Xiao Fei’s confidence soared after successfully digging out the first piece of ore. With his divine sense, he could see through rock layers up to a foot deep, and he kept it fully active along the way. Whenever he detected Profound Iron Ore behind the rock face, he would slowly pry open the rocks and excavate the hidden ore.
Tapping and digging his way through the mining tunnel, he unearthed six more pieces of ore, totaling at least twenty catties. If he could sneak these spirit ores out, he could sell them for over twenty spirit stones, more than his income for a whole month previously. This way, he would only need a few days to gather enough spirit stones.
However, mining was indeed a tiring task. In this short period, his divine sense and magic power were almost depleted. Xiao Fei looked around, found no one, and secretly stowed all the ore from his back basket into his space. He then took out a piece of dry rations and sat on a large rock, chewing slowly.
After finishing the dry rations, his depleted magic power had still not recovered. Fortunately, there were two spirit stones left in his space. He immediately took them out, held them in his hands, and slowly absorbed the spiritual energy to replenish his consumed magic power.
Just then, someone was hurrying from ahead in the mining tunnel, startling Xiao Fei into quickly hiding the spirit stones. The group seemed to be in a hurry and didn't notice Xiao Fei's spirit stones as they rushed past him. No one knew what was happening ahead, but after a while, more people ran back from ahead, quickly passing by Xiao Fei. One after another, they came and went in a hurry.
Xiao Fei realized something might have happened. At this moment, another person came rushing from ahead, and Xiao Fei grabbed his arm.
"Fellow Daoist, what exactly happened?"
The miner, caught by Xiao Fei's arm, tried to break free but found he couldn't match Xiao Fei's strength.
"Fellow Daoist, release me quickly! The mine overlords are here, run!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fei flung the miner's hand away and immediately ran forward with him. Although he didn't know what mine overlords were, he could roughly understand the meaning from the words themselves. As he was running with all his might, he saw the group that had just passed him running back.
"Fellow Daoists ahead, what's going on?"
"There are mine overlords here too."
It turned out that these mining tunnels were all interconnected, making it difficult for the mine overlords to catch people, and there were always many who slipped through the net. After repeated failures, the mine overlords summarized their experiences, believing that as times changed and society progressed, they too should adapt their work methods and improve their efficiency.
Now, the mine overlords had divided into several groups, encircling from different directions, driving all the miners to one place before capturing them all in one go. Under the encirclement from several routes, this mining tunnel was…
"Hahaha! Not a single one of you will escape today!"
At this moment, a gruff voice rang out from behind. Immediately after, shouting and scolding could be heard from the front. The mine overlords closed in from several directions, and this net trapped forty to fifty people.
Xiao Fei quietly observed these mine overlords. There were only eight of them, yet they could make dozens of cultivators submit. Firstly, their cultivation levels were relatively high, most of them being at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, and the strongest one was at the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Secondly, the mine overlord at the twelfth level of Qi Refining possessed a magical artifact.
This was a flying sword magical artifact, which the mine overlord leader had suspended in the air, hovering and flashing with a cold glint. Magical artifacts were still considered luxury items among rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining stage; not everyone could own one. However, Xiao Fei was more curious about how the mine overlord managed to smuggle this magical artifact flying sword in.
*Chrysanthemum wilts, backside injured…*
Just thinking about it was painful!
"Hand over all the ore you have! Otherwise, don't blame my flying sword for being merciless."
The mine overlord leader fixed the flying sword above everyone's heads and threatened them.
"There are so many of us, we might as well fight them!"
At this moment, a spirited young man among the miners finally stepped forward and rallied the crowd! There were dozens of miners trapped at the scene, all cultivators, with cultivation levels ranging from the third or fourth level to the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining.
"As long as we unite, we are definitely not weaker than the mine overlords; we can wear them down even if we can't defeat them."
Under the young man's impassioned instigation, over a dozen cultivators were already restless, their mining picks tightly gripped in their hands. Just then, the magical artifact suspended in the air suddenly transformed into a beam of light, tracing an arc in the sky. The arc pierced through the chest of the spirited young man.
The young man, who had a cultivation of the sixth level of Qi Refining, had no time to react before the magical artifact flying sword created a transparent hole in his chest. The young man clutched his chest, his mouth agape, only able to let out a guttural sound before toppling to the ground.
The mine overlord leader instantly killed one person without even blinking, looking smug.
"Does anyone else wish to resist?"
"If not, then obediently hand over your ore."
"Wealth is external; do not cling to possessions and lose your life."
"As the saying goes, as long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn!"
"Everyone still has a bright future; there's no need to lose your lives for a few pieces of ore!"
This mine overlord was skilled in his trade, wielding both brute force threats and psychological manipulation with equal prowess. Not only did he kill to establish dominance, but he was also adept at managing the miners' emotions and calming their unstable moods. Under the mine overlord's persuasive guidance, most of the miners eventually gave up their resistance and poured their hard-earned ore before the mine overlords, forming a small mound.
When it was Xiao Fei's turn, his back basket was empty.
"Senior, I just entered today and haven't mined anything yet. I will definitely mine diligently tomorrow."
Xiao Fei explained with a fawning smile. A horse-faced youth, who stood beside the mine overlord leader, searched Xiao Fei from head to toe, not missing any spot. Finding nothing, he then kicked Xiao Fei fiercely to the side. The kick caused Xiao Fei's stomach to cramp, and he squatted by the cave wall, clutching his abdomen, and vomited out all the dry rations he had eaten.
Xiao Fei dared not even look at them again, lest they suspect him of seeking revenge. Even a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining was killed with a single sword strike; what could he, a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, do?
Dozens of miners poured their excavated ore before the mine overlords, forming a small pile. At this point, a few of the mine overlords' subordinates flipped over the body of the youth who had just been killed and emptied the ore from his back basket. Just then, a fist-sized piece of ore rolled out from the back basket, emitting a dense spiritual energy.
"Oh!"
The mine overlord leader picked up this piece of ore and brought it closer, examining it carefully with his divine sense.
"Boss! Could this be Profound Iron Essence?"
A mine overlord subordinate leaned in, asking in surprise.
"It's highly likely. No wonder this person dared to resist so boldly; he wanted to protect this piece of Profound Iron Essence."
At this, everyone present cast envious glances at the ore in the mine overlord leader's hand.