Chapter 1: Miner Slave

In the dim, damp mine shaft, Lu Ye walked forward step by step, carrying a mining basket on his back and a pickaxe in his hand.

The young man's expression was a little sorrowful, his eyes fixed on an empty space in front of him, as if staring at something. To an outsider, there was nothing in front of Lu Ye, but in the young man's vision, he could see a translucent shadow. It resembled the silhouette of a tree, hazy and indistinct, with dense foliage. Its branches split off from about a third of the way up the trunk, spreading left and right to support a semicircular canopy.

Lu Ye had been in this world, called Kyushu, for over a year, yet he still didn't understand what this shadow was. He only knew that when his concentration was strong enough, this ghostly tree might appear in his vision, unnoticed by anyone else.

“What a miserable life,” the young man sighed.

A year ago, he had abruptly awakened in this unfamiliar world. Before he could even acquaint himself with his surroundings, the faction he belonged to was attacked and conquered by a group of bandits. Many were killed, and he, along with other young men and women, became captives. They were then sent to this mine, forced into servitude as lowly miners.

Only later, from scattered conversations among others, did he learn that his former faction was a sect called Xuantian Sect, affiliated with the Haotian Alliance. While its name sounded grand and powerful, it was actually a minor, unremarkable sect. Xuantian Sect had been conquered by Evil Moon Valley, a force under the Myriad Devil Ridge.

The Haotian Alliance and Myriad Devil Ridge were the two major factions in this world, both formed by countless large and small forces united together. They constantly clashed and fought, aiming to completely annihilate each other, a struggle reportedly ongoing for centuries. To Lu Ye, this conflict was essentially a battle between an orderly alignment and an evil alignment. He had simply been inadvertently swept up in this massive tide of confrontation.

Over the years, the continent of Kyushu had been ravaged by war. Every year, minor forces like Xuantian Sect were uprooted, yet soon more factions emerged like mushrooms after rain, seizing various territories and exacerbating the chaos.

A miner then, he thought to himself, offering a small comfort. Compared to those who were killed, at least he was still alive. His survival wasn't due to any special skill, but because Evil Moon Valley needed laborers. Individuals like Lu Ye, who possessed no cultivation and were still young, were undoubtedly the ideal choice.

In fact, the miners in this particular vein weren't only from Xuantian Sect; they included disciples from other minor families and sects as well. Evil Moon Valley was a formidable power; over the years, they had conquered numerous territories. The original forces on these lands were naturally destroyed, and some of the usable personnel were sent by Evil Moon Valley to various locations for servitude.

Without exception, all these individuals shared a common characteristic: they had not yet 'opened their apertures' and thus possessed no cultivation, making them easy to control.

There was a saying on the continent of Kyushu: "Demons without opened apertures struggle to transform, and humans without opened apertures struggle to cultivate." To cultivate, one must open their spirit apertures; only then does one qualify for cultivation. Opening a spirit aperture was no simple feat. Among ordinary people, only about one in a hundred could achieve it after systematic training. For those from cultivation families or sects, with guidance from elders, this proportion might be higher.

Lu Ye had not been able to open his own spirit aperture, so he was confined to mining in the dim shafts to make a living.

However, being a miner wasn't a dead end. If one successfully opened their aperture and reported it to a supervisor, there was a chance to participate in an assessment. Passing this assessment could lead to becoming a disciple of Evil Moon Valley. Yet, very few miners managed to open their apertures. Working all day in such dim conditions, barely even getting enough food, how could one possibly open their aperture?

Consequently, almost ninety-nine percent of the miners had resigned themselves to their fate, toiling daily simply for a full meal.

Lu Ye felt no sense of belonging to Xuantian Sect; after all, he had just arrived in this world when the sect was destroyed, and he didn't know anyone within it. Nor did he wish to become a disciple of Evil Moon Valley. It wasn't a legitimate force; its very name evoked a sense of evil, suggesting it would eventually collapse.

Still, he couldn't spend his entire life here as a miner; that would be beneath him. After all, he was an elite of the new era. What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?

