Ming Li stood at a high vantage point, her expression cold as she watched Ye Yuanqing being engulfed by the slave crowd. Perhaps it was too far away, for she couldn’t even hear his screams.

She merely examined the terrain and environment of the sky pit carefully, her gaze sweeping past slaves desperately fighting for a bite to eat. They remained indifferent to right and wrong, to human feelings. Even as other slaves broke through the guard line and ran toward the shore, they continued to stare woodenly.

People left with only servility could not recognize the concept of resistance.

Ming Li found it difficult to imagine her senior brother Chen Zhou living in such a place for thousands of days and nights. Had he ever been like Ye Yuanqing now, chased by slaves taking away a piece of clothing, a strand of hair?

Or perhaps it wasn’t just Chen Zhou, but also Wen Su, Gu San, Zhou Yi, Zhong Anqi—countless people, those still alive or those who had died, those with names and those without.

What attitude and expression did Ye Yuanqing have when he stood at a high place watching people being chased by slaves below? He loved every moment of controlling others’ emotions with his divine miracle ability—Heart Slaughter, and he also loved controlling people’s lives beyond Heart Slaughter.

Life, death, joy, and sorrow were all determined by him.

Ye Yuanqing was utterly addicted to such power.

He envied Ming Li’s talent, but that wasn’t unusual. In this world, many envied her, not a few. Ming Li’s talent was indeed difficult not to envy, whether with good intentions or malicious ones.

But the moment he harbored murderous intent toward Ming Li and acted upon it, he should have known what fate awaited him if he failed.

Ming Li could disregard Ye Yuanqing’s murderous intent toward her, disregard the vengeance for the Tai Yi Seven Stars’ encirclement, but she could not disregard the suffering her senior brother Chen Zhou had endured in the sky pit.

Ye Yuanqing had seen Chen Zhou and knew he was the senior brother of the northern Sacred Pilgrim, a disciple of Dong Yeshou.

What thoughts crossed his mind when he stood on the shore of the sky pit watching Chen Zhou inside?

Return Chen Zhou to Bei Dou? Impossible.

With one of his strongest, most fearsome pillars of support dead and another injured, what was there left to fear?

So Ye Yuanqing had only watched coldly. The torture methods Wang Geng used were all learned from him—humiliating Chen Zhou’s sect, watching him seethe with anger yet unable to speak out, watching him being chased by slaves every night.

Physical torture was far from enough, so he also made him face difficult choices multiple times—whether to choose Gu San or Wen Su, to choose his sect or himself, to be human or to be a dog.

Every choice had punishment, no reward, and even no credibility. What you chose and what you got were completely different.

These long and cruel days continued for thousands of nights. Those who couldn’t endure had already died, yet those earth ghosts couldn’t die even if they wanted to.

Chen Zhou didn’t want to die; he wanted to return, so he wouldn’t choose death.

Ye Yuanqing grew tired of watching the tortured Chen Zhou and had forgotten this person’s existence until Ming Li returned alive. Only then did he remember that her senior brother was still confined in the sky pit.

So he ordered Zhong Anqi to deliver the command to kill him.

If not for Wang Geng’s dislike of cultivators and his desire to continue torturing Chen Zhou, perhaps Ming Li, finding no one upon arriving at the sky pit, would have been even more furious.

Those slaves who had managed to grab Ye Yuanqing’s clothes, hair, flesh, and blood began running toward where Ming Li stood.

Ming Li pointed a single-character protection charm toward Ye Yuanqing, keeping him barely alive, then turned and walked toward Ye Yiyi and her brother below the sky pit.

*

At the rock wall entrance, Fu Yuan carried Chen Zhou on his back as they walked to the edge of the platform and looked toward the vast sky pit ahead. There were no more guards on the tall drum tower. The surviving overseers and guards trembled and knelt, unable to move due to Ming Li’s star power pressure.

Chen Zhou didn’t look into the distance but lowered his head to see Wang Geng, who hadn’t been hanged to death yet.

When Wang Geng saw him, his eyes filled with terror. He never imagined that Ye Yuanqing would be defeated by a seemingly young girl, but when he subsequently realized the girl’s identity, his blood seemed to flow backward, and his heart stopped beating.

Black Fox Mask’s eyes indicated Wang Geng as he asked Chen Zhou, “Is this the one?”

“Just let him hang there,” Chen Zhou didn’t want to give Wang Geng another glance, finding him disgusting. He nodded toward Ming Li’s direction and said, “Let’s go over and see.”

