I See the Aura of the Great Emperor in All My Disciples

Chapter 1832: Chapter 1832: Divine Ore Essence, Lu Changsheng’s Plan

The sky was a murky yellow.

The Divine Energy within this realm was incredibly dense, even comparable to that of an Earth-rank zone.

However, this Divine Energy carried a fatal essence, deadly to any cultivator who inhaled it.

This was the reason why the heavens and earth appeared so oppressively yellow.

Granted, absorbing just a trace of it wouldn’t pose much harm, but prolonged inhalation would make filtration impossible, leading to death.

Thus, the Immortal Realm did not personally enter the Divine Veins to extract the Divine Ore Essence but instead threw slaves from various realms here, forcing them to absorb this essence continuously while mining.

They weren’t even given time to rest.

Lu Changsheng looked down at the dark, teeming crowd below. Each person’s eyes were void of spirit, akin to the walking dead, repeating the same mechanical actions to extract the Divine Ore Essence.

Their bodies were already emaciated. Upon closer inspection, one could clearly see that their skin had started to turn yellow.

The ones with particularly heavy yellow hues had likely absorbed too much.

But what alternative did they have even if they avoided consumption?

They could try not to breathe.

Yet the continuous mining required the constant replenishment of energy from the surrounding Divine Energy; otherwise, they would die even faster.

After all, the effort to extract Divine Ore Essence was not without cost.

Recalling the words of the Ancestor Dragon,

Lu Changsheng gazed at the crowd below, their bodies entirely filled with spiritual qi and immortal aura.

These were likely the ones the Ancestor Dragon had mentioned—those who had once chosen to serve the Immortal Realm.

They had reaped countless benefits back then, and now they were nothing but slaves.

Every day, they were like walking corpses, enduring endless darkness, facing death at any given moment...

Even so, such people did not deserve pity.

”Your task is to each lead a group of ten people. No matter what means you use, you must increase the speed of extracting the Divine Ore Essence to three times its current rate. This is the bare minimum,” the divine envoy said indifferently from the front. ”Failing to meet this threshold, you won’t escape the punishment of Divine Fire Burning.”

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.

Someone among them asked, ”Whatever means necessary? Even if it costs the lives of all these slaves?”

The divine envoy’s tone remained cold. ”If they die, then they die. Slaves are plentiful.”

The crowd hesitated momentarily before nodding.

In the end, it was simply unrestrained exploitation and relentless extraction.

The divine envoy said blandly, ”Alright, get started. I will observe in secret.”

After saying this, the divine envoy’s figure gradually disappeared from sight, as if he had never been there at all.

The Hall Master of Tianxing Palace, observing the scene, urged, ”Stop wasting time. This might be your only chance to step into the Mystic-Tier region. Cherish it well.”

With these words,

the crowd frantically rushed downward, eager to pick their teams.

Lu Changsheng followed the throng and descended as well.

The slaves trembled with fear upon seeing the people of the Immortal Realm arrive, their pupils quaking intensely.

Evidently, they had been tortured far too often. The once-sharp will and pride of cultivators had long since been shattered beyond repair.

Lu Changsheng casually selected twenty people and, mimicking what the other Immortal Realm individuals had done, instructed, ”Follow me and mine the Divine Ore Essence. Whether you collapse from exhaustion or completely drain yourselves, you must mine relentlessly. I have medicinal pills here to help you replenish your energy.”

He then added, ”Of course, if any of you perform exceptionally well and mine more, I might consider giving you special privileges.”

Lu Changsheng was determined to secure a spot in the top ten. In this situation, reaching a higher tier was the safest path.

To those trapped in despair, the promise of privileges was akin to a lifeline. No matter how small, it could provide a sliver of hope.

Nonetheless,

this group’s physical strength, as well as their reserves of immortal aura and spiritual qi, had already been drained to the brink of collapse.

Some had even absorbed so much of the lethal essence that death could claim them at any moment.

Lu Changsheng studied the twenty trembling individuals before him, his mind racing.

He needed to restore their bodies to a slightly better state.

However, he couldn’t let them recover to peak condition completely.

Doing so would undoubtedly raise suspicion.

Moreover, Lu Changsheng could sense that the divine envoy had left behind a wisp of divine sense, surveilling the area. Even the smallest details would not escape the envoy’s scrutiny.

Although Lu Changsheng could ensure his actions remained undetected,

a sudden transformation in these twenty people—becoming lively and energetic—would be unexplainable, wouldn’t it?

Lu Changsheng had deliberately chosen the twenty individuals in the worst condition.

Among them were even three frail, skeletal old men, whose skin had turned completely yellow.

Nearby, someone sneered, ”What kind of slaves did he pick? Forget the top ten; completing the basic quota will already be tough, right?”

”The agony of Divine Fire Burning will make you wish for death yet deny you the release of it.”

Lu Changsheng glanced at the two who spoke. One was tall, the other short, each holding a whip in hand, clearly meant for driving the slaves.

Even the twenty slaves Lu Changsheng had chosen recoiled in terror at the sight of those whips, trembling as they shrank back and dropped to their knees, groveling on the ground.

”Hmph, slaves will always be slaves.” The tall cultivator, You Chen, glanced at them with disdain and lost interest in Lu Changsheng’s group. He swung his whip at a nearby slave who was slowing down. ”You’re not dead yet? Then move faster!”

The short cultivator, Hu Wei, chuckled and said, ”Brother Chen, aren’t you worried that the slave might die and you won’t complete your task?”

You Chen nonchalantly pulled out a blood-red pill, remarking, ”No problem. I have plenty of Blood Burst Pills.”

Lu Changsheng gave the pill a brief glance and immediately understood its use.

A Blood Burst Pill could unleash one’s potential for a short time but at a grave cost—it harmed the soul, damaged the heart veins, and excessive use led only to death, beyond the saving grace of any deity.

But such matters were none of Lu Changsheng’s concern—he was no saint.

Gazing at the twenty trembling individuals before him,

Lu Changsheng said, ”Alright, start working. While I won’t resort to anything extreme, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

At this point, Lu Changsheng deliberately put on a menacing demeanor, fixing them with a cold, piercing glare as he continued, ”If your progress lags, I’ll use whatever means are necessary—means even worse than theirs.”

The twenty slaves hastily nodded and bowed. ”Understood...”

They then began wielding their tools to work the mines.

Lu Changsheng’s gaze lingered on the four skeletal old men among them.

You Chen and Hu Wei couldn’t fathom Lu Changsheng’s intention.

These four old men had clearly been here the longest; otherwise, their skin couldn’t have turned such a deep yellow, the essence seeping into their very bones.

Lu Changsheng pressed two fingers together, and a wisp of Creation Energy silently coalesced at his fingertips. With a subtle gesture, he directed it into the bodies of the twenty slaves.

Thread by thread.

The changes were so minute that even the slaves themselves didn’t realize anything had happened.

This was simply a measure to stabilize their current conditions—not to strengthen them—so it was natural they didn’t notice any effects.

After completing this,

Lu Changsheng masked his voice to ensure the hidden divine envoy wouldn’t detect him. He used voice transmission to communicate with the four old men. ”Tell me about this place. If your information proves valuable, I might consider helping you escape this torment.

”Of course, if you betray me, the restrictions planted in your bodies will detonate instantly, killing you on the spot.”