Mission Accomplished

At this moment, the entire study fell silent.

No one spoke a word.

Half an hour later, a streak of light flew in from outside.

Deacon Fang reached out and snatched the light. He seemed to be checking its contents, and a moment later, his expression shifted.

"Heh! You brat actually managed to strike up a friendship with the young prodigies of the Yu and Fu families!"

After a while, Deacon Fang looked at Li Yunjing with a face full of intrigue.

He did not know the full story, but with his cunning and experience, he had naturally guessed a fraction of the truth.

If Li Yunjing had no background, he would certainly have done Wei Henian a favor and dealt with Li Yunjing.

But now, this kid clearly had connections.

It was not worth offending the prodigies of the Yu and Fu families for such a trivial favor.

One had to realize that Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao had a high probability of becoming Golden Core ancestors in the future; he certainly did not want to be remembered by those two over such a petty matter.

Exactly!

In Deacon Fang's view, it was only four outer sect disciples who had died—how big of a deal was that?

Every year, did "Red Sun Valley" not have its share of accidents, with a hundred or so cultivators dying?

When it involved a spirit vein, how could mining ever go smoothly?

There were those lurking outside, thieves within, and inside the mine, there were toxic gases, miasma, and demonic beasts that had accumulated over the years...

Deacon Fang had seen plenty of scenes involving death.

The matter before him was, to him, nothing more than child's play; he did not care about it at all.

"Ahem!"

Deacon Fang straightened his expression and said sternly, "Menial disciple Li Yunjing, heed the order!"

"Disciple is here!"

Li Yunjing quickly responded.

At this moment, Li Yunjing was incredibly nervous. This old thing did not look like a kind soul, and his fate was held in Deacon Fang's hands; he was terrified that the old man might deal him a heavy blow.

Li Yunjing was about to receive the verdict of his fate!

"The menial disciple Li Yunjing has escorted supplies to 'Red Sun Valley' totaling ten 'Hundred Treasure Pouches.' Upon verification, the task rewards are hereby issued: 70 contribution points, 35 low-grade spirit stones, and 9 'Qi Refining Pills'."

To Li Yunjing's surprise, Deacon Fang did not mention a single word about the dead.

Instead, he confirmed that Li Yunjing had completed the sect mission!

"Hm?"

Li Yunjing was stunned. Was that it? Was it over just like that?

He immediately cast his worries aside, then wondered why there were so many rewards for the mission.

"This..."

Li Yunjing asked, confused.

"Heh! Aren't there five of you in your group? Since those four are dead, these rewards must still be issued. As for how you handle them—whether you turn them over to their families, friends, or hand them to Wei Henian—that has nothing to do with this old man."

Deacon Fang gave a sinister smile, feeling a bit of schadenfreude; he wanted to see which of the two sides would have the last laugh.

"Er... thank you, Deacon Fang!"

Seeing Deacon Fang scan his identity token and toss him a Storage Bag, Li Yunjing naturally accepted it with a smile.

As for returning it to Wei Henian? Was he out of his mind?

If Li Yunjing appeared in front of Wei Henian, he reckoned that in a fit of rage, Wei Henian would slap him to death!

"As for your affairs, the people from the sect's 'Law Enforcement Hall' will naturally investigate."

Seeing Li Yunjing's troubled thoughts, Deacon Fang smiled again, "Will you return to the sect to report it yourself, or shall you trouble this old man to write a report and submit it for you?"

"Heh! There is no need to trouble Deacon Fang with that; I will go directly to Fu Chao and have him report it to the 'Law Enforcement Hall'!"

Li Yunjing quickly rejected Deacon Fang's proposal.

Having a Foundation Establishment powerhouse submit a report would clearly make the "Law Enforcement Hall" take the matter much more seriously.

That was not what Li Yunjing wanted.

The old man handling it this way was actually a good thing for Li Yunjing.

At the very least, for the time being, the sect would not learn of what happened here.

If he reported it himself, he could first consult with Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao, allowing them time to set up their strategy and grease the wheels at the "Law Enforcement Hall."

When the time came, the people from the "Law Enforcement Hall" would naturally turn a blind eye and would not investigate him.

Presumably, with the connections of Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao, influencing such a minor matter would be no problem at all.

This period of time would also allow him to temporarily evade Wei Henian's targeting!

He had to plan these fifteen days well; he absolutely could not return to the sect ahead of schedule.

In an instant, Li Yunjing cleared his thoughts and calculated the optimal course of action.

"Alright! Kid, you can head out now! As for whether you leave this place or stay for a while, it's entirely up to you."

With the spectacle over, Deacon Fang waved his hand, beginning to shoo him away.

"Yes! This disciple will take his leave!"

Li Yunjing didn't dare say more. The old man was too intimidating, and he felt uneasy staying there anyway, so it was better that he was being kicked out!

To stay away from Deacon Fang was to stay away from danger!

Seeing this, the two inner sect disciples took Li Yunjing and Chen Zongfu and left the study.

This time, the expressions of the two inner sect disciples had softened somewhat.

As for getting close to Li Yunjing?

That was impossible!

If this kid wanted to rise, he would have to clear the hurdle of the true disciple Wei Henian first!

Neither of them dared to place their bets at a time like this.

Wei Henian's reputation was well known, even to them, two inner sect disciples who had been stationed away from the sect.

Such a figure was someone even the formidable Deacon Fang was unwilling to offend.

How could they, two lowly Qi Refining stage cultivators, afford to provoke him?

In this matter, they absolutely could not take a side!

"Junior Brother Li, how about it? Do you have any plans? Why not stay here for a day to rest and recuperate?"

Once they were out of the cave and the inner sect disciples were no longer by their side, Chen Zongfu felt much more relaxed and spoke with a smile.

Li Yunjing thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother Chen. By the way, what is that place for? Are those all residences for the miners?"

As he spoke, Li Yunjing pointed to the rows of houses he had seen upon arrival.

"That's right! There are a full twenty thousand miners in the entire mining area, and these people are basically all mortals."

Chen Zongfu nodded with a smile and explained it to Li Yunjing.

"Oh? Then, by your meaning, Brother Chen, there are also cultivators digging in the mines?"

Li Yunjing caught the subtext in the man's words.

"Of course! The situation inside the mine tunnels is complex; there are some areas that mortals simply cannot handle. Naturally, cultivators are needed to open up new mining zones in those places."

Chen Zongfu said, "Come! Junior Brother Li, I'll take you for a look around!"

Unlike the inner sect disciples, he lacked the capital to put on airs.

At this moment, he was exceptionally enthusiastic toward Li Yunjing.

He was calculating in his heart to build some rapport with Li Yunjing.

If Li Yunjing truly became successful in the future, he hoped to be able to come forward and bask in some of that glory.

"Oh? Then let's go and have a look. By the way, what kind of compensation do cultivators get for mining?"

Li Yunjing was curious; he hadn't expected that cultivators could also perform such menial labor.