The two senior brothers holding Wu Baoru noticed that he had truly fainted. They nodded toward the sect master. The elders were all old foxes; normally, a single glance was enough for them to read each other's intentions, so naturally they understood what the two meant. They had already doubted Yue Qianchou. Given Wu Baoru's cultivation, if he had truly wanted to kill Yue Qianchou to silence him, would he have let him escape all the way here? Now, a junior brother at the Nascent Soul Realm had actually been angered into fainting alive. The injustice he had suffered was plain to imagine.
"Where are the Enforcement disciples?" Liu Changqing shouted. "Here!" Several people emerged from either side of the great hall. The square instantly fell silent, and everyone turned in unison toward the front of the hall. They knew the sect master was about to make a decision.
"Before right and wrong have been made clear, no disciple may discuss this matter. Set it aside for now; once Elder Wu recovers from his injuries, the truth will naturally become clear." Liu Changqing spoke first, then fixed his gaze on the two men crying injustice. "Elder Wu publicly pursued and struck a disciple, witnessed by all. He is to be confined to recover from his injuries and await judgment. Yue Qianchou publicly insulted his elder, heard by all. He is sentenced to hard labor at the Spirit Stone mine and will await judgment. Do any elders have objections?" Not a single elder objected.
Naturally, none of the disciples dared object to the sect master's decision. Yet everyone understood that Yue Qianchou was clearly getting the worse end of it. That Spirit Stone mine was no place for people to stay; it was plainly Qingguang Sect's place of exile for disciples. The disciples sent there were either those with abysmal aptitude or those who had committed offenses. Every day, they had quotas for mining Spirit Stones, and failure to meet them brought harsh punishment. To this day, few had ever been heard of returning alive.
In everyone's eyes, Yue Qianchou was clearly the victim, yet he had received the heaviest punishment. They could not help connecting it to the time he had offended the sect master and his grandfather. This was clearly retaliation. No one dared say anything; they could only shake their heads and sigh inwardly. Liu Zhengguang, standing among the crowd, felt a surge of delight when he saw Yue Qianchou sentenced to the Spirit Stone mine, though he also felt that his grandfather had made it far too obvious in public.
"Martial Nephew Yue, do you have any objection to this arrangement?" Liu Changqing asked coldly.
"This disciple is willing to accept punishment and dares not harbor any resentment," Yue Qianchou answered with a desolate expression, making the disciples' hearts ache. Little did they know that upon hearing he was going to the Spirit Stone mine, his little heart had begun pounding wildly.
With a wave of the sect master's hand, Elder Wu was carried away, while Yue Qianchou was escorted by Enforcement disciples to the Spirit Stone mine. Qu Ping'er stared intently at that staggering, incomparably lonely figure. Biting her lips tightly, she simply could not imagine such a gifted man doing hard labor in a Spirit Stone mine.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Outside the Spirit Stone mine, there was a row of stone caves on each side, all serving as the living quarters for mining disciples. In an open space ahead, nearly a hundred disciples in ragged clothes, filthy from head to toe, were gathered together. Before them stood a stone pillar, and a disciple stripped bare above the waist had been bound to it by several iron chains around his hands and feet.
"Whoosh, smack! Whoosh, smack..." A barbed whip danced through the air, each lash flinging up a spray of blood and flesh. Every strike was followed by a scream. The watching disciples all wore expressions of horror.
A bare-chested cultivator with a face full of flesh paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. This man was an early Core Formation stage cultivator named Gao Shiping, the overseer of this Spirit Stone mine. He glared fiercely at the disciples, who were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. Then he said viciously, "Do you see that? This is the consequence of stealing Spirit Stones for your own use. I'm warning all of you, listen carefully. Don't entertain any lucky fantasies. No one has ever been able to fish in troubled waters under this old master's nose..."
As he spoke, he suddenly saw a streak of light fly over from the distance. Two Enforcement disciples descended while escorting a dejected disciple. The flesh on Gao Shiping's face piled into a smile as he scampered over and said ingratiatingly, "It's been a long time, two Enforcement senior brothers. You've brought me another person." As he spoke, he glanced at the downcast disciple. This was Yue Qianchou, who had been sentenced to hard labor in the Spirit Stone mine.
The two Enforcement disciples nodded. Hearing the crack of whips and the screams, they looked toward the execution site. One of them frowned and asked, "Junior Brother Gao, what did that man do this time?"
"Reporting to Senior Brother, this man is hateful indeed. He actually dared to secretly absorb the Spirit Stones mined in the mine. When he came out, the sect's magical artifact detected it. By the rules, he gets five hundred lashes," Gao Shiping said.
The other Enforcement disciple shook his head and sighed. "I've never heard of anyone surviving Junior Brother Gao's Wolf Fang Whip."
Yue Qianchou glanced over and saw the barbed Wolf Fang Whip tearing up strings of blood and flesh. He was secretly alarmed. What magical artifact? I was planning to steal Spirit Stones too. I wonder how dangerous that would be.
"If severe punishment is not imposed, and everyone starts secretly absorbing Spirit Stones in the future, then I truly won't be able to answer to the sect." Gao Shiping chuckled, then glanced at Yue Qianchou and asked the two men, "And why has this disciple been sent here?"
