Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye felt himself being grabbed by a powerful grip, and his body involuntarily moved forward. Enduring the pain coming from his chest, he asked, “Manager Yang, where are we going?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Manager Yang said viciously. He took several steps forward, then glanced at the mining basket on Lu Ye’s back. “Get rid of it.”
Lu Ye did not dare to refuse. Unbuckling the mining basket, he tossed it to the ground but kept hold of his mining pick. Although Manager Yang glanced at Lu Ye sharply, he didn’t say anything else.
The deeper they went inside, the further the light behind them got. The lighting in the depths of the mining tunnels was very dim, with only the torches that were placed at every 35 metres or so providing some light. However, the entire mine was riddled with passages and the terrain was extremely complicated. Not every mining tunnel had torches lighting the way. Most of the mining tunnels were shrouded in darkness all year round, and nobody knew where these mining tunnels led. Therefore, it was very easy to lose their way if they did not follow the lighted path when mining in this place. It was easy to imagine what would become of a mining slave with an ordinary constitution if they lost their way in this place.
Among the mining slaves, the mining tunnels that were illuminated by torches were known as the ‘Lighted Paths’ and the mining tunnels that were shrouded in darkness all year round were known as the ‘Dark Paths’. Oftentimes, torches would burn out and the Lighted Paths became Dark Paths. Mining slaves would then lose their sense of direction and starve to death. It was a common occurrence.
As Lu Ye followed Manager Yang deeper into the mining tunnels, he noticed something strange. Manager Yang would occasionally look backward with a nervous expression as though he was being chased by something dangerous. The way Manager Yang was acting made Lu Ye nervous too.
“Lu Ye, do you know any of the Dark Paths?” Manager Yang suddenly asked.
“Yes.” Lu Ye nodded. Denying this fact was meaningless in front of Manager Yang. Besides, he was not the only one who had some knowledge of a few Dark Paths. All the superior mining slaves had explored and became familiar with several Dark Paths.
Although the Lighted Paths were safe, there were not many spots left that could be mined. On the contrary, quality goods could often be found in the Dark Paths that were shrouded in various dangers. He was only able to harvest so much every single day by relying on the resource-rich Dark Paths. How else would he find the extra Contribution Points to exchange for Qi Blood Pills? That was also the reason why Manager Yang had dragged Lu Ye along with him after recognizing Lu Ye.
“Manager Yang, do you want to enter the Dark Paths?” Lu Ye asked. The fact that Manager Yang had mentioned the Dark Paths so abruptly gave him some room to make his own conjectures.
Manager Yang replied, “Bring me to the most hidden Dark Path.”
“Okay!” Lu Ye nodded in response. He didn’t take more than a few steps when he groaned suddenly and clutched at his chest. The bones in his chest felt a little displaced after he took that attack and following behind Manager Yang at such a fast pace had given him no chance of respite at all. At this moment, his movements had pulled at his injury. The pain that followed made him double over and a sheen of sweat oozed out of his forehead.
Manager Yang glared at Lu Ye in dissatisfaction. Hesitating for a moment, he dug into the cloth bag hanging at his waist, quickly retrieved a round Spirit Pill about the size of a pea, and handed it to Lu Ye. “Eat this!”
Lu Ye accepted the Spirit Pill but could not tell what kind of Spirit Pill it was. The Qi Blood Pill was the only Spirit Pill he had been exposed to in the one year he spent in this world. Whereas, the Spirit Pill he currently held in his hand was clearly different from the Qi Blood Pill.
Under the current circumstances, it probably wasn’t harmful seeing as he was still useful to Manager Yang. It was most likely used for healing purposes. Thus, he stuffed the Spirit Pill into his mouth and chewed on it. He instantly regretted his decision so much that even his intestines turned blue. That was because the Spirit Pill was bitter beyond description.
“Why did you chew on it? You should have just swallowed it. This is a Healing Pill,” Manager Yang snapped unkindly.
[So it really was a Spirit Pill meant for healing purposes.] Lu Ye’s expression was scrunched up from the bitterness, but he still needed to express his gratitude. “Thank you, Manager Yang.”
“If you really want to thank me, then hurry up and get a move on!” Manager Yang gave Lu Ye a shove.
Hence, Lu Ye had no choice but to get his act together and lead the way in front.
That Spirit Pill might have been incredibly bitter, but the effects were surprisingly good. He felt a rush of heat spreading in his lower abdomen not long after consuming it. Following that, the pain coming from his chest injury didn’t seem as intense as before. Rather, it became sore and itchy. He couldn’t help feeling amazed. [Wow! So, it’s true that bitter medicine works well after all!]
Under Lu Ye’s lead, the two of them continued to move forward in the criss-crossing paths of the mining tunnels. They occasionally came across some mining slaves that were heading back to the surface, but Manager Yang killed them all without hesitation.
Lu Ye’s eyelids twitched at the sight. Nevertheless, the suspicion in his heart became clearer.
