"It was the elder who led the disciple onto the Path of Immortality, allowing me to have the strength and status I have today. How could I possibly resent the elder?" the one-horned man knelt and said.

Looking at the one-horned man, Elder Hai's eyes were filled with disappointment. "Even at this point, you still refuse to call me father, and still resist acknowledging our clan and lineage. What must I do for you to be satisfied?"

After a moment of silence, the one-horned man continued, "You want me to acknowledge our clan and change my name to that of the clan registry, but all my life, I have had only one name, Fang Dafu, and my mother remembers only this name. It is my past, as well as yours. You may want to discard it, but I dare not forget it."

"Ah, Fu'er, I had many enemies in those years, and leaving you and your mother behind was a matter of necessity. Why can't you understand my predicament?" Elder Hai sighed.

Fang Dafu bowed his head and was silent for a long while, then suddenly stood up, gazing directly at Elder Hai, and loudly demanded, "You have your difficulties, but who can understand the hardships my mother and I endured?"

"In the bitter cold of winter, to prevent me from freezing, my mother braved the snow to get a piece of coal. Have you ever experienced such bone-chilling cold? When I was a naive child, my mother knelt outside the private tutor's door all night long, begging him to teach me to read. Have you ever suffered such humiliation? During the imperial examinations, she was gravely ill and unable to afford treatment, yet still feared I would worry. Although her illness was severe, she still forced a smile. Have you ever had such an experience?"

"These incidents, one by one, are etched into my name, never to be forgotten. Yet now, you wish to change it. Have you considered my feelings or the feelings of my mother's spirit in heaven? I have said all that I can. If losing the Red Gold Centipede is an unforgivable offense, I will accept any punishment without complaint."

Fang Dafu seemed to be venting emotions he had been suppressing for a long time, speaking so much in one breath. Perhaps due to excitement, his chest heaved uncontrollably.

Having spoken, he continued to look directly at Elder Hai, his gaze mingling with complex emotions.

Elder Hai, watching his son's gaze, his lips quivered slightly. A torrent of words came to his lips, but in the end, they turned into a long sigh.

"Enough, let's put this matter to rest. You may go now."

Upon hearing these words, the one-horned man stood up straight, bowed to Elder Hai, and then turned and left without looking back.

...

That night, Zuo Qinghui released the soul crow under cover of darkness, planning to leave the dormitory and search for Wulu in the mining fields. But before he could leave, he noticed some noise coming from one of the bedrooms.

His soul splitting immediately went forward to investigate, and upon passing through the bedroom door, he found Xu Che inside.

Xu Che was kneeling in front of a low table, crying with a plain pencil drawing on the table before him.

"Mother, your son has been unfilial, failing to live up to your expectations. Since stepping onto the Immortal Path, I have neither made any name for myself nor been deceived and imprisoned, bringing shame upon the Xu Family."

"Since I was young, I lacked talent. It was you who brought me back to your parents' home and raised me alone, earning me a sliver of a chance at immortality. Yet, after your death, to take over the family property, my cruel uncle fabricated charges against me, driving me to flee from Zhao Country. I had intended to cultivate to Core Formation and return for revenge. But now, due to an oversight, I have become a prisoner, and the only way out is to do evil on behalf of others."

"But mother, you once said that men of the Xu family should stand tall between heaven and earth, never bowing in subservice or engaging in villainy. Now...I truly have no choice. After much thought, there seems to be only one path left for me."

As Xu Che spoke, he bowed deeply to the portrait several times, then placed his hand over his heart.

"Mother, do you remember the children's storybook you read to me as a child, about the sparrow? It said that though the bird was ordinary, its spirit was incredibly defiant. If caged, it would crash against its prison until death. When a Beast Talker asked the sparrow why it did this, the sparrow replied, 'If it cannot soar freely through the skies—'"

"Then it would rather be buried in the ground." A voice arose in Xu Che's mind, startling him into leaping up.

Looking around nervously, Xu Che asked, "Who's there? Who's speaking?"

Yet there was no one to be seen in the room.

As Xu Che had been speaking to himself, Yuan Ming's soul splitting, transformed into an invisible soul crow, had entered his body and possessed him.

Yuan Ming had come to save Wulu, but encountering someone who would rather die than submit, he could not stand by and watch.

Normally, when soul splitting possesses a living person, it suppresses the host's Divine Soul and consciousness, causing them to slip into a semi-conscious state. In this way, even if the soul splitting relinquishes possession, the person would only feel a brief moment of haziness and would notice nothing amiss.

However, this suppression is controllable—much like now, where the soul splitting did not suppress Xu Che's consciousness, allowing him to communicate with the soul splitting in his Sea of Consciousness.

Of course, Xu Che couldn't detect the presence of the soul splitting. To him, the communication appeared similar to secret voice transmission, not suggestive of Soul Cultivation.

Seeing Xu Che still tense, the soul splitting quickly reassured him, "You need not panic. I am not currently here. It was only upon sensing your yearning for freedom that I transmitted my voice to you."

"You... who are you exactly?" Xu Che asked.

