“Zhou Peng, take these three back and teach them how to mine. We won’t be going down today,” Shen Mangxing instructed an elderly man with a worried expression in the crowd.

After speaking, Shen Mangxing turned and left without any intention of interacting with Zuo Qinghui and the others.

Seeing this, Zuo Qinghui was somewhat surprised, but the other cultivator prisoners under Shen Mangxing’s command seemed accustomed to it.

The elderly man, Zhou Peng, stepped forward and cupped his hands towards Zuo Qinghui and the other two. “How should I address you, fellow Daoists?”

“Zuo Qinghui.”

“She Yu,” said a thin, dark-faced woman standing behind Zuo Qinghui.

The third person, a young boy who seemed just over fifteen with a tender face, kept his head down and didn’t respond to Zhou Peng.

However, Zuo Qinghui had learned during the registration that this boy’s name was Xu Che.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng didn’t press further. He nodded and said, “It’s not convenient to talk here. Please follow me to the dormitory.”

Zuo Qinghui and She Yu had no objections, and Xu Che silently followed.

Before long, they arrived at the dormitory Zhou Peng mentioned.

It was a low mud house. Upon opening the door, they were greeted by a room with long tables on either side, each with five chairs. The tables had old kettles and cups on them.

Further inside were ten narrow bedrooms, five on each side. Each room had only a bed, a low table, and a lamp.

As soon as they entered, everyone except Zhou Peng went to their rooms, seemingly uninterested in socializing, much like Shen Mangxing.

Zuo Qinghui and the others were shocked by the conditions inside.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng smiled bitterly and said, “Fellow Daoists, we are prisoners now. This treatment is already quite good. Years ago, there was only a single dirt bed in a communal room. Many couldn’t bear it and caused a lot of trouble, resulting in many deaths before we got this treatment.”

Hearing this, Zuo Qinghui’s eyebrows twitched, and he asked, “How long have you been here, Daoist Zhou?”

“Counting the years, it should be almost seventeen,” Zhou Peng sighed.

“Seventeen years? For such a long time, haven’t you thought of escaping?” She Yu asked.

“Of course, but with these collars and no magical tools, we can’t even deal with the guards, let alone escape into the endless desert. Where would we go?” Zhou Peng shook his head.

“In these seventeen years, I’ve seen many fellow Daoists. Some accept reality, some refuse to be slaves. There have been several uprisings, but no one has ever truly escaped alive.”

At this moment, Xu Che, who had been silent, suddenly asked, “Is there really no way? Are we destined to be mining slaves forever?”

“Don’t blame me for being blunt. The cultivation world is a place where the strong prey on the weak. We were captured because we were not skilled enough. Surviving is already a blessing. Dreaming of worldly pleasures and the path of cultivation will only bring more trouble. It’s better to work honestly and treat the past as a dream. After all, a bad life is better than death,” Zhou Peng sighed.

His words were full of despair. Xu Che clearly couldn’t accept it and lowered his head again.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng sighed and changed the topic. “If you don’t want to be mining slaves, there is a way. We have a daily mining quota. If we don’t meet it, we are punished. At the end of each month, there’s an evaluation. The one with the least mined will be punished, but the one with the most will be rewarded. If you consistently mine the most for several months, you can get a chance to receive a slave mark and become a member of the Returning to Origin Sect. After that, you can leave here, only needing to lure other cultivators here each month to gain temporary freedom.”

Hearing this, Zuo Qinghui and She Yu frowned, and Xu Che angrily raised his head and shouted, “You want me to harm others!”

“Fellow Daoists, we’ve fallen to this point. Let go of your pride. In this hellish place, if you don’t want to be a slave or harm others, what other choice do you have? Do you think I don’t hate the person who tricked me? But what’s the use of hatred? Seventeen years, and among all the prisoners, I’m not even the oldest. If I wanted to harm others, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. You may think I’m deeply enslaved, but I’ve just accepted reality,” Zhou Peng said with a bitter smile.

Xu Che’s angry gaze turned confused. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, eventually lowering his head again.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng didn’t say more. He turned and took out three rake-like magical tools, placing them in front of Zuo Qinghui and the others.

“These are tools for mining Yanlin ore. They can easily break through the sand without damaging the ore. I’ll teach you the incantation to activate them. Pay attention.”

He began teaching, and Zuo Qinghui and She Yu listened carefully, while Xu Che kept his head down.

