Chapter 1223: Unexpected

In any system that exists over many years, a framework will come to exist that contains multiple branches of support. Unless someone in that system has heaven-defying strength, they would have no choice but to obey the rules of the framework. And it would be almost impossible for them to affect the branches. After all, the branches of the framework would be outstanding and powerful. What was more, after the passage of dozens or even hundreds of generations, those branches would become inherent parts of the system and its rules.

In the Fifth Star Ring, the eleven heavens beyond heaven were the eleven strongest branches. Within those heavens beyond heaven were numerous powerful organizations that both protected their own home and benefited from it. They could also be considered branches. And they were like gigantic vortexes that exerted powerful gravitational forces that affected all of the living beings in the Fifth Star Ring.

Given that, why would any cultivator want to trifle with them?

After Zhou Zhengli cleared his throat and the ascendees spoke, their words became like incisive divine abilities and daoist magics that struck the prison guards deep in their hearts. They were like boulders tossed into the sea! Every word left the listeners shaken to the core. Combined with the light of the identity medallions, it caused the nonhuman guards to feel like they were being struck with repeated tidal waves of shock.

Such backgrounds. Such affiliations.... Even the two wardens started to feel completely powerless.

This group was made of a host of silkpants! And in terms of cultivation base and talent, they obviously surpassed ordinary silkpants.

People like this had to be ascendees from the Immortal Capital! Although there were only a few orthodox sects in the Immortal Capital, the reality was that the entire place was like a tangle of dragons and snakes, in other words, a hodgepodge of good people and scumbags. It was essentially a breeding ground for all the heavens beyond heaven, a place that was a mix of darkness and light.

Someone might go unnoticed there for a long time, but after they reached their potential and left the Immortal Capital, they would quickly attract attention and be recruited.

The two wardens were fully aware of how that worked. Yet they were still puzzled by something.... Ascendees were normally split up. They were never grouped together into one squadron. Yet right now... the two wardens felt completely powerless in the face of these people. The wardens couldn’t compare to them in battle prowess. And these people had backgrounds that weren’t even necessary to mention.

And they’re actually Acquisitioners....

Both wardens felt deep bitterness.

Sir Star Ring was leading a few dozen ascendees right into the prison inside the statue. The mission was already underway. Sir Vilespirit, Yuanshan Su, Hordeslayer, and Rampart split up. Some went in on their own, others led some ascendees with them. Li Mengtu went inside as well. They went to different areas to divide up the work.

Soon, only a dozen or so people were left outside. Xu Qing didn’t need to do anything. After some thought, Zhou Zhengli decided to stay with him.

The kelp plant... did not go into the prison. It circled around the statue and took over the defenses. It also unleashed its majesty and used its divine will to help the ascendees with their search.

As the prison guards and the wardens watched the buzz of activity, they got the feeling this wasn’t the first time this squadron had done something like this. And that was true. After working together in the Helioterra Universe, they had learned to work in smooth coordination.

As everyone entered the prison, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged to work on his cultivation base and think about what to do next. He knew that their actions were going to cause some sort of backlash, and that he would be held accountable. He could think of different ways to deal with that, but the simplest was to find the nine-colored ice.

That said, considering everyone called on their backgrounds, I won’t be held solely accountable. Everyone made the decision together.

***

Time passed, slowly but surely.

Zhou Zhengli also sat down to meditate. As for the ascendees who had remained outside, they settled down cross-legged, but didn’t close their eyes. Instead, they kept watch over the prison entrance. They obviously wanted to go inside as well. However, according to the plan, there needed to be a watch outside at all times. Thus, duties had been split between everyone.

As the wardens and guards looked on grimly, someone suddenly flew out of the entrance. It wasn’t one of Xu Qing’s squadron. It was a nonhuman guard.

Kneeling in front of the two wardens, he said, “Exalted ones, they... they went inside and actually did start searching for something. But after noticing the imprisoned gods... they started interrogating them! And in the course of the interrogations, they started extracting ringsource. There are already a few dozen gods who have been completely drained of ringsource! If this continues....”

The guard hesitated.

Meanwhile, the two wardens scowled and looked over at Xu Qing.

One of them said, “Fellow Daoist, this is a private prison run by seventeen clans from the Spiritlight heaven beyond heaven. Given that we fall under the jurisdiction of two heavens beyond heaven, any theft here will be thoroughly investigated!

“We have been on duty here for years now, and we know the place like the backs of our hands. There’s definitely no uprising going on. You’re just using that as an excuse to take ringsource! This is both outrageous and amateurish!”

Xu Qing said nothing. Zhou Zhengli was the one who had come up with this idea. The ascendees who had remained on the outside weren’t thin-skinned. They had come here for ringsource, and thus, their expressions didn’t waver.

Zhou Zhengli, meanwhile, looked very solemn as he nodded and said, “That makes a lot of sense, exalted ones. My fellow squadron members are acting a bit boorishly. I’ll see what I can do. Fellow Daoists, can you please head inside to oversee things?”

The ascendees who had been waiting outside got to their feet with somber expressions on their faces.

“I was just going to suggest that!”

“They’re acting completely out of line!”

“We’ll go in and get things under control!”

The ascendees flew at top speed into the entrance.

