Chapter 569: The Minor Uses of the Three Lives Stone (4K)

The Eternal Ice Prison has nine levels, with the inmates from the first to the ninth level clearly distinguished by rank.

Most of the inmates on the first level are true immortals, low-ranking celestial immortals suppressed by the ice-sealing forbidden arts of the Eternal Ice Fortress.

In fact, many are merely being punished.

They made mistakes in the Heavenly Court, but not fatal ones, so they were sent to this bitterly cold place, imprisoned by ice power to reflect.

Some also come from the Central Heavenly Realm or other heavenly realms, entering under false pretenses to use the icy air of the first level of the Eternal Ice Fortress to temper their Dao-heart and strengthen their will.

At this moment, Zhang Jian stepped into the Eternal Ice Prison, accompanied by another celestial official who followed behind, helping to introduce the situation within the Eternal Ice Prison.

This was the Ice Plains Prison King God, the guardian celestial official.

At this moment, the Ice Plains Divine Lord spoke.

"Heavenly Sovereign, although our Eternal Ice Fortress has scarce resources, it also has unique features: the cold here can suppress demonic energy and slow the erosion of various special poisons, and the source of our Eternal Ice Fortress's icy air is unique, plus there is the power of Annihilation to refine the heart!"

Zhang Jian, upon hearing this, spoke calmly.

"It's probably not the power to refine the heart, but rather to imprison the state of mind!"

The Ice Plains Divine Lord chuckled, not refuting, saying this was merely another way of putting it.

He simply said.

"Heavenly Sovereign, what you say is not wrong!"

At this moment, Zhang Jian halted his steps and suddenly glanced toward one of the ice prisons, seeing within the depths of this ice cave a celestial deity seated cross-legged, surrounded by swirling pure yang immortal light, his entire body covered in profound ice, yet the aura emanating from him far surpassed that of a celestial immortal.

This is a Taiyi True Number-level celestial deity.

Such a powerful celestial deity was easily placed in the first level of the Eternal Ice Prison.

Zhang Jian frowned slightly.

"Who is this deity? According to the rules of the Eternal Ice Prison, a Taiyi True Number-level celestial deity should be imprisoned in the fifth or sixth level—how can he be allowed to remain in the first level?"

A hint of fierce intent flashed in Zhang Jian's eyes.

Upon hearing this, the Ice Plains Divine Lord hurriedly replied.

"Heavenly Sovereign, this is Yangyangzi, a disciple of the Pure Yang Dao Lord of the Qingqing Heavenly Realm. Yangyang Daoist merely committed a minor offense, so he was punished by the Qingqing Immortal Palace, sentenced to be suppressed here for thirty thousand years. Marshal Wu believes he is not a fallen immortal, and his offense is only minor, so there's no need to imprison him in the fifth level of the Eternal Ice Prison..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian's expression darkened, and he rebuked.

"Hutu, the rules of the Eternal Ice Prison are heavenly decrees—how dare you privately alter them? If something goes wrong in the Eternal Ice Prison, will you bear the blame, or will Wu Chun?"

Upon hearing this, the Ice Plains Divine Lord froze, his expression showing a hint of indifference.

Deep in Zhang Jian's sea of consciousness, the Three Lives Stone and the Infinite River Chart Immortal Law resonated, a portion of wondrous images drifting from the depths of his mind, his eyes flashing with a trace of intense cold as he spoke calmly.

"The Ice Plains Divine Lord must have received some benefits from the Qingqing Heavenly Realm, otherwise why would he treat my words as wind in the ear?"

Upon hearing this, the Ice Plains Divine Lord quickly lowered his voice.

"Heavenly Sovereign, this lowly immortal is wronged—I would never dare to disregard the heavenly decrees. Please, Heavenly Sovereign, see clearly—do not listen to others' malicious slander!"

He was merely defending himself, yet unwilling to accept Zhang Jian's second statement.

Zhang Jian swept his cold gaze over this Ice Plains Divine Lord—this Ice Plains Divine Lord was giving him trouble.

A trace of sternness flickered in his eyes, yet he did not act immediately.

Evidence, he naturally had.

The Three Lives Stone can reflect past, present, and future—he naturally extracted from it the ironclad proof of this Ice Plains Divine Lord accepting bribes.

But relying solely on his bribery may not be enough to completely overthrow this deity.

Behind this deity, there also seems to be another foundation—otherwise, he would not act so recklessly.

He did not act immediately, merely letting out a cold snort.

He believes that since this deity dares to act so openly, there must be more leverage than just this.

Zhang Jian has always believed in either doing nothing.

Or delivering a single, fatal blow.

Therefore, he did not act directly.

