Prison Cell

Aside from the flesh puppets, the grand array possessed numerous other variations, all brimming with lethal peril. However, for one, the array was masterless, and for another, many of the Black Pagodas were damaged. Though its might was formidable, it was not without flaws. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Just as they passed through a zone of bone-corroding, soul-sapping yin wind, they came under bombardment from blood-red divine light. Above them hung what looked like a starry sky where blood-red stars floated, shooting down beams of baleful divine light. Qin Sang was always able to anticipate danger in advance, weaving through the gaps between the divine lights. The Black Pagoda Array was extraordinarily intricate, vast, and ever-shifting. It was nearly impossible to map out the entire array's structure in short order, so Qin Sang had no choice but to follow the guidance of the Thunder Rosary. By now, he could not even tell what position he was in. The Thunder Rosary grew increasingly radiant, reaching a dazzling intensity. Right then, Fat Chicken suddenly pointed at a distant Black Pagoda and cried out urgently, "Master, my mother might be trapped inside that Black Pagoda!" Qin Sang looked where Fat Chicken pointed and saw a Black Pagoda flickering in and out of view amidst the divine light. He had Fat Chicken sense it once more. After confirming it without doubt, he swiftly gave chase toward the Black Pagoda. The Demon King had been formidable back then and had still been trapped here; hidden perils were certain to lurk inside. Naturally, Qin Sang had to be cautious. He ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to push its Heavenly Eye divine ability to the fullest and observe carefully. Guided by the Thunder Rosary, Qin Sang drew closer and closer to that Black Pagoda. Strangely, however, the area surrounding the Black Pagoda was no different from anywhere else, appearing entirely normal. There were no flesh puppets blocking the entrance, nor were there any terrifyingly powerful ancient restrictions. *Could the danger be hidden inside the Black Pagoda?* Qin Sang mused inwardly. He had not yet entered any of the Black Pagodas and did not know what it was like inside. The Black Pagoda before him was well-preserved, with only a few hairline cracks appearing at its summit. Arriving before the Black Pagoda, Qin Sang discovered a stone door on the lowest level. The door stood half-open, revealing a wide corridor of black stone inside. Standing before the stone door, Qin Sang felt an even gloomier, chilling aura wafting out from within. Listening quietly for a moment, he heard no movement at all from inside. After a brief hesitation, Qin Sang instructed Fat Chicken to follow close behind, summoned the ebony sword and eighteen demonic banners to protect his body, and stepped inside. Entering the corridor, Qin Sang suddenly felt a fierce wind rushing straight at his face. His expression shifted slightly, and with a flash, the ebony sword erupted with dazzling sword radiance, slashing forward in a blur. *Boom!* The loud blast echoed endlessly through the corridor. Qin Sang looked closely: the thing attacking him was a humanoid creature completely clad in black armor, its face covered securely as well. The black-armored figure had the build of an ordinary human. Clutched in its hand was a black chain that rattled noisily, and its body was draped in a heavy, baleful aura. Before stepping inside, Qin Sang had clearly sensed that there was nothing here, yet this black-armored figure had suddenly appeared. The ambush had come abruptly, catching Qin Sang off guard; though he had unleashed nearly full strength with that strike, it had merely severed the iron chain in its hand into two pieces and cracked its visor. To Qin Sang's astonishment, there was nothing beneath the visor—only a clump of blood-colored mist. Yet after swaying briefly, the black-armored figure swung the broken chain and charged again. "A puppet? Or what kind of thing is it?" Qin Sang speculated inwardly, but his hands did not slow at all. In an instant, he slashed out over a dozen sword strikes. Finding that the black-armored figure seemed to have no weak points, he had no choice but to forcefully hack apart its limbs and torso. With a clatter, the shards of black armor fell to the floor, then melted away silently and vanished without a trace. Qin Sang surveyed his surroundings and noticed rows of stone chambers lining the walls on both sides. Only upon entering did he realize that the stone pagoda was far more damaged internally than it appeared on the surface. The walls were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and most of the stone