First Entry into the Gate of Purgatory

Standing outside the Gate of Purgatory, Gu Ding finally understood why this prison was called the Gate of Purgatory.

The entrance to this prison is a gate suspended in the void, the size of an ordinary star, entirely black, giving it a strange sense of weight.

The gate is covered with strange patterns, and each pattern seems to have a living creature flowing automatically on the gate.

In the very center of the gate, there is a carved eye, which is closed and gives the impression that it may open at any moment.

The Sea Emperor had long since transformed into a single hair and lay dormant. Normally, he would have jumped out to explain his findings on the gate to Gu Ding, but now he remained silent.

Gu Ding's heart sank slightly. "It seems this gate is the entrance to the Gate of Purgatory. Behind it lies an Independent World. If that's the case, escaping will be incredibly difficult..."

Oliver and Jiani stood on either side of Gu Ding.

"What are we waiting for?" Gu Ding couldn't help but ask when he saw that the two of them stopped flying forward after being far apart.

"You really are an impatient person. Ordinary Order Keeper don't have the authority to open the Gate of Purgatory, let alone the two of us who are just prospective members of the Order Keeper. In the entire Universe Sea, only the warden of the Federal Government and the three Order Keeper Leader have the authority to open the Gate of Purgatory. Not even the two deputy wardens can do so."

Oliver said, glancing at Gu Ding with a teasing tone, before continuing.

"So, if you want to escape, there are only two ways: one is to kidnap the warden, and the other is to kidnap the three Order Keeper Leader. There is no third way. However, the warden is said to be a true god of the Seventh Sequence, and there are also rumors that he has entered the Eighth Sequence. As for the three Order Keeper Leader, they are said to be stronger than the warden's teacher."

"Oliver, you're mistaken. There's actually another way," Jiani suddenly interjected after hearing Oliver's words. "The warden is a woman, and Gu Ding, you're a man. If you could conquer our beautiful warden..."

"Jiani, are you looking for death?" A woman's sharp shout suddenly came.

Only then did Gu Ding see that the tightly closed eyeball above the Gate of Purgatory had opened, and that eyeball looked exactly like the eye of an ancient behemoth.

A woman clad in golden armor slowly floated out of the eyeballs.

"Lady Belinda..." Oliver and Jiani bowed and greeted the woman as soon as they saw her.

"Don't let me hear those words again, or I won't let you off easily." The golden-armored woman named Belinda appeared directly in front of the three of them, looking at Jiani with a stern tone.

"This woman must be a regular member of the Order Keeper," Gu Ding thought to himself, while silently observing her. She was clad in golden armor, unlike the armor worn by Oliver and Jiani; it resembled a form-fitting garment, perfectly accentuating her figure. However, the helmet completely obscured her face, Gu Ding could only see that her hair was golden.

"Yes," Jiani said, barely daring to breathe, clearly somewhat afraid of the other party.

Belinda then turned her head, her gaze falling on Gu Ding, and looked him up and down. Only then did she ask, "You're Gu Ding?"

"That's right." Gu Ding could vaguely sense the other person's power; that aura was like a boundless universe, making him feel as insignificant as a speck of dust. He knew. This woman before him was a genuine True God, and this was the first time he had come into such close contact with a True God whose aura was completely undisguised. But for some reason, even though the other person's aura was terrifyingly powerful, Gu Ding didn't feel much pressure.

"He was clamoring to escape from the Gate of Purgatory in three years. I thought he was some kind of amazing guy, but he's just a little kid." Belinda's tone was tinged with sarcasm. She hadn't seen the video of Gu Ding's disbandment announcement, and she hadn't paid much attention to Gu Ding's information before. She had only heard people say that Gu Ding was clamoring to escape from prison within three years. Now that she had finally seen him in person, she couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Gu Ding didn't say anything in rebuttal. In any case, the other party wouldn't believe that he could do it, so there was no need to waste his breath.

"Alright, the warden brought me out to pick you up. But before that, there's a routine." Belinda said, her figure disappearing instantly, reappearing hundreds of meters away in the next instant.

Oliver and Jiani, who were standing next to Gu Ding, also disappeared almost simultaneously, standing hundreds of meters away.

Gu Ding was somewhat surprised when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye: the open eyeball on the black door had actually moved...

That eyeball, as if it were alive, scanned left and right before finally settling on him.

Seeing this, Gu Ding felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then, a Black Radiance shot out from his eyeball, enveloping Gu Ding completely.

"Huh, why do you have Prometheus's aura on you? What's your relationship with that old drunkard? You wouldn't happen to be his illegitimate son, would you?" An old and powerful thought suddenly entered Gu Ding's mind.

"Who's speaking?" Gu Ding shouted quickly, another question also arising in his mind, "Who is Prometheus?"

"You don't know Prometheus?" The thought seemed to directly see through Gu Ding's thoughts, constructing the image of a man in Gu Ding's mind. The man was tall, with brown curly hair and deep blue eyes like the sea. "This is the guy. Don't you recognize him?"

