"Brother Yong Lie, are you sure it will be fine?" Zhang Wu Ji questioned Yong Lie while following him to the border of the Willow Timber County. The moment he crosses the border, Zhang Wu Ji will enter the vicinity of the Crystalline River County, which is under the jurisdiction of the Upper South Merchant Corporation.

And at a location not too far from the border is the Red Mineral Vein Cave. Different from how the miner in Western Mountain operates, the Red Mineral Vein Cave preferred Underground Mining instead due to the populated Ruby Gem under the rock. Which is why when compared to Open-Pit Mining, their cost is somewhat higher.

When the two reaches the barricaded area with some guards patrolling, Zhang Wu Ji first impression on this Red Mineral Vein Cave is not astonishing, but despicable. The workers here are not miners but prisoners. The fact each of them has a ball of steel chained on their legs is notable, added with the supervisor is not holding drinks nor foods, but whips.

"Brother Yong Lie, are they prisoners? Like those captured bandits or murderer?" Zhang Wu Ji hates the way those people controlling the Red Mineral Vein Cave works, but if the people forced for the heavy labor is the death-sentenced prisoner or ex-bandits, then he will not feel bothered by their action. But if these people they whipped belonged to the exploited labor, Zhang Wu Ji will not forgive them.

After familiarizing himself with the surrounding of this Mountain and its cluster of smaller mountains, Zhang Wu Ji sent Yong Lie away before he proceeds with his plan. Through his Orchid Assassination Art, Zhang Wu Ji stealthily sneaks into one of the cabins surrounding the entrance of the Red Mineral Vein Cave to inspects their paperwork.

[Slave Miner Contract]

[Debt Miner Contract]

[Death-Sentenced Miner Contract]

[Account Book]

With his hand laid on this four stacks of paperwork, Zhang Wu Ji stole them before he escaped from the cabin and went to a secluded area and went through them before he found out the situation between the Red Mineral Vein Cave and the Upper South Merchant Corporation works. They were the typical Slave-Trader organization after world war 2 that promises good job and money before sending them to this kind of hell.

Written inside the Slave Miner Contract and Debt Miner Contract, this two belonged to the exploited category. They're promised with a good job, family visiting opportunity, and a lucrative amount of salary. But after signing the contract that allows themselves to be managed by the Red Mineral Mountain Corporation, their hell will starts.

As for the Death-Sentenced Miner Contract, this group was the majority of the people working in this Red Mineral Vein Cave. Most of them were ex-bandit, fugitive, rapist, murderer, and money launderer. By handling the governing law stricter, the Upper South Merchant Corporation can easily obtain additional manpower to be allocated to the mining purposes. This kind of fate is most likely to fall on each of the members that delayed the Convoy Delivery to Chrysanthemum Flower City.

After reading all the corrupted contracts and slave exploitations, Zhang Wu Ji sour mood is sweetened by the appearance of the Account Book. Although the report within is somewhat unorganized, the most basic information related to their product is still written clearly on the book, indicating the number of transactions they made along with a list of complete materials.

Rubies in a different class, Silica Powder, and Qi Weaving Stone. Although the book in his hand only has three Qi Weaving Stones found from early of the year until now, the fact they found three Qi Weaving Stones exist. This is the reason why Headmaster Windchaser recommends this location to look for the Qi Weaving Stone.

Smiling in delight, Zhang Wu Ji turned invisible once more and selected one of the cave's opening. Because the path downwards is illuminated by the Low-Quality Night Glowing Pearl, he met with no obstructions until he was between 500 to 600 meters deep underground. Already entering one of the main Mining Chamber, Zhang Wu Ji scatters his strands of Inner Qi surrounding him to find the location with strong suction power.

It wasn't until half an hour later he found an incomplete tunnel that was neglected aside. Looking at the bloodstain on the ground, maybe an accident just happened at this spot not long ago. Since the miners skipped it on purpose, this location will be the best for him to start mining. Furthermore, the underground mine is extremely noisy throughout the whole day, making Zhang Wu Ji to not worry about his attempt in mining for the Rubies.

