SWNOVELXO Chapter 362 Midnight Knocking
To be cautious, the group stayed on the hill for another half an hour before sending a mortal down to investigate.
The mortal went down and circled the edge of the large pit, finally panting heavily as he climbed back up the hill.
Lang Guan immediately said to Master Tingyu:
"Old Seven, since you know how to refine ore, you should take charge of the ore refining. The thunder tribulation has leveled the tree demon on the hill, which seems like a good thing, but now without the tree demon, isn't the surrounding Evil Spirit without obstacles?
So the urgent task is not only to refine the ore but also to plan for nighttime safety!"
In this post-apocalyptic world, humans and ghosts coexist.
Refining ore clearly cannot be completed in a short time, so it is necessary to plan for staying one to two months.
And to plan for a long stay, one cannot just hastily set up a tent for camping. A village must be built, and rules must be established.
Though the road ahead is still fraught with difficulties, fortunately, the spirit mine gives everyone hope. Not only Tian Lin and several cultivators but even those mortals without cultivation are enthusiastic and eager.
With Spirit Stones, everyone has the opportunity for Cultivation.
So without needing Tian Lin and others to urge them, these people followed Master Tingyu into the pit to learn how to mine ore.
"A heaven-sent fortune, the Five Elements Spiritual Stone is complete here. It is a true top-grade Spirit Vein, which explains why so many tree demons could nurtured."
After working for an hour, Master Tingyu, holding a heavy stone, said to Tian Lin and Lang Guan:
"There are many Thunder Stones over there, which were formed when the thunder tribulation fell. These can be used to arrange the Thunder Tribulation Array or carve statues of the Thunder God."
"Among us, who has the ability to carve statues? As for arranging the Thunder Tribulation Array, this array I've never heard of, Old Seven, can you arrange it?"
Lang Guan had already seen the unusualness of Tian Lin and Master Tingyu at this point, but Tian Lin and Master Tingyu did not say much, so he did not ask further.
Master Tingyu stroked his beard and said, "For now, I cannot carve a statue of the Thunder God, but I have ways to arrange the Thunder Tribulation Array once the Spirit Stones are refined."
Lang Guan said, "Then Old Seven will have to trouble you to refine the Spirit Stones now—while we, brothers, need to build houses before sunset."
By sunset, only two to three rooms had been constructed. This was because Tian Lin and several cultivators had worked hard throughout the afternoon, sparing no True Qi.
Fortunately, these two or three rooms were built large enough that a single shared bed could accommodate about ten people. Only used as a bedroom, it was indeed sufficient.
The three rooms, two for people to rest and one for ore refining.
Following Master Tingyu's instructions, Tian Lin set up an Earth Fire Formation adequate for several days of use.
Though the formation was roughly set, the true fire produced was enough to melt hard ore.
Besides setting up the Earth Fire Formation, Tian Lin also drew some talismans under Master Tingyu's guidance.
In the evening, more than twenty people split into two shifts, one staying overnight in the Alpha room and the other in the Beta room.
Among them, Lang Guan and the second-in-command were responsible for overseeing the occupants of the Alpha room. Tian Lin and Master Tingyu rested in the Beta room.
"With Spirit Stones, I can restore my cultivation very soon. Once my cultivation is restored, who would dare speak rudely to me?"
He could not forget the days when he was whipped upon first arriving in this world.
Nor could he forget the life of recent days when others glared at him.
Now, upon reaching the bed, the old man was too excited to sleep, while most other mortals, exhausted from a day of labor, had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Tian Lin looked at the old man and said, "Even if you restore to the Nascent Soul Realm, you are still Old Seven."
The old man's face turned dark, "Due to the oath made before Houtu, I am indeed sworn brothers with you. But once my cultivation is restored, should you not be looking to me for leadership?"
"Even if you restore to the Nascent Soul Realm, you are still Old Seven!"
Tian Lin did not bother arguing with him and only repeated this sentence.
Master Tingyu felt deeply insulted, and just as he was about to speak, a wailing sound emerged from the surrounding mountains.
A few who were not sleeping so soundly got up from the shared bed.
Because the group included both men and women, and only three rooms were built.
The shared bed was not differentiated by gender, and several women were awakened by the wailing outside.
"Don't panic! We have many people, and with many people comes abundant yang energy, which suppresses the yin. Besides, talisman papers have been posted outside the house, where ordinary Evil Spirits dare not approach!"
Master Tingyu used his Nascent Soul's aura to calm those waking on the shared bed.
Yet as soon as he finished speaking, the door outside began to be knocked from outside. The knocking began sparse and light but later became dense and heavy.
In addition to the knocking, a child's voice outside said, "Mom, open the door quickly, I'm so sleepy."
There was also someone saying, "My child, open the door, I brought food back."
Tian Lin heard a familiar voice saying, "Did I not tell you to go back? Why did you go Seeking Immortality again?"
These voices were varied, with accents from all over, but Tian Lin, firm-minded, knew that what was outside were ghosts, not people.
"Lie down, all of you! The outside is definitely not your family. Think carefully, do you still have family alive now?"
Mortals, wavering in intent, heard a few ghostly words and forgot their wives, children, and parents had already died.
Seeing several mortals about to get out of bed and open the door in a daze, Tian Lin did not hesitate to whip the unfortunate ones mercilessly.
Pain woke them from confusion, and realizing the seriousness of the situation, they retreated onto the shared bed clutching the whip marks.
Tian Lin said to Master Tingyu: "Watch them, whoever dares get out of bed, whip them."
It need not be instructed by Tian Lin; Master Tingyu's actions were even more ruthless.
With fierce eyes, he scanned those in the shared bed, "Anyone wishing to die, need not open the door to leave; I'll kill them in bed."
Though the room was dim, and none could see his cruel gaze, his tone was enough to let everyone know he was not joking.
Thus, the night passed with Evil Spirits outside wailing all night. Finally, as morning broke, the noise diminished and eventually ceased.
When Tian Lin opened the door, the sun had already risen, and the scene outside was as if yesterday, as if the evil spirits and roaming souls of dawn were the fantasy of everyone in the room!
"Alright, daytime has come, everyone get up to work."
Master Tingyu said, and someone complained, "Lord, after such a tumultuous night with no peace, everyone is tired and weary, let us sleep a bit."
Master Tingyu mercilessly replied, "You chose not to sleep, not because I prevented it! Get up, no laziness; if today's work isn't done, none will eat!"