If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will.

"Dig. If you can't keep up, take some pills or use a secret technique on your own."

"Hurry up, move faster!"

"You few old men, slacking off, are you?"

Ye Chuan was directing the members of the Golden Sun Sect before him, with Zhao Lieyang among them. His bruised and swollen face made it clear he had been beaten half to death by Ye Chuan, only to be forcibly patched up with healing magic and put to work.

A single word couldn't describe the misery.

"Faster." Ye Chuan now held a whip, ready to spin anyone who wasn't working like a top.

The constant clinking and clanging of picks echoed in the cavern. Ye Chuan hadn't killed these Golden Sun Sect members; after all, they were needed as laborers.

However, he had confiscated all their storage pouches.

Ye Chuan glanced at his own backpack, where the quantities of various ores were steadily increasing.

Good, very good.

"Still short on hands. There seem to be quite a few Golden Sun Sect disciples. If only more would come." Just as Ye Chuan was thinking this, a Golden Sun Sect elder not far away suddenly threw down his pickaxe, his face flushed red.

"I quit! Kill me if you must! As an elder of the Golden Sun Sect, I represent the sect's dignity. I will not endure your humiliation!"

Crack! Ye Chuan lashed him with the whip.

"Ow! Ow~!" The elder clutched his rear end, howling. That whip strike nearly took his old life.

A sore backside was the least of his worries.

"I... I won't do it!" The elder, having been whipped, stiffened his neck and shouted angrily, "Just kill me!"

"Oh? If you won't do it, there are plenty who will!" Ye Chuan pointed at the elder, then with a single whip strike, obliterated his physical body. With a thought, Ye Chuan seized control of his soul.

The soul now picked up the pickaxe from the ground and resumed working.

"Even though souls work less efficiently, you'll work for me even in death." After saying this, Ye Chuan swept his gaze over the remaining Golden Sun Sect members.

"Who else doesn't want to work?"

This act of making an example served as a stark warning, causing everyone to shudder and start working with renewed vigor.

Ye Chuan led the group, digging deeper, practically stripping the place inside and out. Along the way, they encountered more Golden Sun Sect disciples, all of whom Ye Chuan captured.

Of course, the disciples of the Ice Cloud Sect weren't idle either; they were also press-ganged by Ye Chuan, though he treated them slightly better. Even the Holy Maiden had to work, and so did these disciples.

"Hmm, forget it, better not wear these." Ye Chuan took off his magic glasses. From his perspective, it was just a uniform view of peaches, all shapes and sizes.

Some were fine, but others were rather eye-watering.

"I wonder where Qian Shuang is." Ye Chuan wasn't worried about Bai Qianshuang's safety, but since he still hadn't found her whereabouts by now, he couldn't help but start thinking about how to locate her.

"That Su Qinghan, stop working for now. Come here." Ye Chuan called out.

Upon hearing this, Su Qinghan wiped the sweat from her chin. Her blue-and-white daoist robe was covered in dust, but she still walked over to Ye Chuan. "Senior Haotian, what do you need from me?"

"Do you know about this Mystic Crystal Abyss?" Ye Chuan asked.

"Yes," Su Qinghan nodded. "I know a little."

"Are there any special areas in the Mystic Crystal Abyss?" Ye Chuan inquired. "For example, forbidden zones, places where cultivators might be teleported to?"

Su Qinghan thought for a few seconds upon hearing this, then finally shook her head. "This junior is not clear."

"I see..." Ye Chuan's gaze fell on a few Golden Sun Sect elders. "Come here."

The Golden Sun Sect elders looked at each other, then finally walked over to Ye Chuan. "..."

Upon learning that Ye Chuan's companion was still missing, the Golden Sun Sect elders exchanged glances. "Well... there is indeed a rather special area in the Mystic Crystal Abyss."

"Tell me about it," Ye Chuan said. "Perform well, and I'll give you a chance to live."

"!"

"Although the Mystic Crystal Abyss is a minor blessed land, it's said to have been formed when a great expert split open the mystic crystal vein with a single sword strike to suppress an evil being," one elder began.

"It's said a demon is sealed deep within, but over these past few hundred years, we have never seen it."

"However, some disciples who teleported in simply vanished. It's unknown whether they were teleported to that special area or killed by other cultivators."

"..." Ye Chuan pondered.

A demon?

But Ye Chuan had gotten the information he wanted. He glanced at the Golden Sun Sect disciples before him and said, "Good intel. I keep my word. You can leave once you finish mining."

The elders exchanged looks, their faces showing delight. "What about our disciples..."

"Dead." Ye Chuan stated nonchalantly.

"!" The elders dared not say anything more. After looking at each other, they went back to mining.

Regardless, surviving themselves was what mattered.

Disciples could be found again.

A Holy Son could be nurtured anew.

But if their own lives were gone, they were truly gone.

Once the mining was nearly done, Ye Chuan looked at his backpack, stuffed full of various ores he didn't recognize, all good materials for forging weapons and magical treasures.

"Quite a good haul." After saying this, Ye Chuan looked at the exhausted Golden Sun Sect disciples and spoke,

"Everyone has worked hard. I have a suitable place for you to rest. Take a good break."

With that, Ye Chuan took out the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

"?!"

"An... an evil artifact!"

Ye Chuan couldn't even be bothered with words. Chains materialized from the soul banner, pulling out the souls of the disciples one by one like radishes and stuffing them into the banner.

Enhanced by a +13 boost, the terrifying aura of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner made the surrounding air feel as if it were condensing into liquid, oppressing the remaining people so much that even breathing became difficult.

"You may leave now too." Ye Chuan looked at the remaining Ice Cloud Sect disciples.

"W-we can leave?" Su Qinghan stammered.

"What, want to be guests in my Human Emperor Banner?" Ye Chuan asked.

That single sentence made the Ice Cloud Sect members and the other rogue cultivators Ye Chuan had press-ganged shudder in unison. Their synchronized head-shaking looked as if it had been rehearsed.

Just as they were about to leave, Ye Chuan seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Stop."

His words sent a chill down the spines of many cultivators.

H-he wouldn't be having second thoughts, would he?

Having witnessed his methods, they feared he wouldn't let them off easily this time.

"Seeing how hard you worked mining, consider this your wages." As Ye Chuan spoke, he flicked his fingertips, sending spirit crystals landing in the hands of the cultivators.

"W-we even get paid?" The cultivators were stunned.

"I'm a conscientious entrepreneur." Ye Chuan didn't even lift his eyelids. "You have ten breaths to vanish from my sight."

The next moment, the numerous cultivators before Ye Chuan turned into streaks of white light and disappeared from the spot.

"Hmm... a demon... I need to find Qian Shuang."

Ye Chuan withdrew his gaze.