Welcome to... the Great Wilderness... I hope you can live a little longer here.

Lao Wang's figure completely disappeared at the end of the wasteland.

Only then did Old Zhao stand up from the ground. He walked over to Su Ji and the other two.

He did not speak. Instead, he fished out three rust-mottled iron pickaxes from the storage bag at his waist and threw them at the trio's feet with a loud clatter.

Old Zhao pointed at the nearby mine pit, his voice hoarse.

"No matter how glorious you were in the past."

"Now that you are here, all of that is nothing but dust in the wind."

He held up a single finger.

"If you do not mine ten catties of black-veined iron before dark today, you will not get to eat."

A trace of disdain flashed through the eyes of that Golden Core prodigy.

Merely missing a meal? He had long since achieved inedia; even going a hundred years without food would not be an issue.

Old Zhao seemed to see right through him, his murky eyes sweeping over.

"I know you still have some doubts."

"Do not think that just because you have achieved inedia, you do not need to eat."

"And do not assume that ten catties is a small amount."

"When it is time to eat tonight, I will give you your answers."

After saying this, Old Zhao's gaze lingered on Su Ji for a moment longer.

He looked at this young man who had not said a single word from beginning to end, whose expression had not even shifted in the slightest. A ripple of emotion surfaced in his murky eyes.

He pulled back the foot he was about to step away with.

He walked up to Su Ji and looked him up and down.

After a long while, Old Zhao slowly spoke.

"You, come with me."

The other two watched this unfold, a hint of astonishment in their eyes.

They had obviously all arrived together, so why was he suddenly being treated differently?

Su Ji ignored them. He simply bent down to pick up the iron pickaxe from the ground and silently followed behind Old Zhao.

One after the other, the two walked into a slightly larger-looking shack.

The interior furnishings were simple: just a stone bed and a stone table.

Old Zhao sat down by the stone table on his own and poured himself a cup of water, making no move to pour one for Su Ji.

He took a sip, then raised his head again, his murky eyes locking dead onto Su Ji.

"My name is Zhao Tianyang."

Su Ji said nothing, merely standing there quietly.

Zhao Tianyang did not seem to mind and continued on his own.

"Do you know why I called you over?"

Su Ji remained silent.

Zhao Tianyang smiled. His smile carried a bit of self-mockery, along with an indescribable, ambiguous meaning.

"Because I see my own reflection in you."

"You want to leave this place, do you not."

He was not asking; he was stating a fact.

"Like a venomous snake lying in wait."

"Given the right opportunity, you will deliver a fatal strike."

In his mind, Su Jiu's voice rang out.

"Senior Brother, your acting skills are so good, why are you not pretending this time?"

"For example, you could pretend to be a bit more afraid, or a bit more unwilling. That might make him lower his guard."

Su Ji silently replied in his heart.

"A prodigy who exhausted all efforts to ascend can be arrogant, can be aloof, or can be crazy, but he absolutely cannot be a spineless coward who kneels and begs for mercy at the sight of someone."

"Acting like that would be far too fake."

"My current reaction is just right."

"A smart person, but also someone who knows when to bow their head, yet deep down still retains a trace of the pride belonging to a prodigy, only having their edges smoothed out by reality."

"If I were a superior, I would not like a slave with too many hidden schemes."

"Instead, a slave who can be seen through at a glance is much easier to control."

Su Ji's thoughts flashed by in a mere instant.

In the outside world, Zhao Tianyang's voice sounded again. He looked at Su Ji, his murky eyes seemingly trying to see through him from the inside out.

Su Ji finally reacted.

He raised his head, meeting Zhao Tianyang's gaze, his voice hoarse.

"Is there anyone here who does not want to leave?"

Hearing this, Zhao Tianyang paused for a moment.

Immediately after, he let out a burst of hoarse laughter. That laughter contained a bit of gratification, but also a bit of sorrow.

"Well said!"

"Very well said!"

He stood up, walked up to Su Ji, and stretched out his callus-covered hand, patting Su Ji heavily on the shoulder.

"Kid, I do not care who you were before, and I do not care what schemes you have."

He leaned close to Su Ji's ear and lowered his voice.

"Here, if you want to survive, forget the word leave."

"If you want to live a little longer..."

Zhao Tianyang's heavily wrinkled old face leaned into Su Ji's ear, his voice pressed extremely low.

"Then be an absolute mute, and a mindless walking corpse."

After saying this, he straightened his posture, his murky eyes once again becoming as placid as an ancient well.

"Too many people have died here."

"But no one has ever been able to leave this place."

"Even if you are beaten to death, your bones must be buried right here."

He pointed at the cold metal ring on Su Ji's wrist.

"This Spirit-Locking Ring will restrict the flow of your spiritual energy, and every single bit of spiritual energy you absorb will be completely intercepted by it without fail."

"From the moment you put it on, your cultivation base will only fall; there will not be the slightest possibility of it ever rising again."

"Do you understand?"

Having said his piece, Zhao Tianyang stopped looking at him. He turned and walked back to the stone table, picked up the black stone again, and examined it against the bleak light filtering through the cracks in the shack.

He laughed self-deprecatingly.

"I am a Soul Formation cultivator..."

"I was once a supreme powerhouse who stepped on the bones of millions to ascend to immortality..."

"Even I cannot escape, let alone a mere Golden Core like you?"

"Oh, right."

"Welcome to..."

"The Great Wilderness..."

"I hope you can live a little longer here."