Qin Tian gripped the piece of Divine Source tightly. A single jin of Heterogeneous Source was enough to get someone killed, let alone Divine Source-and this piece weighed a full hundred jin.
Although he had just seen someone hung up and beaten to death at the entrance for hiding source, Qin Tian still decided not to hand over this piece of Divine Source.
Such precious Divine Source was more than enough for him to perfect his Sea of Bitterness cultivation, even to open the heavenly palace, enter the Dao Palace, and cultivate all five Dao Palaces to perfection.
After all, Qin Tian only had a Mortal Body, not a source-guzzling monster like the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.
An ordinary cultivator needed only a thousand jin of source to advance from the Sea of Bitterness to the perfection of the Dao Palace.
Of course, the most important thing was that, as a transmigrator, he had a cheat of his own-not enormous, but not insignificant either.
With his cheat, Qin Tian was confident he could evade detection by the ancient Yaoguang mirror outside.
Qin Tian closed his eyes, then opened them again, revealing a unique pair of Spirit Eyes.
It seemed that during his transmigration, his soul had picked up a trace of the Light of Time and Space. When it manifested in his flesh, it had formed this unique pair of divine eyes.
His eyes could release the Light of Time and Space to construct a small Temporal-Spatial Realm, concealed within a Sumeru Mustard Seed and the Flowing Light of Time.
This was also where he hid his Source Stones.
Qin Tian's eyes blazed with radiance. What had originally been merely a somewhat beautiful pair of eyes now erupted with unprecedented brilliance, reflecting every color in the world like a mirror.
An ancient, fathomless aura spread from his eyes, linking with the light of time and exuding an indescribable presence of the Great Dao.
That terrifying presence made one's soul tremble involuntarily.
Qin Tian gradually increased the flow of divine power, and two beams of silver light immediately shot from his eyes.
Time and space intertwined. The radiance of time joined with the light of space, and a temporal-spatial fissure instantly appeared before expanding into a distorted vortex.
The ancient, fathomless aura instantly grew several times stronger, and Qin Tian sent the Divine Source into the Temporal-Spatial Realm.
Within that Temporal-Spatial Realm, many other Source Stones lay stacked in piles. Divine radiance soared skyward, and a considerable number of them were Heterogeneous Source.
There were even two pieces of Divine Source, each the size of a human head, so brilliant that one could hardly look at them. Like Taiyangs suspended in the air, they dazzled the eyes and stirred the heart.
It was astonishing that a mere Mine Slave possessed so much source.
Even an entire mineral vein might not yield a cubic unit of Divine Source!
If the people of the Yaoguang Holy Land learned that someone was stealing Divine Source right under their noses, they would surely skin Qin Tian alive and tear out his tendons.
After digging up this piece of Divine Source, Qin Tian sensed for further opportunities, and when that restless stirring no longer came,
only then did he leave in satisfaction and resume his life as a miner for the day.
As for being a Mine Slave, if he simply regarded it as a job, it was not actually all that exhausting.
Nine to five, eight hours a day. The only drawback was having to rotate shifts.
As long as they did not break the rules, the Yaoguang Holy Land would not slaughter innocent people indiscriminately.
After all, Mine Slaves were not corporate beasts of burden. They would not spend their own money on medical treatment or coffee.
If Mine Slaves became exhausted or died, it was the Yaoguang Holy Land that suffered the loss.
So their treatment was fairly decent. They would not be worked to death; buying and selling Mine Slaves cost source, after all.
Of course, once they broke the rules, the Yaoguang Holy Land did not mind replacing them with a new batch.
A three-shift rotation was the best arrangement the Yaoguang Holy Land had devised over tens of thousands of years.
A Mine Slave with a little cultivation could generally work for around two hundred years, eight hours a day.
That was far more cost-effective than working them eighteen hours a day until they died after thirty or forty years.
Moreover, giving Mine Slaves time to cultivate not only extended their mining careers but also allowed the Holy Land to select some promising knights from among them and bring in fresh blood.
Of course, all of this depended on mining the required weight of source.
If they failed to meet the quota, they could only keep digging overtime.
And Qin Tian happened to be lucky enough to gather his daily quota within eight hours, so he did not need to work overtime.
Just as he was about to leave the mine, a crowd ahead blocked his path.
Around him were many Mine Slaves like himself, who had mined enough source and intended to return to the surface to rest.
Mining was exhausting work. Source was enveloped by the earth vein's qi, and even cultivators had to expend considerable effort to dig it out.
Now, a group had clogged the exit, standing in front of the gate.
The burly man in the lead shouted, "Hey, hey, hey! All of you, hold it!"
"Let us gentlemen inspect your haul first and see whether there are any damaged Source Stones."
"Then we'll show you a little kindness and pick them out for you, so they don't offend the eyes of the esteemed masters of the Yaoguang Holy Land."
