Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

Deep Mines, Day Two-Hundred Twenty:

Today was the day another batch of new arrivals came. At the time, Yan Zaizen was mining some ore, his body filled with dirt and sweat, but his physical stature was becoming more impressive. His muscles were slightly enlarged, and the definition of them was more noticeable. His height kept increasing a centimeter or half every week or two. At this moment, his previous height of five feet six was completely dispelled, and he was five feet nine.

The cultivation into the Immortal Herculean Method was slow but incredibly effective. His body wasn't being actively refined, but it was undergoing an evolutionary advancement. He could feel the thickness of his cells, the purity of his vital energies, blood, organs, and even his teeth change their composition and structure. He felt like he was no longer physically human, or at least he was half-human. This change didn't dissuade Yan Zaizen. Instead, it motivated him further.

Tao caught on to his advancement and gradual changes and finally asked about it. Yan Zaizen told him the truth, at least in regards to the method, but when Tao heard it, he was shocked. Unfortunately, Yan Zaizen didn't know how to properly verbalize the cultivation method despite cultivating it. He found this quite strange. It was as if he could comprehend it, but he couldn't teach it. Unless someone merged the motes of light that defined the Immortal Herculean Method clearly, it would be impossible for another to grasp its method.

Tao understood that some methods were like this, and it was purposefully done to prevent widespread distribution of key skills. Unless you completely master the method, it would be impossible to make another copy for others to peruse.

When the new arrivals saw all the old miners, they held looks of hope and despair. Some knew of the cruel rumors of the Deep Mines, while others were ignorant and believed they could survive since others were working hard to do so.

No one said anything.

Out of the people that originally arrived, the amount that was left was a pitiable number of about a dozen. This was startling low considering they came with numbers nearing a hundred. A majority of that number willingly leaped into the depths of the hole.

There were many reasons to do so, failure to reach the quota, escape in death, insanity, or even pushed by others. Tao and Yan Zaizen kept to themselves when the new group arrived, not paying attention to anyone.

Tao muttered, "And the cycle continues."

Deep Mines, Day Two-Hundred Eighty-Seven.

The first person of the new group missed their quota. It was a young man who looked nothing more than skin and bone, but he was unwilling to simply give up with this. When the overseer arrived, he asked for a private discussion. The overseer, obviously intrigued, took him up on his offer.

After some time, they returned. The young man had a slight smile on his face, his eyes containing contempt as he looked at the other miners. It was obvious that he believed that his discussion had worked. The new miners had gazes of envy, whereas the older ones simply shook their heads and looked at the man with a bit of pity.

Unfortunately, whatever he said didn't work. This time, the overseer lifted the young man up forcefully and ripped off his limbs one by one in front of everyone. Some of the blood even splashed on some of the newcomers causing them to tremble in horror.

When all limbs were removed and the horrible shrieking filled the mine, the overseer gripped the young man's head and twisted it until it popped off like a cap on a bottle. His blood had already been nearly drained, but his neck still spewed violently with blood. It gave everyone chills. Everyone except Yan Zaizen, Tao, and the old miners who were rather calm at this.

They simply went back to work.

Deep Mines, Day Three-Hundred Forty:

A powerful breath was released from Yan Zaizen's body. His lungs had evolved its structure, and he realized that he no longer had just two lungs but four. The other two were oddly placed and smaller than the first and were situated within his other two lungs. It seemed bizarre, but it worked flawlessly. It was as if he could absorb the essence energy from the air and perfectly refine it into his oxygenated blood through these two additional lungs. With each breath, his blood would be enhanced in quality and his vital energies he could muster increased in quantity.

It was a fabulous feeling.

The Major Success Stage of the Nascent Herculean Physique was defined by several changes to one's organic structure, but due to its ambiguity, it could genuinely be anything. Some races with gills may have changes to it, some with wings may have changes to that, or those who were made of other materials may have other changes. The miraculousness of the Immortal Herculean Method was near limitless.

He was no longer five-feet nine-inches, but five-feet eleven-inches. A leap of two inches and his good-looks started to become more prominent. Whenever the overseer would appear, to not arouse any questions, he would hide in the back. Especially considering that the majority of people here lacked fat but had defined muscles from constant work. He, however, had both abundant flesh and muscles. Even Tao's scrawny appearance became more so.

This day was not only memorable because of his breakthrough, but Yan Zaizen also made a discovery. There was a group of nearby miners who believed that they had sufficient body cultivation to sneakily escape the pit through a climb. The moment they tried, the formation up above activated and sent a light beam of pure energy turning them into dust.

"I...see…" In truth, Yan Zaizen had hopes of climbing to escape if his soul cultivation didn't awaken. After achieving the Major Success Stage, his vital energies at its peak could be considered at the half-step Qi Unification Realm. However, this was in terms of aura intensity, as for his body cultivation actual strength, he felt that if he was truly at his peak, he could definitely go toe-to-toe with any Qi Unification practitioner.

"However, it's not enough." He couldn't help but sigh, his voice filled with exhaustion. The amount of ore he had to mine each day became increasingly higher to the point where a majority of his time was to travel to a suitable place and mine for several hours. If it wasn't for his body cultivation reaching this level, it's likely he would truly die.

A significant reason why he could survive up till now was due to what Tao had taught him about the Dao aura of his. By infusing it into his pickaxe, he could strengthen its structure and sharpness. By infusing it into the Unyielding Flame of Life conceptual law, he could strengthen the lifeforce it emits. By infusing his Dao aura into his physical body, his entire self-changed dramatically, capable of exhibiting more power than before.

It was such a miraculous thing. It reminded him of a law, and how it could be used to enhance one's capabilities, typically via qi. However, one's Dao was essentially a universal law that could be applied to anything and everything. Also, it wasn't exhausting to use, as if it was limitless. Tao had once told him that those with a Dao had faster cultivation speeds, higher comprehensive combat abilities and even the ability to excel in many things.

At first, he was skeptical. However, now he could truly see it. He understood why the dao was seeked by many.

The sole reason he could achieve the Major Success Stage of the Immortal Herculean Physique was largely because of his Dao infusion during the transformation process. It was like an amplifier to all things, and it could also put immense pressure on others. If he didn't have his own Dao, perhaps several years would've been needed before he could achieve major success.

Despite all this, it was still hellish to reach the quota each and every day, especially in an environment filled with depression, despair, and death.

Well, one thing was beneficial from this sort of environment.

Yan Zaizen clenched his hand tightly. An inky black shadow was squirmy its way out of his hand. It contained an aura that was overly prevalent in the atmosphere. It looked as if it wanted to feed on the essence of death, and especially downwards in the pit. Whenever he conjured this conceptual law, it seemed drawn to the depths of the Deep Mines.

This inky black shadow was the Siphoning Shadow of Death; it had reached the Force-level, and even to the minor success over this time. It contained more traces of true law than his white flame, but despite this, the white flame still couldn't be defeated by the black shadow. It was extraordinary.

Despite its weakness to the white flame, it seems like it was getting stronger and stronger in this place surrounded by death of both the body and soul. It may be hell to others, including himself, but to the inky black shadow it was different — it was home.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" A shriek once more resounded shortly nearby before slowly disappearing.

It seems another was pushed off.