Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Mining Slaves and Jade Pendant
"Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core... this is actually the Immortal Cultivation Realm?"
On a late autumn morning, deep inside the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Cold Iron Mine Number 17, Zhang Chi sat leaning against a rock wall. He slowly opened his eyes, his expression complicated.
He had been an office drone on Blue Star, but he’d woken up one day to find his soul had transmigrated here, into the body of an unremarkable-looking fifteen-year-old boy who possessed a Middle Grade Spirit Root.
To be young again, with the chance to pursue Immortal Cultivation and eternal life—it was undoubtedly a stroke of luck.
But beyond that, it was all bad news.
The original owner of this body had the fortune of a celestial destiny and should have entered the Cyan Cloud Sect with a limitless future. However, by a strange twist of fate, he offended a high-ranking member of the Sect and was reduced to a Mining Slave.
This Cold Iron Mine possessed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi comparable to a Tier One Low Grade Spiritual Vein, but it also contained Cold Iron Gold Fiend that could corrode the human body. Coupled with various poisonous insects, miasma, and even the occasional Demon Beast, it was completely unsuitable for Low Tier Cultivators to cultivate or live in.
The Mining Slaves were all forced to wear Spirit-Banning Shackles, which restricted their movements and sealed their Cultivation.
Combined with the mine’s strict guards and the surrounding steep mountains teeming with Demon Beasts, the Mining Slaves could neither cultivate nor escape, leaving them with no choice but to toil day after day.
In fact, if most of the Mining Slaves weren’t Qi Cultivation Cultivators with Physiques far exceeding mortals, allowing them to survive the Gold Fiend’s corrosion for longer, they probably wouldn’t even have the chance to be exploited.
But the body’s previous owner had met with disaster before he could even begin his Cultivation; he hadn’t even reached the first layer of Qi Cultivation.
The high-intensity labor, the whippings and bullying from guards and other Mining Slaves, the assault of the Gold Fiend... all of it had made the previous owner’s life an unspeakable misery.
When he first arrived, the original owner was healthy and full of hope, believing he would one day escape this hell.
But in just three months, he had become emaciated and had fallen into complete despair.
This morning, the original owner finally made a last-ditch effort. He hid in this abandoned mineshaft and, relying on just a few lines of the incantation for Introducing Spirit into the Body, forcefully tried to open his Qi Sea.
The result was unsurprising: he died on the spot.
It was at that very moment that Zhang Chi’s soul took advantage of the void, descending into this world.
’Trouble!’
After figuring out the situation, Zhang Chi fell silent for a long moment.
Whether he wanted to survive or pursue Immortal Cultivation and long life, he had to escape.
To escape, he needed strength. That meant he first had to succeed at Introducing Spirit into the Body and become a Cultivator.
But this step was incredibly difficult.
The Cold Iron Gold Fiend, the Spirit-Banning Shackles, his terrible physical condition... they were all obstacles.
’Hm? No, that’s not right!’
But in the next moment, Zhang Chi suddenly froze.
He realized that due to the Gold Fiend’s assault, the original owner had been in a constant state of cold and pain.
But now, not only was he not in pain, his whole body felt relaxed.
Aside from his body still being very weak, everything was completely different from what he remembered from the original owner’s memories.
The Spirit-Banning Shackles seemed to have lost their effect as well.
He could clearly sense faint, invisible wisps of Spiritual Qi in the surroundings.
’How could something this good happen?’
Confirming it wasn’t an illusion, Zhang Chi’s eyes instantly lit up.
’Calm down.’
But he quickly took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
One must remain calm when facing great events.
His situation was precarious; there was no room for even the slightest carelessness.
His body was in terrible shape. Even without the influence of the Gold Fiend and the shackles, attempting Cultivation directly would still end in failure.
Even if he got lucky and succeeded, he wouldn’t be able to advance further without a Cultivation Technique.
Besides, he had to find the reason for this strange change before he could truly be at ease.
WHOOSH!
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a Jade Pendant materialized in his mind’s eye.
The Jade Pendant was blood-red all over. Its surface was devoid of any patterns, but it bore ancient characters. On the front: "All Evils Flee." On the back: "No Prohibitions."
At the same time, Zhang Chi was struck by a sudden understanding.
The Jade Pendant was named Celestial Rainbow, and it could absorb all sorts of negative energies like potent toxins and Evil Qi.
The reason he was no longer affected by the Cold Iron Gold Fiend and the Spirit-Banning Shackles was because of this Jade Pendant.
The Jade Pendant was originally white; it had turned red after absorbing negative energy.
If the negative energy were greater and stronger, the Jade Pendant would continue to change color in the order of orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
But at its current Level, the Jade Pendant could only turn red at most.
If that limit was exceeded, the Jade Pendant would become ineffective.
Fortunately, if the source of the negative energy disappeared, or if the Jade Pendant was upgraded in the future and its recovery rate surpassed the rate of absorption, it would slowly revert to its white color on its own.
’It’s this... It actually came with me? Or am I here precisely because of it?’
Zhang Chi "looked" at the Jade Pendant, dumbfounded.
It turned out that on the day before he transmigrated, he had been cleaning his home and had unearthed an item—this very Jade Pendant.
At the time, he hadn’t paid it any mind, assuming it was just a small souvenir his family had bought on a trip somewhere.
But he never would have dreamed that things would develop like this.
’Yes!’
Zhang Chi was ecstatic.
The Immortal Cultivation Realm was no paradise. Here, Cultivators were fierce, Demon Beasts were savage, and Demon Cultivators slaughtered people like cutting grass. His own situation was even more precarious.
But with the Jade Pendant, the fear and unease he had felt since transmigrating were instantly swept away.
