2573 Poor Bei Xu! Lin Yuan first experienced what it was like to be transported across extremely great distances when he traveled from the Return from Faraway Mansion, which was located in the Radiance Federation’s Royal Capital, to the border between the Divine Wood Federation and Iron Hammer Federation. That had left Lin Yuan in significant discomfort, and he only recovered from the nausea and dizziness after a long time had passed. Ever since Lin Yuan formed a contract with the Merciful Star Peony, his physical body was refined by its ability. Furthermore, he went on to experience long-distance spatial transportation many more times. As a result, he became more familiar with the off-kilter feeling and was no longer in such significant discomfort during his subsequent travels back and forth from the Divine Wood Federation. But this time, Lin Yuan was once again in the throes of agonizing dizziness and nausea. It was more than ten times worse than what Lin Yuan had experienced when he traveled between the Radiance Federation and Divine Wood Federation. Lin Yuan forced himself to calm down. The instant he was spat out of the Space Tunnel, he let out Dazzling Silver, Blue Umber, Light Green Umber, and Red Beauty. Next, he sat on the ground with his head still spinning as he tried to organize his thoughts and get rid of the nausea that came with the dizziness. Besides Dazzling Silver, Blue Umber, Light Green Umber, and Red Beauty, Lin Yuan also had Begin Lady to protect him. He did not believe that there was an entity in the Grotto Continent that could defeat five spirit-fire experts. If the Grotto Continent possessed such combat power, it would make them even stronger than the Radiance Federation! Before Lin Yuan was transported over, Bei Xu was in the midst of enduring unbearable torture. Life was inconsequential in the Grotto Continent. There, people were worth less than those of servants in the Startling Lines Continent. Regular people branded with the labels ‘stone insect’, ‘mist maggot’, and the like endured torture on the regular. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 When Bei Xu had been a ‘stone insect’, almost no inch of his skin was unmarked. Although food was very scarce, many ‘stone insects’ did not die of starvation but were beaten to death by their guards instead! In a world where punishment was commonplace, their definition of pain was a much more severe version of that in other worlds. The methods for torture also evolved as though it were a professional field. The number of people tortured to death by the butler numbered in the thousands. Three to four people died by his torture methods each day. He was very skilled at making people talk. Regardless of how strong-willed one was, it would be difficult for them to last more than half a day in the butler’s hands. Yet, Bei Xu had persisted for a full day and a half! It was not just him. The same went for his subordinates. This caused the butler to think that his methods were being challenged. The resilience of Bei Xu and his group also intrigued him. After all, his master had not given him a deadline for his interrogation. His master had left to greet the other Lord and would only be returning three days later at the earliest. These three days would be enough for the butler to have some fun with this strong-willed group! The butler fancied himself an artist, and his medium was torture. He used stones chiseled into needles and hammers and other tools to create and demonstrate his work. Bei Xu and the rest had already been tortured to the point they were no longer recognizable. The butler had initially intended to kill one of them to make an example of them. However, he changed his mind when he saw how persistent they all were. He wanted to see who would be the first to relent and beg for mercy. This was how Bei Xu and the others had managed to remain alive until now. The butler prepared to push the stone needles deep into their bodies. But at that moment, he felt a spatial fluctuation. Soon, a fat, dark-red tentacle appeared in front of him. The butler had never seen anything like it before. Before he could even react, the tentacle morphed into a door, and a handsome young man burst through. The people of the Grotto Continent were forced to work hard to survive, and their bodies were often scarred. Due to the lack of sunlight, their skin was always pale. This young man’s skin, however, was slightly lighter than toasted oats and looked very healthy. When the dim light hit his skin, it shone like a gem. It was likely that only the elites from the surface could have such lovely skin. In the Grotto Continent, there was an insect-species fey called the Skin-Replacing Centipede. It lived in Soul-Controlling Jade mines, which were very rare in the continent. The butler had once helped his master harvest from a Soul-Controlling Jade mine. He did not dare to covet the jade, but he did take two Skin-Replacing Centipedes. To prevent this matter from being exposed, he killed the subordinates who had been by his side at the time. The butler had done this to give his two grandchildren opportunities. In the Grotto Continent, daughters from powerful factions often picked up men with pleasing looks. If they caught the eye of a daughter from a powerful faction, they would have the chance to skyrocket in status. This was how his master’s father had managed to come up in life. At first, the butler had been hesitant to go down this path. The skin that the Skin-Replacing Centipedes had exchanged would only last around two to three decades. Even if they failed to succeed within that time frame, the skin would rot and they would revert to their original appearance. But now, the butler was no longer hesitant. How could there be a girl who would be able to resist the looks of this young man? Before the butler could capture this clearly formidable young man, he watched as the young man summoned four mermaid lifeforms. It was clear from the four lifeforms’ auras that they did not come from an underground environment. Their auras were very similar to the lifeforms’ from the Barren Sea. Could they have come from the Barren Sea? Was this young man a powerful creature from the Barren Sea? The butler stopped targeting Lin Yuan and decided to use his wiles to gain favor with Lin Yuan instead. It did not occur to him that Lin Yuan might be in cahoots with Bei Xu. After all, he believed that Bei Xu had been born and bred in the Grotto Continent! He had never even been to Sky Bearer City, which was linked to the surface. How could he have made contact with the factions from the surface? Lin Yuan had already given instructions to Dazzling Silver and the rest. They were to ensure Bei Xu’s safety before dealing with his jailers.