Chapter 424: Walking Alone in the Dark Alley

"You!"

The Yao Mansion Steward Sun's expression turned ugly instantly. He looked at the battle-hardened Sword-Holders surrounding them, who were filled with malevolent aura like a pack of wolves, and then looked at the envoy of the Sheng Lan tribe beside him.

His expression shifted, and he felt bitter in his heart.

In reality, he did not want to come this time either. After all, bringing the Sheng Lan tribe to the Sword-Holding Palace to arrest Sword-Holders was inherently absurd. But the Marquis had given him an order, telling him he must satisfy the visiting Sheng Lan tribe envoys, so at this moment, he could only grit his teeth hard, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes.

"The Marquis has an order: take down Kong Xianglong and the other four!"

Deacon Prince Sima frowned, while the Sheng Lan tribe Black-Clad Guard's face lost some of its gloominess, and he smiled slightly, a profound glint flashing deep in his eyes.

This time, he had come here with the tribe's delegation; in reality, finding trouble for Kong Xianglong and the others was a pretense. His true mission was to observe the Yao family.

And from beginning to end, he had been observing the expressions of all the Yao family cultivators, not letting a single one go, and even verifying with secret techniques whether they were intentionally putting on a show.

At this moment, the dozens of Yao family cultivators on the square, upon hearing this, were also secretly feeling bitter, but under this order, they had no choice but to step out. Thus, their cultivation erupted, their momentum soared, and they were just about to rush toward Xu Qing and the others.

Seeing that a mutiny was about to occur, just then, a cold snort came from the firmament.

"What kind of behavior is this!"

The next instant, a force that shook the heavens and the earth descended from the sky like a landslide, suppressing all directions.

The entire Discipline Hall shook instantly, and the cultivators in all directions felt their minds churn. Especially those dozens of Yao family cultivators, each of them was unable to move in the slightest, as if pressed down by ten thousand mountains.

Following closely, a figure walked over from the firmament.

This person was an old man, with a thousand paths operating in his eyes—that was the manifestation of the first stage of Return to Void, the Thousand Paths of Shattered Space.

He wore Sword-Holder Daoist robes, and as he walked, the sky behind him twisted, appearing with countless illusory bodies that surged into the depths of the firmament, causing the entire Sword-Holding Palace to tremble—that was the manifestation of the second stage of Return to Void, the Myriad Transformations of Reality and Illusion.

Furthermore, as he walked over, illusory scenes of space shattering appeared one after another around him, as if worlds were spontaneously being born around him. These worlds were like bubbles, forming in a short time and then shattering in an instant.

This was... the mark of the third stage of Return to Void, the Billion Thoughts of Heavenly Creation!

It was just that the number of worlds around the old man was not very large; he had not truly stepped into the third stage, and could only be said to have stepped in with one foot.

But even so, it was still incomparably powerful and astonishing. At this moment, as he appeared, the entire Sword-Holding Palace fell silent.

Xu Qing immediately recognized that the other party was the Vice Palace Master of the Sword-Holding Palace who had appeared during the Sword-Holder oath.

"Greetings, Vice Palace Master!" Deacon Prince Sima was the first to cup his fists and bow respectfully.

Xu Qing, Kong Xianglong, and the others also quickly cupped their fists, and soon all the Sword-Holders in the surroundings bowed in unison.

"Greetings, Vice Palace Master!"

The Vice Palace Master was expressionless. He looked coldly at Steward Sun of the Yao family, whose expression had changed drastically, and spoke indifferently.

"Get out!"

Steward Sun's body trembled. He wanted to speak but did not dare. He could only lower his head, bow to the Sheng Lan tribe Black-Clad Guard, and then, with a trembling group of Yao family cultivators, leave rapidly.

Ignoring the Yao family, the Vice Palace Master looked coldly at the Sheng Lan tribe.

"And you, you are an envoy, so I will give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to escape with your life, to show the etiquette of our human race. But if you cannot escape back to Sheng Lan within that time, I will behead you."

The Sheng Lan tribe Black-Clad Guard's expression changed, and he flew out instantly, heading straight for the distant teleportation array.

After doing all this, the Vice Palace Master looked at Xu Qing and the others again and snorted coldly.

"You few have quite some audacity. By the order of the Palace Master, you five are punished to be detained in the Prison Division for a period of one month!"

"Deacon Prince Sima, you will personally escort them to the Prison Division!"

Xu Qing lowered his head, and Shan Hezi and the others sighed inwardly, also lowering their heads.

However, Kong Xianglong was no longer trembling. He only felt fear when facing the Palace Master; now, he was just in low spirits, clearly feeling that after escaping for so long, he still hadn't escaped the disaster of imprisonment.

"Respect the Dharma decree!" Deacon Prince Sima, hearing this, had a solemn expression and spoke with gravity.

