Chapter 458: Prohibition Broken

The fire bird circled in the center of the nine-layer prison tower, and the red flames poured down like a waterfall, illuminating the entire tower as bright as day.

Wherever the Nan Ming Li Fire passed, the ghost Qi was like snow meeting boiling soup, dissipating and evaporating one after another, and even the ghost fires in the corridor and prison cells made "chi chi" wails and quickly extinguished.

However, the black well located in the center of the tower bottom was like an abyss swallowing light. No matter how the red flames poured down and burned, the eerie green ghost fire lingering at the well mouth never extinguished or dissipated.

Hua Changxi, transformed into a Zhu Que, had eyes like torches, staring at the well mouth—there, a withered figure sat cross-legged above the well mouth, as if he had long ago merged with this well.

That person was so thin that only a layer of skin remained, his ribs were clearly visible, his spine protruded like a broken blade, and his hands were on his knees, his ten fingers withered like eagle claws.

He closed his eyes, his face was deeply sunken, his cheekbones were high, his lips were dark purple, and his skin was dead gray, only a weak airflow escaped from the tip of his nose, proving that he was still alive.

What was even more horrifying was that nine blood-red chains extended from his body, piercing through his whole person. Each chain was as thick as a child's arm, and the surface was engraved with dense prohibition runes, flashing with scarlet light.

These chains were not static, but wriggling slowly like living snakes—one end of the chain pierced through the nine-layer prison tower, and the other end was deeply inserted into the black well.

"Jingsheng..."

Hua Changxi's pupils shook violently. Jingsheng's face and figure were not much different from when she first saw him.

Blood Qi is the foundation of the physical body. The consumption of this person was so huge that he was on the verge of exhaustion, so much so that ten years of time passed, and he had not grown at all, and was even more withered than the appearance in her memory.

The Zhu Que fire bird landed slowly, hovering three feet away from the well mouth, the flames converged, and the human form reappeared.

Hua Changxi was still burning with fire lotus, she did not approach Jingsheng rashly, but looked at him heavily.

Jingsheng sitting cross-legged on the Ghost Fire Well was clearly in a posture of "suppression."

Was he suppressing the ghost fire in the well?

Or, was there something more terrifying in the well?

"En?"

Before Hua Changxi could think carefully, a change occurred.

The end of the blood-colored chain deep in the Ghost Fire Well suddenly tightened, making a harsh pulling and dragging sound.

Deep in the well, it seemed that some behemoth was exerting force suddenly, crazily dragging the chain, wanting to drag Jingsheng into the well.

Jingsheng's face twisted instantly, in unbearable pain, his withered body trembled violently, and his suspended body began to be unstable, with a sign of falling, as if he would be dragged into the abyss where the eerie green ghost fire surged at any time.

At this moment, "Hua la la~", the nine chains piercing through the nine-layer prison tower also tightened suddenly.

Next, with Jingsheng as the center, two forces launched a silent but tragic "tug-of-war."

One end of the Ghost Fire Well seemed to want to swallow Jingsheng and drag him into eternal calamity; the nine-layer prison tower end held the last line of defense tightly, not letting him fall.

The blood-colored chains flourished with red light, as if resisting the pulling force in the well.

Accompanied by the surge of light, Hua Changxi saw a scene she couldn't bear to look at.

The blood Qi that was already scarce in Jingsheng's body was being crazily drained at a speed visible to the naked eye. His skin was more gray and defeated, and his bones made a subtle "ka

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi's heart felt heavily congested, and she even felt a sense of suffocation.

She did not understand why Jing Sheng would place himself in such a perilous situation.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

Hua Changxi waved out several pieces of Zhu Rong Stone, setting up a small Qi-blood array around Jing Sheng. A crimson, warm light emanated from them, like a rising blood-red sun, gently enveloping the withered man.

Sure enough, the moment the Zhu Rong Stones were set, Jing Sheng's cracked lips moved slightly, instinctively beginning to absorb the power of the Qi and blood within them.

Seeing that he still had consciousness, Hua Changxi breathed a sigh of relief, but her gaze grew increasingly heavy.

She looked around—

The ghostly green fire leaping at the mouth of the well outlined the hideous contours of this prison in the boundless darkness.

