Chapter 1758: [Bone Melting Prison] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian followed his steps inward; no matter where Bei Ze Lao Guai went, a swarm of moths followed him. Seeing this, Hu Xiaotian didn't feel scared but rather found it amusing; those insects following Bei Ze Lao Guai were also unlucky, not only having to shield him from gunfire but also having to stave off his hunger.

Bei Ze Lao Guai stopped, and Hu Xiaotian looked ahead to see a skeleton appear; judging by its form, it should be a lizard, its bones white as jade. Hu Xiaotian recalled what Bei Ze Lao Guai had just said about the Bone Melting Prison—indeed it lived up to its name, even lizards here turned into piles of white bones.

After passing the lizard's skeleton, a spacious hall appeared ahead, inside which countless bones lay scattered haphazardly—animal and human alike; a rough estimate put the number at least a hundred. This Bone Melting Prison truly lived up to its reputation as an underground burial ground. Hu Xiaotian raised his head; above was a huge crystal dome, the fish within clearly visible, the light noticeably brighter than before. He wondered silently: logically this small lake is inside a stone cavern, so where does the light come from?

Bei Ze Lao Guai seemed to guess what he was thinking, and said softly: "Every day I come here to watch the sunrise and sunset, to know night from day; this is the best place."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Is there only you in this Bone Melting Prison?"

Bei Ze Lao Guai shook his head and continued forward; after just a few steps he saw a skeleton pitch-black all over, he sighed and said: "This person died half a year ago." After a few more steps he saw two skeletons entwined; judging by the hair remaining on their heads, they were likely two women.

Bei Ze Lao Guai added: "These two died three months ago."

Hu Xiaotian was secretly alarmed, yet he didn't know whether Xi Yan was trapped here as well, or if she was still alive in this world.

Bei Ze Lao Guai spoke with a sinister tone: "You were living carefree in Dongliang Jun; why have you come to this remote northwestern frontier? Could it be that you're tired of life and actively seeking death?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly: "If I said I came specially to rescue you, would you believe me or not?"

Bei Ze Lao Guai gave a cold snort, naturally not believing it; did this brat think he was a fool?

Hu Xiaotian said: "I came to negotiate a deal with the Wuxian Sect Leader, but I didn't expect this woman to have no sincerity at all."

Bei Ze Lao Guai laughed with a ghastly "heh heh": "You're so cunning, yet you fell into that woman's trap." His tone was full of schadenfreude.

Hu Xiaotian thought, "You're in such a miserable state and still mocking me?" He looked at Bei Ze Lao Guai, whose body was covered in insects and whose stature was bear-like, and said: "You haven't eaten meat in a long time, have you?" Having stayed in the Bone Melting Prison for a year, aside from insects there was nothing else to eat.

Bei Ze Lao Guai cracked his mouth open, revealing filthy teeth, and said in a gloomy voice: "Didn't you see those three skeletons just now?"

Hu Xiaotian had intended to mock him a bit, but instead he found the old monster disgusting; given this creature's nature, he would eat anything.

Bei Ze Lao Guai sized him up from head to toe, his gaze turning fiery; he wasn't deliberately putting on this act for Hu Xiaotian to see—he most wanted to eat Hu Xiaotian, for the Five-Colored Spider King's inner elixir had been swallowed by this boy, and had long since merged into his blood; after so long, it's unknown whether the elixir's potency has faded, but if one were to drink his blood dry, it would probably still have some effect.

Hu Xiaotian naturally knew what the old monster was thinking; he gave a dry cough and said: "If we don't leave this place soon, sooner or later there will be one more skeleton here."

Bei Ze Lao Guai nodded.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze was drawn to an object ahead—still a skeleton, but not human; judging by its form, it should be a squatting giant toad. If alive, this toad would be at least as tall as a person, yet what's most remarkable isn't its size but that its bones are entirely crystalline and transparent blue. Hu Xiaotian stared blankly at the skeleton, then after a while reached out to touch it; the bones were undeniably real, and he couldn't help recalling the skulls he had seen in Dakang Imperial Palace's Long Ling Shengjing.

Bei Ze Lao Guai whispered: "Isn't it amazing?"

Hu Xiaotian murmured: "It looks just like a fake."

Bei Ze Lao Guai said: "When I first saw it, I also thought it was fake, but upon close inspection I realized it grew this huge—you've never seen a toad this big in your life, have you?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "I've seen even bigger ones."

Bei Ze Lao Guai glared at him; this kid's bragging could blow the sky apart.

Hu Xiaotian pinched the toad's bones again, feeling they still had some elasticity, somewhat like rubber.

Bei Ze Lao Guai said: "Don't let its elasticity fool you—it's extremely tough; ordinary blades can't nick it in the slightest. Don't let its large frame deceive you—it's astonishingly light." Perhaps to prove his words, Bei Ze Lao Guai reached out, grabbed the toad's bones, and lifted them effortlessly with one hand.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Senior, your appetite is indeed not small—you've eaten this huge toad clean." He said this on purpose; recalling the blue skeletons he had seen earlier in Long Ling Shengjing, this toad must have some history, unknown how long it has been dead. He remembered the murals he had just seen; initially he thought they were the Black Miao people's artistic exaggeration, but seeing this skeleton before him, he realized those murals were utterly realistic. Most likely these species were brought to this world by extraterrestrial visitors back then; whether any such creatures still survive today is unknown—just thinking about it stirs excitement.

Bei Ze Lao Guai pointed to the right; Hu Xiaotian followed his gaze and saw, behind the crystal wall, a giant snake ten zhang long coiled there, much larger than the Purple Lightning Giant Python he had slain before. The snake's body was entirely crimson, its eyes a deep blue, but it lay motionless in the water, unclear whether dead or alive.

Bei Ze Lao Guai said: "It's been dead for many years, soaked in the water."

Hu Xiaotian patted the crystal wall; the great snake remained utterly still.

Bei Ze Lao Guai said: "Who would have thought the Wuxian Sect kept a batch of such fearsome poisonous creatures; fortunately they couldn't reproduce, and should already be extinct."

Hu Xiaotian secretly mused: If these creatures were all brought by extraterrestrial visitors, they would face the same problem as those visitors—they cannot reproduce; once their lives end, it means the species is completely extinct in this world. The liquid soaking this giant snake is probably a preservative of sorts, and the Bone Melting Prison isn't solely made of bones.

Ahead they had reached the end of the road; Bei Ze Lao Guai looked at Hu Xiaotian and asked: "Do you have any way to escape?" (To be continued~^~)