For the Next Several Hundred Years, You'll Have to Deal with These Knots.

Zhao Tianyang waved his hand.

"Go out."

"Someone will arrange work for you."

Having said all this, Zhao Tianyang ignored Su Ji, like an NPC who had finished giving instructions.

He picked up the black stone again and began to study it by himself against the pale light seeping through the cracks of the shack.

Su Ji carried the rusty iron pickaxe, turned around, and walked out of the shack.

Su Ji walked out of the crude shack.

He was greeted by a fierce wind mixed with gravel, stinging his cheeks.

Countless figures, as small as ants in the distance, numbly swung the tools in their hands.

This was the Third Mining Area.

A graveyard that buried the proud bones of countless geniuses from the lower realms.

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

"Senior Brother, are they... are they all ascended cultivators?"

"What else?"

Su Ji silently replied in his heart.

"Did you think mortals came to this godforsaken place for a vacation?"

He looked at those numb figures, but his mind was completely clear.

These people might have once been absolute authorities in their respective worlds, geniuses who suppressed an entire era.

But here, they were just a bunch of slaves stripped of their dignity and future.

That Spirit-Locking Ring was the key.

It not only imprisoned their cultivation bases but also acted like an invisible chain, tightly locking away everyone's will to resist.

And overseers like Zhao Tianyang probably stood out from this group of mining slaves.

Using slaves to manage slaves.

He had to admit, this system felt somewhat familiar...

Just as Su Ji was pondering to himself, a huge shadow enveloped his entire body.

Su Ji looked up.

A burly man, built like an iron tower, stood before him without him noticing when he arrived.

The burly man was shirtless, his bronze skin covered with crisscrossing scars, and his bulging muscles were as hard as granite.

He lowered his head, looking down at Su Ji. No expression could be seen on his weather-beaten face.

"Newcomer?"

The burly man's voice was rough and muffled, like two stones grinding together.

Su Ji nodded, maintaining his appearance of silent endurance.

The burly man extended a calloused thumb and casually pointed to his own chest.

"Zhang Kui."

"Taken away for a talk by Old Zhao as soon as you arrived. You're a troublemaker."

"From now on, you follow me."

He didn't seem to care about Su Ji's reaction. After speaking, he turned around.

"Follow me."

"I'll show you around. For the next few hundred years, you'll be dealing with these rocks."

Su Ji didn't say much, just silently followed behind him.

Zhang Kui led him, walking unhurriedly along the edge of the massive mining pit.

"See that?"

He pointed to a relatively flat area below.

"That area is prepared for you newcomers."

"The rocks there are the softest and easiest to dig, but the yield of Black Vein Iron is also the lowest."

"Dig there for a month first. If you can't even meet the quota there..."

Zhang Kui didn't continue speaking. He just shifted his gaze deeper into the pit, to an area shrouded in darkness.

From there, muffled explosions and barely audible screams would occasionally ring out.

"Then you can only go there."

"All the disobedient ones, and those useless trashes who can't dig enough ore, will eventually be sent there."

"The rock formations there are very unstable. Cave-ins are common occurrences. The people sent in are treated as expendables."

The image of Zhao Tianyang's heavily wrinkled old face appeared in Su Ji's mind.

So, the so-called "no need to eat" was just the beginning.

Zhang Kui seemed to see what Su Ji was thinking. On his serious face, he actually pulled out an ugly smile.

"Why risk your life if you can't dig enough?"

"The food here isn't just to fill your stomach."

"There's something special in the air of this hellhole. The food we eat can resist this corrosion."

"Three days without food, and this skin of yours..."

"That scene, tsk tsk, is quite interesting."

Su Ji's heart stirred.

Another key piece of information.

This combination of blows was ruthless and absolute.

First, use the Spirit-Locking Ring to ruin your chances of advancing your cultivation.

Then, promise to return your freedom after four hundred years, giving you a glimmer of hope.

Finally, use food to control your life and death, using death to force you to work endlessly.

A perfect closed loop.

"So, remember the first rule."

Zhang Kui held up a thick finger.

"Meet the quota."

"For newcomers, it's ten catties of Black Vein Iron a day. Even a fraction less, and you get no food."

"Second."

He held up a second finger.

"No fucking infighting."

"We are all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Fighting our own people is the stupidest thing to do in the mining area."

"Everyone has a quota, and there's an overall quota too. If the overall quota isn't met, everyone gets punished."

Zhang Kui led the three of them to a relatively gentle slope.

Here, dozens of crooked, crude shacks were erected.

Some mining slaves who had just finished work were dragging their exhausted bodies, climbing out of the pit. They were emaciated, their eyes hollow, like walking corpses.

"This is where you'll be living from now on."

Zhang Kui pointed to a shack that looked like it was about to fall apart.

"Go on, find an empty spot and lie down."

"Rest for a while. Later, when you hear the bell, you must gather at the entrance of the pit."

Su Ji nodded and was about to turn around.

"Hey, newcomer."

Zhang Kui's voice sounded from behind again.

Su Ji turned back.

He saw Zhang Kui's serious face now carrying a trace of indescribable complexity.

"That Old Zhao..."

He paused, his voice lowered extremely.

"Stay away from him if you can."

Su Ji's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.

He finally spoke, asking his first question since arriving here.

"Why?"

Zhang Kui's Adam's apple bobbed, seemingly hesitating.

Eventually, he impatiently waved his hand.

"Don't ask so much."

After saying that, Zhang Kui ignored Su Ji and turned to walk towards the shack on the other side.

Leaving Su Ji alone, standing in place, facing the cold wind of the wasteland.