The mixture of gunpowder and damp earth brought Chen Kuang back to childhood memories of the countryside during New Year's, cheap firecrackers leaking their bitter stench into the early morning air from half-melted piles of snow..
His gaze darkened as he wiped the oil from his fingers.
This oil-laced moisture was clearly manmade. It wasn't hard to imagine someone had poured oil behind the wall, and due to the dampness, it had seeped through a large crack into the cell.
Combined with the smell of gunpowder...
It wasn't difficult to deduce what Li Hongling was planning.
There was likely a hidden passage beneath the Heavenly Prison and within its walls, and she intended to raze the entire place with a massive quantity of explosives.
What remained unclear was just how wide the explosive coverage was.
Chen Kuang's expression remained flat.
No wonder...
Even after confirming he was a cultivator, Li Hongling hadn't sealed his cultivation. She had only broken his legs. The supervision over the prison wasn't particularly tight either.
It wasn't that she underestimated him, nor that she hadn't considered what he might be capable of, she was simply far more ruthless than he had imagined.
So the news he'd heard from the guards on his first day was false.
Li Hongling had never intended to spare the remaining palace personnel.
Quite the opposite, she planned to leave no one alive.
And judging by this... she didn't just want to kill them.
She wanted to destroy the entire palace as well.
Still, the key question remained: was this passage something that had always existed, or was it newly dug in the past few days for this specific purpose?
That distinction was critical.
Not above asking, Chen Kuang turned toward Huo Hengxuan, who appeared to be dozing, and lowered his voice.
"General Huo, did the Heavenly Prison originally have a hidden passage?"
If he had sensed it with ease, then for Huo Hengxuan, it must have been obvious from the start.
The old man opened his eyes, his expression unsurprised and calm, as expected.
"The capital of Great Liang has stood for sixteen hundred years. The layout of the imperial city has not changed by even a hair."
So it had always been there.
But why would a prison be built with hidden passages?
Thinking it through... the only possible answer was that it was connected to the Demon Suppression Vault.
"Does the general know what the passage was used for? Where the entrance is?"
"It's useless. The passage is shallow, nearly flush with the walls. The entrance is at the same place as the prison's main gate, it's not hard to find."
"But that makes it a security risk. Didn't the Ministry of Justice want to have it sealed?"
"They did."
"And?"
"The request was denied."
Huo Hengxuan shook his head. "They say the Su clan has ancestral decrees forbidding even the smallest alteration to the capital's layout."
The Su clan, of course, meant the imperial family.
Now that was interesting...
Chen Kuang pressed further.
"Why?"
Huo Hengxuan shot him a glance, growing impatient again.
"So many questions."
But Chen Kuang's tone was firm. "It's a matter of life and death."
After a moment of silence, Huo Hengxuan spoke. "There was once an emperor who intended to alter the city's design. But then, a Daoist descended from the heavens and told him the truth: the very layout of the imperial city suppresses the fortune of the nation. To change it would be to shake the foundation of the kingdom."
He then snorted. "Ridiculous sorcery."
The foundation of the nation...
If he hadn't heard Chu Wenruo's story, those words would've sounded abstract and meaningless.
But now he knew, the foundation of Great Liang's rule was precisely those two ancient powerhouses who had suppressed the great demon and brought prosperity to the land.
So the passage really was connected to the Demon Suppression Vault!
And this strange, seemingly useless tunnel, could it be the key to keeping that demon sealed?
He had to get more information.
If his current plan failed, this might be his only fallback.
Once he cultivated "Descent from Tusita Heaven" to a deeper level, he would awaken a spiritual sense. It wasn't quite the same as astral projection, but it could still allow him to perceive things beyond walls and barriers.
With that in mind, Chen Kuang prepared to enter meditation once more.
Boom!
The ground shook again. Outside the cell, the starlight seemed to dim for a moment. The whole world plunged into darkness.
Chen Kuang steadied himself, narrowing his eyes at the flickering light beyond the window.
Was the battle between Saints finally ending?
Would the Great Liang's ancestral patriarch triumph over the Eastern Emperor?
"Defeated," Huo Hengxuan sighed.
Chen Kuang frowned. "How can you tell, General?"
From his hesitation earlier, it seemed he had expected the ancestor to lose from the very beginning. But with his current level, he shouldn't be able to perceive anything on the Saints' level.
Then again, he had passed on to Chen Kuang some knowledge of cultivation realms:
Ninth-Rank: Qi Opening Realm.
Eighth-Rank: Innate Realm.
Seventh-Rank: Tower Ascension Realm.
These were the "Lower Three Ranks," and also the upper limit of mortal martial artists. The most elite of mortals topped out at the peak of Tower Ascension.
