228: Chapter 228 Mining Slaves and Physical Mining on Wumeng Island

North Cold Immortal Domain, Black Wind Sea Region, Wumeng Island.

This island is perpetually shrouded in black gale winds, with sparse vegetation and jagged, bizarre rocks. It is a remote, small island on the edge of the Black Wind Sea Region, poor in resources. Its only specialty is a low-grade immortal material called 'Black Soul Stone'.

Shiya Village, the island's only settlement where Mortals and low-level Cultivators live together.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?! If today's quota isn't met and the Island Lord blames us, the whole village will be fed to the 'Black Wind Beasts'!"

At the mine entrance, a Supervisor clad in leather armor and wielding a barbed whip was shouting at a group of ragged miners. He was a manager under the Island Lord, possessing cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage (the lowest tier in the Immortal Realm).

Among the miners, a young man in a blue robe, his face smeared with coal dust and hair disheveled, was silently following the line, carrying a rusty iron pickaxe.

He looked utterly unremarkable, not even a hint of spiritual energy fluctuation about him, just like a Mortal who had never cultivated.

But his eyes shimmered with an eerie blue light in the dark mine tunnel.

Zhou Wannian (Han Li).

A month had passed since his 'hardcore landing'.

During this month, he had been 'rescued' by the villagers of this settlement (actually, he was too lazy to move and took the chance to adopt an identity). To quickly restore his cultivation and convert the immortal spiritual power within his body, he voluntarily applied to become a 'mining slave'.

Because Tiezhu told him that the 'Black Soul Stones' here contained a faint but pure trace of Immortal Realm Origin.

"Tiezhu, what's the current conversion rate?" Zhou Wannian asked in his mind as he walked.

"Report, Host. By absorbing Black Soul Stones, 1% of the spiritual power within the body has been converted to immortal spiritual power. Current Realm: Pseudo-Immortal (unable to use Spells, but physically invincible)."

"1%..."

Zhou Wannian curled his lip.

"Too slow."

"Looks like I need to find some premium Ore to eat."

...Deep in the mine, Abandoned Pit No. 19.

This was a long-exhausted, dangerous area where the rock walls could collapse at any moment, and toxic underground Evil Qi could erupt.

But Zhou Wannian moved through it as if strolling in his own backyard.

"Clink!"

His iron pickaxe lightly tapped against a seemingly ordinary black rock wall in front of him.

He wasn't striking randomly with force.

Instead, he employed a force application technique from the Fan Sheng True Demon Art, transmitting an extremely subtle shockwave into it.

"Crack."

The hard, iron-like black rock wall instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Clatter—

The rock peeled away, revealing a fist-sized, crystal-clear stone inside, emitting a faint purple glow.

[Premium Black Soul Crystal].

This single piece was worth ten thousand ordinary Black Soul Stones from outside!

"Good stuff."

Zhou Wannian's eyes lit up as he reached out to grab it.

He didn't put it into a Storage Pouch.

A tiny fissure suddenly split open in his palm (a devouring talent left by the Gold Devouring Insect King), and he directly 'swallowed' the Ore.

"Hum—"

A cool stream of immortal spiritual power instantly flowed throughout his entire body.

"Refreshing."

Zhou Wannian exhaled a turbid breath, feeling his suppressed Nascent Soul become a bit more active.

"Warning. Supervisor approaching. Malice level: high."

Tiezhu's alert sounded.

Zhou Wannian immediately restrained his aura, pretending to be panting and struggling to dig.

"Hey! That new mute!"

Supervisor Wang, the manager, approached with two thugs, his face fierce and menacing.

"Pit No. 19 has been abandoned for ages. Are you hiding here slacking off?!"

Supervisor Wang glanced at the pile of rubble at Zhou Wannian's feet, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.

"Hand it over! Did you dig up something on the side?!"

As he spoke, his barbed whip whistled through the air, lashing viciously toward Zhou Wannian's back. If this whip struck true, an ordinary Mortal would be left with torn flesh and possibly broken bones.

However.

"Snap."

A light sound.

The expected scream of pain did not come.

Supervisor Wang froze.

He saw that the coal-dusted 'mute' had somehow turned around. He had merely extended two fingers, pinching the whip steadily as if picking up chopsticks, despite it being infused with Nascent Soul Stage magical power.

"You..."

Supervisor Wang tried to pull back with force, but it didn't budge.

Those two fingers were like two great mountains, firmly pressing down on his Magic Treasure.

"This is a mine pit; it's dangerous here."

Zhou Wannian looked up, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth that appeared particularly sinister against his coal-dusted face.

"Supervisor Wang, getting physical can easily... cause a cave-in."

"Seeking death! How dare you resist?! Get him! Cripple him!"

Supervisor Wang, enraged, called to the thugs behind him.

But the next second.

Zhou Wannian did not attack anyone.

He simply released the whip, then lightly tapped his iron pickaxe against the adjacent rock wall.

"Clang."

The sound was soft.

But a terrifying shockwave instantly traveled along the rock wall to the structural points of the entire mine pit.

"Rumble rumble rumble—"

The ground began to shake violently. Massive rocks started falling from above.

"A cave-in?! How is that possible?!"

Supervisor Wang was horrified. This was black rock Ore, the most stable structure—how could it cave in?!

"Run for it!!!"

The group, forgetting about dealing with Zhou Wannian, covered their heads and fled in disarray.

Amid the dust.

Zhou Wannian stood in place. Large rocks fell around him but seemed to avoid him as if they had eyes.

