When the crowd heard such humiliating words, they all showed expressions of anger.

Yet, how could they dare to argue with the three Law Enforcement Workshop disciples? They had to endure the insults!

The mining disciples dispersed with grim faces, disturbed in their cultivation by these three bastards and insulted on top of it. In the future, if any of them reached Foundation Establishment, they would surely make these three pay!

Yu Xian was among them, his face sullen with anger. It wasn't until he returned to his dwelling that his expression eased, returning to a calm demeanor.

Standing at the door, he watched them through the crack with a serene gaze.

Investigate? How would they investigate?

Yu Xian wasn't worried at all because he didn't believe this group had any extraordinary means.

For if they truly had such means, they wouldn't waste their efforts on such trivial matters.

"Go ahead and investigate."

Liang Hucheng's expression was indifferent as he sneered, "But I think it's highly likely that this guy was killed by a demonic beast, and in the end, it will all come to nothing."

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

The man standing beside Liang Hucheng shook his head and said, "The powerful demonic beasts within a five-hundred-mile radius of the Scorching Sun Mining Area were cleared out long ago by the Inner Sect's experts. Even if there are any left, they are weak, comparable to mid or late Qi Condensation stage beasts, posing no threat to Huang Hanxiao."

"Heh, Qian Sheng, are you questioning my judgment?"

Liang Hucheng turned to look at Qian Sheng, his voice calm but his gaze cold.

"Of course, I don't mean to question Senior Brother."

Qian Sheng's expression was calm. "It's just a logical deduction."

"What kind of nonsense deduction is that? It's ridiculous!"

Liang Hucheng suddenly shouted, "The Scorching Sun Mining Area has been around for seven years since its discovery and exploitation! Seven years ago, the demonic beasts within a five-hundred-mile radius were cleared out. In these seven years, no new beasts have come to occupy the area!?"

"Senior Brother is right."

Qian Sheng nodded, not arguing further.

Liang Hucheng sneered, then waved his hand, "Thoroughly investigate everything! Find out the whole story! Begin!"

A dragonfly-like insect flew from his hand, hovering in the sky.

This dragonfly seemed lifelike, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly an inanimate object, a magical treasure.

However, for this treasure to be crafted so intricately, it must at least be a third-tier magical treasure.

Liang Hucheng took out Huang Hanxiao's shattered life token and tossed it to the dragonfly, commanding, "Search!"

The dragonfly caught the shattered life token, its body glowing green, and after a moment, it flapped its wings and flew towards the direction of the new mining mountain.

Liang Hucheng, Qian Sheng, and another middle-aged man followed, quickly disappearing into the distance.

Inside the house.

Yu Xian frowned slightly.

Judging by the dragonfly's posture, it was going to lead them directly to the crime scene?

But even if they went to the crime scene, it wouldn't matter!

The three of them had long turned to ash, and the mine cave had collapsed. They wouldn't find any evidence.

With a hint of seriousness in his eyes, Yu Xian thought to himself, then turned and returned to his bed, sitting cross-legged.

After a while, Yu Xian opened his eyes again, slapped his thigh, got off the bed, carefully hid several storage pouches, and then sat cross-legged once more, waiting quietly.

Two incense sticks later.

At the place where Huang Hanxiao was burned to death, Liang Hucheng, Qian Sheng, and the others had already arrived, following the dragonfly's trail!

Although Huang Hanxiao's body had long turned to dust and vanished into smoke.

The battle marks on the ground, after four days of wind and sand, still remained.

Especially the scorch marks on the ground caused by the Fire Flood Dragon Grand Technique, which were still clearly visible.

The dragonfly hovered in the sky.

Qian Sheng frowned, walked to the scorched area on the ground, looked for a while, and said in a deep voice, "It was indeed man-made! Not killed by a demonic beast. The person first used the Fire Flood Dragon Grand Technique to kill, then several Fire Serpent Techniques, completely burning Huang Hanxiao to ashes."

"This person is truly cautious..."

Qian Sheng looked at the chaotic ground and said in a deep voice, "He left no evidence."

"Oh, so you can only tell it wasn't a demonic beast? Can't see anything else?"

Liang Hucheng sneered, looking at Qian Sheng, "Aren't you good at deduction?"

Qian Sheng's face turned red, a flash of anger in his eyes, and he suppressed his anger, "I just joined the Law Enforcement Workshop not long ago. If I've offended you with my words, please forgive me, Senior Brother."

"Heh."

Liang Hucheng sneered, stepped forward, looked at the ground, and coldly said, "The lack of evidence is precisely the best evidence. The culprit must be a disciple of the White Cloud Sect."

"Why does Senior Brother say so?"

Qian Sheng was full of confusion.

"Slowly figure it out, there's a lot for you to learn."

