9oo Chapter 234 The Madness of the Final Moments
"Master, Master Qian has finally left the city, and I'm not going to see Master Qingzhu. What should we do now?" At the east gate of Fengdu City, Zhang Guodong and Qingzhu walked in high spirits, chatting and laughing, towards a newly dug small crystal mine ten kilometers outside the city. On the way, they unexpectedly encountered Erzi, who had caught up with them and wanted to continue being their guide. However, Zhang Guodong declined, as he had already given them a crystal stone every three days and didn't care. They had to postpone it to another day. Zhang Guodong was only nominally a level four cultivator, so Qingzhu was also modest and let him have his way, and the two of them simply walked. Not long after they left the city gate, four people followed behind them. It was Yu Sheng, the manager of Songtao Villa, and a middle-aged man in blue robes. This man was the master of Cheng Biao, the skinny guy, and Junior Brother Wu, and was also a fourth-generation outer disciple.
Yu Sheng and Cheng Biao watched Zhang Guodong's retreating figure, their faces revealing a hint of murderous intent. Last time, after being reprimanded by Qingzhu, they were almost punished by their senior brother, the sect leader, but they were only warned once, and the matter was dropped.
The warning in front of so many people put them in an awkward position, as planters value face highly.
Cheng Biao and his two fellow disciples then found their master, Chen Xing, a middle-aged man with triangular eyes, who was also a fourth-generation outer disciple. In reality, Chen Xing held a higher position than Yu Sheng, so Yu Sheng had to stand sideways behind him. "Is that the fourth-level plant cultivator advertised in the 'house' ad for 'Yin Xiao Dang Shuo'?" Chen Xing looked at Zhang Guodong's back with disdain and said indifferently.
Cheng Biao and his two companions blushed crimson, their anger and embarrassment turning into fury, which they directed entirely at Zhang Guodong. Yu Sheng, standing behind them, also looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Indeed. For a mere level four cultivator, they actually mobilized a level twenty-four outer disciple and a level twenty-one fourth-generation outer disciple. Especially Chen Xing, who was already level twenty-four, very close to the level of an inner disciple.
Cheng Biao: They're all under level 15, but it seems like any random person could easily take care of a low-level disciple who's only level 4.
Fortunately, Qingzhu was with Zhang Guodong, preventing them from finding an opportunity to strike. Therefore, Yu Sheng said, "Senior Brother Chen, with Senior Sister Qingzhu here, we can't kill this person. So, we need Senior Sister Qingzhu's help; at least we need to lure her away."
"Just a level four plant cultivator, why make such a fuss over killing him? Hmph, I'll handle Senior Sister Qingzhu. But be quick and efficient. Also, don't touch anything on his body."
Yu Sheng immediately assured him, "Senior Brother Chen, everything that kid has on his body is yours. I won't take a single thing!"
The latter nodded, indicating his satisfaction. If it weren't for his three disciples and this Junior Brother Yu's claim that this person seemed to possess something valuable, he wouldn't have come out at all. Killing a low-level disciple—if word got out, even if it was just hearsay, it would still make him lose face, and the risk was considerable.
The five of them followed Zhang Guodong and Qingzhu toward the small crystal mine. Many disciples went there every day to try their luck, so the road was always bustling with people, making it easy to keep track.
Maintaining a distance of 100 meters from each other ensures that they won't lose each other.
Soon, Zhang Guodong and Qingzhu arrived at the small crystal mine. It was a mountain, over a thousand meters high, completely bare. Traces of logging were visible, presumably because the Qingxuan Sect had cleared all the trees from the mountain to make it safer, leaving no place to hide.
And so it is. Within a ten-kilometer radius, no one dares to covet this small crystal mine of the Qingxuan Sect; otherwise, all reinforcements could arrive here in less than half a minute. It could be completely surrounded from all sides. There are quite a few cultivation forests within a hundred-mile radius of Fengdu City, and the elders' cultivation forests have encircled Fengdu City, making communication between them very convenient. This small crystal mine is essentially within the encirclement of the Qingxuan Sect disciples.
"Senior Uncle Qingzhu!" The disciples guarding the area were dressed in white, fifth-generation disciples, while Qingzhu wore a blue robe with a gold ribbon tied around her hair. This was the mark of a fourth-generation inner disciple. Furthermore, Qingzhu was the Tenth Elder's personal disciple, so naturally everyone recognized her.
Zhang Guodong was dressed in purple, which puzzled them. The elders were dressed in gold, and this purple robe was not the attire of Qingxuan Sect disciples. There were no gold ribbons on his robes either, indicating he wasn't an inner disciple, so they couldn't very well greet him. Since he was following Qingzhu, they couldn't very well stop him either.
"Is Elder Ninth here? We two need to go in and dig for crystals!"
"Senior Sister Qingzhu, since you're here, you don't need to register. I'm sure Elder Jiu won't question it." At this moment, someone rushed over. It was a disciple in green robes with a gold ribbon in his hair, who was also a fourth-generation inner disciple.
The disciples in white immediately bowed and said, "Uncle-Master Liu!"
The man nodded slightly, showing great enthusiasm towards Qingzhu, and personally led Qingzhu and Zhang Guodong into the alleyway. As for Zhang Guodong, he only glanced at him briefly, and upon realizing he was a newcomer, immediately lost interest. One could even say he looked down on him; if it weren't for the people Qingzhu had brought, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to look at him.
"The rules can't be ignored. Let's register, Junior Brother Liu!" Qingzhu said seriously, ignoring the suggestion.
