Chapter 882
Ascended Beings? Not So Rare
Chen Jie was quickly taken to a place of solitary confinement. The steward in charge of the place saw the steward with the python-patterned whip and said, "Junior brother, you've brought another newcomer."
The manager of the python-patterned whip said, "Hmm, it has something to do with Senior Brother Zhou. Don't go too far. By the way, was the previous batch sent in?"
"Not yet. Deacon Sun will be here in a little while. He'll be sent away after the inspection is finished."
Upon hearing this, the senior brother with the python-patterned whip said, "Oh, that's perfect, it'll save this guy some time."
Thinking this, Chen Jie was handed over to the senior brother who was guarding the camp and was soon locked in a cage. Yes, a cage. In the eyes of these people, Chen Jie and other ascendants were the cheapest slaves.
Upon entering, Chen Jie saw seven or eight people, two of whom were clearly different. They were wearing clothes made of a different material than those worn by people in this world, and it seemed that they were the two ascendants that Zhou Tong had just captured.
Seeing these two unfamiliar faces, Chen Jie couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Before seeing them, Chen Jie had wondered if they might be Zhang Sanfeng and Phagpa, but now that he saw them, he had completely given up hope.
The two men were one fat and one thin, one tall and one short, and both had bruises on their faces, looking like they had been beaten badly.
However, their faces were still full of resentment, and you could even see the arrogance in their eyes. Yes, those who could ascend from the Lesser Thousand Worlds were all geniuses of their generation!
The two huddled together and saw Chen Jie arrive. A hint of surprise appeared in their eyes. He was also an ascendant, but why didn't he have any injuries on his face? Could it be that he wasn't beaten up?
The two men sized up Chen Jie, while the other group of five also sized him up.
The five people appeared to be locals. They were gathered together, forming a small gang. However, these guys were probably not very strong, having just broken through to the Spirit Gathering Realm. They were looking at Chen Jie with hostile eyes.
It was as if Chen Jie had a deep-seated grudge against them, which Chen Jie found puzzling.
Not understanding the specific situation, he took a step back and hid in a corner, knowing that the situation was unclear and he should not make any rash moves.
Thinking this, Chen Jie squinted at them. None of them spoke. After an unknown amount of time, someone said, "Steward Sun!"
"Steward Sun."
Outside the door, a voice called out "Deacon Sun," and then a middle-aged man with a gloomy look walked in, followed by several people. Chen Jie recognized one of them; he was the senior brother who had killed the demon bear in the valley.
After the group entered, Deacon Sun glanced at them, and a terrifying aura immediately swept over them. Everyone felt an unprecedented fear, and the dreadful pressure made it hard for them to breathe.
Chen Jie took a half step back. This Steward Sun was quite something; his strength should be around the seventh level of the Spirit Gathering Realm. He wasn't afraid of him once he recovered his strength, but he needed to be careful now.
At this moment, Steward Sun withdrew his gaze and said, "Very good. The seedlings this time are all quite good. Since you have come to Greenwood Valley, you should know the rules of Greenwood Valley. If you want to join the sect, you must first enter the mine to mine and earn contribution points. Once you have enough contribution points, you can enter Greenwood Valley and become a disciple of Greenwood Valley, and receive the protection of Greenwood Valley."
"Such an opportunity is something many people would kill for; you must cherish it."
Upon hearing this, the local cultivators all nodded, but the two ascended cultivators looked on with disdain.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie was somewhat surprised. Could it be that these local cultivators came voluntarily?
However, Chen Jie soon got the answer from the conversation between Deacon Sun and these cultivators. These local cultivators were indeed voluntary. Most of them were independent cultivators without any sect or faction. If they wanted to advance further, they had to join a major sect.
Moreover, some of them were not only independent cultivators, but also had enemies outside and were being hunted down. That's why they hid in Green Wood Valley.
Even entering the Green Wood Valley mining area to mine, earn contribution points, and eventually become a disciple is something many independent cultivators dream of. Their idea is that if they endure hardship, they will have the opportunity to enter Green Wood Valley and obtain the orthodox inheritance. Such an opportunity is like a pie falling from the sky.
They even spent money to bribe the disciples who were selecting candidates from the Qingmu Valley mining area in order to get this opportunity to enter.
But these ascendants are sent here as soon as they land, and they are all unhappy and resentful. It's infuriating! Do they even know that what they can get so easily now is what they have been desperately seeking?
Deacon Sun glanced at everyone and said, "Alright, stop talking. Next, according to the rules, you will have to hand over all your personal belongings, and then I will seal your cultivation before you can enter the mining area."
The restriction on cultivation is a strict rule for entering the mining area. This is because conflicts are inevitable within the mining area. Previously, they did not restrict cultivation, but a major battle between two cultivators at the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm destroyed a small mine vein, causing heavy losses to Qingmu Valley.
