Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys .𝒎
Inside the dark mining tunnel, Lu Ye followed behind the old man while inspecting the contents of the Storage Bag. He soon found some Qi Blood Pills and several Healing Pills. Similar to Manager Yang’s Storage Bag, there were various other bottles and jars inside, none of which he was familiar with. There were also a few ores, but the quality of those ores could not be compared to the ones Manager Yang had collected.
Zhou Cheng’s status was not as high as Manager Yang’s, so it was only natural that his assets were not as plentiful as Manager Yang’s. Even so, Lu Ye was very satisfied with his haul. It was something he gained without any effort after all.
He put the longsword in his hand away into the Storage Bag and tied it around his waist. The Storage Bag he concealed on his body would be safer with this Storage Bag acting as a decoy.
Although he wanted to ask the old man abouts matters related to cultivation and Spirit Pills, he decided against it after a brief consideration. The old man was a Senior Master. Even if he looked kind and friendly on the surface, who could say what kind of disposition he actually had inside? They only met each other by chance, and Lu Ye was certainly in no position to ask the old man for advice. Besides, his top priority was to follow the old man out of the mine. It would be losing sight of what was important in favour of trivialities if he offended the old man because of his impropriety and lack of conduct.
Even though the old man didn’t walk that fast, Lu Ye had to jog to keep up. Moreover, the old man would occasionally disappear without a word and return after a short while. Lu Ye secretly guessed that the old man had discovered some disciples of Evil Moon Valley hiding somewhere and eliminated them.
The paths in the mine criss-crossed each other like a maze, and the terrain was incredibly complex. Even Lu Ye needed some time to identify the correct direction at every intersection he came across. On the other hand, every path the old man took was the correct path even though he was simply walking along as though he was taking a leisurely stroll.
In less than an hour, they saw a light coming from the front! It was the entrance of the mine.
Lu Ye followed the old man out of the dark mining tunnel. When he embraced the light again, he couldn’t help feeling emotional and dazed. He even experienced the wonderful feeling of being alive and whole in this world.
“Elder Tang!” Several figures were standing guard at the entrance of the mine. These were cultivators from various Sects under the Grand Sky Coalition who were guarding against any Evil Moon Valley disciples from escaping this place. They bowed respectfully when they saw the old man.
The old man nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
A middle-aged cultivator, who looked like the leader among the other cultivators, glanced at Lu Ye questioningly and asked, “Elder Tang, this is…”
The old man answered. “One of the disciples of Mystical Sky Sect, which was destroyed a year ago. He was taken captive and brought here as a mine slave. He helped me out a little inside, so I brought him along with me on my way out.”
The middle-aged cultivator understood the situation and raised his hand to beckon a young cultivator over. “Bring him over to record his identity.”
“Yes, Sir!” The young cultivator answered. Then, he turned to Lu Ye and said, “Come with me!”
Lu Ye turned to look at Elder Tang. He wanted to thank the old man, but Elder Tang had already walked into the distance.
The middle-aged cultivator who spoke up just now hurriedly chased after Elder Tang. “Elder Tang, Deputy Coalition Leader Pang instructed us to inform you that he wishes to see you as soon as you exit the mine. He has something important to discuss.”
Elder Tang stretched out his hand, stroked his beard, and complained, “These old bones never get any rest.” While saying that, he rose into the sky and disappeared in a flash.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was already heading in another direction under the lead of the young cultivator. That cultivator had no intention of talking to him whatsoever, so he remained silent.
Thinking back on what Elder Tang mentioned just now, he smiled knowingly. [That Old Man really is a nice person. I didn’t even do anything to help him in the mine. On the contrary, I was the one who received all the help. And yet, that was what he said. It’s obvious that he said those words on purpose.]
A Senior Master like the old man could resolve many of Lu Ye’s troubles with just a casual word. Take the Storage Bag hanging at Lu Ye’s waist for example! It was actually quite problematic for him to possess that Storage Bag in his current circumstances. The corresponding awareness had sprouted in his heart when he first took the item off of Zhou Cheng’s corpse.
