Chapter 620

Chapter 620: Saving People

A magnificent castle rises majestically in Feixu Valley.

This castle is built on the ruins of the original Feixu Camp, but its scale and grandeur are entirely different!

The castle’s outer walls are constructed from square blocks of green stone, each meticulously polished into a perfect cube. The surfaces are coated with a special adhesive clay, which is then solidified through magical means.

All the green stone was manually extracted from deep within mountains over a hundred miles away.

The miners and stonemasons are the loose cultivators from Feixu Camp, now reduced to slave labor.

They bear slave marks and are bound by restrictions, forced to perform the most grueling tasks, earning little while being exploited to their limits.

Meanwhile, the families of these loose cultivators work as servants and miscellaneous workers.

A small immortal sect purchased them from the great beasts and built the castle in Feixu Valley.

This sect is known as Shen Zhao Sect.

It is unclear what purpose brought this sect here, but they acquired slave labor and began extensive construction, seemingly preparing for long-term operations, effectively replacing the original Feixu Camp.

The unfortunate loose cultivators of Feixu Camp must toil in the dark, lightless mines, extracting stone materials.

Zhang Mushan wiped the sweat from his forehead, only to cover his hand in lime dust.

He licked his cracked lips, feeling as if his throat were ablaze with a searing pain!

This Purple Palace cultivator discreetly glanced at the overseer standing nearby, channeling his nearly depleted dantian’s power into the mining knife in his hand. He exerted all his strength to cut through the rock ahead and extract a complete piece of stone.

Green stone is exceptionally hard, particularly this type hidden within the mountains, making it an excellent material for constructing walls and tall towers.

However, the extraction of green stone is also highly challenging, and they cannot employ spells like turning stone into mud to expedite the process.

They can only dig and cut by hand.

Zhang Mushan has been laboring in this mine for two months.

As a slave, Zhang Mushan has received no preferential treatment due to his Purple Palace status; on the contrary, he must complete tasks far exceeding those of Qi Training cultivators.

If he fails to meet his quotas, not only will Zhang Mushan be punished, but his wife and two children will also go hungry!

With no other options, Zhang Mushan has to treat himself like a beast of burden, working desperately every day to “support his family.”

This is likely the reason why this immortal sect bought him along with his wife and children.

In fact, Zhang Mushan is not alone; many others share a similar plight, living under the oppression of Shen Zhao Sect, enduring unbearable hardships, yet feeling no inclination to resist.

After two months, Zhang Mushan’s body and spirit are both utterly exhausted.

Yet he knows that he cannot afford to fall!

“Brother Zhang.”

Suddenly, a faint voice reached Zhang Mushan’s ears.

He trembled all over, hardly believing his ears.

He was extremely familiar with this voice!

Summoning all his strength, Zhang Mushan maintained a calm exterior, continuing his work without a pause.

He must not arouse any suspicion from the overseer, lest he face punishment!

Meanwhile, he gave a slight nod to indicate that he had heard Wang Chen’s voice.

"Brother Zhang, I’ve come to rescue you."

Zhang Mushan was not mistaken; it was indeed Wang Chen communicating with him through a secret message.

Two months prior, when Wang Chen discovered that Zhang Mushan and his family of four had not been taken away but were instead left in Feixu Valley, he began devising a plan to rescue them.

Wang Chen first concealed himself and carefully observed, only attempting to make contact after understanding Zhang Mushan’s daily routine, to facilitate the next steps of the operation.

Given that Shen Zhao Sect closely monitored slave cultivators and a large castle had been erected in Feixu Valley, Wang Chen found no suitable opportunity within. Therefore, he chose to approach Zhang Mushan near the mine.

Wang Chen’s method was straightforward: he dug a tunnel far from the mine.

Step by step, he edged closer to his target.

While it sounds simple, achieving this without detection required extensive experience, formidable strength, and utmost caution.

Wang Chen possessed all these qualities.

It took him over half a month to quietly complete a tunnel connecting to the mine!

However, upon hearing Wang Chen’s message, Zhang Mushan slightly shook his head.

He did not want Wang Chen to rescue him!

Using the corner of his eye to check the overseer’s position, Zhang Mushan stealthily freed his left hand and quickly wrote a few characters on the nearby rock wall.

While Wang Chen could send him messages, Zhang Mushan dared not respond in kind.

His body bore slave marks and restrictions; any unusual movement could alert the overseer.

Thus, he had to resort to this method.

Zhang Mushan was not afraid of death, but involving his family and Wang Chen, who was trying to save him, was a different matter!

He trusted that Wang Chen could see his actions.

And indeed, Wang Chen saw them.

Zhang Mushan wrote three words: Save the children.

Zhang Mushan knew he had no chance of escape.

The slave marks and restrictions within his body were like two sealed poisons; leaving the restricted area would trigger them.

He would surely die!

But his two daughters were different.

Continuing to extract stone materials with all his might, Zhang Mushan sent another message to Wang Chen.

However, as the saying goes, "walking in the dark roads eventually encounters ghosts," and despite his careful concealment, the overseer noticed something amiss.

"What are you doing?"

The burly overseer immediately swung his whip, striking Zhang Mushan’s face hard, "If you want to die, just say so! Don’t play games; you can’t handle it!"

A deep, bone-visible wound appeared on Zhang Mushan’s face, and crimson blood gushed out.

He couldn’t help but groan softly, lowering his head and letting the blood from his face drip onto the ground.

The overseer lashed him twice more before furiously roaring, "You’d better double your output today, or none of you will eat!"

Zhang Mushan deeply bent his back, resembling a fallen old dog.

His hair had turned quite gray.

At this moment, Wang Chen quietly exited the hidden tunnel and sealed it completely.

Zhang Mushan could not leave and did not want to; this hard-earned tunnel could no longer be used.

Yet rescuing Zhang Mushan’s two daughters was equally challenging.

The families of the cultivators were concentrated in the newly constructed castle, with adults and children kept completely separate.

Adults were marked and restricted as slaves, while children, unable to endure it, were kept as hostages.

They were also tightly guarded.

Moreover, a Golden Core true master guarded Shen Zhao Sect!

This meant Wang Chen needed to rescue the two children right under the nose of the Golden Core true master.

The difficulty was clear!

But this did not mean Wang Chen was out of options.