Meanwhile.
Deep within the Imprisonment Prison.
"We're here." Xueyi led Jiaoqiu and Moze slowly down a dim corridor.
"Here?" Jiaoqiu glanced around.
"I don't see any cells."
Xueyi explained calmly.
"Criminals guilty of the worst atrocities and treason are confined at the bottom of the prison, each in a separate pocket realm."
"Without an order, those realms are rarely opened."
She looked ahead.
"Azure Bird, lead the way. Nether Lamps, light the path."
"Once I light these lamp stands, the way to the bottom of the prison will appear."
Xueyi connected to the mechanical bird and sent it flying toward the unlit soul lamps overhead.
Jiaoqiu waited quietly. Before long, every soul lamp in the air was lit.
A massive bronze pillar descended from above with a thunderous rumble, plunging like a key into the deep pit in the altar ahead.
As the altar turned like a lock, a passage gradually appeared nearby.
"The way is open."
"Once we reach the bottom, do not act rashly."
"Understood."
Following Xueyi down the cold stairway, Jiaoqiu gradually sensed something strange.
Chains crisscrossed the place, and eerie green lights flickered, filling him with unease.
At the end of the passage stood a door shrouded in dark green energy.
"Behind this door lies the pocket realm where the Foxians' great enemy, Hoolay, is imprisoned."
Xueyi had barely finished speaking when an agonized scream rang out from behind the door.
"Aaaargh—!!"
The voice was deep and terrifying. Even from a distance, it made their scalps prickle.
Standing before the door, Xueyi addressed Jiaoqiu and Moze.
"By custom, a Yaoqing Emissary visits the Luofu Xianzhou once every hundred years to confirm that this Abomination remains imprisoned and to check whether he is alive."
"The Ten Lords' Decree sentenced Hoolay to the torment of the Sword Tree