Chapter 2170: The Escaped Slave

Zhao Hai stood next to an Earthfire Pillar in the underground world. This wasn’t the first time he saw an Earthfire Pillar, but it was the first time he had a close contact with it. The last time he came to the underground world, he was with Long Xiang’s group. This time, he came by himself, so he could investigate the Earthfire Pillars as much as he wanted.

It was currently noon in the underground world, so the Earthfire Pillars were at their brightest. The entire pillar was covered with roaring flames. Zhao Hai was standing around a kilometer away from the pillar. He only dared to stand at this distance. If it were another person, they would have been burned to a crisp.

Zhao Hai looked at the burning Earthfire Pillar and faintly smiled. Then he sat down and slowly probed the pillar using his spiritual force. Zhao Hai already communicated with various inanimate objects in the past, so he has a lot of experience in this area. He wants to see where the Earthfire Pillars came from and the reason for their existence.

Before long, Zhao Hai established communication with the pillar. What surprised Zhao Hai was that the fires on the pillar were stronger than Sun True Fire. However, the pillar’s thinking was quite rigid. This puzzled Zhao Hai.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai began to merge with the pillar. He discovered that the pillar’s thinking wasn’t like an intelligent creature. Instead, the pillar seems to be dead, like a computer.

Zhao Hai had this feeling when he communicated with artifacts. Some artifacts, because of their construction, would develop artifact spirits. However, these artifact spirits would function like a program. It was already generous that they were called spirits, they were just running according to a program, they didn’t have any spirit at all.

Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare, then his eyes shone. If the earth fire was this strong, how strong would its artifact be?

However, Zhao Hai discovered that the artifact had a very strict protective programming. It was almost impossible to get in contact with its internal process. In other words, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to subdue this artifact.

Zhao Hai slowly retrieved his thoughts and then let out a long breath. He knew that this artifact would be more difficult to tame compared to the FireG.o.d Palace or the Crystal Palace. But it was clear that the pillar was much stronger than the latter two. The FireG.o.d Palace and the Crystal Palace have pa.s.sed through many hands in the past. Moreover, they had spent a long time without a master. And after being damaged, it was very hard for the artifacts to block Zhao Hai’s intrusion.

On the other hand, the Earthfire Pillars were different. No matter what was underneath the pillars, it didn’t look like they were declining anytime soon. It was also clear that his artifact wasn’t easy to use. If someone rashly used it, they would suffer a bad end.

Before long, Zhao Hai calmed down and he slowly opened his eyes. He discovered that although only a few minutes have pa.s.sed, it felt like several years while he communicated with the Earthfire Pillar. He slowly stood up and looked deeply into the Earthfire Pillar. He swore to make it his own one day.

Zhao Hai withdrew his gaze and turned his head to another direction. He was currently in a tall mountain and very few people came here. There were no worries about anyone finding him.

Zhao Hai proceeded to walk. There was no haste in his speed. He came to the underground world fully prepared. He brought a s.h.i.+elding formation with him. This formation has no other use other than concealing Zhao Hai’s aura. Zhao Hai also wasn’t afraid that someone would recognize him as someone from the surface. In fact, his body temperature was now very low. He transformed his qi to fit the ident.i.ty of a Ghost Cultivator. To the unknowing, Zhao Hai was now a Ghost Cultivator.

The reason Zhao Hai used a s.h.i.+elding formation was to prevent any fluctuations from his use of his spatial abilities. This way, people won’t be able to find any trace of him.

The underground world was more brutal than the True Spirit Realm. There were also a higher density of experts in the underground world. If Zhao Hai used the s.p.a.ce, he would be discovered immediately. If that happens, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the underground world for even a single day.

Zhao Hai walked forward, but his mind kept thinking about the underground world. He was aware that he knew too little of this world. And it would take a long time for him to understand it.

As Zhao Hai proceeded along, he heard a voice from the distance, “Grandfather, we don’t need to worry about those guys catching us right? They’re not going to kill us, right?”

