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Black Jail of the Demon Suppression Division.

Among those captured and brought into the Demon Suppression Division, this place was as terrifying as hell itself.

Following a corridor paved entirely with black stone, one could see dark, damp cells lined up on both sides.

The corners were filled with all manner of torture instruments. One glance alone was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Through the bars forged from special materials, one could see figures lying within, already thin as skin stretched over bones. Most of them had lifeless eyes, like walking corpses.

In one of the cells at the deepest part of the prison.

Ling Yun sat cross-legged in the corner, his expression calm.

Zhang Mu lay nearby with vacant eyes, looking like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.

He kept muttering under his breath, "It's over, it's over. This time, we're completely finished..."

"Shut your damn beak!"

Ling Yun had been driven mad by him as well. After snapping at him, he closed his eyes and sank into thought.

From beginning to end, there had been something off about this whole matter.

Though it was only a guess, he vaguely felt that the Demon Suppression Division's enormous reaction had something to do with the man named Situ Ying whom he had killed last night.

And strangely enough, after those Demon Suppression Envoys brought them here, several hours had passed without any further news, as though they had completely forgotten about them.

"This is simply a waste of time." Ling Yun shook his head, feeling somewhat annoyed.

His hand brushed against the icy wall behind him. Just as he was considering whether to simply break out of prison, a cold voice suddenly rang out beside him.

"By order of my superior, you two may leave now."

A stone-faced Demon Suppression Envoy suddenly appeared at the entrance, casually opened the cell door, and gestured for them to leave.

"That's it?"

Ling Yun and Zhang Mu exchanged a glance, unable to keep up with these people's way of thinking.

They had made such a grand display of capturing them, locked them up for a while without asking a single question, and were now releasing them?

But no matter what, being able to leave was naturally for the best.

The two walked out one after the other without the slightest hesitation.

No one stopped them along the way. Even after they had left the gates of Black Jail and warm sunlight shone on their faces once more, they still found it hard to believe that they had truly gotten out just like that.

They said Black Jail of the Demon Suppression Division was a living hell, and that once one entered, one could forget about coming out whole.

But now that they saw it, it did not seem all that terrifying.

"Brother Ling, do you think there's something wrong with those guys here?" Zhang Mu cautiously looked around, then pointed at his own head.

Ling Yun ignored him and frowned in thought.

He did not believe the people of the Demon Suppression Division were bored enough to do something like this. Something he had not anticipated must have happened in the middle of it all.

And now that he thought about it, though it had been faint, he had caught a trace of blood on that Demon Suppression Envoy just now. It had definitely been stained there not long ago!

Ling Yun glanced back at the tranquil Demon Suppression Division, narrowing his eyes slightly before turning and leaving without hesitation.

He could not be bothered to meddle in whatever had happened inside the Demon Suppression Division.

Whether there was some scheme or conspiracy at work, as long as he continued growing stronger, all of it would be nothing more than earthen chickens and pottery dogs.

"Brother Ling... Lord Ling, wait for me!"

Watching Ling Yun's departing back, Zhang Mu scratched his head and hurried after him.

As the two vanished around the street corner, the entrance to the Demon Suppression Division returned to silence once more.

Demon Suppression Division, Imperial Pinnacle Tower.

This was the innermost core of the Demon Suppression Division. Some low-ranking Demon Suppression Envoys were not even qualified to approach it.

The building took the ultimate number, with a total of nine floors.

It had a four-sided roof and layered upturned eaves, while each floor bore a different style of carving. It looked grand and majestic.

But Imperial Pinnacle Tower seemed somewhat different today. Several Demon Suppression Envoys stood around the building, their hands tightly gripping the sabers at their waists, while an aura of chilling slaughter drifted through the air.

And on the ninth floor at the very top.

A simple tea room came into view. The surrounding walls displayed calligraphy and paintings by unknown masters, while a tea table lay across the center of the room.

A middle-aged man dressed in a Confucian robe sat within, wholly focused on brewing a pot of steaming tea before him.

Across from him stood several powerful Demon Suppression Envoys, all watching the middle-aged man with respect.

"Grand Envoy, the chief criminal Situ Mu has been captured. Please pass judgment."

As the words fell, a dispirited man was immediately dragged in and forced to his knees before the tea table.

Though most of his garments had been torn to ruin, one could barely make out that he, too, was a Demon Suppression Envoy!

No one knew what had happened to him, but not only had all four of his limbs been bent at bizarre angles, there were also several wounds across his body that should have been fatal. Fortunately, they had received rudimentary treatment, so he would not immediately die.

He struggled to open his eyelids, which had been pasted shut by filthy blood. When he clearly saw the middle-aged man before him, extreme terror surfaced in his eyes.

Yet even so, he still struggled to rise, his outward ferocity masking inner weakness as he shouted, "Wang Yuan! Do you know what you are doing?!"

"I am a seventh-rank Demon Suppression Envoy, the court-appointed Overseer of Cloud City! You dare treat me like this? Are you trying to rebel?!"

Yet his words only drew cold laughter from the Demon Suppression Envoys behind him.

