HLnovel Chapter 4: Money really can buy you anything!
Chapter 4: Money really can buy you anything!
As soon as Ye Xiaobai entered White Tiger Mountain, he felt that the mountain air was exceptionally fresh and his breathing was particularly smooth. It was as if his years-long rhinitis had suddenly been cured, so he couldn't help but take a few more breaths.
Senior Brother Liu took Ye Xiaobai to the registration office for new disciples, where he registered, introduced him to his accommodation, and gave him his initiation items: a storage bag that could only be opened at the Qi Refining Realm, a book on Qi Induction, two sets of gray robes, and a book of White Tiger Mountain rules, which introduced some precautions for the White Tiger Sect.
Then he took Xiaobai to a gathering place for new disciples. Senior Brother Liu exchanged a few words with Senior Brother Song, the person in charge of the new disciples, and then left, admonishing Ye Xiaobai to cultivate diligently.
The square wasn't large, but it could still accommodate over a hundred people. At this moment, only a dozen or so newly initiated disciples were chattering away. On the high platform stood Senior Brother Song, the person in charge of the new disciples, along with two other young senior brothers standing on either side.
"First of all, welcome to our White Tiger Sect, fellow disciples!" Senior Brother Song said with a smile.
"As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the cultivation depends on yourself. You have not yet entered the Qi Refining Realm, so you need to cultivate with me to guide Qi into your bodies. Once you enter the Qi Refining Realm, the sect will have new cultivation arrangements..." Senior Brother Song continued.
The following sections detailed the arrangements before the Qi Refining stage, which can be summarized in two words: mining!
"So I came here to mine, what happened to cultivating immortality?" Ye Xiaobai cursed inwardly. Besides, there were rewards for recruiting new members. No wonder Senior Brother Liu, who was supposed to be recruiting Ye Xiaobai, was so enthusiastic in inviting him to join the White Tiger Sect—he was actually looking for black slaves to mine!
New players need to mine for 4 hours a day, and spend the rest of the time cultivating on their own.
"One day off every 10 days, not bad, at least it's not 996. Wait, why does it feel even worse than 996?" Ye Xiaobai couldn't help but complain.
There's also the principle of "the more you work, the more you earn." You can exchange 4 sect contribution points for 4 hours each day. The more you dig, the more sect contribution points you can exchange for. Sect contribution points can be exchanged for cultivation pills, cultivation techniques, weapons, and so on.
However, most disciples reach the Qi Refining Realm within one to three months and then stop mining. Ye Xiaobai was confident that he could reach the Qi Refining Realm within a month. Therefore, although everyone was working very hard, they didn't complain. After all, even more difficult things awaited them after they finished cultivating.
Ye Xiaobai was taken to the place where the newlyweds lived, and randomly chose an ordinary cave to enter.
The cave contained only a simple stone bed, table, and chairs, nothing more. Ye Xiaobai didn't pay much attention; he had to get up early to mine the next day! Exhausted from the day's work, he lay down and fell fast asleep. He didn't even bother to look at the book on Qi cultivation, completely forgetting that he had come to cultivate immortality.
In the morning, just as dawn broke, Ye Xiaobai heard his senior brother shouting, "Get up and get ready to start work!" Ye Xiaobai wanted to turn over and sleep in a little longer when he heard Jing Qianli's voice in his mind.
"You brat, are you still going to cultivate immortality or not? Still sleeping!"
"Stop yelling! Stop yelling! I'll get up right now!"
Upon hearing the word "cultivation," Ye Xiaobai immediately got up. However, after regaining his senses, he realized he still had to go mining later, and he became quite depressed. He didn't know when he would actually be able to begin cultivating immortality.
Thinking of this, Ye Xiaobai's steps became particularly heavy as he walked out, and he felt his back and waist aching as he walked, as if he had already started digging a hole.
"Gurgle!" Ye Xiaobai's stomach started growling, and he quickened his pace.
Ye Xiaobai went to have breakfast with the new disciples. Breakfast was simple: two steamed buns and a bowl of white porridge for each person. Xiaobai took his breakfast, found an open space, and just as he took a bite of his bun, he suddenly smelled a delicious aroma wafting from not far away.
Ye Xiaobai looked up and saw another new disciple not far away, with a table piled high with all sorts of breakfast items, such as steamed dumplings, shrimp dumplings, water chestnut cake, red bean buns, glutinous rice chicken, and congee with preserved egg and lean pork (of course, he only knew the specifics from others).