So, for the past year, he had been diligently trying to open his aperture. He had initially thought that the shadow tree, visible only to him, could offer some miraculous assistance. However, even now, it remained just a shadow; far from providing help, it sometimes even affected his vision.

Lu Ye seriously wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.

Turning a corner, a faint light appeared in the distance—one of the mine shaft exits.

His haul today was good. Submitting the ore in his basket should earn him three contribution points. Combined with what he'd accumulated over the past few days, he had roughly twelve points. Two points would buy him two steamed buns, and the remaining ten were just enough for one Blood Essence Pill.

The Blood Essence Pill was a very low-grade medicinal pill, not meant to aid in opening apertures directly. However, to open an aperture, one needed abundant qi and blood. Though low-grade, the Blood Essence Pill was perfect for someone like Lu Ye, who hadn't yet opened his.

Evil Moon Valley's willingness to provide Blood Essence Pills wasn't an act of kindness. Rather, they understood human nature deeply: this cheapest, lowest-grade pill could make those who harbored hope work even harder.

For example, Lu Ye... was very diligent every day.

About thirty zhang from the mine shaft exit, Lu Ye's gaze casually swept over a corner to his front left, where a large boulder lay across the path.

He kept walking forward without stopping, and only when he was about ten zhang away did he set down the mining basket from his back. He tightened his grip on his pickaxe, then took a moderately sized stone from the basket and weighed it slightly in his hand.

The next moment, he sprinted towards the boulder. As he neared it, he slid sideways, pushing off the mine shaft wall with one foot. Using the rebound force, he plunged behind the boulder, like a nimble leopard.

Two figures were half-crouching behind the boulder, using it for concealment, completely unaware that someone would discover their presence.

Hearing the commotion, they saw Lu Ye and realized it was too late to get up.

Under their horrified gaze, Lu Ye raised his hand and threw the stone he held. It struck one of them squarely on the bridge of the nose. The man immediately cried out in agony, falling backward to the ground, his face streaming with blood.

Lu Ye's other hand swung the pickaxe, but missed the second person, who reacted well and dodged it by turning his head. However, Lu Ye was already upon him, delivering a kick directly to his abdomen. The man instantly writhed in pain, flying backward to his knees, spitting out a mouthful of sour liquid.

Lu Ye stepped forward, grabbed the man's hair, and, recognizing his face, sneered, “Well, well, if it isn't you two brothers!”

He knew these two; they were disciples of the Liu family. After Evil Moon Valley conquered the Liu family's territory, some of the younger Liu disciples were sent here to serve as miners. Strictly speaking, Lu Ye and the two Liu brothers shared a similar fate.

“Didn't I tell you not to let me see you again, or I'd slaughter you?” Lu Ye said, picking up a stone from the ground and smashing it down forcefully.

The blow was severe; the younger Liu brother only grunted before being knocked unconscious.

Lu Ye then walked towards the elder Liu brother, whom he had struck earlier.

The elder Liu brother's forehead was a bloody mess, his eyes blurred by blood. Dimly seeing Lu Ye approaching, he scrambled backward in terror. “Mercy! My brother and I didn't know it was you coming; we thought it was someone else... Please, mercy!”

The two Liu brothers, secretly ambushing at the mine shaft exit, naturally had ill intentions. Before they were captured, both had been spoiled and pampered. Even as miners, they refused to endure hardship. However, miners held a lowly status; Evil Moon Valley treated them as subhuman, and without ore to exchange for contribution points, they couldn't acquire food.

Thus, the two brothers frequently waited at one of the mine exits, ambushing solitary miners. Many suffered misfortune as a result, not only having their hard-earned ore stolen but also being beaten senseless.

Last time, they had tried to rob Lu Ye, but they were no match for him and received a good beating.

He hadn't expected to run into the two brothers again so soon, only a few days later.

As the saying goes, "Different grains raise different people." Among the miners, there were lazy good-for-nothings like the Liu brothers, and there were also those with aspirations, like Lu Ye.

Over the past year, Lu Ye had used all the contribution points he earned from ore, beyond ensuring his daily sustenance, to acquire Blood Essence Pills.

In total, he had consumed no fewer than thirty Blood Essence Pills.

