Spirit Slave

At the summit where nine colossal peaks twisted and collided lay a Blood Pool. From it poured the Nine Thousand Foot Blood Waterfall, cascading onto a ritual array and filling every hollow-carved pattern upon it. At the center of the array stood a purplish-red palace.

It was exceptionally grand and majestic. At the foot of the Nine Peaks stretched vast open spaces filled with ancient, elegant buildings; there were scarcely any houses or pavilions built from ordinary bluestone and wood.

Golden bricks paved the ground, white walls gleamed like snow, and dragons and phoenixes were carved everywhere. Every detail was exquisitely refined and elegant, utterly unlike the gloomy, terrifying place Wang Yu had imagined.

The City Lord's Mansion of Stone Lake City would have counted as nothing more than an ordinary building here.

Only the streaks of escaping light in the sky matched Wang Yu's preconceived notions. They were either roiling with black mist or surging with boundless bloodlight.

The Flying Magical Artifacts they rode came in all kinds: skulls, Spine Bone Swords, Yin Corpse Clouds, Paper Figures carrying sedan chairs, Coffin Sarcophagi... and so on. Great numbers of Foundation Establishment Cultivators traveled back and forth through the sky.

Qi Refining Cultivators were much simpler. Nearly all of them rode black pieces of cloth, likely standardized magical artifacts issued by the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.

Wang Yu's heart burned with anticipation. So long as he could gain access to cultivation techniques, what did it matter if they were demonic cultivators? He held no prejudice or preference toward power; as long as it was useful, there was no difference.

Since the demonic cultivators had bribed the cultivators stationed at Black Mountain Pass, he did not think they would simply let them die. At the very least, they would make them provide their due value.

They did not linger.

The black-robed demonic cultivator brought them to the foot of the third peak from the left. The environment here was markedly different from that at the foot of the Nine Peaks, and it had been enclosed, with cultivators standing guard everywhere.

"Brother Xu, you're finally back. This time, you only brought back a hundred?"

At those words, the leading black-robed figure finally removed his hood, revealing an old face deeply lined with wrinkles.

"Can't be helped. Stone Lake City's Spirit Vein is too poor, so it naturally produces far fewer seeds of cultivation. If we'd gone to Thousand Autumn City, we'd have gotten at least five hundred Spirit Slaves."

"Count them and take them all down."

Spirit Slaves?

Before he could hear any more, Wang Yu's cart was pulled before a row of stone houses. After their shackles were removed, they were released.

A plump, round middle-aged man spoke in a sinister voice.

"My surname is Duan. You may call me Steward Duan.

"From today onward, you are Spirit Slaves of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect. Until you have repaid your 'Buying Body Money,' you may not leave—not even a single step.

"If you perform well, it is not impossible for you to shed your status as Spirit Slaves and become Outer Disciples of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect. Work hard."

After Steward Duan said his piece, he left without explaining anything. Wang Yu and the other mortals, who had yet to step through the threshold of cultivation, naturally had no strength to resist.

Following the order, he moved into Stone House No. 83.

Bed, table, chairs, stools... every piece of furniture was provided. There was even a small partitioned room serving as a latrine. The bedding and square pillows were sewn from fine brocade, no worse than the standard of living at the Wang Clan.

Though the windows and door could be opened, each was fitted with iron bars. He could only stick out his hand; it was exactly like a prison cell.

Not long afterward.

A disciple of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect walked down the path, tossing a cloth sack the size of a basketball into every stone house he passed. Before long, he reached Stone House No. 83 and gave Wang Yu the same thing, then left without saying a word.

He opened the sack.

The first things he saw were food and a waterskin. The twenty steamed buns still gave off warmth. Wang Yu had not eaten yet that day and was already starving, so he wolfed down five in one go.

Some were filled with meat, others with vegetables. They were savory and fragrant, rich in flavor, with thin skins and generous fillings. They were even better than the pastries made by the bakers of Stone Lake City.

