Chapter 33 - Crisis of the Mines
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“Go on. What news do you have?” Liu Wuxie stopped and looked at Song Tianhao. If the news were helpful to the Xu Clan, he wouldn’t mind helping the Song Clan. But if it had no value, he would just leave directly.
“I received news that the Wan and Tian Clans are working together, plotting to seize the Iris Gold Mine of your Xu Clan to cut off the supply of ores. By then, even if you were able to forge weapons imbued with a trace of spirituality, it would be of no use.”
It was no longer a secret in Azure Billow City that the Xu Clan could forge weapons containing a hint of spirituality. The main ingredients used by the Xu Clan in forging their weapons came from the Iris Gold Mine. The Xu Clan had just recovered from a blow to their weaponry workshops, and they would fall into trouble again if they lost the Iris Gold Mine.
“Is the news reliable?” A chilling wave of murderous intent radiated from Liu Wuxie, terrifying the ten elders of the Song Clan who were nearby. Its intensity was particularly overwhelming for the Second Elder, who trembled as he remembered the earlier attack that had nearly cost him his life.
“It’s trustable, and they should make their moves in the next few days. They hired people from other big cities to seize the Xu Clan’s Iris Gold Mine. You guys can prepare in advance, and there might still be a chance.” Song Tianhao replied firmly. He wouldn’t dare tell Liu Wuxie if it wasn’t true. Even if Liu Wuxie managed to stop the central control system from collapsing, they would still need his help repairing it in the future.
“I’ll trust you with this once. Prepare the materials immediately.” Regardless of whether it was true or not, Liu Wuxie decided to trust him. He would be able to know if Song Tianhao was telling the truth by visiting the Iris Gold Mine personally after this incident. If Song Tianhao deceived him, he wouldn’t mind destroying the Spiritual Array Hall.
Song Tianhao removed an interspatial pouch from his waist and tossed it to Liu Wuxie. “This pouch contains all the materials you might need,” he said. The pouch was a low-grade one, worth 5,000,000 gold coins. It was clear that the Song Clan was wealthy, and it was no wonder they were the strongest clan in Azure Billow City.
Liu Wuxie’s consciousness entered the interspatial pouch, where he found a space of about ten square meters filled with materials for constructing spiritual arrays. After inspecting the contents of the interspatial pouch, he turned into a streak of light and entered a collapsed building.
“You all stay here to maintain order. I’ll go in with Young Master Liu,” Song Tianhao said, and the elders immediately moved out to maintain order, preventing the chaos from expanding.
More buildings continued to collapse, and the underground was densely packed with spiritual arrays. A beam as thick as a human’s thigh suddenly fell, and Liu Wuxie executed the Seven Dipper Steps to avoid it easily.
Like that, Liu Wuxie and Song Tianhao entered the central control system. Liu Wuxie stopped, and a large-scale spiritual array appeared before him. Many gears were rotating to maintain the operation of the Spiritual Array Hall.
Liu Wuxie took out materials from the interspatial pouch, including fifty spirit stones, which began to orbit around him.
Song Tianhao was nearly dumbfounded by the sight, unable to identify the technique being used. But there was no time to ponder as Liu Wuxie rushed towards the central control system, forming seals with his hands and injecting them into the system. The large-scale spiritual array emitted a series of clicking sounds.
Song Tianhao was at a loss for words. “T-These are spiritual runes meant for spiritual arrays!” he exclaimed. In the entire Song Clan, there were fewer than five people capable of drawing such runes.
“Father-in-law, when will our next transportation team arrive?” Liu Wuxie inquired. He knew that the buyers were likely to demand refunds if the ores weren’t delivered on time, given that the weaponry workshops had already run out of raw materials.
“They will pass through the canyon tomorrow. The past few robberies occurred there, and I plan to personally make a trip there to see who has been secretly intercepting our Xu Clan’s goods,” Xu Yilin said with a powerful murderous intent leaking out from him. It had been over a decade since he had last taken a life, but did they really believe that an old lion could be easily subdued?
