As the three of them were on the mountain, with Chen Xiao searching for the hole while walking back and forth, Xi Yunqing was in the village explaining how he would lead the young children away.
First, he would take the group to a villa in a safe area within a valley to temporarily stay. He would teach them the basics of the Chongxuan Heart Method, to help them catch up with the progress of other disciples of the same generation. Afterward, he would notify the Chongxuan Sect's administrative hall to send at least one of their stewards to personally bring the group through the teleportation vortex gate. This was to avoid any potential complications with the Zhishi Hall, as none of the children had any official identification. When they made the handover earlier, he had given the tokens representing the Chongxuan Sect's authority to the elder disciples. Finally, once the steward arrived, they would personally request Zhishi Hall to come to the valley and process the disciples' identification for the children. This way, they could avoid entering Hanshan City and go directly to the vortex gate for teleportation.
Xi Yunqing was thorough in his plans, considering every detail for these isolated children who were avoiding being hunted. The village chief nodded in agreement, clearly approving of every point.
Since many of the children were young and it was their first time leaving home, Xi Yunqing made an exception by recruiting several young adults in their twenties to help care for the apprentices on the journey. He gave the village chief five spots, and with the addition of Ah Shou, who had requested entry, there was a good mix of children and young adults, one generation for each.
Normally, a sect would recruit disciples based on aptitude, selecting a proportion for the inner and outer sects. But the situation in Changjia Village was the opposite of the outside world. On the outside, there were fewer inner sect disciples and more outer sect disciples. Here, however, there were more inner sect disciples and fewer outer sect disciples.
Xi Yunqing didn't impose strict requirements on spiritual roots or talent, anything above average was acceptable. The selection of outer sect disciples was entirely voluntary, as long as they passed the required criteria. In fact, the local powers had some control over the list, which was a special opportunity offered by the sect. This allowed them to send in disciples with lesser talent, and as long as it wasn't too extreme, the sect would often turn a blind eye.
Back in Fan Village, if Fan Shiming hadn't caused such a ruckus later on, even if the head of the academy had squeezed him onto the list, pushing another person out, Zhao Fang wouldn't have interfered.
The village chief was overjoyed to receive these five spots. Opportunities like this were rare, with the sect choosing disciples only once every hundred years. The village chief didn't dare take liberties, fearful of misunderstanding Xi Yunqing's intentions and displeasing him. It was better to follow the instructions properly, so as not to diminish the village's reputation in Xi Yunqing's eyes. After all, over thirty villagers would be relying on him to lead them across two realms, a journey of thousands of miles. The village chief knew Xi Yunqing's character was outstanding and he would protect the children, but he still didn't dare be careless. Once they left Changjia Village, it would be impossible to protect them.
The village chief planned to notify all the eligible candidates, regardless of whether their talent was medium, high, or exceptional, and let them decide for themselves. The opportunity was equal for all.
After discussing the matter for over an hour, it was noon, and the village chief invited Xi Yunqing to his home for a meal, with Ah Shou accompanying them. During their travels, Ah Shou, the only middle-aged person, had once been highly respected among his peers. The village chief hoped he would step up and take responsibility for guiding the people of Changjia Village in the future.
In rural areas, dining with the local administrators was also a necessary social gesture. Xi Yunqing didn't refuse and happily agreed to go.
As the three of them sat down at the table and the food was being served, Xi Yunqing suddenly felt a surge of spiritual energy from nearby. At the same time, any villagers who were in the Foundation Establishment stage or above also sensed the unusual disturbance.
The village chief hesitated and said, "Is that… a spiritual treasure manifesting? Such an intense burst! Even here, we can feel it. It must be very close."
Xi Yunqing stood up and said, "It's nearby, near the rice fields!"
Ah Shou's expression changed immediately, and he jumped up. "This is bad! Did something happen to Brother Du and the others?!"
When Chen Xiao and the others left, they had specifically told them they were going to explore. If there was any link to the disturbance, it could only be related to them.
Before they could discuss it further, the surrounding wild beasts began to stir, and the deafening sound of their roars echoed through the mountains. The village chief, unsure of what was happening, stood up as well. "Are the wild beasts going berserk?"
Ah Shou, who had hunted in the mountains many times, immediately confirmed. "It's definitely the spiritual energy from the treasure causing this. These beasts are probably going to charge the village."
Xi Yunqing frowned slightly, while the village chief raised his eyebrows, still unafraid. He waved his arms, saying, "Let them come. It'll save the villagers the trouble of hunting."
Xi Yunqing asked, "Can the villagers handle it?"
Ah Shou responded, "You needn't worry, Immortal Master. After all, Changjia Village's ancestors were once vassals of a great cultivation family. They obtained a magic artifact. When activated, it can cover the entire village, preventing the beasts from entering and forcing them to stay outside. Otherwise, how would the ancestors have dared to let us live here? Without some means of protection, just the beasts running wild would have wiped out the entire village."
