"All right, those who have met their quotas, collect your rations and return to your rooms to rest."
"Report to the mines on time in seven days. Anyone late... hmph!"
The bone-chilling voice rang out once more.
Bai Sheng swept his gaze over all the menial workers who had met their quotas and flipped his wrist.
Bags of coarse rice and fruit provisions shot out, landing in front of each person.
Lu Li picked up one of the bags and silently followed the crowd back to the wooden cabins outside the mine.
As for those who had fallen short of their quotas...
Lu Li glanced back. Seven or eight menial workers in tattered clothes were waiting for judgment, their faces drained of color.
Bang!
The door opened, revealing a large communal earthen sleeping platform.
The menial workers dragged their feet as they filed inside.
No one spoke. Each found a corner of the platform and began cultivating.
Every trip into the mine took a tremendous toll on the mind and forced them to endure the pressure of life and death.
Now that they finally had time to cultivate, none of them had the strength for idle chatter.
Seven days. In seven days, I'll have to go back down into the mine.
I need to be careful not to make Bai Sheng suspicious.
Recalling Bai Sheng's bloody methods, Lu Li felt a surge of danger.
With his current means, the only way he could escape his predicament... was to rely on the power of the state.
Though the Azure Pool Demonic Sect was a demonic sect, its rules were strict, and outer sect disciples were already formal disciples.
They were protected by the sect. Even if he managed to kill Bai Sheng, the sect would surely investigate.
Unless I can do it without anyone knowing, or reach the Qi Refining Fourth Layer soon and advance to the outer sect.
Lu Li took a deep breath, a jumble of feelings in his heart.
It had been three months since he transmigrated to this world called the Imprisoned Dragon Realm.
He had been through a great deal.
When he first arrived and learned that this was a world of immortal cultivation, he had been overjoyed, thinking he had a chance at immortality.
After untold hardships, he had finally joined a sect, only to discover that it was a demonic sect.
His mistake in judgment was hardly his fault. The main reason was that the Azure Pool Sect was not known to the outside world as the Azure Pool Demonic Sect, but rather...
The Azure Pool Sacred Sect. Of course, how could a Devil Dao Sect call itself a demonic sect?
Lu Li could not help shaking his head. The situation in this realm was exceedingly complicated.
It bore the name of a sacred sect but practiced the Devil Dao, yet the mortals under its rule all revered and worshipped it.
Across the three commanderies and six counties, what mortal farmer did not know of the sacred sect's good deeds: slaying demons, eradicating devils, and bringing timely winds and rains?
That was precisely why Lu Li had joined the sect, thinking he had found a good opportunity.
But who could have known that the Azure Pool Sect's malice toward cultivators, especially those with poor aptitude, would be so monstrous?
Forget it. With my current strength and insight, I can't see what's really behind it.
I'd better find a way to contact the state as soon as possible.
His gaze swept across the cabin. Seven or eight menial workers sat cross-legged, practicing the basic Cultivation Method issued by the sect.
Lu Li stepped lightly and walked out in plain sight.
Outside the cabin, the sky was growing dark.
No one was there. Only pools of blood on the ground told of the tragedy that had just taken place.
Lu Li pulled his robes tighter around himself and headed toward a secluded corner of the distant mountain.
Once he had made sure the area was safe and deserted,
he took the fish-shaped jade pendant from his robes.
He looked at the dim pendant in his hand.
The next second,
he suddenly stirred the meager Spiritual Power in his body, sending it slowly toward the pendant.
Hum~!
With a soft chime, the jade pendant trembled.
Rays of light flickered out.
Blue Star, Great Xia.
Security at the General Administration of Security had never been so tight.
Ever since Li Yuanchao returned from the meeting,
he had received instructions from the highest level and immediately placed the entire administration on level-one alert!
The administration building was placed under complete lockdown.
A reinforced regiment was sent in to guard the capital.
The fish-shaped jade pendant had been moved overnight to the underground central control hall, where it was monitored around the clock.
And when the fish-shaped jade pendant lying quietly on the metal platform began flashing again,
the staff member responsible for watching it jolted.
The staff member hurriedly picked up a walkie-talkie and called it in.
"Attention! Attention! Level-one situation!"
"Level-one situation! The jade pendant is flashing!"
"All personnel, prepare at once!"
The announcement rang through the entire building over the walkie-talkies.
Within one minute, eight cameras and various recording devices were in position.
Within three minutes, the doctors and academicians from various fields who had been standing by rushed to the scene.
Within five minutes, Li Yuanchao and his guards had gone straight down to underground central control.
Nearly a hundred people poured into the underground central control hall like a tide.
Everyone watched the flashing jade pendant with excitement and anticipation.
Then Lu Li's voice rang through the hall over the loudspeakers.
"Leader... are you there?"
Whoosh!
Hearing Lu Li's voice, Li Yuanchao snatched up the jade pendant.
He stood ramrod straight, doing his utmost to suppress his excitement.
Keeping his composure, he spoke in a trembling voice. "Comrade Lu Li, I'm here!"
Hearing the faint authority in Li Yuanchao's voice, Lu Li found his nervous heart inexplicably settling somewhat.
Sure enough, no matter when,
home would always be his source of confidence!
He gripped the jade pendant, struggling to contain the tremor in his heart.
"Hello, Director Li. First, thank you to the state for its help and support last time."
"It helped me through a difficult situation. For now, I'm safe."
"It's good that you're safe! Comrade Lu Li, don't feel burdened."
"I've received instructions from the highest level to do everything possible to help you survive and develop in the other world."
"No matter what problems you encounter, the state will support you unconditionally!"
Li Yuanchao's voice followed immediately.
He announced the instructions from the highest level.
His words stirred Lu Li's heart even more deeply.
"Instructions from... the highest level..."
"The state will support me unconditionally?!"
Lu Li's breathing grew heavy.
He had never imagined that one day he would receive attention through instructions from the highest level.
"That's right!"
"Comrade Lu Li, our last meeting was rather rushed."
"This time, if you can ensure your own safety, please tell us about your situation in detail."
There was a note of urgency in Li Yuanchao's voice.
It was as though he feared Lu Li might suddenly break the connection again.
Hearing this, Lu Li quickly regained his reason and calmed himself.
He had to quickly explain why he had contacted them and give them the details, so he could escape his current predicament.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Li recounted what he knew and what he had experienced, point by point.
"Hello, Director Li. Let me explain my current situation in detail."
"This realm is called the Imprisoned Dragon Realm. It isn't a world consisting of a single continent."
"Cultivation civilization flourishes in this realm. Even ordinary mortals know that the Imprisoned Dragon Realm has a vast territory, encompassing several planets and continents."
"I'm in a place called the Eastern Desolation Star, which is only one part of the Imprisoned Dragon Realm."
"The Eastern Desolation Star is extremely vast. I don't know its exact size, but I do know that it is divided into five continents."
"They are the eastern, western, southern, northern, and central continents. The Azure Pool Demonic Sect is on the borderlands of the Western Continent."
Lu Li explained what he knew in as much detail as possible.
He did so to deepen the state's understanding of this realm.
But his next words left Li Yuanchao and the others stunned on the spot.
The entire central control hall fell silent in an instant.
"I once heard a cultivator from the sect say that this realm is a standard Middle Thousand World."
"That means the legendary Great Thousand Immortal Realm exists above it!"