33: Chapter 33: Encountering a Robbery

In the Rock Cavern, five figures were locked in a chaotic battle—to be exact, four surrounding one.

Scarface slashed out three blade auras with his long saber, sealing off Xiao Yuan's left, right, and upper directions.

The Seductive Female Cultivator formed hand seals with both hands, and dozens of stone spikes suddenly pierced out from the ground.

The other two Bald Men had fist winds like thunder, directly bombarding the back of Xiao Yuan's heart.

That Short and Thin Man hid in the distance, clutching three Talismans in his hands, ready to launch a sneak attack at any time.

The five people cooperated tacitly; obviously, this was not the first time they had joined forces to kill people.

Unfortunately, the one they encountered was Xiao Yuan.

"Gale Shadow-Chasing—Flash!"

Xiao Yuan's figure suddenly blurred, like a cyan streak of light, shuttling between the blade auras, stone spikes, and fist winds. Those seemingly fatal attacks always brushed past him by a hair's breadth.

"What the fuck kind of movement technique is this?!" Scarface cursed furiously in anger.

The five of them, at the Qi Condensation 9th Layer, besieged a Qi Condensation 4th Layer, yet after fighting for half an incense stick's time, they still hadn't taken him down! If word got out, they would lose all face.

What was even more aggrieved was that they could sense—the opponent wasn't even using his full strength at all!

Xiao Yuan was indeed holding back.

With his Wood-attribute Cultivation Technique at the Qi Condensation 7th Layer, coupled with the movement technique and sword moves of the Gale Shadow-Chasing Sword Art, if it was one-on-one, he had the confidence to behead any one of them within ten moves.

But now fighting five against one, he had to reserve thirty percent of his strength to guard against sneak attacks, and also distract himself to watch the cave entrance—heaven knows if there were any other accomplices.

"We can't drag this out." Xiao Yuan's gaze turned cold. The longer the fight dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be for him.

Seizing the opening where the Bald Man's punch missed, he raised his left hand:

"Thorny Cage!"

Dozens of brown thorns covered in sharp spikes burst from the ground, instantly tying the Bald Man up like a zongzi! The thorn spikes pierced into the flesh, sealing the Meridians. The Bald Man let out a muffled grunt, and his Spiritual Qi circulation instantly stagnated!

"Fourth Brother, watch out!" Scarface exclaimed in shock.

Too late.

Xiao Yuan pressed his fingers together into a sword form, sword auras flickering in and out.

"Shadow-Chasing—Heart-Piercing!"

Pfft!

The cyan sword aura pierced through the Bald Man's chest, instantly shattering his heart. The Bald Man widened his eyes, looked at the bloody hole in his chest, and collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Fourth Brother!" The Seductive Female Cultivator screamed.

The expressions of the remaining four people completely changed.

Six people came, and now two were dead! And the opponent was still completely unharmed!

"Retreat!" Scarface made a decisive judgment, turning around and rushing toward the cave entrance.

How could the other three dare to stay? They ran even faster than him.

Watching the four disappear into the depths of the mine tunnel, Xiao Yuan did not pursue them.

He understood the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy, and furthermore... there were still two corpses lying on the ground, along with tens of thousands of Spirit Stone mines.

He quickly looted the spoils of war—getting his hands on two Storage Pouches, a sweep of his Divine Sense made him happy.

As expected of veteran scoundrels of the vein, their net worth was substantial. Each pouch contained four to five thousand Spirit Stones, quite a few Medicinal Pills and Talismans, and even a few decent Spiritual Artifacts.

"Killing people and setting fires brings golden belts," Xiao Yuan sighed with emotion, casually burning the corpses into ashes.

---

At the other end of the mine tunnel, the four who escaped stopped their steps, panting heavily.

Scarface looked back at the path they came from, his eyes filled with terror, but even more so with hatred and grief.

"Boss... Third Brother and Fourth Brother..." a lackey's voice trembled.

"This grudge must be avenged!" Scarface gritted his teeth, "But that brat is too freaky; the four of us are not enough."

The Seductive Female Cultivator wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth: "Find helpers! Don't One-Eyed Dragon's group have seven people? Join forces with them, kill that brat, and split the Spirit Stones fifty-fifty!"

