In most Spirit Stone mines, regardless of the faction or affiliation, the ones doing the actual mining are nothing more than glorified slaves. They do hard, back-breaking work and get paid 'peanuts' for it. Sometimes, they don't even get paid.
For example, in the mine Mira's group is raiding, the actual miners are those in the Foundation Realm or below with their cultivation sealed. They didn't wish for this job. They were taken from their homes and forced into this situation because they were weak.
To make matters worse, if they dared to resist, death would be preferable. Unlike those from the Orthodox Faction, who would, at worst, just kill them for disobedience, the Unorthodox Faction is much more devious.
The punishments they receive include but are not limited to torture, r*ping their wives or children in front of them, torturing their loved ones, crippling their cultivation, etc.
