Yin Yusheng had been secretly observing the Dark Abyss Prison for several days. The hiding spot he brought Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi to was at the end of the patrol route.
Moments later, the leader of the puppet guards emerged from the dark, damp alley and walked toward the heavily guarded prison gate.
A small black bell swayed left and right with his vigorous steps, drawing a wavy line of faint demonic energy in the air.
This time was different from when they entered the city.
To facilitate their plan, Shen Jizhi, as a sword cultivator, switched positions with Yin Yusheng. Shen Jizhi took the lead, Jian Huan remained in the middle, and Yin Yusheng brought up the rear.
In the group, Shen Jizhi lowered his gaze, his eyes fixed on the black boots of the puppet guard in front of him.
The boots were black, embroidered with golden threads in the pattern of a black stone dragon, clearly expensive.
But that wasn’t the point.
The puppet guard’s steps weren’t moving in a straight line.
The demonic heartworms residing in their brains seemed to be sniffing the black demonic energy, following the scent as they wriggled forward. This caused the puppet guards to walk in a serpentine manner.
Shen Jizhi’s gaze swept thoughtfully toward the black bell at the leader’s waist before returning to the puppet guard.
After a moment of thought, he began to mimic the serpentine steps of the puppet guard in front of him.
Jian Huan, who had been staring at Shen Jizhi’s back, was momentarily startled but quickly caught on and followed suit.
Yin Yusheng did the same.
The group of puppet guards, led by their leader, silently stepped through the black dragon stone gate. With a ripple of black water, they appeared inside the prison.
The prison was dark and cold. Along the narrow corridor, smaller black dragon stone carvings spat out crimson flames from their mouths.
The red flames stretched deep into the endless corridor, making the path resemble a road to hell.
After walking a short distance, another group of puppet guards emerged from the depths of the corridor to take over the patrol.
The leader of the demon shadow guards laughed heartily upon seeing them and quickly approached, punching the leader of Jian Huan’s group in the shoulder. “You’re stuck babysitting puppets tonight too? I thought I was the only one left behind!”
“Aren’t you the same?” The leader glared at him, venting his frustration. “When the prison reassigned people to search the mountains, I sneaked off to have a cup of daughter’s red wine. And just like that, I got left behind! It’s infuriating!”
The other sighed as well. “I only stepped away for a moment, but by the time I got back, it was too late! I heard that many high-ranking officials from the Demon Palace were part of the mountain search this time! But we missed it. We didn’t even get a chance to make an impression. Are we doomed to guard this Dark Abyss Prison forever?”
The leader punched the other’s shoulder, equally frustrated but trying to console him—and perhaps himself. “Stop whining and focus on the patrol! If we guard the prison well, we’ll have a chance to be transferred to the Demon Palace eventually!”
“Go, go, go…” The last word echoed endlessly in the crimson-lit corridor.
Just as the other demon shadow guard was about to agree, hurried footsteps suddenly rang out from the end of the corridor, instantly drowning out the echoes.
“...Hurry up! You eight, go to those two cells and bring them out! The rest of you, follow me to greet the master!” A sharp, effeminate voice pierced through the chaos of footsteps, clearly heading toward the prison gate.
Jian Huan’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.
Those two?
Could it be Peak Lord Gu and Elder Yu?
What’s going on? Did the demons already figure out that Shen Jizhi and I were the ones who infiltrated?
Damn.
Although she had mentally prepared herself that Jiang Wei, that scoundrel, would eventually find out, she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
Jian Huan kept her eyes fixed on Shen Jizhi’s straight back ahead, her peripheral vision scanning the surroundings as her mind raced.
A large group was approaching from the front, and a large number of demon soldiers were stationed at the prison gate behind them. The corridor was narrow and long.
They couldn’t afford to make a move here. If they did, they’d be caught in a pincer attack, which would be suicide.
Fortunately, she and Shen Jizhi had prepared plans A, B, and C.
Given the current situation, it seemed they’d have to resort to plan C.
Jian Huan forced herself to stay calm, silently repeating in her mind: God of Wealth, bless us, God of Wealth, bless us, God of Wealth, bless us…
“Master Steward!”
The two leaders, who had just been complaining, quickly led their puppet guards to the sides of the corridor, pressing their backs against the wall and bowing respectfully.
The steward of the Dark Abyss Prison floated over from the depths of the corridor, resembling a withered corpse in black robes.
He waved his hand. “Stay where you are! The Demon Envoy is arriving shortly. Mind your manners and don’t make any mistakes!”
The two leaders were startled and quickly lowered their heads. “Yes!”
The countless demon shadow guards and puppet guards following the steward lined up along both sides of the corridor.
In no time, the long corridor was filled with demonic figures.
The crimson flames cast an eerie glow on their faces, sending chills down the spine.
Surrounded by cloaked demons wearing hoods, Jian Huan and her two companions blended in seamlessly.
Shen Jizhi kept his head down, staring at his toes. The fingers of his right hand, hanging by his side, subtly retracted two fingers as he glanced to his right.
To his right, Jian Huan’s left hand retracted four fingers, leaving one—a signal for “1,” meaning she understood.
Her right hand retracted two fingers, leaving “3.”
Only after seeing Yin Yusheng beside her signal “1” did Jian Huan return her hands to their normal position.
In the brief moment they exchanged signals, eight demon shadow guards slowly approached from the depths of the corridor.
Two led the way, two guarded the rear, and the middle four, in pairs, dragged two severely injured men.
The man in front had deep wrinkles on his face—it was none other than Gu Shan.
His hands and feet were bound by black demonic chains, and his eyes were tightly shut, his brows furrowed in pain. Black demonic energy had already seeped up to his lips.
He was semi-conscious, his face contorted in agony as he struggled against the demonic energy within him.