Liang Hucheng was full of disdain, unwilling to explain, and began to quickly search around.

Qian Sheng's face turned pale with anger, but he was helpless.

This old bastard, acting all high and mighty!?

Almost sixty years old, sooner or later his dantian will wither, his qi sea will decline, and he'll become a waste, expelled from the sect!

"Indeed!"

After searching within a few hundred meters, Liang Hucheng found traces and sneered, "Huang Hanxiao fled all the way here before being killed. Let's go, find the initial battle site, that's where the complete evidence is."

With that, he followed the dark brown bloodstains on the ground towards the new mining mountain.

Back then, Huang Hanxiao fled, leaving many bloodstains on the ground, which Yu Xian used to track and kill him.

Now, these bloodstains became the guides for Liang Hucheng and the others.

Even after four days, Liang Hucheng, like a dog, accurately found each bloodstain, tracking all the way to the new mining mountain.

The mine cave had long collapsed, but it was still evident that it was caused by spell techniques.

Additionally, the scorch marks from Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng's bodies were also present.

After investigating the surroundings for a while, Liang Hucheng showed a serious expression.

At this point, he couldn't discern anything further.

"It seems a mine cave was collapsed by spell techniques. I wonder who excavated this mining mountain? Would they know something?"

The third middle-aged man finally spoke, looking at the mining mountain, calmly muttering to himself.

These words immediately sparked a light in Liang Hucheng's mind, and he clapped his hands, "Well said! The mining disciple who excavated this mountain must know something!"

After speaking, Liang Hucheng laughed heartily and turned to leave.

Qian Sheng naturally followed.

As for the middle-aged man, he took one last look at the collapsed mine cave, shook his head, and quickly disappeared.

Soon, the three returned to the dwelling.

Dozens of mining disciples were called out again, standing in line.

Liang Hucheng got straight to the point, "Who was excavating the mining mountain 130 miles east of here?"

Everyone looked at each other, puzzled.

Who in their right mind would go 130 miles away to mine?

There were so many mining mountains nearby that hadn't been fully mined yet!

As for Yu Xian, he also looked bewildered.

Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng wanted to harm him, which is why they sent him to the new mining area.

So Yu Xian was certain they hadn't told anyone about him mining there.

Sure enough, no one spoke.

Liang Hucheng's brow gradually furrowed, and he shouted at the crowd, "The miner! We're not going to kill you! We just want to ask a few questions! Not admitting, huh!? If I check the mining records and find you, you'll be guilty even if you're not!"

Still, no one spoke.

Liang Hucheng's expression turned somewhat ferocious.

These useless fools, refusing to cooperate with the investigation!?

"Whoever tells me who was mining there, I'll reward them with fifty spirit stones."

Qian Sheng spoke calmly, attempting to entice with spirit stones.

But no one knew, simply no one knew.

And in front of these Law Enforcement Workshop disciples, no one dared to lie for spirit stones, so still, no one spoke.

"Forget it, don't ask them."

The middle-aged man shook his head, "It's obvious the mine cave was privately excavated. Only Huang Hanxiao, Liu Xue, and Sun Bingcheng knew who was mining, and this should be the root cause of the matter."

Liang Hucheng's eyes flashed, and he raised his hand, shouting, "Scram, scram, scram! A bunch of useless things! No use at all, get lost!"

The crowd was insulted again, seething with anger, and dispersed in frustration.

"Old Guan, what do you mean?"

After the crowd dispersed, Liang Hucheng turned to the middle-aged man, eyes gleaming, "They died from infighting over uneven distribution?"

"Yes!"

Old Guan nodded, "I suggest we report it as such. The culprit is too meticulous, too difficult to trace, and a mere outer disciple like Huang Hanxiao can't request the Inner Sect's Law Enforcement Hall's Celestial Observatory Mirror for time reversal. We shouldn't waste time here, remember, the grand selection is in just over three months!"

"Right, we can't waste time, report it like this!"

Liang Hucheng sneered, "They died from greed, why look for a culprit? They deserved to die! Alive, they only waste resources!"

Qian Sheng stood there, somewhat surprised, not expecting these two seasoned Law Enforcement Workshop members to conclude the case so hastily.

Was this how they usually enforced the law?

But in the end, he said nothing.

Because he too disliked trouble, he also wanted to cultivate well for three months, waiting for the outer sect grand selection!

The three from the Law Enforcement Workshop left.

The situation wasn't as perilous as Yu Xian had imagined.

He didn't even need to use any of the excuses or performances he had prepared in his mind.

It passed just like that.

The next day, the Hundred Mines Workshop appointed a new steward.

A young man named Liu Qinghe, twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, in the late Qi Condensation stage.