He even decided that he would immediately hand the Storage Bag over if anybody from Grand Sky Coalition wanted it. After all, he was merely one of Evil Moon Valley’s mining slaves. There would be occasions when he needed to depend on others. It had always been said that one had to be willing to give up on something in order to gain more things in the future. In any case, the actual good stuff was hidden on his body. Something as trivial as Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag was nothing to regret over.
But, with that casual remark from Elder Tang just now, not a single person would dare to try and snatch that Storage Bag from him anymore. He felt a little regretful for not getting the chance to thank the old man in person. Nevertheless, he had a long future ahead of him; there would always be another chance in the future.
Outside the mine was a huge mountain valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. The road located in the East was the only way in and out of this place. At this moment, the mountain valley was very crowded and people were bustling about everywhere.
Lu Ye lifted his eyes to look around and saw many traces of a large battle left behind in the mountain valley. Bloodstains that were still wet stained the ground, and the entire mountain valley reeked of blood. Evil Moon Valley probably suffered a lot of casualties when Grand Sky Coalition attacked this place.
Large flags were raised all over the mountain valley. Different words and patterns were engraved on those large flags, which probably represented the different Sects and Clans. The area beneath each flag was crowded and bustling with people.
According to what Lu Ye knew, Grand Sky Coalition was an extremely large organization formed from many different factions, wherein countless Sects and Clans of all sizes had gathered together under one flag. Thus, all the forces he could see here were probably just the tip of the iceberg that made up Grand Sky Coalition.
Thousand Demon Ridge, which was the antithesis of Grand Sky Coalition, had the same organizational structure.
Lu Ye was in a good mood, having regained his freedom. Everything he saw felt new and exciting to him. As a result, the young cultivator leading the way had to urge him to move faster on several occasions.
They finally arrived at a corner of the mountain valley. There were a lot of people gathered here too. However, these people were different from the brightly dressed and energetic cultivators he had seen on his way here. Most of them were dirty, sickly, and thin. Some of them looked lost and depressed, especially the young and beautiful women.
The dirty ones were the mining slaves that had been working in the mine previously. Years of hard work and malnutrition made them look like refugees.
On the other hand, not all the people captured by Evil Moon Valley were made into mining slaves. There were some young and beautiful girls in the mix. Unfortunately, their fates were generally more wretched than becoming mining slaves. Even though the mine had been seized and they were rescued from their nightmares, the tragic experience they lived through would never be forgotten.
Looking at this bunch of people, Lu Ye immediately understood. These people were the ones who had been oppressed by Evil Moon Valley. All those who regained their freedom had been gathered in this place for some reason.
A table had been placed in front of these people and an extremely fat cultivator sat behind the table. This person looked to be quite young. He was currently leaning back against the chair and taking a nap with his arms folded across his chest.
The young cultivator, who had led Lu Ye to this place, strode forward and lightly rapped his knuckles against the table.
That fat cultivator jumped violently and nearly fell off the chair. When he finally got a clear look at the person standing in front of him, he patted his chest in relief. “You little bastard… you nearly scared me to death!”
The young cultivator looked speechless. Lowering his voice, he said, “Brother Pang, record-keeping might be an easy job, but you shouldn’t slack off so openly. If the Elders in the Coalition see you…”
Without waiting for the other party to finish his sentence, the fat cultivator waved his hand impatiently. “I got it. I got it. You only know how to nag all day long like a woman.” Pausing for a moment, he asked, “What is it?”
The young cultivator stepped aside and revealed Lu Ye, who was standing behind him. “Register this person and verify his identity.”
Due to how obese the fat cultivator was, his eyes were almost invisible under all that fat on his face. Nevertheless, those small eyes widened suddenly when he saw Lu Ye. His gaze was fixed on the Storage Bag hanging from Lu Ye’s waist.