The so-called special imprint is actually just a specific physical action repeated ten times.
After waiting for a while, Lin Hui saw in his mind the image of Zhuo Xinghai rapidly forming hand seals.
He was very fast, but he could easily remember it after just one glance.
Looking at the Black Mist in front of me.
Following Zhuo Xinghai's gestures, I repeated the movements ten times in sequence.
Without a sound or a sound.
Suddenly, a square black wooden door slowly appeared in the Black Mist ahead.
It was already shrouded in Black Mist, and the door itself was also black, covered with deep scratches, chips, and holes, making it even harder to spot. Lin Hui stepped forward, gently reached out, and placed his palm on the surface of the wooden door.
"Testing permit approved."
A sharp, eerie child's voice suddenly rang out.
"Visits are permitted in the Thousand Nether Absolute Prison No. 4. Each visit lasts half an hour, starting from the moment of contact. After the visit, one visit opportunity will be forcibly consumed," the voice announced quickly.
Crack!
The door opened automatically inwards.
A withered, black hand gripped the edge of the door frame, with only the front half of the hand visible, and slowly pulled the wooden door open.
But once opened, the back reveals a unique tunnel emitting a soft yellow glow.
Lin Hui walked into the tunnel. Looking back, he found nothing behind the door.
There was no hand, no one to open the door, and even the old, black hand that had just been seen was nowhere to be found.
"This place... actually has individuals who can disappear right under my nose..." Lin Hui felt a chill run down his spine and secretly raised his vigilance to a higher level.
As you enter the passage, soft light naturally seeps in from Four Faces through the stone walls, as if the light is being transmitted from the Four Faces walls rather than from a single source.
After walking along the passage for several minutes, the light gradually dimmed ahead.
On both sides of the passage, empty, recessed cells began to appear on the stone walls.
Lin Hui didn't stop, but only gave it a cursory observation.
Inside these empty cells, beds, tables, and chairs remain, clearly indicating that things were once imprisoned here. But now they're gone.
Rows of empty prison cells were constantly being left behind him.
After walking for about five more minutes, a faint sound finally came from ahead.
It looked like some kind of animal, a dog-like creature, panting heavily and occasionally gnawing at something.
Lin Hui paused, then quickened his pace, unleashing his movement technique.
Before long, a living creature finally appeared in a dark cell on the left side ahead.
The cell was square, with clean, smooth gray floor tiles. A gray shirt and trousers hung on the wall, and black leather boots were neatly arranged below.
In front of the clothing, following Lin Hui's gaze, a dark gray figure could be seen standing silently and motionless. The soft yellow light lost its illuminating effect here; as the light approached the figure, it automatically curved and shone on other areas. Thus, a strange scene was left in the figure's place.
The shadow beneath his feet was twisted and distorted as if maliciously contorted, completely devoid of any human form.
Seemingly hearing Lin Hui's undisguised footsteps, the man trembled slightly, turned around, and looked towards the prison door.
In the darkness, his face was no longer visible.
" Indoma?" Lin Hui walked to the front of the cell and asked in a deep voice.
"I am Indoma, who are you? I have no memory of you." The black humanoid replied softly, its voice calm and peaceful, with a feather-like floating quality. It was very pleasant to hear, but it also had a hypnotic effect, giving one the illusion of drowsiness just by hearing its voice.
"I am Lin, sent by your friend Zhuo Xinghai. You can call me Mr. Lin," Lin Hui said calmly.
" Zhuo Xinghai... it's him... he still remembers me. It's been a hundred years since the last time I visited him in prison... I thought he had forgotten me," Indoma said softly.
"You look pretty good. Not as bad as he said?" Lin Hui looked around the cell; it was just like a regular prison cell, with nothing unusual about it.
"That's because it's not yet time for the ghosts' feast..." Indoma smiled bitterly. "In about an hour, the first batch of ghosts will arrive... and tear my soul apart."
" Zhuo Xinghai recommended you to me, saying that you are kind-hearted and that everything you did was forced upon you by the external forces of the Stone Swallow Clan Holy Court. Now it seems I understand a little better." Lin Hui finally understood why Zhuo had such confidence in Indoma.
Indoma his gentle and weak appearance, and his kind yet firm tone of voice, even a few words can paint a picture of a gentle yet strong-willed young man.
"A recommendation?" Indoma's voice rose slightly. "Mr. Lin, is there anything you need to give me?"
"I heard that in order to cultivate, you recklessly devoured the essence of your own kind's power, killing countless people. Now you're imprisoned. Do you regret it?" Lin Hui didn't follow up on his words but changed the subject and asked directly.
"Is this some kind of test?" Indoma laughed.
"Just consider it that way." Lin Hui nodded.
"Then my answer is, no regrets." Indoma smiled softly. "First of all, although I absorbed and devoured the essence of my own kind, I always left them a way out, a chance to live. But in every follow-up investigation, those whose lives I spared died inexplicably."
