"Er, the Secret Order is: ’Xiao Yunhong has the makings of Divinity Transformation!’" Xiao Yunhong said, a little sheepishly.

"Not bad. That’s ambitious," Zhang Chi said seriously after a moment of surprise. "When you achieve Divinity Transformation, I’ll come congratulate you personally!"

"Alright, I’ll be waiting for you!" Xiao Yunhong let out a breath, his voice filled with bravado.

He had been worried that Zhang Chi would mock him.

After all, to a Low Tier Cultivator, Divinity Transformation was basically the stuff of legend.

Even a Celestial Grade Spirit Root Cultivator would be laughed at for saying such a thing.

Xiao Yunhong took out another Medicine Bottle and gave some of his blood to Zhang Chi.

After that, the two didn’t exchange Cultivation Experience. Instead, Xiao Yunhong brought out some hidden wine and dried meat, and they drank to their hearts’ content.

This was because, as Zhang Chi had said, this would be the last time the two of them would meet in this mine.

For one, Xiao Yunhong had already helped with everything he could.

For another, not meeting for the last few days would prevent the Guards from investigating Xiao Yunhong after his escape.

And the next time they met, they might have become enemies on opposing sides.

Of course, it was also possible one of them would die before then, and they would never see each other again.

By evening, Xiao Yunhong was dead drunk. He was only startled awake when the bell signaling the end of work rang throughout the mine.

"Until we meet again!"

Xiao Yunhong looked around and saw that Zhang Chi was long gone, so he quickly hurried toward the mine’s exit.

"Until we meet again!"

After Xiao Yunhong had left, Zhang Chi emerged from a corner. He stood quietly for a moment before melting back into the darkness.

「A few days later.」

The day for the Guards to clear out the mine finally arrived.

In the morning, the Mining Slaves had a rare day of rest, all of them locked in their cells.

The vast majority of the Guards, led by the Guard Captain, entered the mine.

"Groups of two, spread out! If you run into any trouble you can’t handle, send a signal immediately! You two, stand guard here," the Guard Captain commanded.

"Yes, sir!"

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. It’s just a mine, there’s no danger!"

"Yeah, I’ve already cleared it twice!"

The Guards immediately split up, all of them looking relaxed.

In addition, two Qi Cultivation Middle Stage Guards were posted at the main entrance of the mine.

Normally, when the Mining Slaves were at work or during the night, this main gate would be closed and sealed with an Array Restriction.

This was more convenient, as it could prevent Mining Slaves from escaping and also stop intruders from sneaking in.

But today, the Guards were inside the mine, so the Restriction on the main gate certainly couldn’t be activated; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to get out in time if they encountered danger.

Though the risk was minuscule, it was a necessary precaution.

After all, incidents of digging up Demon Beasts, Exotic Insects, or Zombies in mines were common occurrences throughout Yuan South.

The mine was a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels. The Guards split up and soon lost sight of one another.

Among them were two young men, one fat and one thin, both dressed in cyan robes. They headed straight for the area with the poisonous miasma.

Their task was to use the Fire Bomb Technique to burn out the Poisonous Miasma Mine Tunnel.

While this couldn’t cure the root of the problem, it treated the symptoms, preventing the Poisonous Miasma from spreading too much and affecting the Mining Slaves’ work before the next cleanup.

The mine’s overseer had considered completely eliminating the source of the Poisonous Miasma. But the source was deep within the mountain’s core; even if they collapsed the tunnel, it would just seep out from somewhere else.

Thus, managing it was better than trying to block it. Regular cleanups made it easier to control.

At the same time, this was a recurring merit. Keeping it around allowed them to continuously report it to the Sect for rewards.

Since all that was required was setting fires, the Cultivation of these two Guards wasn’t high. The fat one was at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, while the thin one was at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer.

Laughing and chatting, they soon arrived near the Poisonous Miasma Mine Tunnel. They then formed hand seals, preparing to cast the Fire Bomb Technique.