Fu Yuan, however, looked back at the cave entrance illuminated by fire lines: “Should we bring Zhong Anqi in as well?”

The Ye siblings had entered for Ye Yuanqing’s sake, but Zhong Anqi did not dare enter.

Chen Zhou’s expression was indifferent as he said, “No hurry.”

Zhou Yi and Zhong Anqi were at the mountain entrance. The Zhou Commerce Association’s people had arrived to protect their young master. People from Tai Yi and One Red Line were also rushing over. Both sides of the entrance path were filled with cultivators from various forces, in a standoff with Bei Dou disciples led by Dou Lanmin guarding the cave entrance.

Lin Xiao and Li Bushuo hadn’t gone in. The two mixed among the Bei Dou people, assessing the current situation.

This was different from Nan Que. In Nan Que, it had been a massacre with several Bei Dou deans leading, and sects and forces related to Nan Que either hadn’t had time to arrive or hadn’t wanted to come.

But the West was different.

Tai Yi’s Ye Yuanqing was connected to the lifelines of several major commerce associations. If Ming Li killed Ye Yuanqing, there was absolutely no chance for Bei Dou’s people to leave the west alive.

The commerce associations were entangled with various continental forces. Sect disciples, independent cultivators, or even martial academies would take action due to Ye Yuanqing’s death and the commerce associations’ losses.

They wouldn’t care about the sky pit slaves, nor would they care how your disciples suffered in the sky pit. These people only cared about the situation in the west after tonight and their interests.

Zhou Yi saw his father walking toward him, turned pale, and lowered his head, weakly calling out, “Father…”

The Zhou family head had been blocked by Tai Yi’s people earlier and couldn’t arrive in time. After several twists and turns, he learned that Zhou Yi had run away with Bei Dou’s people. The tremors of Birth Destruction’s natural Circulating Qi that could be felt from far away in the city—heaven knows how worried he had been.

On the way, he had also heard people talking about a sky pit, saying that his son wasn’t looking for medicinal herbs for his love interest but had been imprisoned and tortured in the sky pit by his love interest’s father.

The Zhou family head was about to explode with anger.

Now, staring at Zhou Yi’s remorseful and guilty expression that dared not look at him, the Zhou family head wanted to scold him, but couldn’t get the words out. He could only beckon and say, “I’ve had people bring medicine. Doctor, first stop the young master’s bleeding.”

After speaking, the Zhou family head turned to look at the various managers from One Red Line Commerce Association and others, saying coldly, “Where is Ye Yuanqing?”

“President Zhou, we’re also anxious to find Sacred Ye, but we heard he’s in the star power-devouring sky pit and hasn’t come out yet. The young master and young miss also went in and haven’t returned,” the vice president of One Red Line Commerce Association said with a fake smile. “We’re all very anxious right now, otherwise half the west’s cultivators wouldn’t be here in the middle of the night.”

“I didn’t know before that there was such a product-yielding cave near Tai Yi,” the Zhou president said with a cold laugh. “I wonder what Tai Yi and One Red Line use for mining. I’ve heard that you captured all the earth ghosts from the west and made them slaves here.”

The One Red Line vice president replied calmly, “Oh my, what can we do with earth ghosts? If we’re not careful, they’ll kill people everywhere, causing panic and losses. Of course, they can only be confined in a place supervised by Sacred Ye. Putting them elsewhere would make everyone uneasy, right?”

The Zhou president looked at him coldly: “But I also heard that the slaves in there aren’t just earth ghosts, but also vagrants from outside, lost children, and even forcibly abducted defenseless youths. Even Ye Yuanqing’s disciple is no exception.”

Zhong Anqi, who was facing away from the crowd and looking at the entrance, froze.

“How could such a thing happen? Slave trading is done by all commerce associations across the West. This place is only special because of the earth ghosts, but since it’s under Sacred Ye’s supervision, it’s normal,” the One Red Line vice president was indeed talented. Even with more and more commerce association spies arriving to eavesdrop, he still smiled and said half-truth, half-lies, “How could Sacred Ye’s disciple be considered a slave in there? He was an overseer. As for the rest, President Zhou probably heard rumors. As everyone knows, the northern Sacred Pilgrim died years ago and doesn’t know the changes in today’s world.”

