Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 147 - 135: Collecting Soul Thoughts, Master and Disciple Demon Cultivators

Chapter 147: Chapter 135: Collecting Soul Thoughts, Master and Disciple Demon Cultivators

The next day, early morning.

In each of the two major mining districts, hundreds of miner slaves lined up like a long dragon, slowly moving towards the periphery of the Black Jade Mine District.

Their Magical Artifacts had long been confiscated, and their Magical Power was always in a state of exhaustion, making them look numb and haggard, even worse than some mortals.

"Hurry up! Everyone, hurry up!"

"What are you dawdling for? Want a whipping?"

"Remember to keep quiet, no shouting or making noise. If you offend the master with your noise, you’ll pay for it!"

Dozens of overseers, holding special long whip Magical Artifacts, maneuvered Escape Light as they patrolled on both sides, frequently scolding and whipping.

"Ah!"

An elderly miner, due to his weak body and slow walking, immediately received a lash of the whip, making him cry out miserably, his skin splitting open and blood flowing.

"Uncle Wu!"

A young boy rushed over to support him, anxiously asking:

"Are you alright?"

"...Huff, I’m alright."

The old miner gasped and walked forward with the boy’s support, a trace of resentment in his eyes:

"These Haihe Association dogs only know how to torture us, and today, who knows what trouble they’re brewing again..."

As he spoke, he looked at the boy beside him, expressing some heartfelt pain:

"Alas, I’m already in my seventies or eighties, dying in the mine doesn’t matter much."

"But Xiaowu, you’re only in your teens, just starting on the path for a few years, yet your entire family got wiped out and sent to this cursed place..."

The boy paused for a moment, shook his head, and said:

"Hour by fate, if I die in this mine, it’s fate."

"Fate my ass!"

The old miner took a half-step closer, speaking in a voice as faint as a mosquito:

"This time they gathered us, definitely not for anything good. I don’t have many days left to live, and the only person I can rely on is you."

"Remember, next time when you go down the mine, go to Dingsan Ninth Mine Cave, the code is ’Righteous and Just, No one but me’."

"This!"

Wu Silei was startled in his heart, immediately realizing something.

He had lived in the mining district for several years, always hearing rumors that besides people plotting rebellion, others were secretly contacting tomb raiders to escape the mining district from inside and out.

In the past, he hadn’t paid much attention to these rumors.

But now...

"...I understand."

Wu Silei’s heart pounded as he solemnly agreed.

Over half an hour later:

More than a thousand miner slaves gathered in one place, densely packed, watched over by dozens of overseers, led by Lao Zhou and Old Chen.

"Isn’t that Zhou Bapi and Chen Heixin?"

"Yeah, both of them are here, could it be a Foundation Establishment master really coming to inspect?"

"Looks like it’s true. Look at their toady appearance, respectfully waiting here, nothing like their usual arrogant demeanor?"

Many miner slaves huddled together, discussing quietly, with various thoughts swirling in their minds.

"Foundation Establishment master..."

In Wu Silei’s mind, complex emotions arose:

"I’ve never seen a Foundation Establishment master in my life."

"If our Wu Family had a Foundation Establishment master, perhaps we wouldn’t have faced extermination..."

Just as he was thinking this:

"Boom!"

A majestic blue Escape Light flew over from the horizon, descending straight down.

As the Escape Light dissipated, it revealed a young Daoist in a Daoist Robe with extraordinary demeanor, accompanied by a beautiful young maiden.

"Greetings, Master!"

Old Chen and Lao Zhou were the first to salute, the dozens of overseers on both sides also showed excitement, uniformly bowing in worship:

"Greetings, Master!"

Seeing this scene, over a thousand miner slaves slightly stirred, and amidst the crowd, Wu Silei instinctively held his breath, with a hint of reverence and longing in his eyes.

"Hmm."

Zhang Yao nodded slightly, indicating:

"No need for formalities, rise."

After everyone got up, he released his powerful Divine Thought, sweeping over the thousand miner slaves, deliberately exerting his Spiritual Pressure.

Already in a poor state, over a thousand miner slaves immediately felt a sense of suffocation as his mighty Spiritual Pressure hit them, and some with weaker cultivation even slumped to the ground.

"You were gathered today for good news."

Zhang Yao spoke lightly, his voice carried through his Divine Thought and simultaneously echoed in the ears of every miner slave:

"I will use you to refine a treasure, which will greatly benefit you with minimal harm, even freeing you from your labor pains."

"Remember, do not resist, or bear the consequences!"

Hearing his words, a small uproar broke out among the thousand miner slaves, but ultimately, no one dared resist.

To resist in front of a Foundation Establishment master, would be courting death, given their current state, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to kill them all.

"Buzz!"

Zhang Yao tossed out the Soul Thought Bead, channeling his formidable Magical Power into it. The Soul Thought Bead responded dramatically, shining brightly and releasing a thick fog.

The white fog rapidly expanded, spreading dozens of feet wide within moments, akin to a cloud, enveloping the tightly clustered over a thousand miner slaves.

"What is this..."

Youth Wu Silei appeared somewhat nervous, his mind just processing these thoughts when suddenly, his vision turned black, losing consciousness.

