"Everyone, hand over your ore!"
"Anyone who's late... Hmph!"
The bone-chilling voice carried the distinctive pressure of a higher-ranking cultivator and a dense surge of Spiritual Power.
It spread throughout the Azure Gold Ore mine.
It forced the ragged, walking-corpse-like menial workers out of the mine one after another.
Clutching four pieces of Azure Gold Ore, Lu Li mingled with the crowd.
His face was as ashen as everyone else's, but a bright light flickered deep in his eyes.
Twenty-eight pieces!
Twenty-eight whole pieces of Azure Gold Spirit Ore!
Lu Li's steps were somewhat excited.
From yesterday to tonight, he had mined a full twenty-eight pieces of spirit ore!
That efficiency was downright terrifying.
He had already stored the extra spirit ore and the two products from Blue Star in 2099 inside the jade pendant.
Yes, after acquiring the Azure Gold Ore, Lu Li had discovered that the jade pendant could not only connect to Huaxia.
It also had a storage function.
It was much like the Storage Bags cultivators used.
Although my current strength and status aren't enough for me to own a Storage Bag,
This jade pendant's storage space is no worse than that of an ordinary Storage Bag.
He recalled the moment he had channeled Spiritual Power into the fish-patterned jade pendant.
The boundless, mysterious space that had appeared in his mind.
Lu Li could not help clenching his fist.
The jade pendant's storage function was a timely rain.
It made things much easier for him.
"Everyone, pass the Law Artifact in order."
"No pushing. Those who haven't met their quota needn't line up. Move to the left on your own."
The bone-chilling voice rang out again.
A gaunt figure appeared before Lu Li.
A middle-aged man in white robes was staring darkly at the menial disciples emerging from the mine.
A palm-sized bronze mirror floated before him.
Light flickered within the bronze mirror, shining on every disciple who passed him.
"Senior Brother! Senior Brother, spare me!"
"Please spare me one more day, Senior Brother! I'm only one piece short, just one piece and I'll have my full quota."
"Next time! Next time I'll make up the one piece of spirit ore. I'll hand over five pieces of Azure Gold Ore!"
"Senior Brother!"
"..."
Just as Lu Li passed the bronze mirror Law Artifact in silence,
A menial disciple with an honest-looking face threw himself at the feet of the white-robed middle-aged man.
He wailed, his face streaming with tears.
His desperate voice rang throughout the mining area.
"Oh? One piece short?"
"It's all right. So you're one piece short."
"Just remember to make it up in your next life."
The indifferent voice sounded beside the menial disciple's ear, as though soothing him.
Before the words had faded, a streak of dark light shot out without warning.
"Swish!"
The dark light flew like a shuttle, spinning once in the air before plunging straight into the disciple's neck.
"Pfft!"
The next second,
A head flew high into the air.
The headless body crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
The menial workers trembled uncontrollably in fright, yet none dared speak.
They could only lower their heads in silence, terrified that they would be next.
"Hmm, he was at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, too."
"Not bad. We can't let this flesh-and-blood body go to waste, and there's his soul too. Hurry and send them to the Soul Hall while they're still fresh and warm!"
His gaze swept over the corpse as though he were inspecting a slaughtered cow or sheep.
The white-robed middle-aged man was not moved in the slightest. On the contrary, a trace of excitement welled up in him.
His fingers moved, and a small pitch-black banner appeared out of thin air.
It wrapped up the corpse and a transparent living soul that was about to leave the body, then sped away toward the distant mountains and cold waters.
Only after doing all this did Bai Sheng turn his gaze to the crowd.
He urged them on, his tone casual and indifferent.
"Hurry up, stop dawdling. Those who haven't met their quota, stand on the left."
"Those who have, pass the Law Artifact and wait on the right."
Lu Li's expression did not change as he listened to Bai Sheng.
But the trembling in his heart grew stronger.
