As Gu Youwei's eyes fluttered open, a heavy emptiness gripped her heart.
"B-brother...?" She whispered, her voice quivering.
The absence was painfully clear. It was the comforting warmth of her Brother's embrace, the reassuring presence of her Eldest Brother.
Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling forth and tracing silent paths down her cheeks.
She clutched her clothes tightly to her chest, her heart aching with a deep yearning.
"Brother..."
The word hung in the air, heavy with the weight of longing and sorrow.
But she wasn't the only one drowning in sorrow.
In their own chambers, Gao Yue, Wan Meixiang, and Feng Xian wept silently.
Their hearts are heavy with the same burden of despair.
However, none of them carried the weight of grief quite like Yao Meili.
Yao Meili sat alone in her dimly lit room, her thoughts consumed by the memories of Yan Shun.
She couldn't help but visualize the snapshots of their shared past, the moments when he was just an innocent child, carefree and full of laughter.
A solitary tear trickled down her cheek...
"Shun'er..." She whispered his name, her voice choked with regret and longing.
If only she hadn't been so powerless, she thought.
If only she could have protected him from the cruel fate that now awaited him.
From within the depths of her spatial ring, Yao Meili retrieved a particular token.
It bore ancient symbols and was adorned with delicate, fiery patterns that resembled red flames.
Etched upon it were three simple but profound words: Divine Phoenix Clan.
Clutching the token tightly, she infused a small amount of her Qi into it.
The earth trembled as if shaken by the mightiest of cultivators.
The ground itself seemed to roar in response.
"KRRIIII!"
A thunderous growl echoed through the heavens. Yao Meili emerged from her dwelling, her resolve unshakable.
The entire sect was thrown into a frenzy, as ancestors and disciples alike hurried to witness the extraordinary occurrence.
To their astonishment, a magnificent, resplendent phoenix descended from the skies.
Every one of its feathers gleamed like the most precious gems, and its divine presence filled the air.
Yao Meili ascended into the heavens, and the phoenix lowered its majestic head to welcome her.
With a deep breath, Yao Meili mounted the phoenix.
"Now, after I reclaim my position as the heir... I'll rescue Yan Shun. I'll find a way to free him from the grasp of the Immortal Prison," she vowed silently.
"KRIIIII!"
With that, the phoenix took flight, leaving the entire sect in stunned silence.
The ancestors watched with a mix of fear and awe, their eyes filled with trepidation.
They retreated to their positions, recognizing that they were witnessing an extraordinary event.
Even the Sect Leader, who had initially been filled with fear, was now overwhelmed with the realization of the connection between Yan Shun and Yao Meili.
"Elder Yao... I almost died..." he murmured, his voice trembling.
After all, Yan Shun was still Yao Meili's disciple...
—
—
—
—
—
After a few days...
Yan Shun arrived at the imposing structure known as the Immortal Prison.
It was a colossal tower that seemed to reached up to the Upper World itself.
As he approached, he noticed a line of individuals, each with shackles around their wrists, shuffling forward towards the entrance.
Immediately, Yan Shun approached the guards and displayed his token, which bore the word "Extreme."
The guards' expressions immediately sharpened, and one of them muttered in surprise.
"Extreme Token..."
Yan Shun furrowed his brow as he realized the implications.
Instead of facing the typical 990-day cycle of catastrophes, he'd now have to endure them every three days.
This was a rare and dangerous privilege granted only to a select few.
It meant that most cultivators wouldn't have enough time to recover their Qi, because of the low time they had.
Even ten days was a low time.
'It seems that the First Ancestor really wants me dead...' Yan Shun gripped the token tight.
The first thing he would do after coming back to the Sect would naturally destroy the First Ancestor's soul.
Taking a deep breath, Yan Shun stepped inside the Immortal Prison, the doors closing behind him.
Inside the immense Immortal Prison, the atmosphere was heavy with an oppressive aura, and the air was thick with an almost tangible sense of foreboding.
Yan Shun's footsteps echoed in the massive, dimly lit corridor as he ventured deeper into the tower.
"Hey... just look at that!"
"It seems that we a newcomer..."
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, that guy is really handsome I wonder what he did to come here?"
"Perhaps, he charmed one of the Emperor's Wives."
