Chapter 404: The Fourteen Prisoners of District Ding Yisaner

District Ding-One-Three-Two currently has fourteen prisoners.

Compared to other District Ding cells with hundreds or even thousands of criminals, the number of prisoners here is indeed too small.

So small that Xu Qing didn't need to think too much before the information on all the prisoners in the data surfaced in his mind.

At this moment, as the gate of the Ding-One-Three-Two prison opened and the breath of decay drifted out, Xu Qing stood at the entrance, watching calmly.

Inside the gate, it was pitch black.

Xu Qing pondered for a few breaths of time before stepping inside.

He stepped into the prison gate, walked into the darkness, and then, with a wave of his hand, the prison gate slammed shut with a bang.

The sound spread, entering the ears of all the guards watching here, turning into ripples in their hearts.

Inside the Ding-One-Three-Two prison, it remained pitch black, with only the sound of footsteps echoing.

Those were Xu Qing's footsteps. He did not use the guard's authority to turn on the lights here because, compared to transparent light, Xu Qing felt that the blackness here was more suitable for himself.

He had always liked walking in the dark night.

Especially after adapting to the blackness, although everything here was dim, it was not impossible to see clearly.

Just like the prison cell he had slaughtered in, the center of this District Ding-One-Three-Two was a huge plaza, and surrounding it were individual cages.

Xu Qing walked along the corridor outside the cages, passing one empty room after another, until he stopped outside the nineteenth cage.

There was a prisoner inside this cell.

It was a figure sitting cross-legged with its back to Xu Qing, very tall, its head almost reaching the top of the cage.

Its whole body was naked without any clothing, but there were countless tentacles swaying, some long and some short, draped over its body like rags.

Regarding Xu Qing's appearance, this giant didn't care at all. It seemed to be eating, and as the sound of chewing echoed, its head also swayed, as if tearing at something.

Outside the cage, Xu Qing stood there motionless, watching coldly.

Through the shadow, he could clearly see what the other party was eating: it was its own tentacles, which were currently being torn and bitten off one by one.

At the same time, Xu Qing also saw the appearance of this prisoner.

The prisoner's data showed that the other party was a Cloud Beast.

On the way to the capital, Xu Qing had seen Cloud Beasts in Yunfeng Continent. They had no intelligence, and their bodies were over a hundred zhang long. The figure before him was much shorter, and its appearance was slightly different.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and walked on. Soon, after an interval of seven or eight cages, he saw the second prisoner.

This was a female prisoner.

She was of the Human Race.

Her whole body was covered in filth, permeated with scars formed by biting.

One could vaguely see that her appearance was still quite beautiful, especially her figure, which was even more enchanting. At this moment, she was squatting in a corner, holding a straw doll in her arms, as if coaxing it to sleep.

When Xu Qing passed by, she noticed him, raised her left index finger to her lips, and gave a soft "shh."

As if reminding Xu Qing not to disturb the child's rest.

The ground of the cell where she was located was full of weeds, and countless torn straw dolls could vaguely be seen.

Xu Qing watched coldly, the information about this woman from the data surfacing in his mind. This woman was once a genius, coming from the Grand Void Transformation Demon Sect.

In her early years, she had a fortuitous encounter and ate a heavenly treasure similar to a Longevity Fruit. She was originally expected to have a bright future, but it was discovered that she had privately and cruelly cooked and eaten infants of her own race.

This matter had caused quite a stir back then.

She should have been executed, but most of the relatives of those she had cruelly harmed demanded that she live a life worse than death, needing to endure endless torture.

Thus, she was imprisoned here.

At this moment, as Xu Qing watched, the broken straw dolls on the floor of the cage suddenly opened their eyes one by one, staring fixedly at the woman, then opened their mouths to let out hisses, and pounced fiercely toward the woman.

Including the straw doll in the woman's arms, it was the same, crazily biting at the woman.

The woman trembled, letting these straw dolls bite her body, raised her head, and smiled at Xu Qing. The smile was eerie, as if she were greeting Xu Qing.

Xu Qing watched for a while, withdrew his gaze, and walked away, heading toward the next prisoner.

Just like that, he walked around the corridor for more than half a circle, comparing the prisoners inside one by one with the information, while also observing whether they had any problems.

Why District Ding-One-Three-Two was extremely ominous, Xu Qing didn't have much curiosity, but since this prison cell let him oversee it, then he had to grasp everything here in his hands.

Through observation, the most intuitive feeling Xu Qing got was that the prisoners in this District Ding-One-Three-Two were clearly more bizarre than those he had slaughtered before.

Even the seventh prisoner couldn't be called a flesh-and-blood creature.

It was a millstone that rotated by itself.

It rotated continuously, emitting a suction force, as if wanting to suck everything in the cage into it and crush it.

This race hadn't even been introduced by the Ghost Hand. In the prisoner data, it showed that this was a Stone Demon.

A rare race born after the arrival of the God's Remnant Face.

Or like this moment, Xu Qing stood before the two hundred and thirty-seventh cage, where the thirteenth prisoner here was imprisoned.

