The old man did not explain right away.
First, he asked, "Do you think working as miners in the Divine Firmament Sword Sect gives you freedom?"
Everyone paused, then nodded.
They really could not have been freer.
They could work if they wanted, and no one forced them if they did not.
There were no wages anyway. Whatever ore they mined, they received thirty percent.
Not only were they free, but if they really worked hard, the returns were high too.
Most importantly, when they first entered the mine, Sister Ying had given each of them ten Body Tempering Pills.
The old man smiled.
"Then look around this Market. Aside from miners from your Divine Firmament Sword Sect, do you see any miners from other sects?"
Only then did they realize that there really did not seem to be any.
The old man cooked each of them a bowl of noodles, then sat down to continue chatting.
Perhaps he had spent too long here. Seeing these fresh faces, the old man felt somewhat envious of the treatment they now enjoyed.
"Back when we first ascended, the Divine Firmament Sword Sect wasn't short of miners. They did select some disciples to serve as menial workers, but when their people saw our cultivation levels, they gave up. Still, they couldn't just leave us to fend for ourselves, so they built their own Ascension City in the Ascension Land!"
"We were lucky. We ascended into the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's Ascension City and didn't die right away."
"Some fellow cultivators I used to know ascended into other sects' Ascension Cities. You can imagine what happened afterward. Some had unyielding tempers. Having stood unrivaled in their own worlds for an entire era, they naturally didn't want to be dragged off to work as miners!"