Chapter 458: Forbidden Seal Broken

The firebird circled at the center of the nine-tier prison tower, its crimson flames cascading like a waterfall, illuminating the entire tower as bright as day.

Wherever the Nanming Lihuo passed, the ghostly qi melted like snow meeting boiling water, scattering and steaming away; even the ghost fires in the corridors and cells let out a sizzling whimper and swiftly extinguished.

However, the black well located at the very bottom of the tower was like an abyss that devoured light; no matter how the crimson flames poured down and scorched it, the wellmouth remained wreathed in a deathly green ghost fire that would not go out or disperse.

Hua Changxi, transformed into a vermilion bird with eyes like torches, stared at the wellmouth—there, a gaunt figure sat cross-legged atop the well, as if he had long since merged with the well itself.

That man was so thin he was nothing but skin and bone, his ribs clearly visible, his spine protruding like a broken blade, his hands resting on his knees with ten fingers withered like eagle claws.

His eyes were closed, his face sunken, his cheekbones high, his lips a dark purple; his skin was ashen gray, and only a faint breath escaping from the tip of his nose proved he was still alive.

Even more horrifying was that nine blood-red chains extended from within his body, piercing through his entire frame; each chain was as thick as a child’s arm, and their surfaces were densely inscribed with sealing runes that flickered with a scarlet light.

These chains were not static but writhed slowly like living snakes—one end of the chains pierced through the nine-tier prison tower, while the other end plunged deep into the black well.

"Jingsheng..."

Hua Changxi’s pupils trembled violently; Jingsheng’s face and form had barely changed from when she had first seen him.

Vital energy is the foundation of the physical body—this man’s consumption had been so great that he was on the verge of depletion, to the point that over a decade had passed and he had not grown in the slightest, appearing even more withered than the image she remembered.

The vermilion firebird slowly descended, hovering three zhang away from the wellmouth; its flames withdrew, and the human form reappeared.

Hua Changxi still blazed with fire lotuses around her. She did not rashly approach Jingsheng but surveyed him with a grave expression.

Jingsheng hovered above the ghost fire well, clearly in a posture of "suppression."

Was he suppressing the ghost fire in the well?

Or was there something more terrible inside the well?

"Hm?"

Before Hua Changxi could think carefully, a sudden change occurred.

The end of the blood-red chain that plunged deep into the ghost fire well suddenly snapped taut, emitting a harsh scraping and dragging sound.

Deep at the bottom of the well, something enormous seemed to exert a violent force, frantically tugging at the chain, trying to drag Jingsheng into the well.

Jingsheng’s face instantly contorted in unbearable pain; his withered body trembled violently, and his suspended form began to waver, as if he were about to fall, as if at any moment he would be dragged into that abyss of surging green ghost fire.

At that moment, with a rattling clatter, the nine chains piercing the nine-tier prison tower suddenly tightened as well.

Then, with Jingsheng at the center, two forces engaged in a silent yet brutal "tug of war."

On one side, the ghost fire well seemed to want to devour Jingsheng, dragging him into eternal calamity; on the other side, the nine-tier prison tower clung desperately to the last line of defense, refusing to let him fall.

The blood-red chains flared with intense red light, as if resisting the force pulling from the well.

As the light surged, Hua Changxi witnessed a sight she could not bear to see.

The already scant vital energy within Jingsheng’s body was being madly drained away at a visible rate; his skin became even more pallid, and his bones emitted faint creaking sounds, as if they would completely shatter in the next instant.

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi’s heart felt heavy, and she even found it hard to breathe.

She did not understand why Jingsheng had placed himself in such a perilous situation.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

Hua Changxi waved out several pieces of Zhurong Stone, arranging a small vital energy formation around Jingsheng; a warm reddish glow emanated, like a blood sun rising, gently enveloping the withered figure.

Sure enough, the moment the Zhurong Stones were set, Jingsheng’s cracked lips quivered slightly, and he instinctively began to absorb the vital energy from them.

Seeing that he was still conscious, Hua Changxi breathed a silent sigh of relief, but her gaze grew even heavier.

She looked around—

The leaping green ghost fire at the wellmouth outlined the grim contours of this prison in the boundless darkness.