BOOM!

But at that moment, a great flash of bloody light suddenly erupted from the darkness behind them, slamming into the thin Guard with the speed of lightning.

"Not good!"

The two Guards were stunned. They reacted in an instant, trying to intercept it with the Fire Bomb Technique.

But the bloody light was too fast. Before the Fire Bomb Technique could be completed, the thin Guard was struck hard. Spitting blood, he was flung like a kite with a snapped string into the poisonous miasma.

The impact not only injured the Guard but also threw him into a momentary panic.

At that moment, the surrounding miasma took advantage of his weakened state and surged into his body.

His face immediately turned a shade of green. He scrambled to get out, simultaneously trying to pull out an Elixir to swallow.

But the moment he got out, he saw a sight that made his eyes nearly pop from their sockets.

It turned out the bloody light was caused by a tall, imposing, masked man using an Escape Technique.

While the thin Guard was being struck, the fat Guard was also ambushed. From the darkness near him, ten small, black shadows suddenly leaped out with incredible speed.

Caught completely off guard, the fat Guard was instantly bitten, his face turning black as he collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, the masked man raised a hand, and a cold glint of light flashed, piercing through the fat Guard’s skull on the spot.

The thin Guard, having just rushed out of the Poisonous Miasma zone, saw his companion being killed.

Overcome with rage, he was about to strike back when the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way. A pre-arranged Quicksand Technique had been waiting for him.

At the critical moment, he hastily cast the Wind Manipulation Technique. Stepping on the air, he was surrounded by a gentle breeze and instantly dodged sideways.

At the same time, a ball of fire once again condensed in his hand.

But before he could throw it, a sharp pain shot through his back. His Magical Power dissipated, and he fell to the ground.

His Fire Bomb Technique was interrupted once again.

It turned out that some of the black shadows had, at some unknown point, latched onto his back and were biting down hard.

These black shadows were none other than the Four-legged Strange Snakes, and the masked man was, of course, Zhang Chi.

Zhang Chi had long been hiding in the shadows, waiting for the Guards.

He had been prepared to play a game of hide-and-seek with them, using the strange snakes as his eyes and ears to find a suitable target.

As it turned out, he discovered that the two who came this way had low Cultivation, so he decided to strike decisively.

First, he used the Blood Escape Technique to launch a sneak attack.

His Blood Escape Technique had reached the Perfection stage; not only was it incredibly fast, but its activation was instantaneous, requiring no preliminary hand seals or incantations.

Coupled with his Minor Body Refining Success, using his physical body as a weapon was no problem at all.

With the prepared ambushing the unprepared, his opponent naturally fell for it and was further weakened by the Poisonous Miasma.

Then, he used the Quicksand Technique to distract him, allowing the strange snakes, which the guard hadn’t seen, to ambush him again.

And, as expected, he succeeded.

As for the fat Guard at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, the strange snakes alone had been enough to easily ambush and kill him.

All he had to do was deliver the finishing blow.

SWOOSH!

At this moment, even though the thin Guard was already done for, Zhang Chi immediately raised his hand. The Cold Iron Flying Sword shot out again and instantly pierced his skull as well.

Zhang Chi let out a long breath, but his heart was still pounding.

This wasn’t his first time killing an enemy; the last one, Brother Zhou, had an even higher Cultivation.

But that man had been suppressed by leg shackles.

Therefore, this was his first real battle against a true Cultivator.

’Good thing their Cultivation was low, and I used a sneak attack,’ he thought, his hands never stopping for a second. ’They didn’t even get a chance to make a move. Otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain.’

After retracting the Cold Iron Flying Sword, he deftly stripped the cyan robe from one of the Guards and put it on himself.

Then, he took the small gray pouch from the Guard’s waist, as well as two palm-sized Black Iron Tokens.

He also smeared some blood from the two corpses onto his own face.

Finally, seeing there was nothing else of value, he cast a Fire Bomb Technique and tossed it at the two bodies.