My Crazy Upgrade System

Chapter 310: Chapter 309: Coercion

After successfully sneaking into the passage, they found no guards nearby. It wasn’t that security here was lax, but rather that it didn’t need to be so tight. The entire area had only one entrance, so there were very few places to post sentries. They just needed to guard the key areas; the rest didn’t require a heavy watch.

However, that didn’t mean there were no guards. After they had moved stealthily for some distance, five guards appeared up ahead, walking toward them.

Ye Qingxuan quickly raised a hand, signaling for Yi Tianyun to stop. She immediately crouched down, and in the blink of an eye, she blended in with the wall, becoming completely indistinguishable from it. Unless someone literally hacked at her with a weapon, they would never discover her hiding there.

Yi Tianyun did the same, crouching down and pressing himself against the wall until he vanished from sight. This Concealing Talisman didn’t grant true Invisibility just by being applied. Normal movement could easily be detected; unless an observer’s cultivation was exceptionally low, they would still be spotted.

But as long as they crouched down and remained motionless, no one below the level of an extremely powerful Core Transformation Stage expert could discover their presence.

The five passing guards were all powerful. The leader was at the Spirit Pill Stage, while the others were at the Core Formation Stage. One would almost never see a guard below the Core Formation Stage here. This was a critical area, so those with cultivation levels that were too low could not be selected for duty.

The guards glanced around but noticed nothing out of the ordinary, so they continued on their patrol without stopping.

It was clear they hadn’t been discovered, so the guards simply continued on their way.

Once the guards were far enough away, Ye Qingxuan stood up and quickly led Yi Tianyun forward. After navigating a series of twists and turns, they entered another section. Here, they could see thick-barred cages forged from an extremely hard material, which looked incredibly difficult to break through.

There were rows of cells here, holding numerous imprisoned Cultivators. Their hands and feet were bound in shackles. These were no ordinary shackles; they suppressed the prisoners’ power. Even if their cultivation was high, the shackles drastically reduced their strength, leaving them with virtually no ability to resist.

"You dogs of the Netherworld Empire! Let us out of here right now!"

"Let us out! Your Netherworld Empire will be destroyed sooner or later!"

"Please, I’m begging you, let me out... I’ll do anything you want..."

Among the Cultivators locked in the cages, some were defiant to the end while others begged for mercy. It was a truly miserable sight.

"Quiet down! You looking to die?!" a guard roared, angrily kicking one of the cages. A loud CLANG resounded through the area.

"Let us out, you lackeys of the Netherworld Empire!" one of the Cultivators shouted, rushing to the front of his cage and gripping the sturdy bars. "You’ll all die a horrible death! Even in death, your souls will be damned for all eternity!"

"Damn it! Then you can be the first to die!"

Without hesitation, the guard viciously thrust the spear in his hand, impaling the Cultivator who had rushed forward. He then quickly yanked it back. The Cultivator’s eyes widened before he collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently. He clearly wasn’t far from death.

"Anyone else got something to say? Speak up now, and I guarantee you’ll never speak again for the rest of your life!" the guard snarled, glaring at the prisoners. He couldn’t care less whether they lived or died.

The clamor immediately died down. The prisoners didn’t dare to resist any longer; the guard would kill them at will and without mercy.

"I... I’m willing to join the Netherworld Empire. I’m willing to serve..." one of the Core Formation Stage Cultivators stammered, stepping forward with a tremble.

"Fine. You can come out. Eat this Elixir Pill!" The guard unlocked the cage, dragged the man out, and coldly held out an Elixir Pill.

"I’ll take it, I’ll take it..." The Core Formation Stage Cultivator quickly swallowed it. But the moment he did, his entire body began to convulse, and he screamed in agony. Several black, vein-like lines appeared on his skin. He had obviously been poisoned.

A moment later, the guard took out another Elixir Pill and shoved it into the man’s mouth. The Cultivator’s symptoms quickly subsided, but his eyes were filled with terror.

"That was a temporary Antitoxic Pill. If you disobey, you’ll suffer the agony of ten thousand insects devouring your body! You’ll have to take one periodically, or death will be your only escape! And don’t even think about finding a real antidote; only our Netherworld Empire has the formula for this Antitoxic Pill!" The guard hauled the man to his feet and tossed him to a subordinate. "Take him away. He seems strong, so put him to work in the mines! Of course," he added with a sneer, "if some Alchemist actually manages to create a true antidote... well, I imagine they won’t be long for this world!"

The guard then turned his cold gaze back to the remaining Cultivators in the cells. "Is anyone else willing to surrender? Rest assured, no one is coming to save you. If you don’t obey our commands, your only fate is to die here!"

"I... I’m willing, too!" another Core Formation Stage Cultivator quickly stepped forward, trembling as he said, "I... I know how to forge weapons. Can I get better treatment?"

"Of course. We’ll send you to forge weapons. The conditions are much better than in the mines." After saying this, the guard handed him a Poison Pill and motioned for him to swallow it.

The Blacksmith hesitated for a moment but ultimately swallowed the Poison Pill. He immediately began screaming in agony, just like the previous man. Only after letting him experience the torment for a while did the guard administer the Antitoxic Pill to temporarily relieve the poison’s effects. They made the prisoners feel the full extent of the agony first, to show them just how vicious the poison was and ensure they would never dare to resist.

"You, take him to the Artifact Refining Room and have him get to work on Artifact Refining!" the guard ordered, waving a hand to dismiss a subordinate with the new recruit.

"Anyone else want to join? If you do, you take the Poison Pill. If you don’t, you don’t leave this cell!" the guard said coldly, his eyes sweeping over them.

Hiding off to the side, Yi Tianyun and Ye Qingxuan witnessed the entire scene. ’This is how the Netherworld Empire forces captured Cultivators to join them. These Cultivators were all quite powerful, at the Core Formation Stage, and they possessed useful skills.’

Yi Tianyun now largely understood their methods. ’The Netherworld Empire captures experts with unique talents to force them into service, then uses these Poison Pills to keep them in line. It’s a tyrannical approach, but it’s much faster than slowly nurturing their own disciples. The results are immediate, and resistance is impossible.’

’Resistance means death. And since these prisoners weren’t their own people, killing them is no loss of resources. The Netherworld Empire truly is tyrannical. Anyone who disobeys an order is simply killed!’

"The Netherworld Empire deserves to be annihilated!" Ye Qingxuan said, her eyes filled with an icy chill.

"I agree," Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. "And now I have a good idea that will let us escape from here quickly."

"What is it?" Ye Qingxuan asked.

"It’s simple," Yi Tianyun said, a glint in his eyes. "We release all the prisoners and start a riot in the Netherworld Prison!"