"I am the Nether Moon God, a deity who aids the people of the world and guides them in their pursuit of freedom," the soul splitting replied.

"A god? Are you a Nascent Soul... No, or a Core Formation Cultivator?" Xu Che's emotions gradually stabilized. Like most cultivators, he didn't believe in the existence of gods.

Or to be precise, in their understanding, those who proclaimed themselves as gods were merely cultivators of greater strength.

Yet the soul splitting laughed and asked, "The so-called gods are born in response to the prayers of the people and fulfill their wishes. For those dying of thirst in the desert, one who brings them water is a god. For those trapped in dungeons, one who saves them from their plight is a god."

Xu Che swallowed, "Are you saying you're willing to save me and get me out of here?"

"Indeed, as long as you are willing to offer your faith to me and propagate my name, saving more people from fire and water, I will bestow Divine Power to rescue the suffering beings," the soul fragment said.

Upon hearing this, a trace of caution flashed through Xu Che's eyes, but it quickly dissipated like smoke.

He was now at his wit's end, otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of suicide. Any chance of escape laid before him was an absolutely indispensable lifeline.

"Good, I agree to your terms. What should I do next?" Xu Che nodded, having made up his mind.

"Praying sincerely every day will suffice, the rest will be conveyed to you by my messenger," the soul fragment's voice gradually faded away.

"Who is the messenger, and how do I find him?" Xu Che quickly asked.

"Zuo Qinghui."

The soul fragment's voice completely disappeared. In the room, Xu Che stood in place, pondering deeply for a long time, and finally took a deep breath, pressed his hands together, and bowed towards the sky.

"Ming Yue God above, your believer Xu Che prays for your grace..."

...

The time was nearing midnight.

In the mine, weak light emitted from the illuminating magic artifacts on the dome, as if the bright moon was in the sky, casting down a silver radiance onto the earth.

A soul crow was weaving through the stone houses, searching for traces of Wulu.

The entire mine was enveloped by a vast formation, similar to Xiansha City. This formation could resist the sinister energy brought by the Black Wind and also block the use of the Earth Tunneling Technique.

Of course, the mining tunnels that extended out were not covered by the formation's range. Therefore, whenever cultivators were about to go down to mine, a cultivator overseer would always accompany them.

And now, as the night deepened, the overseers had returned to their own dwellings, leaving only a few to guard the entrance and exit to the area where the monk slaves lived. If one needed to look for someone, this was the most opportune time.

The guards did not restrict the movement of the monk slaves in the dormitory area, but after a day's hard work, most of the mine slaves would not roam about at this hour. They had returned to their quarters to rest early, to cope with the monotonous labor day after day.

But not everyone could endure this dismal and sunless life.

Their oppressive and irritable emotions were yearning for a release, directed either at themselves or at others.

In the past, there were not a few who, like Xu Che, were crushed by the reality of despair and chose to commit suicide. Therefore, the Guiyuan Sect deliberately designated an area deep within the dormitory to construct a Combat Arena for the mine slaves to vent their dissatisfaction.

This was not out of pity for the mine slaves, but a product of their appreciation for mining tools.

The soul fragment roamed above the dormitory area and soon spotted a unique building that was lit up with torches, bustling with noise.

It had a ring-shaped structure, high on the outside and low on the inside. Groups of people were sitting in clusters on the surrounding stone steps, some dressed as mine slaves, some as Guiyuan Sect guard disciples. Their attention was focused on the plaza at the center, where a monk slave was locked in battle with a Level 1 Lower Stage demon beast.

The demon beast was a stone lizard, covered in sand and stone, not very large, less than one person tall. It had thick skin and sharp claws and teeth, but little else to its advantage.

However, since his mana was suppressed and he was without a magic artifact, the monk slave could only use some low-powered spells that, when hitting the stone lizard, only managed to break off its sandy armor without inflicting much damage.

So, the monk slave was repeatedly at a disadvantage, occasionally caught by the stone lizard for a swipe, leaving bloody wounds on his body.

The monk slave's clothes were already dyed red with blood, and he was gradually running out of strength. It seemed he was about to become food for the stone lizard. Despair filled his heart as he looked up towards the platform in the north of the arena, with a pleading look.

Opposite the plaza on a high platform, three Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Guiyuan Sect sat by a large round table, watching the artifact in the center of the table reflect the scenario below. Some were jubilant, some irritated.

"What a waste, getting my hopes up for nothing!" a long-haired male cultivator said angrily.

To his left, a corpulent cultivator reached out with a chuckle, raking the spirit stones on the table towards himself, "Ah well, Senior Brother Gong, no need to get angry. That stone lizard is known for its impressive defense; it's already quite something that he could last this long."

"Bad luck!" The long-haired cultivator was still displeased, sulking over the spirit stones he had lost.

Then, a slim-browed cultivator spoke, "Senior Brother Gong, since the bet is settled, we might as well have someone capture the stone lizard. If this goes on, someone will die."

"So what if he does? He made me lose my spirit stones; let that dog die," the long-haired male cultivator said carelessly.

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