Fairy, don't be afraid, I, Wang Daqi, am truly an honest man.

To his surprise, the rock face on this side was hollow!

Inside that enormous cavity, countless red dots were wriggling in dense clusters.

Those weren't some kind of ore, but countless armored centipedes!

"As expected, there are so many..."

Some are only the size of a fingertip, while others are as thick as an adult's thigh!

In the center of this swarm of centipedes, a gigantic shadow, twice the size of the one they had just killed, was vaguely visible!

Worse still, these beasts seem to be drawn by some kind of aura, frantically drilling along the vein's course towards the weakest points in the rock strata of the mining area above.

"This isn't an isolated incident... We've really messed up their base!" Wang Daqi exclaimed inwardly.

If so many centipedes were to rush out, everyone here would probably die!

Before he could even gather his breath, his gaze swept down into the depths of the earth, and this glance made him freeze in place.

At the core location guarded by the centipedes, a dense, almost tangible, pale purple aura was slowly pulsating, emitting an extremely alluring primal spiritual energy fluctuation.

"That's... Radiant Gold Essence. A small piece can be exchanged for 5 spirit stones from the sect..."

Wang Daqi's breathing suddenly became rapid.

However, being cautious by nature, he immediately realized what was happening.

"I was truly blinded by greed. Under these circumstances, I was actually thinking about earning spirit stones. I was courting death."

Wang Daqi immediately composed himself and quietly walked around the other mining sites nearby, pretending to be looking for ore veins!

But in reality, it constantly urged the Azure Eyes to scan deep into the rock face.

Upon seeing this, his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Besides the spot mentioned earlier, several other enormous armored centipedes were lurking at the intersection of several mineral veins diagonally above.

They seemed to be waiting for some kind of signal, or perhaps they were greedily absorbing the faint purple spiritual energy seeping from the ground.

"Damn it, what kind of incompetent pest control team did this cleanup?! There are so many poisonous insects here, and they just let us in to mine!!"

Wang Daqi cursed inwardly.

He had observed the surroundings a few days ago, but there weren't that many armored centipedes!

What happened this time?

He had a feeling that something unsettling might happen next.

We must leave! We have to leave this place!

Even if this job could earn him several hundred spirit sands a day, he considered it a death sentence.

Making money but not having the life to enjoy it is the greatest tragedy in the world of cultivation.

"Brother Wang, what are you thinking about, pacing back and forth like that?"

Chen Liang kept observing Wang Daqi's expression.

Seeing his solemn expression and his silent observation of his surroundings, I keenly sensed something was amiss.

So he lowered his voice and leaned closer to ask.

Wang Daqi turned his head, looked at Chen Liang and the still bewildered A Gu, and said in a deep voice, "I have a very bad feeling. That beast was probably just the leader. Listen to me, pack your things, we need to get out of here now!!!"

"What? You're quitting?"

A-Gu was stunned, his voice rising several octaves involuntarily, "Brother Wang, this... this is a real 300 spirit sands every day! We just found such a good location, if we leave now, aren't we just pushing away the spirit stones we've already secured?"

For these low-level cultivators, 300 spirit sand a day is not a lot of work!

Chen Liang, however, did not act impulsively like A Gu.

He frowned, staring intently into Wang Daqi's eyes.

He knew that Wang Daqi was not the kind of person who spoke carelessly, especially after seeing the strength Wang Daqi had just displayed and his calm and insightful demeanor, which he deeply admired.

Since Wang Daqi has proposed to leave at this time, he must have discovered a great terror here that even he cannot deal with.

"Agu, shut up! Put your things away!!"

Chen Liang abruptly stopped A-Gu, then looked at Wang Daqi and said firmly, "Since Brother Wang says so, he must have his reasons. What use are spirit stones if we lose our lives? We're not doing this job!!"

"Oh? Brother Chen, you think so too?"

Although A-Gu felt sorry for them, seeing how serious the two were, he could only mutter as he began to pack up his pickaxe and basket.

Wang Daqi looked at Chen Liang with some surprise.

He had originally thought he would have to explain himself at length, and he was even prepared to leave on his own if the two of them didn't leave. He never expected that Chen Liang would trust him so decisively.

that's it.

The three men put down their pickaxes, shouldered their simple bags, and quickly walked out of the mine amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

As soon as they stepped out of the cave, they bumped into Steward Zhou Cheng, who was patrolling with his hands behind his back.

Upon seeing Wang Daqi and the other two emerge at this moment, Zhou Cheng's expression immediately darkened, and he blocked their path with a furrowed brow.

