Heavenly Prison

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Heavenly Prison
Original Name	天狱
Alias(es)	Imperial City's Heavenly Prison; Heavenly Prison
Affiliation	Imperial Court; Ministry of Punishment; Heavenly Prison guard and warden system
Occupation/Role	High-security prison, containment complex, and ancient sealing site
Status	Active; rebuilt and reinforced following the Blood Moon Cult attack
First Appearance	1

Background / History

Historical records state that the Heavenly Prison was built at the beginning of the Great Liang Dynasty, approximately three hundred years before Xu Qian accessed its annals. It began as a prison for ordinary criminals before gradually becoming a detention site for major offenders, rebels, political prisoners, and individuals considered exceptionally dangerous. Its underground prison area was expanded fifty years earlier, though records concerning its “special” inmates were deliberately incomplete. 96

The prison’s true scale extends far below its public cell blocks. Xu Qian detects heavily restricted underground levels containing entities whose auras range from Xiantian Realm to far beyond it; the deepest aura he senses is volcanic, violent, and explosive. 89

The Blood Moon Cult attacked the Heavenly Prison during a blood moon, seeking to reclaim a “Holy Soul.” The assault breached restriction formations and triggered widespread prisoner riots, heavily damaging the upper supervision levels. The core sealing area and its inner Nine Nether Demon Suppression main formation remained intact, preventing the escape of its important prisoners. 185 207

Following the battle, the Imperial Court established the Heavenly Prison Reconstruction and Innovation Committee. The prison was rebuilt with stronger architecture, upgraded containment systems, and an integrated formation network that improved early warning, environmental conditions, and recovery for guards and inmates. 226 228

Layout and Facilities

Area	Known Function / Features
Upper supervision levels	Administrative and supervisory sections; largely destroyed during the Blood Moon Cult assault. 207
Blocks A–D	Prisoner blocks of differing severity. Block C is considered comparatively mild, while Blocks A and B contain major offenders, political dissidents, and traitors. 96
Ice Prison	Holds felons with ice-attribute techniques and evil cultivators requiring a freezing environment for suppression. 62
West Layer	A deep underground prison sector containing high-risk inmates and extensive formation systems. 210
Earth Fire Chamber	A magma-adjacent chamber restrained by formations; its extreme heat and fire malevolence can be used for cultivation and refining. 152
Library	A three-floor archive of historical records, regulations, case files, and cultivation books. First-floor readers may consult non-classified materials but may not remove, copy, or damage them. 96
Fifth Layer	Holds severe offenders, including Demonic Path prisoners. Su Mei is confined in cell A-9, the Mysterious Water Prison. 266
Sixth Layer	A core forbidden zone accessible only to select officials and personnel; contains especially sensitive prisoners and ancient seals. 182 235
Deeper levels	Possibly extend to a ninth layer or beyond. Their contents are taboo even to many senior personnel. 241

Containment Systems

Ancient Formation Network

The Heavenly Prison contains ancient formations embedded in its walls, floors, and ceilings. These formations provide suppression, defense, attack, and purification functions, and are several hundred years old. 183

• Restricts prisoners and isolates internal and external auras. 89
• Converts accumulated fear, resentment, and confinement pressure into a special suppression force. 183
• Includes energy convergence nodes that can strengthen compatible formations. 183
• Uses interlocking formations, reinforced cell doors, and quick-closing gates after reconstruction. 228

Core Seal

The prison’s deepest containment system is protected by the Nine Nether Demon Suppression main formation. It remained operational despite partial damage to the surrounding defenses during the Blood Moon Cult attack. 207

• The sixth layer reportedly seals the remnant soul of an ancient evil cultivator. 182
• Energy fluctuations in the fifth layer and below suggest that the core seal may be linked to the dynasty’s Dragon Qi and national fortune. 285
• A mental message received from the depths warns that “the seal is loosening” and that a great calamity is approaching. 241
• The full identity of what lies in the deepest levels remains unknown. 241

Security Equipment

During the Blood Moon Cult threat, guards received stockpiled anti-evil equipment. 183

• Evil-Breaking Crossbows — True Qi-infused bolts can pierce Xiantian Realm protective True Qi and disrupt evil arts. 183
• Soul-Quelling Bells — Used to deter ghosts and evil spirits. 183
• Evil-Averting Talismans — Resist the erosion of incantations and evil techniques. 183
• Sensing Compasses — Detect nearby energy fluctuations and abnormalities. 183
• Special shackles — Used on high-risk prisoners to restrict True Essence, Spiritual Power, or other forms of cultivation. 266 302 |

Known Inmates

• Yue Qingcang — General of Zhenbei, imprisoned after being falsely accused of treason; held in a Block A heavy cell while severely injured and afflicted with Curse Poison. He was later acquitted and released. 109 138
• Mute Martial Monk — A physically formidable monk with severe meridian injuries; imprisoned after injuring a prince and later released. 45 96
• Su Mei — Blood Moon Cult Saintess, confined in the fifth-layer Mysterious Water Prison under a joint decree of the Ministry of Punishment and Demon Suppression Bureau. 266
• Ge Xuantong — Alchemy master sentenced to life imprisonment for illegally refining the Blood Burning Obstacle Breaking Pill and harming test subjects. 256
• Liu Banban — A mysterious former court eunuch secretly delivered to Block C by Imperial Guards. 252
• Deacon Zhao — Azure Cloud Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator; the first immortal prisoner recorded in the Heavenly Prison, confined in the sixth layer for three months. 302
• Ancient evil cultivator’s remnant soul — A non-human prisoner reportedly sealed in the sixth layer. 182

Major Events

Blood Moon Cult Attack

The Blood Moon Cult launched a large-scale assault under a blood moon, fielding numerous cultists, Xiantian Realm fighters, and Grandmaster-level experts. Internal restriction formations broke amid the attack, allowing prisoners to riot across several blocks. 185

The prison suffered severe casualties and structural damage. Seventy-three guards, 121 city-defense soldiers, and 68 border troops were reported killed; more than 200 cult members died and 19 were captured. 207

Reconstruction and Reform

The postwar committee reviewed the prison’s weaknesses in defense, containment, and early warning. Its formation-repair group developed a linked, multilayered system intended to provide internal and external protection, early warning, and self-sustaining stability. 226

Six months later, the rebuilt prison had reduced malevolent energy, cleaner Spiritual Energy around key areas, fewer patrol hallucinations, and improved recovery conditions for guards and inmates. 228

Political Factionalism

As the succession struggle between the Third Prince and Seventh Prince intensified, the Heavenly Prison received increasing numbers of officials, retainers, strategists, and politically sensitive detainees. The fifth and sixth layers became a “little Imperial Court” of information trading, intimidation, and factional conflict. 259 289

Signs of a Greater Calamity

A prophecy spreading through the Imperial City warns: “Seven Stars Align, the Imperial Star falters, the Heavenly Prison will open, the Netherworld visible.” 247

Later analysis connects abnormal Earth Vein activity, declining Dragon Qi, peripheral formation strain, and ancient sealing records to a potentially weakening seal beneath the prison. 285

Trivia

• The prison’s earliest known purpose was the incarceration of ordinary criminals; its role expanded into the containment of major offenders over centuries. 96
• The Library’s rules explicitly state that unauthorized removal, copying, or damage of documents is punishable by death. 96
• The prison’s ancient formation nodes can draw on accumulated resentment and fear from centuries of confinement as an energy source. 183
• Despite its name and function, the Heavenly Prison also serves as a politically useful site for holding sensitive figures from imperial and immortal factions. 259 302