Chapter 170: Fleeing

The Qian family had not yet drilled through the entrance when the spirit stones in the mine were already all dug out.

And they were dug clean.

Elder Yu checked twice himself, scanned twice with his spiritual sense, and had Mo Hua scan it once more with his spiritual sense—only after confirming not a single spirit stone remained did he relax.

"Elder, shall we run now?" Mo Hua asked, his voice tinged with anticipation.

He had stayed in the mine far too long, hadn't returned home in ages, his storage bag's meat was all gone, and the wine he'd been saving was drunk down to the last drop.

Elder Yu scanned the mine one last time, then decisively waved his hand.

"Withdraw!"

Nearly a thousand hunter-killers, their bodies laden with storage bags, carried storage chests in pairs, and gradually exited through the alternate tunnels they had dug.

All these storage bags and chests had been prepared in advance by Elder Yu.

The storage bags for Qi Condensation cultivators were the roughest in craftsmanship; though convenient to carry, their internal space was tiny.

The storage chests were square and rectangular, offering considerably more space, but were awkward to carry—only used when moving large items.

Though the mine was small, the spirit stones extracted were not few. Elder Yu gathered every storage bag and chest he could get his hands on just to transport them all away.

Mo Hua followed behind his father, Seeing Mo Shan, marching step by step with the hunter-killers until they finally left the tunnel.

The tunnel's exit was hidden, carefully chosen by Elder Yu using Mo Hua's map.

After all, among all the hunter-killers, none had drawn a map as detailed as Mo Hua's.

Without Mo Hua's map, Elder Yu would never have found this location.

Beyond the tunnel lay the outer slopes of Great Heishan.

Mo Hua immediately felt a wave of familiarity.

The familiar peaks, dense forests, mist veiled with Mu Baobao's miasma, soft earth and stones beneath his feet, the faint, fresh scent of soil, the mountain wind brushing constantly against his cheeks, and the rising and falling cries of beasts from the hills—all of it lifted his spirits, instantly dispelling the gloom of the mine.

Elder Yu had not yet relaxed; as soon as they exited the tunnel, he shouted:

"Hurry! Get back fast—before the Qian family catches up, it'll be trouble!"

The hunter-killers accelerated their pace, striving to leave Great Heishan and reach Xiancheng before the Qian family caught them.

Once inside Xiancheng, the Qian family wouldn't dare act lightly.

And the hunter-killers would have ten years of food and clothing secured!

On the other side, Qian Hong also sensed something was wrong.

For several days now, Elder Yu hadn't cursed him.

Qian Hong leapt to the cave entrance where Elder Yu had appeared on the mountainside, took a few steps forward, and found the entrance sealed shut.

Qian Hong leaped up to the cave entrance on the mountainside where Elder Yu had appeared, took a few steps forward, and found that this cave entrance had also been sealed shut.

Why seal this entrance?

Because they've finished digging the mine and fled!

That old bastard, Elder Yu, didn't even need to waste words here!

Qian Hong could no longer remain calm; he shouted urgently:

"Hurry! Dig faster! These hunter-killers have already escaped!"

Finding the tunnel dug by Elder Yu within Great Heishan was now impossible. In terms of familiarity with Great Heishan, the Qian family was far inferior to the hunter-killers who lived off the mountain.

The only option now was to break through the entrance and enter the tunnel to find the hunter-killers' escape route.

Qian family cultivators hammered at the stone walls, again and again.

Each time they broke through a bit, the formation repaired itself.

Qian Hong burned with impatience, growing angrier at the formation master who drew this array!

You only needed to draw one such formation—why did you lay three, inside and out?

How brazenly shameless!

Finally, Qian Hong could no longer endure it; he summoned Qian Zhongxuan, and the two Foundation Establishment cultivators acted together—spiritual power surged like solidified waves, forcibly shattering the formation and demolishing the stone wall at the entrance.

