Chapter 457: Nine-Story Prison Tower

Knowing that the skull-shaped platform before her was most likely the entrance to the Ghost Fire Well, Hua Changxi slowly circled around it.

The entire rift valley was as silent as a grave; the area surrounding the platform was so desolate it made one's heart tremble.

In many places, the ground was cracked like a spiderweb, with dark green moss seeping from the fissures, emitting a stench of decay mixed with sulfur.

The ground, which might once have been paved with array-inscribed jade bricks, had long been ground to powder by time, then covered by layers of ash and bone fragments accumulated over countless years; stepping on it felt soft as mud yet piercingly cold.

Four stone statues of Zhu Que guarded the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast corners respectively; though they should have appeared majestic and ready to spread their wings and cry out, they were now covered in a thick layer of gray-black dust, as if forgotten and sealed away by time.

Beneath the Lingguang Hall's Transmission Hall, there was also a stone statue of Zhu Que.

However, that Zhu Que statue had 'come alive' from its slumber after Hua Changxi made her 'Zhu Que Oath'.

Afterwards, as more and more members joined the Zhu Que Army, the eyes of the Zhu Que statue seemed infused with a soul, becoming vivid and lifelike.

In contrast, these four Zhu Que statues before her seemed still asleep, not yet awakened.

The skull-shaped platform was much the same.

Apart from its gaping mouth leaking ghostly qi and its two eye sockets where green flames flickered in and out, everything else remained utterly silent.

The entire platform resembled an abandoned gateway, lacking both caretakers and guarding patrols.

After inspecting the area beneath the platform, Hua Changxi lightly tapped her toes, her figure drifting down like a crimson feather as she flew onto the platform, landing steadily on the edge of the skull's widely opened mouth.

The moment her feet touched the ground, a dense wave of yin coldness rushed up from the soles of her feet like a venomous snake, shooting straight to the crown of her head.

Simultaneously, the ghostly qi gushing from the skull's mouth suddenly boiled and twisted, forming countless distorted faces that opened their mouths in shrill screams and lunged directly at Hua Changxi's face.

"Boom~"

Flames surged upward, blocking the ghostly faces rushing toward her; bathed in fire, Hua Changxi's expression turned grave and vigilant.

After the ghostly faces dissolved, Hua Changxi, still enveloped in flames, leaned forward to peer into the interior of the skull's gaping mouth, attempting to see what lay within.

Unfortunately, apart from the ink-black ghostly qi and the flickering green flames, she saw nothing.

Seeing this, another lotus of fire condensed in Hua Changxi's hand, then flew into the skull's wide-open mouth.

As the fire lotus descended, the churning, boiling ghostly qi receded like a tide.

Illuminated by the fire lotus, a narrow passage extending downward slowly revealed itself—narrow, grim, resembling the throat of a giant beast, leading into an unfathomable abyss.

"Hmm?!"

The fire lotus extinguished less than a hundred meters down the passage.

At this, Hua Changxi's heart shook.

After all, when she had descended from the surface above the mass grave and dissolved all the ghostly qi throughout the rift valley, the fire lotus had not gone out; yet now, less than a hundred meters inside the skull, the fire lotus had vanished.

From this, one could imagine just how astonishingly dense the ghostly qi inside the skull was!

Afterwards, Hua Changxi condensed several more fire lotuses and flung them into the skull's interior.

Although the subsequent fire lotuses penetrated slightly deeper, they ultimately met the same fate and extinguished.

"Hoo~"

Hua Changxi exhaled; since standing outside the skull prevented her from probing deeper into its interior, she would have to enter it herself.

"Boom~"

Hua Changxi's fiery light flared brilliantly; immediately, a fire lotus quietly bloomed between her feet, and in the next instant, wrapped within the fire lotus, she stepped into the skull.

The interior of the skull was completely shrouded in ghostly qi, thick and sticky as ink; inhaling even a breath would make one's spiritual soul feel chilled and cause spiritual power to become chaotic. Had she not been surrounded by the Southern Ming Separation Fire, she would not have been able to remain there for even a moment.

Walking along the passage, whistling yin winds filled her ears, sounding like the wails of wronged souls; occasionally, the sound of chains dragging across the ground could also be heard.

