Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

The basalt mine at the deepest part of Abandoned Star Island has an extremely harsh environment.

This place is perpetually shrouded in darkness, with a pungent stench of sulfur and highly corrosive miasma raging through the narrow, dark mine tunnels. Even a cultivator at the Void Realm would suffer internal organ rot if they stayed here for an hour without protective formations. Not to mention, the ore here is as hard as ancient ice; ordinary magical weapons cannot even leave a mark when they strike it.

"Clang! Clang!"

The dull, resounding impact echoed rhythmically in the deepest part of the mine.

Ao Lin was shirtless, his tall and muscular body covered in sweat and glaring mud. The purple-gold dragon robe that once symbolized the supreme ruler of the demon realm had long been stripped off, and now he was only wearing a pair of tattered coarse cloth trousers, half of his body submerged in the stinking mud.

He gripped a specially made black iron pickaxe weighing 100,000 jin tightly with both hands, like a tireless human excavator, and fiercely chiseled at the mine wall in front of him.

"Hurry up! Miner Number Four, didn't you eat today? Stop dawdling!"

A scarred overseer stood on a high place, brandishing a barbed, lightning-whipped whip, and pointed at Ao Lin, shouting at him without any politeness. Half a month ago, this overseer wouldn't have dared to raise his head in front of the Dragon Emperor, but now, this was a lowly laborer who had signed a death contract with the Mistress, and his status was even lower than that of this watchdog.

Ao Lin didn't get angry; he just gritted his teeth and swung the pickaxe down heavily once more.

However, the physical exertion of mining is only the mildest form of torment.

The mine walls were densely covered with energy-absorbing array patterns personally laid out by Su Chenzhou. Every time Ao Lin swung his pickaxe, those complex array patterns would light up with a dazzling red light, like thousands of invisible bloodthirsty leeches, fiercely piercing into his meridians and forcibly extracting the remaining True Dragon Qi of the True Monarch Realm from his body.

"Uh..." Ao Lin groaned, veins bulging on his forehead.

The extracted dragon energy, flowing through the complex underground spiritual energy channels, is continuously transported to the purple-gold defense tower at the core of Abandoned Star Island, becoming the most stable and luxurious daily power supply for the entire island's defense system.

"See that? That's called a living battery!" Several patrolling guards whispered among themselves, their faces filled with shock. "The mighty Dragon Emperor of the Demon Realm has had his life force drained to power our defensive towers! The Mistress's methods are simply amazing!"

"Serves him right, who told him to dare provoke the mistress?"

Hearing these taunts, Ao Lin tasted a strong metallic tang of blood in his throat, but he numbly continued swinging his pickaxe. He dared not stop; stopping meant having resources deducted and being expelled from Abandoned Star Island.

Just then, a huge commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the mine.

The dense, poisonous miasma that shrouded the mine tunnels was forcibly broken open by an irresistible and terrifying force, and the purple-gold mystical light illuminated this filthy underground world as bright as day.

"The Lady has arrived!"

The overseers and guards trembled with fear and knelt down in perfect unison in the mud, not daring to utter a sound.

Dressed in an extremely luxurious purple-gold robe, Jiang Yining walked calmly into the mining area, surrounded by several trusted confidants. Her exquisitely beautiful face was devoid of any superfluous emotion, exuding an air of superiority, like a deity looking down upon ants.

Ao Lin's pickaxe suddenly stopped in mid-air.

He stood in knee-deep mud and water, his bloodshot, dark gold vertical pupils suddenly lighting up, as if he had seen the only light in his desperate situation. He stared longingly at the unattainable woman, his chest heaving violently.

"Ning'er..." he murmured hoarsely, instinctively wanting to step forward.

"Sizzle—!"

He had barely taken half a step when the slave contract array beneath his feet erupted with piercing crimson lightning, pinning him to the spot. It was the absolute suppression of the laws; he wasn't even qualified to approach her within three steps, let alone touch a single hem of her garment.

Just as he stood frozen in despair, three men appeared conspicuously beside Jiang Yining.

"Ning'er, the poisonous miasma here is too heavy, it's bad for you and the baby." Gu Qinghan, dressed in spotless white robes, walked naturally to Jiang Yining's side. He didn't even glance at Ao Lin, his pure Yang sword intent at the peak of the Dao Inquiry Realm transforming into an invisible protective barrier, completely isolating Jiang Yining from all the filth and pungent smells.

