Soul Devouring's Wrath: Divine Fall, All Below the Peak of the Tenth Realm Perish on Contact

[Using twenty years of accumulated knowledge as fuel, and through Divine Revelation Reading, you dismantle each layer of the barriers of the Law of Anger. The realm of the Law of Anger begins to ascend... to the sixth, seventh, and eighth layers, each accompanied by countless deductions and verifications.]

[Continue your deduction. The ninefold barrier of the Law of Anger is as thick as an insurmountable chasm. Yet, using three million White Qi as a guide and a cultivation level of one realm of the Tenth Realm of the First Martial Law Realm as a foundation, you forcefully pierced through that barrier. The Law of Anger, the Ninth-Level Domain.]

[You then deduced the Netherworld Prison Soul-Devouring Spirit-Suppressing Law. You had previously comprehended this Lower First-Level Law in the "Netherworld Prison Soul Devouring Spirit Suppression Scripture," but between comprehending it and truly beginning your cultivation, there lies a vast chasm—starting from scratch.]

[Over the past twenty years, using the Calamity Light Law as a reference, and cross-referencing it with the "Great Void Nether Prison Calamity Light Scripture" and the "Scripture of Netherworld Prison Soul Devouring Spirit Suppression Suppressing in the Netherworld," you have pushed this law from scratch into the first realm.]

[You feel two forces surging simultaneously within your sea of consciousness. One is the Law of Anger, Ninth-Level Domain, extremely powerful and fierce, capable of incinerating all things; the other is the Netherworld Prison Soul-Devouring Spirit-Suppressing Law, a single-layered domain, extremely deep and profound, capable of devouring everything. The two collide violently deep within your sea of consciousness, like a raging fire thrown into the deep sea, like lightning striking the abyss.]

[Using the Law of Anger as a guide and the Netherworld Prison Soul-Devouring Spirit-Suppressing Law- Suppressing as its foundation, you have advanced the Soul Devouring's Wrath to its fourth level.]

[Fourth level, Soul Devouring's Wrath - Divine Fall: Wrath descends like heavenly fire, the Nether Prison Power hangs like an abyss; with a single strike, souls, laws, and matter all vanish into nothingness. Those below the Peak Stage of the Tenth Realm are instantly annihilated upon contact.]

Chen Du slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He looked down at his hands, the lingering effects of his earlier deductions still present on his palms.

Twenty years of arduous cultivation, Ninefold Wrath, one level of Netherworld Prison Soul Devouring Spirit Suppression and Spirit Suppression, and the fourth level of Soul Devouring's Wrath.

He stood up and slowly absorbed the lingering charm into the depths of his consciousness.

In the days that followed, he did not stop studying the Calamity Light Law.

After his daily patrol, he would sit quietly in a secluded cave, disassembling, reassembling, and deducing the fragments of the Calamity Light Law piece by piece.

Thirty years of accumulation had allowed him to thoroughly understand this Lower First-Level Law, but understanding it was not the same as comprehending it.

He needs to start from scratch and hone it into his own field step by step.

Several months later, the Calamity Light Law finally stepped into the threshold of the first realm.

Several days later, a bombshell message reached the Divine Prison.

At this moment, Chen Du was comprehending the Calamity Light Law in the side cave of the fifth level.

The messenger was a young jailer, sweating profusely as he ran, clutching a scroll of copied official gazette in his hand.

Chen Du took it and unfolded it, reading it word by word, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

The Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty has changed.

Emperor Zhao Long reigned for over a hundred years. In the first half of his life, he could be considered a ruler who could maintain the status quo, but in the second half, he became completely muddleheaded, indulging in wine and women and neglecting state affairs.

The memorials piled up in the imperial study and got moldy; whatever Prime Minister Wei Changgeng said, he approved.

However, this relationship between the emperor and his minister was not entirely monolithic.

Wei Changgeng wielded immense power, selling official positions and titles, and his cronies were ubiquitous in the court.