Since that was the case, Xi Yunqing no longer worried. He quickly activated his movement technique and rushed toward the direction where the spiritual energy had erupted. By the time they were speaking, the energy burst had already stopped. However, even with the residual energy, the direction was still clear.
In an instant, Xi Yunqing arrived at the mountain. Du Rong was still pressing down on the giant stone, not letting go. Chen Xiao held a metal rod, seemingly at a loss as the beast roared and the restless movements of the wild animals stirred around him. Tong Nuonuo, however, paid no attention to her surroundings and was carefully collecting the soil that had sprayed out and scattered around them.
Xi Yunqing glanced over and immediately understood. He spoke with certainty, "This is the core of a fine soil mine, it must be the essence. The muddy yellow soil mixed with a purplish-red hue indicates its still thunder attribute, an excellent material for refining tools."
Tong Nuonuo, hearing this, gave Xi Yunqing a rare, wary look. Her voice was stiff as she said, "It's also top-tier material for constructing mechanisms!"
Xi Yunqing was momentarily taken aback, then remembered that Tong Nuonuo was a mechanism master. Praising a material as ideal for refining tools was bound to upset a mechanism master, whose materials overlapped largely with those used for tool refinement. As for why Tong Nuonuo was so defensive, Xi Yunqing initially thought it was because she, as a refiner, was competing with him for the essence of the mine core. It was like a hamster, puffing up its fur to protect its food despite being weak in combat compared to him, it was still guarding its treasure fiercely.
Helpless, Xi Yunqing decided to walk around her and moved to the other side. He stood in front of Chen Xiao, lowered his gaze, and noticed that Chen Xiao seemed distracted. Xi Yunqing softly asked, "What's going on? Were you scared? Don't worry, the village has countermeasures, the beasts can't get in."
Chen Xiao seemed to snap back to his senses and let out a sigh of relief. "As long as there's a plan, it's fine. I didn't expect that the pit would cause such a big disturbance."
Beneath the hole, there was colored soil. Although Chen Xiao had never encountered this firsthand, he had read about it in books and heard his master mention it. Auspicious holes naturally carried five-colored soil. "Five-colored soil" was a general term, as the colors of the soil weren't always limited to just five. Sometimes, more than five colors could be found. However, this five-colored soil usually turned back to a normal color once it was exposed to the outside air after being dug up from the ground.
Chen Xiao had not expected that the five-colored soil here would be directly form the essence of a mine core. But thinking back, in his previous life, the spiritual energy beneath the earth was far less abundant, and while there were occasional discoveries of rare treasures in dragon veins, it was nothing compared to the rich spiritual energy in this world, where immortals roamed. No wonder such exceptional treasures could appear at the site of a formation.
Tong Nuonuo quickly gathered the mine essence that had fallen around them into her mechanism box. After finishing, she stood up, patted the box, and said to the three, "I'll refine this and separate it from the soil when I get back, then I'll share it with you all." After all, they had discovered it together, and by convention during expeditions, such discoveries were usually shared equally.
Xi Yunqing immediately replied, "No need to share it, the three of you can divide it among yourselves."
Chen Xiao said, "If this is so important to you, why not use it first? Later, when we have spirit coins or spirit pearls, just give me the equivalent."
Du Rong also spoke up, "I don't need it either. Rather than selling it for money, I would prefer a mechanism made by Immortal Master Tong. That would be more useful to me."
Tong Nuonuo, both surprised and delighted, nodded enthusiastically, "Alright, when my mechanism skills reach their peak, I'll make a custom one for each of you!"
Just then, a horn sounded in the village, and Ah Shou ran over. Seeing them there, he shouted from the foot of the mountain, "Hurry back to the village, the protective barrier is about to activate!"
The four quickly made their way back to the village. Above the dozens of households in Changjia Village, a transparent dome appeared. Meanwhile, the faster and closer beasts had already entered the basin. They circled around a few times, but when they didn't find anything, they angrily charged toward the village. Chen Xiao nervously watched, worried that the thin barrier wouldn't hold. To his surprise, the beasts only caused ripples on the shield and couldn't get any closer.
The village chief, leading a group of people, some elderly, some young, all holding simple weapons, stood behind the protective barrier, attacking the beasts.
The beasts, after scratching at the shield for a while, could only passively take the hits. Within a few moments, they howled in pain, leaving a few carcasses behind before fleeing.
The villagers cheered and rushed out of the barrier to collect the beasts' bodies. It seemed that the villagers were not only unafraid of the wild beasts' rampage but were actually quite pleased. It was almost like the beasts were delivering meat right to their door!
In fact, it was nearly the same. The village chief told the group that tonight there would be a bonfire party. Everyone would gather together and enjoy roasting the meat!