In the end, Qian Hong really couldn't stand it any longer, so he called Qian Zhongxuan over as well. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators acted together, their spiritual energy surging like congealed substance, directly forcibly breaking the array and tearing down the stone wall at the cave entrance.

Qian Hong rushed into the mine, swept his spiritual sense through it—there wasn't a single hunter-killer in sight!

Not a single hunter-killer, not even a single spirit stone.

This was a spirit mine—completely stripped clean!

Not a single spirit stone remained!

Qian Hong cursed Elder Yu in his heart, over and over.

How miserly could one be to dig a spirit mine as clean as a dog-chewed bone, leaving not a scrap of meat?

A Qian family disciple reported: "Master, we've found the tunnel."

Qian Hong immediately rushed over and indeed found a newly dug tunnel—different from the deceptive one, this one was deeper and wider.

The tunnel's entrance was blocked by rubble, but only rubble—no formation.

They must have fled in haste and had no time to set one.

Qian Hong slammed his palm forward; surging spiritual power blasted the rubble away.

Qian Hong ordered sharply: "All disciples, pursue immediately! Kill any hunter-killer you encounter!"

The Qian family cultivators, upon hearing this, all grew solemn, no longer hesitating, and leapt into the tunnel to chase the hunter-killers.

As the hunter-killers traveled halfway, Elder Yu suddenly sensed something—he leapt several steps up to the mountain peak, turned back to look, and frowned.

When Elder Yu came down, Mo Hua asked:

"Has the Qian family caught up?"

Elder Yu's expression was solemn; he nodded.

Elder Yu, with a solemn expression, nodded.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "Didn't Dao Ting Si say they were only designating Wuming Peak for us to fight over? We've already left Wuming Peak — would they still dare to make a move?"

Elder Yu said, "The Qian family has lost too much; now they can only fight like cornered dogs. If they chase us down and win, they can swallow all the spirit stones. If they don't chase us, they won't earn a single spirit stone and will have lost their entire capital."

Mo Hua's expression also turned solemn. "Then the Qian family definitely won't let this go quietly."

Elder Yu nodded. "Right now they're starving-mad wolves, catching the scent of blood and chasing after us, wanting to eat our flesh. Once they catch up, it'll basically be a fight to the death."

"Then if we flee into Tongxian City, will that work?"

"Once we're in Tongxian City, they won't dare make a move. Even if they've suffered the greatest loss imaginable, they'll have to swallow it down themselves."

Seeing that Mo Hua didn't quite understand, Elder Yu explained further:

"Great Heishan is rather chaotic; when something happens, Dao Ting Si finds it hard to govern. But Tongxian City is different — that's Dao Ting Si's jurisdiction, a place the Dao Court has explicitly ordered to be governed with strictness; no trouble can be allowed…"

"If the Qian family dares to make a move inside Tongxian City, putting it lightly, they're not taking Dao Ting Si seriously; putting it heavily, they're contemptuous of Dao Law, defying the Dao Court! That would be a capital offense!"

Mo Hua still had one doubt. "But the Dao Ting Si in Tongxian City doesn't have many cultivators, and its power isn't greater than the Qian family's either. What can it do even if the Qian family defies it?"

"That's what you don't know," Elder Yu raised an eyebrow and said. "Dao Ting Si is governed by the Dao Court; it inherits the Dao Court's authority and represents the Dao Court's face. If the Qian family goes too far, Dao Ting Si can memorialize the Dao Court, request the dispatch of Dao Soldiers, and directly suppress and slay the entire Qian clan!"

Elder Yu looked at Mo Hua and said slowly, "When that time comes, the entire Qian family will be stripped of their rank and name. The clan head will submit to judgment and be executed; the family assets will be confiscated; their inheritances will be turned over; the clan members will be killed, relocated, or exiled, and casually given other surnames — never again permitted to bear the surname Qian. The Qian family of Tongxian City will cease to exist!"

Mo Hua listened, utterly shocked.