The cells were as dense as a honeycomb, the black stone cold, chains hanging down, and the air thick with a heavy, eerie, and murderous aura; from the entrance to the base of the tower, each layer descended step by step, as if the deeper one went, the closer one came to hell itself.

And the source of it all was the very well before her—the Ghost Fire Well.

Hua Changxi transformed into a vermilion firebird once more, circling inside the prison tower, simultaneously releasing her divine sense to quickly scan each level of the tower.

The imperial family had occupied the Ghost Fire Well; they must have left some traces behind.

And that batch of disappeared Vermilion Bird Army...

The names on the "Vermilion Bird Army Roster" had not yet completely faded, indicating they were still alive.

Unfortunately, she found no trace of the Vermilion Bird Army in the prison tower, nor any signs left by the imperial family.

"Where did they go?"

Having found nothing, Hua Changxi once again stood before the Ghostfire Well.

The "tug-of-war" had already ended; Jingsheng still sat unmoving as a mountain on the well's mouth.

After pondering for a moment, Hua Changxi stepped toward the Ghostfire Well, wanting to see what was inside.

"Elder Sister~"

As soon as Hua Changxi approached the well's edge, a weak, hoarse voice sounded in her ear.

"Huh?"

The sudden voice startled Hua Changxi; she swiftly looked around, finally fixing her gaze on Jingsheng.

"Jingsheng, was it you calling me?"

"Mm." Jingsheng's reply was feeble and weak, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Hua Changxi wanted to ask about the Ghostfire Well, but seeing Jingsheng so frail, she held back: "Jingsheng, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Ghostfire Token..."

"The imperial family broke the Ghostfire Well's seal, connecting the well to the Nine Abysses..."

"Once the Ghostfire Token falls into the hands of the ghost clan, they will be able to pass between the human world and the Ghostfire Well..."

After speaking these words in fragments, Jingsheng fell silent.

Hua Changxi listened, feeling somewhat frustrated.

Ghostfire Token...

Was it the token of the Ghostfire Well's master?

And the seal of the Ghostfire Well had been broken, connecting it to the Nine Abysses?

The Ghostfire Well was actually linked to the Nine Abysses?

Hua Changxi's heart was full of doubts, but with no one to ask, she could only turn her gaze to the Ghostfire Well.

Jingsheng's words still made some things clear to her.

For instance, why the blood-colored chains on Jingsheng's body were being pulled and dragged—it should be the ghost clan competing for the Ghostfire Token.

So, was the Ghostfire Token in the well?

The green ghostfire in the Ghostfire Well made one's scalp tingle.

After a long silence, Hua Changxi cast out several more Zhurong Stones, arranging them around Jingsheng, then transformed into a Vermilion Fire Bird once more and, like a sky-burning meteor, plunged into the Ghostfire Well.

The well was deep and bottomless.

Ghostly qi surged and ghostfire raged.

The sky and earth suddenly darkened, leaving only boundless, eerie green and ghostly qi as thick as ink around her.

Even bathed in the Líhuǒ of Southern Brightness, Hua Changxi found her breath stifled; each wingbeat tore through a patch of viscous darkness. Though her crimson flames could drive back the nearby ghostfire, they could not purify the entire abyss—the ghostfire receded like a tide, then swept back again, relentless.

She could only fly downward, hugging close to the nine blood-colored chains extending from Jingsheng's body.

Runes flowed along the chains' surfaces, glowing scarlet like pulsing blood vessels; each section radiated ancient, violent sealing power, fiercely suppressing the erosion of ghostly qi and ghostfire in the well.

After descending for who knows how long, finally, a faint red light appeared below.

Hua Changxi accelerated her dive. Only upon nearing did she see clearly—it was a massive, ancient formation engraved into the bedrock of the well's bottom, taking the shape of a Vermilion Bird with wings spread.

The formation's lines were cast in a mix of red gold and black iron; though weathered by time, they still gleamed brilliantly. But at this moment, a striking, deep fissure had appeared at the formation's center.

The endless torrent of ghostly qi and ghostfire in the Ghostfire Well was spilling out from that fissure.

More alarming was that Jingsheng's nine blood-chain lines extended from the fissure into boundless darkness.