Chapter 15: " The Hunter in the Dark"

"No one in the room?"

"Really no one, the quilt on the bed is not moved, where did this guy go?"

"Could it be that he has earned enough spirit stones and went to the Town?"

A suspicious voice sounded, and the two looked at each other in the darkness.

As for the cave under the house, the two obviously did not think about that level.

After all, those who live in this desolate mountain and wilderness come to this mine to earn spirit stones and prepare to embark on the immortal path.

Twenty pieces of spirits stones a month, at most it will take a few months.

It's just a matter of a few months, who would have nothing to do and dig a cave to live in.

After all, Normal thinking has its limits. The two stared at each other in silence.

"Go back first, don't alert the enemy."

One of the men gritted his teeth and said.

"Okay."

In the darkness, the two men returned along the original path, and rearranged the damaged traps, then walked away and disappeared into the darkness.

Gu Dao in the cave was also unaware that he had been in front of the gate of hell again.

It was not until the early morning that Gu Dao woke up from his sleep. After packing up, he climbed up the wooden ladder.

When he was about to reach the ground, his spiritual sense had already penetrated his body, and through the thin wooden boards, he sensed the situation in the wooden shed and even outside the wooden shed.

After confirming that there was no abnormality, Gu Dao pushed the wooden board on the ground and appeared in the wooden shed.

When he appeared in the wooden shed, he also sensed it again with his spiritual sense.

The 360-degree, no-dead-angle, subtle observation is much more reliable than the naked eye.

Compared with the secular naked eye observation, he has now tried his best to get used to the spiritual observation method of the immortal cultivator.

"Footprints..."

In just a few breaths, the footprints that were concealed outside the wooden shed appeared clearly in the spiritual sense.

The spiritual sense extended to about five meters. The abnormality of the pit was basically invisible to the naked eye.

Even if the spiritual sense observed, if it was not a key memory, it would probably be subconsciously ignored.

But Gu Dao was different. He had been living in the open air since he came here.

Every time he went out or came back, he would use his spiritual sense to carefully observe the surroundings and memorize them in his mind for comparison, just in case.

Someone came here last night and found a pit..."

Gu Dao's expression was a little uncertain. After a moment of silence, his demeanor returned to normal. As usual, he walked towards the mine.

The danger during the day was not great.

Especially at this point, the miners who lived in the open air all went to the mine to work. If they made any noise, it would be known to everyone.

There were not many stupid people who could step half a foot into the world of immortal cultivation.

When he arrived at the mine, as usual, he received a backpack and tools and walked into the mine.

A day of mining, a day of busyness, nothing unusual. At dusk, he returned to the wooden shed as usual.

"There are two footprints, not sure if there will be more people..."

Gu Dao thought silently. He was not surprised that someone was targeting him. After all, in recent days, miners have been replaced one after another, and the mine manager who manages them doesn't care at all.

If there were no mine law enforcement team patrolling day and night, this place would have been in chaos long ago.

Secretly killing people and stealing treasures, in this nearby mountain range, it is estimated that no one knows how many times it has been staged. It is not surprising that he was targeted alone.

Gu Dao sat in his cave, expressionless, contemplating his current predicament.

Months had passed since he arrived in this world of immortal cultivation.

He had endured the hardships of the mine, the backbreaking labor, and the disdainful gazes of those who saw him as nothing more than a lowly worker.

He had swallowed his pride, avoided unnecessary conflicts, and done everything to stay unnoticed. Yet, trouble still found him.

He had long wanted to kill.

This world was as cruel as a prison, yet fate had been strangely gentle to him since his arrival. He had witnessed brutality, but never truly experienced it firsthand.

The remnants of human morality still lingered in his heart, keeping his blade sheathed. His caution had kept him alive, restraining his darker impulses.

Now, since he has been targeted and someone wants his life and his spirit stone, he has no psychological burden at all.

"I hope it's not a poor ghost."

Gu Dao murmured, his gaze icy as he looked at the worn bone stick that had accompanied him since the beginning.

Spirit stones had always been scarce in his hands. But if he could strike it rich in one night… he would leave this wretched place without looking back.

Outside, the night deepened. Darkness stretched endlessly, swallowing the world whole.