The man behind him was Elder Yu Qing. His cultivation was lower than Gu Shan’s, and his condition was visibly worse.
His entire face was blackened, and he showed no signs of struggle or pain, as if he were a vegetable lying in a hospital bed, completely detached from the world.
The moment Jian Huan caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye, her eyelid twitched violently.
She lowered her gaze, and with a thought, a round, dark green pill appeared in her palm.
Ran Mu'er had previously been poisoned by Jing Chi and nearly turned into a demon due to the demonic energy.
Before setting out, she and Shen Jizhi, fearing they might fall victim to the demons’ schemes, had used the remaining Earth Fruits to have Medicine Granny prepare pills as a precaution.
Now, they needed to seize the opportunity to feed this Earth Fruit pill to Gu Shan.
As for Elder Yu Qing, if they managed to escape this time, the third Earth Fruit at home would likely ripen soon, and they could give it to him then.
Beside her, Shen Jizhi’s eyes flickered. Hidden within his wide sleeve, his hand moved slightly, and a small black pellet resembling a cockroach’s droppings appeared between his index and middle fingers.
Originally, if they had managed to avoid detection and reach his master’s cell, he had planned to stuff this pellet into his master’s nose to wake him up.
After all, his master was a high-level Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. Even if severely injured, he still had the strength to fight. Gu Shan’s awakening would greatly increase their chances of success.
But now, the demons had arrived too quickly.
In this situation, the pellet was better suited for…
Shen Jizhi’s brow furrowed slightly as he flicked his finger. The tiny black pellet brushed against the stone wall behind him and landed precisely on the leader’s black cloak.
Along with the pellet came a drop of crystal-clear water.
The pellet dissolved upon contact with the water, leaving a small, fingernail-sized wet spot on the leader’s cloak.
A faint, intoxicating aroma of wine began to spread through the corridor, searching for its intended target.
The demonic blood-drinkers couldn’t smell it, but Gu Shan, who was suppressing the demonic energy within him, instinctively sniffed the air.
The scent of wine, which he had loved for hundreds of years and never tired of, was unmistakable.
It shouldn’t have been present in the Dark Abyss, yet it had appeared here, inexplicably…
Someone was here!
Gu Shan’s consciousness sharpened, and he struggled to open his eyes. His gaze swept toward the direction of the wine’s aroma.
He scanned the row of puppet guards, his eyes, though tainted with a hint of black energy, still clear. He cursed inwardly.
Reckless fools!
A bunch of brats who haven’t even grown all their feathers yet dare to barge into the Abyssal Prison? Are they tired of living, or is their life too peaceful?
Gu Shan cursed under his breath while glancing at the squad leader who reeked of alcohol.
Shen Jizhi, that rebellious disciple, wouldn’t just randomly infuse alcohol scent onto some unrelated demon. Creating this scent would cost at least a few hundred spirit stones—no small sum. That brat wouldn’t waste it for no reason. There must be a deeper meaning behind this.
Gu Shan gritted his teeth. As the two shadow guards dragging him passed by the squad leader, he suddenly struggled with all his might. Enduring the excruciating pain in his divine sense, as if being torn apart, his body surged with multicolored sword light, charging straight toward the squad leader!
The squad leader’s eyes widened in terror, his mouth agape, but not a sound came out—he was too frightened to scream.
The sword aura of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was no joke. Instinct for survival made him dodge to the side, pulling two nearby puppets to block the sword aura with their lives.
Seeing Gu Shan about to strike again, the squad leader panicked. He yanked the bell from his waist, black energy swirling around his fingers. Muttering an incantation, he pointed at Gu Shan, stammering, “Go… kill him… kill him!”
The puppets obeyed the bell’s command without question.
In an instant, like a swarm of fish fighting for food, they lunged at Gu Shan, heedless of their own lives.
Jian Huan and the other two blended into the chaos, moving swiftly to the front.
Shen Jizhi clenched his fist, cloaked in a façade of black demonic energy, and swung it toward Gu Shan’s abdomen.
Yin Yusheng formed his hands into palms and struck Gu Shan’s chest.
Deliberately or not, the two seemingly sluggish figures shielded Jian Huan in the middle.
In the blind spot of vision, Jian Huan slapped a round pill into Gu Shan’s mouth.
With a gulp, Gu Shan swallowed the pill with difficulty, shooting Jian Huan a resentful look.
What kind of pill is this? So big. Couldn’t it have been made smaller?
Though no words were exchanged, Jian Huan understood the meaning in Gu Shan’s eyes. “…”
She quickly returned an apologetic glance.
There was no helping it. Medicine Granny had already done her best to make it as small as possible. Any smaller, and the efficacy wouldn’t be enough.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The previously silent corridor erupted like a drop of water hitting boiling oil.
“Quick, restrain him!”
“Stop, stop! You can’t kill him! Stop now!”
“…Recall the puppet guards immediately!”
“…”
The red flames lining the corridor flickered incessantly, casting countless shadows on the walls and floor.
The shadows danced wildly, like tree branches swaying in the night wind.
The overseer, who had returned upon hearing the commotion, was shocked by the scene before him and roared, “How dare you!”
With a shake of his master bell, all the puppets in the area halted their movements and retreated to their original positions in unison.
Jian Huan and the other two reacted swiftly, immediately stepping back as well.
Gu Shan forced himself to spit out a mouthful of blood, splattering it on the ground.
He closed his eyes, let his head droop, and sealed his senses, pretending to faint.
The entire act was smooth and practiced—a routine he had perfected during his years of evading debt collectors.
The overseer’s shadow flashed, and in an instant, he appeared before Gu Shan.
He grabbed Gu Shan by the hair, lifting his head, and scanned him with a cold gaze. Seeing that Gu Shan wasn’t dead, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