Sixth-Rank: Sea-Cleaving Realm.
Fifth-Rank: Moon-Embracing Realm.
Fourth-Rank: Master Realm.
The "Middle Three Ranks," those who possessed divine abilities and miraculous means.
Third-Rank: Profound Realm.
Second-Rank: Daoist Shore.
First-Rank: Celestial Vastness.
The "Upper Three Ranks," were realms beyond reason, invincible, undying and unbound by the five elements.
Only those who reached Dao's Edge, the Daoist Shore, crossing the sea of suffering and bitterness to reach the other shore, could be called Saints.
Before being crippled, Huo Hengxuan had been a Master Realm cultivator.
Powerful enough to defend Great Liang for decades, yet still utterly insignificant compared to the Saints.
In theory, he shouldn't be able to perceive their battle.
After all, even now, Chen Kuang couldn't fathom what the battle between Saints looked like. He only saw the tremors it caused on the earth.
But Huo Hengxuan was still a half-step into the Upper Three Ranks.
He nodded toward the sky. "The two Saints are playing a game of Go using the stars as their board. They've reached the midgame. The outcome is becoming clear."
Chen Kuang shivered.
He looked up at the dim starry sky, this time focusing his eyes.
Now that he looked closely, he saw it..
Those dazzling stars weren't still at all.
One star went dark.
Then another.
Then hundreds, thousands vanished.
That wasn't a single star. It was a nebula.
What a terrifying sight..
Almost without thinking, Chen Kuang shifted into the posture of the first manifestation, trying to see more clearly.
Under his enhanced vision, the chaotic night sky revealed itself as a massive Go board.
A colossal hand descended from the heavens, picking up a nebula and placing it alongside several star clusters.
In the next instant, the surrounding stars collapsed, imploded, vanishing into a black abyss.
His mind was drawn toward it uncontrollably.
"Steady!"
Huo Hengxuan's roar boomed like a great bell, snapping him back to reality.
Chen Kuang jolted, drenched in sweat.
Looking up again, he now clearly saw the precarious and deadly game laid bare on the celestial board.
He muttered under his breath, "This is fucking insane..."
So this is how you people play Go in a high-cultivation world?
No wonder he couldn't locate the battlefield. There wasn't one on the ground.
The earthquakes probably weren't from the Saints fighting, but from stray asteroids being hurled around during the game.
How absurd and terrifying..
He suddenly felt a little pessimistic about his chances of escape.
The Great Ancestor of Liang... would definitely lose.
And once that Saint opponent descended from the heavens, the true death knell would follow.
...
"Victory is now assured for the Eastern Emperor. It seems our return in triumph is guaranteed," Li Hongling stood atop the East Watchtower, hands clasped behind her back as she looked to the stars.
Behind her stood Qingcuo, the Black Armored Guard.
Beyond the city walls, battle still raged. But Li Hongling already knew the fate of the remaining Liang loyalists.
Wei Su fanned himself slowly, brows furrowed.
"Has General Li forgotten... the most important item has yet to be found. Can it be called a true victory?"
Li Hongling narrowed her eyes. "Most important? If I recall, that item was not the true goal of that one. Even if it's not found, everything is already in place. What does it matter?"
Wei Su's hand paused. "Then when does General Li plan to act?"
Li Hongling's face remained calm. "In seven days. The war has not yet ended. The Saint has not returned. No need for the Immortal Master to be so impatient."
Wei Su was silent for a moment, then asked:
"I heard you questioned the musician today? He's merely a commoner. What interest does he warrant?"
"The battlefield is dull," Li Hongling said lightly. "I needed something to vent my anger. Why, does the Immortal Master also take an interest?"
"...No. I have other matters."
Wei Su turned from East Watchtower and, after a moment's thought, went to find Shen Xingzhu.
"Daoist friend, a moment?"
The woman sat cross-legged alone on the eaves, the starry sky stretching behind her.
Her voice floated down softly, veiled behind cyan gauze.
"Is something the matter?"
Wei Su cupped his hands respectfully, his eyes sharp.
"I recall you were interested in the blind musician?"
"Yes. But I didn't see him in the Secret Tribunal."
Shen Xingzhu had spent the entire day observing interrogations, her presence forcing interrogators to be on their best behavior, lest they anger the benevolent immortal and incur punishment.
Wei Su's expression turned serious.
"That's because Li Hongling didn't hand him over to the Tribunal. I've heard she used private punishment on him."
The serenity in Shen Xingzhu's eyes rippled for the first time, like a koi leaping from the depths of a still lake.
She blinked, stunned.
"Private punishment? Is he still alive?"