Prison-Subduing Official

The two sides parted ways.

As they descended the stairs, the light on the first floor gradually dimmed, but the Buddhist light emanating from the Hu Mang remained bright. Under the Body-Protecting Buddha Light, Zhou Tong's vision remained unobstructed.

"Brother Hu."

"Um?

"You don't seem to like that Senior Yun?"

I wouldn't say I dislike it.

Then it can't be said that I like them.

The woman was observant, Zhou Tong sensed a subtle sense of unfamiliarity almost the first time she saw Hu Mang and Rogue Person Yun interact.

They were both elderly people, and this sense of unfamiliarity never appeared, at least when Brother Hu was talking to Old Master Chen.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Tong couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Just not on the same path."

"Are Brother Hu and Old Master Chen on the same path?"

"I wouldn't say we're anything special, it's just that we're in similar situations. If I had to compare, that Jingtu Master Jingtu I just met does have a bit of something to do with him."

Are Brother Hu and that fierce monk of the same ilk?

Zhou Tong couldn't understand, but soon, light appeared ahead in the descending passage, and the two quickly arrived at a certain place.

Is this the second or third floor?

Zhou Tong looked around and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Hu, this is the third level of the Evil Cultivator Devil Prison!"

I guessed so.

Hu Mang nodded, his gaze sweeping around the room.

Apart from the outer ring of footholds, what comes into view is a stake array composed of Soul-Locking Chain and Soul-Locking Stake.

Hundreds of "Soul-Locking Stake," like ferocious black teeth, pierced out from the churning crimson sea of fire below. The stakes were as thick as a calf, and their surfaces were densely etched with sealing talismans.

At the top of each Soul-Locking Stake extends several or even a dozen "Soul-Locking Chain." These dark, dull chains are as thick as an adult's arm, with naturally formed twisted suppression patterns on their links. They are either taut or dangling, intersecting each other to form a three-dimensional iron net that covers the entire space.

Beneath the pile array lay a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, with bright red flames rising intermittently, scorching the surroundings.

Each Soul-Locking Chain corresponds to a suspended iron cage. There are hundreds of such cages, many of which are filled with piles of white bones.

Further ahead, there was a large Devil-Trying Punishment Altar, resembling a giant pancake pan, with many "pancake areas" densely covered with fine needles.

These fine needles are called "Spirit-Refining Iron Needle," specifically designed to break through protective Gang Qi and directly damage the soul. Whenever a prisoner makes a rebellious move, he will be dragged onto this altar by chains and forcibly pressed into the area covered by these iron needles. The needles will pierce through vital points all over his body, and he will be locked up and stripped of his evil power in extreme pain. It is a cruel method specifically designed to target cultivators who conceal their cultivation and hide their Devil Cultivation Method arts.

A figure stood on the execution platform.

He was dressed in tattered, almost unrecognizable gray-white prison clothes. He was thin but upright, and his hands were pierced and straightened by two exceptionally thick, dark gold chains, the other ends of which were embedded in the weight stones on either side of the execution platform.

The man's face was obscured, but an invisible, chilling sense of oppression slowly spread from him, like a ferocious beast that had been imprisoned for too long and had become one with these cruel instruments of torture.

"Brother Hu, I was previously imprisoned in one of these cells."

Zhou Tong quickly explained, while his eyes darted around as if looking for someone.

"Xu Qing threatened Old Master Chen to do things for him, which involved imprisoning my brother and me there. Then he took Old Master Chen to find that Turbid Sha Old Man. He claimed that the Turbid Sha Old Man's Five Turbidities Great Method had a flaw, and if arranged properly, it would surely cause his master to lose his mind for a short time. He also claimed that if Old Master Chen skinned him, he would definitely release my brother and me after the matter was done."

What happened next?

"Later, I was detained here for a day and a night, until Old Master Chen's voice rang out, and all the Soul-Locking Chain in this place began to shake wildly. Then one of the Soul-Locking Chain happened to pull open the suspended iron cage I was in."

"I wanted to save my brother, but the old man told me to leave quickly and find you outside. I couldn't open the door, and time was of the essence. My brother also told me to escape quickly, so I had no choice but to go find you."

Hu Mang nodded silently.

"So, that means Old Chen never showed up at all, is that right?"

Zhou Tong was taken aback, thought for a moment, and then nodded hesitantly.

"That old man is truly skilled; he can actually influence the formation from a distance."

The Hu Mang lowered its head and noticed that, without its knowledge, wisps of white mist had begun to swirl around it, and the surrounding walls were rapidly freezing over.

"Brother Hu, this is the Cold Sha Fog! It's a restrictive Sha Qi specifically designed to suppress the true essence of cultivators. Anyone with cultivation who steps into it will experience stagnation and blockage of their true essence, with their Dantian circulating at a frigid pace. The higher one's cultivation level, the more one can feel the bone-chilling cold penetrating their meridians. It can continuously erode the true essence and power that cultivators have painstakingly cultivated, preventing prisoners from secretly meditating, regulating their breath, and recovering their cultivation—this is what the old man said."

