Chapter One: The Miner Slaves

my mining cart, and I should get three contribution points. Counting the accumulated points from the past few days, I have about twelve. Two points are enough to exchange for two steamed buns, and th...In the dim and damp mine shaft, Lu Ye walked forward with a mining basket on his back and a pickaxe in his hand.

The boy's expression was somewhat melancholy, his eyes fixed on an empty space in front of him, as if staring at something.

To outsiders, there was nothing in front of Lu Ye. But in the teenager's vision, he could see a translucent shadow.

It was like the shadow of a tree, grayish and indistinct. The branches were lush and the limbs split from the trunk about one-third of the way up, supporting a semi-circular canopy.

>Having arrived in this world called Kyushu over a year ago, Lu Ye still didn't understand what it was. All he knew was that when his attention was focused enough, there was a chance that this shadow tree would appear in his field of vision, and no one else would notice it at all.

"What a pitiful life," the boy sighed.

A year ago, he suddenly woke up in this strange world. Before he could familiarize himself with the environment, the force he was in was attacked by a group of bandits. Many people were killed, and he along with some other young men and women became captives of the bandits and were sent to this mine as lowly slaves.

Only afterward, from snippets of conversation overheard by others, did he learn that the faction he belonged to was affiliated with a celestial alliance called the Haotian Alliance, a sect known as Xuantian Sect.

The name of this sect sounds cool and domineering, but in reality, it's just a run-of-the-mill, insignificant sect.

The one who conquered Xuan Tianzong was the Evil Moon Valley under the command of Wan Mo Ling.

The Haitian Alliance and the Wan Mo Ling are the two major faction organizations in this world. They are both formed by countless large and small forces, vying against each other and fighting to completely eradicate the opponent. It is said that this has been going on for hundreds of years.

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In Lu Ye's view, such a fight was simply a confrontation between the order camp and the evil camp. He had just been accidentally caught in the tide of this confrontation.

Over the years, the Kyushu Continent has been ravaged by war. Every year, small forces like the Xuan Tian Sect are uprooted, but more emerge like mushrooms after rain, claiming territories and further muddling the situation.

"A slave to the mines, a slave he shall remain…" Lu Ye comforted himself with these words. Compared to those who had been killed, at least he was still alive.

He didn't survive because of any special abilities he possessed, but rather because the Evil Moon Valley needed some errand runners. Someone like Lu Ye, who had no cultivation and was still young, was undoubtedly the best choice.

In fact, the slaves in this mine are not only from the Xuan Tian Sect, but also from some small families and minor sects.

The Evil Moon Valley is a formidable force that has seized control of many territories over the years. The existing powers in those areas were naturally wiped out, and some of their usable manpower was sent by the Evil Moon Valley to various places as slaves.

These people all have one thing in common; they are uninitiated and lack cultivation, which makes them very easy to control.

In the land of Kyushu, there's a saying: "Demons find it difficult to transform without enlightenment, and humans struggle to cultivate without enlightenment."

To cultivate, one must open the spiritual aperture. Only after opening the spiritual aperture does one have the qualifications for cultivation.

Opening one's spiritual channels is not a simple matter. Among ordinary people, only about one in a hundred can open their spiritual channels after systematic training. If one is born into a family or sect dedicated to cultivation and has guidance from elders, this proportion may be higher.

Lu Ye was unable to open his own spiritual apertures, so he could only make a living by mining in this dim mine shaft.

However, miners were not without a way out. If they could be enlightened and successfully report to the person in charge, they would have the opportunity to participate in an assessment. If they passed the assessment, they could become disciples of the Evil Moon Valley.

However, among the slaves in the mines, there were very few who could cultivate their wisdom. Toiling day and night in this dim environment, barely able to even eat enough to sustain themselves, how could they possibly cultivate their minds

So, basically nine out of ten mine slaves have accepted their fate. They work hard every day, only to get one meal a day.

Lu Ye didn't have much sense of belonging to the Xuantian Sect. After all, when he first arrived in this world, the Xuantian Sect was destroyed, and he didn't know anyone from within the sect.

He didn't want to become a disciple of the Xie Yue Gu either. It wasn't a legitimate force, just hearing its name gave off an evil vibe, it would sooner or later go down.

