The actions of the woman caused some surprise among the people around. What really shocked everyone, however, was Jiang Hao's behavior. Was there truly a Vital Qi Pill ready for wounds?
Why didn't he mention this sooner?
"Why should I give you a Vital Qi Pill?" Jiang Hao asked the woman standing before him.
She had a decent figure and looked quite good. Judging by her cultivation, she seemed to have reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and despite her young age, her talent was apparent.
Her background must be quite privileged, as otherwise, how could she be so foolish?
In the lower ranks of the cultivation world, there is always fear and reverence; those who lack such respect don't survive long.
This woman's lack of reverence, yet being alive thus far, indicated she was born noble and lacked understanding.
It all boiled down to being spoiled by her family.
With a bit of discipline, she wouldn't be this way.
"He got hurt, I got hurt too. Why does he get a Vital Qi Pill while I only get a Pain-Relief Talisman?" Ren Shuang disputed.
Upon seeing Jiang Hao give a Vital Qi Pill to a miner without hesitation, she saw no reason to be afraid.
She was the daughter of an elder in the Profound Heaven Sect; why should she fare worse than a miner?
Kids who don't cry don't get candy.
Hearing this, Jiang Hao placed the Crescent Moon Blade against Ren Shuang's neck, not unsheathing it but not caring either.
"Can you mine?" he asked expressionlessly.
"I'm injured, I can't mine," Ren Shuang boldly replied, seeing the blade still sheathed.
Swish!
The blade flashed, cutting Ren Shuang’s neck, causing blood to spurt out.
The sudden wound terrified Ren Shuang.
She clutched her neck, feeling a chill spread through her body.
"Can you mine?" Jiang Hao asked again in the same tone.
"I can, I can," Ren Shuang nodded in fear, her hand now soaked with her own blood.
She felt that if she dared to say no, her head would be severed.
"That's fine then," Jiang Hao withdrew the blade and turned to leave.
He instructed Wu Jing to drag the spirit beast out, then told the others to continue mining.
After claiming two blue bubbles, he picked up a hoe and began working.
The others naturally followed suit.
Ren Shuang, however, clutched her neck, doing her best to stop the bleeding.
Nearby, Jing Ru glanced at Jiang Hao and frowned, as though things had not gone as she expected.
Shangguan Wen kept his head down, focusing on mining; his thoughts were unreadable.
After the recent events, everyone seemed to fear Jiang Hao a bit, putting more effort into their mining.
By the end, productivity was surprisingly up by thirty percent.
This astonished Wu Jing, who had never seen miners so diligent.
Though he could understand, having been intimidated by Jiang Hao himself.
It proved that dealing with inner sect disciples was no simple matter.
Seeing the results, Yan Hua couldn’t hide her joy:
"Junior Brother Jiang is truly remarkable, the more one sees, the more they like."
"Senior Sister Yan is too kind," Jiang Hao replied humbly.
"By the way, about those four people earlier, did you discover anything?" Yan Hua suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Jiang Hao shook his head.
Besides the Divine Appraisal Technique, he had no other findings.
For some reason, the whole matter was strangely hidden.
This made him want to delve further into studying the Nameless Secret Manual, but he had to focus on consolidating his cultivation due to upcoming significant events.
Two days later, Jiang Hao appraised Jing Ru again.
This time, the answer was that tomorrow she would complete the location fix and then launch a full attack on the mine.
Outside would be a battlefield, dangerous whether staying or leaving.
"Tomorrow, huh."
Sitting in his room, Jiang Hao glanced at his status panel.
[Name: Jiang Hao]
[Age: Twenty-One]
[Cultivation: Mid Golden Core Stage]
[Techniques: Hundred Revolutions of Heavenly Sound, Primordial Chaos Heart Scripture]
[Divine Abilities: Nine Revolutions Death Substitution (Unique), Daily Appraisal, Clear and Pure Heart State]
[Vital Qi: 70/100 (Cultivable)]
[Cultivation: 75/100 (Cultivable)]
[Divine Abilities: 2/3 (Not Acquirable)]
"Even if I include tomorrow, it still won't be enough. If I mine now, it would take two days to gather enough."
"Even if everything is gathered, it takes a night to break through, making it time impossible."
Jiang Hao remained silent, finding himself short by just three days.
He sighed and sought out Wu Yuanwu about any ongoing plans for the mine.
No alerts were received.
He wandered around the area; there were quite a few Golden Core cultivators, occasionally one even beyond that, but still insufficient compared to Profound Heaven Sect's plans.
He didn't know if the Heavenly Sound Sect was aware or if he should seize an opportunity to switch allegiances at the crucial moment.
In reality, such a switch would bring no benefits, leading only to being at someone’s mercy afterwards.
"It appears I must avoid disaster in any way possible, extracting all cultivation and Vital Qi to endure tomorrow."
Although it felt like a waste, tomorrow's matters were too significant, and risking calamity over a slight gap would be unwise.
Especially while needing to stay wary of Yan Hua.
After extracting all cultivation and Blood Qi, Jiang Hao felt himself nearing late Golden Core Stage.
Yet, he couldn't quite breach it.
When dawn arrived, he stepped out of his dwelling.
Glancing at the spirit herbs in the courtyard, he knew he couldn't take them along.
With the Profound Heaven Sect likely to invade, this place wouldn't be spared.
Preemptive transplanting risked drawing attention, so better to leave no traces.
He thought of conveying the news, but to whom?
Passing it to weaker cultivators was meaningless.
To those too strong, he risked being exposed.
Arriving at the mine, Jiang Hao saw Yan Hua, immediately sensing her clear delight, openly sizing him up.
In an instant, Jiang Hao understood.
Yan Hua knew, which was why she would be outside today, wanting to be the first to find him once things unfolded.
"Junior Brother, don't wander too far when you enter the cave today. Should any trouble arise, remember to wait for me." Yan Hua said with a smile:
"Otherwise, you might get hurt."
Jiang Hao nodded without further words, leading the group into the mine.