As he spoke, he stood up and walked leisurely towards Lu Ye, the flickering flames casting his shadow like dancing ghosts.
A look of panic washed over Lu Ye's face: "What do you mean?"
Manager Yang sighed, "I might as well be upfront with you, the Haotian Alliance has arrived, and we may not be able to keep this vein for the time being. I came here to take refuge. Although I am grateful that you brought me here, I can't let you go back."
Lu Ye stepped back, thinking to himself that this was indeed the case. He had vaguely guessed it when he saw Manager Yang killing those mining slaves, fearing that the news of him entering the mine would leak out; naturally, he had to kill everyone who saw him.
And the reason he felt surprised to see Lu Ye at the exit of the mine was because he knew Lu Ye could take him to a hidden place to hide.
Hiding in such a place, even if the Haotian Alliance captured the vein, they would hardly be able to find him, and there was a high chance he could escape the disaster.
Realizing his situation, Lu Ye had always wanted to escape; however, Manager Yang was unyielding—where could he go?
"Then I will stay and accompany you. I won't leave," Lu Ye said, his back pressed against the rock wall, with no room to retreat.
Manager Yang paused, as if he was seriously considering it, but soon shook his head, "I didn't bring much food, and I don't know how long I need to hide here. Although the Haotian Alliance wouldn't stay around here for long, it could still be a month or two. You would starve to death in that long a duration, so you couldn't possibly accompany me. So as a thank you, I'll accompany you on your final journey!"
The distance between the two was only ten feet. As he finished speaking, Manager Yang struck out at Lu Ye with a palm.
Although his cultivation was not high, it was still easy for him to kill an ordinary man like Lu Ye.
But he never expected that the very moment he made his move, Lu Ye would charge at him, wielding a mining pick, and fiercely smash it down towards his head.
Lu Ye's ruthlessness and decisiveness caught Manager Yang off guard, but that was it...
However, what followed shocked him to the core.
He suddenly discovered that the spirit force in his spiritual orifice was operating sluggishly, as if an inexplicable power was restraining the spirit force, allowing only an insignificant trickle to be activated.
As the mining pick struck, Manager Yang found it too late to retreat and could only use his palm, which was striking at Lu Ye, to block in front of his face.
With a crisp cracking sound, the mining pick hit Manager Yang's arm squarely, breaking his forearm.
Manager Yang couldn't help but cry out in pain, retreating repeatedly.
With a successful strike, Lu Ye's tense heart finally relaxed. It seemed that some rumors he had heard were true, and there was still a chance for survival.
With the advantage in his favor, Lu Ye pressed on step by step, swinging the mining pick continuously, so much so that Manager Yang was nearly powerless to fight back.
Although Manager Yang was a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley, his cultivation was not high, which is why he had ended up with the idle position of managing the mining vein. Rarely having competed fiercely with others in his life, he could easily crush and mold the mining slaves with his cultivation, but with his cultivation greatly suppressed, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary human. Facing someone as ruthless as Lu Ye, he was immediately beaten into disorientation.
While dodging Lu Ye's fierce attacks, he reached into the cloth bag at his waist, and then with a raise of his hand, a cold light flashed.
Lu Ye was startled and quickly stopped moving, positioning the pick to block.
The cold light cut through the front of the mining pick, directly shaving off half of it, which was made of refined iron.
Lu Ye looked closely at what Manager Yang was holding in his hand, only to find that he had grabbed a Longsword! He had pulled it out from the cloth bag at his waist.
Manager Yang swung the sword vigorously, deterring Lu Ye from advancing recklessly.
The situation became deadlocked, deep in the mine, the mortal and the cultivator confronting each other—the former's expression resolute, the latter's look disheveled, the intense pain contorting his features.
"Origin magnetic field?" Manager Yang gritted his teeth and muttered, taking only a moment to understand why his spirit force had been restrained.
This place was actually rich in a large amount of origin magnetic ore!
Origin magnetic ore is a very rare mineral. In terms of its value, it's unmatched in this vein, and the ore is very useful for some cultivators.
However, origin magnetic ore has a characteristic: it releases an invisible force field, which restrains the circulation of all spirit force within range.
Once a cultivator is in this field, their strength is greatly reduced.
With limited cultivation, Manager Yang, enveloped by this origin magnetic field, found his spirit force almost completely restrained, sinking from a high-ranking cultivator to a mere mortal.
He suddenly recalled that, over the past year, Lu Ye had indeed occasionally mined some origin magnetic ore, though others had also mined it, just not in large amounts, so he hadn't paid much attention, considering the variety of minerals in the vein.
But now, it seemed Lu Ye always knew the locations of large amounts of origin magnetic ore, yet he hadn't mined extensively to exchange for contributions. Instead, he mined just a few pieces occasionally to avoid drawing attention—truly a deep strategist.
"You schemed against me?" Manager Yang was near madness, now fully understanding that Lu Ye had deliberately led him here.
Having thought he held power over life and death, Manager Yang was furious to see a mere mining slave bare his fangs against him. However, with one arm crushed and various injuries about his body, in this environment where he couldn't utilize his cultivation, he truly was no match for Lu Ye.
So, he decisively turned and ran.
Seeing this, Lu Ye immediately sensed trouble.
He only half-understood the nature of the origin magnetic field. When he first handed over the origin magnetic ore, he had heard a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley mention its characteristics, so he had been cautious.
Having witnessed Manager Yang killing a mining slave they encountered on the way here, he knew the journey was fraught with danger. Thus, he brought Manager Yang here, and before he broke his arm, he hadn't been sure if the origin magnetic field here could restrain Manager Yang's strength.
Fortunately, fate was on his side, and the origin magnetic field indeed rendered Manager Yang helpless.
But the range of the origin magnetic field was limited; if he let Manager Yang escape its range, he would be doomed.
He absolutely couldn't let Manager Yang escape!
Lu Ye steeled himself, bent down to pick up a fist-sized rock, and hurled it furiously at Manager Yang.
Manager Yang, in his awkward flight, never expected Lu Ye to have such a sneaky move. He was hit in the back of the head and staggered to the ground.
Before he could get up, the whooshing sound of wind was already in his ears. Manager Yang quickly rolled over, just in time to see Lu Ye charging at him, swinging the remaining half of a mining pick.
There was no way to dodge it!
In a moment of life and death, Manager Yang shouted, "Let's die together!"
His Longsword thrust out fiercely!
The next moment, his head was smashed by the mining pick. Lu Ye, still not reassured, smashed it several more times, watching the convulsing figure before him, confirming that the other could no longer survive.
Intense pain came from his thigh. Looking down, he saw a Longsword stuck in his leg, unmistakably Manager Yang's.
He had been stabbed without even realizing it! He had felt nothing at the time.
Dropping the mining pick, Lu Ye sat down on the ground, gasping for breath, savoring the beauty of life.