As soon as Qin Shu said those words, the dark-faced man's expression grew even darker.

He stopped writing, raised his head, and looked at the two young girls standing before him with a slightly impatient expression. "Are you two playing a joke on me?"

Qin Shu, however, showed no sign of fear. Instead, her expression became even more earnest.

"Her surname is Zhang, and she's the third child in her family. My surname is Li, and I'm the fourth in mine. We both came from the mortal realm, where girls don't even have proper names... Uncle, even if you don't believe us, please don't get angry. We're not lying to you..."

As she spoke, she even let out a sigh, her face tinged with a trace of sorrow.

Hearing this, Hexin quickly played along, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

The man froze for a moment at the sight, hurriedly waving his hand. "Fine, fine, I'll write it down. Stop crying! People might think I'm bullying little girls!"

Qin Shu watched as he wrote "Zhang San" and "Li Si" on two wooden tokens. Only then did she take them, bowing respectfully. "Uncle, you're truly a kind person!"

With the tokens in hand, the two girls smoothly boarded the nearby flying boat.

The spirit vein they were heading to was near Chijin City, but even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would take three full days of flying to reach. If Qin Shu's group were to travel on foot, who knew when they'd arrive?

As the youngest in the group, Qin Shu and Hexin quickly drew a lot of attention after boarding the flying boat.

Some even approached them enthusiastically, striking up conversations upon seeing they were disciples of Xuantian Sect. Qin Shu initially worried that Hexin might accidentally reveal their true background.

But as she listened to Hexin recount their "tragic" story—that they were sisters unloved in their mortal family, and even after arriving in the cultivation world, they were merely outer disciples who couldn't even afford decent clothes—Qin Shu couldn't help but chuckle internally.

This sister of hers truly knew how to set a narrative.

Whether the others believed it or not was unclear, but at least their image as penniless girls with nothing valuable seemed firmly established.

Qin Shu found a spot in the corner of the flying boat, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Meanwhile, Hexin dug into her storage pouch and pulled out a coarse bread roll. After tearing it apart, she handed a piece to Qin Shu.

"Sister, eat something to fill your stomach."

Qin Shu looked down at the piece of coarse bread with no trace of spiritual energy, sighing inwardly. It was impressive that Hexin had even managed to find such a thing in the cultivation world.

Taking a bite, she almost choked.

Hexin wasn't faring much better. The two took turns patting each other on the back until they finally managed to swallow, exchanging bitter smiles.

After flying for over an hour, the boat finally landed in a gorge.

The gorge was rich in spiritual energy, with lush vegetation growing abundantly. This also likely meant the beasts inhabiting the area were not weak.

The steward from the Zhong family gathered everyone together and transmitted his voice: "Our family has already cleared out three mines. The larger beasts have been driven away, but smaller beasts that live underground might still remain. Be cautious."

Qin Shu took mental note of this. Mining spiritual stones seemed far less safe than she'd imagined.

The steward continued, "You may keep 10% of the spiritual stones you mine as wages, but the rest must be handed over. If anyone is caught hiding stones, they will no longer be allowed to work for the Zhong family."

Qin Shu wasn't sure how they'd enforce this, but the family likely had their methods.

She and Hexin queued up to collect their pickaxes, then followed the crowd toward the mines.

At the entrance of the cave, they passed through a barrier. Inside, a Zhong family disciple was waiting for them.

"Two young ladies, I've detected that you both have two spatial bags. Would you like to store them here?"

Qin Shu frowned slightly and asked, "We can't bring our own belongings inside? What if they get lost?"

The disciple smiled and explained, "You can set a spiritual imprint on your bags; only you will be able to open them. We also have recording stones installed here, so any incidents can be investigated. This policy is only to differentiate between your own possessions and the spiritual stones mined inside."

Hexin, knowing Qin Shu's wealth, glanced at her with concern.

But Qin Shu had already handed over her spatial bag. "Keep it safe for me."

Seeing this, Hexin, who had far fewer belongings, didn't mind following suit.

After storing their items, the Zhong family disciple handed them each an empty storage pouch for the mined spiritual stones.

The two continued walking until they reached a fork with three tunnels. Qin Shu stopped and asked Hexin, "Which way do you want to go?"

"I'll follow you," Hexin replied.

Given their low cultivation levels, they needed to stick together for safety.

Qin Shu nodded. "That makes things easier."

Thanks to the 《Duo'e Cultivation Technique》 she'd learned, Qin Shu had developed an instinct for avoiding danger. The left and middle tunnels both gave her an ominous feeling, so she decisively chose the right tunnel, where the spiritual energy felt weaker.

Before long, faint glimmers of spiritual stone appeared along the walls, and some people had already stopped to start mining.

Hexin's eyes lit up. "Sister! These are spiritual stones! We're rich!"

She rushed forward with her pickaxe, but despite her efforts, she couldn't pry a single piece free.

Frowning, Hexin muttered, "Why is this so hard to dig out?"

Qin Shu chuckled. "If it were easy, why would they give you a cut? And have you thought about why they only hire cultivators?"

Hexin suddenly understood. "Ah, that makes sense."

Infusing her pickaxe with a thin layer of spiritual energy, she finally managed to extract a stone after six or seven strikes.

Her initial joy faded as she checked her spiritual energy reserves. "This is too draining!"

Qin Shu laughed. "Let's move further inside. This area will get crowded soon."

The further they ventured, the darker it became. Eventually, the only light came from the faint glow of the spiritual stones.

Stopping at a suitable spot, Qin Shu said, "Let's stay here. Any deeper and it'll be too risky."

No sooner had she spoken than Hexin eagerly began mining.

Smiling wryly, Qin Shu joined her.

At first, Qin Shu infused her pickaxe head entirely with spiritual energy, but she soon realized this was wasteful. Only the point of contact with the stone needed energy.

Hexin managed to extract three low-grade spiritual stones before her spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Turning to Qin Shu, she was surprised to see her sister had already collected six or seven stones without breaking a sweat.

So this is the benefit of a higher cultivation level, Hexin thought with envy.

Sitting cross-legged to recover her energy, Hexin suddenly made a discovery that left her wide-eyed.

"Sister! This place is filled with spiritual energy! I want to cultivate here!"