Chapter 420: The Killing Scheme

The night was pitch-black, and the moonlight was cold and bleak.

Outside Nanyue City, a group of cultivators moved stealthily toward the mining site.

Behind them, three small cultivators, hidden in the shadows, were also sneaking along.

They traveled in silence, and before long, Wang Lai and the others arrived at the mining site.

The mines did not operate at night, and the perimeter was secured with several large iron gates.

Wang Lai pressed himself against the iron gate, walked twenty steps to the right, crouched low, and began feeling along in the darkness. Before long, he discovered a low hidden door and opened it.

Old Yu and Wang’s companions exchanged glances.

Having mined for years, they had never known that there was a hidden door outside the mine.

“Let’s go.”

Wang Lai whispered, then lowered his body and led the way through the hidden door.

Old Yu hesitated for a moment.

A few ruffians behind him gave him a gentle push.

Fortune favors the bold.

Gritting his teeth, Old Yu followed Wang Lai and crawled through the hidden door.

Once Wang Lai’s group had entered the mine, the last ruffian closed the hidden door behind them.

Mo Hua and the other two arrived at the hidden door and found that it was not only closed but also bound with an iron chain and locked with an iron padlock.

Bai Zisheng asked, “Should I chop it open?”

Mo Hua shook his head. “Too noisy.”

“Then how do we get in?”

Mo Hua pointed to the lock. “This lock has a formation on it.”

“Can you unlock it?”

Mo Hua raised his small eyebrows slightly:

“A lock this simple? If I can’t unlock it, I don’t deserve to be a first-class formation master…”

Bai Zisheng muttered, “Not every first-class formation master can break formations…”

Bai Zixi raised a fair little finger and shushed him, then said to Mo Hua,

“Hurry and unlock it.”

“Mm.”

Mo Hua nodded, took out his brush and ink, and with some minor calculations in his mind, discerned the formation on the lock.

It was a first-grade seven-pattern iron lock formation.

Mo Hua casually traced a few formation lines, and light flashed over the iron lock and faded. With a creak, it opened.

His movements were so skillful it was as if he were using his own key on his own lock.

Bai Zisheng was somewhat impressed.

Mo Hua felt a small sense of pride, then cautiously tried to push the hidden door open. But after several attempts, it wouldn’t budge…

The hidden door was heavy. Without a body-refining cultivator, it was hard to push.

Mo Hua glanced at Bai Zisheng.

Bai Zisheng understood, gently pushed, and the hidden door swung open easily. He then grinned proudly at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua shook his head. Just as he was about to enter, Bai Zisheng stopped him.

“I’ll go first,” Bai Zisheng said.

Mo Hua wasn’t a body cultivator; his physical strength was a weakness. Going in first would be risky.

Mo Hua paused, understood Bai Zisheng’s intention, hesitated briefly, then nodded.

Though he had already scanned the area with his divine sense and found no danger behind the door, he appreciated his senior brother’s thoughtfulness.

Bai Zisheng crawled through the hidden door first. A moment later, he whispered,

“No danger. Come in.”

Mo Hua and Bai Zixi followed, entering the hidden door in turn.

Behind the hidden door lay the mine.

It was Mo Hua’s second time entering the mine.

The first time had been during the day, when many miners were at work.

The mine had been hot and noisy.

Now, at night, it was deserted.

The darkness cast over the mine made the entire place eerie and deathly silent.

As far as the eye could see, there were only jagged rocks and black mining pits.

Wang Lai and the others were nowhere in sight.

Bai Zisheng asked, “What now?”

Mo Hua expanded his divine sense, then pointed to a path and said,

“This way.”

The three of them activated a concealment formation to cover their tracks and quietly made their way toward the mining pit.

In the pitch-black pit, Wang Lai led the way.

Old Yu, Wang Er, and Tang Wu followed in the middle.

Three ruffians trailed behind.

The mine at night was damp and eerie. In the silent cave, only the chaotic footsteps of the few cultivators echoed, occasionally accompanied by the drip of water—sometimes near, sometimes far—creating a sense of unease.

Tang Wu asked, “Brother Wang, where are the ores?”

Wang Lai said, “Just follow me.”

He walked ahead with his back to them. His voice carried no emotion as it echoed through the pit, carrying an inexplicable sense of danger.

Wang Er sensed something off and carefully asked,

“Brother Wang, do you often come here to steal ore?”

“This is my first time too.”

“But this path… you seem so familiar with it…”

Wang Lai hesitated briefly, then slowly said,

“I scoped it out beforehand, bribed some of the Lu family cultivators, and arranged a hidden door. That’s why it went so smoothly…”

Wang Er nodded half-believingly.

Old Yu walked silently, saying little, but his heart was uneasy.

He had already sensed something was wrong.

Wang Lai was far too skillful, as if he had done this many times before.

Yet he claimed this was his first time stealing ore.

Clearly impossible.

Even with prior reconnaissance, one could not be this familiar.

Old Yu maintained a neutral expression but already felt a pang of regret, slowing his steps slightly.

Wang Lai noticed, glanced back at Old Yu coldly, and said,

“Almost there. Move faster.”

That single glance made Old Yu’s heart skip a beat.

Wang Lai’s gaze was like that of a killer staring at a corpse.

What were they planning to do?

Cold sweat ran down Old Yu’s back.

But he could only follow Wang Lai.

They moved deeper into the pit, the silence growing more oppressive with every step.

After a few steps, Wang Er suddenly slipped and cursed softly,

“Why is this ground so slippery?”

