Heavenly Prison!

"What is this place?" Su Xiaobai's eyes trembled slightly as he took in his surroundings, his lost expression reflecting his confusion.

He walked towards the steel rods that confined him, their cold, intimidating presence both ominous and dangerous.

Crackle.... Crackle....

Dark violet thunder crackled across the rods, emitting an eerie, otherworldly glow.

The lightning sparked with a frightening hiss, striking against the cold metal rod, as if warning him of its deadly power.

Yet, Su Xiaobai, disoriented and dazed, felt an inexplicable affinity with the ominous lightning, a seductive whispering he couldn't ignore.

"Do not touch that, young man, unless you seek death. That is heavenly lightning; mortals lack the qualifications to withstand its wrath."

"!"

The voice from behind froze Su Xiaobai in place.

"Gasp!..."

He took a deep breath and turned around slowly.

Before him stood an old man in tattered robes, patched in multiple places like the garb of an ancient wanderer.

His feet were clad in rugged bamboo sandals, his long, unkempt white hair cascading in disarray.

The old man's frail body trembled as he clutched a piece of charcoal, scribbling arcane symbols on the uneven cave walls.

Dim light filtered into the cell from two lanterns burning just outside, their flickering flames dancing like ghostly will-o'-the-wisps against the rough stone walls.

The unruly flashes of heavenly lightning illuminated ancient runes etched into the stone, their meanings obscured by the passage of time but hinting at powerful, forgotten magics.

Seeing Su Xiaobai's intense gaze, the old man let out a faint calculating smile.

His trembling hand paused, holding the charcoal as a slightly surprised expression crossed his face. 'A man with Celestial Thunder Veins and Profound Yin Veins in the same body? Such a rare confluence of fates... Although it still isn't sufficient to restore my Primordial Evil Veins…'

A resigned sigh escaped his lips.

Despite his frail appearance, he radiated an aura of profound wisdom and hidden strength.

He looked like an eighty-year-old mortal, with no visible signs of qi.

Yet, the aura he exuded sent chills down Su Xiaobai's spine, making him feel as though he had been plunged into the depths of a cold, shadowy abyss.

Tip...

Tip...

Faint droplets of water occasionally fell from the cave's roof, the sound echoing like a maiden's first tear in the stillness.

Each droplet formed a small, rippling puddle on the muddy floor beneath.

The dim light from the lanterns barely penetrated the gloom, casting ethereal reflections on the water and illuminating the cell's rough-hewn stone walls.

The chamber felt like a forgotten relic from an ancient era, imbued with an eerie, otherworldly presence.

Su Xiaobai's breath steadied as he gathered his thoughts. "I must escape this place," he resolved, his voice firm despite the pain wracking his body.

His qi reserves were full, and he could feel the profound qi surging through his meridians like a river of molten gold.

Now, more than ever, he wanted to escape.

He still had to meet with his mother, to understand the inheritance he had gained, and the profound changes in his body.

"Keke... Good luck escaping, boy. No man has ever stepped out of the Heavenly Prison alive!" The mocking laughter of the old man echoed through the cavernous cell.

He refused to turn around, merely glancing at Su Xiaobai with disdain, as if the latter wasn't significant enough to warrant his full attention.

"Heavenly Prison...?" Su Xiaobai's earlier determined expression faltered, replaced by a deep look of realization.

He glanced around the chamber and found stone platforms on either side, seemingly meant for sleeping.

Yet, against these platforms leaned white skeletons, the remains of the damned who never saw the outside world again.

A sole spider wove its web across the skeletal remains, its omnious patterns casting eerie shadows on the walls.

The sight made Su Xiaobai gulp, his nerves tingling with unease.

'Heavenly Prison, why would they put me here...?'

He couldn't fathom the reason.

Although he had no precise idea of his location, everyone knew that only the most heinous cultivators were condemned to rot in this prison for eternity.

His mind raced, trying to piece together why he was confined here.

Even the act of slaughtering entire countries wouldn't typically warrant a place in the Heavenly Prison.

Such was its dread and its legend...

He surveyed his surroundings once more. The cell was a singular, small space carved into the heart of the mountain.

The entrance was sealed by steel rods, sparking with deadly heavenly lightning that cast an otherworldly glow, their power a deadly threat.

The dim light from two lanterns burning just outside barely penetrated the oppressive gloom, their flickering flames casting ghostly shadows on the rough-hewn stone walls.

Ancient runes, their meanings lost to time, were etched into the walls, hinting at forgotten magics and powerful seals.

Tip...

Tip...

As each droplet fell, rippling the muddy puddle beneath, the old man seemed to nod in satisfaction, his eyes glinting with a mysterious light.

"Young man... what crime have you committed to be forsaken here?" His voice, neither too loud nor too weak, yet strong enough to break through the oppressive silence.

"What I did...?"

Su Xiaobai clenched his fists as his eyes shook, memories flooding back.

'Long Lifen, you bitch... I merely took a peek at you accidentally, and you wanted to kill me... And now you've put me into the Heavenly Prison!'

An intense burst of anger surged within Su Xiaobai, burning hotter than the heavenly lightning.

Nothing seemed logical anymore.

Swoosh!

In a fit of rage, he turned and struck directly at the metal rods.

Boom!

The cave shook under the force of his blow, but the rods remained unshaken, the deadly lightning laughing in response.

Hiss!

"It burned me..." Su Xiaobai hissed in pain, the back of his fingers now charred black as if seared by the heavenly lightning.

The searing pain coursed through his hand, a reminder of the prison's merciless power.

A self-deprecating chuckle escaped his lips as he sat down, closing his eyes to meditate and think of a way to escape this hellish place.

His life was in grave danger, and the old man couldn't be trusted.

The old man, with his tattered robes and frail appearance, seemed to be watching him with an inscrutable gaze.

His presence was unsettling, and Su Xiaobai's instincts screamed that there was more to him than met the eye.

More importantly, if this old man was here, it meant he must be a very evil and powerful figure.

'He must be concealing his strength,' Su Xiaobai deduced, his mind clouded.