"Are you crazy?!" The Short and Thin Man immediately objected, "One-Eyed Dragon and us are naturally at odds! Now we only have four people left, and they have seven! What if after killing that brat, they turn hostile and slaughter us too? What then?"

Scarface's expression turned gloomy.

Indeed, there was no morality to speak of in the mine veins. They could join forces today, and stab each other in the back tomorrow.

"Then... find the Black Wind Five Fiends?" another lackey suggested, "The five of them have strength comparable to ours at our peak. With three factions joining forces, no matter how freaky that brat is, he's a dead man! At worst, the Spirit Stones will be split equally among the three parties."

The Short and Thin Man's eyes lit up: "Right! And there are definitely good things on that brat! That sword of his is a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, right? It's worth thousands of Spirit Stones! And since he could find such a rich mine, maybe he has a secret treasure-seeking method!"

Hearing this, the breathing of the other three became heavy. With three factions involved, there was no need to worry about anyone double-crossing.

Hatred and greed intertwined together.

"Let's go!" Scarface slapped his thigh, "Go find the Black Wind Five Fiends! And contact One-Eyed Dragon as well—with the three parties together, it's a sure win!"

The four turned around and sprinted toward a certain direction in the mine vein.

---

In the Rock Cavern, Xiao Yuan was worrying over that patch of Spirit Stone mine.

The four people escaped and could call a large group of people at any time.

"Forget it, I'll just harvest it directly!"

With a thought in his mind, the creation cauldron trembled slightly inside his body.

An invisible suction force spread outward centered around him.

Swish, swish—

The raw Spirit Stone Ores on the rock wall were peeled off as if by an invisible hand, turning into a colorful torrent that surged toward Xiao Yuan. When approaching his body, they mysteriously vanished—all entering the Creation Cauldron Space.

This move of moving-style mining had horrifyingly high efficiency.

It was just a bit... unpicky.

Raw Spirit Stone Ores, associated Ores, gravel, and even a few blind mine worms embedded in the stones were all sucked in at once.

"I'll have to clean this up properly later..." Xiao Yuan looked at the messy pile of things in the cauldron space, the corners of his mouth twitching.

In less than half an hour.

The Rock Cavern was empty.

The rock wall that was originally embedded with Spirit Stones was now bare, like a plate licked clean by a dog.

Xiao Yuan nodded with satisfaction, not walking the path he came by—that was definitely the direction the pursuers would come from.

He turned around to explore deeper into the Rock Cavern, where there were several forks ahead.

His perception swept across; one of them emitted a faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation, but even more so, a dense Evil Qi, as well as... a certain destructive energy aura.

"This kind of place..." Xiao Yuan frowned.

But turning back might mean countless pursuers above the Qi Condensation 9th Layer, while moving forward was unknown danger.

Between two evils, choose the lesser one.

"I'll bet on it!" He clenched his teeth and flashed into the mine tunnel filled with Evil Qi.

The deeper they walked into the mine tunnel, the lower the temperature became. The luminescent Ores on the cave walls were sparse, and the light was dim. Ahead appeared the entrance of a natural cave, pitch-black like a wide-open giant mouth.

Xiao Yuan took a deep breath and drilled inside.

Almost simultaneously—

At the entrance of the Rock Cavern where he previously was, a dozen figures swarmed in.

Headed by Scarface and the four, beside them were five Cultivators in black clothes—the Black Wind Five Fiends, every single one with a chilly aura.

On the other side stood seven people, headed by One-Eyed Dragon, with a Half-step Foundation Establishment cultivation base, arms crossed and sneering.

Three factions, sixteen people, with the lowest cultivation base being Qi Condensation 9th Layer.

"Is this the place?" One-Eyed Dragon scanned the bare Rock Cavern, a flash of anger crossing his single eye, "Where are the Spirit Stones? Hm?"

Scarface was also dumbfounded.

When he left, this place was still embedded with Spirit Stones, sparkling brightly. Now... not even a hair was left!

"Im-impossible! Just now it clearly..." He rushed over, digging at the rock wall with his hands, only managing to dig out a few pieces of gravel.

"Are you playing us?" The leader of the Black Wind Five Fiends—a man with a centipede scar on his face, spoke coldly.

"No! I really didn't!" Scarface was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, "That brat must have just dug it away! Pursue! He can't run far!"

One-Eyed Dragon squatted down and touched the ground—there was still residual warmth.