With the Dual-Headed Pickaxe in hand, Zhang Wu Ji began to pick the wall for their hidden gems. It did not take him too long to fill all the Spatial Stones he brought. With only the Spatial Ring left, Zhang Wu Ji decided to do something different. Moving from one tunnel to another, he steals the gemstones mined by the Death-Sentenced Miners before he left the cave.

"Damn. I forget... With the way back to the Peony Flower City is half a day journey, how many time can I travel? But without going back to the city, it is impossible for me to refine and smelt the Rubies into usable material." Zhang Wu Ji considered his options. His first option is to return to the Peony Flower City to smelt the rubies before returning to the Red Mineral Vein Cave. This option cost him more time, but it will be a lot safer than the second option.

The second option will be renting a temporary workshop that can store and work with the material he obtained in the Red Mineral Vein Cave. But based on how the Upper South Merchant Corporation conducted their shady business in the Crystalline River County, this option will make him extremely vulnerable. The reason is due to his undisclosed wealth and also the unlawful conduct to refine the materials without a prior work license.

Like how it was in his former world, the license that was issued to him will protect him from any unfavorable business decision, but at the same time, it also equals to admitting your wealth and submitting what you have to the corporation without voicing out their dissatisfaction. In this world, the Issued License is the permission to open slavery.

Putting the pro and cons into consideration, Zhang Wu Ji finalized his decision to return to the Peony Flower City for now. This reason for this decision is due to his own safety, and also, because of the opportunity to obtain more spatial resources in Peony Flower City is greater. By following the way he came, Zhang Wu Ji returned to the city in no time before he took a spot in the City Forge.

Unfortunately, he lacked the knowledge and manual book to promotes the improvement of his own Rubies. This means, all the ruby he smelted will have to be stored aside to be reprocessed again in the future. Although, this doesn't mean he cannot try to refine them to his best before they were placed into his side storage.

After taking the reference example available in the City Forge, Zhang Wu Ji tried to compare his product against the reference example. Unexpected even to himself, the Ruby Crystal Pillar he smelted are in their Advance-Grade, a class better than the Military-Grade.

Advance-Grade 10 Carats Ruby Crystal Pillar

-Usage 1: Polished and embed into Jewelry to increase their prices and quality.

-Usage 2: Ruby Crystal Pillar that received the blessing from Inner Qi for a period of time can reform into Grain of Fire Ruby.

-Usage 3: The quality of Advance-Grade increase the absorption rate to reform into Grain of Fire Ruby by 10%

-Durability: 17/17

"Ah... No wonder the Red Mineral Vein Cave's product is highly sought after. It was for this reason alone. Now, even myself is tempted to collect more of them to see what comes out from the Grain of Fire Ruby." Zhang Wu Ji stares at the piece of Ruby Crystal Pillar illuminates by the flames from the furnace.

After processing the Crystal Ores in his storage, Zhang Wu Ji decided to make something out from the resource he has in mind. Deep inside him, the eagerness to try something new appeared, especially since he possessed the blueprint for Onyx-Class Spatial Ring, along with the Spatial Formation Inscription, his system, and his Blacksmithing Skills.

To begin with, Zhang Wu Ji first needed a few different materials to evaluates their differences in quality. After checking the available materials in the City Forge's Sales Board, Zhang Wu Ji fixed his mind by choosing three materials. They're respectively, the [Ironwood], the [Pure Iron], and his own [Damascus Iron].

Set with three materials, he'd have to improvise the Spatial Formation Inscription next. After a study between his own improvised inscription with the one recorded in the blueprint, their different was a mere three additional lines. After he joined the two Spatial Formation Inscription together, Zhang Wu Ji prep himself with the inscriptions a few times before he ready to start.

With the new Formation Engraving Chisel in hand, Zhang Wu Ji started with the Ironwood first. As the three choices of material are one level above the common Stone Slabs, their sizes, weight, and engraving can be adjusted to suit the requirement of the Spatial Formation Inscription.

