Chapter 224: Long time no see, Zhao Si

Upon seeing the secret prison that once held the legitimate Golden Heaven Emperor, your eyes light up and you immediately want to search for any possible clues!

"Wait!"

Jin Bing hurriedly stopped you, this reckless fool.

"This is a prison! Back then they could lock me… lock Jin Bing up, who knows what dangers might be inside!"

"Danger?"

Your excited heart jolts: it seems you've been dazed by clues, you used to save before going anywhere, but now you're about to recklessly charge in on instinct… you should reflect!

Then you decisively save.

Ding! Hesitant you, deciding to save again, you choose: (?)

A: Go in, just charge! B: Don't go in, make a long-term plan!

Another classic save, but Zhao Si doesn't feel like complaining further:

"Of course I chose A……"

No matter what's ahead, worst case we just restart.

You choose option A, go in, just charge!

After setting the save point, you sigh in relief: "All good."

Jin Bing:?

What have you done? Just talking big, you dare say it's fine?!

Come on, man, you're playing subjective idealism here? We're cultivators, not superstition—wake up!

Jin Bing looks bewildered, really can't follow your train of thought, but since you said that, he surely can't just stand by outside; emotionally and logically he should share your fate, so he grits his teeth and the two of you gradually approach the prison cell…

The approach proceeds without incident, all the way until you enter the prison cell, and the imagined danger still fails to materialize.

This smoothness makes you somewhat incredulous: could it be that, after ages long and the influence of the Dharma-Declining Era, the means of imprisoning criminals have failed?

Or perhaps, when Nether River rescued Jin Bing back then, they casually dismantled those measures?

In your doubt, you begin to survey this prison cell left over from the mythic ages: it's quite narrow, only slightly larger than an ordinary room, filled with an aged aura—this is the trace time has left upon it.

The first thing that catches your attention is a skeleton, scattered in the corner…

How could there be a skeleton here? Wasn't Jin Bing rescued by Nether River?

Full of doubt, you step forward and examine closely: this is an ordinary modern human skeleton, not an ancient immortal corpse; having identified countless ancient immortal corpses, you're confident about this.

What's even more astonishing is that there's writing beneath the bones!

You quickly read it carefully, hoping to obtain usable information about the legitimate Jin Bing, but as you read, you start to blank out, because this wasn't written by Jin Bing, nor even by someone from the ancient Heavenly Court era—it was written by the skeleton's owner while alive.

In short, he was a True Immortal Ancestor from a certain blessed cavern in the Northern Wasteland; after attaining immortality he originally planned to go to the Immortal Realm, but since the gate to the Immortal Realm hadn't opened yet, bored out of his mind he chose to escape underground and wander aimlessly.

Coincidentally, Mount Buzhou is an ancient divine mountain; he thought there might be opportunity beneath it, so he began searching… after running around like a headless fly for a long time, he discovered this mysterious prison cell.

He was initially excited, thinking he'd stumbled upon some supreme opportunity, but the result was not only was the cell empty, he also couldn't get out!

No matter how he blasted and exploded inside, the prison cell didn't budge—not even a speck fell—ultimately trapped for over a million years, exhausted to death, he simply ended himself; if any later person comes here, please bury him back in his hometown in the Northern Wasteland…

The letter is long, the story is moving, but the most crucial part is its description of the prison cell: you can't get out!

Your heart jumps, you quickly try to escape with evasion techniques, but the arts that usually let you come and go freely are utterly useless here—after evading for half a day you're still in the same spot…

You, unwilling to believe it, then blast the surroundings with spells, but even as a lofty Golden Immortal you couldn't chip off even a speck of wall dust!

What's going on? Just a moment ago, when we came in, everything was fine!

"Don't waste your effort—you can't get out."

A calm piece of advice makes you, in the midst of a mental storm, look over in surprise: it's Jin Bing.

You see him seemingly familiar, sitting at the prison cell's exact center, left and right gazing, endless memories slowly welling up in his heart, causing him to suddenly realize…

"You…"

You keenly sense something's off, because his demeanor is undergoing a wondrous change… growing steadier, calmer, and… less like Jin Bing.

The counterfeit Jin Bing you know, though he has many ancient memories and served as Heavenly Emperor for many years, is mostly a puppet—far from a true sovereign wielding real power, and his political ability and thinking are lacking; ruling the Sea of Blood, he even needs the Blood God Son as a cheat.

But this Jin Bing now… his gaze is steady and powerful, his expression utterly bland, like an ordinary person who's been imprisoned for eons…

You furrow your brows: "Possession?"

"No."

He chuckles: "Just seeing the object reminded me of the person, so I recalled some formerly vague memories……"

You glare: "Aren't you fake? How can you still recall other memories?"

"Fake?"

