Chapter 1881: The Warden and Jailer of the Nether Prison
(Previously, I made a mistake in writing that the Underworld King was imprisoned on the seventeenth floor; it should have been the fifteenth floor. It has been too long, and I misremembered. My sincerest apologies. It has now been corrected.)
……
…………
The cultivators of the Town Prison Ancient Clan all fixed their gazes sharply on Zhang Ruochen, their expressions a mix of tension and anticipation.
Did a more advanced Blood-Suppressing Talisman truly exist?
If it did, it would undoubtedly be a powerful weapon against the Undying Blood Clan. Even a strong figure like the Hundred Illusions Divine Son would likely flee at the mere sight of it, never daring to set foot in the territory of the Town Prison Ancient Clan again.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then took out the imprint of the "Great Saint Blood-Suppressing Talisman" and handed it to Shi Qiankun.
"There really is an even more advanced Blood-Suppressing Talisman."
"Excellent! With this Blood-Suppressing Talisman, no matter how many experts the Undying Blood Clan sends, we can suppress them all."
The cultivators of the Town Prison Ancient Clan were all stirred with excitement and joy.
Shi Qiankun carefully received the imprint of the Great Saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman, feeling quite surprised. Could it be that even a Nine-Step Saint King, or even a Great Saint of the Undying Blood Clan, could be suppressed with just a single talisman?
Shi Qiankun focused intently on observing it. At first, a hint of joy appeared on his face, but as time passed, the joy faded, and his expression gradually turned serious.
The Great Saint Blood-Suppressing Talisman was extremely complex, its talisman patterns profound and mysterious.
Some of the lines were so difficult that even with Shi Qiankun's mastery of talisman arts, it felt like reading a heavenly scripture—hard to comprehend and utterly unfathomable.
"Whoosh——"
Using his finger as a brush, Shi Qiankun traced talisman patterns in the air.
He tried more than ten times in succession, but each attempt ended in failure.
Seeing sweat pouring down Shi Qiankun's forehead and his eyes bloodshot, Shi Ren quickly snapped him out of his immersion in the talisman patterns: "Father, do not be too obsessed. Wake up quickly."
Shi Qiankun's body trembled slightly, and he let out a long breath, finally tearing his gaze away from the talisman imprint.
He rubbed his temples and sighed deeply: "My spiritual power is not strong enough. I fear I cannot draw the Great Saint Blood-Suppressing Talisman. How shameful, truly shameful."
"Clan Leader, your spiritual power has reached the fifty-seventh rank. Is that still not strong enough?" asked Elder Xuanfeng.
Shi Qiankun shook his head, handed the talisman imprint to Shi Ren, and said, "Ren'er, your spiritual power has already surpassed mine. Will you give it a try?"
Shi Ren took the imprint and attempted it, but he too ended in failure.
"The Great Saint Blood-Suppressing Talisman is too profound! Every single line on it is like a river tens of thousands of miles long. To inscribe a river of tens of thousands of miles onto a tiny talisman is already as difficult as ascending to heaven. And on top of that, you have to draw thousands upon thousands of such rivers together on the same talisman. Difficult, far too difficult. I suspect only a Spiritual Power Great Saint could accomplish it. And that Spiritual Power Great Saint would also need to have extremely deep attainments in the talisman path," Shi Ren said with several sighs.
The atmosphere in the Sword Tomb Palace grew heavy.
Shi Qiankun said, "If my father were still alive, he might have been able to try."
Shi Qiankun's father was named Shi Mingyuan, the former clan leader of the Town Prison Ancient Clan.
Two hundred years ago, Shi Mingyuan had entered the fifteenth floor of the Nether Prison to break through to the Martial Saint King realm. Initially, the expected seclusion time was three years.
But two hundred years had passed, and Shi Mingyuan had never emerged from the fifteenth floor of the Nether Prison. Most likely, he had met with misfortune.