The old emperor knew what Wei Changgeng was doing, but he kept quiet and didn't say anything.

He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to bring down Wei Changgeng in one fell swoop.

The opportunity came sooner than expected: Wei Changgeng's confidant, Li Yannian, the Minister of Personnel, was impeached for "embezzling disaster relief funds, resulting in widespread famine in the Northern Border."

The impeachment memorial was extremely harsh, listing the evidence point by point, even clearly stating the profit-sharing ratio between Li Yannian and Wei Changgeng.

What's even more ruthless is that the person impeached was a protégé whom Wei Changgeng had personally promoted.

Everyone can see that this was orchestrated by the old emperor.

He planted a thorn in Wei Changgeng's side, and after a full century, he finally pulled it out at this moment.

The old emperor thought this attack would severely damage Wei Changgeng, but he underestimated his opponent.

That very night, Wei Changgeng ordered the Imperial Guards to enter the city.

The commander of the Imperial Guards was surnamed Wei, and was Wei Changgeng's nephew.

After the Imperial Guards entered the city, their first action was to surround the palace.

The old emperor was dragged off his dragon bed by the imperial guards in his sleeping quarters, without even having time to put on his shoes.

He pointed at Wei Changgeng's nose and cursed him, calling him ungrateful, treacherous, and wishing him a terrible death.

Wei Changgeng coldly replied, "It's time for His Majesty to repay the blessings he has enjoyed over the years."

Then a pot of poison was poured down his throat, and the old emperor struggled a few times before falling silent.

The following day, Wei Changgeng helped the old emperor's youngest son, Zhao Huan, who was only eight years old, to ascend the throne.

Zhao Huan sat on the dragon throne, his legs barely touching the ground, while all the civil and military officials knelt below him, none daring to look Wei Changgeng in the eye.

In the days that the news spread throughout the Divine Dynasty, the Capital was packed with people.

All members of the Zhao Clan remaining in the Capital, regardless of age or gender, were dragged out of their residences by the imperial guards and beheaded Meridian Gate if Wei Changgeng deemed them "potential threats to the new emperor."

Some members of the imperial family fled the Capital overnight, and Wei Changgeng's pursuers followed them all the way. The prefectures and counties along the way dared not stop them, but only watched from a distance.

In just half a month, dozens of members of the Zhao Clan were killed. But those princes and nobles who were enfeoffed in the provinces and held military power...

None of them were touched. Wei Changgeng didn't dare to make a move. He killed the imperial family members in the Capital to establish his authority, but he dared not touch those vassal kings who held military power in the provinces.

Because he knew that taking action against them would be tantamount to forcing them to rebel.

Chen Du closed the official gazette and handed it to the young jailer beside him.

The young man took it, glanced at it, his face turned ashen, and his lips trembled as he couldn't utter a word.

Chen Du leaned against the stone wall, gazing at the flickering oil lamp deep in the corridor.

With the old emperor dead, Wei Changgeng seized power, and dozens of imperial relatives were beheaded in the Capital, but none of the vassal kings outside died.

This Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty may appear to have undergone a change of regime, but the undercurrents beneath the surface are even more turbulent than before.

He slowly exhaled, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Let it be chaotic, the more chaotic the better.

In the following days, the atmosphere in the Divine Prison was also somewhat affected.

The young prison guards were no longer as lazy as usual when they patrolled, and they became more talkative when they ate together.

Chen Du sat in the corner, holding a bowl, listening to their chatter about what was happening outside.

A round-faced jailer slammed his chopsticks on the table and said in a low voice, "Have you heard? There's been a killing spree in the Capital. Minister of Rites, Mr. Zhou, the one who always walks with his head held high, was dragged out of his house by Wei Changgeng's men and beheaded Meridian Gate."

He didn't spare his entire family, even his newborn grandson; they were all dragged to the Caishikou and beheaded. His entire extended family, nine generations, were wiped out.

