A life of leisure is worse than a life of flowers and splendour

After a long time, a large group of people, packed like dumplings, arrived with all sorts of mining equipment. They even brought their servants and guards with them. But then again, there's strength in numbers. Du Shuangshuang let everyone in and led them into the mine.

The temperature inside the mine was actually quite good, much higher than outside. While not as cold as a normal summer, it was only slightly colder than spring or autumn, and wearing slightly thicker clothing would be enough to withstand it. Everyone started taking off their clothes as soon as they entered. Furthermore, mining was a high-intensity activity, so soon many people started taking off their clothes again. In the end, just wearing normal spring clothes was enough, and some people even wore even less.

Every member of the Du family was given two storage bags, so they no longer had to worry about having no place to store the spirit stones.

Before everyone arrived, Du Shuangshuang had been hiding in the formation, not daring to enter the vein. She only went in at the beginning to feel it briefly before quickly retreating. The spiritual energy inside was too rich, and she was afraid of passively advancing. The moment she entered the vein, spiritual energy hundreds and thousands of times richer than anything Du Shuangshuang had ever seen surged in.

The spiritual energy poured into the body, this feeling was too wonderful. The spiritual energy swirled into the body, and Du Shuangshuang broke through directly, and the spiritual energy continued to flow into the body.

Du Shuangshuang continuously practiced the technique and compressed the spiritual energy in her body, allowing her dantian to hold more spiritual energy. However, even with further compression, she quickly broke through, reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining, and only stopped just before breaking through to the seventh level. Du Shuangshuang didn't continue practicing, but instead joined the mining army.

The cave was filled with spirit stones embedded in the mud and rocks. This was the first time Du Shuangshuang had ever seen so many. The ring her mother had left behind contained no spirit stones, presumably because they had all been used up. The new bracelet did contain quite a few, and most of them were of extremely high quality. However, the quantity was certainly not comparable to that of a single mineral vein.

While Du Shuangshuang, her second uncle, and her cousin were practicing, the others were already digging. After their practice, Du Shuangshuang found her second uncle and gave him the bracelet she had acquired, filling it with 70% spirit stones. She also copied all the jade slips she had, except for the "Xiaoyao Tiandi Jue," which she couldn't replicate. She also picked out a dagger and a sword from the pile of magic weapons in the corner, and held out the rest for her second uncle to choose from.

"Uncle, this bracelet is for you. I've kept 30% of the spirit stones inside, and the rest are all for you and your cousin to use for future cultivation." As she spoke, she handed the new bracelet to her uncle.

Second Uncle took the bracelet, a touch of emotion flashing in his eyes: "Thank you, child! These spirit stones are so important to us."

"It's okay, Second Uncle. This is as it should be. Besides, I've also given you copies of all the jade slips I have that can be copied." She continued, "Keep them for yourself. Use what you can use first, and don't throw away the unusable ones. Just in case you need them in the future."

Second Uncle looked at him gratefully, his heart filled with satisfaction. He knew that this gift meant a lot to them.

However, Second Uncle was still a little hesitant: "Oh, logically I shouldn't take this thing... but Second Uncle really needs it and wants it. I'll give it to you when I have something else. I'll consider it as Second Uncle's debt to you."

"Uncle, just take it. We are all family. Don't separate what's yours from mine. What I give you is what I can give and what you can use." I said to my uncle sincerely.

"This...niece, thank you, second uncle." Second uncle scratched his head a little embarrassedly, but his eyes were shining with gratitude.

"Come, second uncle, pick out a few magic weapons and pick out two for my cousin, or you can ask him to come to me to pick some. Generally, we use ordinary tools in the Qi Refining Stage, and start using magic tools after we have established our foundation. Although magic tools are very powerful, they may drain out most of the spiritual energy in the body after just one use in the Qi Refining Stage. So it is best to choose good spiritual tools before using them at a higher level," Du Shuangshuang said to his second uncle with a smile, motioning him to pick out some magic weapons he liked.

The second uncle hesitated for a moment, then began to carefully select. He examined each magic weapon carefully, as if searching for the most suitable treasure for himself and his cousin. After a while, he finally picked out a few magic weapons that he liked, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, niece, if you have any problems in the future, just come to your second uncle and your cousin. We will go through fire and water for you and will not hesitate to help you!" My second uncle said to me solemnly, his eyes full of determination and commitment.

Du Shuangshuang felt a warm feeling in her heart, knowing that her second uncle was a man of great loyalty and righteousness. She was truly lucky to have such a relative. She smiled and nodded, indicating that she understood.

After they finished talking, they joined the army digging for spirit stones.

Digging was easy with the right tools, though it was tiring and dirty. Du Shuangshuang was happy. She'd made a fortune, and who would complain about having too much money? These were all essential for her future cultivation. Because her body had a high affinity for spiritual energy and an unusual attraction to it, once it was successfully drawn into her, even without cultivation, the spiritual energy would naturally flow into her, albeit at a slower rate. She couldn't feel the lack of spiritual energy outside, but because the spiritual energy here was so dense, she absorbed a considerable amount even when not cultivating.

