Chapter 1169: Unexpected

Any system, after experiencing the sedimentation of time, will form an inherent framework and branches that support that framework.

Within this framework, unless an individual's strength is heaven-defying, they must follow the rules within this framework, and it is difficult to shake those branches.

After all, the branches that make up this framework are themselves people of significant strength.

And they have often experienced the gathering of dozens, hundreds, or even more generations, becoming forces and part of the system's rules.

In the Fifth Star Ring, the eleven Heavens-Beyond-Heaven are the eleven largest branches.

Within these Heavens-Beyond-Heaven, there exist a large number of forces like mountain strongholds, which are themselves both maintainers and beneficiaries of their respective Heavens-Beyond-Heaven, as well as part of the branches.

They are like giant whirlpools, emitting an extreme suction force that affects all living things in the entire Fifth Star Ring.

Therefore, as ordinary cultivators, what can they use to shake them?

Thus, after Zhou Zhengli coughed, the words spoken by this group of people were like sharp divine arts and techniques, falling between heaven and earth, falling into the hearts and minds of those jailers.

Like a meteorite falling into the sea!

Every sentence made one's heart tremble.

Combined with the light of those tokens, the great waves rising in the hearts of these alien jailers naturally became one after another, eventually turning into a storm.

With such a background, such a lineup...

A sense of powerlessness also rose in the hearts of the two wardens.

They could see that this group of people were clearly a bunch of spoiled brats!

And they were spoiled brats whose own cultivation and aptitude surpassed the ordinary.

Generally speaking, such existences are mostly ascenders from the Immortal Capital!

In the Immortal Capital, there seem to be only a few orthodox sects, but in reality, it is a mix of dragons and snakes. As a place for seeds, all Heavens-Beyond-Heaven have layouts there, either openly or secretly.

Even if there are those who haven't paid attention for a while, once they naturally grow and walk out of the Immortal Capital, they will be immediately noticed by all parties and thus contacted and absorbed.

The two wardens were aware of this in their hearts.

But what puzzled them was...

Even ascenders are often scattered and would not appear so concentrated, let alone as a single squad.

And right now...

These two wardens looked at the people in front of them, and the sense of powerlessness in their hearts grew a bit stronger.

Combat power, clearly, was not something they could compare with.

Background, needless to say.

"And they are procurement envoys..."

The two felt bitter.

At the same time, Xing Huanzi had already led dozens of ascenders to break into the prison inside the statue, starting this mission.

Afterwards, Xie Lingzi, Yuanshan Su, and Qianjun Piyi also dispersed, some alone, some with others, entering the prison from other entrances.

Li Mengtu was also among them.

Their areas were different, and their division of labor was clear.

As for those remaining outside, there were only a dozen or so.

Xu Qing naturally didn't need to go in personally, and after Zhou Zhengli thought about it, he also chose to stay by Xu Qing's side.

And the sea grass... it didn't enter the prison either.

It circled outside the prison statue, replacing the prison's original defense, spreading its own pressure, and assisting everyone with its divine sense, making the exploration of the prison more comprehensive.

This skillful scene, falling into the eyes of those jailers and the two wardens, gave them the feeling that this group of people clearly wasn't doing this for the first time.

It was because, after experiencing the events in the Huntian Universe, Xu Qing and his group already had a certain degree of tacit understanding in their cooperation.

Just like now, seeing that others had already entered the prison, Xu Qing simply sat cross-legged, nourishing his cultivation while thinking about how to handle the aftermath of this matter.

Acting in this way would naturally cause a backlash, and there would inevitably be accountability later.

As for the method of response, although there were several, the simplest one was actually to find the Nine-Colored Ice.

"However, after they all revealed their backgrounds, I am no longer the primary person responsible for this matter; this was a joint decision by everyone."

Xu Qing pondered.

Time passed slowly like this.

Zhou Zhengli was also meditating, and the dozen or so ascenders beside him who hadn't entered the prison were also sitting cross-legged, but they would occasionally open their eyes, their gazes falling on the prison entrance.