As he spoke, he pocketed an exceptionally pure piece of source, putting it into his own basket.
Qin Tian frowned and asked, "Who are they? Why are they so arrogant?"
An old man beside Qin Tian said, "I heard they came from the neighboring vein. They're already mighty cultivators at the Life Spring Realm. You can't fight them."
Where there were people, there was a world of rivalries; where there were rivalries, there was conflict. Even Mine Slaves were no exception, and extorting protection fees was commonplace.
"No one dares cross them?" Qin Tian frowned.
"Who would dare?" The little old man shook his head.
"Once you build your Divine Bridge and reach the Other Shore, you can shed your status as a Mine Slave and have a chance to become a candidate knight of the Yaoguang Holy Land." Envy filled the little old man's face.
Qin Tian raised an eyebrow. "So... they're stealing high-quality Source Stones to earn more points?"
The Yaoguang Holy Land had endured on the Big Dipper for nearly two hundred thousand years. Naturally, it had a rigorously enforced system for promoting talent, ensuring a constant supply of fresh blood. With an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon in its possession, it could also deter any outsiders harboring ill intentions.
Even Mine Slaves could rise through the ranks. With sufficient cultivation and contributions, they could free themselves from slavery.
The mine also provided Mine Slaves with a means to cultivate: points.
As long as they mined enough source, they could earn points. Once they accumulated enough points, they could enter the Library Pavilion and select scriptures or secret arts.
Although these were merely worthless scraps to the Yaoguang Holy Land, to cultivators who had not even reached the Sea of Bitterness, they were a heaven-sent blessing.
Not every unaffiliated cultivator could casually obtain an Emperor Scripture to cultivate, as Ye Hei did.
Even a scripture written by a Great Power was an excellent cultivation text for an unaffiliated cultivator.
Moreover, anyone who managed to reach the Sea of Bitterness would be recruited by the Yaoguang Holy Land.
After all, someone who could reach the Sea of Bitterness despite such arduous labor was a talent of some measure, worth recruiting into the Yaoguang Holy Land as a knight of its outer ranks.
In the original story, Sea of Bitterness and Dao Palace cultivators might have been ants unworthy of even having their names mentioned.
But... in reality, a Sea of Bitterness cultivator could attain considerable standing within the Yaoguang Holy Land. Sent elsewhere, they would at least be the master of a grotto-heaven, holding power over the lives of tens of thousands. A Dao Palace Realm cultivator could dominate an entire nation.
After all, even a group of cultivators below the level of Great Power dared to attack the Qing Emperor's Tomb. That alone showed how far the Big Dipper had declined.
The Yaoguang Holy Land did not interfere with the theft of Source Stones. Whoever brought them out made no difference; they all had to be handed over to the Holy Land anyway.
Qin Tian watched the burly men lined up ahead, inspecting Source Stones one person at a time.
They took any Source Stone of sufficiently high quality, but they did not dare take too much. They only took one piece, avoiding the crowd's wrath. With so many people present, even a cultivator at the Life Spring Realm would have trouble handling them.
"Don't act rashly!"
"Just endure it. That's an expert at the Life Spring Realm." The little old man stopped Qin Tian and cast an extremely wary glance at the burly man lounging amid the crowd. The man, surrounded like the moon among stars, seemed to notice the look and swept a vicious glare their way. The old man quickly lowered his head and continued counting his Source Stones.
He did not even dare meet the burly man's gaze.
Although Qin Tian's body had already sent every valuable Source Stone on him into the Temporal-Spatial Realm, was he supposed to simply endure this and let it go?
The old man beside Qin Tian was still advising him. "There are too many of them. You can't beat them."
"I heard they also have a boss who's only one step away from reaching the Other Shore. It's only one piece of source, anyway. If it's gone, it's gone. Young man, watch and learn. This is the way to survive," he rambled.
But Qin Tian was no longer listening. He could have endured it before, but things were different now.
I became a Mine Slave because my sect lost and was destroyed, and I was sold into slavery.
Qin Tian steeled himself inwardly. The weak are meat for the strong. My elders lost, and I accepted that.
I haven't swallowed humiliation and shouldered this burden for all these years merely to live for the sake of living.
I've always wanted to escape this place. I want... revenge!
Revenge against those Horse Bandits and Great Bandits!
Now... the time for endurance is almost over.
After lying low for so many years, his ritual was now nearing completion, he had amassed considerable fortune, and he had gained practiced mastery of his Temporal-Spatial Eyes. He could afford to show himself a little, test the attitude of those in charge of the Source Mine, then decide how to proceed.
Qin Tian walked out without a word.
Sure enough, someone stopped him.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
A short man swaggered over and said, "What do you think you're do-(⊙o⊙) whoa!"
Bang! A tremendous crash reverberated through the mine tunnel.
Before you continue