Hu Mang nodded silently; he could indeed feel the Fortune in the meridians of his feet being disrupted.

"This place is truly torturous," Hu Mang said, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the figure on the execution platform.

"So, is that Xu Qing, or that 'Turbid Sha Old Man'?"

Zhou Tong looked closely, but still couldn't make out the face, so he shook his head.

"I don't know either. I've never seen that 'Turbid Sha Old Man,' and he's never been to the Thunder God's Shrine before."

Hu Mang nodded, took a light step, and landed on one of the Devil-Subduing Stake. With a flick of his wrist, a flash of lightning appeared, and the Shattering Thunder Great Spear materialized.

"You wait here, I'll go test him. If it's Xu Qing, then just kill him."

"Brother Hu, be careful."

As the Hu Mang stepped into the formation, with several clangs, at least four iron cages opened wide, and four dark figures slowly stood up and jumped down.

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier are in charge of subduing demons, while the Prison-Subduing Official are in charge of imprisonment and suppression. However, somewhere on the second level, the situation is different. It is neither a prison nor an altar, but a mountain forest barrier.

Within the barrier lies a rugged, dark brown rocky slope, its ground covered with perpetually rotten black soil. Deep within the soil are intertwined old tree roots, long dead yet preserved by Demonic Qi and the power of the prison.

Each of the giant tree roots is anchored to a thick chain of meteorite iron, inscribed with demon-suppressing runes, specifically designed to restrain large-sized...

Giant wild beasts and monsters that are adept at hiding in the mountains and forests.

Or rather, the entire mountain forest is actually a manifestation of the Yao Qi that imprisons the monsters.

At this very moment, every Yao-Locking Chain in this mountain forest was trembling, and with each tremor, a sharp female voice rang out in the deep forest.

"Old Evil Hu, why haven't you caught that old bastard yet! If you don't catch him soon, I'm going to be strangled to death by these chains."

"Use your authority Water Official to conjure the Xuanming Dark Pool here. If you hide within the pool, the chains will be much less effective."

"Don't worry, I've already written that Old Man Chen's real name into the Evil-Subduing Register, and I've already located him. He won't be able to hide for much longer."

On a mountaintop, a giant python as thick as a water vat was bound by Yao-Locking Chain.

The beautiful face on the snake's head showed an expression of pain and struggle.

Upon hearing the words of the Old Evil Hu, also known as the Evil-Subduing Registrar, the lower half of the snake's body quickly became wet, and a continuous stream of Black Water overflowed from it, moistening the surrounding soil.

The Evil-Subduing Registrar also in a bit of a mess, not only because the old man opposite him was cunning and treacherous and good at hiding, but also because of another very important reason.

The ambush set up by the three was partially destroyed due to the sudden disappearance of the Gourd Old Daoist.

This led to a critical problem in the entire plan.

The next moment, a hunched figure flashed past from behind a large tree, Old Evil Hu immediately opened the black document in his hand, from which chains shot out, hooking towards the opponent.

Once the name is written down, the other person's whereabouts are no longer a secret in his eyes; even their real name and birth date will automatically emerge.

However, the old man was truly cunning. Suddenly, a delicate cry rang out from his hunched figure. The next moment, the Old Chen, who was originally powerless, twirled his copper coin sword, turning it into a shower of petals. Each copper coin accurately struck the weakest point of the chain, directly knocking the chain off balance.

Then, countless copper coins shot towards Old Evil Hu again, forcing the Evil-Subduing Registrar to dodge.

"Brother Chen, I don't want to be your enemy. Why don't we sit down and talk? Don't you want to leave this Demon-Subduing City?"

"Hehe, if you had said this to me the moment we met, I might have believed you a little. But since you tried to seize the Prison-Subduing Official the moment we met, don't blame me for sticking with you to the very end."

"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

Old Evil Hu appeared completely sincere, yet the black pen in his hand continuously crossed out the target's name on the black notebook. Red ink kills, black ink suppresses evil; he was using the finest red ink.

Strangely, every time a birth date was crossed out, a new birth date would appear, causing Old Evil Hu to curse inwardly.

How many times has this old man changed his fate? How can it be completely erased? After so many attempts, all that's left is the old man's real name!

The old man across from me isn't Chen Sheng at all; he's called Chen Changsheng!

Suddenly, Old Evil Hu became alert, turned around sharply, and more than a dozen chains shot out, colliding with the dark chains opposite him.

An elderly figure dressed in a gray prison uniform slowly emerged from among them, placing his palm on a large tree beside him. Instantly, the tree vanished, replaced by rows of dark cells.

The dark cell door opened wide, facing him, and a powerful suction force arose out of nowhere.

"Damn it! It's the Prison-Subduing Official again!!"

"As fellow descendants of the Divine Dynasty," he now finally understood that different clergy members wielded vastly different levels of authority.

Even if the opponent is still an unformed clergyman, their abilities far surpass those of his own.

On another path, Rogue Person Yunxiu was descending the steps to the end of the path when he saw a Daoist carrying a fiery red gourd on his back.

Rogue Person Yunxiu was taken aback at first, then exclaimed with delight, "Fellow Zhenxia!?"