81: Getting through the first day was tough.

Every cut was a form of torture upon torture for Yao Yian; he was even more terrified of having one of his own feet chopped off.

His senses gradually numbed, and he slowly sank into a strange state.

Thus, he stopped restraining himself and let go of his conscious control.

He allowed the Control Talisman within his Divine Soul to take over his body.

Instantly, his entire being became like a heartless corpse-dismembering machine, hacking and slashing frantically within the Corpse Dismemberment Cave.

The movements of cutting and hacking for the corpse dismemberment became fluid.

However, there were many people in the Corpse Dismemberment Cave, and only a scattered few noticed Yao Yian's abnormality; the others simply had no time to pay him any attention.

Because they were all busy with their own affairs, they had no leisure to look elsewhere.

Time trickled away amidst the dull sounds of hacking and cutting. After an unknown amount of time, the first person to complete the corpse dismemberment walked out of the Corpse Dismemberment Cave.

"Chief Steward Cui, please take a look."

"Not bad, Chen Tingxuan. You're the first one again today, kid."

"Here is your mission reward."

The old man known as Chief Steward Cui placed a pile of blood beads on the table. A rough count showed there were as many as a hundred, shimmering with an alluring bloody luster.

Shortly after, the second and third-place dismemberers also completed their tasks one after another, collecting their extra rewards.

As for those after them, they only received the standard ten blood beads, equivalent to three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Theoretically, this many blood beads were enough for a Cultivator to use for Cultivation.

One after another, some newcomers with fast dismemberment movements also completed their tasks. After collecting their rewards, they followed the veterans ahead of them and left the Corpse Dismemberment Cave.

Sure enough, just as Chief Steward Cui had said, the guards stationed at the Corpse Dismemberment Hall turned a blind eye to this, letting them hurry out.

However, although they had made it out, another problem stood before them: where were the residential caves located?

After some inquiries, they realized that to stay in those Immortal Caves, they had to pay a corresponding amount of blood beads.

The more magnificent and comfortable the Immortal Cave, the more staggering the required payment of blood beads.

For example, even the cheapest Immortal Cave cost a full eight blood beads per day.

In addition, items here were extremely expensive. Since their cultivation was suppressed, they were forced to spend blood beads to buy Fasting Medicinal Pills.

As for using them for Cultivation? They didn't even dare to think about it.

Thus, after paying eight blood beads, these people finally welcomed a brief period of rest... Amidst the sparse movement, Yao Yian discovered that the items in the Storage Pouch were gone, so he went over to Tang Heng's side.

After waiting for nearly another hour, Tang Heng finally completed his task, though the exhaustion and fatigue on his face remained evident.

After the two of them handed over their respective tasks, they walked out of the Corpse Dismemberment Hall together.

Like other newcomers, after some inquiries, the two of them could only choose to move into the cheapest Immortal Cave.

But after moving in, Tang Heng's brow furrowed tightly.

The interior of this so-called Immortal Cave was actually crowded with a dozen or twenty Cultivators, making the already narrow space feel even more cramped.

Besides Tang Heng and Yao Yian, the other three people appeared to be newcomers who had just arrived here.

Some sat cross-legged in exhaustion to rest, while others were so worn out they had fallen into a deep sleep.

Tang Heng's intuition told him that Yao Yian would become an important tool for him to break free from the shackles of this place.

His mind was filled with complex thoughts: "This matter needs to be planned carefully."

However, the loss of his cultivation's support caused weariness to gradually invade him.

His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and he finally leaned powerlessly against the side wall, gradually falling asleep.

Before falling asleep, he did not forget to have Yao Yian stand in front of him to prevent any mishaps.

After a while, the rhythmic sound of Tang Heng's breathing could be heard.

At this moment, Yao Yian quietly took over control of the body.

Upon gaining control of the body, what came with it was a surging tide of bloodlust and violent impulses.

This feeling of madness welled up in his heart; if allowed to develop, his entire being would fall into boundless frenzy.

No wonder this Corpse Dismemberment Hall was so eerie; it could actually disturb one's Heart-Nature.

Yao Yian had a splitting headache and mentally marked another debt against Tang Heng.

When the time came, he would definitely strangle the other man to death.

However, he then remembered the twin star mirror inside his body. With a thought, he attempted to activate its power.

Using his will to activate the twin star mirror within him, a surge of power completely absorbed the frantic aura in his mind.

A moment later, the feedback from the twin star mirror reached Yao Yian, and he felt his Divine Sense improve slightly.

Although this improvement was only a tiny sliver, almost negligible, it brought him good news.

He couldn't help but feel joy in his heart: "Great, with the twin star mirror here, this Evil Qi is completely ineffective against me."

He secretly felt lucky and began to subconsciously devise a way to escape this fellow's control.

Just like that, Yao Yian also closed his eyes and entered a state of rest.

However, not long after he closed his eyes, a sudden strange noise by his ear made him snap his eyes open instantly.

In the darkness, a man hurriedly approached, his lips pressed tight as he made a "shh" gesture.

His gaze swept around, his expression revealing a hint of nervousness.

"Fellow Daoist," he whispered. "Does Fellow Daoist want to escape?"

His voice was very soft, audible only to Yao Yian.

"I know a way to escape easily."

"If Fellow Daoist is willing to join, there's a seventy percent chance of success!"

To this, Yao Yian only watched him quietly. Even though the other party spoke until his mouth was dry, Yao Yian only blinked calmly.

"Fellow Daoist, how about it? Fellow Daoist, give me a word!"

"Pah, coward."

Seeing that the other party remained silent, the man cursed under his breath and moved away in disappointment.

Not long after the man's figure departed, behind Yao Yian, the sliver of an eye slit that Tang Heng had kept open finally closed slowly.

Everyone remained silent. In the Epoch Battlefield, there was no distinction between day and night, and it was unknown how much time had passed.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang.*

Four dull striking sounds shattered the tranquility of all the Immortal Caves in this area.

A roar rang out: "Everyone, get up within twenty breaths!"

"Latecomers will have one foot chopped off!"

At this moment, the Cultivators who were immersed in dreams or Cultivation were all startled awake.

"Faster! None of you f*ckers dawdle!"

"If you delay the affairs of the Coral Fortress and cause me to be punished, I'll make sure none of you have a good end!"

A group of fierce-looking Aether Coral Fortress guards held iron rods, constantly striking the ground to produce threatening noises.

Tang Heng's heart tightened, and without hesitation, he pulled Yao Yian and walked quickly outside.

The moment he stepped out of the Immortal Cave, he was slightly stunned by the scene before him.

He saw Cultivators from all around swarming out like locusts, walking quickly toward the Corpse Dismemberment Hall.

Tang Heng and Yao Yian noticed that many people looked haggard and dazed, clearly unable to sleep peacefully last night.

Soon, they arrived in front of the Corpse Dismemberment Hall.

On the large open ground in front of the Corpse Dismemberment Hall, over twenty bloody heads were piled up haphazardly like discarded trash.

As everyone walked past, they could smell the nauseating, fishy stench emanating from them.

Tang Heng and Yao Yian's hearts sank suddenly, their skin crawling with horror.

They both recognized the owners of these heads; they were precisely those Cultivators who had failed to obtain a Passage Token.

Seeing this scene, Tang Heng and Yao Yian's hearts grew even more chaotic.

He had a Divine Artifact on him; he absolutely could not die here!

He had less than a year of lifespan left and had no time to waste away here.

He had to find a way to leave this place, otherwise, it would truly be the end.