What do you mean I'm a cultivator?-Chapter 19

After the rock wolf attack, an uneasy silence settled over the caravan. Wu Ling's wounded arm was carefully bandaged, and the disciples remained alert, their recent battle having stripped away any previous casualness.

As dawn broke, the caravan finally entered the Misty Serpent Mountain range. The landscape transformed dramatically. Jagged peaks rose like stone monoliths, shrouded in a perpetual mist that seemed to breathe and move with a life of its own. Qi saturated the air, thicker and more palpable than anything Jiang Cheng had experienced before.

The mining camp was a rugged collection of wooden structures nestled between two towering mountain faces. Rough-looking miners moved about, their clothing dusty and worn, eyes hardened by years of difficult work. Wooden supports and makeshift shelters surrounded the primary mining entrance - a gaping hole carved into the mountain's side, reinforced with sturdy timber supports.

Deng Bo gathered the disciples around a large map spread across a wooden table outside the main tent. His finger traced the mountain's contours, pointing out key details.

"The jade mole infestation is concentrated here." he said, tapping a specific area on the map. "They've burrowed deep into the mountain's mineral-rich veins. Our primary objective is to clear them out and ensure the safety of the mining operation."

Li Mei leaned forward, her braids falling over her shoulders. "How extensive is the infestation?"

"Worse than we initially thought." Deng Bo replied. "Our scouts report multiple tunnels, and the moles seem to be reproducing rapidly. They're consuming the Qi-rich minerals faster than we can extract them."

Fang Lin, typically silent, spoke up. "Do you have any specific instructions about their elimination?"

The caravan leader explained that the disciples should focus on clearing the tunnels systematically. "Kill the moles, but try to minimize damage to the mineral veins. Each of these jade deposits is worth a small fortune."

of course such riches, were only at the level or mortal riches. Essentially, most of the mine was useless to the sect, leaving it to hand over the mines to many merchants, save for some of the deeper parts, home to materials of actual worth to cultivators.

Jiang Cheng observed quietly, his mind racing with the information from the Monster Encyclopedia he had read. Jade moles. Creatures formed when mundane moles consumed Qi-rich minerals, transforming into monsters. Their ability to move through stone like water made them particularly dangerous.

He remembered reading a passage, that when high consentrations of monsters existed in a specific place, a so called alpha existed. In simpler terms, a leader, most of the time a cultivation realm higher than their minions.

Hopefully, this wasn't as common as the book stated, else Cheng and the other disciples were walking to their deaths.

The mine entrance loomed before them, a dark maw promising danger and potential reward. The disciples would soon descend into the earth, facing an enemy that knew these tunnels far better than they ever could.

The disciples gathered at the mine's entrance, a collective silence falling over them as they prepared to enter the darkness. Jiang Cheng stood slightly apart, carefully channeling his qi.

Jiang Cheng, like the rest of the disciples, moved the Qi from his dantian, flowing it to his eyes.

The sensation was strange at first. A subtle warmth that spread across his vision, transforming the impenetrable blackness of the tunnel into varying shades of gray and blue. Details emerged from the darkness. Rock formations, support beams, the uneven floor of the mine.

This was not the same as just flooding the body with Qi. this was a deliberate effort, yielding much stronger results than just flowing Qi in all of the body. With enough time, any cultivator worth their salt could enhance their body at this level the same way Cheng flowed his Qi for a more basic boost, such as the one against the rock wolves.

The group moved forward cautiously, with Fang Lin naturally taking the lead. Wu Ling, his injured arm bound tightly, insisted on continuing despite his wound, though he stayed near the rear of the formation.

Of course, that was just to not lose some of his reward.

Liu Wei and Zhang Kun maintained their position side by side, while Li Mei moved with careful grace, her qi-enhanced spear at the ready.

Hopefully, the tunnels would not get any smaller, as it would impede the usage of larger weapons, like her spear, or Lie wei's broadsword.

The tunnels grew narrower as they descended deeper, the air becoming thick with mineral dust and the unmistakable scent of qi-rich jade. Wooden supports creaked ominously in places, suggesting the structural integrity of these older sections was compromised.

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"Stay alert." Fang Lin whispered, her voice carrying in the silence. "Jade moles can move through solid rock. They could emerge from any direction."

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After nearly an hour of careful progress, they began to notice signs of the jade moles' presence. The tunnel walls bore strange, smooth indentations. Tunnels within tunnels, perfectly circular and about the size of a human fist. These borings increased in frequency as they continued forward.

"Tracks." Li Mei mumbled to herself, crouching to examine faint scratches in the stone floor. "Fresh ones."

Jiang Cheng studied the markings carefully. The Monster Encyclopedia had described jade moles as creatures with remarkable digging abilities, their claws reinforced by the very minerals they consumed. These marks confirmed they were on the right track.

As they rounded a bend in the tunnel, they encountered the first major sign of the infestation. A collapsed section of the mine, the wooden supports splintered and broken. Beyond this collapse, new tunnels had formed, clearly not of human construction. These were smoother, more organic in appearance.