The other party had no body, only a head, rolling back and forth on the floor of the cage. Noticing Xu Qing, it suddenly stopped, its red eyes staring at Xu Qing, and the corners of its mouth revealed a happy smile.

"So much fun. You are clearly already dead, but you don't know it yourself. So much fun. Next time, you will die at the hands of a cultivator wearing a straw hat, but you are already dead, how can you die again?"

"Died very miserably, the body collapsed, but the head is still there. The other party said they wanted to take your head to a place."

"So miserable, so miserable."

"Everyone is looking for you, but they can't find you... Haha, they don't know where you were buried, but I know, I saw it."

"Do you want to resolve it? As long as you throw me into the cage where the Cloud Beast is and let me live inside, I will help you resolve it, how about that?"

"You have to believe me, I am the only one here helping to oversee. Those overseers who didn't die are actually all because of my credit."

Xu Qing didn't speak. After carefully sizing up the head for a few glances, he walked away and went to the last cage where a prisoner was imprisoned.

This place was even more special.

There was no cultivator inside the cage, only a painting.

A painting floating in mid-air.

In the painting was a family of four generations living under one roof, the whole family sitting together, all smiling, twenty-three in total.

In the very center was an old man, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, smiling the most happily. His expression had been perfectly painted by the artist.

Looking at that painting, Xu Qing's eyes revealed a strange light. This was also a new race born in the world after the arrival of the God's Remnant Face, named the Danqing Race.

This race did not exist in reality; they spent their whole lives in paintings.

But they said that the people of the world were in the painting, and they were the ones outside.

After a long time, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and turned to leave. When he returned to the cage where the first prisoner was imprisoned, the Cloud Beast that had been eating continuously suddenly stopped chewing and let out a low voice.

"Don't believe 237, no matter what it says, don't believe it."

Two hundred and thirty-seven was the cage where that god-talking head was located.

Xu Qing didn't pay attention, walked to the side of the prison gate of District Ding-One-Three-Two, sat cross-legged, and looked at the dark prison, his eyes revealing deep thought.

He felt these prisoners were very interesting.

Time passed slowly. District Ding Yisaner was relatively quiet except for individual sounds.

No mysterious events appeared, and no evil or strange situations occurred.

Xu Qing remained cross-legged. This time he came, he didn't touch any items, nor did he say a word.

Even whether it was his walking just now or his sitting cross-legged at this moment, his body was permeated with poison prohibition power.

It didn't spread outward, only circling around his own body, using this to isolate everything from the outside.

This was his usual caution.

As for the rumored extreme ominousness of this District Ding Yisaner, Xu Qing hadn't felt it yet.

He prepared to investigate slowly.

At this moment, seeing that the day was over and it was time to go off duty, Xu Qing got up, intending to leave.

He had already applied to gain insight into the Emperor Sword yesterday, and the appointment time was right after he went off duty today.

But just as Xu Qing got up, he suddenly turned his head to look at the cage where the Human Race woman was imprisoned.

Looking with his gaze, a figure appeared there.

The figure of a little boy.

He stood in front of the woman's cage, as if saying something to the other party.

Xu Qing's eyes revealed sharpness. As he raised his right hand and waved, the black iron slip went out in an instant, shining with streaks of red lightning, and in an instant, it arrived in front of the woman's cage, slamming directly into the wall.

But the little boy's figure disappeared eerily.

Xu Qing walked over with an expressionless face. When he arrived close, the black iron slip where the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor was located flew back rapidly, speaking in surprise within Xu Qing's mind.

"Master, there is nothing here."

Xu Qing raised his head to look at the woman inside the cage. This woman was still curled up in a corner, smiling at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stared at her for a long moment, turned around, walked back to the prison gate, pushed it open, and left District Ding-One-Three-Two.

As the dark-green prison gate of District Ding-One-Three-Two slammed shut with a bang, Xu Qing then sent a divine sense to the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor.

"You didn't see it?"

"Ah? Master, see what? Just now, in my perception, there was nothing there." The Jin Gang Sect Ancestor hurriedly spoke cautiously, while also feeling uneasy in his heart.

He felt that he had already fallen out of favor... so he cherished this opportunity very much, but he truly hadn't perceived anything.

Xu Qing frowned and asked the shadow.

"... Mas... ter... no..." The little shadow answered tremblingly. Like the Jin Gang Sect Ancestor, it also felt that it had fallen out of favor.

Xu Qing's eyes revealed cold light as he looked back at District Ding-One-Three-Two.

At this moment, he had to go and gain insight into the Emperor Sword, and the appointment time was almost up, so he suppressed the thought of going back in to investigate and left the Prison Division.

When he walked out of the Prison Division, it was already close to dusk, and the clouds in the sky were slightly dark. Clearly, there would be rain tonight.

Xu Qing didn't continue to think about the matter of District Ding-One-Three-Two. His body soared into the air, about to head to the Jiangong, but just at this moment, a brilliant light suddenly exploded from a hundred-zhang Sword Pavilion below. As the booming sound echoed, dozens of sword lights shot out from within, scattering in all directions.