He had many questions about the Jade Pendant and his transmigration.
But it was pointless to overthink it. The priority was to deal with the present.
If he used this Jade Pendant well, he would surely be able to go much further on the path of Immortal Cultivation.
For now, he no longer had to worry about the effects of the Gold Fiend and the Spirit-Banning Shackles.
After studying it for a while longer, Zhang Chi discovered he could make the Jade Pendant appear and disappear in his mind with a thought.
The Jade Pendant provided immunity to negative effects in both states.
Furthermore, he could also control the Jade Pendant and make it stop absorbing negative energy.
However, the moment he did, he would once again feel the agonizing corrosion of the Gold Fiend, and his perception of the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi would become extremely faint.
Also, for some unknown reason, the Jade Pendant couldn’t seem to manifest in reality.
But Zhang Chi didn’t mind.
On the contrary, he felt it was safer this way.
After that, Zhang Chi came up with a simple plan:
First, he would recuperate his body and get his hands on a Cultivation Technique—preferably a Qi Concealment Technique. Then he would officially begin his Cultivation and look for a chance to escape.
With that decided, Zhang Chi rested for a little longer and clearly felt his strength returning.
’It’s great to be young!’
Zhang Chi exclaimed in admiration, then picked up the mining lamp and pickaxe beside him, shouldered the bamboo basket used for carrying Ore, and quickly left the abandoned mineshaft.
As a Mining Slave, he had a daily quota. Failure to meet it meant no food and a beating.
He had already wasted a lot of time; he had to hurry.
Fortunately, without the negative effects, meeting the minimum quota shouldn’t be difficult.
As he started moving, he immediately noticed that his pickaxe and shackles felt slightly lighter.
This couldn’t help but lift his spirits even more.
He walked on, scanning the black rock walls for cold iron ore.
But since the mineshaft was abandoned, he found nothing.
After walking for a while longer, he finally heard the rhythmic sound of pickaxes striking rock and saw the lights of other mining lamps and the figures of other Mining Slaves.
The Mining Slaves were all Cultivators and thus comparatively much stronger.
But every one of them had a numb expression, mechanically and silently striking the rock walls.
As for the Mine Guards, there wasn’t a single one in sight.
Obviously, the guards didn’t want to be exposed to the Cold Iron Gold Fiend.
Not to mention, the tunnels were also cold, dark, and filled with the stench of sweat, with the added risks of cave-ins and poisonous insects.
As Zhang Chi approached, the other Mining Slaves remained indifferent. Only a few glanced at him before looking away.
Zhang Chi was happy to fly under the radar. He immediately chose a relatively remote spot that still had a small amount of Ore, and set down his bamboo basket and mining lamp.
Then, he deliberately put on a numb expression and, using the mining method from his memories, began to strike the wall, maintaining a work rate similar to the original owner’s.
In truth, there were nearby spots with more Ore, but they had long been occupied by stronger Mining Slaves.
It was then that Zhang Chi saw cold iron ore for the "first" time.
It was a silvery-white, pebble-like stone, cold to the touch.
The Ore’s color stood in sharp contrast to the rock wall, making it easy to spot, but it was incredibly difficult to dig out.
Even though the pickaxe was specially forged to be sturdy and sharp, the work was still time-consuming and laborious.
’This is no work for a human being.’
Zhang Chi had only been digging for a short while before he couldn’t take it anymore.
Fortunately, this body was already accustomed to the high-intensity labor.
He was also in better condition than its previous owner, so by working and resting in intervals, he could just barely manage.
After a long, arduous effort, Zhang Chi finally managed to dig out an egg-sized piece of Low Grade Ore.
Out of curiosity, Zhang Chi secretly toyed with it for a moment, but he quickly lost interest.
Afterward, Zhang Chi managed to dig up a few more pieces, but they were all still Low Grade Ore.
As for Middle Grade Ore, turning it in would earn more benefits, but you needed a good spot and good luck to find any.
There was definitely no hope of finding any where he was. Even if he got lucky, it would just be stolen from him.
Time trickled by as he worked. An unknown amount of time passed, and even with frequent breaks, Zhang Chi’s back ached, his muscles were sore, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.
DONG DONG DONG...
Just then, the sound of a bell suddenly echoed throughout the mine.
A spark of life finally appeared on the numb faces of the Mining Slaves. They stopped their work and hurriedly surged toward the mine’s exit.
Zhang Chi’s spirits lifted as well, and he immediately followed.
"Stop!"
But just then, two much stronger Mining Slaves blocked everyone’s path.
"Sigh!"
The Mining Slaves sighed faintly but obediently set down their bamboo baskets, allowing the two men to pick and choose, taking some of their Ore.
Zhang Chi immediately recognized them. They were the Shi Family Brothers, the trusted henchmen of Brother Zhou, the head bully among the Mining Slaves.
The previous owner had been beaten by them more than a few times because of his poor harvests.
After submitting to the extortion, the Mining Slaves passed through one by one, and it was soon Zhang Chi’s turn.
"Hey kid, you’re not dead yet? Huh? Not a bad haul! Alright, keep it up!"
Looking at Zhang Chi’s haul, the Shi Family Brothers nodded in encouragement.
But when it came to taking the Ore, they showed no mercy whatsoever.
They took about half of the small amount of Ore that Zhang Chi had painstakingly mined all day.
Zhang Chi kept his head down and said nothing.
After all, he couldn’t beat them right now.
Besides, he was also maintaining the original owner’s persona.
However, he secretly made a note of this debt.
Afterward, Zhang Chi followed the crowd for a while, merging with more Mining Slaves pouring out from other tunnels, and finally exited the mine.
