Chapter 30: Scouting the Location

Cheng Buzheng did not appear, nor did he intend to stand up for the middle-aged man.

His gaze remained fixed on Huang Li, preparing to tail him to find that mine tyrant, Wang Daba, so he could fleece him.

*Such a fat sheep; fleecing him will involve zero guilt,* he thought blissfully.

At this moment, the arrogant youth was taking spirit stone ores from the middle-aged man's basket and putting them into his own. He took nearly half of them, weighing the load before finally stopping!

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's eyes turned red, but in the end, he silently closed them.

A trace of stubborn tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

Such examples of the law of the jungle were merely a small reflection of the vast cultivation world.

Cheng Buzheng knew the middle-aged man was wrong—dead wrong—but his mistake lay in his low cultivation level.

The arrogant youth shouldered his large basket and walked deeper into the mine shaft. What he didn't know was that a little tail was stealthily following behind him.

Along the way, Cheng Buzheng occasionally saw miners greeting Huang Li, only for him to look away with disdainful indifference.

It was evident that the mine tyrant, Wang Daba, had long established deep prestige; even his lackeys acted as if such behavior was perfectly natural.

Fifteen minutes later.

The arrogant youth arrived at a cave entrance, where two cultivators stood guard, nodding to one another in greeting.

However, he did not enter directly, but instead called out softly

"Brother Ba..."

He knew exactly how to pitch his voice—not too loud, yet not too quiet. He had mastered the precise volume perfectly.

After all, last time, a subordinate had spoken a bit too loudly, disturbing Brother Ba's cultivation, and was beaten so brutally it was a horrific sight. That was a lesson written in blood.

"Enter!"

A domineering voice drifted from within.

The arrogant youth, who moments ago had shown no trace of arrogance, now entered the cave with lowered eyes and a submissive demeanor.

What they failed to notice was that three zhang beneath the rock layer, a streak of yellow spiritual light followed him into the cave.

The youth entered a cave approximately three zhang in diameter.

Inside, a middle-aged cultivator with a majestic countenance sat cross-legged on a relatively flat rock, with a pile of spirit stone ores placed in the corner.

"How did the matter go?"

"Big Brother, under your great prestige, that kid Guo Daniu eventually handed over the spirit stone ores obediently!" He then recounted the entire process.

At this point, the arrogant youth suddenly became somewhat hesitant.

"However... Big Brother, we aren't short on spirit stone ores. Why bother collecting his protection fee this month? If we provoke the resentment of the other miners... wouldn't it be more loss than gain?"

"Haha..." Wang Daba said with considerable satisfaction, "I didn't expect you to be thinking so deeply now, Xiao Huang. Not bad... not bad!"

Huang Li immediately followed up with flattery, "It is all thanks to your excellent guidance, Big Brother. Otherwise... how could I have considered so much?"

"Hmph!"

Wang Daba was temperamental, his expression shifting rapidly.

"I am doing this... to give Guo Daniu a warning. He thinks he can secretly contact Song the Second from Mine Shaft No. 6 without me knowing? Do you think I'm blind? If I don't teach him a lesson, he won't know how many eyes the Great King Ma has!"

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng grasped the gist of the situation, and his heart grew even more joyful.

He had originally feared that if he targeted one person specifically, it would be difficult to strike again after a few times. Now, it seemed there was at least one more sheep; he wondered if there were sheep in Shaft No. 1, No. 2, and so on.

He estimated there must be more. After all, where there are people, there is conflict, especially when the profits are so substantial. At the same time, he thought to himself with secret admiration

*This mission is truly worth it!*

Having gained this unexpected surprise, Cheng Buzheng had no interest in listening further. He now knew that Wang Daba's spirit stone ores were stored in this cave.

Since now was not the right time to strike, he planned to scout the storage locations of the other mine tyrants within the mine.

*When the time comes...* Thinking of this, he felt incredibly pleased.

Cheng Buzheng did not delay further. He escaped the mine shaft occupied by Wang Daba and then, like a ghost, extended a sliver of divine sense to observe the movements on the surface!

From time to time, he saw miners swinging their pickaxes, working hard to excavate spirit stone ores.

Suddenly, seeing patrolling cultivators in the distance, he was startled. He quickly withdrew his divine sense and dove another three zhang deeper, reaching a total depth of six zhang.

This was enough to ensure that as long as the patrolling cultivators did not conduct a deliberate search, he would never be discovered.

Besides, if they did conduct a thorough search, he wasn't stupid enough to wait for them to catch him; by then, he would have long since fled.

Cheng Buzheng scurried around, memorizing the branch paths of this mine shaft clearly, and then investigated each branch one by one.

He searched for a long time but did not encounter a single "guide," which left him feeling somewhat frustrated.

Without hesitation, Cheng Buzheng returned to the end of the main mine shaft. Looking at the eight branch shafts before him, he fell into deep thought.

"Counting from left to right, the seventh branch shaft is occupied by Wang Daba, and the eighth, which is the last one, has yielded no guide so far. Then, I will start investigating from the sixth branch shaft onwards, one by one.

If it weren't for this sect uniform, I could easily fish for them and effortlessly find their spirit stone ore storage points... I was careless; I should have changed my clothes!

Forget it, I'll investigate first. As long as I figure out when they collect protection fees, it will be easy to find a guide."

With that thought, a streak of yellow light shot from three zhang beneath the rock layer directly toward the sixth branch shaft.

This time, he did not search meticulously; instead, he took a general tour. After finding no guide, he decisively exited the branch shaft.

As time passed, the investigation proceeded smoothly, but the results were unsatisfactory.

While Cheng Buzheng was investigating the second branch shaft, the four shafts ahead still yielded no guide, which left him feeling somewhat disappointed.

As the saying goes, "the road will appear when you reach the mountain, and the boat will straighten when it reaches the bridge."

Suddenly.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, hand over this month's protection fee!"

A voice rang out on the surface.

Cheng Buzheng, who was about to flee, froze instantly, thinking to himself

*A guide... do you know how hard I've been working to find you?*

"Brother Li... can I pay the remaining portion next month? It's only a few days until my scheduled payment, and besides the required share, I'm still a little short on the spirit stone ores!"

"I will report your situation to Big Brother. Whether he agrees, I do not know... If he refuses... do not make things difficult for me!"

"Yes... I certainly won't make things difficult for you!"

Cheng Buzheng listened quietly to the conversation above, waiting for the guide to return the way they came.

He wanted to quickly pinpoint the spirit stone ore storage location.

Then, he heard a series of noises, likely the sound of spirit stone ores being handed over.

Before long.

"Alright... I'm leaving. Big Brother has limited me to collecting all the spirit stone ores by today. Time is tight and the task is heavy; I'll get back to you later!"