He merely fixed his gaze on the Ice Plains Divine Lord, his eyes filled with an unusual hue.

The immense pressure contained in the depths of his eyes was unleashed without restraint into the Ice Plains Divine Lord's Dao-heart, the overwhelming power causing a deep sense of great dread to arise in the Ice Plains Divine Lord's innermost being.

The Ice Plains Divine Lord felt a hidden trace of fear in his heart.

He truly worried that this Ice Fortress Heavenly Sovereign was the kind of celestial deity who pays no attention to propriety, secretly plotting against him!

Although he also has backing behind him, if he were to suffer a setback, it would be impossible to report every time, saying he was bullied...

That would also be unbearable!

Zhang Jian also grew lazy to pay attention to this deity.

After patrolling the first level of the Eternal Ice Prison, he directly entered the second level.

At this moment, the Ice Plains Divine Lord composed his emotions, still wearing a smile on his face.

His backing is the Heavenly Prison King lineage—he relies on the ancient Dao Lord of the Three-Rank Princes for support, yet he is not afraid.

Zhang Jian stepped into the second level of the Eternal Ice Prison.

The inmates of the second level of the Eternal Ice Prison are mostly celestial immortals of the celestial immortal level, with also some errant star lords, divine lords, and so on.

Zhang Jian gazed inward.

There is still a portion of Taiyi-level beings, even up to Taiyi True Number-level high-ranking celestial deities.

A trace of intense coldness flashed in his eyes.

The forbidden arts of the first few levels of the Eternal Ice Prison are relatively weak; relying on the methods of these Taiyi True Number-level celestial deities, they might not be unable to break free.

If they truly fell into becoming demonic leaders, that would cause a great disturbance.

These hidden dangers, other celestial deities may not fail to notice.

Is it because they rely on this place being heavily guarded by the Central Heavenly Realm, or because they are overly confident in the three supreme treasures within the Eternal Ice Crystal Divine Palace?

These people actually relaxed their vigilance to this extent?

Zhang Jian felt a heavy weight in his heart.

He did not know whether the other immortal prisons were the same.

If so, the Central Celestial Realm would sooner or later face a great calamity.

Zhang Jian secretly mused, noticing that after entering the second layer of the Eternal Ice Prison, the surging chill within gradually increased.

However, this level of eternal ice, for him, exerted no binding force.

He continued deeper into the third layer, then the fourth, and continued to investigate the entire system of the Eternal Ice Prison.

The third and fourth layers of the Eternal Ice Prison imprisoned errant immortals and deities of the Taiyi realm.

Many of these immortals and deities had faint demonic qi surrounding their bodies, clearly undergoing demonic fall.

Or they had suffered demonic calamity, using the power of the Eternal Ice Prison to resist the invasion of extraterritorial heavenly demons.

Still others were merely enduring the Eternal Ice Punishment.

Zhang Jian noticed that some immortals and deities were hung high by the Eternal Ice Punishment, the iron chains formed from Eternal Profound Ice, ice thorns moving to seize their true forms, sealing their bloodlines and primordial spirits in ice, and thoroughly suppressing their Dao hearts.

This is a form of torture.

The eternal chill contained here is extraordinarily dense, with a unique Eternal Divine Realm will circulating in the void, seemingly able to bestow ice-sealing from the depths of the soul.

Zhang Jian sensed that in the third and fourth layers of the Eternal Ice Prison, some restrictions had been artificially opened.

This was human intervention, releasing water.

But these are nothing!

Zhang Jian also did not know that merely based on this situation, one could not definitively condemn the Ice Yuan God Monarch to death, nor necessarily expel him from the Eternal Ice Prison.

At this moment, Zhang Jian suddenly halted his steps, his gaze falling upon an empty prison cell before him.

Zhang Jian noticed that this empty prison cell was permeated with a layer of intense, lingering terrifying resentment and hatred, along with a trace of demonic qi.

"What immortal or deity was previously imprisoned in this cell?"

Zhang Jian asked casually, while taking out the register of the Eternal Ice Prison and flipping through it.

He noticed that this prison cell had once imprisoned a mid-to-low rank celestial official of the Heavenly Court.

This immortal's name was Chang Hai Dao Ren, a serving celestial official of the Rain Department in the Central Celestial Realm, who, due to drunken negligence, delayed his celestial duties, causing floods to ravage the mortal realm, was punished by the Heavenly Court, sent to the Eternal Ice Prison, and subjected to the punishment of ice blades piercing the heart!

Yet now, this Chang Hai Dao Ren is not in the prison cell, nor does it show that his sentence has been completed and he released.

The Ice Yuan God Monarch, seeing this, slightly clasped his hands and said.