"Physical mining emphasizes... precision blasting."

Zhou Wannian patted the dust off his clothes.

"Clearance complete."

"Tiezhu, activate 'full-auto mining mode'."

"Since there's no one here now..."

Zhou Wannian looked at the hidden high-quality Ore vein deep within.

"Then... empty it out."

...Three days later.

Wumeng Island, Island Lord's Manor.

A middle-aged man in black robes with a sinister, gloomy face sat in the main seat of the hall, toying with two walnuts.

Wumeng Island Lord—[Earth Ghost].

Cultivation: Early True Immortal Stage.

Although only at the Early True Immortal Stage, in this remote sea region, he was the local tyrant.

"Report—!!!"

Supervisor Wang scrambled into the hall, his face looking as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Island Lord! Terrible news! A disaster has occurred!"

"What's the panic?" Earth Ghost frowned, releasing an aura of immortal spiritual pressure. "Has the sky fallen?"

"Not the sky! It's the mine... the mine is empty!"

"What?!"

Earth Ghost abruptly stood up.

"Nonsense! That Black Soul Stone vein could be mined for at least another hundred years! How could it be emptied in three days?!"

"It's... it's true!"

Supervisor Wang tremblingly handed over a Jade Slip.

"That new miner... the mute picked up three days ago..."

"He alone, in three days, dug out the entire premium Ore vein from Pit No. 19 down to three thousand zhang deep... completely excavated it!"

"And..."

Supervisor Wang gulped.

"Not only did he mine the Ore, but he also blocked the accompanying 'Earth Lung Fire Evil Qi'... using nothing but discarded mining slag!"

"Is this something a human could do?!"

Earth Ghost listened, dumbfounded.

Three days? One person? Emptied a premium Ore vein?

Even a True Immortal specializing in earth-attribute Cultivation Techniques couldn't achieve such efficiency!

"Lead the way!"

A flicker of greed passed through Earth Ghost's eyes.

"So much premium Ore... if offered to that lord in 'Black Wind City,' I might be able to exchange for a 'Condensing Immortal Pill'!"

"As for that miner..."

Earth Ghost sneered.

"Whoever he is, since he swallowed my mine, he'll have to spit it out! Both him and his life!"

...Mine square.

At this moment, it was crowded with people.

All the miners and villagers were looking at the center of the square as if gazing at a deity.

There, a small mountain was piled up.

A small mountain entirely made of [Premium Black Soul Crystals]!

And atop the Ore mountain.

Zhou Wannian sat on the largest crystal, holding a freshly roasted, unidentified beast leg, eating with greasy lips.

His aura, compared to three days ago, had undergone a dramatic change.

Although his specific cultivation Realm still couldn't be discerned, the 'Immortal Qi' of returning to simplicity that emanated from his very bones could no longer be concealed.

Immortal spiritual power conversion rate within the body: 30%.

Physical strength recovery: 80%.

"He's here."

Zhou Wannian put down the beast leg and wiped his mouth.

In the distance, a black streak of light descended like a meteor.

Boom!

Island Lord Earth Ghost arrived, his True Immortal pressure sweeping across the square, forcing all Mortals to kneel.

"Where did this audacious fool come from?! How dare you privately swallow this Island Lord's Ore vein?!"

Earth Ghost hovered mid-air, summoning a pitch-black soul banner, seething with Evil Qi.

Zhou Wannian sat on the crystal mountain, not kneeling, not even standing up.

He merely looked up at the arrogant Island Lord and smiled.

"Island Lord, you can't put it that way."

"I'm distributing according to labor."

"These..." Zhou Wannian pointed at the crystal mountain beneath him, "are my wages."

"Seeking death!"

Earth Ghost was furious. A Mortal with no detectable immortal spiritual power dared to bargain with him?

"Ten Thousand Ghosts Devour Souls!"

Whoosh—

The soul banner waved, countless evil ghosts shrieking as they pounced toward Zhou Wannian.

Facing a True Immortal's attack.

Zhou Wannian finally stood up.

He stretched, his bones emitting a series of thunderous cracks.

"Early True Immortal Stage?"

Zhou Wannian shook his head.

"Too weak."

"Not even worth one of Ma Liang's effeminate fingers."

"Perfect timing; I need some exercise after eating."

Zhou Wannian stomped his foot.

Boom!

The hard crystal mountain didn't shatter but served as a springboard for his force.

His entire body shot like a blue cannonball, instantly piercing through the Ghostly Shadows Everywhere and appearing directly before Earth Ghost.

"You..."

Earth Ghost's pupils contracted sharply. So fast! Too fast for Divine Sense to capture!

"Go down."

Zhou Wannian placed a hand on Earth Ghost's shoulder.

"Yuan Ci · Ten Thousandfold Gravity."

Although his magical power wasn't fully restored, the Laws of the Magnetic Divine Mountain had long been integrated into his Physical Body.

"Thud!!!"

Earth Ghost felt as if Mount Tai had landed on his shoulder.

He didn't even have a chance to resist, He was pressed down from mid-air..

"Boom!"

The square's ground cracked, forming a human-shaped crater.

That lofty True Immortal Island Lord now lay at the bottom of the pit like a dead frog, half his bones broken, even his soul banner snapped.

The entire square fell dead silent.

Zhou Wannian clapped his hands lightly, landing gracefully by the pit's edge.

He crouched down, looking at the terrified Earth Ghost.

"Island Lord."

"Now, can we renegotiate the 'wages' issue?"

"For example..."

"I'd like to sit in your Island Lord position too?"