Zhang Xiu returned to the rocky wall nearby and resumed swinging his miner's pickaxe, recalling the recent events in his mind, his eyes filled with added sorrow.

The attack by the Wu Yue Sect on the Black Wind Desert was too sudden, and no one had anticipated the arrival of this disaster. The cities of the north, led by Wangbei City, changed sides overnight. Countless followers of the Wu Yue Sect swept through each city, executing all who dared to resist.

The City Lord of Xiansha City was among them.

At that time, Zhang Xiu had just begun his meditative cultivation when his door was kicked open, and a Soul Witch stormed in, easily overpowering him and clamping spirit-power-suppressing shackles on his ankles.

Afterward, as the Wu Yue Sect advanced towards the Central Plains, most of the captured cultivators were driven to the frontline, leaving only a few Qi Refining cultivators like Zhang Xiu to serve as slaves, tasked with mining and alchemy among other logistics work.

Heading to the frontline was undoubtedly a death sentence, but for Zhang Xiu, life as a slave was hardly any better.

Cultivation in the Black Wind Desert had always been a struggle due to resource scarcity, and now, most of the city's supplies had been taken by the Wu Yue Sect, leaving only the leftovers and scraps for the sect members who remained there.

Zhang Xiu and the others could only persevere through the hardships, mining and practicing alchemy for the Wu Yue Sect day and night.

The incident that had just occurred was merely a microcosm. In the current Black Wind Desert, similar events unfolded almost incessantly.

However, it seemed that heaven did not pity the suffering of Zhang Xiu and his companions.

Over the vast expanse of yellow sand, the sky darkened, and a cold wind howled through the mining pits, causing all the cultivators to shiver involuntarily.

"Black, the Black Wind is coming! Quickly, activate the Great Array!" Amidst the chaos, someone shouted.

The Wu Yue Sect members overseeing the mine, transferred from the Northern Desert, were far slower to react than these local cultivators. By the time they fumbled with the Array Plate to activate it, a pitch-black hurricane had already appeared on the horizon.

Quickly, the mine's Great Array rose, but before anyone could take a breath, the spirit light on the array flickered abruptly, and then it dispersed entirely.

Everyone was stunned.

"Dammit, those guys even skimmed on these life-saving Spirit Stones?" The guard was the first to react, cursing as he threw down the Array Plate in frustration.

At that moment, despondency overcame all the cultivators in the mine. Their Magic Artifacts had long been confiscated, and now they couldn't even flee for their lives.

In the midst of deep despair, Zhang Xiu suddenly calmed down.

In the end, he was unable to escape the Black Wind Desert.

His father was wrong after all. Even high and mighty Immortal Masters were not truly free. In the face of more powerful beings, they were all mere ants.

Swept up by the tides of destiny, whether an Immortal Master or a mortal, everyone was but a leaf on water, unable to control their own fate, tumbling with the waves, drifting without knowing the destination.

As Zhang Xiu reminisced about his life, someone nearby suddenly exclaimed.

"Wait, look, there's someone in the Black Wind!"

Zhang Xiu was startled and hurriedly looked up, only to see a handsome young man amidst the colossal black tornado, rising and falling with the wind, floating through the sky like a flying leaf, taking advantage of the wind currents.

Every now and then, he would throw a punch. With each movement, it looked as though he was following the wind's lead, yet also challenging the raging storm.

"Is he cultivating using the Black Wind?" someone in the mine realized.

"How is that possible? This is a natural disaster, something even Nascent Soul cultivators don't want to face. How could someone be using it for cultivation?" another person gasped incredulously.

Whether it was the voices of the cultivators in the mine that disturbed the young man in the wind, he seemed to turn his head and glance towards the mine, then he abruptly stopped his body in the midst of the wind.

Facing the towering winds, the young man appeared exceedingly slender yet as firm and majestic as a mountain, unmovable by any storm or thunder strike.

Then, the young man took a deep breath, his eyes flashed with spirit light, and he retracted his fists to his belly, before suddenly thrusting forward.

In an instant, the sky cleared.

The crowd of cultivators in the mine only heard a deafening sound, like a Demon Image roaring or a violent wind howling. Then, a large hole appeared in the middle of the towering tornado, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be pushed away rapidly.

In just a breath's time, the Black Wind Desert's calamity, a nightmare that instilled fear in countless, a silent reaper of lives, was dispersed by the young man's punch.

Everyone was stunned. They couldn't believe their eyes, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

The joy of surviving the Black Wind was overshadowed by endless confusion; some even pinched their thighs to prove they were not dreaming.

After dispersing the Black Wind, the young man also flew into the mine. The crowd subconsciously lowered their heads, clearing a path for him, none daring to stand before him or raise their heads in his presence.

The young man seemed indifferent to the reactions of others, simply walking up to Zhang Xiu and sizing him up.

"You look somewhat familiar, what's your name?"

Zhang Xiu's lips trembled as he mustered up the courage to finally speak his name.

"Zhang Xiu?"

Yuan Ming chewed on this name, paused to think, and then located this person in his memory.

