Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Forcing Out the Cultivation Technique

In the mine shaft, Zhang Chi’s four roommates had claimed a decent enough spot and were mining together.

But Zhang Chi had already used his Jade Pendant and Spirit-Banning Shackles to suppress his Cultivation.

He then walked over and whispered, "Master, I’ve found a spot with at least a dozen pieces of Middle Grade ore."

"Are you sure? Take us there at once!"

Old Xu and the others had been ignoring Zhang Chi, but their eyes instantly lit up when they heard this.

They glanced around warily, and only after confirming no one was near did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, they immediately packed their things and had Zhang Chi quietly lead them away.

It turned out that Middle Grade ore was far more valuable than Low Grade ore. A single pound could be exchanged for one Iron Coin, and it was also much denser.

Even ten small pieces of this ore could be traded for a huge sum, a temptation they couldn’t possibly resist.

’These guys are so cautious, insisting on going together. But I expected as much. No matter how cunning you devils are, you’re all going to die today!’

Zhang Chi was perfectly cooperative on the surface, but inwardly, he was sneering.

After that, Old Xu and the others followed closely, whispering amongst themselves while keeping their eyes fixed on Zhang Chi.

Zhang Chi could feel their stares on his back like daggers, but he forced himself to remain relaxed and never once looked back.

After they had walked for a while, Old Xu suddenly remarked, "You seem to have gotten stronger!"

Zhang Chi quickly stopped. "I... these past few days, I’ve been trading some of the ore I found in that spot for extra food."

Old Xu gave a noncommittal response and continued, "Why didn’t you just turn in the ore?"

Zhang Chi clenched his fists and said indignantly, "No matter how much ore I bring out, the Shi Family Brothers only ever leave me with thirty pounds. It’s better to just trade with others."

Old Xu sneered. "They figure you could die at any moment, so they take as much as they can get. But why didn’t you come to me sooner? Don’t you trust me?"

Zhang Chi quickly lowered his head. "That’s not it, I... I..."

As Zhang Chi stammered, Old Xu laughed. "Alright, no need to explain. It’s my fault as your master for not making you feel secure enough. You must have been worried that if I got the ore, I wouldn’t give you your share, correct?"

"But you’ve misunderstood. I’m not that kind of person. In fact, I’ll pass a Cultivation Technique on to you tonight."

Zhang Chi’s eyes reddened. "Really? Master, you’re too kind!"

Old Xu smiled and cut to the chase. "Tell me about the place. Give me the details." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

The other three roommates also looked over.

"It’s near the miasma zone, but the miasma in the immediate vicinity has cleared. I was... relieving myself nearby a while ago and just got lucky, discovering the spot."

Zhang Chi held nothing back in his explanation.

"No wonder," Old Xu said, the realization dawning on him. "Keep leading the way."

"Yes, Master."

Zhang Chi nodded.

The five of them continued onward and, after some time, finally reached their destination.

The place was just as Zhang Chi had described. There were even recent marks from his digging nearby.

There weren’t too many, which made perfect sense.

After all, Zhang Chi wasn’t a Cultivator; mining by himself, his efficiency was bound to be limited.

"There really is Middle Grade Ore!"

The roommates inspected the area, their eyes gleaming.

"And it’s so exposed. Why didn’t you mine it? Or have you already taken some?" Old Xu asked coldly.

"I haven’t. I didn’t dare," Zhang Chi explained quickly. "Even if I did mine it, I couldn’t have gotten it out of here. Besides, it would have exposed this spot."

"You’ve got some sense, I’ll give you that," Old Xu said with a nod. "Alright, head back now. Don’t get in the way of our mining."

"And remember, don’t say a word about this to anyone else, especially not Brother Zhou."

The other roommates chimed in.

In reality, they had already reached an agreement on the way there. They planned to mine the Middle Grade Ore as quickly as possible to prevent any unforeseen complications.

They had also decided to hide the Middle Grade Ore and find an opportunity to report it directly to the Guards.

That way, they could bypass Brother Zhou entirely.

But before any of that, they had decided to eliminate Zhang Chi first to ensure the secret wouldn’t leak.

Telling Zhang Chi to leave was obviously a trick.

The moment he turned his back, they planned to launch a surprise attack and kill him.

Although there was no need for such an elaborate scheme to kill a mere mortal, they rather enjoyed it.

"Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret," Zhang Chi said, seemingly oblivious. "But how about I stand guard for you first? That way, if anyone comes, you’ll have time to hide what you’re doing!"

"That makes sense. Go on, then, you be the lookout."

The roommates were stunned for a moment, then they smiled and nodded.

For a moment, they almost started to like Zhang Chi. They even briefly considered sparing his life.

"Alright."

Only then did Zhang Chi turn to leave.

Old Xu and the others exchanged a glance and immediately came to a new consensus: they would use Zhang Chi for now and kill him later.

Then, they set down their mining lamps and bamboo baskets, raised their pickaxes, and began to rapidly chip away at the wall.

But they had no idea that just around a nearby corner, Zhang Chi’s expression had turned icy cold. He pressed his ear to the rock wall, listening and waiting.

Soon, they had excavated five pieces of Middle Grade Ore, their excitement mounting. But as Old Xu pried out another chunk, a hole appeared behind it.

WHOOSH!

A dozen black shadows shot out from the opening, moving like lightning as they lunged toward Old Xu and his men.

The black shadows were Four-legged Strange Snakes!

"Damn it!"

Greatly alarmed, Old Xu and the others retreated rapidly, swinging their pickaxes to defend themselves.

But the Four-legged Snakes had appeared too suddenly, and they were far too fast.

With their Divine Thought and Spiritual Power suppressed, they were a step too slow, even though they reacted quickly.

They had never imagined they would encounter Four-legged Snakes on the fringes of the miasma zone.

In the next instant, every one of them was bitten.

They frantically dropped their pickaxes to swat away the strange snakes latched onto them. Terrified that more might appear, they immediately scrambled away, running for their lives.

But after only a few steps, their faces turned black. THUMP... One by one, they collapsed to the ground.

Even Old Xu, with the highest Cultivation, only made it the farthest, and he was still over ten meters from Zhang Chi’s hiding spot.

But Old Xu quickly composed himself, reached into his robes, and pulled out a bottle of Antitoxic Elixir, preparing to take it.

Though the other roommates had no such Elixir, their eyes lit up with hope.

Antitoxic Pills are very expensive, worth far more than a strange snake’s corpse, and they take time to fully neutralize the poison. For that reason, very few people would rely on them to hunt the creatures.

Right then, however, Old Xu couldn’t be bothered with such thoughts. He was just incredibly grateful he had the foresight to keep one on him.

THWACK—

But just as salvation was within Old Xu’s grasp, a powerful aura surged forth. A figure charged in like a bolt of lightning, and with a single swing of a pickaxe, knocked the bottle of Antitoxic Elixir from his hand.

CRACK!

The attacker then struck again, viciously smashing the pickaxe handle against Old Xu’s limbs, breaking the bones in his arms and legs. Without a moment’s pause, the figure rushed to the next target.

In the blink of an eye, the attacker had broken the limbs of all the other roommates.

And the attacker was none other than Zhang Chi.

"AGH! You bastard! It’s you? You’ve achieved Introducing Qi into the Body? How is that possible? How did you do it? This was all your scheme?!"

The four men screamed. Realizing who their attacker was, they were filled with utter shock and fury.

Zhang Chi didn’t bother to answer. He dragged the roommates into a pile and casually picked up the bottle of Antitoxic Elixir.

"Alright, that’s enough screaming," Zhang Chi said coldly. "If you don’t want to die, start talking. Tell me every Cultivation Technique and Magic art you know. And don’t try any tricks, or you’ll suffer the consequences."

"You wretched disciple!" Old Xu spat through gritted teeth. "How dare you treat me like this! I’ll die before I give you my Cultivation Technique! Just wait until you’re exposed—you’ll die and be buried right alongside me!"

"Fine. Then go ahead and die. If you won’t tell me, they will. And if none of you cooperate, I can always just grab some other Mining Slaves and interrogate them."

"However, if you cooperate, I’ll save you," Zhang Chi said with a smile. "But... there are only two Antitoxic Pills in this bottle. So you’d better act fast, hm?"

Hearing this, the roommates all fell silent.

They never would have dreamed that a mere mortal would be capable of going to such lengths just for a Cultivation Technique.

But even though their minds were filled with questions, none of them dared to ask.

"I have a Cultivation Technique!"

"Mine is better!"

Desperate for a chance to live, they immediately began stumbling over each other to be the first to cooperate.