His face had been all smiles and friendliness toward Fin just moments ago, but once he was back inside his bamboo hut, Leo's expression darkened instantly.
The reason he had chosen to settle on this barren mountain with sparse spiritual energy was precisely to keep the several spiritual items in his possession and his frequent need for pill refining out of the sight of prying eyes. Whether it was feeding the Ice Silkworms with century-old Scarlet-Ice Mulberry leaves, the herbs required for frequent alchemy, or refining large quantities of Beast Spirit Pills to increase the leopard's strength—
If Fin lingered nearby for too long, he would inevitably notice something amiss.
He hadn't expected Mist to be so shameless and unscrupulous. He had blatantly sent Fin over, clearly trying to pressure him into submission. If Leo were just an ordinary cultivator, it might not matter.
But if he revealed anything out of the ordinary, a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Mist could destroy him with ease.
"All I can do is hope Fin will leave after a while. Otherwise, I'll have to think of another way." Leo calculated silently.
In the days that followed, Leo behaved like any ordinary cultivator. He opened up a few spirit fields and planted various spiritual herb seeds. He then attempted to refine a few batches of "Qi Condensation Pills," but with Fin watching from the sidelines, he couldn't concentrate, and several batches were ruined. He did manage to refine a few batches of Beast Spirit Pills for the leopard.
Apart from alchemy, Leo also took on several chores from the Chores Hall to earn spirit stones. In between, he frequently consulted Fin on various matters.
"Could it be that Master Mist's suspicions are unfounded? Leo seems like an ordinary cultivator, with nothing unusual about him. Master Mist is such an odd one." Fin muttered to himself as he watched Leo ride a spirit crane off to his latest chore assignment like usual.
But Leo, seated on the spirit crane's back, felt his heart sink. He had underestimated the patience of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fin was probably just a disposable pawn in Mist's game. After all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator had many things he no longer needed, and a few scraps were enough to buy Fin's loyalty. For a full month and a half, Leo had behaved like any ordinary cultivator, refining only a few batches of pills and relying on his remaining Qi Gathering Pills for cultivation. But a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator consumed Qi Gathering Pills at a high rate, and his remaining stock wouldn't sustain him much longer.
He now possessed the method for refining Qi Condensation Pills, but with Fin constantly watching, he couldn't refine pills continuously as he had before. If he refined dozens of batches in a single month, even a fool would realize something was wrong. Other cultivators couldn't accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs with spirit stones inside a mysterious space like he could. Refining a dozen batches a year was already considered a high frequency for most.
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"I need to find another way." Leo thought to himself. Otherwise, Mist, with his three-hundred-year lifespan, could afford to wait years. If Leo's cultivation was delayed for years, missing the optimal window for Foundation Establishment, he might never have another chance.
"Oh, Junior Brother Leo, here for another chore assignment?"
As Leo's spirit crane landed at the entrance of the Chores Hall, Rove, the disciple responsible for assigning chores, spotted him and greeted him with a smile. Over the past month and a half, Leo had taken on numerous tasks from him and had completed them all satisfactorily with his steady demeanor.
Working at the Chores Hall had its risks. Just last month, a Qi Refining disciple tending the spiritual herb garden for a certain Master had caused a Rainbow Spirit Grass to lose much of its spiritual energy. The Master had flown into a thunderous rage, severely punishing the unfortunate disciple and even storming into the Chores Hall to give everyone a thorough dressing-down. It had scared several of the junior brothers half to death.
When the tasks they assigned were done well, their own lives were easier. Leo had a clean record, so Rove was more familiar with him than with other cultivators.
"Senior Brother Rove, are there any chores that are long-term, with a fixed location, so I don't have to travel back and forth every day? It would be fine if I could even eat and cultivate at the work site. Traveling back and forth every day, just the cost of renting a spirit crane is a considerable expense."
Leo asked as he dismounted from the crane. His goal, of course, wasn't to work somewhere, but to shake off the annoying eyesore that was Fin.
"Long-term? How long?" Rove asked.
"A year or so would be fine." Leo replied.
"Alright, let me have a look." Rove took out a manual listing all the chores within the Palace of the Heavenly Apex.
"Well, there's Spirit Lotus Peak domain. Master Tanner has a grove of Cloudfall Fruits. The fruit takes ten years to mature, but it's quite popular with various spirit birds. Master Tanner needs manpower over there. It's not just a year—there's work for a decade. You'd be responsible for scaring off the spirit birds and tending to some of the spirit fowl raised within the sect. It's rather tedious, though. At least three disciples are needed to rotate shifts, guarding the orchard constantly without a moment's pause. The last fellow was punished because he got careless and let some spirit birds eat a few Cloudfall Fruits. Master Tanner punished him and kicked him down the mountain. There's one vacancy now. Do you want it? The pay is quite generous—fifty spirit stones a month."
Rove looked at Leo. With his steady, persevering nature, he might be well-suited for such work.
"The pay is indeed generous, but it's too tedious. Constantly watching the orchard would severely impact my cultivation." Leo shook his head, declining outright.
"Well, there's Spirit Hidden Peak domain. A certain Master Haus wants to forge a Crimson Jade divine weapon. The crimson jade needs to be repeatedly refined from large amount of jade ore. The more you work, the more you earn. If you're willing to work hard, you can make forty or fifty spirit stones a month. But it's rather monotonous."
It was essentially the work of a mortal blacksmith, similarly detrimental to cultivation. Leo shook his head again.
"Then the only thing left is mining. Same deal—more work, more pay. But the decent spots are usually deep underground. You often spend ten days or even whole months without seeing the sun. Few cultivators can endure that kind of isolation." Rove shrugged. "You're a tough customer today."
"What kind of mines are there?" Hearing about going deep underground, Leo's interest was piqued.
"Our Palace has been established for tens of thousands of years, so we control a wide variety of minerals. There's iron ore, copper ore for forging, as well as crimson jade ore, tungsten ore, and of course, various spirit stone mines. The closer ones include the White Night Water Spirit Stone Mine, the Ancient Mouth Road Gold Spirit Stone Mine, and further away, the Black Water Stockade Mine."
Rove cautioned him. "Junior Brother Leo, don't say I didn't warn you. Mining is also a matter of more work, more pay. The spirit stones exposed on the surface were all mined out long ago. You have to go deep into the mine shafts to find any. These mines have been worked for at least a thousand years, and the tunnels are countless. If your luck is bad, you won't mine enough ore and will have wasted your time. And if you're thinking of secretly keeping any spirit stones for yourself, forget it. You can only enter the mine with a storage pouch issued by the overseers. There's no way to hide anything. Most of the senior and junior brothers who've worked in the mines complain bitterly and give up after a short time. And there can be life-threatening dangers down there."
