The top of the Nine Peaks, twisted and colliding, held a blood pool.
From which flowed a nine-thousand-foot blood waterfall, cascading onto the Ritual Platform, filling every hollow groove on its surface. At the Ritual Platform's center stood a purplish-red palace.
Extraordinarily grand and imposing. At the Bottom of the Nine Peaks, there was ample open space, dotted with antique buildings.
Hardly any ordinary bluestone and wood structures among the houses and pavilions.
Golden bricks paved the ground, white walls gleamed like snow, dragons were carved, and phoenixes painted – everywhere exuded an air of delicate elegance. This was nothing like the sinister and terrifying place Wang Yu had imagined.
Even the City Lord's Mansion of Stone Lake City would be considered an ordinary building here.
Only the streaks of Escaping Light in the sky matched Wang Yu's preconceived notions. If it weren't for the billowing black mist and the monstrous blood-colored light.
The Flying Magic Tools they controlled were diverse: skull heads, spinal bone swords, Dark Corpse Clouds, paper figures carrying sedan chairs, spirit coffins… and more. Numerous Foundation Establishment Cultivators crisscrossed the sky.
Qi Condensation Cultivators were much simpler, mostly using a piece of black cloth – likely a standard Magic Artifact issued uniformly by the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect.
Wang Yu's heart burned with anticipation. As long as he could access a Cultivation Method, what did it matter if they were Demonic Cultivators? He had no prejudice or preference towards power; as long as it was useful, there was no difference.
Since the Demonic Cultivators had bribed the garrison Cultivators of Black Mountain Pass, he figured they wouldn't let them die directly; at the very least, they would have to create some value.
Without stopping.
The black-robed Demonic Cultivator led them to the foot of the Third Peak from the Left.
The environment here was noticeably different from the Bottom of the Nine Peaks. It was also cordoned off, with Cultivators guarding the area everywhere.
"Brother Xu, you're finally back. Only a hundred this time?"
Hearing this, the leading black-robed man finally removed his hood, revealing an old face crisscrossed with deep wrinkles.
"No choice. The Spirit Vein in Stone Lake City is too poor, so the Cultivation Seeds it nurtures are naturally much fewer. If we went to Thousand Autumns City, we'd get at least five hundred Spirit Slaves."
"Count them and take them all down."
Spirit Slave?
Unable to hear more of the conversation, Wang Yu's cart was pulled to a Stone House Area. After their shackles were removed, they were released.
A chubby, round, middle-aged fat man spoke in a sinister tone.
"My surname is Duan, you can call me Steward Duan."
"From today onwards, you are Spirit Slaves of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. Before you have repaid your 'Body-Buying Money,' you cannot leave even a single step."
"If you perform well, it's not impossible to shed your Spirit Slave status and become Outer Sect Disciples of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. Work hard."
Steward Duan delivered this speech, leaving without explaining anything further. Wang Yu and the rest, a group of mortals who hadn't even stepped onto the threshold of Cultivation, were naturally powerless to resist.
Following the order, he moved into Stone House number eighty-three.
Bed, table, chair, stool… all the necessary furniture was there. There was even a small compartment that served as a privy. The bedding and square pillow were all sewn from top-quality brocade, no worse than the Wang Family's living standards.
Although the windows and door could be opened, they were fitted with iron bars, allowing only a hand to reach through – exactly like a prison.
Before long.
A Reverse Spirit Blood Sect disciple walked along the path, tossing a basketball-sized cloth bag into each Stone House he passed. Soon, he reached Stone House number eighty-three, gave Wang Yu a bag of the same kind, and left without a word.
Opening the cloth bag.
The first things to catch his eye were food and a water pouch. Twenty buns, still steaming hot, were inside. Having not eaten anything today, Wang Yu was already very hungry and devoured five in one go.
The fillings were a mix of meat and vegetables, savory and fragrant, with a rich flavor. Each bun had a thin skin and ample filling, even better than the pastries made by Stone Lake City's chefs.
