The pressure weighed down like a mountain.
A thousand-foot phantom gazed down at tens of thousands of people, its voice utterly devoid of emotion. "This is the Myriad Worlds Recruit Camp."
The words had barely fallen.
Blood-red array patterns lit up beneath the ground. The tens of thousands of Deity Transformation cultivators had no chance to resist. The ground vanished beneath their feet, and they plunged straight into spatial turbulence.
Chen Lin swept out his true qi, securing the nine people beside him within a barrier of light.
The weightlessness lasted only half a breath.
Their feet touched the ground.
Their surroundings had changed completely. Gone was the cold, black-and-gold plaza. In its place was a dark-red, ring-shaped mining pit stretching as far as the eye could see. A pungent sulfurous stench filled the air, but beneath it lay origin essence spiritual energy so concentrated that it had solidified.
Translucent crystals densely studded the pit walls.
"This is..." The Star Moon Demon Saint drew a deep breath, the saint's Late Deity Transformation body trembling faintly.
"Low-grade spirit crystal."
A portly figure appeared out of thin air on the raised platform before them.
He was a middle-aged fatty wearing a gray Daoist robe. He rolled two walnut-sized pieces of dark-purple ore in his palm, smiling down at the tens of thousands of people who had been thoroughly dazed by their fall.
He released no pressure whatsoever, but a glint of gold flashed in Chen Lin's eyes.
Mahayana.
Two whole major realms above Chen Lin, who had only just entered Void Refinement.
The tens of thousands of Deity Transformation cultivators scrambled to their feet, staring at the fatty in bewilderment and suspicion.
The fatty cleared his throat and spoke with a smile. "No need to be nervous. Allow me to introduce myself.