An emperor in his later years is summoned by his sister to save the nation's fate.

She widened the opening and crawled inside. The stone chamber was empty except for a dusty jade pendant on a stone table in the center.

Out of curiosity, and also in the spirit of looting, Lu Xueyao stepped forward and reached out to touch the jade pendant.

"Buzz—!"

The moment the fingertip touched the jade pendant, a kind of image-recording array hidden inside the pendant was instantly activated!

A soft beam of light shot out from the jade pendant, projecting a clear light screen image directly into the air.

The scene on the light screen was none other than this dark and damp Black Mountain mining area!

However, judging from the details of the miners' clothing, this is clearly not the current time point, but a historical relic from many years ago.

In the center of the light screen appeared a young figure dressed in tattered hemp clothing, with a thin and wiry build.

The boy was sweating profusely as he dug for bloodstone in the mine.

When Lu Xueyao saw the boy's face, covered in mud yet with distinct features, she was struck dumb, her mind trembling violently.

Because this figure, and the expression between his brows, were exactly the same as the image of her brother in her memory!

"Brother..." Lu Xueyao asked in a trembling voice through her mind, her eyes red-rimmed, "Is that person in the light screen you?"

Lu Li, who was entrenched in her sea of ​​consciousness, looked at the scene playing on the light screen and let out a complex sigh of helplessness.

He did not respond directly. He had not expected that the truth behind the copies required by the national destiny system would be the past karma he left behind in the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.

This jade pendant was a keepsake he left behind at the Yellow Springs Demon Sect years ago.

At this moment, this image-recording screen was not only presented in front of Lu Xueyao, but also broadcast live by the system to the billion viewers of the Dragon Kingdom without reservation!

Although the boy in the picture is significantly different in age from the middle-aged or elderly "pets" that Lu Xueyao summoned before, the viewers in the Dragon Kingdom recognized him at a glance.

"Oh my god...is this Lu Xueyao's brother?"

"Didn't he disappear on Earth? How did he end up in this ancient-style mine?"

"How pitiful! Look at how thin and weak he is; he's being exploited like a slave!"

The comments section was instantly filled with shock and sympathy, and before anyone knew it, all the viewers had been infected by the atmosphere.

In the conference room of the 749th Bureau headquarters in the Dragon Kingdom, on the huge screen, the left side played the image left behind by the light screen, while the right side displayed high-definition photos of Lu Li's youth taken on Blue Star before his disappearance, retrieved from the archives.

Shen Xingzhou looked at the completely overlapping facial features, took a deep breath, and spoke with an unprecedentedly solemn tone.

"The case is solved..."

"Lu Li's disappearance in the early stages of the strange occurrence was definitely not a simple death! What is being projected on the screen is probably his tragic past after his soul fell into the underworld!" Shen Xingzhou made what he considered to be the most logical deduction.

The images on the light screen were rapidly changing. Young Lu Li had just been captured and taken to the mine, and was exhausted.

While digging, he encountered a fellow disciple whose lower body was trapped under a rock and who was covered in blood. The disciple pleaded for help with tears in his eyes. Although exhausted, Lu Li gritted his teeth and did his best to move the boulder.

However, just as Lu Li collapsed from exhaustion, his senior brother, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly sprang into action. He not only kicked Lu Li to the ground but also robbed him of all the Blood Fiend Stones that Lu Li had painstakingly dug up all day before leaving triumphantly.

The scene shifts to nightfall. At the overseer's office, young Lu Li is bound to a rack for failing to hand over enough Blood Fiend Stones on time.

The burly overseer brandished a long, barbed whip, lashing him mercilessly.

Dozens of lashes! Lu Li was beaten until his skin was torn and his body was covered in blood, but he didn't even let out a muffled groan.

After the torture was over, he was thrown back to the dark dormitory like a dead dog, without even a bite of spoiled leftovers. He could only survive by drinking muddy water.

Seeing these real and tragic scenes, countless soft-hearted viewers in the Dragon Kingdom live broadcast room instantly burst into tears.

"This is too tragic...it's absolutely too tragic! How could anyone treat a child like this!"

"That ungrateful bastard! If it were me, I would definitely kill him!"

"I finally understand why Lu Xueyao's brother didn't hesitate to order her to kill that deceitful ghost who begged for help—because he had once been drenched in the coldest rain in the world!"

"Just how much inhuman torture did he endure in this so-called hell to forge such a ruthless and decisive nature, even viewing all living beings as ants?"

All the viewers, including the high-ranking officials of Bureau 749, subconsciously regarded the Yellow Spring Demon Sect as the legendary underworld where people fell after death, and they regarded Lu Li as a tragic hero who was forced into becoming a powerful and ruthless figure in endless despair.

Lu Xueyao, who was at the scene, was already in tears and sobbing uncontrollably.

Looking at the blood-covered boy on the screen, who was still gritting his teeth and refusing to give in, Lu Xueyao's heart trembled slightly, and she felt so painful that she couldn't breathe.

"Brother... I'm sorry, it's my fault. I didn't protect you. If I had become stronger sooner, you wouldn't have had to endure these inhuman tortures after death..." A deep sense of guilt and self-reproach welled up in Lu Xueyao's heart.

The images on the light screen continued to change, and some time passed.

On this day, the dark and oppressive Black Mountain mining area was suddenly greeted by a splash of color that amazed everyone.

A woman, as beautiful as a celestial being, descended upon the mining area, surrounded by several guards.

She wore a form-fitting, moon-white flowing dress, the fabric as thin as a cicada's wing, which perfectly outlined her graceful and fiery figure.

Her appearance was absolutely stunning, with a pure yet irresistible and fatal charm. With every smile and frown, she seemed to melt away even the gloom in the air.

She was none other than Bai Miaozhen, the high-ranking true disciple of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect!

After Bai Miaozhen arrived, she did not put on any airs of superiority.

Instead, she gently cast water magic to alleviate the pain of the lowly miners who had been severely injured and corrupted by bloodlust in the mine.

In this hellish abyss, she was like the only ray of holy light.

Countless miners were deeply grateful to her and were even willing to die for her.

Even the young Lu Li in the light screen had been in line and received a healing spell from her, which greatly improved his injuries.

After the healing was completed, Bai Miaozhen stood on a high place, looked around, and said, "Fellow disciples, I have come here today to hunt down a traitor of our sect."