Gon once again stood before the Mining Altar. First, he noticed another purple, holographic lock had disappeared from the front, unveiling a second gem slot. Second, he noticed that a purple furnace had appeared on the right face of the Mining Altar. Lastly, a yellow, spherical gem that glowed a soft hue floated in front of him.

  “So what’s this gem?” Gon began with the newly acquired item.

  System announcement.

  Cinnabar Ignition Gem (Uncut): A gem that contains the heart of fire.

  Active ability: Ignition Drive- Grants the users qi the property of fire, increasing offensive prowess and adding a burning effect to all attacks. The speed of qi consumption is doubled.

  Find a suitable environment for the gem.

  “Interesting. An offensive gem. Let’s test it out.” Gon inserted it into the second slot. He followed up by collecting qi in his right hand. The new skill was then activated.

  “Ignition Drive.”

  The qi in Gon’s hand rapidly turned a pale yellow. Waves of heat emanated from Gon’s hands as the ball of fme rapidly dwindled. Gon’s breathing became haggard so he quickly dispersed his qi.

  “Damn, the qi consumption is no joke. And my control of it is pathetic. I’m going to have to practice while I can with this, like I did with the Onyx Shadow Gem.”

  “All that’s left is to find a pce to store it.” Gon thought to himself for a moment before making up his mind. He collected the Cinnabar Ignition Gem in his hand and collected his thoughts. Using his will, Gon focused on the gem and sent it flying into the sky.

  “Now to see if I can manipute its pcement in the air…”

  It flew rapidly and quickly crossed the yer of clouds and reached a grand height above them. Gon released his will and let the gem float at the top of the Inner World.

  “This’ll be the sun.” Gon smiled in satisfaction. The gem mimicked the sun and provided heat in the Inner World. The temperature rose slowly, becoming a bit humid than before.

  “This bleached dreary nd finally has a bit of life to it.” Gon relished the improved ambience with the warmth, closing his eyes and opening his arms wide..

  “If I can make my own beach eventually, wouldn’t I have the dream resort? That’s definitely a goal. Now, let’s check out the next goodie bag.”

  Gon stood opposite the right face of the Mining Altar. A purple furnace stared back. It was embedded into the surface like the Mining Altar Lotto. It was cylindrical in shape, with 3 circles on its surface. A rge circle at its base, a medium circle in the middle and a small circle at the top of the cylinder.

  The rge circle contained concentric rings. Pipes connected the rge circle to the medium one, which had a dial. Lastly, the topmost circle was hollow.

  “This looks…quite different. Tim, where are you even getting all these contraptions?” Gon considered the System’s capabilities.

  It clearly had the powers to manipute space and matter. Probably even more things since it had the capability of giving him a second life. If Gon himself could have an inventory and an Inner World of his own, then the System would have an even absurd capability in comparison.

  From our Dimensional Mausoleum.

  So Tim has his own sort of Inner World or inventory with all these materials…

  “So what do I do with this?” He asked inquisitively.

  This is known as the Gem Furnace. It has the ability to refine gems and upgrade their grade. It also has the ability to refine Spiritual Jade Ore (Fwed) into Spirit Coins.

  Upon reading the description, Gon let out a boisterous ugh. Ever since he had been decred dead, he stopped receiving payment.

  Sure, it was part of his pn to be decred ‘dead’ to the eyes of the sect. But Gon had been working free for the past 2 months and to a blue colr worker, free manual bour was a cardinal sin. So, Gon couldn’t help but ugh. His money problems seemed to have been resolved.

  “Time to get rich baby.”

  “How does it work?” He asked eagerly.

  Pce materials in the topmost circle. This is known as the Gem Compartment. To begin, ignite a fme in the lowermost circle, this is called the Fme Compartment. Lastly, the middle circle is named the Dial Compartment.

  Using your control of qi, guide the fmes from the Fme Compartment through the Dial Compartment. The Fme Compartment is responsible for storing and managing the fme present. The Dial Compartment activates as a floodgate, limiting the fire that reaches the Gem Compartment. Using the Fme and Dial Compartments, the user must refine the materials with superb control to acquire what they need.

  Refinement is a process done at the users discretion. The System takes no responsibility for any failure.

  “...”

  “Tch, this is where you choose to bow out huh, Tim?” Gon spit to the side. “Are you trying to change my profession again? First, you wanted me to be a cultivator. Now you want me to be some sort of…alchemist?”

  We wish you the very best.

  “Yeah, yeah, scram.” Gon waved away the prompts and concentrated on the Gem Furnace. Though he bickered with the System, Gon knew he had to learn how to use this contraption. If he wanted to continue growing stronger that is. He was not one to shy away from a challenge.

  “Alright, let’s refine some jade.” Gon cpped his hands and prepared a batch of Spiritual Jade. After st time's use, Gon had amassed a small mountain of Fwed Spiritual Jade again.

  “In you go.” Gon threw a handful of Spiritual Jade into the Gem Compartment. He then directed his attention towards the Fme Compartment. Before acquiring the Cinnabar Ignition Gem, Gon would have been worried as to how he would light this space. But now, it was no issue.

