The sun Qi gathered swiftly, revolving around the man's body. Unlike Shu Clan's moon Qi that was cool and easy to the sight, his sun Qi was extremely bright and sharp to the eyes.
Yet, the group couldn't take their eyes off him.
His sun Qi neared them as their breaths stiffened, their bodies already charring from the intense heat within it.
Just as the dense sun Qi reached its maximum strength, a cold voice erupted from the spatial tear.
"Tu Peng! Don't go overboard!"
"Presbytery Qin Luo" Tu Peng's rash expression suddenly became docile. "Hmph!"
The sun Qi stiffened and turned into large bands that wrapped around the group of ten tightly. With a flick of his fingers, they were tossed into the spatial portal.
A strong wave of dizziness struck them all as they passed out. Their bodies were transported to a dark space.
The Qi inside this dark space was extremely dense that it was beyond belief. Even the soil in the space had been affected by the dense Qi.
Just by breathing in the air of that dark space, one's physical constitution could improve greatly. The soul would also enter a state of serenity because of the density of the Qi here.
"Wake up!" A man commanded as he kicked on of the group of ten.
"Ouch" Shu Jun groaned as he rubbed his side. The band of sun Qi that tied them all in place had long since dissipated. "Where is this?"
"Hehehe" The man laughed wildly. "This is one of Sun Palace's many vital stone mines. You people will now work as slaves for us"
~Vital stone mine? No wonder the Qi here is extremely dense~
Vital stones were physical manifestations of Qi. Basically, when the ambient Qi was dense enough, it would solidify into vital stones. This was why vital stones were important to martial practitioners of all realms.
It could serve as replenishment for the aperture.
Lu Zheng stared at the man before him as he subtly released his Sea of Consciousness.
When the murky ethereal sea engulfed the man, Lu Zheng was able to sense his true aura.
It was like an unending abyss that kept a primordial beast chained away. The very presence of the primordial beast could cause mortals to fall into unending insanity.
Cold sweat formed all over Lu Zheng. The cultivation base of the man before them was so high that he couldn't guess his realm at all.
Just taking a glance at the man's power might cause Lu Zheng's soul to crumble and destroy.
That was how strong he was.
"Hmm" The man gave Lu Zheng a weird glance before looking away. Pointing at a guard, he ordered: "Take them away!"
The man's body instantly melted away into darkness and soon, even his aura was gone.
He had already left.
"Get to work!" The guard ordered.
"What work?" Shu Kai sneered.
"Fool. You are here to mine vital stones for the respectable Sun Palace. Work hard and maybe you'll be granted amnesty and released. Till then, you are under my control" The guard said with a narcissistic tone. "As for the beast, I'll be taking it"
"I doubt that" Themur roared as his skin was completely engulfed in purple flames. His rank four aura swayed around wildly.
"Rank four beast" The guard mumbled. Dark shadows moved around him as the approached Themur.
Themur struck them with his flames but they were too much.
"Hmph!" Lu Zheng snorted. A sea of crimson flames formed that swept through the shadows, destroying them all.
"You're strong" The guard praised as he released his Domain. "For a first tier of Domain Formation realm martial warrior"
A strong restraining force took over everyone that they couldn't even move their fingers.
Under this restraining force, even breathing became impossible.
"There's a reason Presbytery Qin Luo left me with a group of ten Domain Formation realm martial warriors and a rank four beast. Inside my Domain, I have complete control over your movements. If you can't breakthrough this control, then you can't beat me" The guard smiled.
Lu Zheng and the others only looked on. They couldn't produce a single sound to speak.
"Besides…" The guard continued speaking as he let out a tinge of his aura. "I am stronger than y'all"
~First tier of Sky realm! A Sky realm expert!~
The guard's aura revealed that he was firmly at the first tier of Sky realm, a realm that held battle strength beyond their reach.
The guard cancelled his Domain and released them. They all began to cough due to having held their breaths for so long.
"Sky realm…" Shu Mingling clenched his fists as he stabilised his breathing. He was at the third tier of Domain Formation realm and it seemed like he was just a tier away from the Sky realm.
However, he knew the huge disparity between the first tier of Sky realm and the third tier of Domain Formation realm. The distance was akin to that between the heaven and the earth – immense.
This was why everyone at the Sky realm was regarded as an expert. They were the true powerhouses.
Lu Zheng's gaze was misty as he stared at the guard. He was still surprised at a thing.
~How come a Sky realm expert can still use a Domain?~
Domains were only for Domain Formation realm martial practitioners. It was impossible to advance to the Sky realm with the Domain and yet, this guard seemed to have defied that rule.
"He is probably the head guard" Lu Zheng thought.
"Put all your artifacts here and take a pick-axe. As for the beast, come with me" The guard gestured to a side.
Having seen his true strength, the rest did not have the confidence to disobey anymore. They obediently did as he commanded.
Lu Zheng and the others were leaded through the vital stone mine to where they would be mining. The vital stone mine was filled with all sorts of tunnels that linked with one another like a labyrinth. Getting lost was as easy as child's play.
Lu Zheng, Hong Haoyu and the Shu clansmen were left in a cave that was simply designated as '5'. They also had carriages for the vital stones they had mined.
Numerous guards all clad in martial uniforms stood around in order to control the actions of everyone. Even though their auras were nothing compared to the head guard's, they were still very strong.
Lu Zheng also saw many people that were also working as slaves. They had probably suffered the same fate as Lu Zheng and the rest.
"Mei Luan" Lu Zheng said in his mind. Immediately, at the corners of his eyes, the phantom image of a beautiful female formed.
"Yes master" Mei Luan replied.
Lu Zheng had kept Mei Luan's soul in the sword Lu Shantian gave him and when he saw that things were going south, he stored her soul in his body when no one was watching.
"Control my meridians to absorb the ambient Qi here" Lu Zheng said softly.
Mei Luan's phantom image made a slight nod before dissipating.
The ambient Qi within the vital stone mine was extremely dense. If Lu Zheng did not cultivate it, he would regret it for life.
Using her soul power, Mei Luan took over Lu Zheng's meridians to cultivate the ambient Qi and improve his cultivation base.
Meanwhile, Lu Zheng mined away at the endless vital stone deposits before him.
Time passed swiftly and many days went by.
Lu Zheng and the others tried to escape a few times but they were caught every time and punished accordingly.
The Sky realm expert was always watching the activities in the vital stone mine and other than the food and water they provided them, Lu Zheng and the others weren't allowed to take anything else – especially the vital stones.
Just as they were beginning to despair at their fate of being slaves for eternity, a great change occurred one day.