Although two hundred years ago, Shi Mingyuan's martial realm was only at the Half-Saint King level, his spiritual power was unfathomably deep. He was a figure who could discuss the Dao with the master of the Martial Market Bank, the Martial Venerable. In terms of talisman arts, even if Shi Mingyuan was not the number one in the Kunlun Realm, he was certainly among the top three.
Shi Ren was visibly moved and said, "Father, in the past, our cultivation was too low, and we dared not go to the fifteenth floor of the Nether Prison to search for Grandfather. With our current strength, perhaps we can give it a try."
Shi Qiankun's eyes sharpened. He stood up and began pacing back and forth in the Sword Tomb Palace, as if still harboring some concerns.
In truth, he had long entertained the idea of going to the fifteenth floor of the Nether Prison. However, that floor imprisoned the great fierce being Underworld King, who had once brought chaos to the Kunlun Realm, and so the matter had been shelved until now.
Shi Ren quickly added, "Father, do not hesitate any longer. If Grandfather is not dead and is still trapped on the fifteenth floor of the prison, we can rescue him. Moreover, we are not fighting alone. Brother Zhang and his friends will also lend us their strength."
Zhang Ruochen had originally intended to enter the Nether Prison, so he naturally would not miss this opportunity. He stood up abruptly and said, "Junior has an impertinent request. I hope Senior Shi can grant it."
"What impertinent request?" Shi Qiankun asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is the third disciple of the Ming Emperor, Bao Lie, imprisoned in the Nether Prison?"
Shi Qiankun shook his head and said, "I am not clear on this matter. You will have to ask the three wardens of the Nether Prison to get an answer. Although the Town Prison Ancient Clan guards the Nether Prison, the direct responsibility lies with the wardens and the jailer."
The Nether Prison had always been guarded by four wardens.
However, when the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor attacked the Town Prison Ancient Clan, he killed one of the wardens. Now, only three remained.
Under Shi Qiankun's lead, Zhang Ruochen and the others walked deep into the Sword Grave, arriving at the base of a tortoise-shell-shaped stone mountain.
The stone mountain was pitch-black, a hundred zhang tall, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror.
Calling it a stone mountain was more like saying it was a black boulder buried deep underground.
"This is the entrance to the Nether Prison," Shi Qiankun said.
"Entrance? Where is the entrance?"
Xiang Chunan walked up to the base of the stone mountain and slapped his palm against the smooth stone wall, searching for mechanisms or hidden passages.
Suddenly, two golden leaves sprouted from the stone wall, each as large as a palm-leaf fan.
The two leaves flew up, resembling a golden butterfly, and appeared above Xiang Chunan's head.
"Wow! What the hell is this thing? Where did it come from?"
Xiang Chunan let out a strange cry and struck out with his palm. The powerful palm force slammed into the two golden leaves.
"Boom!"
A layer of golden light surged from within the two golden leaves, and a light curtain interwoven with over a hundred thousand Sacred Dao Rules blocked Xiang Chunan's palm force, instead sending him stumbling backward with a "thud, thud."
Shi Qiankun stepped in front of Xiang Chunan, clasped his hands in salute, and said, "Lord Golden Leaf Warden, please withdraw your sacred art. He is not an enemy; he is a friend of the Town Prison Ancient Clan."
"Warden?"
Xiang Chunan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Two tree leaves could be a warden?
Zhang Ruochen was also intrigued and carefully observed the two golden leaves. He saw that at the center of the two leaves was a tiny person, no bigger than a thumb.
The two leaves grew from its back.
"That is a Golden Leaf Strange Millet, which has lived for at least a hundred thousand years," Ji Fanxin transmitted to Zhang Ruochen.
The Golden Leaf Strange Millet opened its mouth, inhaling all the golden light in the air into its belly, and ceased its attack on Xiang Chunan.
Soon after, the other two wardens appeared in succession. They were also plants: one was a pink flower, and the other was a green-skinned melon.