Here and there, Zhang Wu Ji spent the whole night to modify the Spatial Stone to suit and fits his inscription. The reason for all these difficulties is due to his improvised Spatial Formation Inscription, where it carries thirty additional lines compared to the version provided to the public. No matter anywhere he goes, with this improvised inscription alone, Zhang Wu Ji can easily obtain a status of a noble anytime he wanted.

Behind him, stands Meng Ran. Remaining quiet as Zhang Wu Ji continues to research the most balanced proportion for his own Spatial Stone, Meng Ran can't stop herself to be impressed by his devotion in completing this task. As a fellow Formation Master as well, she felt a hint of shame, not because of her talent is nowhere above Zhang Wu Ji, but her lack of dedication like him.

"Perhaps, everything he has come from his devotion towards the profession itself. If I put similar dedication in my Formation Study as he does, where will I stand after a year?" the charred line of her dedication found its spark once again, as it started to burn again. Her tired pair of eyes from the formation studies changed into a pair of fiery glare once more.

No longer wasting her time standing behind him, Meng Ran stepped to the City Forge's Sales Board to purchase some materials helpful for her improvement and returned to their shared accommodation. (And this arrangement is under Yong Lie's effort to do something for his dense brother. Which going to proof pointless, especially towards his brother with plentiful of experience in the modern virtual world)

Finally, Zhang Wu Ji achieved the results he wanted. Because of a certain quality, restriction, and Natural governing Law related to the Formation of Inscription and its effect, he can only set his mind with the Ironwood as his upgraded version of Spatial Stone. In fact, the three materials do appear as a completed craft, but, only the Ironwood version carries this notification on completion.

[Congratulations in your success in researching the next Top material to forge the next generation Spatial Stone! Kindly name this treasure]

[Toot... Awaiting Response... Kindly name the treasure]

Zhang Wu Ji considered the option he has in his mind while inspecting this piece of treasure he made. Compared against the traditional Spatial Stone that carries the appearance of a cigarette box, the newer version of his Ironwood-made Spatial Stone comes with a smoother surface because of the durable yet easily decorated material.

In the term of size, his version is thinner, almost similar to a business card holder that can be stored inside the pocket. As it was made from Ironwood, the weight comparison was three times lighter, about 170gm compared to the 600gm Stone Slab. After all the consideration, Zhang Wu Ji mind is finally set in one name.

"System, name the treasure as [Wooden Universal Plate]" Zhang Wu Ji pronounces the word gently and waits for the system's next response. After a few minutes later, a description of the treasure came out nowhere.

Wooden Universal Plate

-Capacity: 50 Items | Weight Limit: 1 Tonne

-Usability: -/- | Fighter Qi Consumption Rate: 15

-Durability: 15/15 | Quality: Basic-Tier 1

-Information: Researched and crafted by First-Grade Celestial Designer, Zhang Wu Ji. This Universal Plate carries an improvised Spatial Formation Inscriptions within that allows the treasure to be kept outside of corrosion of time.

"Finally... Success." Zhang Wu Ji smiled. With this treasure in his hand, he can reduce the number of back and forth from the Peony Flower City to the Red Mineral Vein Cave. Afraid he will meet with something unexpected, Zhang Wu Ji crafted a dozen of the Dual-Headed Pickaxes and six more Wooden Universal Plates to be stored inside his Onyx-Class Spatial Ring before return to his accommodation.

Taking a good rest the moment he went inside the room, Zhang Wu Ji slept for a total of ten hours before he wakes up from slumber. After putting on a clean robe, he went out from his room and was escorted to the Flying Flavors Pavilion for breakfast together with Yong Lie, Miss Mu, and Meng Ran. After the meal, Zhang Wu Ji stops Yong Lie and Miss Mu to present them with his small gift before he left with Meng Ran.

Similarly, he gave a piece of the Wooden Universal Plate for Meng Ran to replace the weighty pile of Spatial Stones. After finishing what he has to do, Zhang Wu Ji headed to the Red Mineral Vein Cave once more. The only thing is, he's here to pillage them from bringing away any of the Crystal Ores from the cave.