Since then, a new rule has been added: one must seal their cultivation level before entering the mine.
This strict regulation is precisely to prevent any impact on the ore vein, thus ensuring the smooth operation of the small Qingmu Valley ore vein.
Of course, this practice over the years has inevitably led to things going astray, making the disciples in charge feel superior and even treating those who come in to mine as slaves.
It can only be said that the policy was good at the beginning, but it went wrong in its implementation.
Upon hearing Deacon Sun's words, the natives readily handed over their personal belongings and asked Deacon Sun to seal their cultivation.
When Chen Jie saw this, he frowned. It wasn't that he was uncooperative, but he couldn't hand over his personal belongings.
All personal belongings are stored in the storage ring on my hand. What if I hand them over?
Chen Jie frowned as he thought about it, then looked down at his right index finger. There was nothing there, because after Chen Jie entered the Land Immortal Realm, he activated the invisibility function of the storage ring.
I wonder if I can keep it from Steward Sun.
Thinking this, Chen Jie walked over without making a sound. Deacon Sun glanced at him and said, "An Ascended One."
Chen Jie nodded: "Yes."
Deacon Sun said, "Well, it is your good fortune to be able to enter my Green Wood Valley, so cherish it."
As he spoke, Chen Jie took off his clothes in front of Deacon Sun, leaving him completely naked. Deacon Sun's sharp eyes swept over him to prevent him from hiding anything. When his eyes landed on Chen Jie, Chen Jie also squinted.
He was afraid that Steward Sun would notice the storage ring on his hand, but to his surprise, Steward Sun did not notice the storage ring.
That's actually normal. Storage rings are high-end items; even a True Condensation Realm expert like Xu Yuandao doesn't have one, so it's even less likely that Steward Sun would have seen one or thought much about it.
This relieved Chen Jie. Deacon Sun said, "Do not resist!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie gave up resisting. Soon, Chen Jie discovered that his dantian was locked, making it difficult to use his internal energy. However, this did not lock Chen Jie's Eighteen Dragon-Capturing Palms. It should be noted that the Eighteen Dragon-Capturing Palms is a martial art that requires external strength training, so his combat power was still maintained.
Chen Jie was secretly delighted. With the Eighteen Dragon-Capturing Palms by his side, he now had the power to defend himself.
Moreover, sealing the dantian is not important. I am covered in injuries, sealing the dantian can slow down the worsening of my injuries, and I can slowly unseal it later.
Thinking of this, Chen Jie breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, a disciple tossed Chen Jie a coarse cloth garment. Chen Jie put it on and saw that there was a number 527 on the garment!
"Remember, once you enter the mining area, you won't have names anymore, only this number on your chest."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie immediately agreed. At this moment, Deacon Sun looked at the other two ascendants and saw that they refused to come forward. He frowned and said, "Why don't you come forward!"
Upon hearing this, one of the ascended beings immediately shouted, "What right do you have to arrest me? Let us leave immediately!"
Deacon Sun frowned and said, "Hmm, you have a problem with how Greenwood Valley does things?"
"What Greenwood Valley? We are terrestrial immortals! Let us leave now, or I will not rest until you have done this!"
At this moment, the tall, thin man shouted. He was wearing a pure white martial arts uniform, and judging from his demeanor, he should be a sect leader in the mortal realm.
When he speaks, he naturally exudes an extraordinary air.
However, Chen Jie frowned slightly. This person was too foolish; it seemed he was going to suffer.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Steward Sun grinned and said, "An Ascended One, truly remarkable, a leader among men of this realm."
"But since you're so arrogant, I wonder if you dare to exchange a few blows with me?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding disciples all wore wicked smiles. This guy really had a death wish, daring to provoke Deacon Sun. It seems that breaking a leg this time is the least he could do!
Sure enough, the tall, thin man frowned and shouted, "Fine, let's compete. I won, so let us leave."
Deacon Sun said, "Alright, you win. I'll personally escort you away."
"Then I'll have to offend you!"
Deacon Sun snorted coldly, "Interesting. It's been a long time since I've personally taken action. You make the first move!"
The tall, thin man's eyes turned bloodshot from the deacon's contemptuous attitude, and he shouted, "You'd better not regret this!"
He gazed at Deacon Sun at the top of the stone steps, his inner energy surging like boiling water, and his right hand quietly gripped the hilt of the steel sword behind him.
