Chapter 45: Chapter 41: Arrival

Chu Zheng slowly ended his cultivation practice, opened his eyes, and stood up, saying, "Is the mission accomplished?"

"Pretty much."

Fu Quanliang nodded slightly, without elaborating much on the mission, and turned around, saying, "Follow me, the registration for odd-jobbers has already started."

This time, the Phantom Spirit Sect's recruitment of odd-jobbers had caused quite a stir in Illusory Spirit City; it had been a long time since such a large-scale recruitment took place.

When the two arrived at the registration site, the sky had already darkened completely. The square was brilliantly lit, not allowing a speck of night to seep through. The noise of the crowd buzzed in their ears, creating a chaotic din.

This time, although it was nominally the Phantom Spirit Sect recruiting odd-jobbers, it was actually the Han Family behind it.

The Han Family held considerable influence within the Phantom Spirit Sect. Their ancestor, a Supreme elder of the sect, was in the late Divine Soul Realm, with potential for further advancement, forming the foundation for the family for generations to come.

As for the purpose of this recruitment to gather odd-jobbers, the Han Family did not hide it and openly stated it was for mining, but they concealed the existence of that ancient battlefield, presumably to avoid alarming these martial masters.

In itself, mining was a riskier job compared to others. If it were accompanied by strange occurrences, it would be even more dangerous and would scare away many people.

The selection of odd-jobbers was straightforward and clear-cut, without any complicated procedures. There were three bronze cauldrons set up in the square, respectively weighing five thousand, eight thousand, and ten thousand catties.

Those who could lift the five-thousand-catty cauldron would get two hundred spiritual currency a month and five Qi Boosting Elixirs.

Those who could lift the seven-thousand-catty cauldron would get four hundred spiritual currency and ten Qi Boosting Elixirs.

Those who could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron would get one thousand spiritual currency and thirty Qi Boosting Elixirs.

These were just the basics, and the one who contributed the most in mining each month would also get twenty lower-quality spirit stones as a reward.

For most martial masters who toiled for a year to barely earn two to three hundred spiritual currency, this job was an attractive opportunity.

The Qi Boosting Elixir was specially formulated by an alchemist of the Phantom Spirit Sect for these martial masters.

One Qi Boosting Elixir could save these martial masters nearly a year of arduous effort.

However, there comes a time when human strength reaches its limits, and when inner strength becomes sufficiently thick, it naturally stagnates.

For those martial masters who had reached the realm of Perfection, the effect of the Qi Boosting Elixir was only to help them maintain their strength or recover their depleted inner strength more quickly.

In other words, they could work more within a shorter span of time.

Chu Zheng observed for a moment on the side and noticed that not many could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron, one in a hundred at most. Most martial masters chose either the five-thousand or the seven-thousand-catty cauldron.

Those who could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron were mostly middle-aged martial masters, in their prime years.

Before long, it was Chu Zheng's turn.

Even if the ten-thousand-catty cauldron were ten times heavier, it would be trivial for the current Chu Zheng, but obviously, he couldn't appear too conspicuous now.

He walked into the square, weighing his options briefly, and chose to lift the seven-thousand-catty cauldron. When lifting, he circulated his qi throughout his body, his face slightly reddened, it was apparent at a glance that he still had some strength to spare.

Not until the sun rose did the recruitment finally conclude, resulting in four hundred fifty-nine selected individuals. Only seven could lift the ten-thousand-catty cauldron. After the results were announced, people began to form alliances, clustering around these seven individuals.

Most martial masters, except for Chu Zheng, were planning to stay long term for the mining endeavor and naturally needed to form alliances early to avoid being weak and marginalized.

After all, it's always better for others to suffer than oneself.

Not many could lift the seven-thousand-catty cauldron, and being young as well, Chu Zheng naturally received many invitations.

In such an environment, he did not play any solo wolf tricks. Using the Qi Observation Technique, he joined a group that seemed the most capable. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

A strong group would save him a lot of trouble, and historical experience taught him that staying outside the group never ended well.

After recruitment concluded, Phantom Spirit Sect gave everyone a day to pack their bags and handle their affairs before departing on the Flying Boat.

Fu Quanliang had disappeared unexpectedly, and Chu Zheng turned back to search for a while but could not find any trace of him and eventually had to give up.

He had little to pack, only returning to the Medicine Clinic to bury the Storage Bag underground, then opened the clinic for a day of business, informing his patients of his extended leave.

This naturally brought about a round of sighs.

When the time was almost up, he took a few clothing items and three damaged Magic Artifacts and rushed to the square where the Flying Boat was stationed.

......

......

The inspection before boarding the Flying Boat was unexpectedly thorough, supervised by over ten cultivators at least above the Spirit Spring Realm.

One of them gave him a terrifying feeling, no less formidable than Qin Feng he had previously met at the Song Residence.

This person looked to be about thirty, with a handsome and elegant demeanor, dressed in a blue robe, with a jade belt around his waist and a Golden Crown in his hair, exuding an aura of innate authority. At a glance, he seemed not so much a member of the Immortal Sect, but rather like a lord of a region, radiating an air of nobility.

The items Chu Zheng carried were nothing out of the ordinary, and he passed the inspection smoothly.

Once on board the Flying Boat, he scanned the surroundings and quickly spotted Fu Quanliang sitting in a corner.

His expression concealed surprise as he moved towards him quietly, establishing contact through the Life-link Seal, and transmitted a message in secret:

"Why are you here too? Are you also going?"

"I'm afraid you might die inside."

Fu Quanliang, with a head full of black lines, clenched his teeth and transmitted back, "The thing tied on your belt right now is my head, I hope you take your safety more seriously."

Allowing Chu Zheng to go mining and exploring alone was something Fu Quanliang could never be at ease with; he wished he could follow him wherever he went.

"You mentioned earlier that this mission is related to the Han Family; do you have connections with people from the Han Family?"

Chu Zheng was somewhat puzzled as Fu Quanliang should not have ended up in such a state if he had such connections.

"Yes, thanks to you, from yesterday forward, I am a man of the Han Family."

Fu Quanliang, who had just relaxed his clenched teeth, clenched them again, "I've been in the sect for ten years, walking on thin ice, fearing getting involved in the family disputes and not daring to take sides; thanks for helping me make up my mind."

"You and I, not brothers by blood, are just like brothers, you don't need to be so polite."

Chu Zheng waved his hand dismissively and shifted his attention, sweeping his gaze across the cabin.

At this moment, all the odd-jobbers had boarded the Flying Boat; the surroundings were somewhat noisy. The door leading to the cabin had been sealed off by an Array, clearly, the cultivators did not wish to be disturbed by the outside world.

Half an hour later, the Flying Boat slowly started and sailed into the clouds.

A wave of exclamations arose on the Flying Boat, endless sounds of admiration and surprise filled the air,

Having experienced the Flying Boat when coming to Illusory Spirit City, Chu Zheng faced no great disturbance; the martial masters, many experiencing flight for the first time, could hardly contain themselves.

After about half a day's journey, the Flying Boat gradually landed between a range of mountains, startling countless creatures.

Birds swept through the sky, eagles spread their wings, and from the distant woods, the mingled howls of wolves and tigers could be faintly heard, seeming both near and distant.

"Once you disembark from the Flying Boat, come straight to me; I will do my best to arrange for you to be under my command,"

Fu Quanliang transmitted a message and then rose to step off the Flying Boat first.