Chapter 29: The Desperate Fighter

Cheng Buzheng cast a glance toward the burly man mining. He noticed that there were many irregular pieces of raw spirit stone ore embedded sporadically within the rocks, shimmering with a faint spiritual light.

Seeing this, he did not immediately begin mining. Instead, he observed how the burly man was working.

The man raised his pickaxe high, bracing it with his waist, shoulders, and wrists. Gripping the tool firmly, he struck the rock wall with force, prying an irregular piece of raw spirit stone ore from the stone.

After observing for a moment and realizing that the process consisted of nothing more than these repetitive motions without any special techniques, Cheng Buzheng turned to leave.

He had no intention of mining alongside the man.

First, he had to consider whether the man would even allow it. After all, if too many people gathered, the raw spirit stone ore here certainly wouldn't be enough to go around; the entire mine wasn't filled with ore for anyone to dig at will. Some areas were rich in ore, some were barren, and most places had not a single piece to be found.

Second, he hadn't come here to truly mine. He had come for quiet cultivation and to replenish the spiritual energy of his Little Dish, so he certainly needed to find a remote place where no one else was around.

After casting one last distant look at the mining man, Cheng Buzheng turned and walked away.

He continued down the narrow path. Before long, he sensed ripples of spiritual energy fluctuating in the distance.

"Boom! Boom!"

A voice filled with shock and anger drifted from afar: "Wang Daba, didn't he already send someone to collect the spirit stones once?"

"My big brother's consumption was a bit high this month, so the raw spirit stone ore wasn't enough. This time counts as next month's!" An arrogant young man's voice rang out in the distance.

"No... my raw spirit stone ore is just enough for this month's quota. If I don't hand it over, my rewards will be halved, and the cultivators from the White Cloud Sect might come to investigate!"

"Even if it's not allowed... it must be done. You have to hand it over today."

Immediately, another burst of violent collisions erupted.

"You dare to rob me? I'll fight you to the death!"

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng frowned, thinking to himself: *Do the patrolling cultivators of the White Cloud Sect really not intervene in such situations?*

He decided to go take a look to see who this Wang Daba was. Of course, it wasn't to stand up for anyone, but rather to scout the situation discreetly. He couldn't appear openly; he had to play everything safe.

With a thought, a yellow spiritual light enveloped him, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished beneath the hard rocky ground.

At a depth of three zhang beneath the rock layer, a miner with a cultivation level below the seventh stage of Qi Refinement would be impossible to detect unless they were intentionally searching for him. After all, the rock layer was much denser than soil, making it harder for divine sense to penetrate. While his warning range normally reached two zhang underground, at this depth, it would likely struggle to reach even one zhang.

Of course, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived, they would easily sense someone spying. The higher the cultivation, the stronger the divine sense and the wider the detection range.

Beneath the rocks, Cheng Buzheng moved like a swimming fish, approaching the scene silently.

A short while later, about six zhang away from the two men at a bend in the path, Cheng Buzheng extended his divine sense to observe them.

One was a weather-beaten burly man. Judging by the spiritual pressure radiating from his body, he was a second-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. He was currently glaring angrily at a young cultivator.

The young cultivator was looking at the middle-aged man with an arrogant expression. Based on his spiritual pressure, he was also a second-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

Neither had stopped their movements. Each was performing hand seals; a shimmering golden greatsword was clashing against a head-sized fireball. They acted like two light sources, illuminating the mine tunnel as bright as day.

In less than a breath—

"Boom!"

The air exploded. The fireball and the golden sword dissolved into countless golden and red specks of light, vanishing into the tunnel.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man did not hesitate. With a ruthless expression and total disregard for his own safety, he cast a hand seal, and a dark red, head-sized fireball instantly formed.

The arrogant youth refused to back down. He similarly manifested a shimmering golden greatsword, which slashed toward the middle-aged man with sharp sword qi.

The middle-aged man acted as if he hadn't even seen the sharp sword qi. The dark red fireball emitted an incredible temperature, making the very air seem to burn. He manipulated the head-sized fireball like a nimble serpent, bypassing the sword qi, and then suddenly accelerated, shooting straight toward the arrogant youth.

The youth had originally thought it was just another duel of spells. Seeing the dark red fireball bypass his sword qi, he thought to himself, *Oh no!*

Without hesitation, he changed his hand seal. The shimmering golden sword qi turned back to intercept the dark red fireball. He had no desire to die alongside the middle-aged man.

Simultaneously, he darted to the right, stomping his foot to leap onto the rocky wall of the mine tunnel like a monkey. Feeling the scorching heat behind him, he was gripped by terror. He dodged continuously, leaving behind many afterimages in the tunnel as he desperately evaded the pursuing fireball.

Under the middle-aged man's exquisite control, the dark red fireball did not collide with the rock walls, instead relentlessly chasing Huang Li.

In less than a breath, the golden sword qi appeared before the arrogant youth. With a thought, he sent the sharp sword qi to collide with the incoming dark red fireball.

The moment the fireball had chased him had left him shaken. Seeing that the middle-aged man was still forming hand seals, he hurriedly spoke.

"Wait... wait until I'm finished! If you still think it's not okay, it won't be too late to strike! Besides, I'm only responsible for collecting the raw spirit stone ore. If you don't give it today... fine, I'll leave the ore and go right now. But think carefully: if I can't collect it today, the next person coming will definitely be Wang Daba. He is a fourth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. If you still dare to fight him, I'll truly admire you! If you die at his hands, don't blame me for not warning you! Anyway, as long as the spirit stones are handed over in full and the patrolling cultivators don't see it, it won't be a White Cloud Sect cultivator dying. They don't care about the lives of us miners!"

Seeing that the middle-aged man had not moved for a long time, Huang Li spoke in a conciliatory tone.

"What do you think? If you don't agree now, I'll turn around and leave immediately. I won't stay a second longer."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's face filled with conflict, losing all the "fight-to-the-death" bravado from before. He let out a long, heavy sigh and said unwillingly, "Just take it!"

Hearing this, the arrogant youth's expression shifted instantly. He grinned and teased the man, "If you're not happy about it, I can choose not to take it!" He no longer looked shaken at all.

"Get lost... if you don't get lost right now... I'll fight you to the death!"

"Fine... I'm going~"

Watching the commotion from afar, Cheng Buzheng silently assessed the strength of the two men.

If he were to use his ultimate weapon, neither of them would be a match for him in a single exchange. But without it, he could only flee by burrowing into the ground, as he only knew a single offensive spell.