The tall, thin man used the momentum to spin and draw his sword. The steel blade hummed as it sliced through the air, and the mortal jade pendant on the tassel cracked. He charged forward, his foundation-building spiritual energy surging through his meridians. The sword, carrying a sharp whistling sound, aimed straight for his opponent's throat, but suddenly changed his move mid-strike, flipping the blade to slash diagonally at the lower body. Deacon Sun slightly shifted his body, his left hand gripping the sword's spine with two fingers, while his right hand flicked towards the tall, thin man's chest.
The tall, thin man felt an invisible force strike the spine of the sword, instantly splitting his tiger's mouth and drawing blood down the hilt. He gritted his teeth, released the sword, and shifted his body, slamming his left shoulder into Deacon Sun's ribs while simultaneously striking Sun's lower abdomen with his right elbow.
Deacon Sun was forced back half a step by the force of the impact, but his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "Interesting. To make me take half a step back, you must have some skill."
The tall, thin man looked at his tiger's mouth, which was soaked with blood. The thick blood reminded him that the person in front of him was a troublesome character. But strangely, he always felt that his strength was no weaker than the man's, yet he was being completely restrained by him, and he always felt that he was at a disadvantage.
Looking at the tall, thin man, Deacon Sun laughed and said, "Do you think you're no weaker than me, but you're always being controlled by me? Heh, you're just a low-level cultivator from the lower realm using low-grade internal energy, yet you dare to fight me? Come on, let me teach you a lesson!"
At this moment, Deacon Sun stepped out with his left foot, lightly treading the ground, leaving a deep footprint on the bluestone slab.
Seeing this, Chen Jie thought to himself, "Just now, Deacon Sun said that this ascendant was using low-level Qi. It seems that True Qi is a power that far surpasses Qi."
Thinking this, Chen Jie noticed two people whispering and discussing something to each other.
"This big oaf is really stupid. Does he still think this is the lower realm? In this Immortal Realm, even dragons have to coil up and tigers have to hide, or he'll suffer."
"Yes, this kid doesn't even know the difference between spiritual energy and physical energy, yet he dares to rebel. It seems that the lineage of the Earth Immortal Realm in his world has been severed!"
Chen Jie listened from the side, his heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that this world was indeed full of dangers, and he had never expected that there was such a big difference between the Qi of the Gang Qi and the Qi of the Ling Qi.
"Hey, brothers, there's a difference between Qi and spiritual energy."
As Chen Jie was pondering this, a person approached him with a smile and asked the two people speaking in front of him.
The two men glanced at the man, who then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "I am Liu Xiaoshan, from the Eastern Ao Kingdom."
Upon hearing this, the two introduced themselves and said, "We are both ascendants, please take care of us in the future."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoshan smiled sheepishly: "That's right, that's right."
The two then explained the difference between spiritual energy and physical energy to Liu Xiaoshan.
Gang Qi is a martial arts aura, belonging to a low-level lower realm aura. It contains very low purity of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and its effects are very limited.
Spiritual power is rich in spiritual elements and its power is dozens of times that of physical energy. Therefore, even if two people seem to be of similar strength, the difference in the power attributes they can use is like heaven and earth.
Therefore, the first thing an ascendant does after ascending to the upper realm is to transform their internal energy into spiritual energy in order to survive in the upper realm.
This big, dumb guy, who immediately challenged the sect's steward, was clearly not very bright; he deserved his bad luck.
As they talked, the two looked at Liu Xiaoshan and said, "Brother Xiaoshan, we might have to go down into the mine later. We're not familiar with this place, so why don't we go together and look out for each other?"
Liu Xiaoshan said, "That's fine too. Many hands make light work. I'll join."
Chen Jie had overheard their entire conversation and was about to turn away when Liu Xiaoshan looked at him and smiled, "Brother, you've been listening for a while now. How about we team up?"
Chen Jie was taken aback when he heard this. He hadn't expected that this would involve him. He couldn't refuse for a moment. After all, he had heard so much from them. If he refused, he might offend them. In a new environment, the most important thing is not to make enemies easily. Besides, joining them would also be beneficial to him.
I currently know very little about this world, but from their conversation, I can tell that the two of them know a great deal about the Upper Realm. Teaming up with them will be very helpful for my future survival in the Upper Realm, as it will allow me to learn more information.
Secondly, as Liu Xiaoshan said, there is strength in numbers, and people can help each other.
Chen Jie glanced at Liu Xiaoshan and said with a smile, "Great! Many hands make light work."
Seeing that Chen Jie agreed to form a team, Liu Xiaoshan smiled and said, "Brothers, I've brought in another one."
As he spoke, Liu Xiaoshan pulled the three of them together. Chen Jie glanced at the two men in front of him and could clearly see the arrogance in their eyes. These two must be used to being leaders.
The advantage of this kind of person is that they can take responsibility, but the disadvantage is that they may like to give orders haphazardly.
However, these kinds of people are always very concerned about their image.