This had given Lu Ye a physique superior to most miners. Although he wasn't physically bulky, the power contained within his body already surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Dealing with two lazy miners was naturally no challenge for him.

The elder Liu brother continued to beg for mercy, but Lu Ye ignored him. He grabbed his hair and, raising the stone in his other hand, smashed it down forcefully.

During his more than a year as a miner, Lu Ye had witnessed too many tragedies and had long understood a fundamental truth: in this dog-eat-dog world, pity and sympathy were useless.

The miners themselves were not harmonious. Miners from different factions were destined not to unite, and they often fought fiercely, even to the point of bleeding, over a single piece of good ore.

People died daily in the mine shafts; every short distance, one could see scattered bones on the ground.

A considerable number of miners had starved to death after being robbed.

The elder Liu brother collapsed instantly.

Lu Ye retrieved his pickaxe, re-shouldered his mining basket, and walked towards the exit. He hadn't killed the Liu brothers, not out of soft-heartedness, but because injured miners usually didn't survive long in this place.

He had barely taken a few steps when someone suddenly rushed in from the exit, appearing flustered.

“Get out of the way!” the person snarled, sweeping a palm towards Lu Ye.

At that instant, a chill ran through Lu Ye's entire body. He had seen a faint blue light flowing in the other person's palm.

It was the light of spiritual power; in other words, the one attacking him was a cultivator!

Only by opening one's spirit aperture did one gain the qualification to cultivate, and thus the right to be called a cultivator.

A cultivator's spiritual power was an incredibly mystical force. Lu Ye had once witnessed a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley in action. Though there was no immense display of power, the individual merely shattered a piece of ore with a light palm strike. It was after witnessing that miraculous scene that Lu Ye resolved to open his own spirit aperture and become a cultivator.

He had also secretly assessed that even the lowest-level cultivator in Evil Moon Valley could easily defeat ten of him.

So, upon realizing that the person attacking him was a cultivator, Lu Ye knew he was in grave danger.

In that life-or-death crisis, he forcibly stopped his steps and leaped backward.

His chest went numb, the sound of bone breaking echoed, and Lu Ye was sent flying backward, falling to the ground.

The intense pain cleared his mind considerably. Realizing he was still alive, he immediately got up.

“Oh!” The attacking cultivator was surprised. Although he hadn't used his full strength in that casual palm strike, it shouldn't have been something a mere miner could withstand.

Using the dim light to get a clear look at the miner's face, he blurted out, “Lu Ye?”

Lu Ye had already adopted a stance ready to flee, and upon hearing the voice, he was utterly astonished. “Manager Yang?”

This cultivator, Manager Yang, was a minor supervisor at the mine. Lu Ye frequently dealt with him, as he exchanged his Blood Essence Pills through him, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Manager Yang had a good impression of Lu Ye, as diligent and hardworking miners like him were rare.

However, while he thought highly of him, there were no special privileges. As long as Lu Ye hadn't opened his aperture, an insurmountable gap existed between a mortal like him and a cultivator.

After recognizing Lu Ye, Manager Yang was relieved that his palm strike hadn't killed him. Lu Ye had exchanged many Blood Essence Pills from him over the past year, so his physical condition was inherently stronger than that of an average miner. Furthermore, Manager Yang's strike had been casual, not intended to kill, so it wasn't surprising that Lu Ye had survived.

Facing Manager Yang, Lu Ye's heart pounded.

Cultivators from Evil Moon Valley generally paid little attention to the lives of miners. They were aware that brawls often occurred among miners in the shafts, but unless they witnessed one directly, they largely ignored them.

Lu Ye had just beaten the Liu brothers bloody and unconscious, and then Manager Yang had struck him. To Lu Ye, this clearly looked like Manager Yang was teaching him a lesson.

Soon, however, he felt something was off. Manager Yang had rushed in looking flustered, which didn't seem like someone intervening on behalf of the Liu brothers.

While he was still pondering, Manager Yang's expression shifted to one of surprise and apparent delight, as if encountering Lu Ye here was a good thing. He stepped forward and grabbed Lu Ye's shoulder. “Come with me!”