"We came here not to mine, but to break our shackles and gain freedom."
"What we wanted was-the very best cultivation resources, the very best methods."
"But-why was reality so cruel?"
"That Black Hand deceived us!"
"This isn't the life I wanted."
"If I'd known we were coming here to mine, I'd have been better off staying in Stone City, worshipping every direction, the sun, moon, and stars day and night."
In the gloomy mine tunnels, a cultivator choked back sobs and wept.
He touched the lash marks on his body, gritted his teeth, stiffened his spine, and mined with labored grunts.
He had no choice but to mine. The moment he rested even a little, the Lantern Monster overhead lashed him with a fiery whip.
One lash split his skin and tore his flesh, and flames burned the wound, disinfecting it along the way.
It hurt like fucking hell.
It wasn't as though he hadn't resisted.
But the fiercer his resistance, the harsher the beating he suffered.
After several rounds of reeducation, he behaved himself.
The other Golden Core Ancestors were the same.
They regretted it, refused to accept it, and complained incessantly.
Because this truly wasn't the life they wanted.
One cultivator muttered, "This isn't even as good as Stone City."
"In Stone City, all we had to do each day was worship in every direction."
"When did we ever do such lowly work? When were we ever whipped like this?"
"That bastard Black Hand tricked us."
At this, tears rained down the faces of many Golden Core Ancestors.
"If time could flow backward, I'd never come here."
One cultivator said between labored grunts as he mined, "Everyone, look on the bright side: conditions here are more than ten times harsher. Although one careless moment can get us