"Zhou Peng, take the three of them back, teach them how to mine. Today, we will not go down to the mine," Shen Mangxing said, looking toward an elderly man with a worried face in the crowd.

After speaking, Shen directly turned and left, showing no intention of interacting with Zuo Qinghui and the others.

Seeing this, Zuo Qinghui felt somewhat astonished, but the other cultivator prisoners under Shen Mangxing seemed to have already grown accustomed to it.

The elder Zhou Peng stepped forward, cupping his hands towards Zuo Qinghui and the other two, "How should I address you, fellow Daoists?"

"Zuo Qinghui."

"She Yu," said a woman with a frail figure and a face darkened with grim, standing behind Zuo Qinghui.

Among the three, the remaining boy who looked barely fifteen, with a youthful face, kept his head down and did not respond to Zhou Peng.

However, Zuo Qinghui had learned his name was Xu Che when they had just registered.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng did not press further and just nodded, "It's inconvenient to talk here. Please follow me back to the dormitory."

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

Soon, everyone arrived at the dormitory Zhou Peng had mentioned.

It was a small mud house; pushing open the door revealed a room with long tables on both sides, each with five chairs, and an aged kettle and cups on the tables.

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

Upon entering, everyone except for Zhou Peng retired to their rooms, seemingly sharing Shen Mangxing's lack of desire for interaction.

Seeing the condition inside the house, Zuo Qinghui and the others all wore expressions of shock.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng couldn't help but bitterly smile and said,

"Fellow Daoists, we are now prisoners; to receive such treatment is already quite good. Years ago, there was simply a communal mud kang here. Some fellow Daoists couldn't bear it, causing quite a ruckus and many deaths before we got this current arrangement."

Hearing this, Zuo Qinghui's eyebrows twitched as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, how long have you been here?"

"It should be almost seventeen years," Zhou Peng sighed.

"Seventeen years? With such a long time, haven't you thought about escaping?" She Yu asked.

"How could I not think about it? But bound by this collar, and without a magic artifact by my side, we couldn't even handle the mine's guards, let alone escape. Even if we managed to flee, across the endless sands, where could we go?" Zhou Peng shook his head.

"During these seventeen years, I've seen many fellow Daoists, some accepting their reality, others unwilling to submit to slavery, causing turmoil and rioting. However, in the end, I've never seen anyone who truly escaped alive."

Just then, the usually silent Xu Che suddenly asked, "Is there really no way out? Are we destined to remain mine slaves here forever?"

"Fellow Daoists, don't blame me for speaking unpleasantly. The Cultivation World is inherently a place where the strong prey on the weak. We were captured and brought here because we were not skilled enough. It's fortunate that we even kept our lives. To think about the prosperity of the outside world, the path of cultivation—it only adds to our troubles. It's better to honestly continue as we are, regarding everything that has passed as just a big dream; after all, it's better to live poorly than to die well," Zhou Peng sighed and spoke.

His words were permeated with dejected resignation, but Xu Che clearly couldn't accept this and lowered his head again.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng sighed heavily and changed the subject, "If you don't want to be a mine slave, there is not an absolute lack of options. We mine here daily, with a set quota. If we fail to meet the quota, punishment follows, but at the end of the month, there's a comparison. The person who mined the least will also be punished, but conversely, the person who mined the most will receive a reward. If you manage to reach the highest mining total over several months, you can receive an opportunity to accept the slave mark, become a member of Guiyuan Sect, and leave this place. You only need to lure other cultivators here each month to gain temporary freedom."

Upon hearing this, both Zuo Qinghui and She Yu frowned, while Xu Che angrily lifted his head and exclaimed,

"You want me to harm others!"

"Fellow Daoists, having fallen to this place, don't cling to your pride from the past. In this wretched place, if you neither want to be a slave nor harm others, what other choices do you have? Do you think I don't hate those who deceived me into this? But even if we hate, what use is it? Seventeen years have passed, among all the prisoners here, I'm not the oldest, but I have been here long enough. If I truly wanted to harm others, I wouldn't be speaking to you like this now. You may think I'm heavily resigned to servitude, but that's only because I have long since recognized the reality of our situation," Zhou Peng said with a resigned, wistful smile.

In his angry yet confused gaze, Xu Che opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, and ultimately just lowered his head again.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng didn't say more, turned around, and grabbed three magic artifacts that looked like claw rakes, placed them in front of Zuo Qinghui and the others.

"These are for mining Flame Scale Ore; they can easily break through the sand without damaging the ore. Now I will teach you the spells to activate them; you must remember them well," he said.

As he began to teach, Zuo Qinghui and She Yu listened attentively, while Xu Che kept his head down the whole time.

Zhou Peng didn't bother him further, made sure that Zuo Qinghui and She Yu had memorized the spells, then told them which rooms were vacant where they could reside, then turned to go back to his room to rest.

