Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Han Mengli was quiet among the slaves, keeping to himself. Having now become able to start sneaking out some spirit stones, he began cultivating throughout the night, and his cultivation base improved at a steady rate.

Nearly all of his time was spent cultivating nowadays.

He had grown accustomed to his life as a slave. As much as he wished for it not to be true, his life beforehand hadn't been that different either. He had been made to work the day he reached sixteen, all the way until the day they reached the Five Elements Realm.

Life entered a lull for him as he willingly ignored everything else around him. He did the bare minimum to reach his daily quota, but other than that, he simply cultivated.

A few dozen years later, he reached the True Emperor realm, and two centuries after that, he was close to reaching the Saint realm.

New slaves were brought in from time to time, all from different factions. He heard them talking to each other. Some belonged to the Speed God's faction, some to the Flame God's.

There were even a few soldiers from the Sky God's faction.

A new person shared the bed below him—a young man who never introduced himself. He looked small and weak. He was scared, as evident by the tremors in the bed.

Han Mengli thought of speaking words to quell his fear, but for the first day, it was impossible to say anything that would make him calm down. He heard the young man whisper about his dead friends and family, and Han Mengli couldn't help but think back to his own past.

His sister had likely died. His mother had died. He knew nothing of his father.

He had lived, and while he should've been searching for a way to get revenge, he had done nothing to show for it whatsoever.

It stung his heart.

The next day, the thoughts from last night had left him, but the sourness had not. He went to the depths of the mine and cultivated for a while before mining the required ores. Over the hundreds of years, the mine had become larger, the opening wider. At the same time, it had also branched out, growing deeper.

Han Mengli alone had found the spirit stone mine on three different occasions and steered the mine in another direction.

He came back up the cave, dropping part of his quota before returning. On the way back, he saw the young man from last night, working tirelessly. As much as he worked, there was little to show for it.

He hadn't yet gathered a lot of ores. He was also deep enough that the time to go back out would be longer.

Han Mengli ignored him and went back to focus on his own task. The next time he came back out, he saw the young man still working in the same place, gathering just a little more.

Han Mengli sighed.

"Kid, how much have you gathered?" he asked.

The young man stopped and turned around. He gave a strange look but answered nonetheless.

"Thirty-eight kilograms."

"That is way too low," Han Mengli said. "You need to—"

He stopped when he saw the young man's eyes. The poor boy was scared out of his mind. He didn't need Han Mengli to tell him how bad this was.

Han Mengli was reminded of his first day and how screwed he thought he was. He remembered the blond-haired young man who had helped him.

He sighed and started mining right next to the young man, teaching him how to mine properly. Even with one hand, even without using his Qi, Han Mengli was much faster than the young man, as his mining skills had long since reached a stage of perfection for skysteel ore.

The young man watched in awe and quickly repeated his actions to get better results. The young man grew happier and grateful. After some time, he thanked Han Mengli and picked up his sack.

A few ores dropped, and Han Mengli picked them up for him. "Don't drop them. All ores matter."

"Yes, thank you."

"And don't forget your pickaxe. You can't leave it here."

Once the young man left, Han Mengli returned to his own task. When he brought out the second-to-last batch, he saw the young man working diligently on the mine wall. He had gotten the technique just enough that he didn't need Han Mengli's help.

Still, he decided to help, gathering some ores for him. Once the young man gathered over two hundred kilograms, Han Mengli went back to his own.

The next time Han Mengli left the end of the mine, it was near sunset. He walked out of the mine and quickly dumped his sack, getting it weighed. In total, he had brought out two hundred and five kilograms today, just above his required quota.

That was good. If he did any more, he would've been taken away—and he didn't wish for that.

He stepped away from the cave, getting in line where he would be washed and checked. As he did, his eyes fell on something to the side.

A small group had been gathered on the opposite side, one meant for people who hadn't reached their quota. The first day had most of these, and Han Mengli had seen many die this way.

But today, he noticed them because at the front of the group was the young man he had helped.

Han Mengli couldn't understand what was happening. The young man had gathered enough. He had helped him.

Everyone in that group begged for their lives, and Han Mengli heard the young man's voice. He pleaded for himself, saying he had just missed by two kilograms. He had likely dropped a few ores along the way. He could go pick some up before the sun fully went down.

But the demons didn't listen to him or any of the others who begged.

Han Mengli watched as one of the demons raised his sword and swung. All heads fell at once.

The lifeless eyes of the young man looked directly at him, begging for mercy even now.

Han Mengli just watched.