The Days of Being Forced to Become the Savior of a Cultivation Civilization

The Shasuo convoy slowly stopped at the shore of a lake. Hongquan waved his hand, signaling the convoy to leave and rest, leaving only his own car and driver.

The workers around saw the bright blue Sasuo truck and showed mixed expressions, and spontaneously moved away from the area.

Unaware of anything amiss, Zhiyue crouched down, examined the white soil beneath his feet, then picked up a pinch with his fingers, looked at it closely, and a look of sudden realization dawned on him:

"Oh, it's salt."

Hongquan whispered a few words to his chauffeur, then continued:

"That's right, it's salt. But it's not the seasoning salt used for cooking, and it's not salty either, so don't eat it."

He glanced at Yingzi and Qian Xintong beside him and spoke up to remind them. Yingzi transmitted her voice to the cricket:

What do you mean? Are you treating me like a three-year-old?

Qian Xintong: [You're definitely not, you're a four-year-old.]

"I know this heavy salt can be used to store reversible essence; it's a very valuable material. I didn't know why before, but now I understand..."

Zhiyue looked up at the salt-harvesting workers not far away and sighed:

"So it was all collected manually, no wonder."

A seasoned businessman, experienced in the market, naturally understood the unspoken meaning in his words:

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do about it."

The Thousand Salt Region possesses a bizarre force field that remains incomprehensible to this day. Any sophisticated machinery that arrives here will inevitably be damaged and forced to leave within half an hour.

Previous developers had all tried it, and although I've only been in charge for seven years, I haven't been without achievements.

He turned around and patted the front of Shasuo's cart:

"This is our only achievement. Getting a simple machine like the Shasuo to this point is already the limit."

"If we drive another ten meters into the lake, we'll have to scrap it on the spot."

Zhiyue secretly communicated with Yingzi telepathically:

[Do you know where the problem lies, Second Elder?]

Yingzi shook her head and replied:

It's not hard to understand that this salt will encapsulate and assimilate surrounding substances. When it mixes with the air and enters a sophisticated system, it will naturally be destroyed.

"Boss, there's an urgent telegram."

The messenger beside Hongquan suddenly spoke, still expressionless. Hongquan nodded and re-established a connection with the messenger's consciousness:

"Okay, okay, I got it, I'm coming right now."

Hongquan's face turned serious. He glanced at the three of them, then smiled kindly again.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Something has happened at Qianhu Tower, so I'll head back first."

He hurriedly climbed onto the sand shoal:

"Oh dear, this is really something. I finally made the trip, and I only got one look before I have to go back. Hehehe."

He waved his hand:

"Goodbye everyone, see you again sometime. I'm so sorry there aren't any extra saxaul leaves. Now that you've had your reference, I'll leave it to you all to continue your journey."

Zhiyue exchanged a few polite words:

"Not at all, you've already done us a favor by bringing us here."

Hongquan nodded and smiled, signaling the driver to leave, leaving the three of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

Zhiyue: "What do you mean?"

Yingzi: "Since we're already here..."

Qian Xintong: "Then let's take a look around."

-

Out of the three people's sight, Hongquan silently had the driver stop the sand truck.

The roar of the engine attracted the salt workers from the surrounding area. They looked up from the lake shore, whispering to each other, discussing something:

"Okay, let him out."

The driver nodded, opened the cargo hold of the sandbar, and inside was not the so-called heavy salt pool, but a man covered in dust.

The driver roughly pulled him out from under the car. The man could barely stand, staggered a couple of times, lost his balance, and rolled all the way down the road to the lake shore, soaking wet and looking extremely disheveled.

Everyone looked panicked upon seeing this, but no one stepped forward to help him up. After a moment, Hongquan finally spoke up:

"Why didn't you help him up? Were you just going to stand there and watch?"

His voice was completely different from his previous gentle and refined manner; it was filled with coldness and exhaustion.

Two men stood on either side of him, the messengers with their hands in front of them and their eyes still devoid of emotion;

The burly, imposing driver, arms crossed, shook his head and surveyed the surroundings.

Not long after, the man regained his senses and silently curled up on the ground, his hair soaked in the lake water, completely covering his face.

His body heaved violently, as if he were still immersed in the pain he had just experienced:

"Thank you, thank you boss for sparing my life."

His voice trembled, punctuated by heavy breathing. Hongquan sighed.

"Hongling, you need to understand why I'm punishing you. Think about it yourself, taking your life will do me, a businessman, no good at all."

"Yes, yes, I appreciate the boss's kindness. I will work hard in the future and ensure that I hand over the full amount of salt on time."

Hongquan shook his head:

"Sigh, you still don't understand. Let me ask you, how does it feel to be Yuan Chi?"

"I'm more than happy to work for the boss—"

"to be honest!"

Hongquan growled, his brows furrowed, clearly annoyed.

"How many times have I told you, stop flattering me. I, Hongquan, am not standing here to listen to your flattery, but to make you truly beneficial to me and realize your value!"

Tell me your true feelings, and I won't do anything about it.

In the end, his tone softened, demonstrating his ability to control his tone and employ both soft and hard tactics.

"Yes, yes."

The worker named Hongling nodded hurriedly, bowing even lower.

"Lift your head up, who are you trying to impress by lying on the ground?"

"Yes, yes."

He raised his head, his hair already covered with a thin layer of white frost, his pupils still trembling slightly, unable to calm down.

"How was it being a Yuanchi all this way?"

"Going back to the boss is painful. The feeling of not being able to control my own destiny is really unbearable."

Hongquan finally nodded in satisfaction:

"Right. So now you understand how important this salt is?"

Each additional unit collected creates one more Yuan Pool; each additional Yuan Pool created reduces the number of slaves required to serve as living Yuan Pools.

He became more and more agitated as he spoke:

"Listen carefully, all of you! Each and every one of you is me..."

-

Without saying a word, Qian Xintong rushed into the lake, but was blocked by Zhi Yue:

"Yingzi, you just said that heavy salt can assimilate any substance, does that include living organisms?"

Yingzi nodded, but leisurely left her shoes on the shore, rolled up her trousers, and walked straight past his arm, stepping into the lake water.

"That's true, but as Hongquan said, this thing is very strange and definitely not as simple as it is naturally formed."

He bent down and scooped up a handful of water, looking at his younger self reflected in the water:

"It's a killing move."

Splash! The water slipped through her fingers, but Yingzi's hand remained unharmed.

"We speculate that this group of salt lakes is a remnant of a powerful ancient artifact's killing move, which is why those who resist it have much higher resistance."

He turned around, tilted his head back, and said:

"Don't just stand there, let's walk around. Just make sure your clothes don't get wet."

Zhi Yue hastily rolled up his trousers and stepped into the water, then paused and turned to look at Qian Xintong:

"Do you need any help?"

Qian Xintong's lips curled up, and with a thought, she manipulated her hair to gather the hem of her skirt to one side, securing it firmly around her waist:

"No need, thank you."

Zhiyue: "Wow, so handsome!"

Qian Xintong twitched the corner of her mouth and stepped into the water as well:

"Why do I always seem to be the one getting the short end of the stick? Oh, that's pretty disheartening."

Her jade-like feet trod on the pristine white lakebed, which was clearly also salt, but in fine powder form.

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out as heavy salt broke apart; ethereal tinkling sounds came from the center of the lake as salt crystals crystallized.

Yingzi stood with her hands on her hips, gazing at the workers in the distance, a feeling of deep emotion welling up within her:

"Mirror collectors, that's their official title."