though she was nominally a supervisor, she occasionally joined in moving a stack or two of ore. Spotting Qing Zhouxue, she arched an eyebrow. "Well, well, the celestial above finally deigns to descend from her peak."

Qing Zhouxue ignored the jest and asked, "What's all this?"

"Your peak's information is so outdated." Ruan Mingzhu sighed. "After Elder Yun renovated the sect, she turned her sights to these. We don't understand her grand designs, but hey, we just follow along."

"I regret joining this sect so early now."

Ruan Mingzhu watched a flock of fired-up outer disciples enviously. "You know? If they work one morning, they can eat for free at the outer sect dining hall! Work a full day, and they get a Clarity Pill, plus silver for sticking with it. If they perform well for a whole week, they even get a piece of Elder Yun's personal calligraphy!"

At that moment, a disciple suddenly convulsed and foamed at the mouth. Instantly, people swarmed around to carry him to the medicine peak. But then, halfway there, he sprang up like a zombie, pounding on the stretcher with renewed vigor. "Put me down!! I'm about to get Elder Yun's calligraphy! I can keep digging for another forty-nine days—hahaha—"

Qing Zhouxue stood frozen, the register nearly slipping from her hand as a breeze caught it.

Master...

Amazing.

Ruan Mingzhu, meanwhile, waved her hand in disgust. "So embarrassing. Get him out of here!"