"Gao, hang in there!"

The underground squad leader, Dong Yufei, gripped his companion Gao Zhixing’s hand. At the same time, he braced a collapsed boulder with his shoulder, trying to lessen the pressure on Gao Zhixing, who was pinned underneath, and pull him free.

Gao Zhixing shook his head and couldn’t help but groan in pain. "Don’t waste your energy. I can’t get out. This rock has me completely stuck."

Dong Yufei strained again, but the rock pinning Gao Zhixing didn’t budge an inch. He slumped down beside his friend, catching his breath before saying, "We’ll just have to wait for rescue."

Feeling the stabbing pain in his back and the near-total numbness in his lower body, Gao Zhixing’s heart sank. He couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead as he looked at Dong Yufei. "Is anyone coming to rescue us?"

"Of course they are!" Dong Yufei said with conviction.

"But will they get here in time?" Gao Zhixing asked again.

Dong Yufei fell silent.

They were three hundred meters underground. An earthquake the previous night had deformed the mine’s support structures, triggering a cave-in. Not only had rocks collapsed in various sections, but the tunnel to the surface was also completely blocked.

Dong Yufei didn’t know how bad the blockage was. If it was minor, the rescue wouldn’t take long. But if it was severe...

Thinking about the earthquake and their current situation, Dong Yufei wasn’t optimistic about the speed of any rescue.

Still, he tried to encourage Gao Zhixing. "Of course we’ll make it. Your son’s getting married next month. He’s waiting for you to be at his wedding!"

At the thought of his son, the dim light in Gao Zhixing’s eyes brightened a little. He nodded. "Right, I have to be at his wedding. Everyone from our squad has to be there!"

"That’s the spirit!" Dong Yufei squeezed Gao Zhixing’s hand tightly. Seeing his friend’s blue lips and feeling his hand grow steadily colder, tears welled up in his eyes, but he bit his lip and held them back. "I still owe you a big red envelope for the wedding!"

Gao Zhixing managed a weak grin. "We’ve been friends for over a decade. I won’t be happy if it’s a small one."

Dong Yufei nodded emphatically. "Don’t worry. If it’s too small, you can drink me under the table! So you have to hold on. Rescue will be here soon!"

"I will," Gao Zhixing nodded with difficulty, his lips trembling slightly. "Why do I feel so cold?"

Dong Yufei held his hand tighter. "The AC’s out, and we’re deep underground. It’s normal to be a little cold. Tell me how your son and daughter-in-law met. Maybe you can introduce someone to my son?"

"Your son’s... at a top university... doing his doctorate. His standards... are high." Gao Zhixing gasped for breath, his voice growing fainter. "I... Holy crap?"

"Huh?" Dong Yufei was baffled. He couldn’t understand why Gao Zhixing, who was on the verge of death, had suddenly cursed.

"Good thing I made it in time. Another ten minutes or so and it probably would’ve been too late!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

A strange voice suddenly sounded from behind him. Dong Yufei whipped his head around and was shocked to see an old Daoist with a goatee standing right behind him.

Dong Yufei was completely dumbfounded, wondering how a Daoist could have suddenly appeared in a mine shaft three hundred meters deep. But Gao Zhixing, pinned beneath the boulder, had seen it clearly—the Daoist had walked right out of the mine wall beside them!

An avid reader of all sorts of web novels, who even now read them to pass the time, Gao Zhixing immediately cried out, "Immortal Master!"

Hearing the words "Immortal Master," Taoist Yan Qi beamed. He sent a stream of True Qi into Gao Zhixing’s body, first stopping the bleeding and then stabilizing his various internal injuries.

"Don’t worry, you’re not going to die. You’ll definitely make it to your son’s wedding," Taoist Yan Qi said with a chuckle. He then stepped forward and took both Dong Yufei’s and Gao Zhixing’s hands. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Dong Yufei asked.

"To begin an unforgettable subterranean journey," Taoist Yan Qi said with a smile.

"Huh?" Dong Yufei had just let out a cry of surprise when he felt his body sink downwards. In the blink of an eye, he had passed through the tunnel floor. The color of earth filled his vision, so close it felt like it was pressed against his eyelids.

Dong Yufei instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, the scent of soil filling his nostrils. He didn’t dare open his mouth, terrified he’d get a mouthful of dirt.

Then, he heard Gao Zhixing’s exclamation, but it sounded muffled and indistinct, as if through a thin layer of earth.

’You can talk underground?’

Dong Yufei was about to turn his head and open his eyes, but in the next moment, he felt a brightness through his eyelids, as if sunlight were piercing through to his pupils.

So he opened his eyes and saw the dark green canvas of a standard-issue disaster relief tent. Sunlight filtered through the fabric, warming his face.

Wait, sunlight?

’We’re back on the surface?’

Dong Yufei jolted fully alert, finally realizing he was inside a disaster relief tent. Gao Zhixing was lying beside him, but the Daoist from before was gone.

"Are we dreaming?" Dong Yufei murmured.

"Dreaming my ass!" Gao Zhixing’s face was still pale, but his voice was surprisingly full of energy. "There are Immortals in this world!"

"Not Immortals. We are merely Daoists who have achieved some success in our Cultivation," Taoist Ming Yu said as he walked into the tent, a faint smile on his face. "We are still a long way from becoming true Immortals."

Seeing another elder dressed in Daoist robes, Gao Zhixing tried to get up, but his lower body was still numb. He could only offer a verbal greeting, "Greetings, Immortal Master!"

Taoist Ming Yu laughed heartily. "No wonder Yan Qi sent me a message to come save you quickly. You really know how to talk!"

"Don’t move. Your spine was crushed, you have fractures in your legs, and there’s internal bleeding. The wounds have only been temporarily sealed with True Qi. If you move too forcefully, they could rupture," said Taoist Ming Yu.

"Ah?" Although Gao Zhixing had expected as much, his heart still sank.

Dong Yufei was startled as well. He instinctively looked over at Gao Zhixing and saw that he was still in the same prone position, his legs twisted at an odd angle.

"Gao!"

Then, the voice of the Daoist he’d just heard spoke again in his ear, "Cloud seals of the Great Void, born at the dawn of time. Now distant, now near; now sinking, now floating."

Taoist Ming Yu pointed a finger, and a visible ray of light shot into Gao Zhixing’s body.

"To manifest the profound Chapters, to write the Spirit Talisman in turn. The Primordial Origin descends, and the True Script is revealed." As Taoist Ming Yu recited the Profound Essence Curse, everyone watched as Gao Zhixing was enveloped in light, his legs visibly returning to their normal state.

"Grave illness heals on its own; the drowning in worldly toil can be saved. The Netherworld shall find its reliance, and through this, one ascends to the Xian Capital." With the Spell finished, Taoist Ming Yu gave a casual wave of his hand, and the golden light around Gao Zhixing abruptly vanished.

"Alright, let’s go to the next one," Taoist Ming Yu said nonchalantly, then turned and left the tent.

Then Dong Yufei, along with Zheng Hongsheng and the others following Taoist Ming Yu, watched as Gao Zhixing scrambled to his feet. Though his face was still a little pale, his movements were completely unimpeded.

Dong Yufei muttered to himself, "So there really are Immortals in this world!"