Yu Luofeng walked up from the other side, his pale fingertips holding a steaming cup of the finest soothing tea. He deliberately moved very close, his sleeve brushing lightly against Jiang Yining's hand, his voice low and lingering: "Have a sip of tea to soothe your throat. This place is so filthy, even the air is dirty. Just looking at it will offend your eyes."

Su Chenzhou, holding a thick ledger, glanced coldly at Ao Lin in the mud, and reported to Jiang Yining in an extremely businesslike manner: "Mistress, today's output from the deep mining area is less than expected. The efficiency of miner number four is declining. I suggest immediately reducing his resource rations and replacing his daily spiritual spring water with ordinary underground acidic water."

The three men worked together, deliberately showing off their privilege of getting close to Ao Lin, and ruthlessly sabotaging him in the allocation of resources.

The ostracism in the chaotic arena escalated at this moment.

Ao Lin looked at Gu Qinghan's arm, which was almost pressed against Jiang Yining's body, and heard Su Chenzhou's words about cutting off his spiritual spring water. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

Jiang Yining ignored Ao Lin and simply nodded: "Follow the rules. If you can't keep up with the efficiency, you don't deserve to use good stuff."

After saying that, she turned to leave.

She didn't even glance in that direction!

This humiliation and panic of being completely ignored was like a fire, instantly igniting the obsession deep within Ao Lin's bones.

"Ning'er! Look at me!"

Ao Lin let out a deafening roar, like a trapped beast filled with resentment. Driven to utter madness, he had suddenly descended into a frenzy, all for the sake of getting a single glance from Jiang Yining!

He completely disregarded the depleted meridians within his body, frantically squeezing his battered True Monarch Realm True Dragon Body. The muscles on his arms bulged exaggeratedly high, the golden dragon scales cracked inch by inch due to excessive force, and scalding dragon blood flowed wildly down the muscle lines, mixing with the muddy water.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The heavy black iron pickaxe became an indistinct blur in his hands. He seemed to have transformed into a runaway meat grinder, unleashing a terrifying power that sent chills down one's spine!

Under his tireless and frantic swinging, the incredibly hard basalt ore wall crumbled and peeled away in large pieces, just like fragile tofu.

Tons of stones fell, piling up into a small mountain.

The entire mining area was deathly silent.

The foreman's lightning-struck whip fell directly into the muddy water. His mouth gaped open, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets: "Ten...ten times! Good heavens! His digging efficiency has increased tenfold in an instant!"

The surrounding guards gasped, exchanging bewildered glances, all visibly shaken by the sheer ferocity of the desperate act.

The expressions of Gu Qinghan and the other two male leads instantly darkened.

Jiang Yining finally stopped. She slowly turned her head, her cold eyes falling on the man covered in blood who was still frantically swinging his pickaxe, a hint of capitalist satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

However, before Jiang Yining could speak, a series of chaotic and hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the mine tunnel.

Several ragged and wounded elders from the demon realm, after going through countless hardships and paying a heavy price, finally managed to bribe the black market guards on the outskirts and stumble into this deep mining area.

When they saw the shirtless, blood-covered man mining in the mud, these elders, who usually held sway over the demon realm, instantly broke down.

"thump!"

Several envoys, filled with grief and indignation, knelt on the filthy mud and crawled toward Ao Lin, weeping bitterly.

"Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor! How can you endure such humiliation! You are the supreme ruler of the demon realm!"

"Your Majesty! The Dragon Palace is leaderless, and various forces are frantically carving up our territory. Our situation is on the verge of collapse!"

An elder kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face, pleading, "Please come back with us to take charge! The demon realm cannot do without you, Your Majesty!"

The heart-wrenching cries echoed through the mine shaft.

In the past, Ao Lin would have been furious and stood up for the Dragon Palace in its time of crisis. But now, upon hearing these words, he felt no emotion whatsoever; instead, his face turned deathly pale.

He turned his head sharply and looked at Jiang Yining in the distance with extreme fear.

If these reckless fools cause trouble and anger Jiang Yining, leading to him being labeled as "scheming" and kicked out of Abandoned Star Island, then he won't even have the right to stay and mine!

"Shut up!"

Ao Lin's eyes flashed with a fierce light, his rage reaching its peak. Fearing that these people would anger Jiang Yining and cause him to be driven away, he picked up a heavy pickaxe, his eyes blazing, and without hesitation smashed all the demon realm envoys off the island.