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Jiang Bei looked at the place where the corpse had been disposed of, and there was still a lingering smell of death in the air. The soil in Mine was loose, and a pool of corpse water quickly sank into the ground. In just a few minutes, the damp marks on the ground dried up.
Jiang Bei spat heavily and said, "It's a pity I didn't kill him myself." According to the original plan, Jiang Bei and his eight companions were supposed to lure Cao Lei into the mining area for an ambush, while Xu Feng would hold off Lei Pi. Unexpectedly, this Cao Lei ran away faster than a rabbit. If it weren't for Xu Feng catching up in time, the consequences would have been dire.
"Xu Shidi, this time it was all thanks to you..." Jiang Bei was unsure why; this plan had been decided on the spur of the moment. Initially, Jiang Bei was to lead the group to kill Cao Lei, and then they would combine their strength to surround and kill Lei Pi. However, in the end, Xu Feng single-handedly dealt with both of them, while Jiang Bei hardly contributed anything. This disciple from the Qi Refining Third Layer who seemed so ordinary must have some hidden secrets.
"What about Lei Pi?" Xu Feng had pursued too hastily and hadn't had time to deal with Lei Pi's corpse.
"I burned it with a Fire Talisman." The low-level Fire Talisman wasn't very powerful in terms of attack, but it was sufficient for destroying corpses and covering up traces.
Upon returning to their residence, Lei Pi's body had indeed turned to ashes, leaving only a charred spot on the ground. The group gathered in Xu Feng's room to plan their next move.
"We'll have several people reassigned soon; I don't know where they'll go." Xu Feng did not hide what he knew. Looking at Jiang Bei and the others, it seemed they were also somewhat aware.
"It's for external training," Jiang Bei said sadly. "Every time the sect sends disciples out for training, they draw from Mine. My brother was taken last time and never came back." He referred to his younger brother.
"We killed two people from Cold Moon Hall. If we leave now, we can escape, but that would also solidify our guilt, and we would be hunted by New Moon Sect in the future." Xu Feng had a deep understanding of what it meant to be on the run.
"There’s still a chance to escape now; staying here is a dead end."
"Right. It's such a big place; I refuse to believe New Moon Sect has that many people chasing us."
"Over the years, some have escaped on their own, but most were eventually caught and killed."
If someone was automatically expelled from the sect and fled, it would be very difficult for them to survive.
"We've come this far simply because we've offended someone and picked the wrong side."
"Staying behind isn't without its opportunities."
"..."
The opinions were divided; Jiang Bei and three others wanted to stay and wait for an opportunity, while the other four wanted to escape overnight.
Xu Feng did not want to flee. He had narrowly escaped the pursuit of the Wan Jian Sect, and if he added a stronger opponent like the New Moon Sect, he feared there would be no peaceful days ahead. However, staying behind meant dealing with Guo Manman, the wealthy second-generation heir and government official who would cause him trouble.
"We didn't kill anyone," Xu Feng said innocently, raising his hands. "We passed by a wandering cultivator earlier. Lei Pi and Cao Lei tried to rob him, but they ended up fighting. The wandering cultivator was quite formidable; by the time we arrived, we only found their two swords. We have no idea whether they are alive or dead."
Xu Feng told a lie that left the eight others dumbfounded.
"Is that really feasible? The commotion was so loud; it will be hard to cover it up," Jiang Bei was the first to express doubt.
"We're all disciples that our sect is about to abandon. Together, we might not even be able to take on Lei Pi alone; we don't have the ability to kill them," Xu Feng analyzed.
"Then let's stall for a bit. It will take time for the Punishment Hall to come down for an investigation. If things don't look good, we can leave then," Jiang Bei finally said after a long silence.
Unable to think of any other solutions, everyone tacitly agreed.
With a unified opinion, it became much easier to handle things next. They recounted the events in unison, placing all the blame on the wandering cultivator who had fled after committing murder. Then they split up to disguise the battlefield, erasing all visible traces and even informing the nearby mortals of several "important" clues.
Once they finished their business, the nine began to divide the spoils.
Two storage bags were laid out on the table. Jiang Bei rummaged through them and poured out a pile of cultivation supplies: spirit stones, herbs, talismans, pills, and various cultivation methods.
Xu Feng secretly took one of Cao Lei's high-grade magical artifacts and felt satisfied. However, to avoid raising suspicion among others, he still participated in the distribution.