Gu Dao is no longer in the cave, but pretending to cook and eat in the wooden shed. He didn't go into the cave quietly until the lights were turned off, and then he sneaked into the forest along the tunnel he had dug long ago.

As for whether he would be detected...

Gu Dao was not worried. Spirit sense only began to develop in the mid-stage of Qi Training, and his pursuers were merely low-level cultivators.

Even if he was being followed, it would definitely be just staring at him from a distance. What he did was enough to confuse the naked eye.

Gu Dao was like a ghost, hiding in the darkness, his eyes fixed on the surroundings of his wooden shed.

He was a very patient prey, but he didn't know if the hunter would appear again.

Gu Dao waited silently.

"Here they come."

The naked eye could clearly see the two sneaky figures in the darkness. Gu Dao didn't stare closely.

The existence of the divine sense could easily arouse vigilance even if the naked eye looked directly at it.

The two figures in the darkness became clearer and clearer.

After seeing their faces clearly, Gu Dao's heart, which was still hanging, was immediately put down.

There were only a hundred miners in the mine. Although he hadn't dealt with them much for such a long time, Gu Dao also deliberately made himself remember what they looked like.

If they were just low-level miners, they would be of little threat.

But if they were true cultivators—especially ones at the same stage as him—Gu Dao wouldn't hesitate to turn and flee without a word. After all, there was a vast difference between a mid-stage cultivator with no spells or techniques and one who had mastered them. The latter could kill him in seconds.

However, if his pursuers were merely low-level Qi Training cultivators, then they posed no real threat.

He knew his own abilities.

"These two people... seem to have entered the mine two months ago..."

Gu Dao's eyes moved slightly. Entering the mine for two months meant two months' monthly salary. For two people, that meant four months' monthly salary...

Gu Dao had to admit that he was really tempted.

The whispers in the darkness were hard to hear. Gu Dao just watched the two people slowly approach his wooden shed without making any movement.

"This kid is not at home again!"

Even Gu Dao could vaguely hear the voice of doubt.

"It's impossible. I was watching him the whole time. He hasn't left the house since he came back!"

"There's really no one here. If you don't believe me, come see for yourself!"

"It's impossible. I was watching him the whole time. I didn't see him come out..

"There's something fishy about this house!"

"There's a hole under the board!"

This time, with a definite suspicion, the hole under the board was discovered not long after.

"This guy is a rat, and he dug a hole!"

"He didn't go out yesterday, did he? He slept in this hole?"

"It's very likely!"

"Fortunately, we didn't alert the enemy last night and covered up our traces."

"What should we do now?"

"This guy is in the hole. We can't break in, can we?"

"Who knows what this guy has prepared in there?"

After confirming the existence of the hole, the two were obviously in a dilemma.

If they come closer to spy, the possibility of being discovered was very high.

If they entered the hole, the possibility of being discovered was even greater!

Moreover...what was going on inside the hole was even more unknown!

"This guy is so damn cautious!"

"Why don't we just charge in, two people against one, we're sure to win."

"Okay, they're just worldly means anyway, so why should we be afraid of them!"

In Gu Dao's field of vision, the two men tiptoed towards the wooden shed, and had obviously made a decision.

Gu Dao smiled Coldly as he slipped into the shadows, moving like a ghost. After six months in the wilderness, he was no stranger to stalking prey—or being hunted himself. This way of life had long become second nature.

In a blink, he appeared behind the nearest man at the shed's entrance.

His lips curled into a cruel grin.

With a flicker of motion, the sharpened bone stick slashed through the air, its edge gleaming in the dim light. The strike was instantaneous, merciless. The man barely had time to react before a chilling sense of doom crashed over him.

"Not good—run!"

Too late.

A severed head spun into the air, eyes still frozen in terror. Blood sprayed like a crimson mist, staining Gu Dao's face. The metallic scent filled the night, thick and suffocating. He didn't wipe it away—if anything, it made his expression even more murderous.

Inside the shed, the second man's legs gave out beneath him.

Especially when he saw that the man was at the mid-stage of Qi Training.

"Mercy! Mercy!"

"Brother, please!"

Gu Dao's smile never wavered. His voice was calm.

"Too late."

It didn't matter whether they ran, begged, or fought back.

Their fate had already been sealed.