Easy Way of Cultivation: Power Harvesting

Chapter 571: Chapter 353: It’s Useless to Say That—the Evil Spirits Dug Up

Xiaomeng City is nominally part of the Daxu Kingdom, but the surrounding cities are actually under the control of the Vajra Sect. Official orders from the Da Xu Court must first get the nod from the Vajra Sect to be enforced here.

Even the appointment of officials requires the Vajra Sect’s approval, which is the result of years of power struggle between the Imperial Family Yang and the Vajra Sect.

Zhi Hua felt somewhat ashamed sharing this, but it is the truth.

"Please, officials, I beg you, let me go. My family has money; I don’t need to work."

As three people walked down the street, several governmental officers dressed in constable uniforms were escorting a man out of a house.

The man’s hands were tied behind his back, he pleaded pitifully, while his wife, daughter, and elderly father came forward to stop them, only to be rudely pushed away by the constables.

"Damn it, get out of here, ungrateful fools! We’re doing you a favor, getting you some work to feed your family.

Your family has money, how much could it possibly have? Without work, you’ll eat away at your savings. You’re just a lazy man living off your parents’ blood and sweat.

This is your living allowance, and you’ll get paid regularly for your work."

The constable threw some silver coins down while cursing, dragging the man away.

Apart from this man being led away, there were also seven or eight young men guarded by constables on the street, looking anxious and uneasy.

The constables proceeded to knock on the next door.

"Officer, there are no young men in my home!" a voice came from behind the door.

"Stop the nonsense, open the door and let us check, or we’ll tear down your yard," the constable threatened, his immense power almost shattering the door.

The people inside had no choice but to open the door, and soon, the constables dragged out another young man from the home.

"Why are you randomly arresting people?" Zhi Hua could no longer bear it and stepped forward to question them.

It was clear that those being arrested hadn’t committed any wrongdoing; they seemed to be unwilling to work and were forcibly taken.

Hearing this, the constable glanced at Zhi Hua, and then at Wei Fan and Feng Hua. Seeing the three were dressed as Jianghu people, he showed a hint of caution.

Immediately he said, "These are lazy men, living off the land and freeloading. We’re helping them, wouldn’t you agree?"

As he spoke, a sense of oppression radiated from him towards the group of young men who had been caught.

Although he was just a constable, his cultivation was that of a Divine Realm Martial Sect, the young men were nearly forced to the ground, not daring to utter a word.

Zhi Hua frowned: "Even if they are lazy, people should not be forced to work against their will. Release them immediately."

The constable sneered: "Order me? Who do you think you are?"

He was somewhat wary of the three, but it didn’t mean he was afraid.

Zhi Hua pulled out a badge: "I am Princess Zhi Hua of the court, I order you to release them!"

"What a joke..."

The constable glanced at it with disdain: "Who knows if that’s real, anyone could grab a badge and claim to be a princess. If I take this seriously, Xiaomeng City would be in chaos. I advise you not to meddle in affairs that affect our law enforcement, or we will have to arrest you."

Feng Hua was enraged that even as a princess of Daxu, she couldn’t command a mere constable.

"That’s not going to work..."

Wei Fan strolled over, lightning-fast, grabbing the constable’s hair with five fingers, pulling down, and then drove a knee up.

Crack...

With the sound of bones breaking, blood splattered, the constable made a horrifying scream.

After Wei Fan lifted his head again, his nose, eyes, and mouth were grotesquely contorted, his cheekbones sunken, forming a concave arc.

Even if Zhi Hua was just an ordinary princess, and even if the Emperor himself came, a pair of fists would still be more effective.

"You fools, what are you waiting for? Attack him!"

His hair was still clutched by Wei Fan, and his mouth let out a muffled scream.

"Boss..."

"How dare you!"

"Kill him!"

The constables roared in anger and charged forward.

Clang, clang...

All around were the sounds of long swords being drawn, blades flashing towards Wei Fan in an instant. Simultaneously, the constable also struck, swinging his fists towards Wei Fan’s chest.

Aside from the constable who was of Divine Realm Martial Sect cultivation, the rest of the constables were all Celestial Martial Artists. To Wei Fan, dealing with such weaklings was merely a thought.

A layer of brilliance burst forth from him, and all the long swords swung at him shattered, along with the fists of the attacking constables.

The next moment, weapon fragments reversed, hitting all the constables like sieves, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground.

"Mercy, Master!"

Seeing the miserable state of his subordinates, the constable trembled all over with fear, not even minding his shattered fist, and quickly opened his mouth to beg for mercy.

Even though he was slow-witted, at this moment he understood that the few people in front of him were not inexperienced younglings but extremely terrifying masters, ruthless characters, especially this man who had just killed all his subordinates with one strike.

"Speak, why did you capture so many people!" Wei Fan’s indifferent gaze swept over the constable: "You have one chance to speak, make sure you cherish it."

