The bitterness in Wu Tao's heart at this moment was known only to himself.
Although the white-clothed beauty was merely standing still in the void, Wu Tao felt the surrounding space slowly compressing around him as the center.
This peculiar sensation was unlike anything Wu Tao had ever experienced, and it prevented him from launching a preemptive strike.
Meanwhile, within the white-clothed beauty's heart, waves of astonishment surged, her exquisite features contorting.
To appear composed and capture Wu Tao with the ease of a cat playing with a mouse, she had secretly employed a third-grade divine ability, "Palm Condensing Heaven and Earth."
As the name suggested, "Palm Condensing Heaven and Earth" involved using one's own power to condense the heavens and earth, thereby gaining a degree of control over space!
This profound and mysterious divine ability, when cultivated to its highest level, could create a world of its own!
Although the white-clothed beauty had not reached that pinnacle, she had still utilized the divine ability's power to alter the spatial structure around Wu Tao.
Cornered, Wu Tao could only resort to the "Colorless Boundary Palm," one of the six divine abilities of Buddhism, and fight for his life.
However, upon sensing Wu Tao's desperate move, the white-clothed beauty slightly furrowed her brows. She extended her left middle finger and employed another fourth-grade divine ability, "Sleeping Intent Immortal Finger."
Struck directly by the fourth-grade divine ability "Sleeping Intent Immortal Finger," Wu Tao soon collapsed and fell into a deep, unawakening slumber!
With its spiritual consciousness gone, the Chuxi Sword transformed into a streak of lightning and merged into Wu Tao's body.
Seeing Wu Tao faint, the white-clothed maiden's expression visibly improved. Seemingly unwilling to waste any more words, she cast a cold glance at Wu Tao, let out a soft hum, and turned to fly back into the carriage!
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators, clad in silver armor, who had been waiting nearby for some time, surrounded the unconscious Wu Tao.
These individuals then proceeded to bind Wu Tao's limbs with spirit-binding ropes.
Finally, after receiving permission from the white-clothed figure in the carriage, they confined Wu Tao within an impregnable dungeon.
Meanwhile.
Inside the carriage drawn by five flood dragons, the white-clothed woman, having subdued Wu Tao, felt an inexplicable ripple of emotion within her.
As the daughter of the副城主 (fù chéngzhǔ - deputy city lord) of Tongguan City, no man had ever dared to look at her with such intense gaze.
Yet, inexplicably, beyond the initial shame and indignation, she felt a trace of joy. This feeling was entirely new, truly bizarre.
"This veil I wear on my face, I've had it since I was young, for over two hundred years..."
"When I was young, I swore that if any other man were to see my face, aside from killing them, the only other options were for them to become my future Dao companion or husband."
With this thought, her gaze flickered.
This arrogant, lecherous hooligan, once subdued, would conventionally be sent to Yougang Prison.
Could he survive in such a fearsome prison?
For a century, her heart had been as calm as still water, undisturbed. Today, for some reason, it was in turmoil, and she found herself inexplicably worried about this stranger's perilous future.
This inexplicable concern, its origin unknown, only added to her confusion and bewilderment.
Under such a strange twist of fate, Wu Tao left a deep impression on the young lady, who had been in seclusion for over a hundred years and had never met an unfamiliar man.
...
The largest prison in Tongguan City, Yougang Prison.
Yougang Prison was located in a secluded corner of Tongguan City's southern district. Its outer walls were constructed from giant stones containing refined gold.
Within this prison, screams could be heard everywhere.
"Quick, quickly... kill me!"
"Aaaahhh!"
"Let me out! I don't want to die!!" a cultivator in prison garb shouted, clutching the iron railings.
Unfortunately, this scene was unbearable to his fellow inmates!
"You're so noisy, just die!"
Finally, a ferocious inmate could no longer contain himself.
He picked up a broken bowl and hurled it with all his might at the prisoner in the adjacent cell who had been shouting incessantly.