Seeing the three wardens, Zhang Ruochen frowned. Could these things really guard the Nether Prison, which held countless fierce beings and evil beasts?
The True Wonderful Little Daoist flew onto Zhang Ruochen's shoulder and whispered, "This seems a bit unreliable, doesn't it?"
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and said, "At least… at least their cultivation is still very strong. Each one has strength comparable to a Dao Domain realm expert."
"With just them, they can guard the Underworld King?" The True Wonderful Little Daoist kept shaking his head.
"Whoosh——"
The stone wall of the mountain flickered again, and a bald old man emerged. He wore a gray-white official robe with an ancient character "soldier" embroidered on his chest.
The bald old man's face was covered in age spots, his eyes were dull, and he even seemed unsteady on his feet.
"Don't tell me this is the jailer of the Nether Prison?" Xiang Chunan said.
"That's right. Old… old me is the only… jailer of the Nether Prison."
The bald old man lifted his head, seemingly unable to see where Xiang Chunan was standing, and smiled at a small pile of stones to Xiang Chunan's right.
The True Wonderful Little Daoist gasped and said again, "Zhang Ruochen, the gods of your Kunlun Realm and the cultivators of the Town Prison Ancient Clan sure have big hearts, letting this old geezer be the jailer, and the only one at that."
The bald old man seemed to have heard the True Wonderful Little Daoist's voice. He looked at Murong Yue, who was standing beside Zhang Ruochen, and said with a kindly smile, "It's mainly because the Nether Prison is too sturdy. The prisoners inside simply can't escape, so anyone can be a jailer."
A strange look flashed in Shi Qiankun's eyes. He stepped forward, bowed deeply to the bald old man, and said, "Lord Kong, after all these years, you haven't changed a bit."
The bald old man looked at Shi Ren, who was standing beside Shi Qiankun, and said, "Are you saying this old man should be dead?"
Shi Qiankun said, "No, how would I dare?"
The old man before him appeared to be an ordinary person, with no energy fluctuations whatsoever. However, Shi Qiankun had seen him two hundred years ago, and he had looked exactly the same then.
Shi Qiankun's father, Shi Mingyuan, had once said that when he was a child, he had also seen Lord Kong, and Lord Kong had looked the same back then.
Therefore, Shi Qiankun suspected that Lord Kong was not human at all, but like the four wardens, was a plant, which explained his extremely long lifespan.
Shi Qiankun said, "Lord Kong, a Sword Bearer of the Town Prison Ancient Clan wishes to ask you something."
"Sword Bearer? Which Sword Bearer?" Lord Kong asked.
"I am Zhang Ruochen, the eighteenth-generation Sword Bearer of the Sky-Soaring Sword. Greetings, Senior."
Zhang Ruochen walked up to Lord Kong and clasped his hands in salute.
Lord Kong strained to open his eyes wide, staring at Murong Yue beside Zhang Ruochen, and extended a trembling hand, saying, "Bring out the Sky-Soaring Sword and let me have a look."
"Well… I have left the Sky-Soaring Sword elsewhere and do not have it on me," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Oh, I see."
Lord Kong lowered his head again, looking somewhat disappointed, and then asked, "What do you wish to inquire about?"
"About eight hundred years ago, did Princess Chi Yao of the Chi Qing Central Empire escort a being named Bao Lie and imprison him in the Nether Prison?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Eight hundred years? That's so long ago. How could I remember clearly? Let me check for you. There might be a record."
Lord Kong reached into his robe and pulled out a clay pot. Inside the pot was a silver cactus, its needles sharp and radiating nine rings of silver light.
"No, no, that's the wrong one."
Lord Kong stuffed the clay pot back into his prison robe and continued fumbling.
Shi Qiankun, however, was startled when he saw the cactus. He recognized it as the Silver Thorn Warden, who had died at the hands of the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor. It was now planted in a clay pot, clearly still alive.
(End of Chapter)
Recommended reading: New book by the great god of the city: