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

On the trail.

Chen Liang watched as Yao Wu and the others swaggered into the mine, and he sighed deeply.

He kicked at the pebbles on the ground unconsciously, his mouth bitter. "Brother Daqi, do you think... we really misjudged them? It's been four days, and Elder Fang has been coming and going every day. If there really was a powerful demon, how could we have escaped his discerning eyes?"

A-Gu hung his head listlessly, his eyes bloodshot: "Yesterday, that kid Yao Wu really struck gold and got five spirit stones!"

Wang Daqi did not rush to refute, but simply looked quietly at the mine entrance.

Then he looked at them again: "Don't overthink it, let's go!!"

He couldn't say much more right now.

You can't exactly say, "I can sense it," can you?

If I were to say that out loud, it would probably cause me a lot of trouble.

…………

…………

at this time.

Deep inside the mine, in the main tunnel.

The new disciples entered the mine one after another, beginning their much-anticipated mining life.

Yao Wu, along with a few trusted men, bypassed the busy main force and quietly made his way to the remote mine shaft where the accident had occurred.

"Brother Yao, are we really coming here?"

The disciple following behind shrank back, his voice trembling slightly, "Old Zhang, who disappeared yesterday, seems to be somewhere around here where nobody lives?"

"Shut up!" Yao Wu hissed, gripping the pickaxe tightly, a greedy glint in his eyes. "How could Old Zhang, a grown man, just disappear? He must have found some treasure and is hiding, trying to sneak it out!"

In the past, there have been cases where disciples secretly hoarded precious mineral essences, hid them, and sneaked out under the cover of darkness.

After all, buying mineral essence from outside costs an extra three spirit stones.

However, doing so is very risky. If discovered, one would be expelled from the sect.

But Old Zhang is already quite old, and this is his last year in the sect!

So now it's all about taking risks for riches!

He thought to himself, if he could find Old Zhang, beat him up, and then steal the mineral essence…

Anyway, this isn't the first time he's done something like this!

As for what danger Old Zhang encountered...

That's absolutely impossible!!!

After all, if there were danger, wouldn't there be no movement?

The group mustered their courage and walked another hundred meters or so.

The air here is unusually humid and has an indescribable fishy smell.

"when!!"

One of the disciples swung his pickaxe and smashed it hard against the rock face.

The crisp sound echoed through the silent mine tunnel.

"Click..."

The rock wall didn't crack, but a very faint cracking sound suddenly came from the ground beneath our feet.

"What's that sound?" Yao Wu suddenly stopped and raised the spirit stone lamp in his hand, shining it around.

Where the light shone, one could see that the surrounding rock walls were slightly seeping water.

No, that's not water; it's a thick, pus-like liquid slowly dripping down the cracks in the stone.

"Brother Yao...look over there..."

One of the disciples pointed to a pile of rubble in the corner, his voice sharp as a rooster being strangled.

The light was moved over.

In the pile of rocks, a bloodstained straw sandal hung askew.

Next to the straw sandals was an arm that had been gnawed away, leaving only bones. The cut was jagged, as if it had been ground off by countless tiny serrations.

"It's...it's Old Zhang's clothes!!"

"He's dead?"

Just as everyone was terrified, a piercing screech suddenly came from the once peaceful depths of the earth!

The sound was like thousands of metal sheets rubbing together simultaneously, instantly piercing everyone's eardrums.

"Boom!!"

The entire mine trembled violently.

The once solid rock wall collapsed like a block of tofu.

Under Yao Wu's desperate gaze, a huge, pitch-black giant, gleaming with a cold purple light, suddenly crashed through the earth.

Each of those countless feet resembled an unparalleled spear!

That wasn't an ordinary armored centipede.

That's the Ironclad Centipede King!

…………

…………

At this moment, inside the camp's small restaurant.

Wang Daqi, Chen Liang, and A Gu were drinking and eating meat.

"That Yao Wu is too arrogant. He just mined a piece of mineral essence, what's so great about that?" A-Gu muttered under his breath.

"Not bad, nothing special." Chen Liang nodded. "But if something really happens, so many people..."

Chen Liang felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it.

"How many deacons are there in the camp?" Wang Daqi asked.

"The one with the highest cultivation level is Elder Fang Zhong! Actually, the two chief stewards in charge of mine affairs and safety are both at the Foundation Establishment stage! The rest, such as Yao Datong and Zhou Cheng, are ordinary stewards with the ninth level of Qi Refining cultivation..."

Chen Liang knew this place well and gave a brief explanation.

