Zhang Xiu returned to the rock wall not far away and started wielding the mining hoe again. He recalled the recent experience in his mind, and his eyes became more sad.
The Wuyue Cult's attack on the Black Wind Desert was too sudden. No one expected this disaster to come. The northern cities headed by Wangbeicheng turned against each other overnight. Countless Wuyue Cultists swept into every city and would dare to resist.
Kill them one by one.
The Lord of Shasha City is also one of them.
At that time, Zhang Xiu was practicing in seclusion. Not long after he meditated, his door was kicked open and a soul wizard rushed in. He easily subdued him and put on shackles that could suppress his spiritual power.
Later, as Wu Yue Sect attacked the Central Plains, most of the captured monks were driven to the front line, leaving only a few Qi Refining monks like Zhang Xiu as slaves, responsible for mining and elixir refining and other logistical work.
Going to the front line would undoubtedly mean death, but for Zhang Xiu, life as a slave might not be any easier.
Cultivation in the Black Wind Desert is already difficult due to resource issues, and now most of the supplies in the city have been taken away by the Wuyue Cult, and most of the remaining leftovers have gone into the pockets of the Wuyue Cultists who stayed here.
Zhang Xiu and the others could only endure the difficulties and work day and night to mine and refine elixirs for the Wuyue Sect.
What just happened is just a microcosm. In today's Black Wind Desert, similar things happen almost all the time.
However, God did not seem to pity Zhang Xiu and their suffering.
Over the vast yellow sand, the sky darkened, and the cold wind howled through the mine, making all the monks tremble.
"Black, Black Wind is coming! Go and activate the formation quickly!" Someone shouted amidst the noise.
The Wuyue cultists who were responsible for guarding the mine were transferred from the Northern Desert, and their reaction was far less than that of these local monks. When they hurriedly took out the array plates and activated them, a dark hurricane had already appeared on the horizon.
But soon, the mine's formation rose up, but before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the spiritual light on the formation suddenly flickered for a while, and then dissipated instantly.
Everyone was stunned.
"What the hell, those guys are even greedy for this kind of life-saving spiritual stone?" The guard reacted first and couldn't help but throw the array plate down and cursed loudly.
For a moment, the monks in the mine were in despair. All their magical weapons had been looted long ago, and now they could not even escape for their lives.
In the midst of despair, Zhang Xiu suddenly calmed down.
In the end, he could not get out of the Black Wind Desert.
What my father said back then was still wrong after all. Even the lofty immortal masters are actually not free. They are all ants in front of more powerful existences.
Under the influence of the general trend, whether it is an immortal master or a mortal, they are just like a floating boat. They cannot control their own destiny and can only rise and fall with the tide, not knowing where to go.
While Zhang Xiu was recalling his life, someone suddenly exclaimed beside him.
"Wait a minute, look, there is someone in the black wind!"
Zhang Xiu was stunned, and quickly looked up, only to see a young man with a handsome face in the black tornado that stretched across the sky and the earth, rising and falling with the wind, like a flying leaf, traveling between heaven and earth with the wind.
From time to time he would throw out a punch, and every time he struck out, it was as if he was following the wind or going against the strong wind.
"Is he cultivating through the black wind?" Someone in the mine woke up.
"This, how is this possible? This is a natural disaster, a natural disaster that even Nascent Soul monks are unwilling to face. How can anyone be able to practice with the help of it?" Some people opened their eyes wide and murmured to themselves in disbelief.
.
I don't know if the voices of the monks in the mine disturbed the young man in the wind. He seemed to turn his head and glance in the direction of the mine, and then stopped abruptly in the wind.
Facing the wind that was like the pillar of the sky, the young man's body seemed extremely thin, but he was as tough and majestic as a mountain. No matter how strong the wind was, or the thunder struck down, he could not move at all.
Immediately afterwards, the young man took a deep breath, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, he put his fist in his stomach, and then suddenly punched forward.
In an instant, the sky was bright and the earth was clear.
The group of cultivators in the mine only heard a deafening sound, like a roaring demon elephant or a roaring wind. Then a big hole appeared in the middle of the tornado, and the dark clouds in the sky quickly disappeared as if they were pushed away.
In just one breath, the natural disaster in the Black Wind Desert, the nightmare that terrified countless people, and the invisible Yama that plundered lives, were all dispersed by the young man with one punch.
Everyone was stunned. They couldn't believe their eyes or what they saw.
The joy of surviving the dark wind was overshadowed by endless confusion. Some people even pinched their thighs, just to prove that they were not dreaming.
After the young man dispersed the black wind, he also flew into the mine. The crowd lowered their heads involuntarily and made way for him. No one dared to stand in front of him, and no one dared to raise their head in front of him.
The young man didn't care about other people's reactions. He just walked up to Zhang Xiu and looked him up and down.
"You look familiar, what's your name?"
Zhang Xiu wriggled his lips, and it took him a long time to muster up the courage to tell his name.
"Zhang Xiu?"
Yuan Ming chewed on the name, and after thinking for a moment, he found the location of this person in his memory.
When he first noticed the source of the wish power on the Heaven Stealing Cauldron in the Shacheng City, it was this person he found.