"This is it." Fang Lin said quietly. "The beginning of their territory."

"Well. not for long when we are done with them.", Zhang kun whispered to his friend, earning him a glare from Fang Lin.

Cheng felt a subtle vibration through the soles of his feet.

Something was moving beneath them, through the very stone they stood upon. The jade moles were aware of their presence.

The air grew heavier with qi, suggesting they were approaching a significant concentration of jade. Exactly the kind of location where the moles would establish their nest.

Fang Lin raised her hand, signaling the group to stop. "We proceed with extreme caution from here. These creatures may be just monsters, but they're clever in their own way."

The disciples drew closer together, weapons ready, as they prepared to enter the heart of the jade mole territory. A glowing chamber ahead where the walls themselves seemed to pulse with energy, the mostly Earth attribute Qi flowing through rock and jade.

The cavern stretched wide, its ceiling lost in darkness despite their qi-enhanced vision. Stalagmites rose from the ground like teeth, casting eerie shadows.

The attack came without warning, save for the perception of the disciples.

Dozens upon dozens of jade moles burst from the walls and floor simultaneously, their bodies a strange fusion of flesh and mineral.

Each was roughly the size of a large cat, with elongated claws that seemed to phase through solid stone. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural jade light, and their movements were unnervingly swift.

Liu Wei and Zhang Kun immediately stood back to back, their coordination allowing them to fend off the initial wave. Li Mei's spear moved in graceful arcs, impaling any mole that came within her reach. Fang Lin demonstrated her superior cultivation, her sword cutting through multiple moles with each swing, her movements fluid and precise.

The less experienced disciples struggled. One was quickly overwhelmed, his defensive formation faltering as three moles attacked him simultaneously. Another narrowly avoided being dragged into a newly formed hole, the mole's claws leaving deep gouges in his leg.

Jiang Cheng found himself fighting desperately, using every bit of knowledge he had gleaned from his readings. The jade moles seemed to prioritize attacking from behind, their ability to move through stone making them particularly dangerous opponents.

Thankfully, his perception once again shone through, as he seemed to have the upper hand here, even when compared to Fang lin, who could use her Qi to boost her senses, a feature only available for cultivators in the cusp, or in the late stage of Qi condensation.

Wu Ling, already weakened from his previous injury, was visibly struggling. His movements were slower, his qi reserves noticeably depleted from spending more Qi than the others with every move,

as he was overcompensating for the loss of mobility of his injured arm.

Just as the disciples seemed to be gaining the upper hand, the ground at the center of the chamber exploded upward. Rock fragments rained down as a massive shape emerged: Clearly, this was their leader, a jade mole nearly half the height of a human. Its hide was covered in what appeared to be actual jade plates, its eyes pulsing with power, its claws longer than daggers.

This was no average jade mole at that. This one was in the cusp of Breaking through to the foundation establishment equivalent for monsters, as they didn't go through the same path as humans.

The disciples froze, sensing immediately that this creature was in the late stage of Qi condensation. It was beyond what any of them, save perhaps Fang Lin, could handle, and that, definitely with no other moles taking her attention.

The jade mole moved with terrifying speed. Before anyone could react, still in the flight or fight stage, it lunged straight at Wu Ling, sensing his fatigue.

Its massive jaws closed around his torso, teeth piercing through his Qi enhanced body with sickening ease. Wu Ling's scream was cut short as the mole's jaws crushed his ribcage, his body going limp instantly. The light in his eyes faded as his life essence was consumed in one horrific moment.

That day, was Jiang Cheng's first encounter with true death. Not the kind of death that he had seen in the sect. Older Outer sect disciples, that had stayed well over their welcome in the outer sect, in the hopes of breaking through to the foundation establishemnt.

Only for them to die while working the required daily menial tasks.

That was natural after all.

This was anything but that. This was death in action. Jiang felt a chill go down his spine, as he saw the mole snuff a life, just as easy as one could eat.

Time seemed to stand still. Then survival instinct took over.

Jiang Cheng was the first to move, his body reacting before his mind fully processed what had happened, save for the fact that someone died, and he didn't want to be the next.

He turned and ran toward the exit tunnel, pushing using all the Qi in his possession. Of course, with him making his choice, the rest of the disciples made the same choice, spurred on, like a flock of sheep, running, as the first sheep ran.

Fang Lin, her superior cultivation allowing for greater speed, quickly overtook him quickly, her face set in grim determination.

Everyone ran for their lives, abandoning any pretense of completing the mission. Even the perpetual smiling Li Mei's face was ashen with shock and fear.

Behind them, they could hear the jade mole's pursuit, its massive body crashing through stone as if it were water.

The smaller moles joined the chase, their collective movement creating a rumbling that threatened to collapse the entire tunnel system.

Liu Wei stumbled, nearly falling as a jade mole erupted from the wall beside him. Zhang Kun grabbed his arm, dragging him forward without breaking stride.

The exit seemed impossibly distant, the tunnel stretching endlessly before them as they raced against death itself, the sounds of pursuit growing ever closer.