Chapter 682

Crystal mine?

God still wants people to mine, lowering the prestige to the level of a black-hearted coal boss.

"Why make people go mine in the crystal mine?" Tang Luo asked.

The divine envoy painfully opened his mouth but could not make a sound.

Hasn't God been making people mine for millions of years?

Only, as time passed, it became more frequent and the demanded quantity increased.

Long ago, no, actually only a few decades ago, God's demand was merely to continuously replenish slaves for mining.

That is, the number of slaves kept rising.

Last time, the divine envoy came bearing the heavenly deity's edict, conscripting fifty thousand able-bodied youths to mine.

This time, not only is the time short, but the quantity has doubled.

Even if the Kaiyang Dynasty's territory is vast, it cannot withstand this torment.

This time, gritting our teeth, we can still manage it, but next time? And the time after that?

Si Zhong wished he could stand up and shout: "Really, none left!"

But for now, this matter that originally could have made him worry himself white-haired overnight is no longer a problem.

He is about to resign by death, and Si Zhong even felt a sense of relief.

"It seems you don't know where that deity resides?" Tang Luo continued.

The divine envoy shook his head; as a divine envoy, he has no fixed abode, and the heavenly deity will summon him when needed.

"You don't know this, you don't know that—what use are you?" Tang Luo drew the Xuanbian Sword.

The divine envoy stumbled forward, writhing in pain, like a caterpillar.

"That someone, this person is yours." Tang Luo pointed at Si Zhong.

Si Zhong stared for a moment, then walked up to the divine envoy, looking down at this once-lofty envoy: "My child, was it you who killed him?"

He originally thought it was a warning and trial from the heavenly deity.

But the divine envoy's clueless appearance just now made Si Zhong doubt.

Would the heavenly deity really use such a method?

Not saying the heavenly deity is merciful; the heavenly deity is exalted and utterly ruthless.

Would their eyes truly hold the image of a small child?

"No, not me!" the divine envoy wailed, "The heavenly deity commanded me to make you more obedient."

"Then, specifically how to do it, is your decision!" Si Zhong drew his sidearm.

The divine envoy said nothing; the intense pain clouded his mind, and only now did he realize he had misspoken.

Yet, to shift blame onto the heavenly deity, he dared not.

No need to answer; Si Zhong already understood, he raised his sidearm and chopped toward the divine envoy's neck.

Like cutting through thick, old leather, the blade left only a shallow white mark.

Si Zhong, heedless, swung sword after sword, like chopping wood.

Soon, the divine envoy's neck bore a wound, slowly widening.

The outflowing dark-red blood was scant, already unable to "fill" the wound.

As Si Zhong hacked, the wound gradually became gruesome.

The divine envoy's painful voice also gradually weakened.

Being slowly chopped to death brought pain no less than the earlier thunderbolt strike.

Finally, the divine envoy's head and body were sharp, Si Zhong's sword smeared with blood and grime.

"Quite strong." Ao Yulie said.

"Yeah, in this world, ordinary people's strength should be relatively great, otherwise these buildings couldn't be erected." Zhu Bajie said.

Ordinary people wielding sharp weapons would not easily behead the divine envoy.

Even if the divine envoy is on the brink of death, it remains so.

The opposing side's initial physique had toughness comparable to Ao Yulie this dragon.

Si Zhong lacked a robust physique, but achieved this through hatred's support; observing other soldiers.

One can feel that this world's mortals generally possess greater strength.

An ordinary person coming to the real world would be a first-rate strongman.

Having beheaded the divine envoy, Si Zhong slumped to the ground, holding his somewhat dulled sword, murmuring: "Si family's unfilial son Si Zhong, unable to face ancestors."

About to slit his throat and commit suicide.

Anger let him personally kill the divine envoy; the Si family surely also has no hope of survival.

"Wait, the poor monk has something to ask." The sword had not fallen; Tang Luo stopped Si Zhong, "Also, where is your family? The poor monk will take them along."

Si Zhong froze, his eyes bursting with brilliant light.

Half an hour later.

On the square remained a group of dazed officials.

It happened like this: the divine envoy came, the divine envoy was violently beaten by qi practitioners and demons together, and finally the divine envoy was beheaded by their emperor.

Then, the emperor left a self-reproach edict, taking full blame, leading the not-prosperous Si family together with qi practitioners and demons to flee.

The event occurred too suddenly, with no psychological preparation made.

Not to mention trousers, even the trouser strings came too late to undo.

"First, first tidy up the divine envoy's remains." The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, high-ranking and powerful officials, must come forward to manage the situation.

They must definitely brand the Si family as eternal sinners, to be cursed to death.

They must show sufficient attitude before the gods, and also dispatch people to hunt them down.

Whether they can actually hunt them down is another matter, but the task must certainly be done.

On the other side, Tang Luo and his group from the Si family arrived at a secluded valley with clear mountains and pure waters, rarely visited by people.

They settled them there.

As the Kaiyang Emperor, Si Chong naturally understands the various circumstances of this world.

Besides knowing nothing about the Five Finger Mountain, he told Tang Luo and his group everything about the gods, the qi cultivators, the demons, and their history, leaving nothing unsaid.

