In the dim and damp mining tunnel, Lu Ye carried a mining basket on his back and a pickaxe in his hand, step by step, moving forward.
The young man wore a somewhat sad expression, his eyes focused on the space in front of him, as if staring at something.
To outsiders, there appeared to be nothing in front of Lu Ye, but in the young man's vision, he could see a semi-transparent shadow.
It resembled the shadow of a tree, hazy and indistinct, with lush branches and leaves, splitting from one-third up the trunk to support a semi-circular canopy.
Having been in this world called the Nine Provinces for over a year, Lu Ye still hadn't figured out what exactly this thing was; he only knew that when his concentration was sufficient, the chance of this shadow tree appearing in his sight increased, and others were completely unaware of it.
"Truly a miserable life," the young man sighed.
A year ago, he abruptly awoke in this unfamiliar world and before he even had a chance to get accustomed to his surroundings, the power he found himself amidst was seized by a group of bandits. Many were killed, and he, along with some other young men and women, became the captives of those bandits, who then sent him into this mine to become a lowly mining slave.
Only later did he find out from the scattered conversations of others that the power he had been part of belonged to the Haotian Alliance, a sect named the Xuantian Sect.
The name of this sect sounded cool and domineering, but in reality, it was just an insignificant minor sect.
It was Evil Moon Valley under the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge that had taken over the Xuantian Sect.
The Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge were two major camp organizations in this world, both formed by countless large and small powers united together, constantly undermining and battling each other, with the aim of completely eliminating the other side, a conflict that had reportedly lasted for hundreds of years.
To Lu Ye, such strife was simply a battle between the forces of law and evil, and he had just inadvertently been swept up into this great tide of confrontation.
Over the years, the Nine Provinces continent had been beset with ongoing wars, with small powers like the Xuantian Sect being uprooted annually, but soon more powers would spring up like bamboo shoots after a rain, claiming various territories and complicating the situation even more.
If I must be a mining slave... then so be it, Lu Ye consoled himself, at least he was still alive compared to those who had been killed.
His survival had nothing to do with any special skills of his own; rather, Evil Moon Valley needed some menials to do errands, and people like Lu Ye without any cultivation and still young were undoubtedly the best choice.
Actually, among the mining slaves in this mine were not only people from the Xuantian Sect, but also disciples from other small families and minor sects.
The power of Evil Moon Valley was not weak; over the years, it had conquered much territory, and naturally, the original powers of those territories were destroyed. Some of the usable manpower was sent by Evil Moon Valley to various places for enslavement.
These people invariably shared one characteristic; they had not yet opened their orifices and had no cultivation in their bodies, making them easy to control.
In the Nine Provinces continent, there was a saying, "Without opening its orifice, a demon can't shape-change; without opening its orifice, a human can't cultivate."
If one wishes to cultivate, they must first open their spiritual orifice, and only with an opened spiritual orifice does one have the eligibility for cultivation.
Opening the spiritual orifice is not an easy task. Among ordinary people, after systematic training, not more than one in a hundred can open their spiritual orifice. If they come from a cultivating family or a sect with elders guiding them, the proportion might be higher.
Lu Ye had failed to open his spiritual orifice, so he could only make a living by mining in the dim tunnels.
However, mining slaves were not without a way out. If one could succeed in opening their orifice and report this to the Manager, there was a chance to take a test. Upon passing the test, they could become disciples of Evil Moon Valley.
Yet among the mining slaves, very few were able to open their orifices. In this dim environment, laboring day in and day out, hardly even getting enough to eat, how could one even think of opening their orifice?
Thus, practically ninety-nine percent of the mining slaves had resigned themselves to a hard life, working tirelessly each day just for a full meal.
Lu Ye felt no sense of belonging to the Xuantian Sect, after all, as soon as he came to this world, the sect was destroyed, and he didn't recognize any of the people inside it.
He didn't wish to become a disciple of something like Evil Moon Valley either; it wasn't a legitimate force—the name alone gave off a sense of evil; it was bound to fall sooner or later.
But he couldn't stay in here as a mining slave forever; what a disgrace that would be. After all, he was an elite of the new era. If a person lived without dreams, how were they any different from a salted fish?
So for the past year, he had been diligently attempting to open his orifice. Initially, he thought the shadow tree, which only he could see, might provide some miraculous help, but up to now, the shadow tree remained just a shadow—it didn't offer any help, and sometimes it even affected his vision.
Lu Ye began to seriously suspect that there might be a problem with his eyes.
Turning a corner, a faint light appeared far ahead, one of the exits of the mining tunnel.
Today's yield was good; submitting the ore in the mining basket should earn him three contribution points. Coupling that with the previous days' accumulation, he had roughly twelve points. Using two to exchange for two steamed buns, the remaining ten points could just afford a blood Qi pill.
The blood Qi pill was a very low-level medicinal pill, not intended to assist with orifice-opening, but to open one's orifice, one must have plentiful blood Qi. Although low-level, the blood Qi pill was precisely suitable for someone like Lu Ye who hadn't opened his orifice.
The reason Evil Moon Valley was willing to offer blood Qi pills wasn't out of kindness, but because they understood the human heart well: even the cheapest and most basic pills could make those harboring hopes work even harder in mining.
Like Lu Ye... who worked diligently every day.
About thirty feet from the mining tunnel exit, Lu Ye's gaze inadvertently swept over a corner to the left front, where a large boulder lay across.