Chapter 3: Spirit Slave

At the summit where nine giant peaks twisted and collided, there sat a pool of blood. A nine-thousand-foot waterfall of blood flowed from it, cascading onto a ritual array and filling every hollowed-out groove. At the center of the array stood a purplish-red palace.

It was exceptionally grand and imposing. At the base of the nine peaks lay vast open spaces arranged with antique-style buildings; there were almost no houses or pavilions built of ordinary bluestone or wood.

The ground was paved with gold bricks, the walls were as white as snow, and the structures were carved with dragons and phoenixes. Everything appeared remarkably exquisite and elegant, a far cry from the gloomy and terrifying scene Wang Yu had imagined.

The City Lord’s Mansion of Stone Lake City would be nothing more than an ordinary building here.

Only the streaks of light traversing the sky matched Wang Yu’s stereotypes—some billowing with black mist, others surging with monstrous blood-red light.

The flying artifacts they piloted were diverse: skulls, spinal-column swords, ghostly corpse clouds, sedan chairs carried by paper dolls, coffins, and more. A large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators traveled back and forth across the sky.

The Qi Refining cultivators had it much simpler; they mostly used a piece of black cloth, which was likely a standard-issue artifact distributed by the Niling Blood Sect.

Wang Yu’s heart burned with fervor. As long as he could get his hands on cultivation techniques, what did it matter if they were demonic cultivators? He held no prejudice or likes and dislikes regarding power; as long as it was useful, there was no difference.

Since the demonic cultivators had bribed the garrison at Black Mountain Pass, he reasoned they wouldn't let them die directly; at the very least, they had to create the value expected of them.

He did not linger.

The black-robed demonic cultivator led them to the foot of the third peak from the left. The environment here was distinctly different from the base of the nine peaks; it was cordoned off, with cultivators standing guard everywhere.

"Brother Xu, you’ve finally returned. Is the harvest only a hundred people this time?"

Hearing this, the leader in the black robe finally removed his hood, revealing an old face etched with deep ravines.

"It can't be helped. The spiritual veins in Stone Lake City are too poor; the number of cultivation seeds nurtured there is naturally much smaller. If we had gone to Qianqiu City, there would have been at least five hundred spirit slaves."

"Count them and take them down."

Spirit slaves?

Before he could hear more of the conversation, Wang Yu’s cart was pulled to a row of stone houses. After their shackles were removed, they were released.

A chubby, round-bellied middle-aged man spoke in a sinister tone.

"My surname is Duan. You may call me Steward Duan.

"From today on, you are spirit slaves of the Niling Blood Sect. You are not to take a single step away until you have paid off your 'redemption price.'

"If you perform well, it is not impossible to shed your status as spirit slaves and become outer sect disciples of the Niling Blood Sect. Work hard."

Steward Duan finished his speech and left without explaining anything further. Wang Yu and the group of mortals who had yet to step across the threshold of cultivation were, naturally, powerless to resist.

Following the order, he moved into stone house number eighty-three.

A bed, table, chairs, and stools—all the furniture was complete. There was even a small cubicle for a latrine. The bedding and square pillows were sewn from high-quality silk, no worse than the standard of living at the Wang family estate.

Although the windows and doors could be opened, they were fitted with iron bars, allowing one to only stick their hands out—exactly like a prison cell.

Not long after.

A Niling Blood Sect disciple walked along the path. Every time he passed a stone house, he would toss a basketball-sized cloth bag inside. Soon, he reached stone house eighty-three, handed Wang Yu the same item, and walked away without a word.

Wang Yu opened the bag.

The first things to catch his eye were food and a water skin. Twenty steamed buns were still steaming. Having not eaten all day, Wang Yu was already very hungry and ate five in one go.

The filling was a mix of meat and vegetables, savory and delicious, with a rich flavor. Moreover, each bun had thin skin and plenty of filling—even better than the pastries made by the masters in Stone Lake City.

