Chapter 9: Identification

The fat cultivator sitting behind the desk took out a palm-sized jade slip from his storage sack and glanced at Lu Ye before speaking, "Name, origin, level of cultivation?"

Lu Ye answered each question in turn.

The fat cultivator pondered, "Xuantian Sect's Lu Ye... Ah, found him, he does exist!"

Only then did Lu Ye realize that the jade slip in the fat cultivator's hand must contain some data about the mine, including the origins and identities of the mining slaves, thus ensuring that no remnants of Evil Moon Valley could infiltrate them.

"But... that's not right!" the fat cultivator squinted slightly, "The Jade Dishware states that Lu Ye was just an ordinary person without an opened orifice, but you have already opened one, which doesn't match the information. This could be a bit troublesome."

While speaking, he kept glancing at the storage sack at Lu Ye's waist.

Lu Ye chuckled inwardly, his previous concerns were indeed valid; a mining slave with a storage sack could easily attract some unnecessary coveting.

If it were according to his previous plan, offering up this storage sack wouldn't matter, a small price to pay for avoiding disaster—especially now that he had regained his freedom. The sky was the limit, was there any doubt he could find better things in the future?

But with the offhand remark earlier from Veteran Thang, Lu Ye didn't have to fear anything anymore, he couldn't let the old man's good intentions go to waste.

Facing the fat cultivator's doubts, Lu Ye said, "In the mining tunnel, I encountered a wounded cultivator from Evil Moon Valley. I killed him, and in the brink of life and death, I opened my spiritual orifice."

The fat cultivator's brow raised at these words. If what Lu Ye said was true, that was quite remarkable. A tiger was always a tiger, even when injured, and not something a goat could challenge, let alone kill.

He started to understand where that storage sack at Lu Ye's waist came from...

At this moment, the young cultivator who had been leading Lu Ye over leaned in and whispered something into the fat cultivator's ear, causing the fat cultivator's face to register surprise, "Which Veteran Thang?"

The young cultivator remained silent, just looking at him.

Realizing, the fat cultivator coughed lightly and his expression towards Lu Ye became much more amiable, "I see, you do have some courage! Well, although your identity is largely confirmed without a doubt, we still have to follow the necessary procedures. Come with me."

With that, he stood up.

"Senior Brother Pang, I'll go tend to my other duties now," said the young cultivator, bowing his fists.

"Go on, go on," Senior Brother Pang waved his hand.

Following the fat cultivator, Lu Ye walked towards the direction where many mining slaves gathered.

Upon arriving nearby, the fat cultivator placed his hands on his hips and caught his breath before speaking, "Is there anyone from the Xuantian Sect here? Step forward so I can see you."

No one responded.

Lu Ye scanned around, but didn't see any disciples from the Xuantian Sect.

Considering Xuantian Sect was a minor sect with not many disciples, many had died when Evil Moon Valley overran them a year ago, leaving only about twenty young people still alive.

Over the past year, many more had died, but Lu Ye remembered that there should still be three to five people alive.

Yet at this moment, he didn't see any of those three to five people present, presumably, they too had met with misfortune.

He couldn't help feeling a bit melancholy; although he didn't feel a strong sense of belonging to the Xuantian Sect, being the last remnant of a sect made him feel the cruelty of the world even more.

The fat cultivator then asked, "Then, does anyone here recognize him?"

Still, no one responded. Among the mining slaves, Lu Ye wasn't particularly well-liked. Everyone was gaunt and struggling to survive, yet Lu Ye lived comfortably and even had surplus contributions to exchange for blood Qi pills—naturally, this did not endear him to the other mining slaves.

The same misfortune did not foster unity against a common enemy, but rather, it tended to breed divisions and exclusions.

In the crowd, Lu Ye spotted the Liu brothers. Amazingly, these two had not died—it was a stroke of luck—but the Liu brothers had no intention of stepping forward to confirm Lu Ye's identity. They just looked at him with schadenfreude.

The fat cultivator couldn't help but glance at Lu Ye, somewhat doubtful whether this man was the Lu Ye from Xuantian Sect. Being a mining slave, there should be someone who could confirm his identity.

Previously, many had their identities verified in this manner, by pointing each other out and confirming their identities.

"I recognize him, he is Lu Ye from Xuantian Sect." Just as the fat cultivator was doubting, a weak voice rang out.

"Who is speaking?" the fat cultivator's gaze shifted back, following the source of the voice.

The crowd parted spontaneously, revealing the speaker.

Upon seeing the appearance of the person, Lu Ye was slightly surprised because he had met this person only once and had not seen her again for a long time.

The speaker was a woman. Compared to the soot-covered faces of the mining slaves around her, her clothing, although not bright, was at least neat and clean.

The fat cultivator looked at the woman and asked in a stern voice, "Are you sure he is Lu Ye from Xuantian Sect? Think carefully before you speak, as lying in front of me does not bode well for you."

The woman shrank her neck but still said firmly, "I am sure."

The fat cultivator nodded, waved his hand at Lu Ye, "Alright, identity verified. Go back and stay put, don't wander around." After finishing his speech, he winked at Lu Ye, "Tomorrow there is an opportunity waiting for you guys."

With that, he turned and walked away.

After he left, the oppressive atmosphere finally eased. It was clear that these lowest-level slaves still feared the fat cultivator greatly.

Lu Ye thought for a moment, then walked towards the woman who had spoken up. As he approached, he started, "Miss, thank you for your righteous words."

The woman shook her head, "No need, you once saved me, and back then I didn't even get a chance to thank you."

She was referring to an incident that happened almost half a year ago. At that time, Lu Ye had stumbled upon this woman deep in the mining tunnels being chased by another mining slave. Unwilling to stand by, he had stepped in and taught the aggressor a lesson.

However, since that incident, he had not seen this woman again.

Lu Ye smiled, "Then are we even now?"

The woman also smiled, finding a semblance of life returning to her somber face, "We're even."

"Let's reintroduce ourselves. Lu Ye from Xuantian Sect!"

The woman curtsied gracefully, embodying the poise of a refined lady, "Yu Xiaodie of Yu Clan."

Lu Ye asked curiously, "Miss Yu, do you know why we are gathered here? What opportunity was that fat man talking about?"

Yu Xiaodie brushed her hair beside her ear and explained, "All of us here are people with clear histories and verified identities. Mostly none have opened their spiritual orifices, and even if some have, their cultivation levels are very low. Evil Moon Valley didn't treat us as humans, nor would they nurture us. But among this batch of people, there definitely are some suitable for cultivation. The Haotian Alliance has taken over this place and will naturally make some arrangements. Those among us who are suitable and have cultivation aptitude will be taken away by the sects of the Haotian Alliance."

"Is that the opportunity the fat man was talking about?" Lu Ye suddenly understood.