The cells were densely packed like a honeycomb, the black stone was cold, chains hung down, and the air was filled with a thick, eerie, and murderous aura. From the entrance to the bottom of the prison tower, it descended in layers, as if the further down one went, the closer one was to hell itself.

And the source of all this was exactly the thing before her—the Ghost Fire Well.

Hua Changxi transformed back into a Zhu Que firebird, circling within the prison tower, while simultaneously releasing her divine sense to quickly scan every level of the tower.

Since the Imperial family had occupied the Ghost Fire Well, they must have left some traces behind.

And that missing batch of Zhu Que Army...

The names on the "Zhu Que Army Roster" had not yet completely faded, which meant they were still alive.

Unfortunately, she did not find any traces of the Zhu Que Army in the prison tower, nor did she find any traces left by the Imperial family.

"Where did the people go?"

Having gained nothing, Hua Changxi stood once again before the Ghost Fire Well.

The "tug-of-war" had ended, and Jing Sheng remained sitting motionless like a mountain atop the well mouth.

Hua Changxi pondered for a while and stepped toward the Ghost Fire Well; she wanted to see what exactly was inside the well.

"Big Sister~"

Just as Hua Changxi approached the edge of the well, a weak and hoarse voice rang in her ears.

"Hmm?"

The sudden sound startled Hua Changxi. She whipped her head around to look at her surroundings, and finally, her gaze fell upon Jing Sheng.

"Jing Sheng, was that you calling me?"

"Yes." Jing Sheng's reply was weak and powerless, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Hua Changxi wanted to ask about the Ghost Fire Well, but seeing Jing Sheng so weak, she ultimately did not speak: "Jing Sheng, is there anything I can do for you?"

"The Ghost Fire Token..."

"The Imperial family broke the restrictions of the Ghost Fire Well, allowing the Ghost Fire Well to connect with the Nine Netherworlds..."

"Once the Ghost Fire Token falls into the hands of the Ghost Clan, the Ghost Clan will be able to enter and exit the human world through the Ghost Fire Well..."

After Jing Sheng finished saying these words intermittently, there was no more sound from him.

Hua Changxi felt somewhat frantic listening to this.

The Ghost Fire Token...

Is it the token of the master of the Ghost Fire Well?

And the restrictions of the Ghost Fire Well were broken, allowing the Ghost Fire Well to connect to the Nine Netherworlds?

The Ghost Fire Well is actually connected to the Nine Netherworlds?

Hua Changxi had too many doubts in her heart, but she could find no one to ask, so she could only cast her gaze toward the Ghost Fire Well.

Jing Sheng's words still helped her understand a few things.

For example, why the blood-colored chains on Jing Sheng's body were being pulled and dragged—it must be the Ghost Clan competing for the Ghost Fire Token.

So, is the Ghost Fire Token inside the well?

The green ghost fire in the Ghost Fire Well made one's scalp tingle.

Hua Changxi was silent for a long while, then waved out several more pieces of Zhu Rong Stone, arranged them around Jing Sheng, and transformed back into a Zhu Que firebird, leaping into the Ghost Fire Well like a burning meteor.

The well was deep and bottomless.

Ghostly energy surged, and ghost fire raged.

The world suddenly darkened, and all that remained around her was boundless ghostly green and ghost energy as thick as ink.

Even while bathed in the Nanming Li Fire, Hua Changxi felt her breathing become labored, and every flap of her wings had to tear through a patch of viscous darkness. Although her crimson flames could force back the ghost fire that came close, they could not purify the entire abyss—the ghost fire retreated like a tide, only to sweep back in again, never-ending.

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

Runes flowed across the surface of the chains, pulsing scarlet like blood vessels, and each segment radiated an ancient and violent restrictive power, suppressing the erosion of the ghost energy and ghost fire in the well.

After falling for an unknown amount of time, finally, a faint red light appeared below.

Hua Changxi accelerated her dive, and only after getting closer did she see clearly—it was a huge and ancient magic array, engraved on the rock bed at the bottom of the well, shaped like a spreading Zhu Que.

The array patterns were cast from a mixture of red gold and black iron; they still shone brightly despite the passage of time, but at this moment, a striking and deep crack had appeared in the center of the array.

The ghost energy and ghost fire that surged continuously in the Ghost Fire Well were escaping from this crack.

Even more heart-wrenching was that Jing Sheng's nine blood-vein chains emerged from the crack, reaching out into the boundless darkness.