"This is my Old Dad when he was young..." Gu Ding thought to himself as he saw the man, "He's only without the stubble, his clothes aren't so sloppy, and he looks much more energetic..."

"You really are his illegitimate son!" The aged thought seemed quite shocked.

"Actually, no, I'm just his adopted child," Gu Ding explained when he realized the other party had misunderstood.

"Adopted? How could that be? That guy hates kids." The other person seemed unconvinced.

"It's true, he said he picked me up from a trash can," Gu Ding continued to explain.

"That guy's storytelling ability is as terrible as ever. Where is he now?"

"He left after my fifteenth birthday, and I don't know where he went." Gu Ding also felt a little nostalgic for his shameless Old Dad.

"So, you've lived with him for fifteen years. You must be his biological son, because as far as I know, that drunkard would run away in front of a child in less than a minute. For him to protect you for fifteen years, you can't possibly be his biological son. However, I'm a little curious, besides that woman, what other woman in the world could move his heart... What about your mother? Has he revealed anything about her?" The aged thought began to gossip.

"Never..." These words made Gu Ding doubt whether the Old Dad who had raised him for fifteen years was really his biological father. His fifteen years of interaction had taught him that the man truly disliked children.

"Okay. I understand. For Prometheus's sake, I won't drag that little guy disguised as hair out. Be careful when you use the resources in the Storage Space, and don't let others see you. I'll just confiscate the Smart Watch on your wrist that doesn't have many items, the set of protective gear and gloves you're wearing, it's standard practice. Anyway, it won't affect you much."

"Also, enter the Gate of Purgatory. Everyone's forbidden supernatural powers must be sealed, including yours. I will seal them away. That's all I have to say. Don't tell anyone about our conversation." Only then did that thought leave Gu Ding's Soul Space, and the Black Radiance that had been shining on Gu Ding gradually faded away.

A voice suddenly rang out from the void. "One hundred years imprisonment."

Gu Ding was stunned. The voice he had just heard was the same one he had spoken to earlier. He also realized that his Smart Watch had disappeared, and the forbidden supernatural power within him had been sealed. Even the weakening chains that had been generated were now unusable.

"They only sentenced me to one hundred years? I'm really lucky," Belinda muttered to herself.

"Who was speaking just now?" Gu Ding still hadn't figured out the identity of the person he had just spoken to.

"It is the Gate of Purgatory."

Belinda then explained, "The Gate of Purgatory automatically determine the prisoner's imprisonment time. One hundred years is the shortest possible time, and very few people are imprisoned for one hundred years."

"In addition to determining the length of imprisonment, the Gate of Purgatory will also seal away the forbidden abilities of each prisoner and confiscate all their storage equipment, weapons, and armor. However, the confiscated equipment will be returned to you in its entirety once you have served your sentence. You can rest assured about that."

"Once you enter the Gate of Purgatory, all cultivation resources must be obtained from Gate of Purgatory. We will provide you with temporary Storage Space. However, battles are frequent within the Gate of Purgatory, so use the resources as soon as you get them. Otherwise, they will be stolen."

"The Gate of Purgatory can actually speak..." Gu Ding was shocked not only by this, but also by the fact that when the other party communicated with him, it seemed to have a completely human consciousness. Gu Ding could even feel from the other party's tone that it had emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow and happiness, just like humans.

"What's so strange about that? This Gate of Purgatory is itself a weapon of the celestial level. All celestial weapons have a simple self-awareness, which is completely different from the weak and disordered consciousness of true gods and spirits." Belinda's explanation only made Gu Ding feel more that the Gate of Purgatory was not so simple.

"Having said all that, there's no need to waste any more time. Let's go inside!"

After Belinda finished speaking, she turned around and flew directly towards the eyeball at the Gate of Purgatory. Gu Ding followed, and Oliver and Jiani followed not far behind him, seemingly afraid that he would escape.

The four of them quickly penetrated a thin membrane and entered the eyeball.

In the void, the eyeball on the Gate of Purgatory closed automatically.

Gu Ding then realized that behind his eyeballs was another world.

Just as Gu Ding stepped inside, deep within the Gate of Purgatory, in a dark place where not even a ray of light could penetrate, a figure bound by countless chains suddenly awoke. It was a man, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

Those eyes pierced through countless layers of void restrictions, and Gu Ding's image was clearly reflected in them. The man suddenly let out two dry laughs, "Hehe..."

That dry laugh shook all spatial dimensions of the entire Gate of Purgatory. The ground collapsed, and even the sky was torn apart. Countless turbulent currents were generated in space, and the whole world was in chaos.

Upon hearing that burst of laughter, Gu Ding felt as if his heart was about to explode and his blood and qi were about to burst from his body, and he immediately fainted...

Oliver and Jiani held on a little longer, watching helplessly as the other prisoners in the Gate of Purgatory fell before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.

Even Belinda, who was truly Order Keeper, couldn't help but cough up blood, her heart filled with horror, "That man has woken up..." (To be continued...)