But one can't stay here forever as a miner, that wouldn't be right. After all, he is an elite person of the new era. If a person doesn't have dreams, what's the difference between them and a salted fish

So this year, he has been trying hard to open his mind. He originally thought that only he could see the shadow tree and it could provide him with some amazing help, but until now, this shadow tree is still just a shadow. Not to mention any help, sometimes it even affects his vision.

Lu Ye seriously doubted if there was something wrong with his eyes.

Turning a corner, a faint glimmer appeared in the distance, that was one of the exits to the mine.

Today's harvest was good. I'll hand in the ore from my mining cart, and I should get three contribution points. Counting the accumulated points from the past few days, I have about twelve. Two points are enough to exchange for two steamed buns, and the remaining ten points are just enough to exchange for a Qi and Blood Pill.

Qi Xue Dan is a very low-level elixir. It's not an aid for opening the acupoints, but to open the acupoints, one must have ample qi and blood. Although Qi Xue Dan is low-level, it's just right for someone like Lu Ye who hasn't opened their acupoints.

E-yue Valley's willingness to provide Qi Blood Pills wasn't out of kindness, but rather a shrewd understanding of human nature. This cheapest and most rudimentary pill could fuel those with hope, driving them to work even harder in the mines.

For example, Lu Ye... is very diligent every day.

Thirty feet from the mine entrance, Lu Ye's gaze inadvertently swept over a corner to his left. There, a giant boulder lay across the path.

He kept walking, not stopping until he had covered about ten zhang. Only then did he put down the mining basket on his back. He tightened his grip on the pickaxe in his hand and took a stone of medium size from the basket, weighing it lightly.

The next moment, he sprinted toward the boulder. As he neared it, he sidestepped, planting one foot on the rock face of the mine shaft. He used the rebounding force to launch himself downward towards the back of the boulder, just like a nimble cheetah.

Two figures were crouched behind a boulder, using it for cover, never expecting that someone would discover their whereabouts.

Hearing the sound and seeing Lu Ye trying to get up, it was already too late.

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Under the horrified gaze of both, Lu Ye raised his hand and threw the ore in his hand. It hit one of them squarely on the bridge of his nose. The man let out a yell and fell backwards to the ground, blood streaming down his face.

Lu Ye's other hand swung the pickaxe again, but it missed the second person. That person reacted quickly and dodged by tilting their head.

However, Lu Ye had already rushed to his front, kicking down with one foot, landing squarely on the opponent's abdomen. The man was instantly overcome with pain, flying backwards and collapsing to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of acid water.

Lu Ye stepped forward, grabbed the other person's hair with one hand, and looked at their face clearly. He sneered: "I knew it was you two brothers!"

These two he recognized, they were disciples of the Liu family. After the territory of the Liu family was occupied by the E-yue Valley, some young disciples were sent here to work as mine slaves.

Strictly speaking, the two brothers Lu Ye and Liu were also fated to be connected.

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“Have I told you, don't let me see you again, or I'll kill you all!” As Lu Ye spoke, he picked up a stone from the ground and smashed it down.

This blow wasn't light. Liu's second son only let out a grunt before being knocked unconscious.

Lu Ye walked toward Liu Lao Da, who had been injured by him before.

Liu Lao Da's forehead was battered, blood blurring his vision. He could vaguely see Lu Ye approaching him and scrambled away in fear: "Spare my life! My brothers didn't know it was you coming. We thought it was someone else... Spare my life!"

The two Liu brothers were lurking stealthily near the mine entrance, certainly not with good intentions.

These two had been pampered before they were captured, and even as mine slaves, they were unwilling to suffer hardship. However, the identity of a mine slave was lowly, and the people of Evil Moon Valley didn't treat them as human at all. Without ore to exchange for contributions, they couldn't even get food.

Therefore, the two brothers would often lurk at a certain exit of the mine shaft, robbing those miners who were alone. Many people suffered as a result; not only were their daily hard-earned ores stolen, but they were also beaten half to death.

Last time they tried to rob Lu Ye, but they weren't a match for him and got beaten up.

To my surprise, just a few days later, I ran into these two brothers again.

Just as rice can nurture a hundred different kinds of people, there were all sorts of miners. Some, like the Liu brothers, were lazy and good-for-nothing. Others, like Lu Ye, had dreams in their hearts.

Over the past year, Lu Ye has used his contributions from exchanging ores to ensure his daily food and clothing, and all the rest have been exchanged for Qi Blood Pills.

All in all, he had taken no less than thirty qi blood pills.