Back in Xiansha City, the first time he noticed the source of Desire Power in the Stealing Heaven Tripod, it had led him to this person.

At that time, he had still been a mortal, but now he too had become a Qi Refining cultivator, truly a reminder of the impermanence of life.

"We must have some fate, so I can fulfill one of your requests. Feel free to ask for anything," Yuan Ming reflected inwardly, and then said.

At this, Zhang Xiu also snapped out of his daze. Upon hearing Yuan Ming's words, he wanted to plead for Yuan Ming to rescue him from the mine, but as the words reached his lips, he recalled his recent epiphany between life and death, and he hesitated.

"Junior dares to ask Senior a question... What stage must I cultivate to in order to truly attain freedom?" Zhang Xiu asked.

"Why do you want to ask this?" Yuan Ming looked at him in surprise.

"Junior... is just a bit confused... Long ago, when I was still a mortal, my father said that only Immortal Masters could attain freedom. However, since I stepped onto the Immortal Path, I discovered that even Immortal Masters are hierarchized. As a Qi Refining stage cultivator, I could only follow the City Lord's orders and continue handling his sundry duties. At that time, I thought that maybe one day, if I could reach the Foundation Establishment stage, perhaps I could gain freedom. But when the Wu Yue Sect attacked, I realized that even beings at the Core Formation stage sometimes cannot control their own life and death," Zhang Xiu said, his face clouded with confusion.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming fell silent for a long time.

"This question... I too am searching for its answer," he eventually shook his head and said.

"Even someone as powerful as Senior can't attain freedom?" A trace of despair flashed in Zhang Xiu's eyes.

"There are always higher beings in the world, and moreover, freedom is something both cheap and priceless. Depending on where you stand and your perspective, the freedom you desire changes... Even at a point of no further advancement, there will be things one can't achieve, freedoms one can't grasp," Yuan Ming sighed.

"If that's the case, then the answer you seek... doesn't really exist, does it?" Zhang Xiu asked.

"Perhaps it doesn't, but if we stop searching just because the path ahead is bleak, wouldn't we be fettered once more? Besides, facing a problem and seeking an answer of one's own is in itself the greatest and most precious freedom a person can have." Yuan Ming smiled.

Zhang Xiu was stunned, his eyes, which had dimmed, seemed to reignite with light.

"What I just said doesn't count as an answer, so my offer still stands. You may make another request." Seeing this, Yuan Ming said again.

Zhang Xiu was silent, suddenly glancing around.

The monk slaves in the mine were all gathered here, while not far away, the pale-faced Wu Yue Sect guards inexplicably hadn't fled but stood rooted to the spot.

The monk slaves seemed indifferent to the conversation between him and Yuan Ming, feeling instead that Zhang Xiu had wasted a great opportunity, which made them somewhat irritable. Hearing that Zhang Xiu could make another request, they immediately perked up, their eyes filled with pleading as they looked at Zhang Xiu. Uplоаdеd by thе М|V|L(ЕМРYR) tеаm.

"Then... please grant me a Magic Artifact blade capable of splitting these shackles," Zhang Xiu said with a smile, turning to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming also smiled, a look of admiration flashing in his eyes, then raised his hand to beckon. Moments later, Hua Zhi, Vajra, and Lei Yu flew over from afar, landing in front of Yuan Ming.

Immediately, Hua Zhi briskly rubbed her hands together, and countless purple-black vines grew out of her arms, quickly solidifying into a blade, which she handed to Yuan Ming.

"I don't have a suitable Magic Artifact for you, but this blade is transformed from part of my spirit beast's body. Although it lacks engraved runes, the material is hard enough for your use," Yuan Ming said as he handed the Purple-black Tree Blade to Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu gratefully received the blade, nodding vigorously, then swiftly used it to sever the chains binding his feet.

But he didn't stop there. He went on to cut the chains off his fellow slave miners.

Once everyone was free, he lifted his arm and led the group of miners, with blades in hand, toward the bloodless-faced Wu Yue Sect guards.

The strong fighters of the Wu Yue Sect were all on the frontline, leaving behind guards who were poor in combat. They quickly fell to the miners' offensive.

As the dust settled, Zhang Xiu turned to thank Yuan Ming, only to find he had disappeared.

Just then, a message rang in his ear.

"Our destinies end here. From now on, pursue what you desire. Most of the Wu Yue Sect's cultivators are on the frontline. If you're cautious, they won't chase you. Also, I've hidden a Cultivation Technique inside the blade, which I obtained from the East Sea. It'll allow you to cultivate up to the Nascent Soul stage; you can do with it as you please."

Zhang Xiu's heart tightened upon hearing that, but then he remembered something.

"I still don't know your name, Senior!" he shouted.

"You can call me... Yuan Ming," Yuan Ming's voice soon faded from his ear.

Zhang Xiu's eyes widened, instinctively touching his chest.

In his bosom, lay a book—-the start of his dreams, the beginning of his Immortal Path he never forgot, the spiritual support that helped him endure countless harsh nights as a mine slave.

The book's title, "Mr. Sheng's Eastern Travelogue."

The author, Yuan Ming.