Chapter 3: The End of the Mine Tunnel

Quickly forcing himself to calm down, Wei Cheng silently began circulating his Mountain-Moving Inner Power while listening attentively to the voices around him. Although the faintly glowing moss within the mine had now faded into complete darkness, with the aid of his inner power, his vision was actually even clearer than before.

He didn’t know exactly what advantage being a Martial Artist of the Innate Realm conferred, but as he ran the Mountain-Moving Inner Power, he felt no exhaustion whatsoever—in fact, the consumption was negligible. This inner strength had become wholly his own power now.

It was like an ordinary man standing still; would he worry about running out of energy if he had to walk just a few miles? Of course not, because stamina can always regenerate. That was exactly how Wei Cheng felt now. His sixty years’ worth of Mountain-Moving Inner Power would never decrease—unless some special circumstance occurred, it would swiftly recover after any expenditure.

He first checked on the two vegetable cakes and the quarter flask of water he had left. They showed no signs of spoilage. These two items were no doubt extraordinary and represented the small advantage he’d gained by burning his own body fat. Others started out with some game-breaking cheat, but his cheat was his own fat—unique in its way.

He carefully hid the vegetable cakes on his body, placed the water flask in his basket, and gripped his pickaxe as he began to cautiously make his way out of the mine.

It was time to move.

“Hey! Is anyone there? I’m Zhang Yong, level 40, Civil Engineering, P City University. I practice the Purple Cloud Heart Technique. Anyone want to team up?”

About a hundred meters away, someone was shouting. Wei Cheng quickly pinpointed his location—a wonderful sense, like he was a minor superhero now that he was Innate Realm.

P City University—a fellow alumnus. He himself had been level 30.

As Wei Cheng moved forward, a glimmer of red caught his eye on a nearby rock wall—a faintly luminous red mineral peeking out. Before, when the moss still glowed, it would have been easy enough to spot, but now, in pitch darkness, only someone with Wei Cheng’s abilities had any hope of noticing it.

He didn’t hesitate. Swinging his pickaxe, he struck at once.

The sound was low, but the unremarkable pickaxe sank into the rock with surprising ease—it was incredibly hard. Wei Cheng was startled, but realized this must be because the tool came from the cultivation world.

After just a few swings, he dug out the glowing red ore, about the size of a fist, its surface smooth and sharply angular, almost like a work of art.

He could imagine how dazzling it would be under proper light—a stone that would stun the world if brought back to Earth. He couldn’t help but fall in love with it; forgive his rustic taste, but he was no different from any other ordinary person.

Unexpectedly, rubbing it a bit too quickly, the red glow on its surface suddenly flared, like a ball of fire igniting. At the same moment, his Innate Realm senses made every hair on his body stand on end, cold sweat breaking out, as if disaster was about to strike.

Only when the glow faded did that heart-stopping sensation finally subside.

“What the hell is this stone? Is there a bomb hidden inside?”

Wei Cheng dared not be reckless any longer. He carefully placed the ore in his basket. Now he really felt like a miner.

“Is someone over there? Speak in Earth language or I’ll attack!”

Zhang Yong’s voice echoed from afar—he must have heard the sounds of mining and had groped his way several meters closer. Clearly, he wasn’t Innate Realm—he had chosen the Purple Cloud Heart Technique, the slowest to advance.

Unless one was Innate Realm, inner power would gradually deplete with use. Wei Cheng understood now: the water flask and vegetable cakes in the safehouse were intended to push everyone to reach the Innate Realm as quickly as possible.

This was the cultivation world, after all—a world invaded by demonic creatures, fraught with danger. Without the strength of an Innate Martial Artist, one was no more than an ant.

Well, even Innate Martial Artists were still just ants.

Wei Cheng sighed but didn’t reply. Instead, he quickly searched the surroundings. Now that everyone had left the safehouse, strange ores might go unnoticed by others, but if anyone else had reached the Innate Realm, there would be competition.

Indeed, he could already hear distant sounds of pickaxes striking stone. So much for teaming up.

In this unfamiliar environment, the correct approach was to arm and strengthen oneself and gather every resource possible.

He didn’t find any more of those strange flaming ores but did come across a black ore the size of a watermelon. It might be iron, he thought, but couldn’t be sure—it was so pure and hard that his pickaxe left not even a mark.

It weighed over a hundred pounds—before, he’d never have managed it, but now it felt light in his basket. He also realized how sturdy the baskets of this cultivation world were—they could likely carry five or six hundred pounds easily.

“Hey, are you mining? How can you see in here?”

Zhang Yong seemed determined to stick with him, using his sharp hearing to follow Wei Cheng to within a dozen meters.

Ahead, the mine passage widened and faint light filtered in; many voices called out for a gathering, perhaps dozens of people. Wei Cheng was uneasy—not that others would steal his ores, but about what dangers awaited outside the mine.

“I’m from P City too. Name’s Wei Dayong.”

Seeing there was no shaking off his fellow townsman, Wei Cheng gave a fake name—best to be cautious when out and about.

“Nice to meet you, Wei! Which heart technique did you pick? Why is it that my Purple Cloud Heart Technique, which is supposed to heighten the senses, feels so inferior to yours in this mine?”

Zhang Yong was friendly and completely unwary, like two old friends meeting in a game.

Wei Cheng glanced at him—level 40, still a high schooler earlier this year. So young.

“I picked the Mountain-Moving Heart Technique—not too different from yours. I’ve just always had sharp ears, could hear two mice fighting in a cave as a kid.”

He made something up and headed toward the light. Now that he could see the main shaft, it was clear the best ores had long since been mined out.

After a few dozen meters, he and Zhang Yong encountered two more from their hometown—one an elderly man with white hair and piercing eyes, who seemed to sense Wei Cheng’s gaze instantly.

One look was all it took—they both knew the other had reached the Innate Realm.

“Hello, young men. I’m Wu Hongwei, and this is my granddaughter, Wu Yin.”

The old man smiled genially, but Wu Yin had not reached the Innate Realm—like Zhang Yong, she had chosen the Purple Cloud Heart Technique.

“Hello, Grandpa Wu! I’m Zhang Yong, and this is my brother, Wei Dayong!”

The youth at Wei Cheng’s side rushed over enthusiastically, shaking the granddaughter’s hand vigorously. Kids these days, Wei Cheng thought, self-conscious as a member of the post-2010 generation—he was outdone by these younger ones.

“Let’s gather with the others—there might be an exit up ahead.”

The girl smiled, her dimples showing as she subtly withdrew her hand.

The four of them fell into step together, the grandfather and granddaughter in front, Wei Cheng and Zhang Yong behind. Not far along, a few more people merged from a side passage.

As the tunnel widened, the light grew stronger—they must be close to the exit.

But just then, someone up ahead whispered, “Don’t go any further—this isn’t an exit. There’s a huge stone stele ahead, glowing with light, but in front of it is a black spider the size of a heavy truck.”

“I suggest everyone keep quiet and don’t disturb it. The spider’s too big to squeeze in here, but better safe than sorry.”