Clearly, they also wanted to go in.

But according to the plan, someone had to stay behind, so they would go in batches.

And just as they frequently looked at the entrance, and the jailers and the two wardens became increasingly gloomy, suddenly, from one of the entrances, a figure flew out rapidly.

The person who appeared was not one of Xu Qing's squad, but an alien jailer from this place. After appearing, he immediately knelt before the two wardens and spoke in a low voice.

"My lords, they... after they entered the prison, they did indeed put on a show of searching at first, but after seeing the imprisoned gods..."

"They began to interrogate the gods, and under the pretext of torture, they extracted source essence. Now, dozens of imprisoned gods have had their source cores collapse."

"If this continues..."

The jailer hesitated.

Upon hearing this, the two wardens' expressions became even uglier, so they looked up at Xu Qing and the others.

The old man among them spoke in a deep voice.

"Fellow Daoist, this is a private prison of the seventeen clans of the Lingguang Heaven-Beyond-Heaven. Although it accepts jurisdiction, such plundering will definitely be investigated!"

"Moreover, we have guarded this place for many years and know it like the back of our hands. There is no such thing as a prison break or rebellion. Your excuse for this gluttony is too clumsy!"

Xu Qing didn't speak; this excuse was something Zhou Zhengli had come up with on the spot.

As for the other ascenders remaining outside, none of them were thin-skinned, and they had come here for the source essence, so their expressions were normal at the moment.

As for Zhou Zhengli, his expression became solemn, and he nodded heavily.

"The two lords are right. The actions of my teammates are indeed a bit rough. I will go and dissuade them now."

"Fellow Daoists, sorry to trouble you to go down and supervise them a little."

Zhou Zhengli said, looking at the ascenders who had been waiting outside impatiently.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked solemn and stood up one after another.

"Indeed, we must!"

"It is indeed excessive!"

"We will go and dissuade them now!"

As they spoke, these dozen or so ascenders immediately flew out and headed straight for the prison entrance.

How could the two wardens not see the trick in this scene? Their anger grew, but knowing their combat power was insufficient, they looked at each other and saw the determination in each other's eyes.

"This group of people is daring and reckless! This matter must be reported strictly!"

"The Procurement Division has offended many people in the past, and this behavior is even more excessive!"

"You unite the seventeen clans and report it to the Lingguang Xiangong together, while I will gather other parties and report it to the Jiuan Xiangong. Even if this group of people has a deep background, acting like this must be punished!"

After reaching a decision, the two wardens immediately took out jade slips and recorded the events.

And the collection continued.

Inside the prison, with the intrusion of a large number of ascenders, the scope of source essence collection became larger and larger, and the jailers here simply couldn't stop it.

After all, the formations here were aimed at gods, and for cultivators... especially human cultivators, they had little effect.

But at this moment, in the deep layer of the prison, an area that Xing Huanzi and others hadn't reached yet, heterogeneous matter was permeating, and divine runes were shining all around, making this place seem isolated.

Looking at it, there was only a thick fog.

And in the depths of the thick fog, there was actually an altar!

The material of this altar was actually the bones of gods, and four twisted figures were sitting cross-legged on it at this moment.

Weird bodies, swaying tentacles, and the fluctuations of gods all over their bodies were secretly emanating from them.

"Our plan is extremely secret. The lower clans here have been blinded for a long time and haven't noticed anything..."

"Even those two human Quasi-Immortals were secretly planted with hidden thoughts by the Master, causing their cognition to be blinded as well."

"So... how could it be detected by the outside world!"

The divine sounds of these four gods echoed within their respective divine powers.

"This time, those incoming humans shouldn't have fully detected it, but they became suspicious!"

"So they didn't find this place, but the scope of their search has become deeper and deeper."

"That's true. My divine sense outside has already sensed that many of our clansmen are being interrogated to the point where their origins are about to be squeezed dry."

