"This top-grade spirit stone mine isn’t very large. We’ve already dug out over ten thousand top-grade spirit stones, but the deeper we go, the harder the soil becomes, making it difficult to dig."
"We’ll take over," Amalia decided, "Let’s dig out the center if we can. If not, we’ll dig around the edges."
Renshu Chang nodded his head and was about to ask if they had any shovels when he saw the two of them pull out their weapons.
He was stunned for a moment, and when they actually started digging with their weapons, he quickly stopped them.
"Why are you using your weapons to dig?"
"Using an artifact to dig is more faster," Amalia said.
She knew most people used shovels to mine, but she felt that using an artifact was quicker.
"Just because it’s faster to use an artifact?" Renshu Chang thought their way of thinking was a bit unusual.
After considering it for a moment, he gently said, "For most cultivators, their natal weapon is like a second life to them. It should be well-protected."
Not used for digging.
"Especially for sword cultivators, they see their swords as more important than even their loved ones," he added.
Kenny Lin glanced at Amalia and confidently said, "My sword could never be more important than my loved one. I can always get a new sword, but if I lose my loved one, where can I find another one exactly like them?"
Renshu Chang was speechless, surprised by how deeply affectionate his Junior Master Uncle was.
He didn’t know how to persuade him.
"Don’t worry. If the sword gets damaged, I’ll fix it," Amalia said.
Renshu Chang thought to himself, "I’m not worried about whether the natal weapon can be repaired. No matter how tough the spiritual stone mine is, it’s not tougher than a natal weapon."
But it was clear they didn’t understand his real concern.
"...Alright then."
Using a natal weapon to mine was indeed faster.
In less than fifteen minutes, Amalia and Kenny Lin had dug up several times more top-grade spirit stones than everyone else combined.
"Is it really that effective to use a natal weapon? I’ll give it a try," Vincent Tan said, feeling tempted.
He took out her own nat weapon, and when she tried digging, she found it really was much more efficient.
She then excitedly recommended this mining method to Ding Huiqing.
"Leave me alone, I don’t want to talk to you," Ding Huiqing muttered as he focused on digging.
He knew using a natal weapon was faster, but that’s not what a natal weapon is meant for.
Vincent Tan wouldn’t let it go, "Why not? I think it works really well. Look, I’ve dug up three spirit stones, and you’ve only gotten two. If we all use our natal weapons to dig, we could speed things up a lot. When the other sects get here and find out we’ve already mined everything, it’ll be so funny."
As soon as he finished speaking, some disciples couldn’t help but stop what they were doing.
Everyone looked at each other.
What Vincent Tan said seemed to make some sense.
"Maybe we should also use our nat weapons to dig?" Senior Brother Cao couldn’t resist suggesting to Senior Brother Zhang.
Senior Brother Zhang stared at him with wide eyes, "How long have you been with them? Have you already been influenced?"
Senior Brother Cao felt a bit embarrassed by the look but had already spoken up, "The sect’s rules say that whoever gathers the most resources gets a bigger share. Don’t blame me for not reminding you."
After saying this, he ignored what others thought and directly took out his natal weapon to start digging.
The other disciples saw his mining speed double instantly, making them feel uneasy.
One started moving, then a second began using their natal weapon too, and finally, even Senior Brother Zhang silently took out his natal weapon.
Renshu Chang, who insisted on not using his natal weapon, suddenly became the odd one out.
Seeing the other disciples happily digging, Renshu Chang couldn’t help but laugh.
Why was he the only one still using a shovel?
But despite this, he remained determined not to use his natal weapon for mining.
Amalia didn’t interfere.
Everyone had their own choices, and some people truly valued their natal weapons more than their lives.
The group continued digging in silence, collecting each spirit stone into their storage bags.
After two hours of focused digging, the first group of people finally arrived.
It was the Divine Maiden Sect, but the seriously injured female disciple was gone, leaving only Kailash Ren and Chanchala Jin, the two senior sisters.
The three of them were not surprised to find the disciples of the Green Lotus Sect digging for spirit stones.
"They’re so sneaky! This is too sneaky!"
Chanchala Jin exclaimed as she saw the large hole that had already been dug.
She knew they were late by at least an hour and stomped her foot in frustration.
"Stop complaining and let’s move faster," Kailash Ren said.
She now realized how foolish their earlier agreement was, but since they had already agreed, they couldn’t go back on their word.
Without saying more, she took out the mining tools that every disciple received upon entering the secret realm.
Chanchala Jin also stopped talking and took out two tools, handing one to another junior sister.
The three of them quickly entered the cave.
The deeper they went, the more shocked they became.
The cave was enormous, not something that could have been dug out in just an hour.
It looked like it had taken several hours to create.
"How could they have dug so fast? It’s only been half a day since the demonic beast army passed. How long would it take to dig such a large cave?"
"Could they have been hiding nearby all along, waiting for the demonic beast army to pass before rushing back to dig?" the other junior sister guessed.