Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Ninety-Five: Evacuation and Gift-Giving

This can't go on! Looking at the endless stream of sandworms emerging from the holes all over the ground, Xiao Chong felt a great headache coming on.

Running away was out of the question. He and Yin Changkong, along with ten disciples, were blocking the mine's exit. If they retreated rashly, the sand worms would swarm out, and of the hundred or so miners without fighting ability, probably only a handful would remain.

This kind of loss is something Xiao Chong absolutely cannot afford. Without these miners, who will mine? Does he expect to lead Yin Changkong and the others to mine himself?

Regardless of whether Yin Changkong would listen to orders, even if he obeyed and went to mine, how much could they dig up if all twelve of them worked themselves to death?

Therefore, not only Xiao Chong, but everyone knew that there was no way out. They could only hold on and either drive away the sand worms or kill them all. There was no other way to go.

Since that's the case, let's just grit our teeth and go for it. Apart from Xiao Chong and Yin Changkong, who were relatively relaxed, the other ten people gritted their teeth and vowed to fight the hateful sandworms to the death.

The battle between humans and sandworms intensified and continued until noon. The corpses of sandworms had piled up into a small mountain in the mine, yet they showed no signs of decreasing.

Xiao Chong was already drenched in sweat from exhaustion, and Yin Changkong, despite his martial arts skills, was also panting heavily.

The others were even worse off, all of them weak and limp, staggering about. The fat man, in particular, performed even worse, sitting on the ground and fighting the sandworms.

Seeing that everyone was starting to break down, Xiao Chong didn't care about anything else. He flipped his hand and took out a bag of pills from the Purple Cloud Cauldron, tossing it to Yin Feng and saying, "You ten people, split into two groups. One group will hold out for a while, while the other group will step back and rest. Once you've recovered some strength, you can take turns replacing each other."

"Hmm." Yin Feng took the pills, dragged the fat man to the back, and then removed the other three people, starting to take the pills to recover his strength.

Fortunately, everyone was preoccupied with their own problems at the time, and no one noticed where Xiao Chong had taken the pills from in the chaos.

In winter, the days are short, and after nearly two hours, it was slowly getting dark.

Everyone was exhausted, and beads of sweat began to trickle down Yin Changkong's forehead.

Xiao Chong felt as if he had been juiced eighteen times, his physical strength on the verge of being completely exhausted. His mind was a complete mess, and even his thoughts were somewhat hazy.

Several times the sandworms had pounced on him, but he survived only because of his superior physical strength.

Perhaps because they were not used to being active at night, the number of sandworms finally stopped increasing, and the sandworms that had already emerged from the ground began to gradually retreat from the holes in the ground.

Xiao Chong was the first to notice this change, and immediately perked up, saying, "Everyone, hold on a little longer, it seems these sandworms are about to leave."

Reminded by Xiao Chong, everyone noticed the change in the situation and, as if given a shot of adrenaline, they all shouted that they would have a final battle with the sandworms.

After it got completely dark, Xiao Chong punched the last sandworm to death, then sat down on the ground, unable to move for a long time.

At this moment, the difference in their cultivation levels became immediately apparent. Apart from Yin Changkong, who could barely stand, everyone else was exhausted and collapsed like dead dogs, lying among the corpses of sandworms to recover their strength.

Although Xiao Chong's cultivation was deeper than the other ten disciples, he had fought the sand worms for a whole day without getting any rest, so he was in the worst condition.

Despite his miserable situation, as the leader of the group, he had to consider many more things.

Although the sandworms have retreated, who knows if they will come back to fight? If they really do return, they probably won't even have a chance to cry themselves to death.

Once he could move his body a little more, Xiao Chong looked at Yin Changkong and said with difficulty, "Uncle Yin, please keep watch for everyone. We'll leave here after we rest for a while."

"Hmm." Yin Changkong nodded mechanically.

Having received Yin Changkong's reply, Xiao Chong fell silent and began to meditate in place.

His internal energy had long been exhausted, leaving him like a parched desert. Logically, if he were to cultivate the "Nine Transformations of the Stars" now, drawing upon stellar energy to temper his body, the effect would certainly be much better.

However, due to Yin Changkong's presence, and not wanting the other party to discover the unusual phenomena during his cultivation, he dared not activate the star power of the Greedy Wolf Star, but instead used the divine sense method in the "Forging God Chapter".

However, his mental energy has been greatly depleted, just like his Yuan energy, so the effects of practicing this technique are equally significant.

Thunder rumbled in his mind, and his remaining consciousness, like withered seedlings receiving sweet rain, grew wildly. His mental power also advanced by leaps and bounds, rising steadily. In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiao Chong had regained his radiant spirit, even surpassing his previous level.

So this is what it means to cultivate after exhausting one's spiritual energy! Upon discovering this change, Xiao Chong really wanted to fight those sandworms again the next day.

However, upon further reflection, this situation is rare and fraught with danger and uncertainty; if not handled properly, it could easily cost one's life. Therefore, unless forced by circumstances, it should not be deliberately undertaken.