One Enforcement disciple shook his head with a bitter smile. "Uncle-Master Hao's disciple. What else could it be?"
"Ah! So you're Yue Qianchou, the one who offended the sect master?" Gao Shiping cried in surprise. When the Enforcement disciple nodded in confirmation, the flesh on his face broke into a grin. "Heh! So it's Junior Brother Yue. You've got guts, offending even the sect master. Old Gao will definitely give you a proper welcome." After saying that, he turned and shouted, "Someone!"
Yue Qianchou knew he was famous within Qingguang Sect, but he had not expected even people at this distant Spirit Stone mine to know about him. Soon, a foreman ran over and took Yue Qianchou away at Gao Shiping's command. Faintly, he heard one Enforcement disciple say, "Junior Brother Gao, you must not kill this man. Several elders specifically instructed us that he is still useful alive..."
The foreman brought him among the mining disciples and first let him witness what it meant for a whip to leave one's guts spilling out. Yue Qianchou had no reaction after watching, nor did he feel the disciple being punished was worthy of pity. In his words, if you dared steal, then you had to be prepared to be caught. Those who sought death themselves were not worth anyone's sympathy.
He looked around at the mining disciples beside him. Every one of them was skinny as a stick, their filthy faces showing nothing but terror during the execution and, afterward, cringing, numb expressions. He sighed inwardly. It seemed these people had lived under oppression for far too long.
These foremen were truly ruthless. The disciple tied to the stone pillar had already died, yet they still did not spare the corpse. They only stopped once the Wolf Fang Whip had lashed it into scattered fragments. Yue Qianchou's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing through them. Did they have some grudge? They were actually whipping a corpse to vent their hatred.
Afterward, the miners were driven back to their respective caves. A foreman led Yue Qianchou to one. The space was small, containing only floor bedding, and three people were already lying inside. It appeared the four of them would have to squeeze together. The foreman said coldly, "You'll live here. Shi Xiaotian, tell him what he needs to do from now on." His final words were directed at a young man lying on the ground. Upon hearing the foreman, Shi Xiaotian hurriedly climbed to his feet and answered. The foreman said nothing further and turned to leave.
Shi Xiaotian's face was very dirty, but one could vaguely make out that he was a handsome young man. Of course, Yue Qianchou had spent so long in the Cultivation World that he knew better than to judge age by appearance. Those large, hollow eyes of Shi Xiaotian's looked over the newcomer.
Yue Qianchou gave Shi Xiaotian a friendly smile, but the other man did not seem to appreciate it. He merely said, "Follow me," and spoke no more. He took Yue Qianchou to collect mining tools. The items were simple: a specially made pickaxe and a basket that could be carried on one's back. Afterward, Shi Xiaotian slowly explained some of the rules to him, and the two returned to the cave. Yue Qianchou had actually wanted to ask what kind of magical artifact could perform inspections, but Shi Xiaotian refused to answer any questions.
The mining rules did not sound difficult. He just did not know how they would be in practice. Every person had to hand in the equivalent of one high-grade Spirit Stone each day. In other words, one hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones would do, or ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. If you failed to meet the quota, then you would not rest or eat. For cultivators, that was not the most important part. Even those below the Core Formation stage who could not abstain from food could go a day or two without rest or meals. The fatal part was that any shortfall not completed today would double and carry over to the next day. If the quota could not be completed within three days, the severity of punishment would be determined by the size of the deficit.
As for those who exceeded their quota, the excess could be saved to make up for a future shortfall and avoid punishment. Or they could use one percent of the excess Spirit Stones for themselves. The miner could choose either method. If someone chose the latter, then they had to ensure they could complete their quota every time afterward. Otherwise, they would still be punished, because their previous excess had already been used up.
The strictest rule was that if anyone dared steal Spirit Stones, or secretly absorb Spirit Stones within the mine, then once discovered, it would be a dead end.
Yue Qianchou remembered all these rules. He was not worried about whether he could complete the quota and avoid punishment. Instead, he was thinking about how to steal Spirit Stones without being discovered while still ensuring he met the quota. That way, he could remain in the Spirit Stone mine indefinitely and keep stealing indefinitely.
Given his current situation, he desperately needed Spirit Stones to raise his cultivation. The opportunity was right before him; asking him not to steal was impossible. His way of thinking was not much different from his previous life: a horse does not grow fat without night grass, and a man does not grow rich without windfall wealth. That principle had been branded deep into his consciousness. What worried him most was the magical artifact Gao Shiping had mentioned. If he hid the Spirit Stones inside the golden pearl, would they be discovered?
Snoring rose within the cave, leaving Yue Qianchou greatly surprised. How could cultivators sleep so heavily? What difference was there between this and ordinary mortals? He could not understand it. He very much wanted to hide inside the golden pearl world, but he feared someone would notice his sudden disappearance, so he could only endure the three men's alternating snores.
The next day, Yue Qianchou discovered that everyone here minded their own business and no one would pay attention to him. He imitated the other three, carrying a basket on his back and a pickaxe in hand as he followed them to the entrance of the Spirit Stone mine. Standing amid the crowd and looking around, he appeared especially out of place—particularly his clothes, which were countless times cleaner than everyone else's and painfully conspicuous.
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