Still Water Mirror

BOOM!

In his sea of consciousness, it felt as if an iceberg had collapsed.

An extreme chill instantly swept through his entire body, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

But this chill wasn't a harmful frost; rather, it was a clarity that penetrated to the very core of his being.

The trace of the Cold-Blooded talent that had previously existed within him began to undergo a dramatic transformation with the addition of this new power.

It felt like a murky, stagnant pool suddenly infused with clear, sweet spring water, impurities settling, leaving the surface undisturbed.

As if by inspiration, the talent's name surfaced in Fang Mo's mind: Still Water Mirror!!!

Fang Mo's eyes snapped open.

The world had changed.

The previously dim and noisy Prison Suppressing Realm appeared clearer than ever before in his eyes.

He could see the trajectory of every dust particle floating in the air;

Three feet away.

Gu Yichuan raised the execution whip in his hand.

The tip, covered in barbs, cut through the air, the resulting airflow stirring a barely visible speck of dust.

The dust tumbled, its trajectory as clear as a painting.

Fang Mo could even discern the extremely subtle twitch of Gu Yichuan's right masseter muscle just before he exerted force.

The next second.

"Crack!"

The whip fell.

The landing point, the force, the angle – all precisely matched the scene Fang Mo had visualized in his mind.

"This is Still Water Mirror?"

Fang Mo raised his hand, looking at the lines on his palm.

"Selling fear, seeing into people's hearts."

"This isn't an evolution of Cold-Blooded; this is basically having the ultimate map hack and X-ray hack."

A slight smile curved Fang Mo's lips, and the unsettling coldness in his eyes quickly vanished, returning to his usual nonchalant demeanor.

"Not bad, this was worth it."

His gaze shifted.

He looked towards the two wisps of nearly dissipated souls in the corner.

Yuantong, Yuanji.

"Since you contributed such a good talent, let's not waste it."

"Let's make use of these scraps."

As his will descended, the souls of Yuantong and Yuanji, which had been on the verge of scattering, solidified once more.

Their original dark red monk robes disappeared, replaced by pitch-black jailer uniforms.

However, their eyes were even more vacant than Gu Yichuan's, clearly dazed from the thousand lashes they had just received.

"Gu Yichuan!" Fang Mo called out.

"Your subordinate is here!" Gu Yichuan immediately put down the whip in his hand and trotted over.

"These two big oafs are yours now."

Fang Mo pointed at Yuantong and Yuanji.

"Your old subordinates haven't finished dealing with them yet; don't keep them waiting."

"Yes! Thank you for your trust, Sir!" Gu Yichuan was overjoyed.

With these two free enforcers, he would have more time to focus on more technical work (flattery).

"Er Gou, Yuantong, Yuanji."

Fang Mo named three more people.

"Your subordinates are here!"

Three voices responded simultaneously.

Fang Mo pointed at the old monk Yuanjue, who was still hanging on the torture rack, occasionally twitching.

"You three, go and give this master a good welcome."

"Remember, two thousand lashes, not a single one less."

"Beat him soundly!"

Fang Mo looked up at the blood-red sky, a smile as brilliant as it was cruel on his face.

"The day is still young, and this Prison Warden has plenty of time to play with you!"

As Fang Mo gave the order, that ear-grating percussion music once again echoed through the Prison Suppressing Realm.

For a time, whip shadows crisscrossed the Prison Suppressing Realm, and screams rose and fell in succession, a scene of bustling construction.

Gu Yichuan was also not idle.

He hadn't finished administering his thousand lashes yet.

Especially towards his former subordinates, he put extra effort into his beatings.

"Wang Wu, Wang Wu, weren't you good at sucking up when you were alive? Why are you so quiet now that you're here?"

"Crack!"

"Zhao Liu! You embezzled the most from that dirty money back then, aren't you going to cough it up now?"

"Crack!"

Screams rose and fell in succession.

Fang Mo sat on his throne, watching this farce, but his heart remained undisturbed.

He didn't even expect these low-level Qi and Blood Realm thugs to drop anything good.

As long as they could provide some Qi and Blood points to help him consolidate his Bone Forging Realm cultivation, it wouldn't be a wasted effort.

Finally.

Gu Yichuan was finished.

That unfortunate soul named Wang Wu, after receiving the last lash, his soul body directly shattered.

Fang Mo subconsciously looked at the Record of Punishing Crimes in his hand, waiting for the reward notification.

However.

There was none.

Wang Wu's soul fragments were not recorded in the pages, nor did they transform into jailers.

That mass of scattered Yin energy did not disappear. Instead, it gathered together, forming a thumb-sized cluster of ink-black crystal dust that slowly floated towards Fang Mo.

Fang Mo reached out.

The mass of black mist obediently swirled around his fingertip, emitting a pure soul energy fluctuation.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo was somewhat surprised.

And the moment this mass of black mist appeared, the scene below underwent a subtle change.

Wang Ergou, who was sweating profusely, Gu Yichuan with a fawning expression, and even Liu Mazi, who was hiding in the corner, all stopped what they were doing in unison.

They raised their heads and stared intently at the mass of black mist on Fang Mo's fingertip.

Their gazes.

Were like those of wild dogs starved for three days seeing a piece of fatty meat glistening with oil.

Filled with naked desire and greed, and a tremor originating from instinct.