Even cultivators, unless they are Golden Core Great Cultivators, will find it hard to avoid fire poison on Qianyan Island if they stay too long; over time, it may damage their foundation.

The mild cases could lead to irritability and unbearable pain. Severe cases can cause stagnation in cultivation, or even total loss of cultivation.

Therefore, this is not a favorable place.

However... although the environment of Qianyan Island is harsh, there are quite a few rare fire-attributed Spirit Medicines growing here, and even veins of Spirit Iron and Exotic Gold.

Because of this, Elder Chaotic Heaven has some disciples stationed here year-round and sends people to gather Spirit Medicines and mine spiritual ores.

Of course, most of them are Celestial Human Realm Cultivators or Golden Core Great Cultivators, and occasionally there are Yin Spirit Giants as well.

Due to the thick fire poison here, long stays hinder cultivation, making it a thankless and tough job.

Gu Yuan set out alone, as long as he is careful, he’ll be fine.

However... both of Gu Yuan’s aliases, whether Chu He or Wang Chan, have become well-known. The accent, appearance, stature, aura, and habits of these personas have likely been noted by many.

In such circumstances, continuing to use these identities doesn’t seem suitable.

Therefore... next, he needs to switch to another identity.

...

Several days later, Gu Yuan arrived near Qianyan Island.

His form was hidden as he gazed from afar at Qianyan Island.

Looking over, he saw the island’s mountains stretch endlessly, most of them were crimson or dark red, with little vegetation.

Many places emanated wisps of smoke with a sulfurous smell, and some places even had various hot springs.

Naturally, there were also dangerous areas with actively erupting lava, regularly spewing from underground, spreading in all directions, engulfed in rolling black smoke.

Gu Yuan took a breath, immediately sensing the pungent sulfur smell mixed with heat rushing to his nose, along with a faint hint of fire poison.

With a thought, Gu Yuan’s body automatically formed an invisible protective layer, shielding him from these adverse elements.

If it weren’t for his special constitution, he would’ve been quite uncomfortable.

He released his Divine Thought to survey the area, found nothing unusual, and then soared on his Escape Light toward Qianyan Island.

In the following days, Gu Yuan concealed his form and wandered around Qianyan Island. After understanding the island’s specifics, he headed directly to a mine.

Soon, a mine came into view.

Around it stood groups of cultivators, many holding long whips or other Magical Artifacts, their gaze piercing as they monitored the surrounding miners.

These miners were almost all skinny, their backs hunched, carrying bamboo baskets, wielding pickaxes, covered in dust and stone powder, their original color barely discernible.

It’s worth noting that the majority of these miners were cultivators, but their cultivation was sealed, making them no different from ordinary people except for slightly better physiques and sharper reactions.

Due to prolonged stays on Qianyan Island, their cultivation foundations had long been eroded by fire poison, and even if the seal were lifted to regain cultivation, progress would likely be impossible, and even regression likely.

Crack!

"Stop dawdling, get moving!"

Suddenly, a guard raised his whip and struck an old man hard.

The whip’s quality was low, but it was still a Magical Artifact, forming a long bloodstain on the old man’s body, his clothes ripping, flesh splitting, blood flowing, making for a ghastly sight.

The old man staggered, barely avoiding a fall, his mouth twitching in pain, his face contorted.

But he dared not utter a word, or even glare at the guard, merely hefted the basket on his back, spilled its spiritual ore beside him, and turned back into the mine.

The surrounding miners and guards witnessed it all, but none found it strange, nor did anyone display abnormal expressions, the miners’ faces were expressionless, used to such occurrences.

The beaten old man wasn’t alone; other miners frequently endured whip strikes and kicks.

Gu Yuan even saw a middle-aged miner beaten, a flash of hatred in his eyes, which was noticed.

"Oh-ho... daring to look at me like that, seems you’re tired of living... Since so, I’ll grant you that!"

The guard’s eyes were fierce, raising his whip, injecting True Qi, viciously lashing.

The whip infused with True Qi was formidable, sparkling with icy Spiritual Light, striking like a long blade, shattering gold, severing iron.

Though the middle-aged man’s physique was strong and cultivated, his cultivation was sealed, reducing his strength to almost nothing, and he could only scream in agony when struck.

After a few lashes, one of his arms was severed, bones shattered into pieces, his body covered in blood.

Still, there was no mercy.

After several more vicious lashes, the man stopped screaming, breathing weakly, close to death.

The guard snorted coldly, stopped, summoned two miners, and had them throw him off a cliff.

The surrounding miners couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss and sadness, their emotions of hatred, pain, and helplessness intertwined, yet under the guards’ intimidation, dared not act.

Soon, under the guard’s order, miners lined up in front of a wooden shed.

Beneath the shed were several portly butchers, one handed a gray flatbread to each miner; then a bowl of unclean porridge.

Then, the miner would turn aside and squat to wolf down his meal.

Another miner would step forward to receive his flatbread and porridge.

Gu Yuan glanced over, amazed at Elder Chaotic Heaven’s disciples’ stinginess.

The miners’ flatbread was clearly made from Spirit Grain ground down, but judging by its color, it seemed mostly comprised of Spirit Grain bran, barely containing Spiritual Qi.

As for the porridge, it was so thin that a few grains were visible.

Normally, cultivators would consume Spirit Grain and Spiritual Cuisine for daily needs, aside from routine spiritual practices.

Those wealthier might eat Grain Avoidance Pills and Jade Essence Pills as food.