"What's wrong with you three? It's not time for your shift to change yet, who gave you permission to come out?"

Zhou Cheng's tone was unfriendly; now that this had happened, he didn't want any more trouble.

Wang Daqi stepped forward, his expression grave as he cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Steward Zhou, it's not that we're being lazy, but something is truly amiss deep within that mine tunnel. That armored centipede we encountered earlier was no accident. While mining, I faintly heard extremely dense friction sounds and vibrations coming from inside the rock walls. To be on the safe side, I suggest immediately sealing off that section of the mine tunnel and requesting the sect's pest control team to bring their professional arrays for a thorough investigation!!!"

"Wang Daqi! What nonsense are you spouting here?!"

Before Zhou Cheng could reply, a harsh rebuke came from the side.

Yao Datong, accompanied by several followers, walked over, cursing and swearing, a gloating sneer on his face.

"Do you know how urgent this mission to mine the Xuanjin Iron Ore is? This is a direct order from the elders above! You think you can just stop it like that? If it delays the progress, can you afford to take responsibility?"

Wang Daqi ignored Yao Datong's provocation and stared at Zhou Cheng: "Steward, no matter how urgent the mission is, what if there really is a centipede's nest hidden inside? Once it erupts, all the hundred or so disciples in this mine will be wiped out!!"

"What a joke!" Yao Datong spat as he spoke. "Deacon Zhou and Elder Fang already led people in to inspect the area. Do you doubt Deacon Zhou's judgment and think that a lowly servant like you, who got in through nepotism, knows more than the deacon himself?"

Zhou Cheng was pleased by Yao Datong's flattery, and his gaze toward Wang Daqi became increasingly displeased.

This person is spreading alarmist rumors and is incredibly ignorant.

"Indeed, I did check just now. Although I found a few tiny insects about the thickness of a finger, they are common underground creatures and won't amount to anything."

Zhou Cheng snorted coldly, his tone carrying a blatant threat, "Wang Daqi, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you don't want to go in and start mining??? Let me tell you, if you desert this time, it won't be so easy for you to get this kind of lucrative job again. The sect doesn't support useless cowards!!!"

Faced with this threat to their future, Chen Liang and A Gu both turned pale.

In this area, if you offend the manager or steward, you can basically forget about ever getting by again.

However, Wang Daqi resolutely shook his head, his tone as cold and hard as iron: "I suspect there are more armored centipedes inside, and they're not low-level. I'm not doing this job."

Seeing that Wang Daqi was unmoved by reason, Zhou Cheng sneered twice in anger, then turned to Chen Liang and A Gu: "And what about you two? Are you going to go crazy with him too???"

Chen Liang gritted his teeth, recalling Wang Daqi's heroic feat in killing the centipede.

Then I thought of his intuition, which had never been wrong.

Taking a deep breath, she stood next to Wang Daqi and said, "I'll listen to Brother Wang and quit."

Although A-Gu's legs were spinning, he still nodded with a forced smile.

"Fine! You've got guts!!!"

Zhou Cheng laughed angrily, waving his hand at the disciple beside him who was recording the events. "Process their paperwork to leave the mine!! From this moment on, they are not allowed to take another step near this Xuanjin mining area!! Do you all understand?"

The three returned their identification tags and tools, and amidst the pointing fingers and jeers of the miners, they left without looking back, heading towards their camp.

…………

…………

Watching the three figures leave, Zhou Cheng spat, a hint of unease creeping into his mind.

He did indeed lead a group on a tour just now.

However, to save time, only the main mine tunnel was inspected.

They didn't even go into those abandoned side caves.

However, the thought of the rewards that the gold mine would bring instantly erased any doubts, replaced by greed.

Yao Datong then sidled up to Zhou Cheng, his face full of obsequious smiles, "Deacon Zhou, please don't take this kid to heart. This Wang Daqi was brought by Senior Sister Jiang Xuerou. I think he's nothing but a coward who only knows how to flatter; he has absolutely no real skills. That centipede probably scared him half to death. It's good that this good-for-nothing is gone; it'll save him from getting in the way."

Zhou Cheng glanced at Yao Datong, and although he didn't say anything, the contempt in his eyes clearly showed that he agreed with this statement.

However, some miners began to have doubts when they saw Wang Daqi and the others leave.

Some of those who followed the path of righteousness immediately considered leaving.

So, more than twenty people left that night, which infuriated Zhou Cheng and Yao Datong.

It didn't matter. Zhou Cheng immediately informed the sect that they were short-handed and urgently needed to recruit miners to come and work in the mines.

We need fifty people!