As for the Confucian-robed middle-aged man whom he had called Wang Yuan, he could not even be bothered to spare him a glance, remaining focused on tending the fire before him.

As though, in his eyes, this small pot of hot tea was more important than anything else.

Very soon, as the fragrance of tea drifted out, Wang Yuan impatiently lifted the teacup and took a light sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Tea truly is a fine thing. It calms the heart and nourishes the spirit. By the way, would Overseer Situ care to try Wang's craftsmanship?"

Before the other man could answer, Wang Yuan slapped his forehead and said in an inscrutable tone, "Oh, I nearly forgot. Our esteemed Overseer is probably not in a convenient position to drink right now. Better not."

Listening to the mockery of the surrounding Demon Suppression Envoys, Situ Mu's face turned ashen with rage despite having fallen so low. He struggled and shouted, "Wang Yuan! I will report everything you have done today to the Imperial Court!"

"Do not think that because the Three Dukes are protecting you from above, you can do whatever you please!"

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, the air throughout the room instantly turned frigid.

Wang Yuan heavily set down his teacup, his gaze as cold as frost. "You still dare mention the Imperial Court before me? Fine. Today, I shall let you die knowing why."

After speaking, he took a stack of documents handed over by his subordinate, casually opened it, glanced at Situ Mu, and slowly read aloud.

"In the 200th year of Great Hui, Qing Li, Eight-Star Demon Subduer of Cloud City, colluded with demons and evil beings, slaughtered the common people... Sentenced to death!"

"In the 200th year of Great Hui, Yang Shengrui, Nine-Star Demon Suppression Envoy of Cloud City, colluded with demons and evil beings, slaughtered the common people... Sentenced to death!"

"In the 200th year of Great Hui, Zhuang Minglang, Nine-Star Demon Suppression Envoy of Cloud City, colluded with demons and evil beings, slaughtered the common people... Sentenced to death!"

With every name Wang Yuan read, a bloody head was thrown from behind and landed before Situ Mu.

For a time, heads rolled across the floor, and a thick stench of blood filled the air.

Looking at those familiar faces filled with unwillingness, Situ Mu's face grew paler and paler. At last, he could no longer hold himself up and collapsed onto the ground.

He knew that this time, he was truly finished.

If Ling Yun had been here, he would have recognized at a glance that the four Demon Suppression Envoys who had captured and thrown him into Black Jail were all among them!

But Wang Yuan showed no intention of stopping. As name after name was read out, they soon reached the final one.

"In the 200th year of Great Hui, Situ Mu, Overseer of Cloud City, disregarded the laws of the Imperial Court, colluded with demons and evil beings, cultivated forbidden arts, and harmed his colleagues... Sentenced to Bone-Eating Worm Torture!"

"No, you can't do this to me!!!"

Upon hearing his final fate, Situ Mu's eyes filled with despair and terror. He suddenly raised his right palm and viciously slapped it toward his own forehead.

"Hehe, you want to die? How could there be such a cheap thing!"

But the Demon Suppression Envoy beside him had long been prepared. He stepped forward and heavily stomped on Situ Mu's spine. Amid a string of bone-cracking sounds that made one's teeth ache, his bones and sinews were shattered in an instant.

Situ Mu's entire body convulsed, then he collapsed onto the ground like a lump of rotten flesh. Apart from his eyeballs, which could still move, he had completely become a living corpse.

But it was not over yet. Soon, someone stepped forward and fed a jet-black pill into his mouth.

This was a pill containing bone-eating worms. Over the coming days, the worms would slowly crawl out of the pill, then begin wildly multiplying within his body and devouring his flesh and blood.

During this time, the victim would watch helplessly as his own body was eaten away bit by bit!

If handled properly, the entire process could even last for a full year!

Amid Situ Mu's despairing gaze, someone soon carried him away.

After calm returned to the room, the fury on Wang Yuan's face gradually subsided as well.

"By the way, how are those two little fellows who survived the Deng Family incident?"

After pouring himself another cup of tea, Wang Yuan asked in an indifferent tone.

"Reporting to Grand Envoy, our investigation found that both are merely ordinary martial arts school disciples, and no suspicious points were discovered. They were presumably only made targets of Situ Mu's anger. They have already been released." A stern-faced Demon Suppression Envoy stepped forward and answered with a bow.

Wang Yuan nodded. He had merely asked in passing and did not take it to heart.

"What about the Imperial Court? Those old fellows must be stirring up trouble behind the scenes again, right?"

The stern-faced Demon Suppression Envoy hesitated for a moment before finally saying softly, "Grand Envoy is wise."

"Word has come from the Imperial Court that many officials have jointly submitted memorials. Though the Three Dukes are supporting us for now, they can at most buy us three months."

Wang Yuan's hand pouring tea paused slightly. Then he waved his hand expressionlessly. "Enough. I understand. Go do what you need to do."

The several Demon Suppression Envoys exchanged glances and respectfully withdrew one after another.

After everyone had left, Wang Yuan stared blankly at the tea leaves swirling within his cup. The forcefulness on his face was gone, leaving him looking somewhat lonely.

"Ah... Three months..."

"Does the person in the prophecy truly exist..."

No one answered him. The tea room instantly sank into dead silence.