This treatment gave Wang Yu more hope regarding his status as a spirit slave. They were, after all, people of cultivation; even demonic cultivators were not the blood-drinking monsters depicted in novels and biographies. Stereotypes were not to be trusted!

As long as there are people, there are desires. To put it more bluntly, demonic cultivators were simply a group of cultivators who took extremes and shortcuts. Their desires were more intense, their material enjoyment was more pronounced than those of the righteous path, and they were not ashamed to express it.

Even the treatment of a spirit slave was better than how most commoners lived.

In addition to the day's food, there were two books inside, one thin and one thick.

The thin one recorded a wealth of common knowledge about the cultivation world, explaining the rules here and the tasks required of spirit slaves.

It also set a "redemption price" quota for everyone. Once achieved, they could transition into outer sect disciples of the Niling Blood Sect.

Wang Yu pondered each point carefully, engraving them deep into his mind.

First were the rules for the stone house district.

【1. From the Mao hour to the Si hour (5:00 AM – 9:00 AM) daily, a two-hour period is provided where twenty Qi Refining cultivators are responsible for answering questions.】

Whether it was confusion regarding cultivation or problems like illiteracy, they could get answers. This was also the only time of day spirit slaves were allowed to leave their stone houses.

【2. After a cultivator breaks through to the first level of Qi Refining, the spirit slave must expend their own cultivation to condense one tael of spirit sand each month and hand it over to any steward in the stone house district.】

This point was where the value of Wang Yu and the others lay.

Spirit stones were the essence of heaven and earth, formed by the natural accumulation of spiritual energy in places where it gathered. The higher the grade of the spiritual vein, the more likely it was to produce associated spirit stone mines.

Divided into four grades—low, medium, high, and supreme—they were the most widely circulated currency in the cultivation world. Due to high consumption, relying solely on mine production was far from enough.

Thus, the role of the "spirit slave" came into existence.

If a cultivator was willing to damage their own cultivation, they could manually "hand-craft" spirit stones—essentially printing their own money.

Early-stage Qi Refining cultivators could only condense "spirit sand," where the price of one tael of spirit sand was equivalent to one low-grade spirit stone.

The spiritual energy that was incredibly pure to a Qi Refining cultivator appeared impure and chaotic to a Foundation Establishment cultivator; therefore, the higher the level, the higher the price of the spirit stones.

【3. Once a spirit slave has paid off the 100 spirit stone "redemption price," they may apply at the steward's office to become an outer sect disciple of the Niling Blood Sect.】

The spirit stones referred to here were, naturally, low-grade ones.

Calculating based on the value of one tael of spirit sand equaling one spirit stone, in an ideal state, it would take 100 months to pay it off—over eight years. If one added the time for learning and breaking through into the Dao, it would take at least ten years.

"I won't be able to pay it off until I'm twenty-six..."

Closing the booklet that recorded the vast common knowledge of the cultivation world, Wang Yu took a deep breath, exhaling only after a long while.

Although the living conditions were decent, when it came to spirit stones and wealth, he did not believe the Niling Blood Sect would be so kind. Theoretically, it would take ten years, but in practice, it might take twenty.

As for the other, thicker booklet, it was the Qi Refining cultivation technique provided by the Niling Blood Sect. They had generously provided nine levels, enough to cultivate up to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

It gave all the spirit slaves a psychological comfort that they were being "looked after."

The thing he wanted most was right before his eyes. Wang Yu abandoned all unrealistic fantasies. This was the base camp of the Niling Blood Sect, the location of their mountain gate; even if the stone house district was in a remote location, there were still a large number of cultivators guarding it.

The probability of escape was infinitesimal. The only path to survival was to obey the rules of the Blood Sect; only by becoming an outer sect disciple would there be a possibility of freedom.

Even if it was just a crumb, he had to pay the price and move forward for it. There was no other way!