"But if this continues, it is inevitable that they will find this place!"

"So, shall we... observe silently, or... act in advance!"

The four gods were silent.

After a long while, the divine sound rose again.

"But the Master hasn't completely returned yet. Now there is only a trace of guidance, and we aren't ready either. If we act in advance, even if the Master returns, he will be in a weakened state."

"But if we don't act in advance, we might even lose the chance to return."

"We have prepared for many years... where exactly did things go wrong? How could it be detected!"

The four gods were silent again.

It was really because this sudden search from the outside world caught them off guard, and they also heard the talk of prison break and rebellion during the interrogation by those humans.

So each of them had waves in their hearts.

Because if they could be given more time and proceed according to the plan, it would be foolproof. By then, not only could the Master come over, but they could also move out of the Fifth Star Ring through the star ring guidance of the Master's return.

But now...

"Thinking about this is meaningless. I agree to act in advance!"

"Seconded!"

Golden light shone on the four gods, and as their divine sounds merged, they reached a consensus, then simultaneously struck the altar.

The next instant, the altar roared, and a terrifying power erupted from within, forming a golden storm that spread toward the prison above.

And at this moment, in the middle section of the prison, Xing Huanzi and others were collecting a dying god, and it looked like they were about to squeeze this god dry.

But just at this moment, a monstrous roar sounded in the prison, and heterogeneous matter permeated in an instant, making the world inside the entire prison dark and gloomy.

Low roars rose one after another.

The gods were rebelling!

Xing Huanzi noticed it immediately. He was stunned at first, then his expression became solemn. He spread his perception, sweeping in all directions, and what he saw were golden pillars of light rising into the sky.

And waves of reviving auras!

"Is there really a rebellion?"

Xing Huanzi's heart trembled, feeling somewhat unbelievable.

But he also knew the seriousness of the matter, so he immediately asked the people around him to go out and report this.

One incense stick later.

On the statue where the divine prison was located, the two wardens were recording, preparing to report to the Heaven-Beyond-Heaven to punish Xu Qing and the others.

And Xu Qing was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

But the next instant, his eyes suddenly opened, revealing a look of doubt, and he looked down.

Almost the moment Xu Qing looked over, two figures flew out from the entrance simultaneously—one was a jailer, and the other was an ascender.

These two acted similarly; after flying out, they headed straight for their respective camps, and upon approaching, their voices echoed solemnly.

"My lords, there is indeed a god breaking out of prison below!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he instinctively turned to look at Zhou Zhengli.

Zhou Zhengli was also stunned there.

And the jailers who had been full of anger toward Xu Qing and the others were also stunned at this moment.

Their hearts and minds were roaring.

And those two wardens were also having their brains turned upside down, as if thunder had exploded. At this moment, they stopped recording on the jade slips, cold sweat instantly flowed down their foreheads, and disbelief rose in their hearts.

There really was a prison break!

Before they could act, the ground suddenly shook violently, and golden pillars of light pierced through the surface and shot into the sky.

Heterogeneous matter also became thick at this moment.

The two wardens breathed rapidly and instinctively looked at Xu Qing. All the dissatisfaction and anger they had felt before now disappeared completely.

It was because they knew too well the seriousness of the god prison break for the two of them.

"My lord!"

The two spoke simultaneously, anxious in their hearts.

Even if they didn't fully believe in the purpose of Xu Qing and the others' arrival, now that the facts had happened, whether they believed it or not didn't matter.

What mattered was how to resolve it!

Xu Qing's gaze sank, and he slowly stood up from his cross-legged position.

His cultivation erupted at this moment, forming a heaven-shaking pressure that suppressed the golden light and heterogeneous matter emanating from the statue.

The statue roared.

At the same time, Xu Qing's voice came out in a low voice at this instant.

"We are temporarily taking over this prison!"

"Zhou Zhengli, notify everyone... suppress the rebelling and escaping gods immediately!" ===== CHAPTER 1172 =====