Doomed Mine Slaves Brave the Thunder Array, Butcher Raises His Blade to Sever Immortal Shackles

On the outskirts of Immortal-Breaking Mountain.

The aftermath of the formation's collapse was still spreading. The miasma that had once been forcibly suppressed by the grand formation had completely broken free, violently churning and swelling through the mountain hollows. Yin winds mingled with the stench of rotten mud, crashing back and forth through the woods with howls like wailing ghosts and shrieking wolves.

Along the muddy mountain path, more than a hundred mortal mine slaves, scantily clad and so gaunt they were little more than skin over bones, struggled forward. A wrist-thick Black-Iron Chain ran through the entire group, locking everyone's necks tightly together. If anyone slowed even slightly, the rough iron rings would bite into their flesh.

Several Qi Refinement cultivators from vassal families, dressed in ornate rain-repelling robes, followed leisurely at the rear of the procession. They held leather whips glowing with faint spiritual light, constantly driving the mortals onward and herding them into a black bog deep enough to swallow their knees.

"Move faster! Stop dragging your feet!" The blue-robed cultivator at the front flicked his wrist. His spirit whip cracked through the air and bit viciously into a mine slave's back. Flesh split and curled away as the slave let out a muffled cry of agony, yet he did not dare stop walking.

"The grand formation has collapsed. All the poison miasma and traps ahead have been exposed." The blue-robed cultivator brushed rainwater from his robe. "By order of the City Lord's Manor, lowborn wretches like you are here to clear the thunder fields. Whoever dares take half a step back, I'll whip out his living soul!"

The mine slaves' faces were numb and empty. Amid the curses and shouts, they could only drag their heavy chains and wade step by step into the swamp, where