Then an old voice answered, “Yes, we don’t have to worry about them anymore. Little Fei, we are free. Now we can only hope to find the rebels quickly. Otherwise, our freedom wouldn’t last long.”

Zhao Hai couldn’t help but stare. Then he moved and flew towards the direction of the voice. The origin of the voices wasn’t too far from him. Before long, the owner of the voices was seen. Although there were only two voices, there were dozens of people present. They were the underground world’s humanoids.

Zhao Hai has seen the underground world’s inhabitants before. It has to be said that they were a pitiful race. These people lived like walking corpses. It pains Zhao Hai to see them being lifeless.

But the underground world humanoids that Zhao Hai met this time were unlike the ones he saw before. Although they looked worn out, their expressions showed joy amidst fear. Their eyes had the light of antic.i.p.ation as well as anxiety.

In the hands of the underground world humanoids were simply wooden clubs. Zhao Hai couldn’t understand how they managed to reach this far.

In front of the group was an old man and a young girl. Looking at them, one couldn’t help but compare them to the goblins. However, their skins were red, different from the usual green skin that goblins have.

When Zhao Hai first saw these humanoids, he felt that they were red-skinned goblins. However, the state of the underground world’s humanoids was much worse compared to the first time Zhao Hai saw the Goblins.

Although the Goblins have lost their heritage, they weren’t as miserable as the underground world’s humanoids. The Goblins might also be slaves, but their masters wouldn’t kill them at will. This was because Goblins were properties of their masters. n.o.body would destroy their property out of boredom. 

The underground world’s humanoids were in a much worse position than the Goblins. Not only do they need to do work, they might also be killed to supplement the strength of the Ghost Cultivators.

Zhao Hai pitied these underground world humanoids. Zhao Hai’s most important goal in coming to the underground world was to teach the underground humanoids how to cultivate.

This doesn’t mean that the underground world humanoids didn’t know how to cultivate. But even if they don’t cultivate, they can follow the same path as the Goblins and become self-sufficient. Right now, the Goblins in the s.p.a.ce were developing really well. They combined formations and technology to create their own technomagic world. They have even begun exploring the cosmos, which was amazing.

Zhao Hai also took in a few underground humanoids in the s.p.a.ce, he called the Red Goblins. Although the Red Goblins weren’t as smart as Green Goblins, they were more gifted when it came to magic, in particular fire magic. As long as they trained a bit, they could become fearsome fire mages.

What surprised Zhao Hai about the Red Goblins was that they had no other attributes. They lacked the other elements. They only have one attribute, which is fire. Only a rare few Red Goblins have attributes in the other elements.

Zhao Hai thinks that this might be because of the underground world’s environment. Red Goblins have lived in the underground world for many years. The fire element was also the most active in the underground world. This caused the Red Goblins to transform into what they currently are. If their evolution continued, they might become fire spirits.

However, the Ghost Cultivators wouldn’t possibly allow the Red Goblins to evolve further. With the strength of the Ghost Cultivators, the Red Goblins were immediately turned into their slaves. 

At this time, Zhao Hai heard a gloomy and cold voice filled with yin energy, “I didn’t expect ants to run so fast. Now, die obediently and turn into yin souls. I will torment you in yin fires forever.”

Hearing this voice, the Red Goblins paused and their complexion changed. The Red Goblins knew that the voice came from a Ghost Cultivator.

The Red Goblins immediately grouped up. Then at this time, a figure wearing black robes walked out. The Ghost Cultivator looked over 30 years old. His cultivation didn’t seem high as the Clone Stage. However, to the Red Goblins, the Ghost Cultivator was already a person who could control their life and death.

Despair appeared on the faces of the Red Goblins. They knew that once they got caught, even if they killed themselves, the Ghost Cultivators would still extract their souls and turn them into yin spirits. Yin Spirits refined by Ghost Cultivators were different. Yin spirits made by Ghost Cultivators will suffer torment under yin fire. Because of this, once the Yin Spirits were released, they would attack anything they saw, even if that person was their closest relative.