Chapter 252: Do You Recognize This Item
Seeing Song Jiulai back down, the burly man felt even more delighted.
In a place like the Dragon Frost Swamp, those in the Qi Refinement Realm had no rights to begin with.
Gangs formed everywhere to exploit others.
If you were lucky, you wouldn’t run into them.
If you did, you could only count yourself unlucky.
Unless you never left the mining area, you were bound for terrible luck the moment you stepped out.
At best, you’d lose your possessions; at worst, you’d lose your life.
"Lying to my face... How about this: just compensate me with ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and we’ll call it even."
Ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones was what a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator would earn for a third of their time toiling in the mines.
After all, the ore here sold for a higher price than usual, but the majority of the profits had to be handed over.
Song Jiulai put on a despairing expression. "Senior, please don’t be like this. Isn’t it enough that I apologize? You... you’re going too far! I’ll call the mine supervisors!"
The mine had supervisors, Core Formation Stage cultivators at minimum, and they were from a Major Sect. Ordinary people naturally wouldn’t dare to provoke them.
"You..."
The burly man’s expression changed. "You dare threaten to call the supervisors? Just you wait!"
If Song Jiulai had remained a bit more cowardly, he would have just taken some Spirit Stones and let her go. But now that she was bringing up the supervisors, this had become a grudge to the death!
The burly man left immediately.
Song Jiulai’s expression vanished. Without peeking out, she released her Divine Sense slightly and saw the burly man walk over to two other people.
Another man and a woman.
Judging by their faces, they didn’t look like good people either.
The three of them narrowed their eyes toward the mine tunnel, their expressions turning vicious. They had clearly targeted Song Jiulai.
Just then, Song Jiulai’s Divine Sense suddenly bumped into something. Her heart tightened, and she immediately retracted it.
"Hm?"
The supervising disciple stationed here stood up.
Another disciple who had been meditating nearby opened his eyes. "What’s wrong?"
"I felt someone else’s Divine Sense..."
The meditating disciple said, "This is Mine Number One. It’s all Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators here. How could there be a Golden Core Stage cultivator?"
Golden Core Stage cultivators possess a Sea of Consciousness, allowing them to extend their Divine Sense to a certain degree.
This Divine Sense is easily detected by those who are more powerful.
"I’ll go take a look."
The disciple who felt something was off flew out.
He released his Divine Sense and swept the immediate vicinity of the mining area but didn’t detect any problems.
He only saw those few Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators gathered together along the way.
When those people saw the Golden Core Stage disciple in the air, they subconsciously lowered their heads.
One look at them and he knew they were most likely looking for trouble with someone in the mining area again, but the Golden Core Stage disciple merely gave them a cold glance before flying back.
"Didn’t find anything. Maybe someone was just passing by. I did see Red Tiger and his group over there again, though. No idea which unlucky Cultivator they’ve targeted this time."
"Red Tiger?" The other Golden Core Stage disciple was silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it. He’s from the Supreme Mysterious Sect. I can’t be bothered with them, as long as they don’t fight inside the mining area."
The two exchanged a look. For a moment, they hesitated, wondering if this inaction was wrong.
But it was just a fleeting thought.
In this Cultivation World, the hearts of many had long since grown numb.
Cultivators claimed to be above mortal desires, but in reality, their appetites were magnified hundreds of times over.
Anyone who could restrain themselves was considered a good Cultivator.
Song Jiulai saw that the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators seemed to have left.
But she knew they hadn’t gone far. ’They’re still watching me.’
She had observed them from a distance just now.
The woman was at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, while the two men were at Early-stage Foundation Establishment.
She had made a habit of fighting above her rank during her Qi Refinement Realm, so she was naturally even less intimidated when facing opponents she considered beneath her.
Her only concern was that a commotion near the mining area would attract attention. She began to calculate how to strike for a quick and decisive victory.
’Trap them with the Prosperous Scenery Tower, attack with the Black Demon Seal, finish it with Palm Thunder... perfect!’
With this in mind, Song Jiulai cheerfully left the mine tunnel.
There were no restrictions on personal freedom here. You could leave whenever you wanted, as long as you handed in your quota of materials each month.
Not long after Song Jiulai left on her Magic Treasure, the other Cultivators emerged from the shadows. Seeing her flee in such a hurry, the burly man immediately said, "I knew it. She’s definitely making a run for it."
She knew her life was forfeit after offending them, so she took the chance to flee the moment she thought they were gone.
Red Tiger let out a savage grin. "Let’s go!"
The other two nodded, summoned their Flying Magical Treasures, and immediately gave chase.
Song Jiulai was moving quickly.
The reason she was moving so fast was to ensure she was outside the mining area’s range, to prevent any Golden Core Stage cultivators from sensing the commotion of a battle.
She was heading toward a gathering place for demon beasts, where there would be even fewer people.
However, she didn’t completely conceal her aura. ’If I did, how would I bait the hook?’
She had a system. Once she was far enough away, she could hide her aura so well that even a Golden Core Stage cultivator would barely be able to sense it.
So when her pursuers saw she wasn’t heading toward Xuanwu City, they immediately became suspicious. "She’s not going back to Xuanwu City. Why is she heading further out?"
The farther one was from Xuanwu City, the closer one was to the demon beast gathering grounds.
This wasn’t First Mountain, where First and Second Rank Demon Beasts roamed in packs. Here, even Third and Fourth Rank demon beasts could appear randomly.
Even for a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, facing a Fourth-rank Demon Beast would mean big trouble.
Let alone a whole pack of them.
"She must be scared," Red Tiger snorted coldly. "She’s panicking and running blindly. She probably thinks that by running this way, we’ll assume she went back to Xuanwu City."
The other two thought that made sense.
Now they pursued her even more relentlessly.
At their speed, it seemed they were about to catch up to Song Jiulai.
Meanwhile, Song Jiulai released her Divine Sense, and after confirming that there was no one else around, she landed on the ground.
This was a damp area. The trees were sparse, and the soil was black.
An ominous aura emanated from all around.
As she landed, a grimy, Third Rank demon beast lunged at her. Song Jiulai recognized it as a native of the Dragon Frost Swamp. With a glance, she casually slew it, swiftly stripped its Demon Beast Materials, and tossed them into her Jiezidai.
The entire sequence was performed with practiced ease.
In the time it took her to do this, Red Tiger and his two companions finally caught up.
"Brat, hand over your life!"
A Great Sword Seal smashed down from above, plunging directly into the ground. Song Jiulai deftly dodged it, her eyes showing panic as she looked at the great sword before her.
Turning her head, she saw the trio had already landed behind her.
Song Jiulai’s expression was terrified. "You—how did you catch up?! Who are you people? How dare you act so recklessly in the Dragon Frost Swamp?"
Hearing this, the female cultivator let out a snicker, thinking Song Jiulai was too naive. "Well today, we’ll let you die with some understanding. We are from the Supreme Mysterious Sect. In your next life, make sure you know who you’re dealing with. Don’t go offending just anyone, understand?"
Song Jiulai hadn’t actually expected them to say it.
But since they thought her death was imminent, they actually revealed it.
"The Supreme Mysterious Sect?" Song Jiulai’s expression changed. "Aiya, holy shit, old acquaintances!"
With that, she suddenly smiled and summoned an object. "Do you recognize this?!"
DONG—
A massive tower suddenly appeared above everyone’s heads.