Chapter 341

Chapter 341: Rescue and Discovery

Wang Chen descended slowly to the ground.

The fierce flames had been extinguished, but the ground still radiated heat, emitting wisps of blue smoke.

The fire he had unleashed not only destroyed more than half of the mine but also annihilated the entire gang of Gray Wolf Bandits.

As soon as Wang Chen landed, he reached out and seized a copper hammer.

This was the magical artifact wielded by the leader of the Gray Wolf Bandits; after its master was slain, it had become uncontrollable.

It was a decent trophy.

He stashed it away.

Though small, every bit counts. Wang Chen did not overlook the other equipment carried by the leader, including the storage bag hanging from his waist, which he unceremoniously claimed.

He opened it and scanned its contents with his divine sense.

Oh wow!

This storage bag had a capacity of ten square zhang and contained a vast amount of spirit stones, spiritual rice, spiritual wine, beast meat, talismans, elixirs, and three magical artifacts.

The stockpile of materials was incredibly rich.

Wang Chen quickly estimated that there were over thirty thousand spirit stones alone!

In addition to these resources, Wang Chen discovered more than ten thousand jin of refined purple copper in the storage bag!

Refined purple copper and purple copper ore are two different things; refined purple copper is ready for use and highly valuable.

Wang Chen did not know the exact price of refined purple copper in the West Sea Spiritual Realm, but it certainly could not be less than ten spirit stones per jin.

This meant that the value of over ten thousand jin of refined purple copper exceeded one hundred thousand spirit stones!

To be honest, Wang Chen found it hard to believe.

A bandit leader with perfect mastery in Qi Training had wealth comparable to some Purple Palace cultivators.

He estimated that the total wealth in this storage bag amounted to at least one hundred sixty or seventy thousand spirit fragments!

What a windfall.

It was an unexpected boon.

As a newly promoted Purple Palace cultivator, the resources Wang Chen needed for daily cultivation far surpassed those required during the Qi Training stage.

Coming from a humble background with no connections, after the Yunyang Sect ascended, he had lived a life of hardship, relying solely on himself.

This substantial gain would undoubtedly make Wang Chen’s cultivation expenses much more manageable.

Of course, while he was pleased, he did not let it distract him from his duty.

Wang Chen entered the mine.

The tunnel was extremely long and deep, and he could not see its end. It extended straight down into the earth, branching off into numerous paths, creating a labyrinthine structure.

Every so often, an Obsidian Lamp hung from the cave walls, but the light was dim, and the ground was uneven, littered with puddles and heaps of excavated waste rock.

Wang Chen quickly discovered a group of miners who had been captured by the bandits and forced to work. They were ragged, with hollow expressions, sallow faces, and emaciated bodies, each holding a pickaxe and carrying a burden, their faces caked in thick dust.

When Wang Chen found these miners, they were not mining but huddled together in fear.

Upon seeing Wang Chen, an instinctive fear gripped them.

"I am Wang Chen, the village chief of Datian Village,"

Wang Chen declared in a deep voice, "I am here to hunt down the Gray Wolf Bandits. You are now free."

Free?

The word seemed alien, almost extravagant, to these miners who had lived as slaves. It took them a moment to grasp the reality—they had been rescued?

Then, one man suddenly buried his face in his hands and wept, his tears of joy soon echoed by others.

"Ah!"

A heart-rending cry pierced the air, a sound so sorrowful it tugged at the heartstrings.

Wang Chen waited patiently for the miners’ emotions to settle before inquiring, "How many of you are there?"

His question was met with a cacophony of eager responses.

The newly liberated miners were overwhelmed with gratitude towards Wang Chen, feeling as though they could offer him their very hearts.

From their conversation, he learned that there were three to four hundred of them, scattered across various mine tunnels, extracting purple copper ore.

Originally, their group had overseers, but they had all fled moments ago.

All the miners had been abducted by the Gray Wolf Bandits from various places, most of whom were villagers.

Among them were many cultivators, all of whom had their dantian’s power sealed, leaving them to rely solely on their physical strength to mine the ores.

Each person was required to extract over three hundred jin of purple copper ore daily, or face starvation.

Yet, purple copper ore was not easily extracted, and many often went without food.

Their lives were a relentless struggle!

One miner told Wang Chen that he had been captive here for over half a year.

Thus, he recognized most of the miners.

Over the past six months, many familiar faces had vanished without a trace.

After hearing this, Wang Chen seemed to ponder deeply.

He unsealed the power within these miners and provided them with Healing Pills and food.

"I wish to rescue the others,"

Wang Chen stated. "But I am unfamiliar with the terrain here. Who is willing to guide me?"

"I will!"

Someone immediately stepped forward.

Not just one person.

Time was of the essence; Wang Chen had already delayed long enough, so he selected two miners at the third level of Qi Training to guide him through the entire mine.

As for the others, Wang Chen instructed them to return to the surface together.

Under the guidance of the two miners, Wang Chen searched every tunnel one by one.

The number of miners he rescued grew steadily.

Many miners were unaware of what had transpired until they learned that the Gray Wolf Bandits had been defeated by Wang Chen and that they had been saved; they were all ecstatic.

More and more people actively joined the search party.

During this process, Wang Chen discovered some hidden Gray Wolf Bandits.

They were actually miners supervising the others but had hidden when they sensed something was wrong.

However, they could not escape Wang Chen’s divine sense.

Without needing Wang Chen to take action, the miners, who had regained their powers, made it clear just how terrifying a group’s anger could be!

Since there was only one main path in the mine leading to the surface, Wang Chen had the freed miners guard the entrance, then he swept through the tunnels like a strong wind clearing fallen leaves.

He killed over thirty bandits and rescued four to five hundred miners!

Wang Chen’s Heavenly Merit increased by more than a hundred points because of this.

After searching the last tunnel, he led a large group of miners back to the surface.

At the moment they saw sunlight again, the miners erupted into a thunderous cheer.

"You all stay here to rest,"

Wang Chen instructed. "I need to go down and take another look. I will bring you home when I return."

All the miners trusted Wang Chen immensely and had no objections.

So, Wang Chen dove back into the mine, entering a deep tunnel.

He did not stop until he could go no further.

After scanning his surroundings, Wang Chen suddenly reached out and grasped something from the air—a mirror!

The brass mirror from the Dual Mirrors!

This mirror had originally been embedded in a corner of the cave wall, blending seamlessly with the surrounding rocks, making it nearly impossible to see.

But its presence had not escaped Wang Chen’s divine sense!