However, Zuo Qinghui stopped him at that moment, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, hold on. I once had a good friend named Wulu, a Southern Border man, who went missing after participating in a mission. He might have been captured and brought here as well. Have you heard anything about him?"

Zhou Peng shook his head, "People from the Southern Border are quite resilient and are quite popular here. The steward in charge of us, Shen Mangxing, is a bit dull and doesn't compete much with others. Therefore, no one from the Southern Border has ever come over to our place. You might need to inquire at other dormitories, but for now, they must still be at the mine. You'd have to wait for the night to fall and their return before you can meet them."

Zuo Qinghui nodded his head in thanks to Zhou Peng and then picked a house to reside in, as did She Yu.

Soon, only Xu Che was left in the room, his head constantly bowed, his thoughts unknown.

...

Meanwhile, at the four-story building in the mining area.

The unicorn man looked up at the top of the high building, silent for a moment, then took out a Sound Transmission Talisman, but before he could act, the restrictions in the building dispersed on their own.

Seeing this, the unicorn man silently put away the Sound Transmission Talisman and waved to Liao Zhong who stood behind him, then he directly walked into the building.

Liao Zhong hurriedly followed, a bit nervously asked, "Fellow Daoist Fang, we suffered considerable losses this time. The Red Gold Centipede was also snatched away; I wonder if Elder Hai will blame me."

Without turning his head, the unicorn man said, "I will explain this matter to the elder myself, you need not speak further. This defeat isn't your fault. You have also contributed much to the sect in the past. Now that you cannot go back, your desire to formally join the sect is understandable."

Hearing this, Liao Zhong managed a slight smile, though worry was still evident in his eyes.

The two ascended the stairs rapidly and soon reached the pavilion at the top of the high building.

At the edge of the pavilion, a tall, burly middle-aged man with his hands clasped behind his back gazed at everything in the mining area, not turning around even after hearing the unicorn man approach.

"This slave hunting mission was unsuccessful, disciple captured only fourteen people, I beseech Elder Hai to punish me," the unicorn man kneeled down on one knee, his head bowed.

Behind him, Liao Zhong also knelt in haste, his head lowered, not daring to utter a word.

"What was the reason for the failure?" Elder Hai asked blandly.

"The disciple was too careless. When ambushing and encircling the cultivators from Xiansha City, I didn't expect some of their strengths to exceed our anticipations, allowing them to break through and escape. In the end, not only did we capture only one person, but the Red Gold Centipede was also taken away by them," the unicorn man explained.

Upon hearing this, Elder Hai suddenly turned around, revealing his face.

His features were square, his eyebrows faint, his blue eyes as sharp as a hawk's. A circle of light gray goatee around his mouth was well-groomed, showing no signs of aging.

Liao Zhong inadvertently caught a glimpse of Elder Hai's face and dared not look further, quickly bowing his head deeper.

But Elder Hai wasn't concerned with Liao Zhong; instead, he frowned and looked at the unicorn man, "That Red Gold Centipede was a creature I had nurtured for many years, and it was under your guarantee that we brought it out. Now you tell me you've lost it, what should be your punishment?"

"The disciple is willing to accept punishment," the unicorn man said, his head bowed.

Elder Hai was silent, staring at the unicorn man for a long while before shifting his gaze briefly to Liao Zhong, "Who is this man behind you?"

The unicorn man immediately explained, "This person is Liao Zhong, formerly a steward of Xiansha City, who has contributed much to our sect. This failure has revealed his identity to Manager Yue of Xiansha City, hence he wishes to fully join our sect and not go back."

Upon hearing the unicorn man's explanation, Elder Hai did not say much but merely nodded slightly and uttered monosyllabically, "Good."

Upon hearing this, Liao Zhong, as if granted amnesty, quickly kowtowed in thanks.

Afterwards, Elder Hai fell silent, and the pavilion sank into an eerie silence with Liao Zhong prostrate on the ground, sweat beading on his forehead once again. Finally, it was the unicorn man who broke the silence first.

He turned his head and instructed Liao Zhong, "Go on, find Junior Sister He. She will handle the rest for you."

Liao Zhong nodded in agreement quickly, seeing no objection from Elder Hai, he immediately got up and left the building.

After his departure, Elder Hai looked deeply at the unicorn man for a while, and upon seeing that the unicorn man remained silent, he finally said, "Losing the Red Gold Centipede is no small matter. Are you truly willing to accept punishment?"

"I am entirely at Elder Hai's disposal," the unicorn man kept his head down.

"Sigh, Fu'er, why must you be so stubborn? Although the Red Gold Centipede is precious, it is, after all, just a demon beast. If you had only pleaded, I could have spared you, yet why won't you? Could it be that after all these years, you still hold a grudge against me?" Elder Hai sighed.

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