The two wardens could see that something fishy was going on. Inside, they were more furious than ever, but they knew their battle prowess was insufficient to do anything. Then they exchanged a glance, and each could see the determination in the eyes of the other. They quickly had a conversation via divine will.

“These people are far too presumptuous! This matter must be reported up the chain of command!”

“The Department of Acquisitions offends people all the time. But this is pushing things too far!”

“You and the seventeen monarchs should report this to the Spiritlight Immortal Palace. I’ll gather everyone else and report it to the Nineshores Immortal Palace. These people might have impressive backing, but actions like these will definitely be punished!”

The two wardens immediately took out jade slips and started filling them with information.

Meanwhile, the Acquisitioners continued their work. Inside the prison, more and more ringsource was being gathered, and the prison guards couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening. After all, the spell formations in the prison were designed to work against gods. They didn’t work against cultivators, and especially not against human cultivators.

At the moment, in an area in the depths of the prison that hadn’t been discovered by Sir Star Ring and the others, there was dense mutagen isolated in an area surrounded by glittering god talismans. If one looked at that area, they would see only a sea of fog.

Astonishingly, there was an altar in the depths of the fog. It was constructed from the bones of gods, and there were four figures seated cross-legged around it. Thēy had gruish bodies, undulating tentacles, and emitted the fluctuations of gods. The four gods were using godly authority to communicate with godly voices.

“Our secret plan has been kept under wraps by those inferior species for a long time now....”

“His Majesty even implanted the two human Quasi-Immortals with his will, ensuring that they have no idea what’s going on.”

“In that case... how did anyone find out the truth??”

“It doesn’t seem like the intruding humans have sensed us. Nor do they seem suspicious.”

“They haven’t found us, but at the same time, they’re coming deeper and deeper.”

“That’s true. My divine will indicates that they’ve already started interrogating many of my people, and have drained them of their essence.”

“If things continue like this, they’ll inevitably find us!”

“Therefore, instead of sitting around waiting to be discovered... why don’t we beat them to the punch?”

The four gods sat there silently for a short time.

“His Majesty hasn’t returned. All we’ve done is issue the call. We’re not ready yet either. If we take action now, before His Majesty is back, then we’ll be in a position of weakness.”

“But if we don’t act soon, then any chance for return will be lost.”

“We’ve been preparing for years now.... Where did things go wrong? How could we have been noticed?”

The four gods again fell into silence. This sudden inspection had caught thēm completely by surprise. What was more, thēy could hear the increasingly chaotic sound of the humans interrogating the prisoners, and it caused thēir hearts to pound.

If thēy just had a bit more time to carry out thēir plan, thēy would succeed without a doubt. Not only would thēir lord and master return, but also thēy could use that momentum as a way to get out of the Fifth Star Ring. But now....

“There’s no point in sitting around thinking. I agree that we should take action now!”

“I second the motion!”

Golden light flared off the four gods as thēy joined thēir godly voices together in agreement. And then thēy reached out toward the altar. The altar rumbled loudly and let off a terrifying pressure. A golden tempest then swept from the altar up into the prison above.

Somewhere in the middle section of the prison, Sir Star Ring and the others were collecting ringsource from a god who was just on the verge of being squeezed dry.

That was when a deafening sound filled the prison, and then mutagen erupted everywhere. The entire prison suddenly went dark. Howls echoed out everywhere. The gods were rioting!

Sir Star Ring realized immediately what was happening. He was initially stunned, but then his expression turned grave as he cast his senses out. He immediately noticed the rising pillar of golden light. He also detected the aura of awakening!

They’re actually rioting?

Sir Star Ring almost couldn’t believe it. But he knew it was a serious situation, so he immediately sent someone to report the matter to Xu Qing.

***

An incense stick of time passed.

Atop the statue, the two wardens were in the middle of preparing jade slips to send to their respective heavens beyond heaven, to request that Xu Qing and the others be punished.

Xu Qing sat there cross-legged with his eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he looked down suspiciously.

At almost the exact same instant, two people flew out of the entrance. One was a prison guard, the other was an ascendee. They both seemed similarly anxious as they flew to their respective camps and made reports.

“Exalted one, there actually is a prison break going on!”

Upon hearing that, Xu Qing turned to look at Zhou Zhengli. Zhou Zhengli was visibly surprised.

The furious guards who were waiting outside were similarly stunned. As for the wardens, their minds were reeling as if they had been struck by lightning. Instead of preparing jade slips, they just stood there, sweat dripping down their faces and their hearts full of incredulity.

There really was a prison break! Before anyone could react, the ground trembled as golden pillars of light shot up. Mutagen began to build up everywhere.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The two wardens instinctively looked toward Xu Qing, and by now, the dissatisfaction and anger in their hearts was almost completely gone. They knew full well how serious a prison break was.

“Exalted one!” they said urgently. They were still suspicious of why Xu Qing had shown up, but given the gravity of the situation, that didn’t matter. What mattered was stopping the prison break!

Xu Qing slowly rose to his feet. His cultivation base erupted, causing terrifying pressure to weigh down on the statue and dispel the light and mutagen. The statue rumbled. Then Xu Qing spoke in a grim voice.

“We’re taking control of this prison. Zhou Zhengli, send orders down the chain of command. Tell everyone... to immediately crush this god riot!”