In fact, Manager Liu also understood that each person could earn twenty low-grade crystals a day. If they were lucky, they could make a profit, but if they were unlucky, they would be lucky if they didn't lose money.
"Alright, then I wish Senior Sister Qingzhu a bountiful harvest!" Junior Brother Liu didn't insist and immediately registered the two of them. Each received a route map and a shovel. Every person digging for crystals received...
※Many people crowd around the shovel, unaware that it is made by someone who is quite hard.
After registration, Qingzhu wasted no time and led Zhang Guodong into the waterway.
"Senior Sister Qingzhu, there are quite a few routes in this crystal mine. Do they all yield crystals? Also, are we just using this shovel to mine crystals?" Zhang Guodong said, looking at the two items in his hand.
"Hehe. Don't underestimate this shovel. Inputting your life force can speed up the mining process!" Qingzhu said. "However, if you're lucky, you might even find some crystals, maybe even mid-grade crystals. That would be amazing!" Zhang Guodong, whose blood was boiling from Qingzhu's words, exclaimed. Mid-grade crystals! This shovel is something special. Like a magic weapon?
He was just worrying about how to mine the ore, but now he doesn't have to resort to violence. However, once he started mining, this thought quickly made Zhang Guodong feel frustrated. But that's a story for later.
The truth is, this shovel is good, but it consumes a lot of life force. Even with Qingzhu's power of twenty-eight, it would probably run out of life force in two hours. This guy is a monster that devours life force!
Then one must meditate or use crystals to restore life and demonic power, and repeat this process.
Naturally. Just think about it, how long can Zhang Guodong, a level four plant cultivator, maintain his life force? The thick-skinned Qingzhu naturally didn't take Zhang Guodong's mining combat power into account.
They descended the channel. The two encountered some fellow disciples coming and going, but their cultivation levels were generally no higher than level fifteen. Some were excited, some were disappointed, but all wore dark circles under their eyes, clearly suffering from severe sleep deprivation. No one paid any attention to Qingzhu and Zhang Guodong's arrival.
According to the map, the two lines were close together. A few minutes later, they were hundreds of meters underground. Fortunately, there was a faint glow of starstones on the walls. Unfortunately, the two encountered a...
"Okay, we'll part ways here. When it's time, I'll call your name again. Good luck, Guodong!" Qingzhu clenched her fist and shook it as a sign of encouragement to Zhang Guodong, then eagerly darted into the cave.
Perhaps... there's a mid-grade crystal waiting for her? Qingzhu secretly rejoiced.
Zhang Guodong opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't utter a sound. He shook his head helplessly and muttered, "This..."
This sound is probably only audible to myself.
Around the corner a hundred meters away, three people were carefully lying in ambush. These three were Cheng Biao and his two fellow disciples. Yu Sheng and Chen Xing, these fourth-generation disciples, were too conspicuous. They hadn't expected Qingzhu and Zhang Guodong to come and mine crystals; that was something only low-level disciples would do, right? Qingzhu had even personally gone down...
Already?
But that was the reality. Helpless, the two had no choice but to stay up there, while Cheng Biao and the other two went down into the mine to follow them. But they dared not get too close.
At this point, Qingzhu and Zhang Judong finally separated.
Watching Zhang Guodong turn and walk towards his assigned channel, the skinny man couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Cheng, what do we do? Where do we make our move? Should we just follow him in?"
Cheng Biao was much more cautious this time. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Five poisons are not manly. We just separated here. Let's go back in later. There are too many alleys here. As long as we are careful, we can get back to our alley! No one will know what we did!"
“You go and get to work, be quick and efficient. Junior Brother Wu, keep watch! I’ll watch the other alleyway from the middle!” he added.
The skinny man's eyes darted around, but the blame was still placed on him.
"Don't worry. All three of us will get a share, and none of us will escape!" Cheng Biao said.
"Alright!" A ruthless glint flashed in the skinny man's eyes. Seeing there was no way to avoid it, he simply accepted. "Senior Brother Cheng and Junior Brother Wu, keep an eye on this place!"
He flashed away, disappearing into the alleyway where Zhang Guodong was. His speed was quite impressive. Reaching level ten significantly boosted his physical strength.
"Senior Brother Cheng, will Senior Brother Bi be alright? Junior Brother Wu has the lowest cultivation level and the least courageous. He's heart beating very fast when a skinny guy goes to kill someone."
Cheng Biao gave him a cold look and snorted, "You'll be going down too in a bit!"
"A man who doesn't shed blood will grow up to be a coward!"
"Damn it!" Wu Beidi was provoked and his blood boiled.
"Very good. You can go and stab someone in the back later, hehe!"
In the alleyway, Bi Shouzi entered like a cat, peering ahead in the dim light of the starstone, but he had already lost track of Zhang Guodong.
Could it be that I've fallen behind? Or is that kid walking faster?
There was a bend ahead, but no sound came from it.
"Slap!" The skinny guy got a slap on the shoulder.
"You want to kill me? Fine! Let's go somewhere else."
Bi Shouzi was shocked. Without thinking, his natal demonic vine activated, propelling him forward.
When he stood still, he saw Zhang Guodong standing ten meters in front of him with a frosty expression.
Upon seeing Zhang Guodong, the skinny Bi grinned maliciously and said, "Kid, you've got a way to heaven but you're not taking it, you've barged into hell. Last time I wasn't on guard and you got away with it, this time let's see where you run to!"
Update complete for two chapters. To be continued tomorrow.
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