Zhou Peng ignored him. After confirming that Zuo Qinghui and She Yu had memorized the incantation, he told them which rooms were empty and available for them to stay in, then turned to rest.

However, Zuo Qinghui stopped him. “Daoist Zhou, wait. I had a friend named Wu Lu from the Southern Border. He went missing after a mission. He might have been captured here. Have you heard of him?”

Zhou Peng shook his head. “People from the Southern Border are tough and popular here. Shen Mangxing, who oversees us, is a taciturn person and doesn’t fight with others. So, no one from the Southern Border has come here. You might need to ask around in other dormitories. But they should still be in the mines now. You’ll have to wait until nightfall when they return.”

Zuo Qinghui nodded, thanked Zhou Peng, and chose a room to stay in. She Yu did the same.

Soon, only Xu Che was left in the room. He kept his head down, lost in thought.

…

Meanwhile, in front of a four-story building at the mine.

A man with a single horn looked up at the top of the building. After a moment of silence, he took out a transmission talisman. Before he could use it, the restriction on the building lifted on its own.

Seeing this, the man put away the talisman without a word and waved to Liao behind him, then walked into the building.

Liao hurried to catch up, following the man nervously. “Daoist Fang, we suffered significant losses this time. The Crimson Gold Centipede was also taken. I wonder if Elder Hai will blame me.”

The man didn’t turn back. “I’ll explain to the Elder. You don’t need to say anything. The failure wasn’t your fault. You’ve contributed a lot to the sect. Now that you can’t return, it’s understandable that you want to officially join the sect.”

Hearing this, Liao forced a smile, but worry still lingered in his eyes.

The two climbed the stairs and soon reached the pavilion at the top.

At the edge of the pavilion, a tall, burly middle-aged man with his hands behind his back was overlooking the mine. Hearing the man with the horn approach, he didn’t turn around.

“This disciple failed in the slave capture mission, bringing back only fourteen people. Please punish me, Elder Hai,” the man with the horn knelt on one knee, head lowered.

Behind him, Liao also knelt hurriedly, not daring to speak.

“What’s the reason for the failure?” Elder Hai asked calmly.

“I was too careless. When ambushing the Quicksand City cultivators, I didn’t anticipate someone with higher strength among them. They broke through the encirclement and escaped. In the end, we only captured one person, and the Crimson Gold Centipede was taken,” the man with the horn explained.

Hearing this, Elder Hai turned around, revealing his face.

He had a square face, barely-there eyebrows, and sharp blue eyes like a hawk’s. A neatly groomed circle of light gray goatee adorned his mouth, making him look not old.

Liao, catching a glimpse of Elder Hai’s face, quickly lowered his head, not daring to look further.

But Elder Hai didn’t pay attention to Liao. He frowned at the man with the horn. “That Crimson Gold Centipede was something I cultivated for years. You vouched for it, and now you tell me it’s lost. What punishment do you deserve?”

“I am willing to accept any punishment,” the man with the horn lowered his head.

Elder Hai was silent, staring at the man for a long time before shifting his gaze to Liao. “Who is this behind you?”

The man with the horn immediately explained, “This is Liao, formerly a steward of Quicksand City. He has contributed much to our sect. With his identity exposed, he wishes to join our sect permanently and not return to Quicksand City.”

After hearing the explanation, Elder Hai only nodded slightly and said, “Good.”

Hearing this, Liao felt as if he had been granted amnesty and quickly kowtowed in thanks.

Elder Hai said no more, and the pavilion fell into an eerie silence. Liao, prostrate on the ground, began to sweat again. Finally, the man with the horn broke the silence.

He turned to Liao and instructed, “Go find Junior Sister He. She will help you with the arrangements.”

Liao nodded quickly and, seeing no objection from Elder Hai, got up and left the building.

After he left, Elder Hai looked deeply at the man with the horn. After a moment, seeing that the man remained silent, he sighed and said, “Losing the Crimson Gold Centipede is a serious offense. Are you truly willing to accept punishment?”

“I leave it to Elder Hai’s discretion,” the man with the horn kept his head down.

“Ah, Fu’er, why are you so stubborn? The Crimson Gold Centipede, though precious, is just a demonic beast. If you ask, I can forgive you. Why won’t you? Are you still holding a grudge against me after all these years?” Elder Hai sighed.