However, he was still a mortal at that time, but now he has become a Qi-refining monk. Things in this world are really unpredictable.
"You and I are destined to be together. I can satisfy your request. If you need anything, you can ask for it." Yuan Ming sighed secretly and then said.
Zhang Xiu also came to his senses at this time. Hearing Yuan Ming's words, he wanted to beg Yuan Ming to rescue him from the mine, but as soon as the words came to his lips, he remembered what he had just realized between life and death, and he couldn't help but change his mind.
Got it.
"Junior is brave and wants to ask senior a question... How far should I practice before I can truly gain freedom?" Zhang Xiu asked.
"Why do you want to ask this?" Yuan Ming glanced at the other party in surprise.
"Junior... I'm just a little confused... A long time ago, I was just a mortal. My father once said that only immortal masters can be free. But when I entered the path of immortality, I found that there are three, six or nine levels of immortal masters.
As a monk in the Qi Refining Stage, I could only obey the orders of the city lord and continue to help him with chores. At that time, I thought that if I could one day become a monk in the Foundation Establishment Stage, I might be free. But when the Wuyue Sect came, I
You know, even if you are in the pill formation stage, sometimes you can't even control your own life or death." Zhang Xiu said, with a look of confusion on his face.
Hearing this, Yuan Ming was silent for a long time.
"This question... I am also looking for the answer to it." Finally, he shook his head.
"Can a person as powerful as my predecessor not be able to gain freedom?" A trace of despair flashed in Zhang Xiu's eyes.
"There are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the world. Moreover, freedom is actually a cheap and expensive thing. Different locations, different visions, and different freedoms you want...even, even if you reach a point where there is no way forward,
At this stage, there will be things that cannot be achieved, and there will also be freedom that cannot be obtained." Yuan Ming sighed.
"If that's the case, doesn't the answer you're looking for simply not exist?" Zhang Xiu asked.
"Maybe that's the case, but if you don't explore just because the road ahead is bleak, wouldn't you be trapped again? Besides, being able to find your own answer to a problem is the greatest thing a person can do.
The most precious freedom." Yuan Ming smiled.
Zhang Xiu was stunned, and the light in his eyes that had dimmed seemed to rekindle again.
"What I just said is not an answer. Therefore, my proposal is still valid. You can change your request." Seeing this, Yuan Ming said again.
Zhang Xiu was silent and suddenly raised his head and glanced around.
The monks and slaves in the mine are all gathered here at the moment, and not far away, the Wuyue Sect guards did not flee for some reason, but stood there with pale faces, as if they had roots under their feet.
The monk mine slaves didn't seem to care about the content of the conversation between him and Yuan Ming. They just felt that Zhang Xiu wasted a great opportunity and were a little annoyed. When they heard that Zhang Xiu could make another request, they suddenly became excited again.
The look in Zhang Xiu's eyes was full of pleading.
"Then...please ask senior to give me a long magic weapon, the kind that can split shackles." Zhang Xiu smiled, turned to Yuan Ming and said.
Yuan Ming also smiled, a look of appreciation flashed in his eyes, and then he raised his hand. After a few breaths, Huazhi and King Kong flew from a distance together with the thunderstorm and landed in front of Yuan Ming.
Afterwards, Huazhi immediately rubbed her hands together, and countless purple and black vines grew from her arms. They soon condensed into a long knife and was handed to Yuan Ming's hand.
"I don't have a magical weapon that you can use, but this long knife is part of the body of my spiritual beast. Although it is not engraved with runes, the texture is hard enough for you to use." Yuan Ming said, turning the purple black
The tree knife was handed over to Zhang Xiu.
Zhang Xiu took the knife with joy on his face, nodded vigorously, then raised the knife and dropped it, and the chains that bound his feet were broken.
But he was not satisfied with this, and continued to swing his knife to help his fellow mine slaves cut off the anklets.
When everyone broke free from their restraints, he raised his arms and led a group of mining slaves to charge towards the bloodless Wuyue Cult guards with knives.
The strong men in Wuyue Sect are now on the front line, and most of the guards left behind are people who are not good at fighting, and soon died under the siege of the mine slaves.
When everything was settled, Zhang Xiu turned around and was about to thank Yuan Ming, but he had disappeared.
But at this moment, a voice sounded from his ears.
"The fate between you and me has ended. Next, just do what you want to do. Most of the monks of Wuyue Sect are on the front line. As long as you are careful, you will not be hunted. In addition, I am hiding in the knife.
I wrote a technique, which I got from the East China Sea. I can practice it all the way to Nascent Soul. You can do whatever you want with it."
When Zhang Xiu heard this, his heart tightened, but he soon remembered something.
"I haven't asked for the senior's name yet!" he shouted.
"You can call me...Yuan Ming." Yuan Ming's voice quickly disappeared from his ears.
However, Zhang Xiu's eyes widened and he involuntarily raised his hand to touch his chest.
There is a book hidden in his arms, which is the starting point of his dream, the original intention that he never forgets when he embarks on the road to immortality, and the spiritual support that he spends countless difficult days and nights after becoming a mining slave.
The title of the book is "Master Sheng's Journey to the East".
Author, Yuan Ming.
This chapter has been completed!