A tall, thin man next to him chimed in, "Minister Zhou was relatively lucky; at least he died a quick death. Minister Sun, the Vice Minister of Works, was reportedly taken to Wei Changgeng's privately set-up torture chamber and interrogated for three days and three nights."

He was dragged out, his body covered in sores. The charge was "possessing forbidden books with malicious intent," but the book he hid was just an ordinary medical book.

His wife went to collect the body at the entrance of the punishment hall, but was kicked away by Wei Changgeng's men, who wouldn't even let her collect the body.

"And there's also Chen Xiuzhuan from the Hanlin Academy." Another young jailer leaned over, his voice even lower, "Chen Xiuzhuan is an old minister from the previous emperor's reign, over three hundred and seventy years old. He has long since stopped concerning himself with politics and now spends his time at home tending to his flowers and plants. He's considered the new emperor's teacher because he taught Zhao Huan for a few days back then."

Wei Changgeng suspected that Chen might be getting too close to the new emperor, so he issued an order that Chen Xiuzhuan's entire family be taken outside the city and executed. The old man cried out his innocence before he died, saying that he had never done anything wrong in his life.

There was a moment of silence on the table.

The round-faced jailer sighed, shoveled the last mouthful of rice into his mouth, chewed twice, and then said, "So, those government offices outside may look glamorous, but when things really go wrong, they die faster than anyone else. Minister Zhou was prestigious for half his life, but in the end, no one even came to collect his body. Vice Minister Sun's house was confiscated, and his wife, children, and elderly parents were all sold into slavery. Even someone as unassuming as Compiler Chen couldn't escape the knife."

The tall, thin man nodded and tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks. "Our Divine Prison is much better. This place is gloomy and damp, and we're surrounded by man-eating demons every day. When we patrol, we have to walk with our heads on the line."

Ultimately, we are people of the Divine Prison. The Divine Prison doesn't get involved in the messy affairs of the imperial court. Who rules the world and who becomes emperor has nothing to do with us. No matter how ruthless Wei Changgeng is, he can't reach into the Divine Prison. The rules here are even older than those of the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty."

He paused, then added, "Besides, the benefits are good. The salary is paid on time every month, and there are extra bonuses during holidays. Those government offices outside can collapse or be raided at will... but here, everything is peaceful and stable. Even if the sky falls, it won't hit us on the head."

Several young prison guards chimed in.

Someone mentioned a relative who worked in a government office. Recently, because his superior committed a crime, the entire office was shut down, and the relative was implicated and his whereabouts are still unknown.

Someone mentioned a silk shop in the east of the city. It used to be doing very well, but because it had supplied a few bolts of fabric to an official who had been executed, the shop was sealed off and the shopkeeper was imprisoned.

The more I talked about it, the more I realized that although the Divine Prison was a place of suffering, it was a rare haven of peace in this chaotic world.

Chen Du held his bowl, not joining their discussion, but simply listening quietly.

He finished the last bite of rice in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, and got up to walk deeper into the corridor.

He couldn't save those outside whose entire families had been exterminated.

He was just an "old jailer," in charge of the first few levels of the Divine Prison. It was already quite an achievement for him to keep a close watch on his own level.

But he heard about those lives, that blood, and remembered it all.

The colossal Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty, rotten to the core, is crumbling layer by layer.

Wei Changgeng kills loyal ministers today, members of the imperial family tomorrow, and what about the Houtian? When he has no one left to kill, he will kill the vassal kings.

The feudal lords would not sit idly by and wait for their doom.

That will be the time of true chaos in the world. He pushed open the door and entered the stone house.

The room was dark, with only a sliver of light seeping in through the cracks in the window.

He sat down, closed his eyes, and continued to comprehend the Calamity Light Law.

He couldn't control what happened outside. But

With each new law he comprehended, he gained more confidence in this Divine Prison.

Only when things truly descend into chaos will he have the right to make a choice.