"I knew the person I fancied was indeed excellent!"
The plump girl burst into laughter, "Within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou, no one dares to shout like this. You must be the first!"
"Your actions are no different from bandits!"
Lu Fan said coldly, "Why not just let me go? I won't blame you for bringing me here."
"You are quite amusing!"
Tu Wenhai sneered, "No one who has come to the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou has ever dared to speak such words, nor has anyone been able to leave. If you don't believe me, you can try."
Lu Fan glanced around and felt a moment of helplessness. Although his strength was extraordinary, within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou, there were incredibly powerful auras. Even if he wanted to break out by force, it was impossible.
"Fine, fine, you'll just come with me!"
The plump girl said with a smile, "As long as you follow me, you'll have good food and drinks, and you won't have to work in the spirit mine. Isn't that enjoyable!"
"That's right, Sister Pang treats men well. As long as you follow her, you're guaranteed to live a carefree life," Tu Wenhai said with a faint smile.
Lu Fan looked unwilling, but confronting them directly would be disadvantageous. He could only compromise for now.
After a while, Tu Wenhai withdrew Lu Fan's spiritual energy and then said to the plump girl, "From now on, he is your servant. Sister Pang, feel free to make any requests."
"That's enough, that's enough. I'm very pleased with this," the plump girl waved her hand, looking at Lu Fan with great satisfaction.
After being taken away by the plump girl, Lu Fan soon arrived at a cave dwelling within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou. There were many people inside the cave dwelling, but most of them were ordinary people, busy with their tasks.
"From now on, you are my slave, and this is my home!" the plump girl said, "My surname is Zhao. You can call me Sister Zhao!"
Lu Fan remained silent. He was quite dissatisfied with this outcome but had no way to change it. He was about to become a saint, yet he was captured and made a slave. How could he bear it?
"Don't be unhappy. As long as you do your job here, no one will trouble you," Sister Zhao said directly. "You might not know this, but in the spirit mine, you have to work every day. Countless cultivators have been worked to death. If you really want to go there, I'll let you go back right now."
"According to you, you brought me here intentionally? To protect me?" Lu Fan was bewildered.
"You could say that!"
Sister Zhao said directly, "So you should thank me."
"If you really wanted to protect me, why didn't you just let me go?"
Lu Fan asked directly and impolitely, as he didn't believe Sister Zhao's words.
"You might not know this, but the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou have a rule: no one who enters can leave, unless they are part of the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou!" Sister Zhao said directly. "The slaves in my cave dwelling are all people I've rescued, but I can't let them leave, otherwise my Zhao family would likely be ostracized within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou."
Lu Fan was a little surprised. He didn't understand the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou, but seeing Sister Zhao's serious expression, Lu Fan believed her.
"Gui Lan, he's yours from now on. Arrange some tasks for him!"
Sister Zhao said to a woman and then walked into the room, looking very familiar and natural.
The woman named Gui Lan quickly walked over and glanced at Lu Fan, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and follow me!"
Lu Fan was slightly stunned and then followed behind the woman.
"You're quite lucky to be chosen by Sister Zhao. You won't have to suffer those hardships!"
Gui Lan said, "Otherwise, it's uncertain whether you'll be able to leave alive."
"Even you say so, is being brought here considered lucky?" Lu Fan was bewildered. He didn't understand the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou.
"You might not be clear, but the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou are not ordinary forces. It's impossible to get out of here. Since you can't get out, you have to go to the spirit mine," Gui Lan said directly. "You've seen the conditions in the spirit mine. Even cultivators working there day after day will gradually lose themselves and become useless."
"Are there no people in the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou who will manage this?" Lu Fan frowned. In this vast Eastern Domain, there were actually bandits. Lu Fan was caught completely off guard.
"You're still too young. The Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou are a powerful force, even comparable to a sacred land. No one dares to provoke such an existence, not even a sacred land!" Gui Lan said directly. "I'm telling you all this to warn you not to think about escaping, otherwise, if you're caught, your fate will be even worse!"
"Since you were captured and brought here, you must not be ordinary people. Why endure such humiliation?" Lu Fan said directly. "Are there no secret passages within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou to leave?"
"There are barriers everywhere, and our spiritual energy has been sealed. How can we leave?"
An old man walked over, "You have a big mouth, kid. If others heard you say that, they would have been scared to death. Fortunately, Sister Zhao is kind and won't hold it against you."
"Uncle Wu, don't scare him. He's just arrived and doesn't understand many things," Gui Lan said with a wry smile. "How about this, you'll be responsible for tending to the flowers. As long as you tend to the flowers well, you don't have to worry about anything else!"
"That simple?"
Lu Fan was slightly stunned and found it somewhat surprising.
"Sister Zhao brought you here mainly because she doesn't want you to suffer. Doing any one task is enough!" Gui Lan said directly. "So, no matter what you do, you must do your best to repay Sister Zhao's kindness."
Lu Fan nodded slightly but said nothing more. He knew that being captured and brought here was all because of the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou, and now he was being asked to thank Sister Zhao. Lu Fan couldn't do that.
When the night was deep and quiet, Lu Fan looked outside. He saw that in the spirit mine, people were still working, seemingly day and night. Those who couldn't walk were whipped mercilessly.
Taking advantage of the night, Lu Fan looked around, trying to find gaps in the formations. Only then could he leave the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou and recover his spiritual energy.
Within the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou, there were many powerful individuals. Even saints could only become slaves. Lu Fan naturally wouldn't confront them head-on.
However, Lu Fan couldn't stay here forever. After all, he still needed to improve his strength and didn't have time to waste here.
After observing the cave dwelling for a long time, Lu Fan secretly left and headed towards other areas of the Eighteen Gates of Jiuzhou. It wasn't that large, but it spanned a hundred kilometers. Now that Lu Fan had no spiritual energy, every step was difficult.