doors had crumbled completely. Qin Sang turned his gaze to the stone chamber nearest the corridor entrance; it was merely an ordinary room with nothing remarkable about it. Then he looked at a relatively intact stone chamber deeper within and noticed something different. Just as he wanted to examine it closer, a rumbling din echoed from down the corridor, followed by a horde of black-armored figures charging out, brandishing every manner of weapon imaginable. Bracing himself on high alert, he operated the Heavenly Eye divine ability to inspect that intact chamber closely. Inside the stone door seemed to be endless darkness, swallowing his vision. Upon the stone door, faint blood-red runes surfaced, only to vanish in the blink of an eye. There were clearly orthodox Daoist restrictions and talismanic arts reinforcing it. Qin Sang also discovered that inside the stone door lay an esoteric illusory realm and all kinds of runes he could not comprehend. The ancient restrictions and talismanic arts on the stone door did not just face outward; half were directed inward, and their potency was not in the least diminished. *Is this a prison cell?* Qin Sang thought to himself. Connecting this with everything he had seen and heard in the Abyss Ruins, he felt that this place was a gigantic prison, and these black-armored figures were presumably the prison guards. No wonder the Black Pagodas were arranged in a great array. As long as someone presided over the array, manifesting endless variations, complemented by the flesh puppets hunting outside, any prisoner fortunate enough to escape a Black Pagoda would still find flight impossible. Seen this way, the Abyss Ruins, the Blood Lake, and the Sin God Palace were likely all parts of a single entity—all prisons. Just what kind of power had Ziwei Palace been in ancient times to construct so many terrifying penitentiaries? This stone door was tightly shut, deathly silent within. Could there still be prisoners scraping by alive to this day? However, the power of the restrictions on the door was far inferior to the Demon-Suppressing Restriction jointly cast by the three races. The prisoners' cultivation would surely be far below that of the Demon Monarch, nor could they compare to the mysterious figure individually imprisoned at the Heavenly Corpse Sect's headquarters. The likelihood of them surviving until now was minuscule. They were probably just minor lackeys back then. Remembering the ferocious Demon Monarch suppressed in the Hall of Seven Kills, Qin Sang knew that the prisoners locked away here were likely no saints either. These black-armored figures were probably manifested by the Black Pagoda's restrictions. With the pagoda damaged, their strength was no longer what it once had been, yet they were still strong enough to withstand several sword strikes. If there were only these black-armored figures, while troublesome, they were nothing to worry about. With a slight thought, Qin Sang sent the ebony sword darting like lightning toward the incoming foes. Mid-flight, it blurred into countless rays of sword light. In an instant, the black-armored figures were engulfed by a rain of swords. Amidst a chaotic clatter, before they could even draw near, they all followed in the footsteps of the first black-armored figure. To his surprise, as soon as these black-armored figures fell, even more charged forth. Qin Sang dared not hesitate. He immediately led Fat Chicken in a fierce forward charge. After fighting their way through, they reached the end of the corridor and saw the stairs leading to the second floor. Without pausing, he ascended to the second floor. The ebony sword galloped through the throng, slaying untold numbers of black-armored figures. They seemed endless; if trapped here for too long, even Qin Sang would be ground down to death. In one continuous breath, he climbed six floors. "It's here!" Just as they reached this floor, Fat Chicken pointed excitedly at the first stone chamber by the entrance and shouted loudly. Like the floors below, this level consisted of the same monotonous corridor and prison cells. Fat Chicken stared fixedly at this stone chamber—the Thunder Rosary was pointing directly inside it! Surprised, Qin Sang darted over. The stone chamber looked no different from any other; its stone door was completely shattered, and several stray stones were scattered across the floor. Sweeping his gaze over the interior, Qin Sang could detect nothing out of the ordinary. Yet the Thunder Rosary's guidance would not lie. Deploying a sword array before the doorway to hold off all the black-armored figures, Qin Sang carefully scrutinized the stone chamber, finally discovering a faint anomaly on the chamber's floor.