This kind of treatment made Wang Yu have more expectations for his Spirit Slave status. After all, they were Cultivators. Even Demonic Cultivators weren't the blood-drinking monsters depicted in novels and biographies. Stereotypes were unreliable!
People had desires. Demonic Cultivators, to put it more bluntly, were just a group of Cultivators who took extreme shortcuts. Their desires were even stronger, and their material enjoyment was more pronounced than those of the Orthodox Path, and they weren't ashamed to express it.
Even the treatment of a Spirit Slave was better than what most common people in the mortal world experienced in their homes.
Besides today's food, there were also two books inside, one thin and one thick.
The thin one recorded a large amount of common knowledge about the Cultivation world, explaining the Rules here and what Spirit Slaves needed to do.
It also listed the "Body-Buying Money" quota for each person. Once achieved, they could transfer to become Outer Sect Disciples of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect.
Wang Yu carefully pondered each item, deeply engraving them into his mind.
The first thing written was the Rules of the Stone House Area.
[1. Every day from Mao Hour (5 AM to 7 AM) to Si Hour (9 AM to 11 AM), for two hours, twenty Qi Condensation Cultivators will be responsible for answering questions.]
Whether it was doubts about Cultivation or problems like illiteracy, they could all be answered. This was also the only time period each day when Spirit Slaves could leave their Stone Houses.
[2. After breaking through to the First Layer of Qi Condensation, Spirit Slaves must deplete their own Cultivation to condense one or two Spirit Sand each month and hand it over to any steward in the Stone House Area.]
This rule was where Wang Yu and the others' value lay.
Spirit Stones were the Essence of Heaven and Earth formed from the natural sedimentation of Spirit Qi gathered between heaven and earth. The higher the level of the Spirit Vein, the more likely it was to produce accompanying Spirit Stone Mines.
They were divided into four grades: low, medium, high, and top grade. Spirit Stones were also the most widely circulated Currency in the Cultivation world. Due to high consumption, relying solely on mine output was far from enough.
Thus, the role of Spirit Slaves came into existence.
If Cultivators were willing to damage their own Cultivation, they could also manually create Spirit Stones, essentially printing their own money.
Early-stage Qi Condensation Cultivators could only condense Spirit Sand. Every two Spirit Sand was equivalent in price to one low-grade Spirit Stone.
Spirit Qi that was incomparably pure to Qi Condensation Cultivators seemed mixed and impure to Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Therefore, the higher the cultivation level, the higher the price of Spirit Stones.
[3. Once Spirit Slaves have repaid one hundred Spirit Stones of "Body-Buying Money," they can apply at the steward's office to become Outer Sect Disciples of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect.]
The Spirit Stones referred to here were naturally low-grade Spirit Stones.
Based on the exchange rate of one or two Spirit Sand being equal to one Spirit Stone, in the most ideal scenario, it would take 100 months to repay, over 8 years. If you added the time for learning and breaking through into the Way, it would take at least 10 years.
"It'll take until I'm 26 to pay it off…"
Closing the booklet that recorded a large amount of common knowledge about the Cultivation world, Wang Yu took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly after a long time.
Although the living conditions were decent, when it came to Spirit Stones and wealth, he didn't believe the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect would be so kind. Theoretically, it was ten years, but once you actually started, it could easily take twenty years.
As for the other thick booklet, it was the Qi Condensation Stage Cultivation Art given by the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. They were very generous, giving all nine layers, which could allow one to Cultivate up to the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation.
It was a psychological comfort to all Spirit Slaves, a way of saying, 'We have high hopes for you.'
The thing he wanted most was right in front of him. Wang Yu abandoned all unrealistic fantasies. This was the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect's base camp, the location of their Mountain Gate. Even if the Stone House Area was in a remote location, there were still a large number of Cultivators stationed here.
The probability of escape was extremely low. The only path to survival was to obey the Blood Sect's Rules and become an Outer Sect Disciple, which might bring the possibility of freedom.
Even if it was just a pie in the sky, he had to strive for it and move forward. There was no other way!
End of Chapter