This resulted in Lu Ye possessing a physique stronger than most miner slaves. Although he wasn't particularly muscular, the power contained within his body surpassed that of ordinary people.

Dealing with two lazy and gluttonous miners is nothing to me.

Liu Lao Da was still begging for mercy, but Lu Ye pretended not to hear. He grabbed his hair with one hand and raised a stone in the other, smashing it down hard.

>More than a year of slave life, Lu Ye had seen too many tragedies and long understood that in this world where people devour each other, any mercy and sympathy was useless.

The miners were not united. Miners from different factions were destined to be unable to unite. For a good piece of ore, the miners would often fight until they were bruised and bloodied.

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In the mine shafts, people died every day. Every few steps you could see a skeleton scattered on the ground.

>Because many miners starved to death after being robbed, it is not uncommon.

Liu Lao Da responded and fell.

Lu Ye retrieved his mining pickaxe and put the mining basket back on his shoulders. He walked towards the exit. He didn't kill the Liu brothers, not because he was soft-hearted, but because injured slaves here generally wouldn't live long anyway.

He had only taken a few steps when suddenly someone rushed out of the exit in a panicked state.

"Get lost!" the man snarled, slapping at Lu Ye.

At this moment, Lu Ye felt a chill run down his spine. He saw a faint blue light flowing through the palm of the other person's hand.

That was the glow of spiritual power. In other words, he was attacked by a cultivator!

Only those who have opened their spiritual awareness are qualified to practice cultivation and be called cultivators.

>

A cultivator's spiritual energy is a truly magical force. Lu Ye had once seen a cultivator from the Evil Moon Valley make a move. Although it wasn't particularly imposing, that person simply slapped a palm lightly, shattering a piece of ore. It was this miraculous sight that made Lu Ye resolute in his determination to open his own spiritual acupoints and become a cultivator.

He had also secretly assessed that even the lowest-cultivation cultivator in Xieyue Valley could easily beat ten of him.

So, when Lu Ye realized the person attacking him was a cultivator, he knew he was in grave danger.

At the critical juncture of life and death, he abruptly halted his steps and leaped backward with a sudden surge.

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A numbness spread through his chest, the sound of a bone cracking echoing in the air. Lu Ye cried out as he was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground.

The intense pain cleared his head considerably. Once he realized he was still alive, he immediately got up.

"Eh!" The cultivator who made the strike was a little surprised. Although he hadn't used his full strength just now, he had only casually swatted out with his palm, but it shouldn't have been something a miner slave could withstand.

By the faint light, I saw the miner's face and blurted out, "Lu Ye"

Lu Ye had already taken the posture of turning to flee. Hearing the voice, he was also extremely stunned: "Yang Guan"

This cultivator surnamed Yang was a small manager on the mine. Lu Ye often interacted with him because he exchanged Qi Blood Pills from him, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Yang the foreman is very optimistic about Lu Ye, after all, it's rare to see a miner as hardworking and enduring hardship like him.

Though he admired Lu Ye, there were no special perks for him. As long as he hadn't opened his spiritual root, the chasm between ordinary people like Lu Ye and cultivators remained unbridgeable.

After recognizing Lu Ye, Yang Guan was relieved that he hadn't been able to kill him with a single palm. Over the past year, Lu Ye had exchanged many Qi Blood Pills from him, and his physical constitution was already stronger than that of ordinary miners. Besides, he had only struck casually and didn't intend to kill, so it wasn't surprising that the other party survived.

Across from Yang Guanxi, Lu Ye's heart pounded.

The cultivators of Xieyue Valley generally wouldn't care about the lives and deaths of the mine slaves. They also knew that fights were common among the mine slaves in the ore veins. Unless they happened to encounter them, they would basically ignore it.

Just then, Lu Ye had beaten the Liu brothers until they were bruised and bleeding, unconscious on the ground. As he turned his head, Yang Guanxi slapped him on the back. In Lu Ye's view, this was clearly a lesson from Yang Guanxi.

>

But soon he felt something was amiss, for when Yang the manager rushed in, his face was pale and flustered, not like someone who was coming to help the Liu brothers.

Just as he was lost in thought, Yang, the steward, had already revealed a look of surprise, as if it were a good thing to meet Lu Ye here. He rushed forward and grabbed Lu Ye's shoulder: "Come with me!"ed: "I knew it was you two brothers!"These two he recognized, they were disciples of the Liu family. After the territory of the Liu family was occupied by the E-yue Valley, some young disciples were s...