Chapter 7: The Vast Prison

Ji Ning and the others dared not make a sound, fearing they might alert the 'Dao Lord' of this Immortal Spirit Realm continent. After all, they were in the shadows for now, which gave them some advantage. Once their whereabouts were discovered... trouble would follow. This Immortal Spirit Realm continent was the enemy's territory after all, and surely had numerous formations and restrictions.

Just as before, when they were in a branch of the Huilan Sect of the Mangya Kingdom, even though it was only World-level cultivators, they still managed to trap Ji Ning by relying on a guardian formation. A Dao Lord's lair was fraught with danger; no amount of caution was excessive.

Of course, Ji Ning and the others were also confident. They didn't take weaker Dao Lords seriously.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning and his four companions silently traversed space, arriving at the edge of the Immortal Spirit Realm continent. With Qinghuang Prince's skill, even their spatial travel caused no spatial ripples.

Hmm? Ji Ning and the others stood on a broken rock at the continent's edge, gazing at the chaotic void ahead. In the void, countless golden divine runes flowed, and a massive formation loomed faintly, covering everything.

What a powerful formation. Feng Yi observed quietly. The profundity of this formation is beyond my comprehension. It could not have been created by an ordinary Dao Lord. I wonder if the Dao Lord of this Immortal Spirit Realm continent bought it or created it himself.

I hope he bought it. Qinghuang Prince said solemnly.

Ji Ning nodded.

One who could create such a formation was likely at least a three-step Dao Lord, possibly even a four-step Dao Lord on the verge of merging with the Dao. With the advantage of terrain, they would be in serious trouble.

Then how do we get out? Huojin Waterlord asked urgently. We saw the spacetime teleportation array earlier. It can only send us back to the mortal world! But once we activate it and return to the mortal world, the Dao Lord will surely know and might even pursue us there. We'd have nowhere to flee in the mortal world.

Activate the array to return to the mortal world? Qinghuang Prince shook his head. The moment we make a move, the puppets will notice. Once they do, their master will know immediately. With a Dao Lord's ability, a single thought can cover the entire Immortal Spirit Realm! He could also interrupt the teleportation array. We might not even make it back to the mortal world.

Ji Ning, Feng Yi, Tianhuo Mangya, and the others all looked grave.

A Dao Lord was definitely a threat to them.

We can't break this formation. Feng Yi looked up at the formation enveloping the entire continent. Even if we returned to the mortal world, it would be useless. We wouldn't escape.

Let's investigate further. Ji Ning suggested. Maybe we'll find something.

We have no choice.

...

Ji Ning and the others quietly searched the entire Immortal Spirit Realm continent.

The Immortal Spirit Realm continent was much smaller than the mortal world, spanning tens of billions of li. The entire continent was covered by a massive formation. At the continent's core, faint green mist spread, and deep within the mist, a towering cave mansion was vaguely visible. This was the only place on the continent Ji Ning and the others dared not intrude.

This cave mansion was likely where the Dao Lord resided!

What terrifying resentment.

On a black wasteland, Ji Ning and the others stood side by side, gazing into the distance at a massive black building.

Above the black building, resentment had materialized, swirling in the air. Some resentment glowed red, some black, but the highest layers had turned into deep green resentment. It was the accumulated resentment of countless cultivators over endless years, now condensed into a thick, deep green miasma. The resentment sometimes formed angry, hateful faces.

Even destroying ten or a hundred chaos worlds wouldn't produce such intense resentment. Qinghuang frowned.

I can sense that countless cultivators are imprisoned inside. This resentment must be due to them. Feng Yi said. The resentment is so thick because these cultivators are probably subjected to terrible torture. We saw earlier that many cultivators were bound to pillars.

Let's go in. Tianhuo Mangya urged.

Let's move.

They had to learn more information. Facing the possible Dao Lord hiding on the continent, Ji Ning and the others dared not be careless.

This massive black building was an enormous prison, holding an incalculable number of cultivators. Given that the mortal world sent people every hundred years, the prison naturally held many cultivators.

This place... Huojin Waterlord's expression changed as he entered. It's even more terrifying than the nightmare realm in my homeland legends.

More terrifying than the eighteen levels of hell in my homeland. Ji Ning said solemnly.

The vast prison.

It contained all kinds of punishments and tortures, designed solely to torment cultivators. The eighteen levels of hell in the Three Realms were meant to punish those with great sins. But here, there was only one purpose: to torment as much as possible. It was a hundred or a thousand times more horrifying, and even Ji Ning and the others changed color at the sight.

Ahhh—you will all die, you demons, all of you will die!

No—

Spare me, spare me, please!

Don't beg, begging is useless.

Various voices: some full of hatred, some muttering lowly, some mad, some hysterical.

The entire vast prison was cruelly torturing the newly captured billions of infant soul cultivators and Void God venerables. Some of the newly captured begged for mercy, but after a while, they would understand that begging was utterly useless.

Whoosh—

Ji Ning and the others walked through the vast prison. No one could see them, not even the countless puppets responsible for the torture.

Among the puppets here, a few were at the Ancestral God level, some at the True God level, and even some at the Heavenly God level. The number of puppets in the prison numbered in the millions.

Who would have thought that the coveted Immortal Spirit Realm was such a hell? Ji Ning said softly.

Yes, but the puppets here are mostly weak, with few Ancestral God-level ones. Maybe the Dao Lord of the Immortal Spirit Realm is relatively weak. Feng Yi said.

Let's hope so. Qinghuang Prince's eyes flickered with killing intent.

If the Dao Lord was weak, the five of them could join forces and kill him outright. That would solve everything.

Whoosh.

The vast prison had some formations and restrictions, but they were aimed at the weak cultivators and had no effect on Ji Ning and the others. They easily entered one of the cells.

Inside the cell, over a hundred cultivators were imprisoned, all bound by chains. One thin old man sat cross-legged, his eyes terrifying.

I won't accept this, I won't. The thin old man roared inwardly. I must survive the tribulation and ascend to escape. Once I escape, I will return and slaughter all these demons. Even now, he hadn't realized that the torturers were all puppets.

Hmm? The thin old man suddenly felt something was wrong. Five figures appeared before him.

You... The thin old man was stunned. It was too strange. These five figures were too clean, and they wore no chains! And the cell door hadn't opened?

I have some questions for you. The red-robed, bald, thin young man said.

Yes. The thin old man obediently replied. He felt an instinctive submission to the one before him; if ordered to kill himself, he wouldn't hesitate.

But the other chained cultivators in the cell saw nothing.

...

As Ji Ning and the others infiltrated the vast prison, at the core of the Immortal Spirit Realm continent, within the ancient towering cave mansion shrouded in faint green mist, a figure flew out. He wore a pale green robe, had a hunched body, a head with only a few green scales, cold eyes, and a wrinkled, aged face.

Master. An Ancestral God-level puppet waited respectfully outside the cave mansion.

Mm.

The hunched old man nodded slightly. Have the new batch of cultivators arrived?

Yes, they just arrived. I've sent them all to the prison. The Ancestral God puppet replied respectfully. Puppets were a variant of treasures, and those with intelligence were no less wise than living beings. Unlike living beings, puppets were absolutely loyal, doing whatever their master commanded.

Mm, let's go take a look. The hunched old man nodded faintly. The Ancestral God puppet followed respectfully behind him. They tore through space and in an instant appeared above the vast prison, which was shrouded in endless thick resentment, hundreds of billions of li away.

...