CHAPTER 889: CHAPTER 667: ENDURING HARDSHIP AND BIDING ONE’S TIME

"Is the matter of the Divine Blood something you made up, or is it real?"

Li Yi was walking through the mine passage in Red Gold Mountain at this moment, accompanied by Ji Hei, the slave owner, who couldn’t help but feel curious about the so-called Divine Blood, thus he asked.

The slave owner Ji Hei thought for a moment then said with a smile, "An ancient legend says that Red Gold is formed by the Divine Blood falling on the earth and condensing, making Red Gold the most precious. There’s also a rumor that within the Red Gold Mine, if you’re lucky, you might dig out Divine Blood that’s been sealed for a long time and hasn’t condensed yet from the ores, and the Divine Blood Warriors believe that bathing in the Divine Blood will grant them a physique like that of the Divine, and might even have a chance to gain a new Divine Bloodline."

"Although there exist twin Divine Blood Warriors in this world, they are the offspring of two Divine Blood Families’ lineages, not created by bathing in Divine Blood."

"I am merely a shallow-sighted slave owner, I can’t distinguish the truth of the Divine Blood matter, but this legendary story has been passed down through generations. Even the Red Gold Mountain Master has sought Divine Blood. He once blasted through ten mountains, losing the wealth from ten mountains, yet he didn’t find any Divine Blood, so eventually, the Red Gold Mountain Master gave up."

Li Yi slightly nodded upon hearing this, "I see. Besides the precious Red Gold, are there other treasures in these great mountains?"

"There was once a slave who dug up the remains of a Hundred Mountain Master and also discovered a fragment of an ancient weapon... these were major events that shocked Red Gold Mountain, I remember them clearly," said slave owner Ji Hei.

"It seems that the Red Gold Mountain Master is indeed very wealthy," Li Yi commented.

Slave owner Ji Hei laughed, "He is a powerful warrior of the Thirty Mountain Masters, naturally possessing the wealth of thirty mountains, certainly very wealthy. Da Yi, you are a lineage of the Divine Blood, you’ll also become a master in the future, possibly even surpassing this Red Gold Mountain Master."

Li Yi wasn’t interested in his compliments, he was only pondering about the actual strength of the Red Gold Mountain Master, whether the cultivator Xuan Yuezi, who is at the peak of the Tri-Floral Realm, could defeat him.

After all, the highest martial power he could wield was the peak of the Tri-Floral Realm.

Although there are Enlightened ones in the End of Dharma Cultivation World, he hasn’t been able to recruit them. Cang Erzi, who was an Enlightened before, had his realm fall after the End of Dharma era, and it’s unknown whether he has recovered in the Xuanxian World now.

"Da Yi, this way, your companion is in the deepest mining area, I promised Xiu Xiang I would only let you meet your companion, bringing him out isn’t something I promised, I hope you won’t be upset because of this," slave owner Ji Hei continued.

"That’s sufficient." Li Yi nodded slightly.

Xiu Xiang has done his best to this extent, after all, facing a master of a place, relying solely on the financial and capability of a Merchant Master to oppose is evidently impossible, and he wouldn’t press the matter unreasonably.

Meanwhile.

In the depths of the Red Gold Mine.

Jiang Mingtian, as a slave, was currently swinging a hammer, busily crushing the mountain stones in front of him like everyone else from the Barbaric World, to reveal the Red Gold within.

This is the most primitive yet inefficient method of mining, but it can’t be helped as the people of this world possess great strength.

After prolonged mining under the scorching aura of Red Gold Mountain, Jiang Mingtian and the other slaves all became dark and thin, their backs covered with whip marks. However, unlike the other slaves, his body was tormented, but his soul was tempered to be particularly strong.

Moreover, the spiritual energy within the Red Gold Mine contains a special power that seems to be the essence qi emitted by the Divine Blood, absorbing it over time can change one’s physique.

Ordinary slaves do not understand the path of cultivation, so they would just exhaust themselves and die here in Red Gold Mine.

Yet Jiang Mingtian is different; he knows the Evolution Method, so despite his outer appearance being dark and thin, he continues to evolve internally.

If not for this, an Earth person’s body would have died mining here long ago.

Bang!

The bronze iron hammer in his hands shattered a piece of rock in front of him, revealing several chunks of Red Gold.

With his gaze slightly flickering at the priceless Red Gold, Jiang Mingtian took the chance when no one was watching, opened his mouth, and a piece of Red Gold flew into his belly, where a Storage Magical Artifact resides.

Thinking about this Storage Magical Artifact, Jiang Mingtian couldn’t help but recall Li Yi.

Li Yi had distributed three Storage Magical Artifacts to him after defeating Xu Wen Dao at Golden Academy. Although after entering this Barbaric World, he was defeated by a group of Barbarian Warriors and had all his belongings seized, he cleverly swallowed the second Storage Magical Artifact.

And the facts proved that his choice back then was correct.

Using this Storage Magical Artifact, Jiang Mingtian secretly collected a lot of Red Gold in Red Gold Mine.

"If I return to Earth, and use this Red Gold to forge armor and a treasured sword, I could certainly traverse the world," Jiang Mingtian thought to himself, "I have seen the warriors guarding the mountain use weapons forged from Red Gold, they are truly indestructible."

His actions in collecting Red Gold were very cautious, for he knew that once exposed, he would die miserably; his current strength was not enough to contend with the Red Gold Mountain Master.

"Jiang Mingtian, how long do we have to stay here? Wouldn’t we try to find a chance to escape?" At this moment, another dark and thin slave came over. He was called Zhao Fangji, who was sold into Red Gold Mountain by the slave owner just like Jiang Mingtian.

