Playing It Safe

Spatial Spirit Treasure.

Chu Zheng's spirits lifted. He took the piece of Broken Jade into his palm and gently wiped away the dust covering it.

This piece of Broken Jade was about as thick as a little finger, jade-green throughout, its surface etched with intricate patterns. After studying it carefully for a long while, Chu Zheng reached a conclusion.

This Void Condensing Bracelet... was an anklet.

With his years of experience, he could not possibly be mistaken. Men generally would not wear a Spirit Treasure in the style of an anklet. The former owner of this Void Condensing Bracelet had most likely been a woman.

Of course, that was clearly a completely useless conclusion.

Chu Zheng sighed softly and began searching the battlefield again. A Sixth Order spatial Spirit Treasure undoubtedly held a staggering treasure trove within it. If he could gather all four fragments, then this mining trip would not have been in vain.

After searching for most of the day, Chu Zheng finally found something. Right in the middle of a skeleton's skull, he found another fragment of the Void Condensing Bracelet.

Clearly, after the anklet shattered, the woman had flown into a rage and hurled all the fragments out. One of them had smashed this person's skull.

This person had been an immortal-path cultivator and also belonged to the Crimson Crow Army. That meant the woman was clearly an Aberrant from the opposing side, not a human.

This fragment reduced the number of repairs required for the Void Condensing Bracelet from six thousand to four thousand. The effect was immediate.

After searching for a while longer, Chu Zheng found nothing else. The battlefield covered far too wide an area; searching it all would take no small amount of time.

Seeing that it was about time, Chu Zheng had to leave first despite his reluctance, lest he arouse suspicion.

On his way back, he casually dug up a hundred jin of Raw Ore containing Earth Yin Stone and slowly made his way toward the mine tunnel entrance.

He had stayed inside too long. Most of the Martial Masters had already left the mine, leaving only a scant few behind.

"Chu Zheng, wait."

While he was still some distance from the mine tunnel entrance, several people stopped Chu Zheng.

Chu Zheng looked them over and recognized where they had come from. They belonged to the same group as him. One of them appeared to be the leader—the man who had lifted the ten-thousand-jin cauldron when they were recruiting servants. His name was Ji Feng.

When Ji Feng had lifted the cauldron, his face had not reddened and his breathing had not quickened. He had done it with effortless ease. Clearly, besides Internal Arts, he had also cultivated an External martial art of no low rank. His strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, even exceeding that of most Qi Cultivation Realm disciples in the Phantom Spirit Sect.

"What is it?" Chu Zheng's brow creased slightly as he sensed trouble.

"How much ore did you mine today?"

One person walked straight up beside Chu Zheng and looked at the basket on his back.

"Exactly a hundred jin."

"Take out forty jin. Consider it helping Brother Ji. When we get the reward at the end of the month, we'll give you a Spirit Stone."

"It isn't just you. Everyone has to hand some over. The more you hand over, the more you'll get later."

As he spoke, another person moved closer, squeezing Chu Zheng between them. The threat was impossible to miss.

The moment he heard those words, Chu Zheng understood. This was Ji Feng's method for competing for those twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

One person mining alone naturally could not compare with dozens of people mining together. To fight for that reward, they would surely pool everyone's strength.

But forty jin of Earth Yin Ore—if Chu Zheng truly possessed only seven or eight thousand jin of strength—would take nearly half a day's work to mine.

If he failed to mine a hundred jin each day, the resources he could receive at the end of the month would certainly be greatly reduced. That was not something a single Spirit Stone could make up for.

These Spirit Coin resources meant nothing to Chu Zheng, but there had to be reason in all things. Just because it was easy for him did not mean he should hand over dozens of jin of Earth Yin Ore.

This was his to begin with.

They wanted forty today and fifty tomorrow. Would he give it then or not? What about the day after tomorrow?

Giving an inch would only make them take a mile.

Chu Zheng remained silent.

Ji Feng had stood to one side watching all along, without saying a word to Chu Zheng. That expression reminded Chu Zheng of Qin Feng when they had first met.

The way Qin Feng had looked at him back then was just like the way Ji Feng looked at him now—indifferent, devoid of the slightest emotion, ice-cold, as though he were not looking at one of his own kind.

Chu Zheng could still understand Qin Feng looking at him that way, but where did Ji Feng get such confidence? At the very least, they were all mortals.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Zheng said slowly, "Today, I found an Exposed Vein and mined two hundred jin. There are still a hundred jin left in the mine tunnel. Come with me and take it."

With that, he turned and headed straight toward the depths of the mine tunnel.

An Exposed Vein was ore directly exposed at the surface. With a little effort, it could be mined easily.

At those words, Ji Feng's expression shifted slightly, and he followed Chu Zheng inside.

The instant they turned the corner, Ji Feng felt a blast of cold wind strike his face. The next moment, the joints of his limbs and the major acupoints across his body were all blocked. He collapsed limply to the ground, unable to move.

The people beside him suffered the same fate, sprawled all over the ground.

"Chu Zheng!"

Ji Feng's eyes narrowed sharply. He reacted quickly and immediately tried to placate Chu Zheng. "Don't act rashly. Everything can be discussed."

"Indeed."

Chu Zheng nodded slightly and sat down cross-legged on the ground. "Then let's discuss it."

"You're stronger than me. You can fight, but in Phantom Spirit City, being able to fight is useless. No matter how well you can fight, can you defeat a Supreme Immortal? Can you stand against a Spiritual Spring cultivator?"

Ji Feng's limbs were powerless as he lay limp on the ground, but his expression remained calm. "To survive in Phantom Spirit City, you need influence. Let me go now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened."

"Brother Ji's great-grandfather is an Outer Sect Elder of the Phantom Spirit Sect. Think it over carefully." Someone nearby shouted sharply, though lying prone on the ground made him seem more fierce in appearance than in heart.

"So you've got roots."

Understanding dawned on Chu Zheng's face. He pulled a notebook from his robes. "What is his name?"

"Ji Fanglong!"

Chu Zheng picked up his pen and wrote it down.

"What are you writing?" Ji Feng struggled to raise his head, trying to see Chu Zheng's movements.

At that, Chu Zheng flipped the notebook around and pressed it against his face.

"Do you recognize it? Simplified Chinese. It's fine if you don't. You might get the chance to recognize it in your next life."

There was most likely no one in this world who could recognize what was written in his diary.

The scripts of the various nations in this world differed somewhat, but they were largely alike.

By all reason, that should not have been the case. But after considering it, Chu Zheng believed the root cause was that these nations were all ruled by Immortal Sects, which was why they shared common ground.

After all, Immortal Sects needed to communicate with one another. Where there was communication, naturally there would be a shared script.

"By your reasoning, I can't afford to offend the lot of you."

Chu Zheng put away his diary and fell into thought, his brow furrowing. After a long while, he sighed softly. "In that case, there's no other way. I can only ask you to leave your lives behind."

"When I have time later, I'll send your great-grandfather to meet you."

Chu Zheng raised a hand and gathered a cloud of miasma, speaking slowly.

"Come, take a deep breath."