The Black Iron Gate of the Heavenly Prison was pushed open from within.
Wumian lay behind the threshold, his blank face turning slightly toward Fang Mo, as though asking whether he wanted to go together.
Fang Mo lowered his head and glanced at him.
"You stay and guard the gate."
Wumian shrank back a little and obediently retreated into the shadows behind the gate.
Fang Mo crossed the threshold and stepped onto the stone-paved road outside the camp gate.
The beast horns and Rusty Armor Helmet above the camp gate spun in the night wind, their shadows sweeping past Fang Mo's feet.
The skyline toward the Imperial Palace was no longer merely the red of reflected firelight.
The firelight remained, but above it lay a thin layer of grayish gold, like a gauze curtain draped over that area, separating the Imperial Palace from the rest of the Divine Capital into two worlds.
"Nian Nu'er, what is that grayish-gold stuff?"
"The Consciousness Domain of the Spiritual Terrace Burial Cosmos Split Spirit. It can perceive and interfere with the mental activity of every living being in any area covered by that grayish gold."
Fang Mo raised a hand to shield his eyes, and the Netherworld Ghost Eye revolved within them.
He saw the boundary of that grayish-gold curtain clearly. It roughly covered the area between the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Meridian Gate and was expanding outward at an extremely slow pace.
"How much ground does it cover?"
"Currently, an area roughly three hundred zhang across, but it's still spreading. At this rate, it will cover the entire inner city of the Imperial City in an hour."
"What about reaching the Heavenly Prison?"
"Not for a while. At least four hours, and with the Prison Suppressor Patterns holding down the Heavenly