Han Li's question had clearly caught the three mine slaves off guard.
The three exchanged uneasy glances for a moment, until the other two finally shifted their gazes toward the slave in the center.
This caused the demon slave's expression to flicker several times in rapid succession. He couldn't help but silently curse his luck, knowing full well that what they had all been trying to conceal was most likely beyond hiding now.
After letting out yet another bitter smile, the mine slave could only answer honestly: "Before the tunnel collapsed, all of the exotic demon gold that had already been discovered was fully mined out. However, during the few days we were trapped here, the three of us dug blindly in search of a way out — and stumbled upon another branch vein containing exotic demon gold. Of course, the three of us aren't capable of mining it independently, so we simply sealed the location off with rubble and soil for the time being. If the Lord is interested, I can take you there right now to have a look."
"So there really is still unmined exotic demon gold. Those fellows may well have known about it — they probably just felt too much time had passed and didn't dare keep searching. Very well, I'll take that as my gain. But before that, take me to see the sites where things went wrong first." Han Li let out a faint chuckle and issued another command.
"Yes, my Lord!" The central mine slave was inwardly puzzled, but dared not disobey in the slightest, and hurriedly agreed.
Thereupon, the three mine slaves rose to their feet with trembling legs at Han Li's gesture and led the way out of the cavern.
In half a shi-chen, Han Li had inspected every location he needed to see. The three slaves even pointed out the newly discovered vein, which had been buried under debris.
"Good. Since what you've told me proves true, I'll see to it you get a way out," Han Li said at last with a look of satisfaction, flicking his wide sleeve. A vast expanse of azure light swept out in a swirl.
The three mine slaves felt a flash of azure before their eyes, followed by a dizzying sensation of the world spinning — and in the next instant, they found themselves standing just a short distance from the collapse site.
A ripple of spatial distortion appeared nearby, and Han Li's figure materialized silently out of thin air.
The three mine slaves' hearts churned with a mixture of joy and dread, unsure whether Han Li would truly see them out as promised.
But Han Li paid them no attention whatsoever. He merely raised one arm, spread his five fingers toward the pile of rubble blocking the passage ahead, and softly uttered the word, "Break."
The next moment, a golden glow flickered at his palm, and a sphere of golden light materialized in the blink of an eye.
With a thunderous boom, the sphere transformed into a blinding beam of golden light that shot forward.
A muffled tearing sound rang out, and a blast of hot wind surged toward them.
Where solid rubble had once blocked the way, a tunnel roughly ten feet in diameter now gaped open, its edges still glowing red from the heat of melting stone, though the glow quickly faded to black as it cooled.
"I've carved out a way through. Follow this passage and get out." Han Li swept a detached glance over the three mine slaves and spoke a single, flat sentence — then his body blurred and vanished from the spot like a phantom.
The three mine slaves witnessed the whole thing, overwhelmed with elation. They each bowed once more toward the spot where Han Li had disappeared, then without a word rushed headlong into the tunnel.
The interior was still searingly hot, but the three mine slaves gritted their teeth and paid it no mind whatsoever.
…
Meanwhile, Han Li had already returned to the sites he had visited earlier. He cast a series of spells to draw up several wisps of faint green vapor from the earth nearby, carefully collecting them into a small vial before making his way to the hidden branch vein of exotic demon gold.
These wisps of green vapor were none other than the mutated Earth Fiend Yin Qi. Previously, when the mine slaves it had attached to were drained of their blood and killed on the spot, the wisps had retreated back underground in the vicinity, lying dormant for the time being and causing no further harm.
Fortunately, when Wuyou's group had come to investigate, they had been solely preoccupied with the matter of the exotic demon gold stones and had merely passed through without examining these spots in detail.
Had they discovered these strands of Earth Fiend Yin Qi, who knew what fresh storm they might have stirred up.
As for the newly discovered vein of exotic demon gold, though it was called a branch vein, it was in fact situated right beside the original tunnel.
The three mine slaves had dug merely a dozen-odd zhang to one side before uncovering its existence.
Han Li cross-referenced the positions from which the Earth Fiend Yin Qi had leaked and, after a brief mental calculation, reached a conclusion.
If the Yin-Yang Great Five Elements True Light truly existed, it was most likely situated beneath this branch vein.
As soon as he had dismissed the three demon mine slaves, he returned to the branch vein and, without a moment's hesitation, flicked his sleeve.
Over a dozen balls of azure light flew out in succession, each one flickering and transforming into an azure ape puppet. They stood roughly ten feet tall, with fierce, grotesque faces, radiating a cold, lifeless aura.
With just a single pulse of spiritual sense, the puppets' fingertips each sprouted a tongue of white light several inches long, and they filed neatly into the branch vein tunnel, setting to work mining the exotic demon gold with vigor.
Once Han Li had set all of this in motion, he paused in brief contemplation — then a faint golden phantom drifted from his sleeve.
The golden figure solidified slightly and coalesced into a small, pale-golden beast.