"HAHAHAH!"
"Thinking about it, he looks like he really could, though. He's also only at the Qi Gathering Realm..."
"Damn... respects to him if he really did it!"
Ignoring the other cultivator's comments, he continued walking and that's when he noticed the worn expressions on the faces of some cultivators.
Many of them were clearly fatigued, their Qi were clearly depleted from the unrelenting pace of the catastrophes.
Finally, the guard stopped and in front of Yan Shun, a huge cell appeared.
"This will be the place you're staying." The guard announced.
Then he left, leaving Yan Shun alone...
With a small sigh, Yan Shun entered the huge cell and noticed a countdown, which was saying [71:59:59]...
The time that Yan Shun had left before the first catastrophe arrived.
"Haa... I still have some time to rest after all." Yan Shun smiled faintly.
[...There's a lot of interesting people here.]
"Huh? What do you mean?"
[There are too many unusual talents, I've already seen more than 15 Supreme Talents.]
"Really!?"
[Yes... even though, they are not humans. Since the Immortal Prison has a connection to the Upper World maybe they came from the Upper World.]
"Oh, right. The Immortal Prison puts people by the number of catastrophes they pass, so I'm currently on the 1st floor."
"By the way, are you sure I can complete the Exalted Demon God Body Tempering Art in one try?"
[I'm pretty sure about it...]
[From what I've seen, each one of these catastrophes has a trance of Divinity, so you should be able to complete the Exalted Demon God Body Tempering Art.]
[Then, you're going to receive the Exalted Demon Sacred Body!]
"It sounds pretty powerful... but what exactly does it do?" He asked curiously.
[Normally, Demon Cultivators can dual cultivate, or just cultivate, but what makes them really "Demon" it's that they can absorb the Qi of their victims...]
[That's mainly the reason why Demon Cultivators are so fast to break through each level.]
[However, absorbing Qi had its own drawbacks, such as the Qi in the body turning very impure and even chaotic, meaning that you could self-destruct at any moment.]
[But, the Exalted Demon Sacred Body, is a special physique derived from the Celestial Demon Divine Body.]
[So, although not as good as the original, it's still very powerful!]
[Basically, it gets rid of those drawbacks, such as the impure qi, addiction of the Demonic Nature, the Detention of the Demonic Nature.]
[But, if you had the Celestial Demon Divine Body, those drawbacks would only make you stronger.]
[You could continuously improve yourself by Absorbing Qi and could even absorb the most impure Qi in the world, which should be the rotten corpse of a True Dragon.]
[You wouldn't even need to worry about your foundation since the Celestial Demon Divine Body would simply strengthen it continuously.]
[Also, you could turn Heavenly Qi, Divine Qi, and every type of Qi into Demon Qi, strengthening yourself even more.]
[And there's also another thing... Your beauty would also continuously grow as you get stronger... ahem.]
"Damn! How can I acquire the Celestial Demon Divine Body!?" Yan Shun exclaimed excitedly.
[...That... I'll only be able to grant you the original tempering art when you reach the Upper World.]
[Only the pure Qi of the Upper World can be able to cultivate the Celestial Demon Divine Body...]
"What a pity..." Yan Shun sighed.
If he really acquired the Celestial Demon Divine Body just now, he'd be able to absorb Divine Qi...
So, perhaps he could absorb the trances of divinity from the catastrophes that were going to fall on him.
"Mhm... Should I just skip the time and go to the room to receive the first catastrophe?"
[...I mean, you could... it would only speed up the results of your cultivation, but first, you should receive the other rewards.]
[After Ye Chen revealed his disgusting nature, the affection of your three junior sisters increased by a lot... Yao Meili's, Gu Youwei's, and Zi Yi's also increased...]
"Hmn... sure."
[What kind of reward would you like to receive?]
"I don't know...? Could you just put it into the most beneficial to me right now?"
[The most beneficial would currently be a Heavenly Flame... because you could strengthen the Primordial Lotus Scripture.]
"Sure, claim the rewards!"
[Ding! Congratulations!
You've received...
The Heavenly Flame: Yin-Yang Twin Fire!]
"Great..." Yan Shun smiled faintly.
Then, he stepped into the room and the clock which was currently saying...
[71:56:21]
Turned into...
[00:00:00]