"Indeed, this prison cell once imprisoned an immortal, but this immortal could not withstand the torture of the Ice Fortress, fell into demonhood, and has already been executed by us; please, Heavenly Monarch, discern clearly!"

Zhang Jian, hearing this, coldly snorted.

"If executed, why is there no record, nor the handprint of the Ice Fortress Inspector?"

Facing the questioning, the Ice Yuan God Monarch remained composed, merely saying lightly.

"The incident happened suddenly; this wretch broke part of the Ice Fortress restriction, and we could only adapt on the spot, make a temporary decision, and slay him; we have not yet had time to record it, but many guards and jailers of the Ice Fortress can testify; Heavenly Monarch, simply inquire and you shall know!"

His answer was watertight.

Yet Zhang Jian's eyes showed no belief.

He noticed that the demonic qi and the pervasive resentment and hatred will left in the prison cell were clearly distinct, obviously belonging to two different beings.

In other words, did the Ice Yuan God Monarch indulge other immortals and deities, or did a demon devour Chang Hai Dao Ren?

Or did he himself cultivate some demonic path technique, even to the point of possessing a demonic path immortal treasure!

Colluding with extraterritorial demons, or privately cultivating demonic path methods—this is a taboo of the entire Central Celestial Realm!

Would not giving him a chance to act come just in time?

He stirred a slight thought, his hand forming seals, layers of black-and-white immortal light flowing around his body, the Infinite River Chart appearing, beginning to deduce its specific changes, and attempting to find irrefutable evidence within.

Seeing this, the Ice Yuan God Monarch's eyes showed a subtle change at this moment.

"I did not expect the Heavenly Monarch to also be skilled in divinatory immortal arts?"

Zhang Jian, however, paid him no heed; moments later, the Ice Yuan God Monarch smiled again.

"Heavenly Monarch, it is useless; in the Eternal Ice Prison, heavenly-mechanism-type immortal arts are ineffective!

The Eternal Ice Fortress is suppressed by the Three Great Treasures, and further suppressed by the Nine Heavens Divine Stele; no great divine powers can penetrate its heavenly mechanisms!"

Zhang Jian's expression remained unmoved, while deep in his brow, the Three Lives Stone at this moment emitted a faint, secluded light.

The power of this heaven-and-earth divine object far surpassed the Three Great Treasures suppressing the Eternal Ice Fortress, yet it forcibly probed out a part of the mystery.

Having probed out a part of the mystery, Zhang Jian did not immediately act, but continued to explore the fifth and sixth layers of the Eternal Ice Fortress.

The Ice Yuan God Monarch merely thought Zhang Jian had seen nothing, his heart relaxed, and he even felt a hint of mockery.

This newly appointed Ice Fortress Heavenly Monarch turned out to be all thunder and no rain—deep down, he harbored reservations.

After Zhang Jian inspected the fifth and sixth layers of the Eternal Ice Prison, he did not proceed into the final three layers.

Because what he had seen was already sufficient.

Three days later, he preliminarily refined the three treasures within the Eternal Ice Crystal God Hall.

Zhang Jian summoned all immortals to the Eternal Great Hall.

Within the Eternal Great Hall, the Divine Might General Wu Chun Xianjun, the Lingwu Immortal Official Yuan Jiang, and many other Ice Fortress Immortal Officials entered the hall in succession; many immortal officials clearly also sensed the strange atmosphere within the hall.

The Ice Yuan God Monarch arrived last, leisurely, and directly took the seat to the right of the Lingwu Immortal Official Yuan Jiang, and incidentally chatted with Yuan Jiang for a few words.

Above the Great Hall, Zhang Jian saw the Ice Yuan God Monarch's posture, and instantly a hint of cold indifference appeared in his eyes; he glanced over the assembly in the hall, and then spoke.

"Today, I have summoned the assembly of immortals to reorganize and rectify the military bearing and heavenly laws of the Eternal Ice Fortress!"

"The Eternal Ice Fortress is one of the important places of the Central Celestial Realm; naturally, it should have its own set of operational rules; if something happens here, we, the upper and lower echelons of the Eternal Ice Fortress, cannot escape responsibility!"

Seeing Zhang Jian's words spoken with such gravity, the immortals present also realized the abnormality of this meeting.

"However, before this, I must first purge a bad apple of the Eternal Ice Fortress!"

After the words fell, Zhang Jian directly fixed his gaze upon the Ice Plains Divine Lord, speaking coldly.

"Ice Plains Prison King God, this lord asks you—what crime do you deserve?"