  He pced his hands on the Fme Compartment and released his qi. This time he controlled the output and made sure not to suck himself dry. Once a cloud's worth of qi had entered the compartment, Gon followed up with his new skill; Ignition Drive.

  The qi transmuted into a pale yellow fme that flickered ominously.

  “Steady, gotta be careful.” He muttered under his breath. Luckily this was his Inner World, or Gon would have been reaching towards his face to wipe his sweat away. Though there was no sweat, he did however feel the burden of maintaining Ignition Drive. The qi he had stored in his five clouds had already been reduced by one.

  “Alight, let’s guide the fme to the Dial Compartment.”

  Gon directed his thoughts upwards and steered the fme into the Dial Compartment. Once the fire entered the compartment, it began to spin. He slowed down the ascent of fme and allowed the dial to slowly spin. When it had spun once, a small opening emerged above it, allowing the yellow kindle to approach the Gem Compartment.

  By this point, Gon had already used up another cloud’s worth of qi and the pressure was mounting. If he failed now, he’d have just lost a bunch of jade for nothing.

  “Let’s refine this jade.” Gon was engrossed in the final act. He controlled the dial and allowed it to spin, increasing the output. Yellow fme erupted skyward and engulfed the Spiritual Jade present in the Gem Compartment. The concentrated power of the fire caused the jades to melt and congeal. A progress bar appeared above the Gem Compartment highlighting Gon’s current progress.

  It was at 10%.

  “Yes! It’s working!” Gon excimed.

  That was a mistake.

  In his excitement, his control over the dial faltered and a rge volume of fire erupted like a volcano and overwhelmed the Spiritual Jade. A popping sound rang out as a cloud of bck escaped from the Gem Compartment. Gon could not help but cough. He quickly released his hands and waved away the smog.

  What was left could only be described as worse than shit. The jades had been burned beyond recognition and were reduced to an ashen lump.

  Refinement failed.

  “Thanks Tim, I couldn’t tell.”

  Gon mourned the loss of his first batch of Spiritual Jade. He raised his hands and spped his cheeks, but not before flexing his body to hype himself up..

  “Alright, let’s go again.”

  He did not know the meaning of the word give up. Faced with a new challenge, a fire burned in Gon’s heart, wanting to strive to accomplish this new task.

  “I’m out of qi. I’ve mined all these Spiritual Jade ores without absorbing the qi inside them. So if I use them to disperse qi in the Inner World, that would count as me recovering qi reserves, right?” Specuting on the function, Gon grabbed some Spiritual Jades and thought of siphoning Qi.

  The colour in the Spiritual Jades faded away, floating up until they formed clouds in his Inner World bit by bit. “So usually those cultivators can just absorb Qi from the atmosphere, but I can only do it through mining, or using up these Spiritual Jades which I’ve mined.”

  Gon went back to reality, spending the day doing work as usual while eating his fill. Running out of qi gave him even more hunger pangs, so he enjoyed a hearty meal.

  After half a day, Gon returned once more to his Inner World, once more refuelled with qi.

  “Alright, back at the grind.”

  He threw in another batch of Spiritual Jade and began the process again. The fire entered the Fme Compartment and was controlled with greater skill than before. Gon could feel it. His first attempt, while it ended in failure, allowed him to master the powers of Ignition Drive just a little bit more.

  This time he carefully steered the fme and rotated the Dial Compartment ever so slowly.

  “Easy does it. No getting ahead of myself.”

  The dial spun and spun and fmes ascended into the Gem Compartment. Gon made sure not to overcook the batch like st time. He expertly reguted the output of fire and allowed the Spiritual Jade to melt slowly.

  Gon did not know how much time had passed, but he could feel it. The jade had congealed into a rger mass. What was left was to refine out any impurities. The progress bar had appeared once again and sat stable at 75%.

  “Alright, let’s kick up the heat and finish this bad boy off.” The rge mass burned in the centre and grew smaller. Gon’s qi also grew weaker, he only had two clouds of qi left and the progress bar stood at 80%.

  “This is the final push. I can’t fail now.” Gon’s eyes fshed with tenacity and he controlled his qi with masterful proficiency.

  83%...87%...90%...96%.

  The bar was almost full and the mass had decreased into a much smaller size.

  97%...98%...99%...100%.

  Refinement complete.

  Congratutions. You have successfully refined Spiritual Jade (Uncut).

  Passive Effect: Increase qi absorption by 10% and qi recovery by 5%.

  A Spiritual Jade nded in Gon’s palms. A sense of relief and accomplishment washed over him. He colpsed onto the ground and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “All that hassle for this tiny piece, huh.” Gon stared at the blue-green jade. Unlike its ‘fwed’ self, the ‘uncut’ version was a bit more sharp around the edges and glowed a faint blue.

  Gon sat upright and unhesitantly extracted the qi within. The only reason he had tried so hard was to acquire a jade that he could use to finally enter the sixth cloud. He absorbed the qi and felt his qi reserves swell. The empty clouds rapidly filled up yet the qi from the jade showed no sign of running out.