A wave of nausea washed over him, and his hands and feet turned cold.
He forced himself to look away, but could not resist glancing at the pool of blood from the corner of his eye.
He quickly used his strong powers of reason to suppress the discomfort.
He told himself he had to stay calm.
This was the world of immortal cultivation, the world of cultivators!
At the slightest disagreement, killing came as easily as breathing.
Either you died or I lived.
If he had not awakened the jade pendant last night, then today...
"Phew..."
He let out a long breath.
Lu Li forced himself to calm down.
He placed the four pieces of Azure Gold Spirit Ore in the bamboo basket beneath the bronze mirror and walked to the right.
But he had not gone far when the bone-chilling voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
"Huh? Wait!"
Lu Li halted and turned around, meeting Bai Sheng's surprised, icy gaze.
"First Layer of Qi Refinement, and you handed in the full quota?"
"Senior Brother, I was lucky today. I happened to find a loose cluster."
Lu Li cupped his fists and gave the explanation he had prepared long ago, doing his best to show nothing amiss.
Bai Sheng said nothing for a long time after hearing him, merely watching Lu Li in silence.
After a long while, an ambiguous, half-smiling look appeared on his face.
"Heh, good luck. Very good."
"I hope your luck is just as good next time, Junior Brother."
With a cold chuckle, Bai Sheng looked away, as though he really believed him.
Lu Li silently took his place behind the crowd.
His gaze flickered as his thoughts raced.
After entering the sect, menial disciples had a few months to comprehend their cultivation method.
During that time, only by raising their cultivation to the Qi Refining Second Layer could they barely manage to complete their task.
If they could not... The sacred sect did not support idlers.
Nearly half of each group of disciples were often killed the first time they went down the mine.
This always gave Lu Li the feeling that the demonic sect was doing it deliberately.
His aptitude happened to be extremely poor, and he had lacked a bit of luck as well, failing to scrape his way into the Qi Refining Second Layer like the others. As a result, he stood out among the menial workers.
Bai Sheng is a proper outer sect disciple of the Azure Pool Demonic Sect.
He's specifically responsible for overseeing our mine. His cultivation has reached Late Qi Refining, and his Law Artifacts are downright bizarre.
The Azure Pool Demonic Sect doesn't treat its menial disciples as people.
Only the lives of outer sect disciples have some guarantee of safety.
To me, Bai Sheng is a threat.
There are still seven days until the next trip down the mine.
The crowd was still being inspected, but Lu Li had already begun planning for the future.
Running away was impossible. The entire Azure Pool Demonic Sect held three commanderies and six counties under its jurisdiction; with his cultivation, he could not even make it out of one county.
If he wanted his life to be safe now,
His only path was to rise into the outer sect.
Before, I had no means, no resources, and no backing. My wits alone were of no use in this demonic sect.
As for rising into the outer sect, that was even more of a pipe dream.
But now I'm a cultivator, and I have more than twenty pieces of Azure Gold Stone. There are plenty of options I can consider.
More importantly...
I have backing now!
The fish-patterned jade pendant is my greatest means, and the country on the other side of it is my source of confidence.
I have to make use of my greatest advantage: the motherland behind me!
At that thought, something stirred slightly in Lu Li's heart.
A vast country with powerful armaments and a population of 1.4 billion was supporting him from behind.
He had no reason to be afraid, nor any reason not to trust the motherland behind him.
Still less did he have any reason to doubt Great Xia's strength!
Other transmigrators had at most one golden finger.
But he had an entire country!
For geniuses who appeared one in ten thousand, the country behind him could find 140,000 of them.
With such strong support, there was no reason he could not gain a firm foothold in this foreign world.
A clear plan rapidly took shape in Lu Li's mind.
The next time I send a message, I can't just ask for help. I need to provide enough intelligence: the sect's rules, Bai Sheng's cultivation, the properties of Azure Gold Ore...
And my goal: promotion to the outer sect!