Scouting

Cheng Buzheng also didn't show up, nor did he intend to help the middle-aged man.

His gaze was always on Huang Li, preparing to follow him and find that Mine Overlord Wang Daba to "shear his wool."

He happily thought that shearing such a fat sheep would bring him no guilt.

Meanwhile, the Arrogant Youth was taking Spirit Stone Raw Ore from the middle-aged man's back basket and putting it into his own, taking almost half before stopping his actions!

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's eyes turned red, and he finally closed his eyes silently.

A tear of stubbornness trickled from the corner of his eye.

This kind of "the weak are prey to the strong" scenario was merely a glimpse of the vast cultivation world.

Cheng Buzheng knew that the middle-aged man was wrong, terribly wrong, wrong because his cultivation was too low.

The Arrogant Youth picked up his large back basket and walked further down the mining tunnel. Unbeknownst to him, a small shadow was stealthily following him.

Along the way, Cheng Buzheng occasionally saw miners greeting Huang Li, but Huang Li looked at them with disdain, not even glancing their way.

This showed how deeply Wang Daba's authority as Mine Overlord had taken root, even his lackeys acted as if this was all natural.

Fifteen minutes later.

The Arrogant Youth arrived at a cave entrance, where two cultivators stood guard, nodding to each other.

Then, instead of entering directly, he called out softly:

"Brother Ba..."

He knew he couldn't speak too loudly or too softly; he had mastered the precise tone.

After all, the last time a subordinate spoke a little too loudly and disturbed Brother Ba's cultivation, he was beaten to a pulp. That was a bloody lesson.

"Enter!"

A commanding voice came from inside.

The Arrogant Youth, at this moment, had lost all his arrogant demeanor and walked into the cave with his head bowed.

What they didn't notice was that three feet beneath the rock layer, a Yellow Spirit Light also followed him into the cave.

The Arrogant Youth entered a cave about three feet square.

Inside, a stern-faced Middle-aged Cultivator was seated on a relatively flat rock. A pile of Spirit Stone Raw Ore was placed in a corner.

"How did things go?"

"Big Brother, under your mighty name, that brat Guo Daniu finally handed over the Spirit Stone Raw Ore obediently!" He then recounted the entire process.

At this moment, the Arrogant Youth suddenly became hesitant.

"However... Big Brother, we don't lack Spirit Stone Raw Ore, why collect next month's protection fee from him now! What if it provokes rebellious thoughts among the other miners... wouldn't that be more trouble than it's worth!"

"Haha..." Wang Daba said with great satisfaction: "I didn't expect you, Little Huang, to be able to think so much now. Not bad... not bad!"

Huang Li, following closely, flattered him, "It's all because Big Brother taught me well. Otherwise... how could I have considered so much!"

"Hmph!" Wang Daba was moody, his expression changing extremely quickly. "The reason I'm doing this... is naturally to give Guo Daniu a warning. Does he think I don't know he's been secretly contacting Song Laoer from No. 6 Mine Tunnel? If I don't teach him a lesson, he won't know... how many eyes King Ma has!"

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng roughly understood the whole story, and at the same time, he became even happier. He had originally feared that if he extorted one person too many times, it would be difficult to succeed later. Now, it seemed there was at least one more sheep. He wondered if No. 1 and No. 2 also had sheep. He estimated there probably were, because where there were people, there was conflict, especially with such generous profits. At the same time, he secretly sighed, "This mission was truly worth taking!"

With this unexpected surprise, Cheng Buzheng lost interest in listening further. He now knew that Wang Daba's Spirit Stone Raw Ore was stored within this cave. It wasn't the right time to make a move, so he decided to scout the storage locations of the other Mine Overlords in the Spirit Stone Mine Cave. When the time came, he felt incredibly pleased.

Cheng Buzheng didn't delay any longer. He slipped out of the mine tunnel occupied by Wang Daba and then, like a ghost, extended a wisp of his Divine Sense to observe the activity on the ground! From time to time, he saw miners wielding their Mining Picks, diligently digging for Spirit Stone Raw Ore. Suddenly, he spotted patrolling cultivators in the distance and was startled. He quickly retracted his Divine Sense and continued to dive down another three zhang, reaching a depth of six zhang. This was enough to ensure that as long as the patrolling cultivators didn't deliberately search, they wouldn't find him. Moreover, when they did search carefully, he wasn't foolish enough to wait to be caught. By then, he would have long since fled.

Cheng Buzheng darted around, memorizing every branching tunnel in this mine tunnel, and then investigated each one. He searched for a long time but didn't encounter any Guides, which made him feel a bit depressed.

Cheng Buzheng didn't hesitate. He returned to the end of the main mine tunnel and fell into thought as he looked at the eight branch mine tunnels before him.

"Counting from left to right, the seventh branch mine tunnel is occupied by Wang Daba, and the eighth and last tunnel currently has no guides.

So this time, I'll start from the sixth branch mine tunnel and check them one by one from front to back.

If it weren't for these sect clothes, I could easily fish for information and effortlessly find their Spirit Stone Raw Ore storage points. I was careless and didn't change my clothes!

Forget it, I'll check first! As long as I figure out when they collect protection fees, it will be easy to find the guides."

With this thought, a Yellow Spirit Light shot out from three zhang beneath the rock layer directly towards the Sixth Branch Mine Tunnel.

This time, he didn't investigate meticulously. He just took a general look around. Finding no guides, he decisively exited the branch mine tunnel.

As time passed, the investigation process was smooth, but the results were very unsatisfactory.

Cheng Buzheng was investigating the Second Branch Mine Tunnel. The previous four branch mine tunnels still had no guides, which made him feel a bit dejected.

As the saying goes, when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten.

Suddenly.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, please pay this month's protection fee!"

A voice sounded from above ground.

Cheng Buzheng, who was about to flee, immediately stopped in his tracks and thought to himself.

"A guide... Do you know how hard I've been looking for you?"

"Brother Li. Can I pay the remaining amount next month?

It's only a few days until my deadline to hand it over, and besides the portion that needs to be submitted, I'm still a little short on the remaining Spirit Stone Raw Ore!"

"I will tell Big Brother about your situation, but whether Big Brother agrees, I don't know... If Big Brother doesn't agree then... don't make things difficult for me!"

"Yes... I definitely won't make things difficult for you!"

Cheng Buzheng quietly listened to the conversation above, waiting for the guide to return the way he came.

This way, he could quickly ascertain the location of the Spirit Stone Raw Ore storage.

Then, he heard another sound, which should have been the sound of the Spirit Stone Raw Ore being exchanged.

Not long after.

"Alright... I'm leaving now. Big Brother has set a deadline for me to collect all the Spirit Stone Raw Ore today.

Time is tight and the task is heavy. I'll reply to you later!"

PS: I'm setting out a large bowl, inviting all handsome, dashing, and elegant fellow daoists to cast their votes into it!