  The sixth cloud which was originally empty began to surge. Qi flooded in and Gon felt like the piss he had been holding since the morning was finally set free. Once all his clouds had been filled, the jade lost its light and dispersed into dust.

  “Let’s check my status now.” Gon called for the screen to appear.

  Status:

  Name: Gon (Kuang Gong)

  Age: 21 years old (36 years old)

  Title: Ghost Axe Gon

  Blue Colr Physique: Copper Physique (50%)

  25%- Increased resistance to blunt attacks50%- Increased resistance to heat/coldCultivation Level: Ore Refining Layer (Shallow)- 6th cloud

  Mining Altar:

  Gem Slot 1: Onyx Shadow (Uncut)Gem Slot 2: Cinnabar Ignition (Uncut)

  Others would call Gon a Mid Qi Condensation Cultivator.

  He would be preferred to be known as a slightly more badass miner.

  “Let’s head out. Who knows how long I’ve been here. All that work has made me hungry.”

  At the edge of the mining camp, Old Qiang could be seen eating a meal with a few of the other miners.

  Bom could especially be seen devouring a pte after working, to the point pits of sauce were falling on Persimmon’s shirt. With a disgusted face, he chided Bom. “Have a bit of dignity, please.”

  Bom slurped his fingers up, slowing down his eating with those compints.

  Old Qiang finished up his meal, and a hand holding white handkerchiefs appeared in front of him.

  “Hoho, thanks for that.” He grabbed it and cleaned his jade fingers. “Whoever gave that was truly convenient. I’m not giving a pay rise for this though.”

  Bom looked shell shocked, the pte in his hand trembling as he saw the man who gave Old Qiang the handkerchief. Persimmon likewise had an apprehensive look.

  “What’s the matter with you two?” Noticing the change of their expression, Old Qiang looked to the right.

  Next to him was supposed to be an empty chair. Instead, a figure sat. He wore white robes that shone without light. The figure had long, sleek bck hair that reached down to his waist. His skin was without blemish and his lips a pale red. The man’s eyes were a deep azure, gentle, but seemed to contain the mysteries of the ocean within.

  And in his hand was a pte of food, tasting a bit of the grilled bison meat. “You sure have been eating well. No surprise that even you look healthier.”

  He shot a gnce at Bom, with a slight smile.

  Bom tried to put the pte away to kowtow but felt that he couldn’t move from the spot.

  “No need to kowtow. It’s good to see you’ve reformed, young thief.”

  He had recognised this figure as the very person who had punished him, the elder masquerading as a mere mortal in town when Bom tried to pickpocket him!

  Old Qiang straightened his back as he put his pte away. “Xuan Wei. It has been quite a while. What brings you here?”

  “Just here to check up on your health. Let’s take a walk.” Xuan Wei stood up, gazing at the mines and the miners who seemed stifled at his appearance.

  Though he had seen the atmosphere of the mines quite different than usual. It was more… boisterous and lively.

  Old Qiang stood up, and they walked towards the forest as they caught up.

  “I sent you a letter recently. You didn’t reply, but I figured I would let you know what’s been happening,” Xuan Wei said.

  Old Qiang shook his head. “I’m in no pce to be involved in sect matters anymore. You know my state quite well.”

  “Only an ignorant fool would believe raw power is enough to rule the world of cultivators. Your wisdom and intellect is a powerful asset. But that is fine. You’ve made your choice. Who am I to question you on that?” A leaf fell from a tree, and Xuan Wei grabbed it between his fingers. “But though you have your pride, do not feel awkward asking for help.”

  Changing the subject, Old Qiang spoke up. “And what of you? How is your family? I hear your daughter has gained quite a reputation.”

  Xuan Wei could only have a wry smile. “I’m ashamed to say I haven’t spent as much time with her as I should be. The responsibilities of the sect have been a lot recently. I’ve been trying to clean up her messes whenever I can, but with the competition between the other elder’s proteges, it’s been quite hard.”

  “Such are the ambitions of youth. I’m sure you know what to do as a father.” When Old Qiang said the st word, both him and Xuan Wei stopped for a moment.

  Xuan Wei could only shake his head. “I also came to give you some news. Elder Kong has disappeared from the sect. We’ve had no luck locating him. His daughter has locked herself in her room, refusing to leave as well.”

  Hearing those news, Old Qiang couldn’t help but have a grim face.

  After a moment of silence, Xuan Wei decided to embark once again. “It’s time I leave. You’ve known Kong for a while, so you should brace for the worst-case scenario.”

  Xuan Wei began to leave the area.

  Old Qiang stood rooted to his spot.

  Thoughts came in his mind.

  And words that he had heard from someone that had also come across a simir situation he had.

  So when are you going to break out of your routine, old man?

  Closing his eyes, Old Qiang thought back to when he had faced death. I don’t want to end up dying with a bundle of regrets. I shouldn’t neglect my soul. If the young can do the same, why can’t I?

  “Xuan Wei, Hold on!” Old Qiang called out.

  When Xuan Wei turned around, he saw a gaze of conviction. Even though Old Qiang had slumbered and decayed, he still desired to take action.

  “I’ll come with you. Let this old man be of help.”