About an hour later, the two of them stopped in front of the entrance to a Dark Path. Lu Ye was holding a torch in his hands at this point. It was a torch he took from nearby. He said, “Manager Yang, this is the most hidden Dark Path. Once you go inside, take a left at the first intersection. At the second intersection…”
Before he could finish speaking, Manager Yang kicked him inside. “Lead the way!”
He felt his heart sinking to the bottom of the abyss. He did not wish to continue leading the way. Judging by Manager Yang’s actions along the way here, he knew that he would suffer the same tragic ending once he brought Manager Yang to their destination.
Unfortunately, his last attempt to escape had failed. Manager Yang clearly had no intention of entering the Dark Paths alone. It was better to have Lu Ye, who was familiar with the terrain, leading the way than to blindly explore the place on his own. Therefore, Lu Ye had no other option but to continue forward reluctantly.
The paths twisted and turned so much that even Manager Yang, who was a cultivator, could barely remember the way back. Another hour or so went by. Then, the mining tunnel ended ahead with no other way forward. Lu Ye inserted the torch on a hidden pillar on the rock wall.
Manager Yang let out a deep breath of relief and sat on the ground to rest. Turning his head to glance at Lu Ye, he couldn’t help laughing. “You truly are capable. I can’t believe you even managed to find a place like this.”
Lu Ye smiled. “It was a stroke of luck.”
Manager Yang nodded and said nothing more. .
Lu Ye said, “I’ll be taking my leave now, Manager Yang.”
Manager Yang lifted his gaze slightly and lightly said, “Lu Ye, you are a smart man. Smart men should do smart things.”
While speaking, he got to his feet again and slowly approached Lu Ye. The flickering light from the torch made his shadow dance like a ghostly figure.
Lu Ye panicked. “What do you mean?”
Manager Yang sighed. “I guess I might as well explain things to you clearly. The people of Grand Sky Coalition are here. I’m afraid we won’t be able to defend the mines for long. I came here to escape from the dangers outside. Although I am very grateful to you for bringing me here, I can’t let you go back.”
Lu Ye backed away slowly. [It’s just as I thought.] A vague guess had formed in his heart when he saw Manager Yang killing off those mining slaves indiscriminately. Manager Yang was worried that news of him entering the mines would be leaked, so he had to kill anybody and everybody who saw him. On the other hand, the reason he had been so happy to see Lu Ye at the entrance of the mines was that he knew Lu Ye could bring him to a secret place to hide. Even if the people of Grand Sky Coalition took over the mines, it would not be easy to find him if he was hiding in a place like this. There was a high possibility that he could escape this catastrophe alive.
It was precisely because Lu Ye was aware of his own situation that he had been trying to get away. But, how could he get away if Manager Yang refused to let him leave?
“Then, I’ll stay with you and keep you company. I won’t leave.” He pressed his back against the rock wall. There was nowhere for him to retreat.
Manager Yang paused for a moment and seemed to consider the idea seriously. Unfortunately, he soon shook his head. “I didn’t bring a lot of food with me. I don’t know how long I will have to hide in this place either. Although Grand Sky Coalition won’t be able to remain here for long, it will take at least a month or two for them to leave. That’s such a long time. You will starve to death by then. How can you even keep me company? So, I’ll give you a quick death as thanks!”
There was only a distance of 10 metres between them. As soon as the conversation ended, he struck out at Lu Ye with his palm. His cultivation might not be that powerful, but it was still a piece of cake for him to kill an ordinary person like Lu Ye.
To his surprise, Lu Ye rushed toward him with the mining pick raised up high and viciously brought it smashing down at his head at the exact moment he launched his attack. Although Lu Ye’s ruthlessness and decisiveness surprised him slightly, that was all it was…
On the contrary, what happened next shocked him so much that he nearly lost his soul. He suddenly realized that it was difficult to control the Spiritual Power coming from his Spiritual Points. It felt as though there was an inexplicable force restricting his Spiritual Power and he could only mobilize a small amount of it.
In the meantime, the mining pick came smashing down at his head. It was too late for him to avoid the attack, so he could only use the hand he had attacked Lu Ye with to block against the attack. *Crack.* A crisp sound rang out in the air. The mining pick had landed squarely against his arm and broke his bone. He couldn’t help screaming out in pain and shuffling backwards.
Having landed a successful blow, Lu Ye felt slightly relieved. [It looks like the rumours I heard in the past were true. I still have a chance of surviving this.]
Even though he had the upper hand, he did not let up on his attacks. He slowly pressed forward, the mining pick in his hand constantly rising and falling in front of him. He actually managed to push Manager Yang so hard that Manager Yang was unable to fight back.
