Eternal Life Begins with Learning

"Brother, you have no idea. These days, from morning ’til night, we’ve been living in constant fear!"

"People are dropping dead every few days!"

"Forced laborers die, Inspectors die... Brother, you saw the frost on that corpse just now, didn’t you? Frozen to death in this heat. It’s just plain evil!"

"If the Thousand Households Commander hadn’t issued a gag order..."

As they grew closer, the man’s floodgates opened, and a shocking inside story was unveiled before Chu Mu.

According to the Inspector, the deaths had begun over a month ago, before winter had even set in. They were happening sporadically in several of the mining areas at the bottom of this pit.

And these weren’t normal deaths from accidents or illness. They were all... "frozen to death!"

Some would suffer what seemed like a sudden illness, a bone-chilling cold, and then freeze to death right where they stood. Others died suddenly in their sleep, only to be found later covered in a layer of frost.

Whether they were forced laborers or Inspectors, no one was exempt in the few mining areas around here.

Such a bizarre situation naturally caused panic, and people were living in constant fear.

However, under the suppression of those in power, the panic remained confined to these few mining areas, unable to spread.

The Inspector also said that it was precisely these strange occurrences that had attracted the attention of the Thousand Households Commander, which was why he was now seen patrolling the mining camp all day with his men.

The cause of all this seemed to be coming into focus.

’It’s not a problem with me, Chu Mu. And it’s definitely not that something’s gone wrong with my Qi and Blood Cultivation.’

’The problem is this land, this entire mining region, it’s...’

Chu Mu turned his head to look at the mountain wall, which was being excavated by dozens of forced laborers.

Several hours had passed. A great deal of the blue-gray rock had been chiseled away, and the resulting rubble formed a slope. Dozens of forced laborers bustled in front of the pitted stone wall.

It was a perfectly normal mining scene. Having been a Guardian at the mining camp for some time, Chu Mu was naturally very familiar with the process.

But...

The cliff face was made of blue-gray rock, but now, between the pits and gouges in the stone wall, he could faintly see mottled blackness behind the rock layer.

’Li Jinghong discovered the anomaly, investigated it, which then drew the attention of the Nanshan Li Family, and they eventually located the source of the anomaly...’

’In other words, there’s a good chance this isn’t some kind of treasure?’

’But rather... a disaster of some kind?’

Gazing at Li Jinghong and the man in white, who had not left, and at the hundreds of Inspectors who had been urgently dispatched to the area, Chu Mu couldn’t stop a shiver from running through his heart.

Something this strange was already beyond the scope of worldly common sense. It must involve the higher level of the Extraordinary.

’The popular uprising I was worried about earlier... what does that amount to compared to a disaster from the higher level of the Extraordinary?’

Chu Mu stared at the nascent mine entrance, his expression flickering with uncertainty.

After offering a few perfunctory words, Chu Mu strode over to Xu Yuan’s side. "Come with me!"

Xu Yuan froze for a moment, but seeing that Chu Mu was already walking away, he quickly closed his book and hurried after him.

"Brother Mu, what’s wrong? What’s going on?"

Xu Yuan caught up and asked, puzzled.

Chu Mu didn’t stop walking until he reached the very edge of this mining area, hundreds of meters away from the excavated cliff face.

Chu Mu didn’t answer Xu Yuan’s question. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to sense his Qi Blood.

Perhaps the shock from the cold was too great. For the first time ever, Chu Mu found it difficult to calm his mind and steady his heart. With a restless mind, he naturally couldn’t sense the ethereal Qi Blood.

At this moment, Chu Mu didn’t want to struggle with it. He silently chanted in his mind, and the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" descended. In an instant, the familiar cognitive leap occurred.

In that instant, the ethereal Qi Blood became as clear as it could possibly be.

Under the perception of his Qi Blood, the indescribable chill was gone, replaced by the warmth that suffused his body as his Qi Blood surged.

Chu Mu opened his eyes. Still ignoring the bewildered Xu Yuan, he looked again toward the pit being dug by the forced laborers.

’So, that means it has a limited range?’

Chu Mu mused to himself. The information he had just gleaned from that Inspector seemed to confirm his suspicion.

After all, over the past month, Inspectors and forced laborers had been "frozen to death" sporadically, but they were a minority. The vast majority were still perfectly fine. The obvious explanation was this limited range.

Seeing Chu Mu remain silent, Xu Yuan couldn’t help but ask again:

"Brother Mu, what’s up with you?"

"It’s nothing."

"Just stick with me and don’t wander off."

Chu Mu didn’t explain the reason. It was too complicated, and an explanation would be difficult.

"Oh."

Xu Yuan nodded. Although he wanted to ask for a clear explanation, he saw from Chu Mu’s expression that he didn’t want to talk, so he held his tongue.

"Then I’ll just read my book here. Is that okay?"

"Fine. Just try not to get too close to that area."

Chu Mu pointed in the direction of the mine entrance and found a spot to sit down as well.

With things being so strange, continuing his Qi and Blood Cultivation was out of the question. Chu Mu wasn’t that reckless.

Chu Mu stared intently at the excavated mine entrance, unwilling to miss the slightest change.

Chu Mu was now very curious. What on earth was inside there?

’Demon Fiends? Ghosts? Or some other Extraordinary existence that I can’t comprehend?’

Chu Mu didn’t know. He could only guess. But he was certain of one thing: it was inextricably linked to the concepts of fortune and disaster.

But if it was a disaster, then he, Chu Mu, and the hundreds of Inspectors present would be unable to escape it.

If it was a fortune, then it would have nothing to do with them.

If he could choose, Chu Mu would of course hope for fortune. Even if it had nothing to do with him, at least there would be no danger.

"That’s enough!"

Just then, the man in white, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

Just two words, and the clamor of the mining camp instantly vanished.

The man in white had never even spared a glance for any of the common people, but the way he treated Li Jinghong like a dog was clearly enough to intimidate everyone into submission.

Li Jinghong clearly understood the man’s intentions. He bowed humbly in acknowledgment and immediately summoned his Personal Guards from the side.

A short while later, several hundred more forced laborers arrived in this mining area, escorted by numerous Inspectors.

"Grab your tools and get to work!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Li Jinghong personally shouted and directed them. Several hundred forced laborers, carrying all sorts of tools, swarmed toward the mine entrance.

Chu Mu watched this surging tide of people, unable to suppress his confusion.

There were five or six hundred forced laborers in total, but the mine entrance, which dozens of men had spent the better part of a day digging, was only one or two meters deep and about ten meters wide.

’A mine entrance that small... with so many people, there’s not even room to stand!’

’What are they doing?’

CLANG CLANG CLANG...

Chu Mu was baffled, but the forced laborers had already begun to swing their tools, and the sound of CLANGING impacts rang out once more...

...