Chapter 82: The Scarlet Iron Spirit Worm

Yun Qing circled the bottom of the cavern. This was not truly the lowest level; beneath her feet, a network of branching tunnels extended in all directions. Unlike the vast main chamber, these tunnels had been dug toward various paths—some towering over ten meters high, while the smallest barely reached two or three meters. There were over a dozen different passages. Yun Qing glanced at the black Labrador beside her and asked, “Liu Liu, which way should we take?”

“That question is beyond my capacity to answer. Would you like to use a hint scroll?”

A hint scroll? Yun Qing had nearly forgotten that she’d won one in a recent raffle; she certainly wasn’t about to waste such a valuable item here. She chose a medium-sized tunnel at random and walked in.

On either side of the passage were visible signs of past mining. At last, the number of collectible items had increased; every few meters, she spotted stones, and sometimes, after removing one, she uncovered low-quality iron ore beneath. These stones must have been left behind by the Han family’s miners, who hadn’t bothered to carry them up. That was lucky for her.

In the dark, silent tunnel, the only sounds were Yun Qing’s picks against stone and the faint illumination of her torch. When she was busy mining, she was fine—focused on her task. But when searching for ore, memories of ghost stories from her previous life crept unbidden into her mind.

She couldn’t help but recall her friend Vivi’s mystical warnings: “Yun Qing, turn around quickly—there’s a shadow behind you.”

In the tunnel, she couldn’t tell if the sounds she heard were just the wind or something more sinister. A faint rustling made her heart race with sudden anxiety. She spun around, eyes wide, but in the torchlight, there was nothing.

She exhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves. Damn, that was terrifying.

But her mind wouldn’t let her rest. Again, she imagined Vivi’s frightened voice: “Yun Qing, it’s changed direction—it’s behind you now.”

Goosebumps prickled her skin. Couldn’t Vivi’s antics stop haunting her? The unknown was truly frightening.

She whipped around once more. Still, nothing.

Yet she seemed to be hallucinating, hearing that rustling sound again. The swirl of air from her abrupt movement made the flame of her torch shrink, casting a smaller circle of light. Was it just her imagination, or had she actually glimpsed a shadow?

Yun Qing strained to see if anything was really there. Just then, the torch flared back to normal, and the shadow was gone. Perhaps the dimmer light had merely played tricks on her eyes.

Whether she was frightening herself or not, the occasional drafts carried the unique chill of the underground, making her teeth chatter.

To banish the “inner demons” conjured by Vivi’s scare tactics, Yun Qing said silently, “Liu Liu, shall we retreat to the cave mansion and rest?”

“I thought you wanted to mine tirelessly like a ‘liver emperor’?”

“Even a ‘liver emperor’ needs a break! Mining in daylight is just as good.”

“As you wish. There will definitely be miners here during the day.”

With others around, resources would be contested, and someone might even covet her storage pouch. Gritting her teeth, Yun Qing declared, “I’ll hold out a bit longer.”

If she got too scared, she could retreat then.

She pressed on, but as she took her next step, a sharp “whoosh!”—a long sword shot past her from behind, instantly burying itself in the tunnel wall ahead with a resonant hum. By torchlight, Yun Qing saw sticky blood drip from the blade. Glancing upward, she saw an ugly creature, the size of a millstone, nailed to the wall by the flying sword.

Its health bar and level were gone—it had been killed in a single strike from afar.

“Unknown. Cannot be collected.”

The creature’s body was covered in what looked like scaly armor. It wasn’t quite an insect—it lacked a long tail—nor was it a reptile, but it had two rows of legs on either side.

Yun Qing shuddered. Something really had been there—not just her imagination.

Vivi was eerily accurate! Yun Qing thought, next time she’d offer Vivi as a sacrifice for her next raffle.

Unable to collect it meant its level exceeded her gathering skill. She didn’t recognize the creature, so there was no prompt for what level was required.

Why hadn’t it attacked her? Were there more like it in these tunnels? And whose sword was that?

Fortunately, she hadn’t retreated into her cave mansion. Standing in the darkness, torch held high, she was a conspicuous target—her sudden disappearance would have drawn attention.

The answer to the sword’s owner came swiftly.

In the span of a single breath, a cultivator in flowing white robes appeared not far from her. He raised his hand, and the sword flew back to him. The dead monster, freed from the blade, dropped to the ground, raising a cloud of dust before her.

Yun Qing recognized the newcomer—a cultivator from Cloudrise Sect, the very man who’d rescued Ye Wenjing and the others in Wheatfield Village.

After the night attack, tests for spiritual roots had been completed in the affected villages. Passing by the Blackiron Mine, Xiao Haoran sensed faint demonic energy and disturbance from below, so he descended into the tunnels to investigate. The disturbance was elusive, and he could not pinpoint its source.

Yun Qing cupped her hands in gratitude. “Thank you, Immortal Master, for your rescue.”

Xiao Haoran recognized her as well. In the half month since they last met, she had already broken through to Postnatal stage. Still, this wasn’t what concerned him—he hadn’t come to recruit disciples for Cloudrise Sect.

He nodded and asked coolly, “Why are you here?”

“I came to the Han family’s mine to seek ore, and lost track of time underground.”

Xiao Haoran nodded, indicating his understanding. Cultivators could maintain village protective arrays, reducing casualties among ordinary folk during the night. But for those who risked the mines at their own peril, he was under no obligation to protect them.

He warned with cold indifference, “This place is very dangerous at night. You’d best leave soon.”

Yun Qing heard his meaning and responded respectfully, “Yes, sir.”

With a wave of his hand, the scarlet iron spirit worm flew to Xiao Haoran and was stowed in his storage pouch.

Leaving now would still be dangerous, Yun Qing realized. He wouldn’t escort her out, and she might encounter more of these creatures.

She asked respectfully, “May I ask, Immortal Master, what is that creature? Will it attack people?”

Xiao Haoran hadn’t intended to speak further, but seeing her again was fate. He replied, “That is a first-rank Scarlet Iron Spirit Worm. It feeds on iron ore and flesh. It fears light and fire, active at night and hiding by day. When I saw you, it was right above you. When you mined an iron ore, it stirred, but did not attack because of the torch in your hand.”

A first-rank Scarlet Iron Spirit Worm—Yun Qing understood. First rank was equivalent to the early stage of Qi Refining, far beyond her own Postnatal stage.

In the Central Continent, one’s meridians had to reach a certain strength before one could guide spiritual energy into the body.

While mining, she hadn’t felt anything unusual—her attention was likely on the ore and her gathering progress bar.