Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Mining and Quota
Jiang Sheng and the rest quickly gather around the ten individuals here for them. Although nobody knew what would follow afterward, they knew they could be the next to lose their lives if they didn't comply.
Several minutes later, someone spoke.
"I will make this short and precise," said the leader of this group.
"All of you can call me Head Miner Hwang," he started with a self-introduction. "Needless to divulge further, you could already guess my origin from this Devil's Mark bracelet on our wrist. Like all of you, I am also one of the ascended who came to this world seven hundred years ago."
"The reason all of us were here is to assume the position of a Spiritual Ore Miner for the High Heaven Sect. This would be the job all newly ascended individuals would be allocated to, and how good your treatment would be will depend on your performance on a daily basis," Head Miner Hwang continued.
After the introduction and going into detail about their job, Head Miner Hwang reached out to his pocket to take something out.
A piece of crystal-like ore, with the size of a quail's egg, came into view. Hidden within that greyish yet transparent crystal ore was a hint of Spiritual Energy similar to what they had been exposed to earlier.
The only difference is this Spiritual Energy contained a more chaotic nature, which is obvious from looking at how fierce the greyish energy swirling inside the ore.
"This is one of the examples of what we're mining out here," said Head Miner Hwang with his two fingers holding firmly on the quail egg-sized ore.
"As a newcomer, your daily quota would be five of these First-Grade Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals." Head Miner Hwang added.
(Could the Immortal Spirit Qi be the foundation base for all cultivation in this world?)
Jiang Sheng guessed. And he was not wrong. The Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal was the lowest resource grade in this Lower Yuanning Realm. Even so, they're highly coveted by all the cultivators in this world.
"The next thing would be the Devil's Mark on everyone's wrist. Needless to say, I'm sure all of you already could guess what's their use, correct?" Head Miner Hwang moved on to another topic after ensuring that the matter related to the Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal was delivered.
He gave out a smirk at these new ascended while enjoying their reaction.
The weight on these newcomers' hearts was twice heavier after knowing that the Devil's Mark is indeed a type of enslavement treasure. But in addition to that function, the Devil's Mark was also a spatial accessory with limited space and marker.
It ensured the wearer's obedience to the High Heaven Sect. Yet, they're not tied to any menial rules a disciple had to follow.
"Alright. Your introduction ends here." Head Miner Hwang continued after he covered all the matters considered essential to these newcomers. "I want you guys to be divided into ten teams of hundred people each. After this, we will enter the Western Spirit Vein and start mining. Ask all other questions after you have the five Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals in hand." he added.
What comes afterward is insignificant.
They were divided into ten groups of a hundred people, each led by one of the supervisors here. The group was then introduced to several essential buildings and their uses near the Western Spirit Vein's entrance.
Following them further, Jiang Sheng and his group came to the 17th layer under his group leader's supervision.
"Alright! I'll only show this once. I won't be responsible for your failure afterward if you're unable to reach the daily quota," Lead Miner Luan, the group leader of Jiang Sheng, said.
The Lead Miner then took out a pickaxe made from unknown material from the Devil's Mark on his wrist. After infusing a vague amount of Immortal Spirit Qi into the tool, he started to pick the wall in a careful manner to unearth the possible treasure hidden inside.
This process was repeated three times before Lead Miner Luan unearthed a beautiful crystal with a greyish core. Without a doubt, that crystal was the Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal they were looking for.
"That's how it was done. As for everything else, handle it on your own. You may return to me after you have five crystals in hand. Now, go and grab a spot you fancy and start working." said the Lead Miner Luan.
The group hesitates momentarily before more people disperse and spread across the 17th layer. A few of them came up with the idea of making a smaller group. Meanwhile, the majority decided to take the solo approach.
This solo approach strategy includes Jiang Sheng.
Although he knew that a group approach would help reach the quota faster, there was still a condition to be fulfilled before he could fully trust the other party. For starters, it's how trustworthy the leader and its members are.
Furthermore, creating a group meant everyone had to carry the burden together. In their case, there's no equality to say because the mining process for Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal is purely based on the skill and luck of the individual.
Creating a group recklessly also risks overlooking an individual's personality, such as reliability, trustworthiness, and individual quality.
After distancing himself from the majority, Jiang Sheng came to a spot where only three people could be seen. Furthermore, these people were not newcomers like him based on the Immortal Spirit Qi can be seen leaking from their bodies.
Jiang Sheng then made up his mind on where to start. But as the Wisemen say, looking at something was simple. It was repeating what was done is difficult.
He tried to copy exactly what Head Miner Luan had done earlier. Still, no matter how hard he tried, Jiang Sheng's Spiritual Energy was hardly enough to activate the Devil's Mark. And this struggle goes on for an hour.
An hour later, the Spiritual Energy required to activate the Devil's Mark finally reaches the threshold. This achievement instantly gave Jiang Sheng an impression of looking at the content within his Devil's Mark Treasure.
It was a small spatial treasure with a holding space about 10x10x10 meters wide. And there were several items left inside.
A book, likely containing a cultivation technique.
A set of two pickaxes made from foreign materials.
Ten medicinal pills with a pungent aroma and a hint of Immortal Spirit Qi.
Lastly, a scroll.
(Which one of these should I bring out first?)
Jiang Sheng made a calculation on his own. His calculation naturally comes with a hint of regret for not going along with the rest in forming a smaller team.
After all, forming a team would help him get more clues about the uses of these items. And by doing this alone, he would have to repeat the same action four times to know the uses of every item in his Devil's Mark.
(Author's Note: Four, considering that he also had to personally try and test out the pickaxe before knowing its full uses.)
With his mind running at its top capacity, Jiang Sheng calculates the possibility of which item to go first. The pickaxe is naturally the best choice, considering what he was here for. However, his experience with activating the Devil's Mark also tells him that choosing the pickaxe first would be a big mistake.
Or Jiang Sheng could go for the medicinal pill. With the hint of Immortal Spirit Qi seen from the pills, he has no doubt they would be useful to him somehow. But at the same time, Jiang Sheng's careful nature made him think about the same time twice before making a decision.
If these pills are useful to him, they would also be useful to others.
As the only recently ascended here, taking the medicinal pills out carelessly could mean an entirely different matter for a weakling like him, especially...
If he was robbed by the other three "experienced" ascended mining nearby.
(Since the pickaxe and medicinal pills are likely terrible choices, should I decide on one of these remaining items?)
Jiang Sheng's attention came to the book and the scroll inside the Devil's Mark.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone