191: Chapter 191 Feeling at Ease

Xuantian Secret Realm, Spirit Medicine garden.

Under the grey sky, Spiritual Qi mist swirled, and the Spiritual Qi was so dense it had almost condensed into substance.

Cultivators from the Zhao Family and Chen Family were busy in the Spirit Medicine garden, some bending over to weed, some harvesting Spirit Medicine, and others clearing new Spirit Medicine fields.

They were covered in dirt and drenched in sweat, but they dared not slack off in their work in the slightest.

It was not that they did not want to slack off; it was just that the churning thunderclouds overhead made them tremble with fear.

Ever since Shen Qingyuan had fused the thunder sound bead into the secret realm core, this sky had gained a pair of "eyes".

Whoever slacked off or faked illness would be struck down by a bolt of heavenly lightning with pinpoint accuracy.

At first, some did not believe it and thought the Shen Family was just trying to scare them.

But after a few troublemakers were struck until they were charred black and foaming at the mouth, the rest of them all behaved.

At the edge of the Spirit Medicine garden, in a simple wooden pavilion, Zhao Family head Zhao Qiankun and Chen Family head Chen Jiuzhou sat opposite each other.

A pot of Spirit tea was set on the stone table before them, but neither had the heart to drink it.

"Old Chen, do you think there is any possibility of us getting out in this lifetime?" Zhao Qiankun sighed, his voice hoarse, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

Chen Jiuzhou was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "I do not know. But even if we got out, where could we go? Guangnan City? The Shen Family is the sky of Guangnan City! Tianshi City? The Shi Family has already entered!"

Zhao Qiankun gave a bitter smile, picked up his teacup and took a sip, finding it tasteless.

"In the end, it was all our own doing. If we had not colluded with the Tiangang Sect back then, and had not harbored evil intentions toward the Shen Family, how could we have ended up in this state?"

Chen Jiuzhou did not speak, only gripped his teacup tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He knew Zhao Qiankun was right.

It was they who first had thoughts they should not have had, and they who first colluded with outsiders to plot against the Shen Family.

The Shen Family not killing them, but just throwing them in here to grow Spirit Medicine, was already showing mercy.

If it were any other Family, they would have already wiped out their entire clan.

"Let us get to work." Chen Jiuzhou stood up and stretched his limbs, "Since we are here, we should settle in. The Shen Family said there are rewards for working well. Besides, the Spiritual Qi in this Secret Realm is even stronger than in Guangnan City; perhaps one day we will both have the chance to Breakthrough to the Void Piercing Realm."

Zhao Qiankun nodded and also stood up.

Just then— "Hum!"

A low humming sound suddenly came from the sky.

Zhao Qiankun looked up abruptly, only to see a bronze-colored light suddenly shine on the grey sky, as if someone had torn a hole in the middle.

The crack expanded rapidly, turning into a portal about a zhang wide.

From the portal, several figures fell down like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" They slammed heavily onto the open ground outside the Spirit Medicine garden, kicking up dust everywhere.

"New arrivals again?" Zhao Qiankun raised an eyebrow, a flash of curiosity in his eyes.

Chen Jiuzhou also stopped in his tracks and looked in that direction.

He saw six or seven people lying scattered on the open ground, each one in tatters, bruised and swollen, and in an extremely sorry state.

The leader was a middle-aged man in a brocade robe with a fleshy face; he was currently sprawled on the ground, his face pale, blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Wh... where is this?!" The middle-aged man's voice was trembling, his eyes wide as he stared at the grey sky, his face full of disbelief.

He struggled to stand up, but found that most of his bones were broken, and he could not exert any strength at all.

"Elder... Elder..." The Disciples behind him also crawled up, each one deathly pale, their whole bodies trembling.

"The Shen Family has imprisoned us!"

"It is over... it is over..."

Zhao Qiankun and Chen Jiuzhou exchanged a glance, both seeing a bit of schadenfreude in the other's eyes.

"Let us go take a look." Zhao Qiankun brushed the dust off his body and strode in that direction.

Chen Jiuzhou followed behind him, his pace light.

The two arrived close by and looked down at the group of disheveled Cultivators on the ground, a playful curve appearing at the corners of their mouths.

"Yo, more new arrivals." Zhao Qiankun crossed his arms, looking up and down at the middle-aged man in the brocade robe, "Fellow Daoist, what should I call you?"

Jin Dali struggled to lift his head, looking at the plainly dressed, dirt-covered old man before him, his eyes full of vigilance.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" Zhao Qiankun grinned, "My name is Zhao Qiankun, formerly the head of the Zhao Family in Guangnan City. Now, well... just like you, I farm for the Shen Family."

Jin Dali's pupils constricted slightly.

Guangnan City Zhao Family?

When he had investigated the Shen Family, he had naturally checked the background of the major families in Guangnan City.

The Zhao Family, one of the Four Great Families of Guangnan City, with a history of hundreds of years, had experts at the Peak of the Dharma Image Realm guarding it.

But a few days ago, the Zhao Family had disappeared overnight, with no sign of the living or the dead, and even their residence had been burned to the ground.

Outside, rumors said it was the work of the Tiangang Sect, but now it seemed—

"You were not wiped out by the Tiangang Sect? You were locked in by the Shen Family?!" Jin Dali's voice was trembling.

"Wiped out by the Tiangang Sect?" Zhao Qiankun's expression stalled; this Shen Family was truly insidious!

They had rounded them all up, yet the blame was dumped on the Tiangang Sect.

He shook his head, "The Shen Family did not kill us, just let us grow Spirit Medicine, raise Spirit Beasts, and mine ore here. If you work well, there are rewards; if you do not... well."

He raised a finger and pointed at the churning thunderclouds in the sky.

Jin Dali followed his finger and looked; in the grey sky, bolts of deep blue lightning were slithering and churning, like roaring Dragons of lightning.

That heart-palpitating heavenly might made his hair stand on end.

"That is... Thunder Punishment?!"

"Correct." Chen Jiuzhou took over, a hint of lingering fear in his tone, "Whoever slacks off or drags their feet, the lightning strikes them. A few days ago, a few troublemakers did not believe it and were struck until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside; they are still recovering now."

Jin Dali's face was deathly pale, and his whole body was shaking.

He was an Elder of the Lieyang Sect, an expert at the third level of the Primal Chaos Realm; outside, he was a high-and-mighty figure.

But now, he had actually been thrown into such a ghost place to farm for the Shen Family?!

"No!" Jin Dali shrieked, his eyes full of resentment, "My Lieyang Sect will not let the Shen Family go! The Sect Leader will definitely come to save me! Just wait!"

Zhao Qiankun looked at his hysterical appearance, a bit stunned: "Lieyang Sect? You are all from the Lieyang Sect?"

The Lieyang Sect was, after all, a top Sect in the Southern Region; although it could not compare to the Seven Great Sects, it was still a major Sect in the Southern Region. He had not expected the Shen Family to have sent people from the Lieyang Sect in as well.

"Alright, stop howling."

Chen Jiuzhou stepped forward, looking down at Jin Dali, his tone flat.

"Once you have entered this place, do not think about getting out. Work honestly, and perhaps you can live a little better. If you are not honest—"

He raised a finger and pointed at the churning thunderclouds in the sky.

"That thing does not play favorites."

Jin Dali shuddered, looked up at the grey sky, his eyes filled with despair.

A dignified Elder of the Lieyang Sect, an expert at the third level of the Primal Chaos Realm, had actually been reduced to farming for a Dharma-Aspect Family?!

If this got out, where would he, Jin Dali, put his face?!

Where would the Lieyang Sect put its face?!

"No! I refuse to accept this!"

Jin Dali shrieked, struggling to stand up, but fell back to the ground with a thud.

"The Shen Family is merely a Dharma-Aspect Family! By what right do they imprison me?! By what right?!"