Jin Bing shakes his head: "I'm not fake."

You're startled, but before you can speak he adds: "Of course, I'm not real either."

You:?

What's this true/false, fake/genuine nonsense? Can you speak plainly!

He instantly sees your doubt, only sighs: "You ask me, I also can't explain it clearly, but I am indeed not the definition of true versus false."

"You can understand it as: I am now that very Golden Heaven Emperor from back then, sharing the same origin, memories largely the same, just missing some parts……"

Hearing that, though you're utterly confused, you still do the most correct response: ask questions!

"Since you've recovered quite a few memories, then I'll question you."

You earnestly ask him: "What exactly is this prison cell? Why can't you leave?"

"Because this place is beneath Mount Buzhou, it's the base of Pangu's spine, naturally endowed with Pangu's supreme divine power that suppresses all laws!"

Jin Bing sighs: "Back then, Di Jiang tried to incarnate as Pangu, but I interrupted him; although he didn't succeed, he still gained Pangu's divine power, allowing him to thrash any cultivator below sage level at will, and even slightly resist sage power."

"This place itself is formed from Pangu's spine; its divine power far exceeds that of Di Jiang. Here, any 'law' is useless, and as time passes, this power will only strengthen further—the 'Pangu's residual might' felt outside is actually just a partial manifestation of this divine power……"

"Pangu's divine power……"

【You silently digest this precious information, then ask again: "Why were you locked up?"】

【"Because I…… offended the Heavenly Dao."】

【Jin Bing gave a self-mocking smile: In the end, it's just an egg hitting a stone; trying to change the fate of the heaven-ordained protagonist, without saintly cultivation it's absolutely impossible…… If not for my boundless merit, and my master acting as guarantor, I'm afraid I would have long ago been struck by a bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder and turned to ashes……】

【Although I didn't understand some of it, I still continued to note these down…… and then asked: "How did Minghe become a Saint?"】

【Jin Bing's eyes widened: "Minghe became a Saint?! When did that happen?!"】

【Huh? He doesn't know that Minghe became a Saint?】

【Although you had some doubts, you still told him about the battle of the two Saints in the starry sky, and then asked: "Why are only two Saints left? What about the Six Saints? What about the Heavenly Court? What about the Wu Clan and the Demon Race?"】

【This problem has troubled you for a long time; now that you have the opportunity, of course you want to ask everything.】

【But Jin Bing shook his head with a bitter expression: "I don't even know that Minghe became a Saint, let alone these…… To put it simply, my memory only stays in this prison cell; I can't even remember how I got out before……"】

【You don't know this either?】

【Your brows furrowed tightly; it seems you really can't squeeze any useful information out of this pirated Jin Bing.】

【"You're asking me all this—are you still planning to use it outside?"】

【Jin Bing said curiously: "If that's the case, then you're bound to be disappointed—here, except for Saints, no one can get out; Pangu's divine power is invincible."】

【You nonchalantly plucked the seven-colored little bird from your shoulder: "No problem, I have it!"】

【Looking at the seven-colored little bird, Jin Bing's eyes involuntarily shone with a strange light: "I've always been curious about this primordial power—where does its spiritual energy come from?"】

【"Creation from nothing." You had no intention of hiding it.】

【"Surely it's creation from nothing……"】

【Jin Bing's guess was confirmed, but he was still curious: "Besides producing spiritual energy, what else is it used for? It actually lets you be confident about escaping."】

【"No, you've misunderstood."】

【You laughed: "I'm not saying to use it to get out, but to use it to self-destruct and gather information—best to try to see if it can blast Mount Buzhou…… Don't underestimate it; if it explodes, it could match a Saint's full-force blow, guaranteeing even Pangu's divine power couldn't withstand it!"】

【"Of course, we probably couldn't withstand it either."】

【Jin Bing:???】

【"No way, bro! This is way too extreme, right?!"】

【Jin Bing was stunned; he had no doubt about the truth of your words, so he hurriedly urged: "Don't! You're not trying to save the world, are you? What's the point of blowing everything up?!"】

【"No problem, I can restart!"】

【You candidly revealed your biggest secret to him—for example, that you are the protagonist, that there is "another self," that you can restart infinitely…… I am the center of the world; as long as I die, everything will return to nothing and revert to the node of the previous choice……】

【You explained it in detail, afraid he wouldn't understand, but you didn't notice that from the moment you began speaking your first sentence, this pirated Gold Heavenly Emperor froze, then trembled all over.】

【He seemed to be laughing, yet also seemed to be crying—the once‑proud tide‑rushing emperor who stirred the ages, recalling his long‑lost youth and vigor……】

【"Long time no see, Zhao Si."】

【The Gold Heavenly Emperor smiled and gave you a friendly greeting.】

……

(End of chapter)