Ye Xiaobai was taken aback and almost choked. He quickly drank some congee to catch his breath. Then, he asked the new disciple next to him, "Senior brother, what's your name? My name is Ye Xiaobai."
"My name is Niu Dazhuang. No need to be so polite. We're all just beginners, so you can just call me Dazhuang."
"Why does that senior brother over there have such a lavish breakfast?"
Senior Brother Niu didn't stand on ceremony and replied while eating, "That's Senior Brother Li. The Li family is one of the four great immortal cultivation families of White Tiger Mountain. They're definitely second-generation immortals. Being rich is amazing. We ordinary disciples can't compare. Let's just eat our steamed buns honestly."
"Oh, I see," Ye Xiaobai said. Xiaobai couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Being rich really is amazing; you can eat whatever you want for breakfast!" Not long after, the new disciples finished their breakfast. Then, they followed their senior brother to the mine to start mining.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, they arrived at their destination—the iron mine. After collecting their tools, Xiaobai and the other new disciples went inside, ready to officially begin their mining life. The senior disciple leading the group specifically instructed them not to venture too deep into the mine, as it was easy to get lost; they should just mine on the outer perimeter.
The light inside the mine is not as good as outside, but there are many luminescent stones on both sides of the tunnel, which provides a normal line of sight for mining.
Ye Xiaobai found a secluded spot and started mining.
"Senior, besides this iron ore, are there any other valuable things in the mine?"
"You brat, how would I know? But remember to go out and hunt some wild game during your lunch break. Just steamed buns and porridge won't be enough for your stomach."
"Ok!"
After saying that, Ye Xiaobai continued mining.
Before long, Ye Xiaobai was so tired that he couldn't take it anymore and found an open space to rest.
Seeing that Niu Dazhuang was still busy mining not far away, they started chatting.
"Brother Dazhuang, why don't you take a break?"
"I'm fine. I used to do manual labor at home, so my stamina is still good, and I can keep going for a while."
Ye Xiaobai looked at Niu Dazhuang's burly physique and nodded silently in approval. He then glanced at the new miners around him and suddenly felt something was off; there seemed to be fewer people than when he had come in.
Why are there fewer people?
Da Zhuang chuckled: "There are a few missing people, it's Senior Brother Li and those second-generation immortals."
"Even second-generation immortals who haven't reached the Qi Refining Realm don't need to mine?"
"I heard that they use a spirit stone to hire someone else to do the mining, so they don't have to mine themselves and can just cultivate near the mine."
"Wow, that's possible! Money really can buy anything!"
After the casual chat, Ye Xiaobai went back to mining. Painful times always feel like an eternity.
Before lunchtime, Ye Xiaobai's stomach was already growling loudly. There was nothing else to eat, so he could only tighten his belt and endure until lunchtime.
……
Finally, it was lunchtime, and the mining manager called out, "Lunchtime!"
The miners shouted excitedly, "Time to eat!" They then tossed their mining tools aside, handed over the ore they'd mined that morning to the supervisor for tallying and collection, and finally all ran off to eat. Ye Xiaobai followed the group to the dining area.
Upon inspection, the lunch consisted mainly of rice, pickled vegetables, and a plate of cabbage; there was no meat at all. Many of the new disciples complained that the food was terrible.
However, the person in charge of cooking warned everyone that they came to cultivate immortality, not to enjoy life, and those who didn't want to work could leave. The newcomers immediately quieted down and didn't say anything more, so they just quietly ate their pickled vegetable rice.
Just then, the senior student who had been keeping track of the mining situation arrived, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, quiet down, there's something I need to say over here."
"The mining area stipulates that if you fail to meet the mining quota for three consecutive days, you won't get any food! You'll also lose your daily contribution points. So, fellow disciples, please don't slack off while mining; finish your daily tasks early so you can go back to cultivate!"
Let's skip the first day and start from tomorrow!
As he spoke, he glanced in Xiaobai's direction, as if to say, "You haven't dug enough, kid. Stop slacking off." Sensing the senior's cold gaze, Xiaobai immediately knew things were going badly.
Xiao Bai felt that if he continued like this, he would definitely not have food to eat tomorrow, since physical labor was not something he was good at.