Manager Yang might be a cultivator of Evil Moon Valley, but his cultivation was not powerful. That was why he had been assigned to this position of managing the mines, which practically had no obligations to carry out. He rarely fought desperately against anybody in his life. After all, he could simply use his cultivation to deal with the mining slaves; they were like putty in his hands. Be that as it may, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person when his cultivation was greatly suppressed, which resulted in him taking a heavy beating upon encountering an opponent as ruthless and cruel as Lu Ye.
While avoiding Lu Ye’s fierce barrage of attacks, he stuck his hand into the cloth bag hanging at his waist. A moment later, he raised his hand and a cold light flashed.
Lu Ye was taken aback. He hurriedly stopped advancing and used his mining pick to defend. That cold light slashed down the front of the mining pick, and the mining pick made of fine iron was cut in half. Looking up, he glanced at Manager Yang’s hand only to discover that a longsword had appeared in Manager Yang’s hand at some unknown point in time. It was something Manager Yang had retrieved from the cloth bag.
Manager Yang swung the sword in his hands threateningly, creating a deterrent that prevented Lu Ye from stepping forward at will.
The situation instantly fell into a stalemate. An ordinary person and a cultivator faced each other in the deepest parts of the mining tunnels. The former had a cold and determined expression. On the other hand, the latter was an utter mess and an intense pain was causing his expression to contort in a grimace.
“A Yuan Metal Force Field!?” Manager Yang shouted through gritted teeth. Only a short while had passed, but he had already figured out why his Spiritual Power was being suppressed. This place contained large quantities of Yuan Metal Ore!
Yuan Metal was an extremely rare mineral. When it came to its value, the value of Yuan Metal was second to none in this entire mine. That was because it was a mineral that was very useful to cultivators. The only downside was that Yuan Metal had a special characteristic. It would emit an invisible and intangible Force Field, and this Force Field would restrict the circulation of all Spiritual Power within its range. A cultivator’s strength would be greatly reduced if he was caught in this Force Field.
Since Manager Yang had limited cultivation, being enveloped by this Yuan Metal Force Field caused almost all of his Spiritual Power to be suppressed. He was reduced from a superior cultivator to an ordinary person in an instant.
All of a sudden, he recalled that Lu Ye would occasionally mine some Yuan Metal over the past year. It was just that other people had mined some too and it had not been a large amount either, so he did not pay much attention to it. There were all kinds of ores in this mine after all.
It would now seem that Lu Ye had always known about this location where a lot of Yuan Metal was located. Even so, he did not mine it excessively in exchange for Contribution Points and only mined some occasionally, lest other people covet his secret. It could be seen that he was very calculating.
“You deceived me!” Manager Yang felt like he was about to lose his mind. Now that things had come to this point, how could he not realize that Lu Ye had brought him to this location on purpose? An ordinary person he thought he could kill with ease had turned around and bared their fangs at him. The realization enraged him greatly. Nevertheless, his arm was broken and he was injured in many places. Under these circumstances where he could not bring out his cultivation, he knew he was no match for Lu Ye. Therefore, he immediately took decisive action. He turned around and ran.
Upon seeing this scene, Lu Ye instantly had a bad feeling. He only had a little knowledge of the Yuan Metal Force Field. He had heard about the special characteristics from a cultivator of Evil Moon Valley the first time he handed over the Yuan Metal, so he kept that knowledge in mind.
Along the way here, he witnessed the Manager killing off the other mining slaves with no mercy. He knew that could only spell trouble for him, so he decided to bring Manager Yang to this place. Before he broke Manager Yang’s arm, he had not been certain if the Yuan Metal Force Field in this place could limit Manager Yang’s power.
Fortunately, the Heavens were on his side. The Yuan Metal Force Field really did hamper Manager Yang’s power. Even so, the range of the Yuan Metal Force Field was limited. [I will die the moment Manager Yang leaves the range of the Force Field! I cannot let him escape!]
He steeled his heart, bent down, picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground, and threw it at Manager Yang with all his strength.
Manager Yang, who was running away in a panic, never expected Lu Ye to have such an underhanded trick up his sleeves. Consequently, he was hit in the back of the head and stumbled to the ground. Before he could stand up, a whistling sound of something cutting through the wind rang out in his ears. He quickly flipped over and saw Lu Ye rushing forward while slashing at him with the other half of the mining pick that was still in Lu Ye’s hands. There was no way to escape this time!
At that critical moment of life and death, Manager Yang shouted, “Let’s die together!”
At the same time, he stabbed forward fiercely with the longsword in his hand! In the next moment, his head was smashed in by the mining pick. Lu Ye didn’t feel safe enough, so he struck a few more times. It wasn’t until he saw the body twitching uncontrollably in front of him that he was convinced that the other party was dead.
Then, an intense pain came from his thigh. He looked down and saw a longsword stuck in his leg. It was the sword that had been in Manager Yang’s hands. It turned out that he had been stabbed at some point in time, but he didn’t even notice until now. Throwing the mining pick down, he sat down on the ground heavily, took in huge gulps of air, and appreciated the beauty of life.