Du Shuangshuang, who turned into a miner, was extremely happy and hummed a little tune while digging.

A few days later, Du Shuangshuang suddenly discovered a miraculous phenomenon: a faint aura shimmered around her and her cousin! What could this mean? Du Shuangshuang was overwhelmed with the realization that they were very likely possessing spiritual roots! She eagerly sought out her uncle to share her astonishing discovery. However, upon meeting him, she learned that he had already noticed and was already guiding them in their cultivation. However, perhaps due to their limited aptitude, they had yet to find the sense of Qi. Furthermore, they seemed to be bored with meditation, often struggling to maintain it and quickly falling asleep. Therefore, they often took on chores to stay awake.

Furthermore, there was another piece of exciting news—my cousin had successfully opened up all his meridians and was successfully drawing Qi into his body! Even more remarkable, since arriving at the Spirit Mine, my cousin had been practicing tirelessly, demonstrating remarkable patience and perseverance. He had now reached the second level of Qi Refining, making remarkable progress.

"My cousin is really awesome!" Du Shuangshuang praised him generously.

"Well, this kid is really good!" The second uncle was so happy that he showed his two rows of white teeth.

After a month, the spirit stone mine had been dug very deep, and Du Shuangshuang's cultivation had broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, now entering the late stage of Qi Refining. During this month, apart from eating and mining, she practiced for a while when she was tired, and had almost no sleep. Du Shuangshuang felt a little exhausted and ran to the tent for a good sleep.

Many hands make light work, and the spirit stone mine is shrinking rapidly. People can often dig out better quality medium-grade spirit stones. Generally, the best quality spirit stones in small spirit stone mines are medium-grade, which also means that they are about to reach the center.

Another month passed, and Du Shuangshuang had mastered the Mysterious Steps, showing initial success. Now, she could run at twice her normal speed, her figure moving with her will, appearing even more ethereal and uncertain. Du Shuangshuang was overjoyed. She had already mastered the Fireball Technique, Rejuvenation Technique, Dust Purification Technique, and Object Control Technique. She experimented with applying a thin layer of fire energy to her body, forming a protective film of flames. This was mainly because mosquitoes were common in the summer, and a thin layer of fire energy provided protection from bites. She used the Fireball Technique to grill meat, light a fire, and so on. To control the heat perfectly, she pushed her control over her energy to its limits. She mastered the amount of energy she used, the speed of the output, and even the height, width, and shape of the flames, making it incredibly easy to use.

The Ice Skin and Jade Bone Technique required a medicinal bath and the cooperation of some spiritual objects, so it could not be practiced at the moment. As for the knowledge in the jade slips, I had been slowly digesting it.

Although he couldn't actually make the elixir, he had practiced it in his mind countless times according to the notes and the recipe, and all that was missing was the spiritual plant to do it directly.

The spiritual stone mine was almost completely mined, and there was almost no spiritual power left. Everyone joined in the mining, and after another ten days, a small spiritual stone vein was completely mined. The entire mountain was hollowed out, and finally Du Shuangshuang directly dug a large hole at the bottom of the mountain for everyone to exit.

After counting the harvest, they found a total of 1 medium-grade spirit stones and 4 low-grade spirit stones. After some discussion, they decided to divide the haul into eight parts. Du Shuangshuang took three, and the rest each received one, with 4521 medium-grade spirit stones and 3 low-grade spirit stones. The rest were given to Grandpa for safekeeping. Du Shuangshuang counted the spirit stones she had: 12 top-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones, medium-grade spirit stones, and low-grade spirit stones.

Due to the lack of spiritual energy, his cultivation had been stagnant for more than two months. In less than three months, Du Shuangshuang had already broken through from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level. His second uncle had also broken through to the sixth level and was about to break through. His cousin was already at the fourth level. During this time, like Du Shuangshuang, he only slept once and spent the rest of the time cultivating. He only went back to sleep when the spiritual energy in the spirit stone mine was gone. His second aunt and cousin had already found the sense of Qi and were waiting to open up their meridians to begin cultivation.

Ever since she discovered that her second aunt and cousin also had spiritual roots, Du Shuangshuang would observe everyone during meals every day, hoping to find a few more people with spiritual roots, but unfortunately, none of these people had spiritual roots.

Guards and servants, over seventy people, and surprisingly, not a single one possessed spiritual roots. It turns out spiritual roots are truly rare in the modern Great Xia Kingdom, surprisingly rare. While not everyone possesses the spiritual roots of that woman's memory, two or three out of ten do, and some families even have as many as five or six out of ten. It's just that the number of people with high cultivation aptitude is much smaller. Of those with good aptitude, only one in a hundred possesses spiritual roots, but those with average aptitude can still cultivate. Only those with poor aptitude find it extremely difficult to cultivate, and may never break through the Qi Refining Stage.

Cultivation aptitude is divided into spiritual root aptitude and comprehension. Spiritual root aptitude is mainly determined by the spiritual root value. The higher the spiritual root value, the higher the affinity for spiritual power. The lower the spiritual root value, the worse the affinity for spiritual power, and the slower the cultivation. Of course, the higher the comprehension, the higher the improvement.