29: Chapter 29 revealed some materials!

Perhaps because so many Black-skinned Stone Bats had died, the mist in the tunnels along the way had thinned considerably.

Mining Team Leader led the way in front... moving quite quickly.

After about the time it takes to burn three sticks of incense, a low-lying town appeared before their eyes, situated in the belly of the mountain with an oval-shaped ceiling illuminated by a Formation!

The low-lying town was filled with an industrial vibe; scattered gravel and minerals were piled up into various defensive fortifications.

It was just like playing some kind of tower defense game...

However, looking back at the journey... wasn't Pingshu Town just playing tower defense?

Some murky sewage flowed out... The gaunt and sallow-faced commoners on the city walls looked incredibly panicked... Seeing the crowd suddenly appear before them, they instinctively raised the bows and arrows in their hands.

But those dilapidated bows and arrows could not bring them much sense of security!

Yet, Mining Team Leader hurriedly stepped forward... and stopped their actions!

Upon seeing that it was Mining Team Leader who had returned, the people inside breathed a long sigh of relief, while simultaneously looking with great curiosity at Shen Yi and the Dao soldiers under his command.

At this moment, the Rakshasa Guard were covered in blood, their fierce aura imposing... clearly, they had given these people quite a scare!

In the pitch-black crowd, the elderly, weak, women, and children made up the vast majority.

An old man walked out from the crowd.

It seemed... he was the elder who usually managed affairs, equivalent to the existence of Old Wang.

After hearing Mining Team Leader's words, the old man walked forward and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Greetings, Lord Shen."

Shen Yi hurriedly helped the old man up and said in a deep voice.

"Elder... you have worked hard!"

"To get straight to the point, I presume you already know the reason for my arrival!"

"Currently, a Stone Demon has appeared in the mine, and I fear it is no longer safe to stay in Pingshu Town."

"Why don't you give the order for everyone to pack their daily necessities and return with me!"

"I wonder, Elder... do you have any attachment to this place?"

The old man hurriedly shook his head and said with a bitter smile.

"When we were first bought by the Xu Family, they gave us a promise that once the mining was finished, they would release us and pay us wages."

"I didn't expect the Xu Family to be so despicable in their dealings... they actually disregarded our lives entirely!"

"There is no daylight here, and the Formation above our heads is crumbling... The light is gone; we haven't seen the sun for a long time, so how could we possibly be attached to this place!"

"I will give the order right away..."

Mining Team Leader slowly stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

"There is still some food... I fear many of the soldiers are hungry too... Lord, I will order people to light a fire and cook right away!"

"But Lord Shen... Er Niang, should we save her... or not?"

The commoners all looked over, their eyes filled with hope.

Whether to save or not, both were problems.

If it were an ordinary First-grade Demonic Beast, there would naturally be no major concerns; the Rakshasa Guard and Wang Meng would be enough to suppress it.

But this Stone Demon, which was extremely difficult to deal with, had become a huge obstacle!

Everyone has their own specialty; looking at the goal, the Rakshasa Guard did not have the weapons and equipment suitable for hunting Stone Demons!

The only one capable of dealing with the Stone Demon was likely Wang Meng alone!

However, although Wang Meng was brave, he was only one person; how could he possibly deal with so many?

He was not willing to let Wang Meng go to his death!

If there was any hope... it could only lie in the jade pendant that Pei Lingshu had given him.

Shen Yi thought for a moment...

For him, Spirit Farmers were also quite important.

Two mu of spirit fields still required him to sow and maintain them himself... If there were Spirit Farmers, they could take care of the farming.

This way, he could free himself up and only needed to collect the vegetation essence when it matured.

And hiring a Spirit Farmer from the outside would cost at least 100 copper coins per month.

Yes, you heard that right.

The agricultural profession in the Immortal Dynasty had always been a popular field.

Those Disciples cultivated by Spirit Farmer clans or Spirit Farmer immortal sects... as soon as they entered the Immortal Dynasty, they would be snatched up by various powers.

Furthermore... many clans warred with each other, but even if they wiped each other out, they would not touch these Spirit Farmers at all!

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, Spirit Farmers were a huge part of the people's livelihood!

Even a Spirit Farmer who could only cultivate one type of spirit plant required 100 copper coins, let alone those heaven-gifted prodigies.

If he saved them... he would make a huge profit!

These Spirit Farmers belonged to Pingshu Town, so naturally, they also belonged to him...

Thinking of this, Shen Yi's mind stirred.

[An abnormal change has occurred in Pingshu Town. Clearly, the original Geomancer lied. Deep within the Pingshu Town mine, there exists a Stone Spirit about to transform into a second-grade entity!]

[Nourished by the diluojiang... the Stone Spirit has broken through the Geomancer's Formation blockade!]

[Kill the Stone Spirit, return rate (179%)]

"As expected, a change has occurred!"

Shen Yi did not feel surprised.

Nothing in the world is immutable... and return rates are no exception.

Just like how he had painstakingly prepared for the imperial examinations, only to have his head forced down by others in the end!

He pondered carefully, a glimmer of vitality flashing in his eyes.

"Save them!"

Once these words were spoken... the crowd rubbed their ears in disbelief!

Shen Yi looked at the commoners of Pingshu Town with a serious expression.

"The land deed belongs to me, so you are now the commoners under my, Shen Yi's, command!"

"How could I stand by and watch you die!"

"Everyone, go and rest..."

Mining Team Leader's expression first relaxed, but then he said with a bitter smile.

"If you hadn't come here, my Lord, I fear we would have been slaughtered by the Yao Beasts within a month!"

"Now that we have been saved, we are already infinitely grateful."

"These commoners don't understand the full story... My Lord, if it's truly impossible... then please give up!"

"If it causes damage to your troops, it would instead be... our fault!"

Shen Yi waved his hand and asked in a deep voice.

"You usually use gunpowder to mine, correct?"

"Yes!"

In the Immortal Dynasty, gunpowder was very common, but many city walls were defended by controlled Formations, so mere mundane gunpowder could not amount to much... The imperial court simply let it be.

However, this item was remarkably effective for blasting minerals.

Of course, it didn't damage the minerals; it blasted the ordinary mountain rock... When the rock fell, wouldn't the minerals come out?

Therefore, Pingshu Town was naturally equipped with it!

Seeing this, Mining Team Leader hurriedly said.

"Naturally, we have it... but my Lord, I fear this gunpowder won't be very effective against the Stone Demon!"

"Furthermore... my Lord, this is the belly of the mountain; if we use a large quantity, I fear it might cause a cave-in."

Shen Yi shook his head and continued to ask.

"Do you have kerosene?"

"For lighting... naturally, we have some!"

"How is the quantity?"

"There is still quite a bit!"

"That will do!"

Shen Yi nodded and said in a deep voice.

"Have people bring out all the kerosene and gunpowder."

"Also... everyone, prepare water buckets."

"I will dispatch the Rakshasa Guard for your safety!"

"Go!"

"Water buckets?"

Mining Team Leader looked puzzled and cupped his hands.

He went off to handle the matter!

Then, Wang Meng came over, baring his teeth and clutching his chest... holding a smooth, jade-like fragment in his hand, he said in a deep voice.

"My Lord... something dropped."