30: Mining slaves? No, I'm a top-notch worker!

On the vast Gobi Desert, Gu Yang was dragging that rusted coiling dragon pillar, trudging forward with difficulty.

There was no water, no food, only the despair-inducing twin blood moons overhead.

"This start is even more miserable than when I was in the Fierce Tiger Gang's dungeon."

Gu Yang licked his cracked lips and complained in his heart.

Just then.

"Buzz—"

A low rumble suddenly echoed from the sky.

Gu Yang looked up and saw a black flying boat, a full hundred meters long, breaking through the clouds and hovering in mid-air like a giant beast.

On the side of the flying boat hung a black flag embroidered with a skull, emitting a chilling ghostly aura.

Black Fiend Sect!

A small Demonic Path Sect on the edge of the Chaotic Star Sea, known for being ruthless and for kidnapping people.

"Eh? There's a living person down there?"

On the deck of the flying boat, several black-robed Cultivators were looking down at the earth from above.

A Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage's eyes lit up: "Look at that physique, overflowing with blood qi and solid muscles; he's a prime candidate for a Body Cultivator! If we take him back to mine, he'll surely be worth three Mortals!"

"Do it!"

Swish! Swish!

Two cold lights shot down from the flying boat.

They were two Low Grade Magical Artifact Flying Swords, carrying a piercing sound of breaking air, aiming straight for Gu Yang's legs, clearly intending to first cripple his mobility.

"Flying Swords?!"

Gu Yang's pupils constricted slightly.

This was a true immortal cultivation technique! Its speed was countless times faster than a Grandmaster from the Mortal world!

He subconsciously raised the coiling dragon pillar in his hand to block.

"Get away!"

Crack!

A crisp sound.

That "sea-suppressing coiling dragon pillar," which had once smashed flood dragons and crushed city gates in the Mortal world, was now like a piece of rotten wood, easily sliced into three sections by those two Flying Swords!

The cut was as smooth as a mirror.

Ordinary iron was completely vulnerable before a Magical Artifact.

"..."

Gu Yang held the two broken pieces of the staff, looking at the two Flying Swords circling in the air, ready to strike again at any moment, and his mouth twitched.

"My Grand Principle... is broken."

"Is this the cultivation world? The equipment suppression is way too brutal."

"Humph, mere ordinary iron trying to block my Magical Artifact?"

The Cultivator in the sky sneered, his fingers forming a seal. "If you don't surrender now, the next sword will take your head!"

Fight?

How to fight?

They were flying hundreds of meters up in the sky; he couldn't fly yet, and he didn't even have a decent staff.

Throw rocks? He'd probably be turned into a sieve before he could even hit them.

Gu Yang's mind raced.

A wise man doesn't fight against overwhelming odds; the essence of the low-profile path is—

[Ding! High-energy reaction detected!]

[Ten miles to the north, a large-scale Spirit Stone vein has been discovered! It contains a massive amount of pure Spiritual Qi!]

The System's notification tone suddenly rang out.

"Spirit Stone vein?"

Gu Yang's eyes instantly lit up, brighter than the Flying Swords in the sky.

In the cultivation world, Spirit Stones were currency, energy, and life itself!

Going to mine = going to the vault?

And since this kind of Demonic Path Sect was kidnapping mine slaves, they'd surely provide room and board, right?

"Stop! Immortal Master, please stop!"

Gu Yang instantly threw away the broken staff, raised his hands high, and a simple and enthusiastic smile appeared on his face.

"I surrender! I'm very strong! I love mining the most!"

"Are we going to the Black Fiend Sect? I've admired your Sect for a long time! Please, you must take me with you!"

The Cultivators in the sky were stunned.

They had been kidnapping laborers for years; they'd seen people crying for their parents and those who resisted to the death, but someone this excited, actively asking to go mine... it was the first time.

"This kid... did the gravity break his brain?"

"Whatever, as long as he can work. Take him away!"

...Half an hour later.

Black Fiend Sect, Abandoned Mine Vein No. 7.

This was a massive pit located deep underground, the air thick with dust and the smell of rot.

Thousands of ragged Mortals and low-level Loose Cultivators, wearing heavy shackles, were working in the mine like ants.

"Get in! Behave!"

A Foreman placed a pair of black shackles engraved with runes on Gu Yang's wrists and ankles.

[Spirit-Restricting Runes detected... attempting to seal Dantian Spiritual Qi...]

[Sealing failed. Host has no Dantian Spiritual Qi; pure physical strength is unaffected.]

Gu Yang laughed inwardly.

These "Spirit-Restricting Shackles" were specifically designed for Cultivators; for a pure Body Cultivator like him, they were just slightly heavy ornaments that would snap with a single tug.

But he didn't show it, instead pretending to be submissive as he received a refined iron pickaxe and a basket.

"Newcomer, do you know the rules?"

The Foreman cracked his whip. "Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones per person per day! If you don't mine enough, no food! If you dare to slack off, I'll whip you to death!"

"I understand! I understand!"

Gu Yang nodded repeatedly, shouldering the pickaxe and ducking into a deserted, remote mine tunnel.

As soon as he entered, the simple look on Gu Yang's face vanished, replaced by the greed of a hungry wolf.

He raised the pickaxe and struck the iron-hard black rock wall in front of him.

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions.

This rock, having been infused with Spiritual Qi for years, was as hard as steel; an ordinary Mortal slave's hands would be ruined after a day of mining.

But in Gu Yang's hands... Crack!

The rock split open, revealing a faint, deep blue glow.

A thumb-sized, crystal-clear stone was embedded inside.

Low-Grade Spirit Stone!

Gu Yang looked left and right, making sure no one was around.

He pried out the Spirit Stone, wiped off the dust, and then... opened his mouth and tossed it in.

Crunch!

With a hard bite, the solid Spirit Stone instantly shattered.

A cool, sweet current of air slid down his throat, instantly exploding in his stomach and turning into a surging heat that rushed to his limbs and bones.

That feeling was like drinking a bottle of ice-cold Sprite on a scorching summer day—refreshing to the core, heart soaring!

[Ingesting Low-Grade Spirit Stone... energy conversion in progress...]

[Gained energy points: 100!]

"Holy crap?!"

Gu Yang was so pleasantly surprised he almost shouted out loud.

"One piece is 100 points?! This isn't just a stone; it's a highly concentrated energy block!"

"In the Mortal world, killing a Grandmaster only gave a few dozen points, but here, just digging up a stone gives a hundred?"

"Inflation is great! I love inflation!"

Gu Yang looked at the endless vein before him, and his mouth couldn't stop watering.

How was this a dark, hopeless pit?

This was clearly a Manchu Han Imperial Feast buffet!

"To work! To work!"

Gu Yang swung his pickaxe, transforming into a human excavator.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The pickaxe swung so fast it left afterimages.

Piece after piece of Spirit Stone was unearthed, then vanished into Gu Yang's mouth at an alarming speed.

"This one's mint-flavored... this one's a bit spicy... this one tastes like chicken, crunchy!"

In just half a day.

The abandoned mine tunnel Gu Yang was in had actually been pushed forward fifty meters by him!

He had eaten a full fifty Spirit Stones!

Energy: 5,000 points!

"Burp—"

Gu Yang let out a full burp and patted his stomach.

"That's about enough; I can't eat any more, or my body won't be able to take it."

Although his Mortal Physical Body had been recast, its endurance still had limits.

He casually tossed the last ten Spirit Stones he dug up (to meet his quota) into the basket and then sat down cross-legged.

"System! Add points!"

"Deduce the cultivation version of 'Primordial Indestructible Golden Body'! I want to return to the Peak!"