The new Liu Qinghe was easygoing. After arriving, he didn't give a speech, hint at bribes, or show any authority. He simply said that as long as the monthly offerings were sufficient, everyone should continue as they were, and then he went to his dwelling to cultivate.

This relieved everyone, and they went back to cultivating or mining as they should.

Only Yu Xian, after thinking for a while in his dwelling, got up and went to Liu Qinghe's dwelling, knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

Inside, Liu Qinghe's voice came faintly.

"Steward, my name is Yu Xian, a mining disciple from the Scorching Sun Mining Area."

Yu Xian's voice was respectful.

The door opened, and Liu Qinghe sat cross-legged in the center, not even opening his eyes, practicing Qi Refining as he spoke softly, "What do you need?"

"Steward, the mine cave I was excavating, Dingzi No. 17, has become an abandoned mine. I request a new assignment..."

Yu Xian slightly bowed, speaking quickly.

"Oh, it's about that."

Liu Qinghe opened his eyes, his gaze calm, nodding with a sigh, "Ah, the bittersweet of it all, I understand. Back when I was in the Crystal Jade Mining Area... hehe... you can now go to, hmm, Yizi No. 8 Mine Cave."

"Thank you, Steward!"

Yu Xian showed a look of joy, bowed, closed the door for Liu Qinghe, and left with large strides.

Liu Qinghe glanced at the mining area map on the wall, waved his hand, and the words "Yu Xian" appeared on Yizi No. 8 Mine Cave, then he closed his eyes again, as if he didn't care about anything.

The following days were simple.

Yu Xian quietly mined, offering one Scorching Sun Essence Stone each month, while saving over three thousand spirit stones monthly for elixirs to aid his cultivation and spiritual herbs for alchemy practice.

He didn't dare mine too quickly, or else he would deplete Yizi No. 8 Mine Cave in less than a month!

Turning a mine cave into an abandoned mine in a month would draw too much attention.

He needed at least four to five months to have an excuse.

Three leisurely months passed.

During these three months, Yu Xian cultivated, mined, practiced alchemy, and continued learning the Water Tornado and Fire Flood Dragon Grand Technique.

His cultivation progressed slowly.

After all, he had a low-grade spiritual root, and after three months, he was still in the mid-Qi Condensation stage.

He had only expanded his Qi Sea to four meters, and his Spiritual Pond had deepened.

He had only scratched the surface of the Water Tornado, but he became more proficient with the Fire Flood Dragon Grand Technique.

Additionally, he learned to refine a new elixir, the Essence-Nurturing Pill, after spending 2,500 spirit stones on eighty sets of spiritual herbs for practice.

A very fulfilling, rich, and pleasant three months passed quickly.

One day, while Yu Xian was in the Alchemy Workshop's alchemy room learning to refine the latest elixir, the Blood-Bursting Pill, a voice echoed from all directions.

"In ten days, the White Cloud Sect's outer sect grand selection begins, selecting six outer disciples to enter the Inner Sect for cultivation! Outer disciples who believe they have good aptitude and strength may register for the selection! Ten days deadline!"

Yu Xian was startled, his technique faltered, and a batch of Blood-Bursting Pills was ruined.

"What a pity."

Yu Xian shook his head helplessly, cleaned the alchemy furnace, and continued refining the Blood-Bursting Pill, as if the announcement had never been made.

He was only in the mid-Qi Condensation stage, and no matter what, he didn't have the ability to compete for those six spots.

Those six spots could only be contested by those in the late Qi Condensation stage or perfected Qi Condensation!

So Yu Xian never considered participating.

But while Yu Xian didn't think about it, other outer disciples, especially those in the late or perfected Qi Condensation stage, were all excited!

Four months, they had finally waited for this!

Countless disciples had been preparing desperately for these four months, whether refining magical treasures, cultivating powerful spell techniques, or even forcing breakthroughs within these four months!

All for the grand selection in ten days!

Entering the Inner Sect would be a step to the heavens! Foundation Establishment would be within reach!

From then on, a distinction between immortals and mortals!

Twelve hours later, Yu Xian emerged from the alchemy room.

His technique for the Blood-Bursting Pill was decent, though not perfect.

The Blood-Bursting Pill was an excellent healing elixir and a life-saving pill to activate bloodline power in emergencies.

Even when taken regularly, it had benefits for enhancing physical constitution.

So Yu Xian planned to use the six bottles of Blood-Bursting Pills he refined for himself.

Exiting the Alchemy Workshop.

The outer sect's grand plaza of the White Cloud Sect was bustling with activity.

Countless disciples seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

It was truly a sea of people, crowded in the plaza, registering for the selection.

In the center of the plaza, several men and women wore various colored robes, their auras restrained, appearing like ordinary people.

Yet the faint pressure they exuded made everyone unable to look directly at them!

They were Inner Sect, Foundation Establishment disciples!