“Moreover…”

The One Red Line vice president narrowed his eyes, looking toward the Bei Dou group: “After all, this is a matter for us in the west and the commerce associations, yet Bei Dou has inexplicably intervened and taken control, even blocking the entrance to the source of goods.”

“Bei Dou suffered heavy losses in the Bei Jing Gui Yuan battle five years ago. Now they’re recovering. Could it be that they’re running out of resources and have come to the west to take by force?”

Quite a few people who arrived late and weren’t up to date on the news were indeed swayed by this.

Dou Lanmin stepped back from the cave entrance, pointing inside and saying, “Who’s blocking you? It’s clearly because you’re afraid of not being able to protect yourselves in the star power-devouring environment inside that you don’t dare enter.”

Then he pointed at Zhong Anqi, raising an eyebrow and saying, “And you, your master who sent you to the sky pit to oversee, is now being thrashed by my senior sister. What are you, his disciple, standing around out here for? If Ye Yuanqing knew you weren’t willing to go in and help him, he might be so disheartened that he’d send you to oversee in the sky pit for another three to five years.”

The words “oversee” fell into Zhong Anqi’s ears with infinite irony.

*

Ye Yiyi could no longer distinguish whether the moisture on her face was tears or sweat. She couldn’t bear to look in Ye Yuanqing’s direction and was trying to drag the unconscious Ye Fengming toward the staircase leading out of the sky pit.

Her entire body was trembling, her calves shaking, terribly afraid that the slaves behind might suddenly rush toward her.

Ye Yiyi couldn’t drag the unconscious Ye Fengming. She couldn’t use Star Meridian power, couldn’t carry Ye Fengming up those high stairs. She looked toward the staircase in despair and saw Ming Li walking down step by step from above.

A series of Celestial Wall Guardians rose to block the approaching slaves. They didn’t know why they were being blocked and merely raised their hands high, waving the items they held toward Ming Li, shouting, “I got it!”

Hearing those voices, Ye Yiyi’s shoulders trembled. She dared not look back, seeing Ming Li coming closer and closer, feeling both hatred and fear.

Ye Yiyi thought in extremes about why Ming Li had to survive. If she had just died, her senior brother would still be her senior brother, her father would still be her father, and perhaps one day they could resolve everything more gently.

Ming Li stood before Ye Yiyi, lowering her gaze to see the fear that couldn’t be hidden in her eyes.

She asked, “Angry?”

Ye Yiyi had fallen to the ground and hadn’t yet risen. Her five fingers gripped Ye Fengming’s sleeve tightly. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head, stubbornly and unwillingly saying, “You killed my father, left my brother’s life in danger, and even want to kill me. Shouldn’t I be angry?”

Ming Li looked toward the slaves blocked by the Celestial Wall Guardian and said calmly, “Your father wanted to kill me and humiliate my senior brother. Shouldn’t I be angry?”

Ye Yiyi couldn’t help but say hatefully, “If not for being in the sky pit… You might not have been able to kill my father!”

“I indeed didn’t kill him,” Ming Li smiled, lowering her head to look at Ye Yiyi. “Although people have taken his clothes and hair, torn his flesh, he hasn’t died. He’s only severed his Star Meridians, become disfigured, and turned into a true sky pit slave.”

Ye Yiyi was stunned by these words. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she instantly broke down, covering her face with both hands and crying, “Why… why must it be this way! Couldn’t we have talked things through first before making decisions?”

“Talked things through?” Ming Li laughed, “Before my senior brother was confined here, I had never wronged Tai Yi or your father in the slightest. When my senior brother was confined here, did your father ever talk things through with me or with Bei Dou?”

Ye Yiyi raised her hands, looking at Ming Li with pleading eyes: “My father was wrong. I apologize to you on his behalf, apologize to your senior brother, but he can’t die… The commerce associations and Tai Yi are all supported by him alone. If my father dies, the Western commerce associations and Tai Yi won’t let this go. It will be difficult for you to leave the West. That’s not good for anyone, is it?”

“We will compensate Bei Dou, compensate your senior brother. Bei Dou is currently recovering, isn’t he? We will give Bei Dou fifty percent of our spiritual weapons and medicines, or even eighty percent! As long as you say the word…”

Ming Li looked at her silently. Ye Yiyi’s voice grew quieter and quieter, the hope in her eyes gradually extinguished, and she finally couldn’t help but break down and cry out loud.

Ye Yiyi’s apology was only to beg for the protection of her father, without any remorse for those who had suffered injustice.

