NOVPUB"Even, perhaps, we can convert them into devotees of the Merciful Immortal!"
Gazing at the numerous prisoners around him, who were issuing pitiful howls of agony under the array technique’s punishment, Kou Hong felt deep empathy and mused thoughtfully.
"However, this is, after all, a strictly guarded prison; achieving this will require a long-term plan."
Kou Hong’s eyes flickered, once again using the same tone of furious rebuke to disguise himself.
But this time, he intentionally acted as if he was gasping intermittently and breathlessly.
It seemed he could hardly hold on any longer.
In the following period, Kou Hong used his apparent complete submission to shift the prison soldiers’ attention away from himself.
Meanwhile, he was frantically learning the detailed explanations of the array technique and secretly accumulating strength to enhance his own power.
Now he had also realized.
The inexplicable heat flow inside his body, which seemed like a blessing from the Merciful Immortal, was indeed the cultivation base that cultivators dream of.
In common understanding, only with day and night of arduous cultivation could a cultivator accumulate it, forming the driving force for advancing realms. But at this moment, it was irrigating his body continuously like water from an inexhaustible source.
And due to this, his strength was rising at a terrifying speed that was hard to imagine.
In less than half a month, he had already broken through to Golden Core Perfection.
This made Kou Hong even more convinced that these incredible miracles happening to him were definitely the grace of the Merciful Immortal!
After all, it took him over two hundred years to cultivate from a mortal to the Mid Stage Golden Core!
But now, breaking through took only a blink of an eye.
Originally, Kou Hong thought that Golden Core Perfection was already the limit. However, what happened next completely shattered his perception and made him understand the power of the True Immortal!
As is well known, to break through from the Golden Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm, one must engulf a Xuanhuang Cave Heaven.
At this moment, Kou Hong was still trapped in the Dark Prison, naturally unable to fulfill this condition.
But three days later, something that astonished Kou Hong beyond measure occurred.
Because when he circulated his spiritual power to inspect his body, he surprisingly discovered that a faint Cave Heaven scene was emerging within his Dantian!
Upon further careful perception, Kou Hong confirmed that this Cave Heaven phantom was not an illusion.
It was really existing!
A Cave Heaven was being born inside his own body!
Let’s not say, this too was a blessing from the Merciful Immortal.
Kou Hong quickly came to accept this, and with the help of this nascent Cave Heaven, he officially broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm within a month!
The various fluctuations caused by the breakthrough were perfectly concealed by the Power of the True Immortal surging within him.
It did not attract the attention of the prison soldiers in the Dark Prison.
Kou Hong looked at his own hands, as if in a dream.
The Nascent Soul Realm, once only a dream, was now so easily achieved by him.
"Merciful Immortal of supreme grace, I, Kou Hong, know not what virtue or ability I possess to deserve such profound favor from you."
"I will surely fulfill your entrustment, never shirking even at the cost of a thousand deaths."
In the shadows, Kou Hong’s gaze upon the countless towering Dark Prisons gradually grew firm.
After entering into the Nascent Soul Realm, Kou Hong’s power continued to grow automatically every day. However, his main focus had shifted to breaking the array and rescuing the prisoners in the Dark Prison.
"Relying on myself alone, it seems rather difficult to accomplish this task."
"But where can one find help in such a prison?"
Kou Hong observed his "neighbors" quietly, selecting suitable collaborators.
Thus, an indeterminate amount of time passed.
This day, Li Fan looked at the message from Kou Hong, and couldn’t help but let out a faint smile.
He merely pretended not to see it, without giving any response.
Kou Hong, still not giving up, continued to attempt several times, but ultimately, he had no choice but to reluctantly give up.
"Could it be that my judgment was wrong?"
"It shouldn’t be."
Just as Kou Hong was caught in a dilemma, a newly arrived prisoner suddenly caught his attention.
This person was not a member of the United Federation of All Realms, but was imprisoned here for triggering the Immortal Prohibition Law.
Based on the crime he committed, it seemed that he had no chance of getting out in this lifetime.
"Now you vermin, thinking of dying easily, offsetting your sins."
"It’s not that simple!"
"I will make you beg for death but not obtain it, and rot with worry in this gloomy prison without sunlight for the rest of your life!" said the Cultivator of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance who was in charge of the escort, gritting his teeth.
However, the prisoner remained silent. Yet in his eyes looking at the other party, there was nothing but disdain and murderous intent.
But soon, under the suppression of the cruel array technique, all turned into cries of agony.
Under extreme pain, subconscious utterances are always closest to one’s truest inner thoughts.
After listening for several days to the new neighbor’s words, Kou Hong confirmed that he was indeed a potential ally.
On this day, waiting for the moment he was tortured to his last breath, Kou Hong quietly penetrated the array and passed on a message.
The other party’s eyes opened in a flash, trying to pinpoint Kou Hong’s location.
Clearly, it was all in vain.
After some exchanges between the two, Kou Hong also learned his name.
Zhang Fu.
The crime wasn’t anything serious; it was merely embezzling one-third of Black Spirit State Dan Hall’s annual profits.
In the past, even if the matter was exposed, by spending some contribution points, looking for connections, and offering compensation, it would pass.
But this time, by an unfortunate coincidence, one of his arch-enemies also got wind of the affair.
He reported it directly to the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance.
The response from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters was also unusually swift this time.
Zhang Fu hadn’t yet had time to smooth things over when the envoy from headquarters already arrived. After a simple investigation confirming the evidence, they captured him on the spot.
They skipped the usual procedure for an additional review and brought him directly to the Dark Prison for suppression.
That was when Zhang Fu realized he must have been set up.
He thought he was beyond redemption, yet unexpectedly, he encountered a turn of fortune.
"Help release the criminals in the Dark Prison?"
"That’s a capital offense. Although now everyone can be reborn, I heard before coming in that the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance seems to have reached some agreement with Transcendence Heavenly Sovereign. Those who commit unforgivable sins in the Immortal Alliance will lose the chance of rebirth and truly die!"
"Just like those members of the United Federation of All Realms before, it seems to be the case."
Unaware of Kou Hong’s shaking form not far away, Zhang Fu continued to speak self-consciously: "Although being imprisoned here means no chance of ever getting out, it’s still better than truly perishing."
"Who knows—maybe one day there will come an amnesty from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance?"
Zhang Fu did not agree at first, he even silently considered denouncing this treacherous person for a chance at redeeming himself through meritorious service.
But the other’s next few words made him change his mind.
"Here, death is a release."
"If you don’t believe it, just look at the others around you to know."
