27: The shovel can be swung up

Above the Spirit Stone Mine, looking down at the entire mine, Teng Nuo stood there.

After seeing Xu Xi and Ye Xueqing, who had disguised themselves, he couldn't connect the people in his memory with them.

He marveled at this in his heart.

Of course, the main reason was that Teng Nuo was only inferring from portraits, which made it difficult to compare the Xu Xi in his memory with the person in front of him now.

If it were someone familiar, such as Xu Xi's nominal father, Xu Jiayin, he would have seen through Xu Xi's not-so-clever disguise at a glance.

Meanwhile, at the temporary mine, Xuanjian Sect disciples continuously entered in batches.

In their minds, no major problems had arisen, but no one would have expected that everything had gone off track, all because there was an internal spy within the Xuanjian Sect.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

"All of you, take your things and follow me."

After all the Xuanjian Sect members had arrived, Teng Nuo stood above the Spirit Stone Mine, signaling with his eyes for the others to begin their operation, then disappeared without a trace.

In the field, the person in charge of registration also stopped what he was doing.

He then led Xu Xi and the others into the Spirit Stone Mine.

As they went deeper, Xu Xi could clearly feel that the spiritual energy concentration here was significantly higher than outside.

Cultivating while seated in this place would be much faster than in the outside world.

Of course, the downside of doing this was the accelerated consumption of spirit stones within the mine.

Almost no one would choose to cultivate using such spiritual energy concentration directly within the Spirit Stone Mine.

Instead, they would choose to collect the spirit stones first, then absorb them for cultivation, as that would yield greater returns.

"You can all start collecting now."

"Within the tunnels, you can mine however you wish."

"At sunset, I will come to take you away."

"Don't try to be clever and think about withholding some spirit stones or directly absorbing them here."

"We will send people to patrol the tunnels; if you are caught, don't blame us for being impolite."

After arriving at the location, he spent a little time explaining some precautions to Xu Xi and the others, then the leader left, allowing Xu Xi and the others to work freely.

Of course, if anyone really tried to profit from this, they would likely meet a tragic end.

The Xiaoyao Sect was ambitious and arrogant; how could they allow others to touch what they had plundered?

It was likely that among the people mining the spirit stones, there were one or two individuals sent by the Xiaoyao Sect, secretly watching them.

"He really just left... What exactly are they up to?"

Standing still, Xu Xi's expression was uncertain after seeing the leading disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect leave; he truly didn't understand the Xiaoyao Sect's move this time.

"Never mind, it just benefits me."

"They probably assume that none of us possess a storage item like a spatial bag."

After a moment of thought, Xu Xi understood what was going on.

However, he didn't dwell on it; his tools furiously struck, and within the tunnel, one low-grade spirit stone after another fell off, which Xu Xi pretended to throw into his basket.

Of course, more of them were secretly put into his storage bag, allowing him to fish in troubled waters.

The other Xuanjian Sect disciples were also working tirelessly at this time.

Although most people didn't have storage bags, these spirit stones would all be their spoils of war during the eventual counterattack.

Given Xu Xi's character, even if he made them hand them over, he would still let them keep a portion.

Compared to the spirit stones obtained through sect missions, this was an excellent opportunity to get rich quickly.

One by one, they all put in their full effort, and in a short while, the section of the Spirit Stone Mine near Xu Xi was already mined out.

If the people from the Xiaoyao Sect were to notice this efficiency, they would probably be shocked speechless, exclaiming, "Have you poor devils never seen spirit stones before? Are you rushing to reincarnate so desperately!"

Time passed minute by minute; no matter what the Xiaoyao Sect was doing, Xu Xi was completely absorbed in mining at this moment.

He prided himself on being a gold miner, and that was truly no exaggeration.

His tools flew wildly, creating afterimages.

Anyone looking at him would think he was a professional miner, having mined his whole life, completely slave-like behavior!

One spirit stone after another was added to his collection; although Xu Xi already had quite a few spirit stones, who would complain about having too much money?

..."Elder Teng, are we still not making a move?"

"It's getting late."

"Moreover... Ye Xueqing and Xu Xi are not weak either."

"Plus, their elders dote on them, so they probably have many life-saving trump cards."

"If we give them more time, they might notice something is amiss."

Outside the Spirit Stone Mine, people from the Xiaoyao Sect stood there, clearly, Xu Xi and Ye Xueqing had already been surrounded.

However, Xu Xi hadn't noticed yet.

Standing beside Teng Nuo, a black-robed deacon felt a constant sense of unease.

He was anxious, very anxious!

Unable to help but urge him, the black-robed deacon worried that if they didn't act soon, the cooked duck would fly away.

If that really happened, the people of the Xiaoyao Sect would truly be in tears.

The loss of spirit stones was irrelevant to them; the main issue was the loss of face.

Such a grand display, yet you can't even take down a group of disciples from the opposing side—a complete waste!

"What's the rush?"

"All responsibility will be borne by this old man."

His half-closed eyes, with their wrinkled eyelids, were as shriveled as the bark of an old tree.

His white beard, everything indicated the advanced age of Elder Teng before him.

Breaking through to Spirit Forming at the end of his lifespan could be considered a joyous occasion.

But this was also why the Xiaoyao Sect didn't value him much; his potential was limited.

After a reprimand, Teng Nuo put away his relaxed attitude, glanced at the cave entrance, and then said unhurriedly,

"Since everyone can't wait any longer, let's make our move."

"Let the people inside create some chaos first, then I will go and assassinate Ye Xueqing and Xu Xi."

"As for the others, I'll leave them to you."

Having said that, Teng Nuo didn't wait for the black-robed deacon's reply and rushed into the Spirit Stone Mine himself.

His Spirit Forming realm aura instantly erupted, and at that very moment, Xu Xi inside the Spirit Stone Mine also detected this anomaly.

"A sudden burst of aura, have we been discovered?"

"Everyone, gather towards me, stay safe, and don't act rashly."

With a loud shout, Xu Xi summoned the disciples of the Xuanjian Sect to gather around him.

The Drunken Sleep Sword was taken out from his storage bag, its sharp blade gleaming with cold light in the dim Spirit Stone Mine.

Xu Xi watched Elder Teng, who was steadily approaching the entrance of the Spirit Stone Mine, as if facing a formidable enemy, unsure which step of the plan had gone wrong.

But he was not panicked at this moment; as soon as everyone was gathered behind him, he swung the Drunken Sleep Sword in his hand, unleashing a dark purple sword qi.