“Now your father can no longer restrain you siblings. From now on, whether it’s the commerce association or the sky pit, you are in charge,” Ming Li bent down, moving closer to her. A strand of hair from her braid, which had loosened during the fight, fell in front of Ye Yiyi’s eyes. “Noble Star Lord of the sky pit, how do you plan to deal with those slaves behind you?”

Her words had a half-smiling tone, yet each word fell into Ye Yiyi’s ears.

Ye Yiyi’s hands pressed against the ground as she bowed her head. She knew very well that she was no match for Ming Li, whether inside or outside the sky pit.

Ming Li had not killed her, and Ye Fengming, which made Ye Yiyi feel even more distressed.

Ye Yiyi cried, “…What do you want me to do?”

“I want to hear the answer from the Western Commerce Association head,” Ming Li said. “Are you going to make the same choice as your father, or is there any difference? The person who just kept talking about apologizing, have you truly realized what the people in the sky pit are like?”

Ye Yiyi wiped her tears, listening to the shouts of the slaves behind her, and slowly turned her head to look.

She surveyed those people without panic or fear: each person had iron chains on their feet, restricting their movement. The slaves in the sky pit were filthy all over, in tattered clothes, and almost every person had injuries of varying degrees.

Even though there was desire in these people’s eyes, deep in their pupils, there was still fear of non-slaves. The servility that had been trained into them couldn’t be changed overnight.

Thinking carefully, these people in tattered clothes, looking worse than beggars, were the kind of people she would have had no reason to fear when she was outside.

They had once lived briefly outside the sky pit, enjoying a moment of freedom in life.

As Ye Yiyi kept looking, she couldn’t help but cry again.

It was true that there was slave trading in the West, but all of this happened in a dark world that was unseen and not allowed.

In factories of commerce associations outside the sky pit, people also worked day and night, but they received wages, supporting themselves with the remuneration earned through their hard work, able to eat as many meat-filled thin pies as they wanted.

There was no need to go to such extremes.

There was no need to rely on earth ghosts to extract fire jade from the fire cave, no need to be so cruel to these people.

After her fear subsided, Ye Yiyi was left with an indescribable sadness. She wiped her tears and slowly stood up, saying, “I will let them go… If they want to leave the sky pit, then leave. If they want to continue staying in the sky pit… those who extract fire jade in the sky pit will receive corresponding compensation. We will arrange accommodation for them. They can leave anytime they want.”

Chen Zhou and the other two, who had reached the stone steps of the sky pit, happened to hear these words.

Ming Li couldn’t destroy the sky pit.

At least not now.

The sky pit was almost as old as the Ancient Continent. Perhaps thousands of years ago, when Tai Yi first started, they didn’t treat the sky pit as a slave pit, but everything changed when it came to Ye Yuanqing.

The Sacred Pilgrim’s flame was already burning her Star Meridians with unbearable pain. In the sky pit, star power actively converged toward her. Outside the sky pit, using spiritual techniques would consume double the star power. Outside, they were probably already surrounded by various commerce associations and Tai Yi’s people.

Ming Li had Ye Yiyi replace Ye Yuanqing in charge of the commerce association was also to block the restless One Red Line and others.

At one moment, she thought of many possibilities. If she took her senior brother out of the sky pit and was blocked by nearly half of the west’s cultivators, her father, far away in Bei Dou, might break through boundaries and come.

Ming Li didn’t want to gamble on this possibility.

She said to Ye Yiyi, “Anyone can leave the sky pit except Ye Yuanqing.”

Anyone could leave, except Ye Yuanqing.

He would spend the rest of his life in the sky pit, where the sun and moon couldn’t be seen. Ming Li kept him barely alive, letting him linger, neither living nor dying by his own will. Now he lay alone on the ground, with only one eyeball, trembling, frantically screaming, and begging for an end to his heart.

Ye Yiyi seemed to have expected Ming Li to say this. Her lips trembled slightly, but in the end, she couldn’t say any words of plea. She only bit her lip, bent down to support Ye Fengming, steeled her heart, and walked toward the top of the sky pit without looking back.

After the Celestial Wall Guardian was removed, the slaves all followed Ye Yiyi, climbing step by step toward the top of the sky pit.

Amid the crowd, Ming Li turned her head to look at the three senior brothers standing above.

Chen Zhou peeked from Fu Yuan’s back, calling to Ming Li, “Come up.”