He paused, then continued.
"So one time, I deliberately kept a watchful eye on things, and after leaving, I circled back to the vicinity to check the situation. And then..."
What was the result?
"As it turned out... I discovered that it was the Experimental Holy Court police, who arrived immediately after receiving the report, who went straight for the kill... They took the victim's valuables, resources, and cultivation techniques, and framed me, saying that my team and I were thieves, even labeling us a thief gang..." Indoma smiled bitterly. "I later learned that it wasn't just that; many previously unsolved cold cases and major cases were all pinned on me, just to deal with a top-down investigation by certain high-ranking figures. I just became the scapegoat for no reason."
"So you're just saying you killed someone?" Lin Hui asked directly.
"I've only killed a few thousand people in total, and absorbed the essence of a few hundred thousand. But some of their cases involved the deaths and injuries of millions of people... I didn't even know about any of that!" Indoma sighed.
Good heavens, killing and devouring have distorted his values.
Lin Hui understood. Even he, despite having killed more people, hadn't experienced such a distortion of his own self-worth. "Regardless, I have a secret technique here. Mastering it will greatly enhance your physical strength and cultivation comprehension. However, the condition for acquiring it is that you must truly join my sect and become a member. From then on, you will be bound by its rules. Are you willing to try?"
Lin Hui asked directly.
The rules of both the Nine Heavens Gate and Clear Jade Mountain are very simple, mainly prohibiting infighting and betrayal of one's master and ancestors. Other rules are not taken seriously. "Secret technique... In other words, Brother Zhuo and you, Mr. Lin, both believe that this secret technique can benefit my current situation, and greatly so... that's why..." Indoma instantly realized.
"Are you willing? Let me preface this by saying that my sect doesn't shy away from killing; its stance is relatively neutral. Even if you are a truly heinous criminal, the sect rules don't care, and they might even be quite pleased. In essence, our sect is actually a rather evil force..." Lin Hui said calmly. "Excuse me, as I said, I'm not a bad person. I'm just forced into this by circumstances, and it doesn't mean I like it!" Indoma said solemnly. "If your sect has such a malicious stance, then I'd rather not."
"Are you sure?" Lin Hui countered. "You know, if you truly master this secret technique, you might be able to regain your strength and escape!" "I'm sure." Indoma nodded.
Lin Hui turned and left.
With a flash, he disappeared outside the prison gate.
But Indoma remained standing motionless in the cell.
Several minutes later.
He then slightly turned his head to look at another area outside the cell.
Why did you come back?
Lin Hui's hidden figure slowly emerged, his expression somewhat solemn.
He had just used the Heart Source Demon Emperor's Crown to conceal his entire body, yet even so, the other party still saw through it.
He waited deliberately for a while, but Indoma's face remained turned in his direction.
Having confirmed that the other party had truly discovered him, Lin Hui slowly revealed himself.
"Impressive!" He clapped lightly. "Sorry, I was just joking, only testing your stance on good and evil."
"It's too hasty; such a test cannot detect true nature," Indoma said.
"You're right. In essence, whether I'm good or bad to you doesn't matter. What truly matters for passing the sect's assessment is the secret technique itself." Lin Hui didn't say anything more and directly stated that the hand seal technique could only be mastered by truly accepting it from the depths of one's heart.
"Hypnotizing yourself is ineffective?" Indoma asked.
"It's useful temporarily, but it will become ineffective in the moment of clarity. You'll have to come back to me to be re-granted the seal next time," Lin Hui replied. "Then, Mr. Lin, what are you after? Or rather, what are you all after?" Indoma's distrust was clearly evident. "We... simply hope to promote and develop our sect, so the more powerful members the better. And once you join us, when the sect faces danger, to prevent the seals you've mastered from becoming ineffective, you Sect Master come to help," Lin Hui gave a very straightforward reason. This left Indoma speechless.
Both of them fell silent for a moment.
In reality, neither Lin Hui nor Indoma believed the other's claims at all.
Indoma described himself as an innocent and pure person, and acted so peacefully.
Even a fool could understand that the more gentle and mild-mannered a hardened criminal who has been imprisoned and tortured for so many years appears on the surface, the more repressed and twisted he is inside.
The more distorted he becomes, the more afraid he is of his true nature being exposed, so he tries hard to control his self-expression.
Thus, Indoma appeared in this state, his every move and word perfectly coordinated and flawless, as if he were truly someone forced into this situation.
But the more this was the case, the clearer Lin Hui became about the immense, tsunami-like anger that the other party was suppressing within.
No, for such powerful beings, the ocean is nothing more than a small puddle they can easily destroy. It should be a vast rage as immense as the starry sea. On the other side, Lin Hui, viewed from Indoma's perspective, also appears extremely strange.