Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 452 - Slave

The atmosphere in the room was eerie. Xiao Yanlong wanted to kill Liu Wuxie, but he didn’t dare to act. The two sides remained in a stalemate, with a murderous intent filling the entire place.

“Captain Wang, there’s no need to dirty your hands to kill trash like him. I’ll make sure he suffers terribly!” Che Yong ran over and stood beside Xiao Yanlong with a flattering tone, looking like a lapdog.

Xiao Yanlong’s mood lifted at this display. He was pleased with the idea of using one slave to deal with another, letting them turn on each other. To him, the outcome was irrelevant as long as it served his purposes.

“I’ll request your freedom with the hall master if you perform well,” Xiao Yanlong nodded, satisfied with Che Yong’s approach.

“Thank you, Captain Wang!” Che Yong expressed his gratitude. This was the best opportunity for him to shed his status as a slave, and he intended to seize it.

The others looked on with envy because they couldn’t be as shameless as Che Yong, causing them to miss the opportunity to curry favor with Xiao Yanlong.

Che Yong snatched such a good chance. If he managed to kill Liu Wuxie, he could escape the status of a slave with his freedom restored.

The Wild Lion Gate had suffered heavy losses this time. Aside from losing countless slaves, their members had also suffered a large amount of casualties, which was why they needed to bring in new blood.

“Liu Wuxie, I hope you don’t die too quickly; it would be no fun otherwise!” Xiao Yanlong sneered, his laughter echoing as he walked away.

No one could fully understand the torment Xiao Yanlong had endured over the past year. Forced into a medicinal furnace daily by his master and treated like an animal, he had emerged with a body resistant to poison. Combined with his training in poisonous martial techniques, this had greatly enhanced his strength and earned him the rank of captain.

After Xiao Yanlong left, many people distanced themselves from Liu Wuxie, not wanting to get involved. They still didn’t want to die, and a miserable life was better than death. There was still hope for them to escape as long as they were alive.

Take the earthquake, for instance. Many slaves had managed to escape due to the recent earthquake.

“See that? This brat is an enemy of Captain Wang. As long as you all choose to follow me, I can put up a good word for you with Captain Wang to restore your freedom!” Che Yong looked around because this was the perfect opportunity to win people.

The more people he could bring to his side, the more bargaining power he could have with the Wild Lion Gate.

“Brother Che, please take good care of me in the future!” A cultivator in the second level of the Heavenly Phase Realm stood up, willing to follow Che Yong. Although the chance of restoring their freedom was slim, it was better than having no chance.

With someone leading the way, dozens of people stood up and were willing to follow Che Yong. Like a snowball rolling, Che Yong quickly gathered a group that couldn’t be ignored.

This meant it wouldn’t be easy for Liu Wuxie to confront them alone.

“Big Brother Liu, what should we do?” Gu Yu panicked a little and whispered beside Liu Wuxie.

“They’re a bunch of scraps. If there’s trouble, they’ll run faster than anyone.” A sneer rose on Liu Wuxie’s lips. Although they had the advantage in numbers, no one would step out in the face of crisis.

They would be brothers when there were benefits, but they would scatter and run for their lives in the face of crisis.

Everyone isolated Liu Wuxie and Gu Yu. Those who didn’t choose to follow Che Yong didn’t get too close to Liu Wuxie either.

The sounds of fighting outside gradually subsided with the order in the Blood Sea Abyssal Island was slowly restored. The three major forces began to clean up the battlefield.

The abyssal devils retreated after capturing a bunch of slaves. As for the sea demons, they killed many humans and looted treasures before returning to the sea.

The seawater began to recede, leaving marks behind where seawater had washed over. Some fish couldn’t escape and were left exposed to the scorching sun.

Batch after batch of new slaves were brought in to fill up the concentration camp.

The past few days had been relatively peaceful, and Xiao Yanlong never returned. Che Yong also didn’t cause trouble for Liu Wuxie, and everything was calm.

On the fourth day, Xiao Yanlong came with many members of the Wild Lion Gate. A roar echoed, “On your feet! We’re moving!”

Liu Wuxie stopped his cultivation. He hadn’t relaxed over the past few days and had been trying to comprehend the Heavenly Phase Realm.

After killing several experts in the Heavenly Phase Realm, the laws in their bodies weren’t challenging to comprehend.

Everyone in the concentration camp was like ducks being driven out. Xiao Yanlong wasn’t the leader this time but someone in the Astral River Realm.

“Hall Master He, may I know where we are going?” Che Yong recognized this expert in the Astral River Realm as he had been in the Blood Sea Abyssal Island for six months. Thus, he naturally knew many people and things.

“To where you belong!” Hall Master He didn’t explain much and urged them to hurry up.

Over three hundred people were driven out of the city.