"Thud!" "Thud!"...

Amidst the mist, continuous sounds of bodies falling could be heard. In just a few moments, over a thousand miner slaves had stumbled and piled up chaotically on the ground.

"Master! This..."

Lao Zhou and Old Chen immediately felt a bit nervous, unable to restrain themselves from looking at Zhang Yao.

"No worries."

Zhang Yao waved his hand, continuing to inject magical power into the Soul Thought Bead.

With the support of magical power, the Soul Thought Bead began to operate automatically without his manipulation, giving Zhang Yao the opportunity for detailed observation.

"...Mm."

"Ah..."

"No, don’t..."

Within the white mist, hundreds of miner slaves trapped in the illusion seemed to be experiencing some nightmarish stimulus, their expressions changing dramatically along with murmurs and whispers.

"Indeed, it’s based on the Three Great Illusion Arrays and the Soul Capturing Skill..."

After observing for a few moments, Zhang Yao confirmed his prior judgment in his heart.

The Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature recorded methods for collecting Soul Thought Aura, including setting up corresponding Three Great Illusion Arrays and a secret technique called ’Soul Capturing Skill’ from the Evil Path.

The Soul Thought Bead in his hand was crafted based on the Three Great Illusion Arrays and Soul Capturing Skill, with extremely intricate crafting techniques.

An hour later:

Zhang Yao suddenly raised his hand, withdrew his own magical power, and the Soul Thought Bead emitted a hum, automatically flying back into his palm.

The white mist gradually dissipated, and the ground was covered with people lying haphazardly, their faces becoming even paler, with their aura slightly weakened.

Zhang Yao was not lying; collecting Soul Thought Aura harms people minimally.

But even the smallest damage to the Divine Soul, accumulated over time, can cause significant harm.

Moreover, these miner slaves are precious assets of the Haihe Association, needing to continue mining in the future. Even with Zhang Yao’s mindset, he certainly wouldn’t exhaust resources unnecessarily.

"One hour each day, collecting for two months should be enough to fill this Soul Thought Bead."

"Anyway, Lord Haihe has given a three-month deadline, which is more than sufficient..."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yao instructed:

"When they wake up, send them back to their respective resting areas and keep them strictly guarded."

"Bring them back here tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

Lao Zhou and Old Chen immediately bowed respectfully, saying:

"Farewell, Master."

Amidst everyone’s respectful farewells, Zhang Yao harnessed his Escape Light and flew away with Li Shuixian.

Returning to his own cave abode, Zhang Yao sent Li Shuixian to cultivate, while he entered the Quiet Chamber and took out a shiny golden talisman.

Upon closer inspection, this golden talisman was much larger than normal talismans, engraved with the image of an incomplete Golden Armored Divine General.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

He adeptly cast several spells to activate the talisman, then took out corresponding materials to continue crafting and constructing it.

After seven years, he focused on the Yellow Talisman Daoist Skill, wasting materials worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones to finally advance it to the second grade, initially meeting his requirements.

After busying himself for several hours:

"Phew!"

Zhang Yao exhaled deeply, putting away the semi-finished Golden Armor Divine Talisman.

"In about half a month, it should be completed."

This was his second second-grade talisman, made with the precious main material Taibai Refined Gold.

During these seven years, like the masters stationed at Suiyu Mountain before, he had appropriated a little Black Jade Ore and Taibai Pure Gold Ore each year, amassing quite a sum.

As for several second-grade Spiritual Objects he purchased on Immortal Gate Island, they were long exhausted during the crafting of the first second-grade Golden Armor Divine Talisman.

"Once this Golden Armor Divine Talisman is completed, its power should be stronger than the first one."

Zhang Yao thought to himself:

"Plus, with the support of my abundant magical power, these two second-grade Golden Armor Divine Talismans should be able to rival an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

This level of combat power is valuable even to Zhang Yao.

And for ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators, even if the Yellow Talisman Daoist Skill is cultivated to the second grade, they can’t unleash this kind of power.

......

Next morning.

Over a thousand miner slaves from the two major mining districts gathered again, Zhang Yao harnessed his Escape Light, came, completed the collection of Soul Thought Aura, and swiftly returned.

After more than half a month, many miner slaves had already adapted, and they even felt quite fortunate about this easy life.

Meanwhile:

Thanks to the rare leisure time, some activities being secretly carried out were also being pushed forward intensively.

"Master!"

One evening, Lao Zhou visited the cave abode to proactively meet Zhang Yao.

"Master, in two days, this year’s batch of miner slaves will be delivered. I specially came to report this to you."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao’s heart stirred.

He remembered Lao Zhou mentioning that among this batch of miner slaves, there were a few demon cultivators captured from Lei Province, seemingly a master-disciple relationship.

"Demon cultivators with a master-disciple heritage should have stronger bloodlines compared to those gathered from families..."

Zhang Yao thought to himself, his expression slightly changing, and said:

"Then you’ll continue to handle this matter."

"Remember not to cause any trouble..."

Lao Zhou bowed respectfully and said:

"Master, rest assured."