[Slaying Zhang San, gained 500 years of Ordinary Power]

[Slaying Zhou Jiang, gained 600 years of Ordinary Power]

...

These constables’ panels all reacted, so Wei Fan did not hesitate to strike ruthlessly, leaving only this constable alive for questioning.

[Xu Guang: Mid-Divine Realm, Xiaomeng City constable, assisting a tyrant to oppress citizens]

[Slay him, gain 2000 years of Power]

This constable was also no good, the panel similarly suggested that killing him could gain Power.

On the street, the young people who had been captured were stunned, the passing citizens also looked over in shock.

Wei Fan’s gaze swept over the constable whose body trembled, feeling like his Divine Soul was about to collapse.

But he still avoided eye contact: "Senior, I said earlier, it’s not capturing people but finding work for these lazy men."

"You lie, it’s simply sending us to our deaths!" A captured young man boldly shouted, knowing Wei Fan and the others were their lifeline.

The constable’s expression changed dramatically, not expecting these people, whom they repeatedly threatened, to have the courage to speak the truth.

"Looks like you took my warning as wind past your ears!" Wei Fan grinned.

"No... I’ll tell, anything the senior wants to know I’ll say."

Constable Xu Guang shouted, but he only felt a pain in his head before completely losing consciousness.

Wei Fan tossed the constable’s corpse aside, looking at the man who spoke: "Brother, what did you mean by saying they captured you to send you to death?"

The man gritted his teeth, speaking in a deep voice: "To the hero, the situation is like this..."

In the Five Great Domains, besides the Imperial Dynasty, ordinary people all lived in cities established by major families or sects.

To most sects, establishing cities is not out of kindness to protect citizens but to obtain labor and exploit them.

A powerful Holy Sect, from top to bottom, has tens of thousands of disciples.

The resources needed for so many people’s sustenance and Cultivation are a significant expenditure; fields need people to farm, Demon Beasts for meat require caretakers, Spirit Medicine farming, and mining all need labor.

A powerful sect might require as many as hundreds of thousands of laborers.

In fact, Xiaomeng City is some distance from the Vajra Sect, but near Xiaomeng City, there is a mining site for the Vajra Sect, so this area also counts as Vajra Sect’s territory.

Xiaomeng City doesn’t have many people, only about hundreds of thousands, with roughly ten thousand working at the Vajra Sect’s mining site, making a living by extracting minerals for the sect.

About a month ago, disciples of the Vajra Sect suddenly appeared in Xiaomeng City, telling those with relatives working at the mining site about a collapse that killed all miners inside the mine, providing a sum for household arrangements.

"After giving the household arrangement fund, they again recruited workers in the city, offering better compensation than before."

The man spoke with an angry look on his face: "Initially, everyone eagerly registered because this time the Vajra Sect’s compensation was almost double that of before.

But a few days later, news spread in the city that the people were not crushed to death in the mine collapse but due to a mysterious event.

They said on the day of the incident, someone dug out a Stone Coffin from deep in the mine, and aside from some fortunate ones who left the mine that day, everyone else perished there by nightfall, including Vajra Sect masters."

Wei Fan’s eyes widened, having never heard of such strange happenings, he looked at Feng Hua and Zhi Hua, both nodded.

Feng Hua even spoke: "Such things are not uncommon, those mines can extend tens of miles deep underground, digging up bizarre Evil Spirits occasionally happens, there was even a Holy Sect once exterminated due to unearthing terrifying entities."

Wei Fan was slightly moved.

With the history of the Five Great Domains spanning unknown ages, no one can truly say; possibly tens or even millions of years.

Martial Venerables’ bodies can remain uncorrupted for thousands to tens of thousands of years after death, and for Martial King Powerhouses and Martial Saints, even longer; if powerful beings’ corpses were buried underground for over tens of thousands of years, who knows what horrors might be nurtured.

Meanwhile, the man continued: "Knowing so many died due to strange Evil Spirits, no one wants to work at the mining site, the Vajra Sect became unhappy, raising wages repeatedly but no one went; then governmental officers began capturing people and sending them to the mining site."

"Are people still dying at the mining site?" Feng Hua asked with furrowed brows.

If what was unearthed is already resolved and poses no danger, these citizens shouldn’t resist working at the mining site, after all, everyone needs to eat; their unwillingness likely means danger remains.

The man shook his head: "I’m not sure, it’s just that based on previous conventions, anyone working at the mining site could return once every half month, and could take leave for family issues, but this time no one has come back, so no one wants to go."

This man is just a mere lower-class person, who’s never been to the mining site, part of his knowledge is evidently speculation; he genuinely doesn’t know the real situation there.

However, there’s probably an issue, or else such a situation wouldn’t occur.

"Surround them!"

Suddenly, some people soared in, surrounding Wei Fan and the others, Wei Fan’s gaze turned; these people were all bald with smooth heads, wearing identical attire.