“You can’t do that!” Liu Wuxie interrupted. If Xu Yilin were to leave the Xu Clan, they would be playing right into the hands of the Tian and Wan Clans. Without Xu Yilin’s protection, the Tian Clan could easily seize control of the weaponry workshops and other assets belonging to the Xu Clan.
“Wuxie, tell me what you’re thinking,” Deacon Lan said, turning to Liu Wuxie. His opinion of Liu Wuxie had changed after witnessing the incident with Scarred Tiger in the weaponry workshop, and he was eager to hear Liu Wuxie’s thoughts.
“It’s highly likely that the Wan and Tian Clans are behind this, and the black-clothed men could be mercenaries they hired. Their goal is to bring down the Xu Clan, and if Father-in-law leaves, we’ll be falling right into their trap. They’ll probably try to seize our assets by force,” Liu Wuxie said, sharing his thoughts. The Wan Clan and Tian Clans may have promised Master Huo not to harm him for a month, but they had said nothing about not taking the Xu Clan’s assets. If they were to occupy the Xu Clan’s base forcibly, it would be pointless even if the Xu Clan saved their mine.
Xu Yilin frowned, realizing that he hadn’t considered this possibility. Even if they could protect their assets, what would be the point if they lost the mine? Eventually, they would collapse.
Deacon Lan looked comforted by Liu Wuxie’s words before sighing. “Wuxie, I’m glad you’re thinking about this. But things have come so far. Do you have any other solution?” The Xu Clan was at a critical moment of life and death.
“I’ll go there myself. Father-in-law, you must stay and guard the Xu Clan in case the Tian Clan attacks our weapons workshop.” Liu Wuxie said, stepping forward to express his intention to visit the Iris Gold Mine and investigate.
“Wuxie, you want to go there?” Xu Yilin was astonished. Liu Wuxie usually didn’t step out of the Xu Clan, let alone the Sunset Mountain Range, which was dangerous for him to go there alone.
“Deacon Lan, can you leave first? Close the door on your way out!” Liu Wuxie knew what Xu Yilin was worried about—that it was too dangerous for him to go to the Iris Gold Mine alone. If Xu Lingxue were here, Xu Yilin would send her, but there weren’t many people the Xu Clan could mobilize now.
Deacon Lan stood up and turned to look at Xu Yilin, who nodded. After receiving Xu Yilin’s acknowledgment, Deacon Lan left the main hall and closed the door behind him.
Liu Wuxie didn’t want to waste time with words. “Father-in-law, I know you’re worried about my safety. You can attack me with full force, but limit your strength in the low levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm.” He knew Xu Yilin wouldn’t let him take the risk if he had a choice, but Xu Yilin had raised him, and he couldn’t sit idly while the Xu Clan was in danger.
Xu Yilin narrowed his eyes and stood up. He asked, “Wuxie, are you sure about that?”
Even someone in the low levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm could easily kill a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Xiantian Realm. Xu Yilin wanted to test Liu Wuxie, even though he didn’t know his strength. After all, it was rumored that Liu Wuxie had beheaded twelve members of the Wan Clan in the colosseum, but he hadn’t seen it.
“I’m sure!” Liu Wuxie held his blade, his aura permeating the entire main hall.
Xu Yilin’s body trembled as he sensed the aura, feeling a little pressure. He didn’t dare to underestimate Liu Wuxie and raised his right hand, limiting his strength to the low levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. If things became dangerous, he could withdraw his power to ensure that Liu Wuxie wouldn’t be hurt.
“Father-in-law, be careful!” Liu Wuxie unsheathed his sword, drawing a cold arc in the air. The blade aura shredded the tables and chairs around them. As the blade aura approached, Xu Yilin felt his pores on the verge of exploding and could sense death emanating from Liu Wuxie’s blade.