Let's leave here first. Otherwise, if other wild beasts come while we're fighting the sandworms, I and Yin Changkong might be able to escape safely, but the other ten and the hundred or so miners outside will probably not escape their clutches.

After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Xiao Chong stood up and said to the others, "The spiritual veins here have been completely exhausted, and the sand worms have also appeared. It is not advisable to stay here any longer. It is best to leave as soon as possible."

After we went out, we sent a few miners down to take away all the intact sandworms. Then we packed our things and rushed back to Tiannan Town that very night.

After saying that, he and the others helped each other out of the mine.

When the miners outside heard that they had to go inside, they all shook their heads in fear.

But Xiao Chong had plenty of ideas. After promising half a box of silver ingots, some fearless miners stepped forward and mustered their courage to move the dead sandworm corpses.

They worked until late at night, and the entire pioneering team was fully assembled. The mined elemental stones and various supplies were loaded onto the cloud boat.

At Xiao Chong's command, the cloud boat roared into the night sky, heading straight for Tiannan Town.

Perhaps because they had just gone through a life-or-death ordeal, everyone on the cloud boat remained silent, seizing every moment to cultivate diligently. Even the boatman was fully focused, navigating the cloud boat faster and more steadily than usual.

Time passed slowly, and the cloud boat roared all the way back to Xiao Tiannan Town's garrison before noon on the second day.

After disembarking from the cloud boat, Xiao Chong called over Fatty and instructed him, "Take your men and arrange the harvest from this trip, and then distribute the wages promised to the miners."

After thinking for a moment, he whispered a reminder: "Remember to keep public property and private property separate, and never mix them up. It is most important to keep public and private matters distinct."

Xiao Chong emphasized the phrase "distinguish between public and private matters," implying a deeper meaning, but the fat man, being a man of principle, naturally wouldn't delve into its implications.

If Qingmeng were here, she would have surely made a fortune from this trip. Although Fatty has the makings of a manager, his understanding of money is too vague, making him clearly unsuitable for managing the finances.

Seeing the fat man nod blankly, Xiao Chong sighed inwardly, then called over Yin Feng and said to him, "Don't rest yet, come with me to the town mayor's mansion, and bring a gust of wind with you. Also, bring some sandworms as gifts."

Yin Feng was much more perceptive than the fat man. When he saw that Xiao Chong was not taking anyone else but had specifically asked him to accompany him, he knew that Xiao Chong was grooming him to improve his ability to deal with other forces in the future.

Therefore, Yin Feng readily agreed, not only personally selecting the best-looking sandworms but also carefully packaging them.

After everything was prepared, Xiao Chong, along with Yin Feng and two miners carrying gifts, escorted Yizhenfeng to Hengshan's residence.

When they arrived at the town mayor's residence, Yokoyama was eating. Upon hearing the servant's announcement, he didn't even finish his meal. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and personally went to greet him at the door.

"Brother Xiao, didn't I hear you were mining spiritual veins? Why are you back so early?" Hengshan stepped forward, grabbed Xiao Chong's hands, and laughed enthusiastically.

Xiao Chong smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mayor. There was a small accident during the mining of the spiritual vein, so I rushed here as soon as I got back to discuss something with you."

"Call me Big Brother!" Yokoyama deliberately pulled a long face, pretending to be very unhappy, and said, "Brother, are you being so formal because you think I, Yokoyama, am not worthy to be your brother?"

"Brother Heng!" Xiao Chong readily agreed to Hengshan's special request.

Yokoyama's anger turned to joy, and he laughed, "That's more like it! Come, come, let's go inside and talk. You can have a drink with your brother."

After saying that, he pulled Xiao Chong into the house without further ado.

Once inside, the two sides took their seats as host and guest, and Yokoyama instructed the servants to remove the remaining food and resume the banquet.

"It's my first time visiting, so I don't have much to offer. I've only prepared some simple home-cooked food. Please bear with me," Hengshan said politely, pouring Xiao Chong a cup of tea.

"Not at all, not at all." Xiao Chong smiled, winked at Yin Feng who was standing to the side, and turned to say, "I brought back a small gift for Brother Heng this time, which will come in handy."

Yokoyama asked curiously, "Oh, why are you being so secretive, brother? What good stuff is it?"

Xiao Chong laughed and said, "Brother Heng, please be patient. You'll know once it's brought to you."

While the two were talking, Yin Feng went out of the house and came back carrying an exquisite gift box.

Upon opening the gift box, Yokoyama's eyes widened in surprise. "This is... sandworm? Everyone says it's incredibly nourishing and delicious, but extremely rare. I've only ever heard about it, and have never actually tasted it. I'll have to try it today!"

Xiao Chong smiled again and said, "It's nothing special. I have plenty of this stuff. If Brother Heng wants some, just have someone fetch it for you."

"How many do you have?" Yokoyama asked with a faint smile, hearing Xiao Chong's confident tone.

"Not many, maybe around ten thousand," Xiao Chong replied casually.

"How much...how much..."

Yokoyama opened his mouth in surprise, his hand trembled, and he crushed the teacup to pieces with a "crack".