But out of his expectation, the security covering the Red Mineral Mountain became stricter than how it was three days ago. Corpses of the miners can be seen hung on the gallows, most probably due to the failure to collect enough crystal ores to report for their day. Among the corpses, Zhang Wu Ji recognizes half of them, which belonged to the group of Death-Sentenced Miners he stole from.

"I guess that is their standard procedure to deal with miners that failed to meet with their daily expectation. Too bad I don't know any of the people from Slave-Miner Contract and Debt-Miner Contract. Else, I can at least save you guys from staying in this hell of a hole." Zhang Wu Ji shakes his head left to right as he entered the cave once more. Returning to his previous spot, Zhang Wu Ji dug deeper into the tunnel, and slowly increasing the depth of the pit until he was estimated 650 meters deep underground.

With fewer than ten tunnels is below 600 meters beneath the surface, the number of crystal ores left untouched by the miners is abundant. Almost in every hit from his pickaxe, between one to two geodes will appear. But up till now, Zhang Wu Ji still failed to spot any of the Qi Weaving Stone inside the mine. But that's fine as he wasn't in a rush at this moment, added with three tonnes of storage space with him, it wasn't an issue for him to stay for three days inside here.

Sadly, before his first day passed, an official member from the Upper South Merchant Corporation came to the Red Mineral Mountain without any prior notice and alerting all the miners and supervisors. Because the rule required all residents of the Crystalline River County to pay their respect to the official members from the corporation, his arrival summoned everyone within the mine.

Knowing no rules related to such a matter, Zhang Wu Ji continues with his progress in mining. The heaven was treating him extremely well when his digging exposed a part of rocks that was different from the majority of the silicate rocks. Putting on more strength to reveal the content hidden inside of the stones, he alarmed the people outside of the mines.

"Who the hell did not come out to pay their respect at me? I will personally go in and teach this miner a lesson! After that, I will make sure to cut off his four limbs to give me some amusement!" the official member steps closer to the cave's entrance, but not stepping. After waiting for a moment, he pointed at two supervisors and ordered them to come closer.

"Yes, young sir. How can these two subordinates help you?" they approached the official member and half kneeled by his side waiting for his order. Unfortunate for them, a fist with the force of a 10th Stage Inner Qi Warrior hit their face and leaving the two in injuries. Using his finger to lift one supervisor to stand up, he throws him inside the cave.

"DId the Upper South Merchant Corporation feed you guys with mud? Bring me to where the sound of picking the wall came from!" the official member continues to throw his temper against the two supervisors and even force one of them to take the lead to where Zhang Wu Ji located.

After walking for a while, the group reaches the tunnel into the descending slope where Zhang Wu Ji dig for the crystal ores while looking for the Qi Weaving Stone. Entering the tunnel, they saw Zhang Wu Ji holding a shining rock in his hand for a few seconds of inspection before he kept it into his Onyx-Class Spatial Ring.

"Finally found one of them. Eh? Why are there so many people coming here out of sudden?" the sound created by the people coming down to his tunnel has warned him after he stored the Qi Weaving Stone. But that was a split moment too late as the official member already noticed the stone he kept in his Spatial Ring!

"It's him!" the official member and Zhang Wu Ji instantly caught the other's identity when they eyes met. The official member has seen Zhang Wu Ji before during the Counties Annual Gathering, and similarly, Zhang Wu Ji also recognizes this person from the participants belonged to the Upper South Merchant Corporation.

"Zhang Wu Ji! If you leave that Qi Weaving Stone and your other treasures aside, I will consider giving you an opportunity to leave this tunnel!" the official member tried to threatened Zhang Wu Ji. Based on his position, he has the right to do so. It's just unfortunate that the person he met is not others but the notoriously dense Zhang Wu Ji.

"As if I need your permission to leave." Zhang Wu Ji replied him straightaway with a hand cannon suddenly appeared out of thin air. Remembering the moment when people from the Blood Art Sect is shot by the Iron Ball inside and flying like an arrow, the face of the official member becomes pale. As he prepared to retreat for a few steps, Zhang Wu Ji already fired his shot!