Working overtime too hard

Three days later.

The Overseer Squad Leader panted as he climbed out of bed. Even after a full night's rest, his body still ached, and his legs couldn't stop trembling.

He walked to the mirror and saw that his originally chubby face had thinned by three whole sizes. His brow was filled with an uncontrollable exhaustion, making him look extremely haggard.

"I clearly use Medicinal Pills to replenish my qi and blood every day. Logically, it shouldn't be like this."

The fat overseer felt something was strange. He reached out and pinched his sunken cheeks in disbelief, only to find that his hands were covered in thick calluses at some unknown point... "This... what on earth is going on?"

For some reason, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine and muttered, "Could it be that there's something wrong with that mine shaft?"

"That's not right either. Yesterday, I clearly took two subordinates to supervise Qi Da working. Why is everyone else fine, but I'm the only one with problems..."

"Damn it, someone must be using a Demonic Technique on me for me to become like this!"

At this moment, the fat overseer finally sensed an unusual aura. A trace of fear appeared on his face. "No, no matter what, I'm not going there today. It's too eerie."

"As for that Qi Da, he's nothing more than a laborer at most. I'll just find a random reason to execute him later..."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but swallow hard. He hurriedly dressed and washed, preparing to find his superior to request a few days of leave.

Just as he stepped out the door, the fat overseer felt his mind daze for a moment. He involuntarily turned around and walked toward the mine shaft.

A short while later.

In a separate mine shaft.

Bang bang bang bang!

The fat overseer's face was pale and his expression blank as he swung the pickaxe in his hand, as if he would never tire.

Two other overseers stood guard at the entrance of the mine shaft to prevent anyone from accidentally entering.

Inside the cave, Qi Yuan sat cross-legged, calmly immersing his mind in the System interface.

"Detected that the Host has met hidden conditions. A new side mission has been activated."

"Not long ago, you accidentally obtained a small cauldron of mysterious Origin. This small cauldron is the High Grade Immortal Artifact, Primal chaos creation cauldron, which can smelt all things, returning them to their Origin (Origin power injected into other objects can increase the grade of the object; the enhancement effect depends on the amount of Origin power)."

"Currently, this cauldron is in a severely damaged state. Please, Host, seek out immortal cauldron fragments scattered throughout the world to repair the Primal chaos creation cauldron."

"Mission Difficulty: Five stars (Extremely Difficult)"

"Mission Reward: Every time the Primal chaos creation cauldron is repaired, as a reward, the Host will obtain a wisp of heavenly dao creation qi."

"Note: This side mission is a long-term mission with no time limit for completion and no penalty for failure."

...Looking at the few lines of shining small words before him, Qi Yuan's expression gradually became complex.

The good news was that he had obtained an Immortal Artifact that countless Cultivators dreamed of, and a High Grade Immortal Artifact at that.

The bad news was that the Immortal Artifact was broken!

This side mission only explained the Origin and functions of the Primal chaos creation cauldron, but didn't provide even a single hint about the location of the immortal cauldron fragments. Finding them would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, this was a side mission with no time limit. Even if he couldn't complete it, it wouldn't affect anything. If he was lucky enough to find a few pieces, he would make a huge profit... With this thought, Qi Yuan composed himself and instinctively looked toward the mine entrance:

"Looking at the time, the people from the Linglong Holy Land should be arriving soon, right?"

Just then.

Puff.

The fat overseer who was mining suddenly spat out a mist of blood, then fell straight to the ground, no longer making a sound.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan shook his head without changing his expression and muttered:

"This guy looked big and strong, but he turned out to be a weakling. He died of exhaustion after just a few days. It seems the people of the Demonic Sect still lack exercise."

He felt no ripples in his heart regarding the fat overseer's death. Every overseer here, without exception, had blood on their hands. Executing them a hundred times wouldn't be an injustice.

If Qi Yuan were truly an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he would have been the one to die of exhaustion this time.

"You two, come in for a moment."

Then, Qi Yuan casually called the other two overseers in and calmly instructed, "Your captain swung his whip too hard and died of exhaustion. You two find a place outside to bury him."

"Okay."

Hearing this, the two overseers already controlled by the Thousand Illusions Demonic Eye walked in quickly. They expertly lifted the fat overseer's body and walked out with mechanical steps.

After a while, a commotion broke out outside.

After all, laborers dying of exhaustion happened every day, but an overseer dying from swinging his whip too hard was a first.

"Ah? The boss died of exhaustion?!"

"What's going on? Are even the overseers working this hard now?"

"Isn't the end of the year approaching? Maybe our captain wanted to win an award or something. He worked overtime too hard and ended up dying from overwork..."

Many laborers looked at each other, and their already desperate expressions became even more dejected.

Damn it, this place really isn't for humans. Even the Overseer Squad Leader died of exhaustion; do we laborers even have a chance to live?

...Elsewhere.

In a dense forest hundreds of miles away from the mine.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

The originally calm Void Realm suddenly distorted, and a spatial rift spread out silently.

Then, dozens of slender and graceful figures emerged one after another from within.

These female Cultivators wore flowing skirts with pleated waists. Although they were of different ages and dressed differently, the exclusive emblem of the Linglong Holy Land was embroidered on their collars. They were clearly a group of Linglong Holy Land Disciples.

The leading female Cultivator was about twenty years old, her hair styled in twin loops and her features delicate. In her every movement, the colored ribbons on her skirt danced with the wind, revealing a poised and elegant grace.

This female Cultivator didn't look old, but the aura she emanated was as awe-inspiring and steady as a mountain; she was a powerful Soul Transformation Peak Cultivator.

The female Disciples behind her were also powerful, the weakest among them being at the Early Nascent Soul Stage.

"Sisters."

The leading female Cultivator looked solemnly toward the mine and spoke softly, "We are ordered to come and wipe out this Red Gold Mine belonging to the Demonic Sect and rescue all the laborers inside."

"The person with the highest cultivation in the stronghold is a Nascent Soul Mid-stage Demonic Cultivator named Situ Yun. The Sect Head personally instructed that upon encountering this person, he must be captured alive and his life must not be taken."

"As for the other Demonic Sect scoundrels serving as overseers, leave none alive!"

"We obey the decree!"

Hearing this, the female Cultivators of the Linglong Holy Land looked stern and responded in unison.

To them, this was just a normal demon-slaying mission.

Although the Righteous and Demonic paths hadn't had major conflicts for a long time, small-scale friction had never ceased.

This mine happened to be located at the border of the Five Directions Demonic Domain and the Righteous Path forces. It was an insignificant small Demonic Sect stronghold; even if it were uprooted, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.

"Remember, the primary goal of this mission is to capture the Enemy Leader alive."

The leading female Cultivator nodded. "We should finish the battle quickly to prevent other Demonic Sect strongholds from reacting and sending reinforcements!"

After speaking, she was the first to soar into the air, turning into a magnificent stream of light and flying toward the mine.

"Yes!"

The other female Cultivators did not dare to delay and followed quickly.