Swallowing the Stars: Realm of Control

Chapter 75 People from the Sect

Five hours later.

The surrounding area was almost thoroughly searched; there were some good items, but not many either.

The first ten glowing white fruits were the biggest harvest. The rest were some scattered spiritual herbs, mushrooms that grew with the help of Qi, and two ice spiritual roots. That was all.

They returned to the meeting point agreed upon with Tie Liu, but did not see Tie Liu and the other two.

Luo Feng didn't want to wait here for two hours: "Let's go, they should have gone back first."

"Why don't you cultivate here for a few hours, brother?" Mu Ye sensed the Qi here.

"If I'm going to come, I'll come for a long time. A few hours or a few days? It doesn't matter much. Whether I'm assigned to guard this place or not, I'll come and cultivate here for a long time." Luo Feng had already made up his mind.

Even though Yan Dongmu didn't assign him to cultivate here, it didn't affect the extraction of Qi Sand.

"That's true." Makino nodded.

……

Back in Eastwood County, Iron Willow had indeed returned ahead of them.

"Come in."

Yan Dongmu's permission came from the courtyard.

"Lord of the City, Brother Tie Liu, Brother Shi E," Luo Feng greeted.

"Tie Liu has already told me about it. Xing Chen, the credit for killing those two Ice Blade Furies is mainly yours. According to the rules, those two Ice Blade Furies belong to you."

"In addition, as the main contributor, you will receive three thousand Qi Sands as a reward, which will be delivered to your residence shortly."

Yan Dongmu looked at Luo Feng with a smile, his eyes filled with admiration.

Tie Liu had a high opinion of this young man; he was able to remain in the position of city lord for decades, so he must have some insight.

Such geniuses should either be nipped in the bud or become their only asset or friend.

"Thank you, City Lord." Luo Feng was overjoyed.

Looking at it this way, Yan Dongmu seems quite fair. It's just a matter of whether the later development and defense of the town will give Luo Feng a chance.

"Xingchen, Shi'e, you two go back first. The selection of the garrison commander can only be determined after the mining is reported." Yan Dongmu gestured for Luo Feng and Shi'e to leave.

"Yes, City Lord." Luo Feng and the big man Shi E took their leave one after another.

Yan Dongmu looked at Tie Liu: "Tie Liu, you should draft a document and send it to the Holy City as soon as possible. Do it today and make sure to get the mining permit as soon as possible."

Although the Qi Sand veins within Fengzhou are divided into different areas, the boundaries are not very clear.

For example, the mineral vein discovered in the Dazhongshan Mountains in the southern suburbs is within the jurisdiction of Dongmu County. However, if the neighboring Yaoshi County also discovers it and reports it in advance to obtain a mining permit, it will no longer be related to Dongmu County.

The most important thing is to report and obtain approval as soon as possible.

"Yes, Lord City Lord, I will set off immediately today." Tie Liu nodded emphatically.

He immediately took his leave.

"It can barely be considered a medium-sized mine. Excluding the portion that was handed over, it should still contain more than a million Qi Sands. I wonder if a million Qi Sands can help me improve my strength." Yan Dongmu sighed softly.

He has been stuck at the new physical realm level for decades, with almost no progress in the past seventy or eighty years.

Cultivation is too difficult.

Especially at his level, without sufficient resources, it would be nearly impossible to make any progress.

Talent? No matter how high your talent is, without the resources for cultivation, it will be very difficult.

Resources are determined by those at the top. If someone wants to move up, they can either do so through ability or by leveraging their network of connections.

Even if he were to cultivate with all of the million Qi Sand, it would still be difficult to reach the threshold for entering the upper levels.

If 'Star' truly possesses the strength Tie Liu described, at his age, he might indeed be highly valued by the Five Peaks Sect, and that would be a great asset to him.

"Let's take both paths at the same time. I need the Qi Sand, and I also need connections," Yan Dongmu thought to himself, clenching his fist and a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

How can you succeed without ambition?

"If all else fails, we'll have to sacrifice those two, although I can't be completely sure..."

……

Luo Feng returned to his residence in the courtyard and focused all his energy on cultivation.

With the two ice blades gleaming, Luo Feng chose to eat the sashimi raw. Later, he could convert the other ingredients into Qi Sand.

The ten fruits, rich in Qi and life energy, combined with the other gains, directly accelerated Luo Feng's bone-forging progress by about three percent.

The three thousand Qi Sands that were just delivered? This amount is practically useless.

"We still need enough Qi Sand." Luo Feng shook his head. "We'll get it from this Qi Sand mine."

……

Fifteen days later.

Accompanying Tie Liu back was a young man dressed in a blue Taoist robe.

Luo Feng was summoned to the city lord's mansion and immediately saw the young man in the Taoist robe. The style of his clothes was somewhat similar to the one he had seen in the cave in Maoshan Village. He was probably from the Five Peaks Sect.

"Star, come in."

Yan Dongmu greeted Luo Feng with a smile, "Let me introduce you. This is Jian Zi, the 'Inspector' from the Five Peaks Sect. He will also be involved in the mining of the Qi Sand vein this time."

"Greetings, Envoy," Luo Feng said politely.

This guy looks quite young, probably under thirty.

Without a doubt, they must be someone's disciple, sent down to reap benefits.

Yan Dongmu's expression was rather unnatural, clearly indicating that he didn't want such a guy to arrive. At the same time, the way he looked at Luo Feng seemed to be hinting at something.

Luo Feng couldn't help but feel amused. So, it turned out he was supposed to mess with this guy?

This time he's going to work on Qi Sand, and he might as well help Yan Dongmu out of the way. As for whether he'll get into trouble or not, that'll depend on Yan Dongmu's abilities.

"Lord Yan, is this the deputy city lord who will be accompanying me to the mining site? He certainly looks young." Jian Zi smiled slightly.

"By the way, I can't stand being bored. Little Brother Xingchen, you'll have to keep me company when the time comes. I might not know my own strength, so you'll have to bear with it."

"Sigh, there's nothing I can do. I didn't want to come, but Master personally arranged for me to come, so I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to."

Yan Dongmu's smile froze.

That's so direct...

There's nothing we can do; they're people from above. Those who come from the sect headquarters, aren't they all high and mighty? Coming down here, they're clearly just here to 'rob' us.

He also hinted to 'Star' that he shouldn't meddle in other people's business...

Luo Feng couldn't help but laugh: "It's alright. My biggest weakness—no, it should be my strength—is that I'm quite resilient."

"Last time, I went into a qi deviation during practice, but my body became much stronger and more resilient. If I'm pushed too hard, I might go into a qi deviation again. If my body improves further then, I'll have to thank the messenger."

Jian Zi's words likely indicate that Yan Dongmu is already planning to arrange for him to go and mine this Qi Sand Mine together.

This is a good thing; it's exactly where he wanted to cultivate.

Want to teach yourself a lesson? This swordsman is too green.

"No problem, no problem." Jian Zi smiled, but inwardly he sneered.

A guy from a small county town dares to act so arrogantly. He'll show us the difference in skill! Someone from the Five Peaks Sect headquarters needs to have some ability, otherwise, would the people in the surrounding towns and cities respect him?

Dare to disrespect those above the sect? We'll either kill them or cripple them. That seems acceptable.

If they try to stop him from doing his job, killing him wouldn't be out of the question.