Chapter 58: Despair

The man's expression grew increasingly anxious: "We're about to reach the gate, and behind them there's another batch of cultivators with extraordinarily high cultivation; judging by their aura, they must be elders of the Azure Abyss Sect."

"There's a teleportation array behind the prison that needs time to repair; looking at the situation now, there's simply no time."

"If we stay longer, we'll likely lose our lives here, but the master ordered us to rescue Sect Master Liu by any means necessary, so we..."

In the man's bronze mask, the two eyes revealed were full of anxiety; obviously startled by those spirit-grade talisman papers.

The petite girl's icy gaze swept over the gate, and she made a snap decision: "Too late, retreat first!"

Thus they abandoned Sect Master Liu.

"Everyone, retreat!"

"Since those people across from us came for Sect Master Liu, they shouldn't harm her in the short term; we'll leave first and discuss the rest later!"

Sect Master Liu gave a self‑mocking smile, watching the petite black‑robed girl abandon her and run away.

Immediately after, another group of black‑robed men, faces covered, appeared out of nowhere and darted at high speed toward the rear of the prison.

What the—what's going on?

Sect Master Liu, looking disheveled, climbed to her feet, just about to lift her foot, when suddenly she heard a miserable scream and explosive booming from behind.

She panicked, clutched her head, and sought a safe spot to temporarily conceal herself.

"Boom—"

A tremendous thunderclap rang out, accompanied by a silver silk‑like streak.

The ground split open, forming gullies; dozens of prison guards were blown to bits by the thunder, leaving no remains, while others were merely caught in the blast, missing arms or legs, clutching their severed limbs with twisted expressions: "Ah! My hand!"

"These are thunderfire talismans; they're talisman crafters!"

"A supreme imperial armament?! They're detonating it directly?!"

Seeing the mysterious weapons hurled at them, the prison guard captain panicked, exclaiming, "Who would self‑destruct a supreme armament?!''

"Young Master Ye Xuan should have sensed the commotion; plus, the Azure Abyss Sect's disciples will arrive shortly to reinforce—hold on, everyone!"

A prison guard captain trembled, his chattering teeth shaking, when a dark cloud drifted overhead and a thunderbolt struck, instantly reducing him to ashes.

Several specks of ash drifted onto the face of a young prison guard; he turned to look at the spot where his superior had just vanished, his mind filled with the image of his chief being cleaved by a silver lightning bolt and turned to ash.

A panic spread from the soles of his feet throughout his body; he became flustered, and no formation, mystic weapon, or martial technique could withstand it.

The prison guards began to retreat.

As they retreated, they spotted Sect Master Liu hiding in a corner; as if seeing a last straw, they instinctively grabbed her neck.

In the instant the black dog and others charged in, the prison guard's spiritual energy overflowed, he clamped tightly onto Sect Master Liu's neck; with just a little force, she would die the next second: "Stand still—take one more step forward and I'll kill her!"

"Who exactly are you, daring to raid the prison of the Azure Abyss Sect?"

"I—I tell you, the Azure Abyss Sect's disciples will arrive soon; if you now abolish your cultivation, there's still time; otherwise, even without Young Master Ye Xuan lifting a finger, you'll all die."

Sect Master Liu, using the corner of her eye, glanced at the face beneath the black dog's veil and at his natal magic artifact in his hand.

Her mind went blank, plunging into emptiness.

"Am I hallucinating?"

"Isn't that the substitute guard beside Su Chen?"

"How could he..."

Suddenly recalling the earlier words of that petite black‑robed figure: "Sent by Young Sect Master Su to come rescue her?"

"Young Sect Master, he's taken Sect Master Liu hostage; what should we do?" Heigou saw this, his pupils constricted, sweat beading on his palms, as he asked Su Chen in the distance.

But the reply was the sound of a cold corpse hitting the ground.

"A being capable of threatening a Martial Saint? How dare a mere Martial Ancestor do such a thing?"

Su Chen merely glanced, and the opponent felt as if plunged into an ice cave; his soul and spirit were instantly annihilated, leaving only an empty shell.

"His cultivation is too low, and he's wielding the lowest‑grade flying sword—too weak." Su Chen lightly flicked his collar, his gaze cold and sharp as it swept over the scene.

"Bang—bang!"

Another two bodies hit the ground with a thud.

"Young Sect Master, you…"

"Don't overthink it—I didn't use my divine sense."

"What just produced that sound?" Heigou's keen nose sniffed the lingering scent in the air; as his divine sense spread, his gaze froze: "Young Master, it's the sound of bodies hitting the ground."

"Um, what just came out were two…"

"The prison guards died first; Sect Master Liu… her cultivation was sealed, and in her panic she tried to break the seal, which caused her aura to go haywire and she fell into a brief coma." Su Chen rushed forward, used his divine sense to examine her, then fed her a Return Spring Pill.

"Her cultivation is only at the Martial Ancestor level—kind of weak!"

Meanwhile.

The warden of the Blackwater Heavenly Prison, under the desperate protection of the prison guards, fled like a stray dog toward the Azure Abyss Sect, burning his own cultivation to perform the Blood Escape Secret Technique.

He took three steps, then looked back, fearing pursuit.

Now it was dusk; the surroundings were so quiet that only the wind's howl could be heard near his ears; the warden had never in his life experienced such a fright.

He had lost two of his three souls and six of his seven spirits.

Only after colliding with the arriving Azure Abyss Sect reinforcements did the warden, powerless, collapse to the ground.

He shouted in terror, "Chief Senior Brother, save me! Save me! There are spirit‑grade talismans and imperial armaments self‑destructing!"

"It's Su Chen—he somehow produced countless pills, talismans, and even imperial armaments from ancient clans, detonating them all; my men were all killed instantly by his single glance! His cultivation is terrifyingly high!"

"A Martial Venerable? No, a Martial Saint! Is he of Ancestor‑level cultivation?!"

In the Eastern Wasteland, a Martial Venerable is called a great power.

A Martial Saint is called a half‑ancestor.

The warden's voice trembled as he spoke, as if he had just endured an extreme horror.

Such a feeling—he had never felt it even when standing beside Ye Xuan.

He really is feeling his heart race!

His scalp went numb, his mind in chaos like tangled hemp.

He clung with both hands to the Chief Senior Brother's thigh, not caring about his own appearance, shouting nonstop, "Save me, save me!"

"【You couldn't have been scared silly, could you? Ancestor Realm?】 the Chief Senior Brother frowned harshly, his eyes full of contempt; if anyone could, anyone had the potential to reach the Ancestor Realm, it would be the Qingmeng Sect Sect Leader, Ye Xuan."

At the same time he drew a deep breath to force himself calm: "You said Su Chen only brought four people?"

"【Four cultivators slaughtered, and you hundreds of Martial Emperor Realm—even you, a Martial Sect, are scared enough to flee with your head in your hands?】"

"【You must have been scared crazy!'"

"【I'm not crazy, it's true—Su Chen's aura is unfathomable, plus there are Thunderfire Talismans, Translocation Talismans, Imperial Artifacts, Sacred Artifacts… truly, what I say are what I've seen with my own eyes.】 The jailer's mind filled with images of severed limbs and broken corpses, no remains left, he repeated it over and over."

"【Hmph! I see you really had your courage shattered by that Su Chen, a spoiled second-generation heir from the Eastern Wasteland—what cultivation could he have? All day relying on pills, he's just an empty shell.】 The Chief Senior Brother suddenly lifted his foot, breaking free of the jailer's arm."

Then he narrowed his eyes and shouted sternly: "All disciples, hear the order—surround the Heavenly Prison and capture Su Chen, that trash, alive!"