Yuan Jiang made his move; upon hearing Zhang Jian's words, the Ice Plains Divine Lord was momentarily stunned, his heart slightly startled. At this moment, seeing the gazes of the gathered immortals upon him, he immediately understood—he feared he had become the chicken slaughtered to warn the monkeys by this newly appointed Ice Fortress Heavenly Lord.

Though his thoughts raced, he felt no fear, for he claimed to have left no leverage in the hands of this new Ice Fortress Heavenly Lord.

He then rose directly, clasping his hands in salute.

"This humble immortal knows nothing!"

"Heavenly Lord, this subordinate does not know where he has offended you; please enlighten me, Heavenly Lord."

His expression remained calm; facing Zhang Jian's gaze, he wore a look of grievance.

"Could it be because, a few days ago, when the Heavenly Lord inspected the Eternal Ice Prison, this subordinate neglected his duties toward the Heavenly Lord?"

Seeing his performance, Zhang Jian spoke coldly, his expression unchanging.

"You have offended not this deity, but the Heavenly Edicts. As the guardian god of the Eternal Ice Prison, you have colluded with other immortals and deities, secretly accepting bribes, turning the Eternal Ice Prison into private property, disregarding the heavenly laws and decrees of the Celestial Court. With how many lives do you dare act so recklessly and lawlessly?!"

"Do you dare deny this?"

Zhang Jian casually threw down the interrogation records left by prisoners in the Eternal Ice Prison cells from the side table.

These past few days, he had not merely remained in the Eternal Ice Crystal Divine Hall, refining those three treasures.

At the same time, he had also sought to gather testimonies from some of the Ice Fortress prison guards and some of the prisoners.

Upon seeing this, the Ice Plains Divine Lord merely laughed heartily and openly admitted it.

He thrust out his chest and spoke directly.

"I wonder what reason could have caused our Heavenly Lord to mobilize such a force—turns out it's just these!"

His gaze locked onto Zhang Xian, showing no fear.

"Heavenly Lord, this is a rule that has existed in the Eternal Ice Prison since the previous Heavenly Lord's time, universally acknowledged. The Eternal Ice Fortress is harsh, and cultivation conditions for immortals within are extremely limited. This deity acts also for the benefit of all immortal friends, to open new sources. Heavenly Lord, you may ask—have these immortal friends fared much better over these tens of thousands of years? Without this deity, would everyone merely be guarding the ice and snow cultivation of this Eternal Ice Fortress?"

"Heavenly Lord, why must you expose this and make everyone uncomfortable?"

As he finished speaking, a hint of disdain appeared in his eyes.

On the main seat, Zhang Jian's expression remained unchanged, merely taking in the expressions of all the immortals, then coldly rebuking.

"For personal gain, disregarding the Heavenly Edicts, and here spreading heresies to delude the masses and corrupt hearts!"

"Heavenly Lord, you are like a well-fed man who knows not the hunger of the starving. Though I have heard you are of divine stature and once held real power as an emperor of the Heavenly Realm, with surely ample cultivation resources at your command, why then do you cut off the financial paths of your brothers?"

Zhang Jian's gaze swept over, and he clearly saw that some immortals harbored evident hostility toward him.

At this moment, he instead revealed a hint of a smile.

This faint smile caused the Ice Plains Divine Lord to secretly feel a trace of unease.

Indeed, Zhang Jian then chuckled lightly.

"Truly eloquent and persuasive—if you claim your bribes were for the benefit of all, then this lord must ask: is your private cultivation of demonic arts using the essence and spirit of death-row prisoners also for the benefit of all immortals?"

Upon hearing this, the Ice Plains Divine Lord's expression changed.

In the field, the other immortals and deities who had remained silent also could not help but change their expressions.

The Ice Plains Divine Lord immediately shouted loudly.

"Heavenly Lord, you are spitting blood! This deity is an immortal of the Heavenly Realm, moreover the orthodox successor of the Prison King—how could I practice demonic arts?

Heavenly Lord, if you lack irrefutable evidence, please immediately clear my name and give an explanation to the Prison King's lineage. Otherwise, my Prison King lineage is not so easily subjected to false accusations and oppression!"

"False accusations?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian laughed heartily.

"Then look—was this not your doing?"

As Zhang Jian waved his hand, a mighty power surged forth directly from within the Eternal Great Hall, three-colored divine light suddenly piercing through boundless time and space, fate, reaching deep into the brow of the Ice Plains Divine Lord.

This was the power of the Three Lives Stone.

"Heavenly Lord, what are you intending to do?"

The Witch-Pure Immortal Lord beside him changed expression, and his entire body likewise emitted a mighty immortal light, moving to resist the three-colored divine light.

Clearly, between Zhang Jian and the Ice Plains Divine Lord, he had directly sided with the Ice Plains Divine Lord.