Zhao Fangji’s task was to collect Red Gold and deliver it to a designated place.

So he didn’t have much contact with Jiang Mingtian.

"Leaving is for sure, but not right now. This is a great place for cultivation. Using the strange energy emitted from Red Gold Mountain, our bodies are undergoing transformation. Earth people’s bodies are too weak. After the transformation is complete, I’ll find an opportunity to leave." Jiang Mingtian said in a low voice.

"Besides, I still have to find the legendary Divine Blood within this Red Gold Mountain?"

Zhao Fangji, picking up red gold from the ground, whispered, "Do you have any clues?"

"After absorbing Red Gold Mountain’s energy, my body started to sense something here during the transformation."

Jiang Mingtian continued to swing the heavy hammer, smashing the boulders in front: "In the direction I’m hammering, there’s an energy drawing me in. I suspect that’s where the Divine Blood is hidden deep within the mountain."

"After being beasts of burden here for so long, how can I be content without taking some treasure with me? And how is that Mountain Lord-level Qióngqí?"

Zhao Fangji said, "I don’t know, I’ve never seen that Mountain Lord-level Qióngqí."

"Last year, when that Mountain Lord-level Qióngqí was asleep, I had an out-of-body experience and took the opportunity to plant a Beast Taming Talisman. That was the highest-level Beast Taming Talisman I crafted at great cost. Although it can’t immediately tame a Mountain Lord-level Qióngqí, over time it should gradually be affected by the talisman, especially since people in this world don’t know cultivation methods, let alone how to break a Beast Taming Talisman."

Jiang Mingtian continued to say in a low voice while swinging his hammer.

"You’re really crazy, thinking of taming a Mountain Lord-level Qióngqí with your realm. That’s a mythical creature with terrifying power. No wonder the Qióngqí went berserk in the mountains those days; it was searching. Luckily, you hid deep within Red Gold Mountain, masking your presence with the red gold’s aura; otherwise, we’d be dead." As Zhao Fangji was collecting scattered red gold from the ground, his movements paused.

Jiang Mingtian’s mouth curled into a cold smile: "Fortune favors the brave, cowards starve. Why be afraid? We’re already slaves, whipped every day, forced to mine like beasts. If we don’t take a gamble, how can we turn things around? If I find the Divine Blood and tame that Qióngqí, I’ll be the boss when I return to Earth. Zhao Fangji, don’t tell me you’re willing to dig forever; aren’t you also accumulating strength, waiting for a chance to turn the tables?"

"I have now become a Divine Blood Warrior, my bones have turned silver, and my blood has also turned silver. I’ve even mastered the power of silver lightning... That’s why I’m eager to leave," Zhao Fangji said.

His traits were identical to those of Li Yi before.

After all, Zhao Fangji also consumed the silver exotic fruit. Previously, those fruits weren’t enough to give him bloodline power, but within Red Gold Mountain, he absorbed so much of the special essence qi released from the red gold ores, which pushed him to also become a Divine Blood Warrior.

"Above the Divine Blood Warrior is the Divine Blood Lineage. You should be patient and stay a bit longer until you become a Divine Blood Lineage before leaving. It wouldn’t be too late. If we miss this chance, we might not get so lucky next time," Jiang Mingtian said.

Zhao Fangji slung the basket of red gold over his back and, preparing to leave, said, "Your body’s transformation hasn’t reached the level of your blood yet, so if you get whipped, it won’t show anything unusual. I’m different. If I get lashed and silver blood flows out, my identity as a Divine Blood Warrior will be exposed. I’m worried it will attract trouble, and if a warrior chief or Mountain Lord notices, there’ll be no chance to leave."

"I see."

Hearing this, Jiang Mingtian nodded: "In that case, let’s wait until I’ve finished mining here before we leave. I feel we’re about to reach the area where the Divine Blood might be soon, just a few more days."

"Then hurry. I’ll try to submit more red gold these days to avoid the overseer’s attacks." With that, Zhao Fangji left quickly, like other slaves, carrying red gold.

They didn’t have many chances to meet, only once every two or three days.

Hearing this, Jiang Mingtian fell silent again, while unconsciously increasing the strength in his hammer swings.

With his current strength, mining was a breeze, but to avoid attracting attention, he purposely held back. Otherwise, a slave with warrior-like power would certainly draw notice, at which point he couldn’t remain hidden.

"It’s indeed time to leave. A slave with no real power can only survive for about two years in the Red Gold Mine. I’ve been here for over a year already. If I don’t leave soon, the overseers might start paying attention."

Jiang Mingtian thought to himself.

Most of the slaves from the same batch as him had already died. He and Zhao Fangji survived in good health because they knew cultivation.

"I wonder how Hu Fei and Li Yi are doing, whether they’re still alive."

He then sighed.

Back then, the four of them faced unexpected events and were captured together, and he, Zhao Fangji, and Hu Fei were sold as slaves. Hu Fei was unlucky and got bought midway, while Li Yi seemed to be left in that mountain village.

Shaking his head.

Jiang Mingtian continued mining. He couldn’t worry about others now; staying alive was already fortunate. But if he escaped in the coming days, he vowed to destroy that village and do his best to find Li Yi and Hu Fei.

He couldn’t just leave those two in this barbaric world, especially Li Yi. Without the storage magical artifact Li Yi gave him, he probably wouldn’t have survived.

Although the storage magical artifact didn’t contain anything valuable, it did store a significant amount of nutrient liquid.

For slaves, food is the scarcest resource. Without those nutrient liquids to endure through the initial severe injuries, he would have died long ago, unable to last until now.