I took the time to pry some of the larger stones loose. I wasn't greedy, not much, so I stopped after gathering a hundred or so. This much wealth was a hard thing to ignore, and I understood the base emotions that had colored Thomas's thinking.

But he had been short-sighted. Even the hundred or so stones that I had pilfered was nothing compared to the vast amounts of wealth that would be liberated when mined. A share of that vast amount would have made him wealthier than the pittance he must be receiving as he sold stones and tried to hide his perfidy.

Neither of our families was poor. We had to work, sometimes long hours, but we had homes, food, and clothing, with enough left over for some of the luxuries in life. I would not make the same mistake Thomas had made, even if there was a way for me to mine the Spirit stones and keep the wealth for myself.

Exiting the narrow passage was much less harrowing, now that I knew it was possible and that there was no place small enough that I might become wedged in place. Once I'd finally clambered out and regained my feet, I withdrew an array marker from and my scribe table from my spatial ring.

Sending a tendril of Qi into the marker array, I reached into the tunnel opening and placed the marker, wedging it into the roof. It was almost impossible to remove these types of arrays by accident; it required Qi and intent, and because I didn't want to take any chance that digging or movement would dislodge the array, I located the formation in the ceiling, concealed by some of the irregularities that existed.

The array sent out a pulse of energy, one stray tendril required my Qi to complete the process and show the area had been claimed. This specific marker resonated with Flowing Water's and my signature now. Any cultivator that came across the area would recognize the claim and the consequences of trespassing.

My reputation could be ignored, I was only at the Body Refinement Realm, but Flowing Water Sect was a firmly established power in the area. Not many would risk their wrath, even for the immense wealth that was contained within.

Once I was happy that I had the array positioned and affixed as firmly as possible, I took up the portable scribe table and began writing a few missives, one to Elder Shadow, Elder Tye, and Patriarch Amaya.

I worried that Elder An would attempt to fault me when I returned to the Sect. He might even attempt to confiscate my claim, so I was going to forestall any efforts he might make to gain ownership of this mine. Truthfully, I didn't need to inform them of my discovery personally, the report and the claim of the mine would be processed by the Empire. It would acknowledge my membership in Flowing Water and send audits and information about products to the Resource Hall.

Every member of the Sect that went on Missions was required to carry documents that would allow events like these to be handled speedily. The claim form was capable of linking to the marker array, making sure that the government could locate the mine as easily and quickly. I would send the appropriate documentation in a missive to Claims, a department of the Empire, and they would process the paperwork before I could return to the Sect.

I didn't trust Elder An to acknowledge my status as the claimant and award me my share of the revenue mining the spirit stones. As the head of Resources for the Sect, it would be easy for him to redirect my earnings as he saw fit. I thought if I reported this incident to Elder Shadow, Elder Tye, as well as Patriarch Amaya, the politics that were rampant within the Sect, the forces that had served Braun and his faction well, would be unable to deny me my rightful claim.

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And by registering as the person who discovered and claimed the mine, if the Sect forced me out, or if my place in the Sect became so untenable I had no choice but to leave, the Empire would be obligated to continue paying me my share of the mine. I also spent a moment copying my report, sending that copy to the Sect Resource Hall. I wanted to make Elder An aware that I had filed a claim with the Governor's office.

How much I would earn wouldn't take long to determine. The empire would send an auditor at the same time they sent a prospector to verify my report. The amount and quality of the spirit stones would be documented at that time.

Finally, when the last missive had been safely launched and was on the way, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had done everything I could think of to protect my claim. And as a last insult to Thomas, I had listed Matriarch Helena as an ancillary individual leading to the mine's discovery. She and her farmstead would enjoy the benefits and a share of the revenue. As for Thomas, I didn't believe he would be long for this world. His petty actions and scheming had resulted in real harm to his community.

I still planned on setting a trap, hiding near the Healers hut, and seeing if and who might decide it would be best to silence the bandit Cultivator in the dark of night when people were sleeping and murder most foul could be done silently with no witnesses.

Until then I decided I might as well spend the hours until evening trying to find spirit plants. With a spirit stone vein in the mountain, the chances were high that more veins would exist, and that small cracks and crevices would be the perfect breeding grounds for plants that enjoy the increased Qi that would accumulate at those vents.

Following the mountain and trying to stay at about the same ridgeline even when moving between some of the more dangerous crevices, I did start to find more and more plants. Spirit grass was the most abundant, the plant grew almost weed-like wherever it managed to find purchase. It was able to take root in any type of soil. As long as there was adequate drainage it would thrive. And these mountains proliferated with volcanic rock making drainage ideal.

My search was abruptly interrupted once I'd moved to the next mountain. If I hadn't been actively exerting my Qi Perception to find areas where concentrated energies pooled, I wouldn't have sensed the attack. A Roc, a mythological bird made popular by classic literature on Earth was very much real here. The animal had a slight resemblance to an eagle. That is if an eagle was the size of a bus. My perception had allowed me to recognize the killing intent of the animal before it was too late, and as it dived towards me, talons extended, I moved.

[Lightning's Rush] on the side of a mountain is a scary thing. It is similar to riding a roller coaster, standing up with no restraints. Each step dislodged bits of earth, and I was bounding and jumping as much as running as I moved as quickly as possible.

At some point, I would be able to contend with an animal that powerful and large, but not today. The size of the thing was frightening. It would have no problem catching and hoisting something as large as a fully grown elephant. Why it would take the time to attack me left me confused.

Normally something that size wouldn't bother hunting something my size. The calorie expenditure was cost-prohibitive. It would spend more energy catching me than it could make back once the hunt was over and I had become dinner. The only reason I could think for its uncharacteristic attack was that a Roc nest was close to where I'd been.

If I had been near a nest filled with eggs or chicks, the Roc would defend the nestlings and his mate. And if there was a Roc nest, I would need to update my plans for the next few days. Rocs had poor night vision, but they were apex predators. There was nothing that roamed the skies that was as could match their fierceness.

Certainly, some predators could defeat them in combat, but that was a case of a higher Realm. Pound for pound, as long as they were fighting within the same Realm, they would prevail. Once I had satisfied myself back at the homestead and verified if my instincts were correct and an attack would take place tonight, I would turn my sight to Roc hunting.

I had yet to find an animal to bond with, but a Roc fulfilled all the criteria that I'd set for a companion when I'd given up the idea of specializing in Beast taming. They were deadly hunters, would grow large enough I could use them for transport, and fully grown could contend with dragons, griffins, or pterodactyls.

The only downside was their poor night vision, and I could make adjustments in equipment to circumvent that failing. My Roc would wear his sunglasses at night.