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Chapter 617: Chapter 623: Mining
After a short wait, they finally saw Li Darong.
"What important matter do you have to report?" Li Darong was very busy.
If it hadn’t been for a dozen or so Foundation Establishment clan members jointly reporting, he would not have made time to see them.
"Clan Leader, we have discovered a Spirit Vein!"
The previously impatient Li Darong, upon hearing this, immediately stood up from his chair and asked, "Are you telling the truth!?"
"We can guarantee that every word we say is true! However, we were in a hurry to return, so we did not fully investigate the grade and size of the vein. We request that the Clan Leader dispatch someone to test it."
Upon hearing their words, Li Darong nodded repeatedly, "You have done very well! If the verification reveals no issues, the family will definitely reward you generously!"
"Thank you, Clan Leader!"
Li Darong immediately called for an Executor from the outer hall and said, "Go invite Elder Cheng Huo and Elder Xue Hua to the grand hall, tell them there is an important matter requiring their attention."
"Yes!"
Li Darong then inquired for more details before waiting for Li Chenghuo and Li Xuehua to arrive.
Soon, the two walked into the grand hall one after the other, "May I know what matter the Clan Leader has for us to attend to?"
"Elders, I must trouble you to follow them and investigate a Spirit Stone Vein."
Li Chenghuo was called over because of his strength at the Golden Core Realm, which ensured he could protect everyone’s safety in case of danger, while Li Xuehua was one of the few Earth Masters in the family, capable of accurately determining the grade, size, and trend of the vein.
"Who would’ve thought there really is a Spirit Stone Vein beneath the sea?" Adding this to the previously discovered veins, Li Chenghuo sighed, "We have been sitting on a mountain of treasures without knowing it!"
"It’s not too late to discover it now." Li Darong replied with a smile, "I rely on both Elders for this task. Once it’s confirmed, I will report it to the ancestor to see how he wishes to proceed."
"Let’s go."
Li Chenghuo nodded and led a group away from Wanxian Island, heading straight for the area where the vein was located.
"This is the spot?"
They soon reached their destination and each deployed the water avoidance art to descend into the sea.
The following matters were no longer related to Li Chenghuo; everyone listened to Li Xuehua’s arrangements, dispersing across the seabed to investigate the area and trajectory of the vein.
After several tests, Li Xuehua made some calculations in his mind and immediately came up with an answer, "This appears to be only a small Spirit Stone Vein, stretching in a north-south direction and evenly distributed over a span of five to six miles."
"Good, you return to Wanxian Island and inform the Clan Leader about the data; I will stay here to oversee the site and await further instructions," Li Chenghuo immediately ordered.
A small vein could yield about seven to ten million Spirit Stones, which for the Li family was already a considerable fortune, one that must not be allowed to be destroyed by anyone.
Li Darong, upon learning the details of the vein, did not delay in reporting to Li Zhirui.
"A Spirit Stone Vein has really been found?" The family had arranged for so many people to search, but to no avail; unexpectedly, there was now a pleasant surprise.
"Is there an island near the vein?"
Extracting Spirit Stones was not a task that could be completed in a day or two, and they were also in the special environment of the ocean floor, which greatly increased the difficulty of excavation. If there wasn’t a base where clan members could rest, the work simply couldn’t proceed.
"This..." Li Darong didn’t know; he had rushed over in his excitement to bring the good news, without inquiring about these details.
"Then let’s assume there isn’t one," Li Zhirui said, not minding too much. After thinking it over, he called out Jiang Fengwu. His own hands were tied, so he had to ask her to move an island over, and while at it, to set up a Defensive Array as well.
The remaining task was to have Li Darong ensure the logistical support. It was fine if the mining of Spirit Stones was slow, after all, they were right there and not going anywhere, but the safety of the clan members had to be guaranteed.
"By the way, we can also gather Loose Cultivators to mine the Spirit Stones, as long as the management is handled well."
Because mining Spirit Stones was very laborious, many clan members might be unwilling to engage in such toilsome work. But the Loose Cultivators were different; they did not fear hard work, as long as there was a generous reward.
In fact, if the vein wasn’t underwater, this kind of laborious work would have been done by mortals. Although they were not as efficient as Cultivators, they were cheaper! One Spirit Stone per day, or even silver and gold would suffice.
Moreover, the difficulty of management was very low, with neither the risk of riot nor embezzlement.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Da Qing and Xiao Qing were still evolving, so Li Zhirui did not dare to leave. If something happened, he needed to be able to react quickly.
"You are too kind," they replied.
Soon, Li Darong took his leave.
"So you do know your duties, Executor!" Jiang Fengwu, who was deducing Formations, said with irritation after being called out by Li Zhirui.
"I had no choice," Li Zhirui tried to appease him, "With your skills, this should be nothing for you, right? You’ll surely complete it with ease."
"Don’t give me that!" However, Jiang Fengwu’s expression did somewhat improve before he turned to go back to his quiet room to prepare Array Plates and Array Flags.
News of the Li family mining the Spirit Stone Vein spread quickly, with the treatment of the miners being the most attractive bit!
Not only was there a generous guaranteed base salary, but those who exceeded the quotas could receive even richer and more precious Spiritual Objects.
As a result, many Loose Cultivators with lesser strength or no means of making money soon came knocking on the door, becoming miners.
With a large group of Loose Cultivators joining in, the mining of Spirit Stones went very smoothly and yielded up to hundreds of thousands every day!
At this rate, it would take only a few months to completely exhaust the vein.
During this period, a few unreconciled Loose Cultivators attempted to secretly take away Spirit Stones, but they soon discovered that it was impossible!
This was because Jiang Fengwu had set up a large-scale Defensive Array that enveloped the entire vein and an area of five or six miles around it!
It didn’t seem like much usually, but if one didn’t exit from the designated area, they would trigger the Formation and get trapped in water bubbles.
These Loose Cultivators would not only be immediately expelled in public, but they would also be noted in the Li family’s records, and they would not be employed for any jobs in the future!
Moreover, all the Marketplaces and Immortal Cities under the Li family’s rule would bar them from entry, especially the two most important Marketplaces of West Mountain and Red Pine.
After a few instances, no Loose Cultivators entertained wishful thinking anymore and became much more honest.
As time passed, the mining of the vein was nearing its end!
"I didn’t expect this small vein to yield over nine million Spirit Stones! Just a little more, and it would have been classified as a medium-sized vein," Li Chenghuo, who had been overseeing the site, said with a ledger in hand.
Besides him, Li Darong on Wanxian Island also had a ledger.
There were also many sub-ledgers and copies underneath, designed to prevent embezzlement by the clan members.
"With this amount of Spirit Stones, the family will soon be able to go full throttle."
Such as advancing another fourth-order Spirit Vein!