The wails and the grinding of chains intertwined, forming a eerie and terrifying melody that echoed in every corner, sending shivers down one's spine.

At the same time, the temperature inside the skull was extremely low; this chill was not ordinary coldness, but a yin coldness.

This cold could penetrate clothing, seep into the bones, freeze a cultivator's spiritual power, and even freeze their spiritual soul; even cultivators with profound cultivation, if enveloped by this chill for too long, would feel their entire bodies stiffen, unable to move.

"This is indeed an excellent place to imprison cultivators who have committed offenses!" Being here was absolutely a form of torture.

As she ventured deeper, the light grew increasingly dim.

Hua Changxi felt that if she withdrew her fire lotus, the only source of light within the entire skull might be those flickering green ghost fires.

It seemed that neither sunlight nor moonlight could penetrate into this place.

The light of the fire lotus was compressed by the ghostly qi, unable to illuminate far, capable only of outlining vague shapes within the darkness.

Finally, after penetrating nearly a thousand meters into the passage, a spacious plaza appeared.

"Guard Post!" On the stone wall at the edge of the plaza, these three large red characters were carved.

To the left of the plaza stood a row of black-iron stone houses; to the right, a row of black-iron cage houses.

Hua Changxi first examined the black-iron houses on the left, then looked at the black-iron cage houses on the right.

Those on the left were guard quarters, while those on the right were holding cells for prisoners.

Clearly, the guard quarters were where the guarding soldiers stationed themselves, while the holding cells served as transitional areas for prisoners before execution.

Hua Changxi did not linger long, but she paused for a moment inside the first guard quarter.

For no other reason than that a stone mirror stood in the center of the room, with the two characters "Well Mirror" carved upon it.

Hua Changxi wondered: if this stone mirror were activated, could it monitor all activities within the entire Ghost Fire Well?

On the side of the guard quarters, there was no passage leading downward, so Hua Changxi proceeded along the row of holding cells until she reached the end, where she saw a staircase extending downward.

"What exactly is the layout inside the skull?"

"And where is the Ghost Fire Well located?"

Hua Changxi descended the staircase; at its bottom lay a circular corridor.

On both sides of the corridor were densely packed prison cells, all constructed from black stone; inside each hung two chains condensed from ghostly qi, ink-black in color with a faint green luster shimmering on their surfaces.

"Well Prison, First Level."

At the junction where the corridor met the staircase, Hua Changxi saw a signboard bearing this inscription.

Did this mean she was now on the first level of the Ghost Fire Well prison?

The stairs continued downward, and soon, Hua Changxi arrived at the second-level corridor.

The layout of the second-level corridor was exactly the same as the first.

Continuing downward lay the third-level corridor, with the layout remaining unchanged.

Upon reaching this point, the Fire Lotus burning on Hua Changxi's body began to wane; for no other reason than that in some cells on the third level, green ghost flames burned upon chains condensed from ghost qi.

The corrosive power of the ghost flames was dozens of times stronger than that of ordinary ghost qi.

By the time she reached the fourth-level corridor, the Fire Lotus could barely be sustained.

On this level, not only did ghost flames burn on the chains within the cells, but they also appeared along the corridor itself.

Hua Changxi knew she could not penetrate deeper relying on the Fire Lotus; she stood on the corridor, gazing downward.

Although all she could see was ghost qi and ghost flames, she had now discerned the internal layout of the skull: it resembled a tower, hollow in the center, connecting to the skull's gaping maw like a sky well.

She had no desire to descend floor by floor any longer.

"Boom!"

Crimson-gold flames erupted from around Hua Changxi, soaring upward as her form began to blur, stretch, and molt...

In an instant, the human figure vanished, replaced by a Zhu Que fire bird bathed in flames—its feathers like molten gold, its eyes like blazing suns, its tail feathers trailing crimson flowing fire.

The fire bird threw back its head and let out a clear cry that shook all directions, then beat its wings and plunged like a fireball into an abyss, leaping down from the corridor.

At that moment, the interior of the skull was fully illuminated by the fire bird—it was a nine-story prison tower.

Wherever the fire bird passed, ghost qi melted away and ghost flames scattered!

In the end, only within a black well at the very bottom of the prison tower did green ghost flames continue to burn.