He spoke without reservation, saying all that needed to be said.

"Qi cultivators..." Tang Luo sighed.

Tang Luo and his companions were not unfamiliar with the term "qi cultivator."

In fact, including himself, Zhu Bajie, Ao Yulie, and even the Heavenly Hound, they were all qi cultivators.

Long ago, in the Shan Hai Realm, those who refined heavenly and earthly qi for their own use were called "qi cultivators."

Later, as cultivation sects emerged into the world, the concept of "immortal sect" gradually formed.

Furthermore, with the establishment of the Heavenly Court, the boundary between humans and immortals became clearly defined.

Over the long passage of time, the term "qi cultivator" faded from history, replaced by terms like "cultivator of immortality" or "practitioner."

Unexpectedly, in this world, they have reverted to a more primitive designation.

As for demons, based on Si Chong's description and those somewhat impressionistic or abstract portraits, they can basically be identified as monsters and strange beings.

The rulers of this world are the gods.

They are not a single individual, but a group dwelling in the extremely lofty "Divine Realm."

A place mortals cannot fathom.

Si Chong once had the fortune to witness a god descend to the world in his youth; although he harbored hatred toward the gods, recalling the event, he could not help but admit.

The gods are tall and handsome, possessing a perfectly formed and awe-inspiring physique.

Even if the gods look no different from humans in appearance, a single glance reveals they are indeed exalted beings, worlds apart from those wallowing in the mundane.

The gap between gods and mortals is far greater than that between Si Chong, a mortal emperor, and a beggar—by countless times.

They are irresistible powerful beings, the sole sovereigns of heaven and earth.

Si Chong and the gods share a grudge over the killing of his son.

Tang Luo and his companions are regarded as "god-defiers," standing before Si Chong.

Si Chong also lacked the courage to voice the idea of defying the gods alongside Tang Luo and his group; slaying the divine envoy had exhausted his lifetime's courage.

Now he only wishes to live one more day with his family.

Tang Luo and his disciples certainly had no intention of stubbornly propping up a rotten wall; after learning what they needed to know, they simply took flight.

They headed to the place where contact between gods and humans is closest—the Crystal Mine, also called the mining site, with little difference.

The Crystal Mine is not a single location, but multiple sites.

The Kaiyang Dynasty is the sole dynasty on the vast land, implementing a system similar to feudal enfeoffment.

Besides the Kaiyang Dynasty, there are many vassal states.

The Kaiyang ruler is the emperor, addressed as "Your Majesty," while the vassal state rulers are kings, addressed as "Great King."

Additionally, there are various "uncivilized tribes," divided by direction into Eastern Yi, Southern Man, Western Rong, and Northern Di, often harassing some vassal states, and sometimes even expanding to invade the Kaiyang Dynasty.

But these are merely raids, posing no major threat—at least not to the Kaiyang Dynasty.

Some vassal states, weak in power and poorly located, find it difficult to cope and thus seek aid from the Kaiyang Dynasty.

The Kaiyang Dynasty takes responsibility for protecting the vassal states' safety, mediating their disputes, and simultaneously receives tribute from them.

Regarding the conscription of able-bodied youths, if the Kaiyang Dynasty were ruthless, it could even shift the entire burden onto the vassal states.

Si Chong is not ruthless enough; he has never done so.

This has earned him a favorable reputation among the vassal states, far surpassing that of his father and grandfather.

Si Chong's grandfather, however, was secretly called "Dead Skin-Peeler" by some vassal states.

Such is the basic state of the mortal realm.

Returning to the gods' side, they need mortals to mine, extracting a certain special crystal, the exact purpose unknown.

As far as Si Chong knows, there are five locations with such special crystal stones.

Three are within the Kaiyang Dynasty's territory, and the other two are each located in two vassal states.

Currently, Tang Luo and his group are heading to a place named "Ningxu Mine."

Over 150,000 slaves mine there, and at least nearly 10,000 are replenished each year just to keep up with slave consumption.

Anyone sent to mine there, even if they were previously conscripted innocent able-bodied youths, becomes a slave.

In Kaiyang and the vassal states, a slave system is implemented.

No one cares about the life or death of slaves.

The mine's supervisors are also human; on the surface, they are subjects of the Kaiyang Dynasty and the vassal states.

In reality, their status is only slightly below that of divine envoys; even when seen by the state ruler, they cannot be seized.

Above the mine, the supervisors are the sole rulers.

They need only answer to the gods.

And the gods only require them to periodically deliver sufficient quantities of crystal ore to the designated location.

As long as the task is completed, the gods do not care who the supervisors are or what they have done.

Even if one is bold enough to kill the original supervisor and take their place, it is not impossible.

Such events have actually occurred several times.

Part of them were handled by the gods, resulting in extremely miserable deaths.

Part of it was simply accepted; the Heavenly Gods never investigated it at all.

There was no specific standard for judgment; it seemed to depend purely on the Heavenly Gods' mood.

Of course, slaves were not allowed.

One day as a slave, a lifetime as a slave.