A difficult task

The two Phoenix Feather Sect Disciples couldn't find any treasures on Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei, and their expressions were very grim.

"Two poor beggars, you deserve to dig mines your whole lives."

"It's truly unlucky. In all these years, this is the first time we've searched and found no pickings."

The two looked at Zhong Qing and his companion with disdain.

Xiang Fei's face was filled with bitterness.

After receiving two standardized storage bags, the two were directly escorted away.

All mine slaves would wear storage bags provided by the Phoenix Feather Sect.

These bags were branded, not only allowing them to determine the mine slave's location to prevent escape, but also to sense the contents within the storage bag through the mark, preventing any hidden private items.

Several people passed through one mining area after another.

Finally, they arrived in front of the Ten Mine, at the ninety-seventh cave entrance.

The entire Ten Mine appeared very spacious.

It was clearly a new excavation that hadn't been open for long.

In front of each mine tunnel, there was a supervisor on guard.

"From today onwards, these two mine slaves are under your management."

After a simple handover between the two parties, the two who escorted Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei left expressionlessly.

The supervisor of the ninety-seventh cave was a middle-aged man who looked about thirty.

His strength was in the Three Yin Three Realm.

He wore a black tight-fitting suit, held a thunder whip, and his large, bell-like eyes scanned Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei up and down.

Finally, his gaze stopped on Zhong Qing, and he said in a clear voice, "He looks good. He's a good prospect for mining."

"If you work diligently under me from now on, I can make your lives more comfortable."

"However, I'm telling you in advance: if anyone dares to slack off or fail to meet the basic output, don't blame me for being merciless!"

After a display of both kindness and authority.

He waved his hand at the two.

"Follow me!"

Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei stepped forward to follow.

This encounter gave Zhong Qing a sense of unreality.

He had never imagined that one day he would come to dig mines.

Moreover, he had heard many compliments.

Whether it was a Dao cultivation seed or a true immortal prospect, but a good prospect for mining was truly an unprecedented thing to hear.

This made the corners of his mouth twitch slightly, feeling quite speechless.

However, to find clues about his future Disciple, he would endure for now.

The group of three entered the ninety-seventh mine tunnel.

The cave entrance was deep but not dark.

A crystalline light emanated from within the cave.

Crystalline spiritual energy flowed within the cave.

If it weren't for the copper rings on their hands, which suppressed profound energy, cultivating in such a place would definitely be considered a cultivation treasure ground.

Of course!

The presence of the copper rings made it difficult to even circulate profound energy, let alone cultivate.

After walking about a hundred zhang.

They arrived at the deepest part of the cave entrance.

The supervisor of the ninety-seventh cave shouted in a clear voice.

"Gather!"

As the sound spread through the mine tunnel, not long after, a few sparse figures converged from different Fork in the road.

There were three people in total!

"Sir!"

The three respectfully bowed to the supervisor.

The supervisor nodded.

"I have gathered you all this time to bring you two helpers."

He pointed to Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei.

"From today onwards, these two will be the mine slaves of the ninety-seventh cave!"

"You teach them the rules!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The three bowed again, their numb eyes showing three parts fear and reverence.

Although the spiritual energy in the cave was abundant, the narrow space still exuded a sense of oppression.

The supervisor only gave a few simple instructions.

After telling them to do their work well, he prepared to turn back and leave.

Before leaving, he seemed to have thought of something.

With a wave of his hand, four mid-grade spirit stones appeared in his hand.

"These are your spirit stones!"

"If your physical strength is exhausted, you can use these spirit stones to recover your energy."

"Each person can receive two mid-grade spirit stones for charging every day, and you can collect them yourselves daily."

"Of course, if you can't even meet the basic output standard, the distribution of these spirit stones will stop."

"I hope you all work hard!"

"Don't disappoint me."

"If you do well, you can have one day of rest every six months."

Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei each received two spirit stones.

What the other party said made people frown and their faces turn bitter.

Clearly, the Phoenix Feather Sect did not treat these miners as human beings at all, but merely as tools to exploit for their own profit.

The supervisor was expressionless, not bothering to care about their thoughts at all. After giving his instructions, he strode out of the mine tunnel.

As he left, the few people remaining in the mine tunnel all let out a long breath.

Clearly, the supervisor's presence had put a lot of pressure on them.

Soon, they turned their attention to Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei.

"Where do you two come from?"

One of the relatively burly men asked the two.

"We two came from the sea, originally intending to ascend Dragon Gate, but then we were captured and brought here."

"Brothers, how about you? Why were you captured and brought here?"

Xiang Fei steadied himself and quickly started conversing with the others.

He had also understood the situation.

In the current situation, continued despondency and complaints were clearly useless.

He had to quickly adapt to the rules of this place.

Otherwise, the days ahead would likely be very difficult.

"You were also captured while trying to ascend Dragon Gate? The three of us were too."

Perhaps because they came from the same place and shared the same experience, the three looked at Zhong Qing and Xiang Fei with noticeably more enthusiasm.

"May I ask your names, brothers? How long have you been here!"

"And what should we pay attention to in this mine?"

"We hope you brothers will not hesitate to give us some pointers."

Xiang Fei said to the others.

The leading man smiled bitterly, then said.

"Here, names have no meaning."

"We all refer to each other by the numbers on our copper rings."

"I am 8524!"

"They are 8525 and 8526 respectively!"

"The three of us arrived a month ago."

"Originally, five people were assigned to this mine tunnel."

"But two have already perished within the mine tunnel."

As 8524 said this, a hint of bitterness appeared on his face.

"Here, I advise you two brothers."

"If you encounter any injustice, you can only endure, endure, and endure again."

"We mine slaves have no human rights in the mine."

"If you anger the overseer, you could be beaten to death and no one would collect your body."

"On the contrary, the corpses will be used to feed Blood Bursting Pills for excavating the mine."

"Of course, if you are obedient enough and can complete your daily basic tasks, no one will come to trouble us."

"This way, perhaps you can live a bit longer."

Hearing this, Xiang Fei couldn't help but ask.

"What is this daily basic task?"

"One person, one day, mining ten thousand jin of ore!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Fei's scalp tingled.

He couldn't help but exclaim in a lost voice.

"Ten thousand jin? Is this a task a human can complete?"

When he was mining on the island, he could at most mine three thousand jin a day.

He declared that ten thousand jin was simply impossible to complete.

8524 patted Xiang Fei's shoulder and said bitterly, "The task given to us by the superiors is this much. If you can't complete it, you have to grit your teeth and do it."

"Under the threat of death, you will gradually adapt."

"Additionally, each small team has a monthly assessment standard."

"You two brothers, don't drag us down."

"If anyone fails to meet the quota for three consecutive days, the entire team will be punished."

...