He naturally heard that the escort here was more of a protection, to prevent the Sheng Lan tribe or the Yao family from playing dirty.

"Everyone disperse. Making such a racket, remember that you are Sword-Holders!"

After the Vice Palace Master finished speaking, he left with a cold face.

Deacon Prince Sima raised his head to look at Kong Xianglong and the others, walked over, swept his gaze over them one by one, and then landed on Xu Qing, speaking slowly.

"I am first a deacon of the Sword-Holding Palace, and only then a cultivator of the Taisi Immortal Gate." Outsiders would need to ponder a bit to understand the meaning behind Deacon Prince Sima's words.

But as the person involved, Xu Qing understood immediately, so he cupped his fists and bowed. However, he did not fully believe it in his heart and still needed to verify it.

"Let's go, I will escort you to the Prison Division." Deacon Prince Sima walked forward first.

Kong Xianglong sighed at Xu Qing, while Shan Hezi and Wang Chen blinked and moved closer to Xu Qing, speaking in a low voice.

"Xu Qing, returning to your home, we're counting on you."

Xu Qing nodded silently. Everyone sighed and followed behind Deacon Prince Sima, leaving the Sword-Holding Palace.

While they were heading to the Prison Division, at the very center of the capital, there was a circular altar building.

This altar was very large, but the middle was empty.

Within it existed three main halls, which were black, red, and white respectively. Around them were more side halls, with high-rising buildings and towering pavilions.

The three main palaces were covered with tiles of different colors, and their appearance was extraordinary and unique.

And this place was strange; it seemed to exist within the altar, but in reality, it did not exist.

Because when standing in this palace complex and looking outward, what one saw was not the capital, but a void—there was nothing at all.

In the void, only this palace complex existed.

At this moment, inside the white palace in the center, there were three people.

Two were sitting opposite each other playing chess, and one was standing in the middle gazing at the chessboard.

The person playing chess was the Palace Master of the Sword-Holding Palace, and sitting opposite him was a middle-aged scholar wearing brocade robes.

This person had a fair complexion and vaguely carried a sense of gentleness. At this moment, he was smiling as he picked up a black chess piece and placed it on the board, even poking the piece with his finger.

"Palace Master, your attack is too fierce. If you are not careful, you will become a dragon that has flown to the edge of the sky and cannot return."

"There was a sentence just now in the Sword-Holding Palace that was correct." The Palace Master looked at the chessboard and spoke indifferently.

"What sentence?" The brocade-robed scholar asked with a smile.

"Marquis, I'll poke your mother's head!" The Palace Master was expressionless as he looked up and stared coldly at the brocade-robed scholar.

This brocade-robed scholar was none other than the head of the Yao family, the Yao Hou of this generation.

Hearing this, he did not show anger, but instead laughed. He then stood up and bowed to the person standing to the side watching them play chess.

"Prefect, the chess game is decided, no need to play further. A friend of the visiting Sheng Lan tribe envoy has arrived; I, Yao, will take my leave first to receive them."

After speaking, the Yao Hou left. His back appeared somewhat desolate in the void and darkness, carrying a touch of loneliness.

The person watching the chess game was an old man wearing a coarse linen robe. He looked unremarkable, and his expression was even gentle, without the slightest pressure or momentum. At this moment, he smiled and nodded upon hearing this.

He was the Prefect of Fenghai County.

"Prefect, I still cannot trust him." Looking at the departing Yao Hou, the Palace Master spoke calmly.

"Brother Liangxiu." The Prefect smiled, sat opposite the Palace Master, and while tidying up the chessboard, spoke softly.

"I know that your chess game just now was deliberately set up in the posture of a dragon, intending to remind Yao Tianyan not to let the fake act become real, eventually becoming a dragon."

"But you are strong in slaughter and aggression, while Brother Tianyan is strong in horizontal and vertical alliances. The two of you setting up a situation where you are at odds with each other is the top-secret strategy the three of us decided on together back then."

"Over these years, outsiders have been cursing the Yao family, cursing them for being shameless, cursing them for being brainless and foolish, cursing them for being traitors to the race, cursing them for intermarrying and making peace with foreign races, cursing them for being arrogant and domineering, the whole family worse than pigs and dogs."

"And within the Yao family, those who know of this strategy can be counted on one hand. Even if they know, they cannot say it; they can only suffer through all of this bitterly. Yao Tianyan... this romantic talent and outstanding genius who was famous in the Imperial Capital Great Domain back then, is now willing to bear the infamy. He is more bitter than you."

"Everything is because I am incompetent, because my Fenghai County is swaying, because my human race is declining; we had no choice but to set up such a situation."

The Sword-Holding Palace Master was silent. After a long while, he looked up into the distance and spoke in a low voice.

"Prefect, do not belittle yourself. If it weren't for your painstaking management, Fenghai County, which is far from the human race and located within the Sheng Lan Great Domain, would have long been devoured by Sheng Lan."