From that Sword Pavilion, an old man wearing a Sword Holder's Dao robe also flew out in a hurry, his hands forming seals to intercept, but as luck would have it, one of the sword lights headed straight for Xu Qing.

The speed was fast, and the aura was strong, surpassing the Golden Core cultivation base. It was a Nascent Soul strike, arriving in an instant.

Xu Qing's expression sank. He retreated fiercely, and the Purple Heaven Infinite Crown on his head shone even more, dodging away amidst the booming sound.

The sword light whistled past his face.

"Little friend, apologies, very sorry!"

After Xu Qing avoided it, the old man had already intercepted the other sword qi. At this moment, he looked at Xu Qing with an apologetic face.

"This old man was just researching a cultivation technique and had an accident." The old man smiled bitterly. Although he had a Nascent Soul cultivation base, he was clearly feeling bad and kept cupping his fists.

Xu Qing frowned and looked at the old man, then scanned the surroundings. He felt that this matter didn't look like the other party did it on purpose. After all, if they wanted to kill him, one Nascent Soul sword qi was not enough.

Moreover, this was the capital, and he had just come out of the Prison Division. If one wanted to kill someone here, a one-hit-kill method would inevitably be the most reasonable way to strike.

After pondering, Xu Qing nodded.

Although this matter was highly likely just an accident, Xu Qing's vigilance was even higher. His body unfolded at full speed, heading straight for the Jiangong.

He arrived quickly. After using up his one chance to gain insight as a newly promoted Sword Holder, as the array inside the Jiangong opened, Xu Qing's figure disappeared and appeared in the Emperor Sword insight place of the Jiangong.

This place was similar to the insight place of the Sword Court in Yinghuang Continent. It was also a huge stone with a sword carved on it, the ground around it was all arrays, and chains were wrapped around the large stone.

When Xu Qing arrived, seven or eight people were already gaining insight here. His gaze swept over and he noticed that three of them were newly promoted Sword Holders who were with him this time.

At this moment, they were all closing their eyes, with protection existing outside their bodies.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, found a corner, and sat cross-legged.

He had been only a step away from success at the Sword Court before. Although the Sword Holder at the Sword Court at that time said that this was a feeling everyone had, Xu Qing felt that was not the case.

Because within his sea of consciousness, the phantom of the Emperor Sword was still there, and it hadn't completely dissipated yet, with more than half remaining.

Added to the insight experience shared by Kong Xianglong and all of them before, Xu Qing felt that this time he had a great chance of success.

Thus, expectations rose in his heart. Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes, his perception spreading out and merging into the giant stone in front.

The moment he touched it, that vague and hazy feeling from that day appeared before his eyes again.

But this time, Xu Qing didn't take long before he passed through layers of mist and saw that simple and unadorned sword shadow.

Gazing at the Emperor Sword, Xu Qing drew closer and closer; the sword became increasingly clear in his eyes. Faintly, he seemed to hear the sound of a sword ringing, and he even saw figures manifesting around the sword's body.

Those figures couldn't be seen clearly, but their movements were all consistent.

Draw the sword, one slash!

Simple and plain.

But the feeling it gave Xu Qing was not so. Every sword slash of every figure stirred up ripples in his heart, turning into a storm, echoing and booming.

As this storm and booming became increasingly intense, he vaguely saw someone slash down with a sword, the sea was split, deep gullies formed on the seabed, and the sword qi remained, the cracks not closing.

He also saw someone, under one sword, cause the earth to collapse, the ground of a small half of a continent becoming flying ash, drifting before his eyes, earth-shattering.

He even saw someone slash with a sword, and a forbidden area directly rolled back and shattered, the wind and clouds changing color.

Besides this, more sword slashes were aimed at alien races, countless alien races dying under this sword, the shrill sounds before death seeming to still be echoing at this moment.

Until he saw a figure whose face could not be looked at directly.

This person was wearing an imperial robe, martial and extraordinary, incomparably noble. He stood in the firmament and slashed a sword toward an existence that stood up from the deep sea, its whole body permeated with tentacles and emitting infinite alien quality.

After one sword, the existence that walked out from the deep sea let out an earth-shattering roar, its body torn apart, turning into countless pieces, merging into the sea.

The one wearing the imperial robe was the Great Emperor of the Jiangong.

The one in the deep sea... seemed to be a god.

These scenes, as if they were images branded in the river of time, kept appearing at this moment. In the shock of Xu Qing's heart, finally, all the sword-slashing figures overlapped together.

Turning into one sword!

The Emperor Sword.

Xu Qing's heart stirred up towering waves, incomparably shocked.

Three hours later, his figure disappeared from the insight place.

The moment his eyes opened, a brilliant sword shadow flashed and disappeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

He remained shocked in his heart, and it was a long while before he took a deep breath and looked inside his own sea of consciousness.

There, he clearly saw an Emperor Sword shining with light.

Emperor Sword, insight successful! ===== CHAPTER 405 =====