Upon hearing this, Wang Daqi frowned.

There don't seem to be many top-tier combatants in a mine.

"Oh, right!" Chen Liang suddenly remembered something: "I heard that the person leading this team is a Golden Core formation master named Cheng Man. She is a Golden Core cultivator. With her help, things should be better."

"Elder Cheng..."

Wang Daqi's heart stirred; they had previously collaborated when they were repairing the Hanyu Palace.

Elder Cheng Man seemed to think highly of him, and even gave him a book on the true principles of talismans!

"If Elder Cheng Man also comes..."

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment deacon, or even a proud and arrogant Pseudo-Core Formation cultivator like Fang Zhong, they might not be able to see the mysteries beneath the earth.

However, Cheng Man is at the Golden Core stage and is also a master of formations, whose perception of earth veins and fluctuations far surpasses that of ordinary people.

To put it another way, his relationship with Elder Cheng Man was actually quite good.

Cheng Man will probably speak up for him.

"Where is she?" Wang Daqi asked urgently.

"After leading the team to deliver the people, Elder Cheng seemed to have gone to investigate the ruins of an ancient formation nearby. I heard he wasn't at the camp." Chen Liang scratched his head. "But the whereabouts of a Golden Core expert are unpredictable. How could we outer disciples know the specifics?"

Wang Daqi suddenly stood up. "I can't worry about drinking anymore, I have to find her!!"

He knew very well that if something really happened in the mine, Fang Zhong's half-baked fake pills wouldn't be able to hold out at all.

Only a true Golden Core cultivator like Cheng Man has the potential to turn the tide.

As he hurried out of the restaurant, he pulled out an exquisite purple communication talisman from his pocket.

That was given to him by Cheng Man herself when the Hanyu Palace was being renovated, for the sake of easier communication.

…………

…………

At this moment, on a mountaintop dozens of miles away from the camp.

Dressed in an elegant long dress, Cheng Man, with a refined demeanor, was frowning as she stared at the compass in her hand.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the void.

She reached out and took the communication talisman, scanned it with her divine sense, and a look of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"Wang Daqi?? Something might happen in that mine?"

Cheng Man's first reaction was that it was impossible.

After all, Fang Zhong, the fake elixir cultivator, had told her that the mine was fine, except that two disciples had died in an accident a few days ago.

"However, although Wang Daqi's cultivation level is average, he is honest and straightforward, and is by no means someone who speaks carelessly."

Cheng Man muttered to herself.

"Alright, I was about to leave anyway, but since you asked for help, I'll go back and take a look."

…………

…………

Back at the camp, Wang Daqi received a brief reply from Cheng Man, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally half relieved.

"Let's go back first. As long as Elder Cheng returns, everything will be alright..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble violently without warning!

"Bang!!"

The dishes on the tavern table shattered instantly, scattering across the floor.

The once flat ground suddenly surged like ocean waves, and terrifying power erupted from the depths of the earth, shaking everyone so much that they lost their footing.

"What happened? Was it an earthquake?" A-Gu was so frightened that he grabbed the doorpost and his face turned pale.

"It's not an earthquake, it's a mine collapse!!" Chen Liang pointed into the distance in horror.

Not far away, the main mine looked as if it had been hollowed out from the inside by some giant beast.

The entire mountain peak emitted a deafening roar, then collapsed inch by inch amidst billowing dust!

A nauseating, fishy stench gushed out from the crack in the ground, accompanied by thousands of sharp, piercing screechs.

"Oh no, something's happened..." Chen Liang's voice was trembling.

The people in the tavern pushed and shoved out like madmen, screaming and cursing filling the air.

Looking at the collapsed mountain, Wang Daqi's mind was filled with images of Jiang Xuerou and Xu Yan.

Xu Yan's patrol area today is right on the rocky slope near the mine entrance!

"You two stay in an open area and don't wander off!"

Wang Daqi shouted sharply, and before Chen Liang could even respond, he shot off like an arrow, rushing towards the mine entrance amidst the swirling dust.

…………

…………

…………

At this point, the entire Xuanjin Mine had already become a living hell.

The once bustling mine tunnels are now filled with a strong smell of blood and a pungent, earthy odor.

The hissing sounds coming from deep underground blended together, and countless purplish-black shadows emerged from the cracks in the rocks, the cave ceiling, and even the soil beneath their feet.

"Something's happened! Help! Lots of armored centipedes!"

"My leg! Elder, save me!!"

"Someone please save me! I don't want to die! I just joined the sect..."