The protagonist stole my spiritual root? Hey, heroine, give birth to me!

However, just as Chen Xuan was about to think about what to do next, a sudden voice broke into his thoughts and abruptly interrupted him.

"You two must be the newcomers who have just ascended here, right? Judging from your appearance, you do have some potential. Quickly come with me!" As the words fell, an old man in a gray robe, with an aged face but vigorous spirit, appeared in front of the two.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xuan was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward: "May I ask, senior, where exactly is this place? I am new here and know nothing about it. I hope you can give me some pointers."

"Where? Hmph, this is a mine!" The old man finished speaking, turned around and left without hesitation, not even glancing back.

Upon hearing the word "mine," Chen Xuan was slightly taken aback, but he quickly came to his senses.

After all, Chen Xuan was a scholar. Although most of the books he read were not serious books, he had seen plenty of plots in those books about immortal cultivators falling into mines after ascending to immortality.

So when faced with this situation, although he was surprised, he wasn't completely clueless like a headless fly.

"But... shouldn't my Rouwu be waiting for me here too? Why haven't I seen her?"

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan quickly sensed his inner world and then discovered that Rouwu was gone!

"How...how is this possible? Could it be that that woman even knew about me? Did she use an array to teleport Rouwu away as well?"

"System, where are my Rouwu and Bixiao?"

"Ding... No results found for the person mentioned by the host!"

"What do you mean?"

"The person mentioned by the host is not within the scope of the search!"

"Don't give me that crap. You could sense my Bixiao rushing here from the Primordial World, and now you're telling me you can't find her? Who are you trying to fool?!"

"Ding! The person mentioned by the host is not within the search range!"

"You're playing dumb with me again, you damn system!"

From beginning to end, Chen Xuan never imagined that he would be the one to leave.

"Let's go, young man. You'd better keep up properly to avoid any trouble!" the old man urged, seeing Chen Xuan lost in thought.

"Okay, we'll be right there!" Chen Teng said hurriedly.

With that, he and Chen Xuan followed.

"Senior, where are we headed now?"

Since we're already here, we might as well make the best of it. Since we can't break the deadlock right now, we might as well familiarize ourselves with the situation first.

"I'll assign you a job," the old man said calmly, his expression as serene as still water.

"A job? Does that mean I have to go mining?"

"Hey, you're quite an interesting fellow! Those other people who ascended to the top are either arrogant and defiant, or obedient and completely subservient. But you're just full of curiosity. You're a fascinating person!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan scratched his head and grinned, "Hehe, what can I do, senior! I'm currently in this place, and apart from being curious about the unknown, there doesn't seem to be anything else I can do! Besides, do you really think that I can leave here in my current situation?"

After saying that, he helplessly spread his hands like a bear.

"Hahahaha..." The old man suddenly burst into hearty laughter, "Then I really can't let you go, after all, you're my precious treasure!"

However, upon hearing this, Chen Xuan frowned and quietly walked behind the old man, preparing to lay a trap.

"Ahem, young man, please don't misunderstand me! Back in the day, when I came here, I was full of vigor and ambition!"

But who would have thought that over six thousand years would pass in the blink of an eye! And you are the last person I've welcomed since I took charge of reception work here! After I've properly settled you in, I'll regain my freedom! Hahahaha..."

As the old man spoke, he waved to Chen Xuan repeatedly with a broad smile.

After all, with Chen Xuan's appearance, with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and extraordinary bearing, anyone who glances at him would feel that this young man is destined for greatness. In addition, the powerful aura he exudes makes him a rare and outstanding talent!

If he could successfully introduce such a talented person to his superiors, the reward he would receive would be more than enough to redeem himself!

Because he had such a plan in mind, he tried his best to restrain himself and would never take action if he could avoid it.

After all, if they accidentally injure or cripple this "distinguished guest" and lose the reward, it would be a huge loss! Not only would the reward be lower, but their hopes of leaving this place might also be completely dashed!

"What?! You've been trapped here for over six thousand years before you had a chance to be redeemed? Then how many more long years must I, a newcomer, have to endure before I can finally have a chance to get ahead?!" Chen Xuan exclaimed in shock.

"Young friend, don't be impatient. There are many intricacies and rules involved! Come, let's walk together, and I will explain it to you slowly."

Seeing the anxiety on Chen Xuan's face, the old man quickly offered words of comfort and gestured for him to proceed. Chen Xuan nodded slightly in agreement and then followed the old man forward.

With the old man's explanations, Chen Xuan finally gained a general understanding of the rules of the mine.

It turns out that this so-called immortal realm, despite being belittled by Bixiao as utterly worthless and second-rate, is actually still a world of average quality!

Moreover, countless "cultivation worlds" are closely connected to it below, and the place where Chen Xuan is located is just a drop in the ocean among these many cultivation worlds.

The reason this mine is so special is that many powerful and capable beings in the Immortal Realm worked together to intervene, successfully establishing a close connection between it and a quarter of the cultivation world below.

That is why, after ascending, Chen Xuan and the others were drawn here as if by some mysterious force.

So the question arises: why would these important figures in the celestial realm go to such lengths to take such a step?

The reason is actually quite simple—those "natives" from the lower realm are just too troublesome!

It should be understood that, apart from a very few exceptional cases, those who were able to go through countless hardships in the lower realm and finally ascend to this place are all exceptionally talented and can be called peerless geniuses.

And which one of them isn't a cunning and scheming mastermind? It's no exaggeration to say that any one of them could be the kind of cunning old fox who, upon encountering danger, would furrow his brow slightly, quickly retreat to the back of the crowd, and then silently set up a trap to wait for the enemy to take the bait!