Liu Wuxie activated his Ghost Eye, scanning the area within tens of thousands of meters. The mine's layout had drastically changed; the territories of the three major forces had shifted, with some areas collapsing while others rose. The regions needed to be redivided, and the recent upheaval had left the area in disarray.

The Ding Feng Hall and Wolf Fang Regiment appeared shortly after the Wild Lion Gate left, driving a group of people toward the mine as well. The slaves were people they had captured recently.

“Go down there!” Liu Wuxie and everyone were driven to a pitch-black cave entrance and ordered to enter. But before they even got close, their senses were assaulted by a musty, damp smell.

“We refuse! Why should we be treated as slaves?” many people protested. They were humans, not slaves; this was too unfair for them. They wouldn’t mind mining if they were paid handsomely but not driven as slaves.

“Mere insects have no right to resist!” Hall Master He responded with brutal efficiency, crushing three cultivators in the Heavenly Phase Realm with a single sweep of his palm. The violence was swift and merciless, serving as a grim reminder of the Wild Lion Gate's authority.

“Let’s go down! The Wild Lion Gate won’t mistreat us if we perform well!” Che Yong entered the cave first to demonstrate his loyalty, earning Hall Master He’s approval.

With more than three hundred people entering the cave, Liu Wuxie blended into the crowd. There were guards every few steps, filled with members of the Wild Lion Gate, to prevent any escape of the slaves.

“Hand over your interspatial rings before entering!” As they approached the cave entrance, a table appeared with several stern-faced old men, commanding everyone to surrender their interspatial rings. This measure was to prevent the loss of the Blood Abyssal Stones that would be mined.

Liu Wuxie frowned upon hearing he had to hand over his interspatial ring because he had many treasures inside. If he handed his interspatial ring to the Wild Lion Gate, the odds of him retrieving it would be slim.

Gu Yu also became anxious because his grandfather had given him many things besides the ancient sword in his interspatial ring. If he lost them, his grandfather would become furious.

The people ahead were reluctant, but no one dared to resist, with Che Yong taking the lead. This was everyone’s mentality, with everyone following suit the moment one person gave in.

“Since the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron can devour anything, I wonder if it can be used to store interspatial rings!” A bold thought rose in Liu Wuxie’s mind. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was massive and could even devour demonic beasts, so it shouldn’t be an issue to store two interspatial rings.

It would soon be his turn, and he removed his interspatial ring to send it into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. A miraculous scene occurred with the interspatial ring quietly hovering above the cauldron, and it was returned to his hand with a thought.

This meant the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron could be used to store items, and Liu Wuxie was excited by this discovery.

“Gu Yu, hand me your interspatial ring!” The two were close together, and Liu Wuxie secretly transmitted a message.

Gu Yu quickly removed his interspatial ring and handed it to Liu Wuxie. He was surprised when he saw the interspatial ring disappear and even blinked to verify if he had seen it wrongly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it safe for now!” Liu Wuxie gave him a reassuring look.

It was soon Liu Wuxie’s turn, and he prepared an empty interspatial ring with a few hundred spirit stones and some spiritual herbs he didn’t need.

The old man responsible for the counter didn’t pay much attention and found it normal because of Liu Wuxie’s low cultivation.

Gu Yu also did the same and handed over a substitute interspatial ring. After all, he would raise suspicion if he didn’t hand over an interspatial ring.

After all rings were collected, the people were left feeling despondent, some even breaking into tears as they contemplated the bleak possibility of spending their lives in the cave.

“You will be divided into five teams and go to your respective regions through the assigned route. Someone will come to collect your Blood Abyssal Stones daily, and there’s no need for your group to continue existing if you can’t hand over any.” The old man’s eyes gave off a powerful murderous intent because each group was required to mine at least one Blood Abyssal Stone daily.

Over three hundred captives were soon organized into groups. Liu Wuxie’s group consisted of three men, in addition to Gu Yu, who was significantly stronger. This arrangement was a deliberate ploy by Xiao Yanlong, who aimed to use these three men to secretly dispose of Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie wasn’t bothered and used Ghost Eye to survey the underground world. There were rows of mining tunnels before him, each with many branches. It was uncertain where the Blood Abyssal Stone could be found.

The stones blocking his way gradually dissolved, with his vision clearing up. He picked a tunnel and led the way inside.

They traveled through a long passage for approximately five hundred meters, encountering debris likely from the recent earthquake. The group worked quickly to clear the rubble, fully aware that failing to deliver a Blood Abyssal Stone by the next day could result in dire consequences.

The seawater poured out once the tunnel was cleared, rising to their waists. The seawater soon flowed to the lower area, leaving some mud behind, but this couldn’t hinder their process.

They finally reached the depths of the mine, where a crystal wall appeared before them. The stone was extremely hard, and this was where the Blood Abyssal Stones could be found.