The situation inside Hongshan Mine was beyond Ji You's expectations.
There were not only miners here, but also women and children. Some worked in the mine, some lived here with their husbands, and some had flooded in before the corrupted spawn surged out of Forked Ridge.
When the several hundred miners in the mine saw Ji You enter with sword in hand, killing intent dense as hemp, they all shrank tensely into the corners.
One of them appeared to be a foreman or leader. His name was Luo You, a forty-year-old man who stood before the crowd.
Unexpectedly, he was a private cultivator. Judging from the fluctuations of spiritual energy, he had undergone Spirit Awakening several days ago.
And besides him, several men hiding in the shadows also had spiritual energy fluctuations.
Hongshan Mine was one of the largest spirit mines in the entire Qingyun World. One-third of the spirit stones consumed by cultivators came from here.
Because the spiritual energy within it was so abundant, many miners could actually sense the innate True Spirits within their bodies constantly stirring.
But because private cultivation was a crime punishable by beheading, many did not dare to try.
And now, it seemed they had exhausted every means to save themselves in their despair.
"W-what does Immortal Lord want?"
"We are trapped here, and we still have... some food."
This one's got some guts. He'd be suitable as my Hall Master. Ji You was still pondering his mountain stronghold.
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Luo You glanced at his pregnant wife hiding behind him. "There are still some spirit stones we mined. We can give them all to you..."
Food was what kept them alive, while spirit stones were their hope of cultivating enough to fight their way out. If they