Chapter 405

Chapter 405: Is He Sick?

This series of words made the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator fall into deep thought, and after Ji Yang’s analysis, he suddenly realized:

“That’s right, that’s right, Fellow Daoist, you make a lot of sense. I’ll give it a try now.”

The other cultivators present nodded in agreement, feeling that this was indeed the right way to mine.

Seeing that the cultivator listened to his advice, Ji Yang smiled and nodded, pleased that he was teachable.

Ji Yang didn’t linger any longer and turned to walk outside the mine.

The only reason he spoke earlier was that he had once again entered that peculiar feeling, which made him unable to resist offering guidance.

Watching the speed of the essence of the Way coalesce increase by 0.1%, it was clear that his previous guidance had been helpful.

After Ji Yang left, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was still gesturing with his iron pick, seemingly considering how to swing it and from which angle to dig.

The others nearby focused intently on him, occasionally discussing it with the cultivator next to them.

However, after a moment, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator suddenly halted, and the glimmer of thought in his eyes vanished in an instant.

Recalling what had just happened, he couldn’t help but shout:

“Wait, is he sick or something?”

“Who says I have to dig perfectly! I can dig however I want!”

The other cultivators immediately caught on.

Yes!

Isn’t the secret silver ore supposed to be melted down into magical tools or treasures? Why does it need to be perfect?

Even if it breaks, can’t it be used anyway?

As everyone reflected on their earlier actions, they felt puzzled, then quickly returned to their mining tasks.

“Where did that kid go? Where did he run off to?”

The few who had followed Ji Yang now regained their senses and, feeling angry, looked around for Ji Yang.

“He must have left. Quick, let’s chase him!”

They hurried outside the mine, eager to catch Ji Yang.

Outside the mine, Ji Yang walked slowly, his gaze slightly contemplative.

He had observed everything that happened inside the mine.

He didn’t find the crowd’s reaction surprising, but Ji Yang didn’t expect the essence of the Way’s effect to be so significant that it could confuse other cultivators.

However, isn’t the essence of war what it is called? It should be used for fighting spells, yet it turned out to have this unique use.

Ji Yang thought its application shouldn’t be so simple, perhaps he had misused it as well.

Unfortunately, while his essence had coalesced a bit, Ji Yang could not actively use it, only passively triggering it, which made it impossible for him to test its effects.

“Stop!”

Before Ji Yang could leave, several figures suddenly appeared before him, and one among them shouted at him.

Ji Yang slowly looked up, and standing in front of him were none other than the Qianji Gate cultivators responsible for collecting the ores.

The group consisted solely of Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators, varying in strength.

Seeing them arrive, Ji Yang felt a hint of surprise.

He wondered if they were unaware of the situation or intentionally stayed behind to collect ores from the other cultivators despite knowing what had happened.

Even if he didn’t take action, the other cultivators would notice the Void Refinement Stage cultivator from Qianji Gate was absent, and they likely wouldn’t turn over their ores. In fact, there was a good chance they would reclaim the secret silver mine that had already been collected.

“What brings you gentlemen here?”

Ji Yang asked with a smile.

“Hmph, are you planning to leave the mine?” one of them questioned.

“Indeed, is there a problem?”

“Of course there is! The secret silver mine you’ve mined over the past few days has not been submitted. You can only leave after handing it all over!”

With those words, they blocked Ji Yang’s path one by one.

Seeing this, Ji Yang simply smiled and then asked:

“I wonder where Brother Zheng is? Perhaps we can have him come personally to collect it?”

Upon hearing Ji Yang’s inquiry, the expressions on their faces briefly showed an unusual shade before returning to normal.

“Hmph, what is your status? Do you think you can just see Brother Zheng whenever you want? Kid, don’t be ungrateful, hand over your storage bag, and we might let you off easy. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being rude.”

They all released their imposing auras, attempting to intimidate Ji Yang.

However, as Ji Yang noticed the brief flicker of their gazes and their aggressive expressions, he instantly understood.

They likely learned of Zheng Cai’s accident through some means, but they didn’t want to forfeit their gains and perhaps hoped to make a quick profit before leaving.

They certainly had the guts, but unfortunately, they encountered him.

“Come on.”

Ji Yang said no more and skillfully took out his iron pick.

“Kid, what do you mean? You want to provoke us, huh?”

Seeing Ji Yang actually prepare to fight, the expressions on their faces turned slightly strange, especially for the two responsible for collecting ores.

They had been impressed by Ji Yang before, but now they found themselves hesitating.

But by this point, Ji Yang’s indifferent expression clearly indicated he wasn’t going to hand over the ores, which made their faces darken.

They knew something was wrong when Brother Zheng hadn’t shown up after a long time. Even if he left the mine for the upper levels of the secret realm, he would have at least notified them.

Now, they not only hadn’t received any news, but they also couldn’t sense Brother Zheng’s puppet. Though they couldn’t be sure if something had happened to him, the situation surprised them.

They initially thought of leaving, but after some thought, they decided to wait another day. If Brother Zheng didn’t return by then, they would leave.

The reason they were still here, risking it all, wasn’t just for this. The uncollected ores in the mine were also a significant haul.

Even if they had to leave, they wanted to take advantage of Brother Zheng’s remaining influence to scavenge a bit more.

But before they could actively collect more, they spotted Ji Yang preparing to leave the mine. For Ji Yang, who contributed the secret silver mine, they certainly would not let him go, so they stepped in to block him.

What they didn’t expect was that the person who usually submitted ores willingly had completely changed his attitude today.

Nonetheless, they couldn’t let Ji Yang leave no matter what. Otherwise, how would the other cultivators willingly submit their secret silver mines?

Without Brother Zheng’s intimidation, they weren’t strong enough to face the cultivators in the mine.

Not to mention that a few others were quietly observing the situation from a distance.

As their expressions shifted, they summoned their magical artifacts and puppets.

“This kid is a bit strange; let’s go all out!” one of them exclaimed, and soon, they all launched an attack on Ji Yang.

When several Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators teamed up, their power was not weak. Coupled with the puppets they had cultivated, they instantly created a formidable force, sending various attacks toward Ji Yang that he could barely handle.

Facing their assault, Ji Yang only wielded his iron pick, releasing several sword energies to counter the attacks.

With his current strength, even without relying on his iron pick, he could unleash sword energy, and its power was significant enough that the people before him could not withstand it.

However, during the battle, Ji Yang only took a defensive stance and did not strike back.

The reason was that Ji Yang wanted to test if he could coalesce the essence of the Way during the fight and experience the effects of the Essence of War.