Xu Feng still had several tens of thousands of spirit stones left, and with a large pile of items yet to be sold, he was not lacking in spirit stones at the moment. The Five Elements Technique he was currently practicing was diverse, including Wan Jian Sect's Fire Technique, Golden Yuan Slash from He Tanshu's Hua Yu Jing, New Moon Sect's Boulder Fist, and Spring Shujing.
The five cultivation methods were all of human-level mid-grade quality and were relatively equal in strength. Although Lei Pi's storage bag contained New Moon Sect's Blazing Sun Technique and Piercing Cloud Palm, Xu Feng did not plan to specialize in New Moon Sect's cultivation methods anymore.
In the end, after repeated insistence from Jiang Bei, Xu Feng received the largest share of spirit stones—five thousand low-grade spirit stones. The remaining physical items were estimated into spirit stones and distributed among the eight others, each receiving about two to three thousand spirit stones.
With this spirit stone, when the time comes for a desperate escape, it will be much more convenient.
The new day has finally arrived, accompanied by a heavy rain. It truly is a stroke of good fortune; the downpour completely washed away the traces of yesterday.
Once the rain stopped, Jiang Bei rode out alone to report to the sect.
After Jiang Bei left, Mine's few members became anxious and restless, while the sect seemed unfazed.
Finally, the sect sent someone over—a group of five, with Jiang Bei among them.
Upon arriving at Mine, Xu Feng welcomed everyone to sit down. Among the four newcomers, the leader was Fang Hu, a disciple from the Punishment Hall.
"I already know what happened. Lightning struck; Cao Lei acted improperly and reaped what he sowed. From now on, Deng Chao and Guan Fu will oversee Mine, while Yuan Bujing will be in charge of ore verification," Fang Hu announced the new appointments.
This outcome was quite unexpected. The deaths of Lightning and Cao Lei seemed to be treated as trivial matters by the Punishment Hall, as if they were merely two dead dogs.
Fang Hu continued, "Xu Feng will return to the Artifact Workshop tomorrow morning to participate in the disciples' training conference."
"Understood," Xu Feng replied, his mind racing with thoughts, unable to grasp the underlying reasons.
After announcing these matters, Fang Hu appeared disinterested in staying longer. He gave a few instructions to Deng Chao and the other three newcomers before riding off alone.
The entire handover process took less than ten minutes; Fang Hu's efficiency was surprisingly high.
Deng Chao and Guan Fu were both disciples at the eighth level of Qi Refining, comparable in strength to those who had been struck by lightning. Yuan Bujing was significantly weaker at only the third layer of Qi Refining; it was clear he had been transferred from the Artifact Workshop as a "technical staff member."
As the three newcomers settled in, they didn't dare act too imposing. They greeted everyone amicably and began asking about some management issues at Mine.
Xu Feng took Yuan Bujing to the Refined Ore Area and explained the standards for selecting refined ores as well as introducing him to several mortal team leaders responsible for collection. The handover went smoothly, and soon Xu Feng stepped down from his position as an ore verification disciple and returned to his role as a doorman at the Artifact Workshop.
After the handover was clearly communicated, Jiang Bei found Xu Feng.
"What happened?"
"I'm not really sure," Jiang Bei said with a confused expression. "I reported the situation, but it seems like the Punishment Hall doesn't care at all; they are more concerned about you."
"Me?" Xu Feng felt a vague sense of awareness.
"I heard that four people were supposed to be transferred this time, but in the end, only you were moved," Jiang Bei said apologetically. Being transferred for training was not something to be proud of; it might be acceptable in other halls, but being transferred out of the Mine was definitely not a good sign.
This time, Xu Feng was likely taking on the blame for everyone in the Mine. As for why it was handled this way, Xu Feng and the others couldn't figure it out at the moment.
"Don't worry, I will be fine. Even if I stay in the Mine, I can avoid trouble for a while, but I can't escape forever," Xu Feng said. Now he had the strength to fight against someone at the eighth level of Refining Qi and felt increasingly confident in his ability to protect himself. He had originally planned to hide the Superior Battle Boots to avoid any issues during sudden inspections of his storage bag. However, seeing the attitude of the Punishment Hall, it seemed unlikely they would conduct a thorough investigation. Moreover, those high-quality battle boots were Cao Lei's life-saving trump card, so he figured they wouldn't let others know about them.
That night, Xu Feng gave his room to Yuan Bujing and wandered outside for a while, marking what could be his final farewell to the Mine after working there for over a month.
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