Before leaving the ruler's house. Rex got a notification.
"Help a desperate family in need close by."
"Reward is decided by the family you help."
Rex decided to look at all the desperate families.
The first family Rex visited the husband and father was gravely sick. The mother had no cultivation base. There were two little boys one being almost two and the other having just turned five.
"What is wrong?" Rex asked seeing the family from outside.
"Daddy sick." Thr five year old said.
The mother came out. She saw Rex and felt that he could help them out.
"Please help my husband." The mother asked.
Rex looked at the husband. He immediately knew what had happened.
"Which mine did he work in?" Rex asked.
The mother was shocked to hear that Rex knew her husband worked in the mines.
"Several mines suddenly became filled with dust. Within days of the dust settling, nearly everyone has become sick. My husband worked in the worst case of the mines that is to the north." The mother said.
"Get several cultivators to go to that mine first. Do you know any of the other miners' families?" Rex asked.
"Yes. I know most of them." The mother said panting.
"Good. When we returned, I will explain the way to cure your husband and the other miners." Rex said.
"I will start to gather the other families." The mother said.
She went and got the ruler to make an announcement about what Rex was doing. The ruler immediately ordered all cultivators to head to the north mime. Since the worst case of the people being sick were from that mine.
Forty cultivators headed to the north mine. When they arrived Rex had already entered. The cultivators waited outside.
Inside the cave
Rex went and searched the first floor of the mine. He found absolutely nothing which was not surprising. He saw that all the tools were neatly place and that even pots of water were inside.
"If it is the mushrooms, we can be certain that it was not an accident that happened. If it is the snake and mushrooms it can be an accident. If it is the spider and mushrooms, there is no hope for any of the miners or the mines." Rex said.
He began to go down to the second layer. When he approached the entrance. He felt the mushrooms immediately.
"Already such a strong scent and probably a reason to fight for the mine." Rex said.
He walked through the entrance. Rex could feel his body twitching immediately.
"This much is probably not an accident. We will have to wait and see." Rex thought.
He found a clump of them at a corner. He used his Nature Qi to bring out the first clump of mushrooms.
When he exited the mine. Forty cultivators were standing outside ready to help.
"Ten of you come with me. Ten of you stay outside. Twenty of you go back and forth to the city delivering these mushrooms." Rex said.
The cultivators obeyed. There were not sure what was going on.
"Form groups of two. If there are any Nature Qi users, immediately pair up with someone who is not." Rex said.
There were five Nature Qi users in the entire group. They immediately paired up.
"Since we have so little, we are going to do this a little different. The ten of you staying outside bring fresh water and clothing for everyone. We need everything to be clean and pretty. Every five exits, wash each cultivator completely. Even touching places were you do not want to touch. We will not allow anyone else to get sick." Rex commanded.
The ten cultivators split into five groups. The first group was Water Qi users which were more than two but the two best got this group. They were to fill buckets for the cultivators to wash in.
The next group was two women who went and got several pants and sandals. They would have gotten shirts if not for the fact they would have to be washed constantly.
The next group was a male and a female to wash the cultivators on their fifth exit. They did this because three women were inside.
The next to last group kept track of the cultivators leaving and entering. They would also keep track of the amount of time spent inside there.
The last group hunted for meat. They made sure to fix a massive meal for the cultivators inside the mine. At the end of the day, they would help wash everyone.
Rex watched has clumps of mushrooms were coming out regularly. He would inspect each and everyone of them.
When the second floor was cleared of the mushrooms at nightfall. Rex went in and searched the floor.
When he found that there were none and no traces of any animals or spiders. Rex feared for the worst. He kept his head high and hoped that there were multiple floors beyond this one.
He read about this Quest. It stated to have the sick miners have a clump of mushrooms in their house for a whole day. When that time came, the clump would be taken out.
The next day, a other clump would be brought in. This was to slowly absorb the spores from the sick miners.
A single clump would keep even Heavenly Realm Cultivators healthy at ages past Deathholder. Even most of the Heavenly Cultivators would pay lifetime payments just to get a clump.
When multiple of them appear. Their spores become toxic. If it is because of a certain snake, it is always considered accidental. The snake produces the mushrooms naturally.
For the spider, the spores attract it. The spores become a mix of toxin from the spider and whatever spores are being released.
For the spider, as long as the mushroom was not already poisoned. The toxin from the spider could be neutralized with the proper antidote.
Most of the time, when the people would start to get better. The toxin would become more deadly and kill within a matter of hours.
"I hope nothing bad happens." Rex said.
That night everyone stayed outside and watched the entrance to the mine.