This treatment made Wang Yu look forward to the status of Spirit Slave even more. Cultivators were cultivators, after all. Even demonic cultivators were not the blood-drinking, raw-flesh-eating monsters depicted in novels and legends. Preconceived notions really were no good!

Where there were people, there were desires. To put it more bluntly, Demonic Dao Cultivators were simply cultivators who pursued extremes and shortcuts. Their desires were stronger, their material indulgences more pronounced than those of the righteous path, and they were not ashamed to show it.

Even the treatment afforded to Spirit Slaves was better than what most commoners enjoyed at home.

Besides that day's food, there were two books inside, one thin and one thick.

The thin book recorded a great deal of common knowledge about the Cultivation World, explaining the rules here and the tasks Spirit Slaves needed to perform.

It also listed a target for each person's "Buying Body Money." Once it was met, they could become Outer Disciples of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.

Wang Yu studied each point carefully and committed them deeply to memory.

The first section laid out the rules of the Stone House Area.

[1. Every day from the Hour of the Rabbit to the Hour of the Snake (5:00–9:00), for two hours, twenty Qi Refining Cultivators will be responsible for answering questions.]

Whether they had questions about cultivation or issues such as being illiterate, they could receive answers. This was also the only period each day when Spirit Slaves could leave their stone houses.

[2. After breaking through to the Qi Refining First Layer, Spirit Slaves must expend their own cultivation to condense one tael of Spirit Sand each month and hand it to any steward in the Stone House Area.]

This rule was precisely where Wang Yu and the others derived their value.

Spirit Stones were essences of heaven and earth formed when Spirit Qi gathered in a place and naturally settled. The higher the grade of a Spirit Vein, the more likely it was to produce an accompanying Spirit Stone mine.

They were divided into four grades—low, middle, high, and supreme—and were the most widely circulated currency in the Cultivation World. Because they were consumed in such vast quantities, mine output alone was far from sufficient.

Thus came the role of Spirit Slaves.

If cultivators were willing to damage their own cultivation, they could also craft Spirit Stones by hand—printing money for themselves.

Qi Refining Early Stage cultivators could only condense Spirit Sand. Every two taels of Spirit Sand were worth one Low Grade Spirit Stone.

Spirit Qi that was incomparably pure to Qi Refining Cultivators seemed muddled and impure to Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Thus, the higher one went, the more valuable Spirit Stones became.

[3. Once a Spirit Slave has repaid one hundred Spirit Stones in "Buying Body Money," they may apply to a steward to become an Outer Disciple of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.]

The Spirit Stones mentioned here naturally referred to Low Grade Spirit Stones.

At the rate of one or two Spirit Sand equaling one Spirit Stone, even in the best-case scenario, it would take 100 months to pay it all off—more than eight years. Add the time needed to study, enter the Dao, and break through, and it would take at least ten years.

"I won't finish paying it off until I'm twenty-six..."

Wang Yu closed the booklet filled with common knowledge of the Cultivation World, drew a deep breath, and only let it out after a long while.

The living conditions might be decent, but when Spirit Stones and wealth were involved, he did not believe the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect could be so kind-hearted. Ten years was only theoretical; once he actually got to work, it might well take twenty years.

As for the other thick volume, it contained the Qi Refining Stage cultivation method bestowed by the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect. They had been quite generous, providing nine levels in all, enough to cultivate all the way to Qi Refining Great Perfection.

It gave every Spirit Slave the comforting illusion that they were valued.

The thing he wanted most lay right before his eyes. Wang Yu cast aside every unrealistic fantasy. This was the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's main stronghold, where its Mountain Gate stood. Even if the Stone House Area was remote, it was still guarded by large numbers of cultivators.

The odds of escape were infinitesimal. The only Life Path was to obey the Blood Sect's rules; only by becoming an Outer Disciple could he possibly gain freedom.

Even if it was only a pie in the sky, he had to press forward and pay the price for it. There was no other way!