Thinking of this, Chen Jie clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Chen Jie greets you two brothers."
The two men glanced at Chen Jie, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "We are Ding Hua and Meng Wei."
After giving their names, the two said no more.
Seeing that the two were not speaking, Liu Xiaoshan went up to Chen Jie and started talking to himself.
As the two were talking, a figure flew over with a loud bang and landed at Chen Jie's feet. Chen Jie took a step back. The person rolled three times on the ground, staggered to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and looked at Deacon Sun with bloodshot eyes, saying, "Again."
Deacon Sun looked down at the tall, thin man, raising an eyebrow slightly, and said, "Interesting, you've got some skills, kid."
The tall, thin man said disdainfully, "I have cultivated for a hundred years to break through the void, how could I lose to a pampered person like you!"
The tall, thin man took a deep breath and poured all his inner energy into the sword. The "Mountain-Splitting Style," a secret technique passed down in the mortal realm, blossomed in his hand, and the golden sword light crashed like a raging wave.
Upon seeing this, Steward Sun's palm condensed into a giant palm of spiritual energy, about ten feet wide, with a cold blue light emanating from its edge. Wherever it passed, even the light seemed to be distorted, as it fiercely met the radiant golden light.
With a deafening roar, the stone slabs on the ground shattered, and the tall, thin man staggered backward, blood dripping from the split between his thumb and forefinger along the hilt of his sword, each drop rising into white smoke upon contact with the ground.
Deacon Sun raised an eyebrow dismissively and said, "The spiritual power of the Tianyuan Continent is far superior to the turbid energy of the mortal realm."
Seeing this, Chen Jie thought to himself that the tall, thin man was bound to lose this battle. It seemed that the most important thing to survive in the Tianyuan Continent was to refine his Qi into spiritual Qi.
While Chen Jie was stunned, he saw that Deacon Sun's giant palm of spiritual energy suddenly accelerated its downward pressure.
The tall, thin man gritted his teeth and blocked with his sword. The moment the golden qi and the cyan spiritual power collided again, he clearly felt that the opponent's spiritual power was like a living thing, constantly seeping along the spine of the sword, and the meridians in the places it passed through felt as if they were being pierced by countless fine needles.
The tall, thin man felt his inner energy leaking out continuously. When the last bit of his inner energy was shattered by spiritual power, his longsword flew out of his hand and crashed heavily into the stone wall in the distance. The steel sword emitted a piercing hum.
Deacon Sun's massive palm of spiritual energy stopped three inches in front of the tall, thin man's brow, the remaining energy already turning the hair on his forehead into ashes.
The tall, thin man staggered and knelt on the ground, coughing up blood that stained the blue stone in front of him. He looked at the blue spiritual energy lingering on Deacon Sun's fingertips and finally understood the difference between the Qi cultivated in the mortal realm and the spiritual energy of the immortal realm.
Deacon Sun withdrew his hand and patted the dust off his clothes.
Deacon Sun looked down at the tall, thin man kneeling on the ground, his eyes showing no triumphant joy, only an indifference as if the outcome had already been predetermined.
Deacon Sun slowly turned to face the crowd and said calmly, "Is there anyone else who would like to learn from me?" He glanced around with disdain.
Those around were trembling with fear. Under Deacon Sun's sweeping gaze, they looked at each other and silently lowered their heads, no one making a sound, secretly marveling at Deacon Sun's formidable power.
"If anyone is still dissatisfied, they are welcome to come up and have a match," Steward Sun shouted.
The people around remained silent. Chen Jie, in the center of the crowd, thought to himself, "Who would dare to be the first to act now? Wouldn't it be foolish to try and break a rock with an egg?"
Seeing that no one objected, Deacon Sun turned to the tall, thin man and asked, "Are you convinced?"
The tall, thin man gritted his teeth and said, "I refuse to accept this."
Steward Sun laughed and said, "Still a stubborn fool. Someone come here."
"Break their limbs and drag them out to feed the bears."
Upon hearing this, a cultivator stepped forward and said to Deacon Sun, "Deacon, our C-class mine is short-handed. Give this man to me; it's a good way to make use of him! What do you think..."
Upon hearing this, Deacon Sun looked at the cultivator who had just spoken and said, "What use is such a piece of trash? Can you tame him?"
Upon hearing this, the monk said, "I see that he is strong and powerful, which is perfect for working in the mine."
Deacon Sun looked at the tall, thin man with disdain and said, "Then take him away and keep a close watch on him. If he causes trouble, you will be held responsible."
The monk smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes."
As he spoke, the cultivator lifted the man with one hand and brought him to the entrance of the mine. He then sealed the man's cultivation and threw the tall, thin man in front of the supervisor, saying, "Take this man with you when you go down into the mine..." (End of Chapter)