"I understand the logic you speak of, and I also know he has it harder than me, and I know his sacrifice even more. But I worry that some people in the Yao family will really become a group of dragons as they walk."

"Even if the leader has the human race in his heart, he cannot turn back, and he has to forget his original intention, just like the former Sheng Lan Grand Duke."

The Prefect was silent. After a long time, he spoke softly.

"Even you, who are in the know, have doubts; this shows that he is not far from completely deceiving the Sheng Lan tribe."

At this moment, dusk had passed, and the firmament was dim. Fortunately, the bright moon was hanging, and moonlight spilled onto the human world, also falling outside the deep pit of the Prison Division.

After escorting Xu Qing and his group here, Deacon Prince Sima left.

Kong Xianglong looked at the familiar Prison Division and sighed at length. Shan Hezi and the others were also dejected. Only Xu Qing walked in front, greeting a few jailers who came to take over, watching them with cold faces as they put shackles on Shan Hezi and the others.

But as for him... there were none.

Even a familiar jailer gave Xu Qing a shackle, asking him to help.

Thus, Kong Xianglong's shackles were put on by Xu Qing himself.

"It really is different..." Kong Xianglong and the others watched this scene with longing, noticing that when these jailers spoke to Xu Qing, there were smiles on their faces, looking like they were one of their own.

But toward them, they were all expressionless.

Thus, everyone revealed envy.

Old Li was also among the jailers. After glancing at Kong Xianglong and the others, he spoke to Xu Qing in a low voice.

"I heard about your business at the Discipline Hall today. Let's go, your cell has already been prepared."

Old Li said, blinked at Xu Qing, and led the way in front.

Just like that, Xu Qing and his group escorted Kong Xianglong and the four others into the Prison Division.

All the way to Ding Ding Shiqu, the moment he pushed open the cell door, Xu Qing saw the layout inside and smiled slightly.

Although this Ding Ding Shiqu was still a cell, inside there were thirty jars of wine, and many foods that would normally require spirit stones to buy outside.

They had even specially renovated five cages, placing meditation cushions inside for sitting cross-legged.

Although it was still simple, it was far, far better than those of the other prisoners.

When Kong Xianglong and the others saw this, their spirits were also lifted, and they looked at the cold-faced jailers.

Old Li spoke indifferently.

"We heard about your business. You were punished and detained, and as jailers, we naturally have to guard you. But as Sword-Holders, everyone feels that what you did was beautiful, and the killing was right!"

"You are just like at home here. Consider this month a rest. If you need anything, tell Xu Qing. Xu Qing, your Ding One-Three-Two cannot be left unguarded either. You can open the cell door yourself; don't forget to go on duty later."

After speaking, Old Li and the others looked at Xu Qing and them with solemn expressions.

"Finally, we have to say it again: you killed well!" After speaking, all the jailers here took out their command swords in unison and performed the Sword-Holder salute toward Xu Qing and the others.

After the salute, the jailers turned and left.

Ding Ding Shiqu immediately fell silent.

Xu Qing walked silently to the wine jars, and with a wave of his hand, four jars flew toward Kong Xianglong and the others. After everyone caught one, they looked at each other and all laughed.

"Cheers!" Kong Xianglong's laughter grew louder and louder as he picked it up and drank a large mouthful directly.

Xu Qing also laughed and drank a large mouthful.

Afterward, he helped everyone take off their shackles. This item was just for show outside, but there was no need for it here.

Just like that, time passed. With the five of them locked together, it felt like they had returned to the time they were lying on the plain after killing the Sheng Lan tribe Black-Clad Guard, feeling carefree. And since they were no longer strangers to each other, there were many topics to discuss.

Shan Hezi and Wang Chen often bickered.

Ye Ling accompanied Kong Xianglong every day; even a blind person could feel that she liked Kong Xianglong.

As for Xu Qing, he would occasionally walk out of the cell to go to Ding One-Three-Two.

Except for not being able to leave the Prison Division and not being able to go on missions, everything was no different from Xu Qing's usual days.

And every time Xu Qing left Ding Ding Shiqu, he was very calm. As the guard of Ding One-Three-Two, he couldn't just ignore Ding One-Three-Two; that would be dereliction of duty.

Xu Qing felt that he absolutely could not do such a thing as dereliction of duty.

Time flew by, and half a month passed.

For ordinary people, being locked up for half a month might be boring, but for cultivators, a single retreat might be longer than this time, especially with wine and meat, and occasionally being able to talk and laugh with each other, so the days passed quite comfortably.

Until this day, when Xu Qing returned from duty, the moment he stepped into Ding Ding Shiqu, he felt something was wrong.

Today, Ding Ding Shiqu was too quiet.

It hasn't been sunny today, still shivering, keeping everyone safe...