Wang Lai frowned. “Be careful.”

Wang Er sheepishly replied, “Okay, Brother Wang.”

His eyes flickered slightly. Slowly, he got up, deliberately lagging a few steps behind the others. When Wang Lai and the others were not paying attention, Wang Er turned and ran, attempting to escape toward the mine entrance.

Hearing the rapid footsteps, Wang Lai whirled around, his expression fierce:

“Catch him!”

A large man rushed forward, quickly catching up to Wang Er, grabbing his collar, and throwing him to the ground.

Wang Lai said coldly,

“Wang Er, what do you mean by this?”

Wang Er’s face paled. “N-nothing…”

“Then why did you run?”

“I didn’t run.”

Wang Lai’s expression darkened.

Wang Er gritted his teeth. “You weren’t here to steal ore with us!”

Wang Lai looked slightly surprised, then said indifferently,

“How do you know that?”

Wang Er pointed toward the depths of the mine tunnel: “There’s no ore here at all. Nothing!”

Before he could finish speaking, Old Yu’s face also changed dramatically. He stepped back a few paces, trying to flee.

But it was too late. Wang Lai had already drawn his knife and swung it at Old Yu.

Old Yu, old and weak, was no match for Wang Lai, especially caught off guard like this.

The knife struck his shoulder, and a vicious kick sent him sprawling to the ground. He slumped against the cold stone wall, gasping for breath.

Tang Wu was still in a daze. He didn’t understand why Wang Er suddenly wanted to run, nor why everyone had suddenly attacked…

“Big Brother Wang, what’s going on?”

Before he could finish, a thug beside him slammed a fist into his abdomen.

Tang Wu winced, clutching his stomach, and slowly fell to his knees.

Before he could react, another thug struck the back of his head with a club.

The club carried spiritual force, hitting with great power. Blood stained the weapon, and Tang Wu collapsed to the ground.

Wang Er’s eyes widened as he shouted:

“Tang Wu!”

Though they had different surnames, he and Tang Wu had grown up together, mining side by side, and were very close.

He had only wanted to flee out of fear, acting on instinct. He never imagined Wang Lai and the others would actually attack Tang Wu.

They had no grievances—why go so far as to try to kill him?

Wang Er’s anger flared as he glared at Wang Lai:

“Wang Lai, you damn—”

A thug punched him in the face, cutting off his words. Then another club struck the top of his head.

Blood seeped from Wang Er’s head as his body slowly slumped.

Old Yu lay on the ground, bitterly saying:

“Wang Lai, what exactly do you want?”

Wang Lai shrugged. “You poor wretches, life is suffering anyway. Might as well die, suffer a little less, and let me earn some spirit stones.”

Old Yu’s face grew pale.

He should have seen this coming long ago.

Wang Lai was a wolf. Trying to get a share from a wolf was like trying to wrestle skin from a tiger—impossible.

He shouldn’t have been greedy or trusted Wang Lai’s words.

Old Yu trembled in fear: “Spare us. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

Wang Lai scoffed: “What could you possibly have? Your whole family’s possessions probably aren’t even worth a single spirit stone. What’s there to negotiate?”

“Tang Wu and the others are still young. Don’t—”

“The stronger and younger, the more valuable.”

A thug said: “Big brother, it’s getting late. We can’t stay here long.”

Wang Lai nodded. “True.”

He turned to glance at Old Yu, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes:

“I told you, wealth comes from risk. Without danger, where would the wealth come from? Only this time, the risk is yours, and the wealth is mine.”

Old Yu’s voice trembled: “If you kill us, what benefit could you possibly gain?”

Wang Lai smiled: “That’s none of your concern.”

The thugs took iron chains from their storage bags and bound Wang Er and Tang Wu.

Wang Lai instructed: “Cut open their vital points. Kill them, but don’t damage the limbs or break the skin.”

Then he glanced at Old Yu. “I’ll take care of this old man.”

Wang Lai’s cultivation was high, his methods ruthless. Killing Old Yu would be effortless.

Facing imminent death, Old Yu was terrified and regretful.

He shouldn’t have been greedy, shouldn’t have dealt with someone like Wang Lai.

Guilt weighed heavily on him.

Life as a miner was harsh. His son had died young, leaving him to care for his grandson alone.

If he died, what would happen to his helpless grandson? How would he survive…?

If he died, would the boy have clothes to wear, food to eat, escape bullying, or avoid starving on the streets at night…?

Old Yu’s heart burned with bitter hatred.

He was pained for being unable to care for his grandson and remorseful for his own greed.

Tears streamed down as he pleaded:

“Wang Lai, I beg you, spare my life. I beg you… my little grandson…”

Wang Lai remained unmoved, raising his knife. A cold, indifferent smile curled at his lips.

Old Yu felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, powerless to do anything as the knife swung toward his chest.

His old tears froze. His gaze was filled with despair.

At that moment, a deep red flame suddenly flashed, illuminating the pitch-black mine.

The fire blazed, surging spiritual fire force washing over everything.

Old Yu instinctively shut his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, he found his chest unharmed—he was still alive.

Dazed, he looked up and saw Wang Lai’s entire arm engulfed in roaring flames.

Crimson tongues of fire licked his arm, reducing it to charred black, and the knife in his right hand had already fallen to the ground.

Wang Lai, scorched by the flames, knelt on the ground, struggling and crying out.

Old Yu’s numb mind gradually returned to focus.

That was… a Fireball Technique?