The bowl shattered upon impact. The prisoner who was struck, his spiritual energy completely sealed and his storage bag confiscated, was utterly defenseless.
With a thud, he collapsed onto the ground, his back of the head bleeding profusely.
Witnessing this bloody scene, none of the other inmates attempted to intervene; instead, they became even more boisterous.
It had to be said that prolonged confinement had twisted their minds.
However, in a well-ordered prison, such disturbances would not persist for long.
The ferocious inmate who had smashed his fellow prisoner's head with a broken bowl, feeling self-satisfied a moment ago, found the surroundings inexplicably silent the next instant.
"Thud!"
Before the brutal inmate could react, a Qi Refining stage jailer, who had appeared from nowhere, was behind him.
This Qi Refining stage jailer showed no mercy. He patted his storage bag, produced a silver hook-like fork, and impaled the rule-breaking, ferocious inmate to death.
Instantly, a tragedy hundreds of times more gruesome than before unfolded before the eyes of all the prisoners.
Unlike before, there was no more heckling. Instead, all the prisoners trembled, fearing they would be next.
"Drip, drip, drip!!!"
Ignoring the silver hook fork still dripping blood, the jailer dragged the bodies of the two deceased prisoners, leaving streaks of blood along the way.
The jailer did not put the bodies into storage bags for two reasons: firstly, to establish authority, and secondly, to assert ownership.
He wanted to inform these brutal prisoners who was the master of this prison!
...
"Has that bastard left?!"
One prisoner asked another.
"Don't worry about it, it's none of our business."
A prisoner in an adjacent cell replied.
"Two more skeletons will be added to the mass grave mountain."
An old prisoner muttered maniacally to himself.
This was a true cultivation world prison, where darkness and bloodshed were the dominant themes.
...
"Nephew, if you need anything, just take someone from here. These cultivators are basically consumables anyway," an Officer of the Foundation Establishment stage said casually to his junior who was undergoing training, showing no concern for the prisoners.
To them, the prisoners were mostly expendable.
This could be seen from the surrounding environment.
The environment on this floor of the prison was abysmal, filled with various filth, and even corpses lay about, emitting a disgusting stench.
The main gate of the prison was wide open, resembling a gaping maw, a monstrous beast baring its teeth, ready to devour without spitting out, appearing incredibly terrifying and ferocious.
Since its establishment, this prison's main gate had never been closed, day and night. People, alive or dead, went in and out daily.
Yougang Prison appeared ordinary, with nothing peculiar. However, every guard post and every watchtower harbored hidden secrets.
Arranged in specific mystical orientations, they formed a formation that made the prison unbreakable.
Since Yougang Prison was built, not a single person had escaped in ten thousand years.
The prison was dark and dim, enveloped in a gray mist, and the chilling wind howled like ghosts crying.
...
Wu Tao, who had been in a coma, suddenly heard a piercing wind and his heart jolted, waking him abruptly.
The cold wind dispelled his drowsiness. Wu Tao looked around, the surroundings like hell.
Recalling the day's events, Wu Tao suddenly felt regret, realizing he had been too impulsive.
...
In the damp, foul-smelling ditch prison, Wu Tao, his hands and feet bound by chains, crouched miserably in the stagnant water.
Although his spiritual energy was sealed, Wu Tao did not despair.
Because he knew that he was still alive meant he was of some use to those who had captured him.
They would not let him die so easily.
...
However, half a month passed, and still no one came. Wu Tao began to feel despair.
The surroundings were dim and vast, the cold wind biting. The fellow prisoners were like specters. What would his future hold? The dangers ahead were unknown, would he die here?
Living in such an environment, it was probably impossible to live for long, even if one wanted to.
The people here basically treated these prisoners as consumables, stocking them up generally and using them all at once when needed.
...
However, a month later.
As Wu Tao had expected.
After a month, someone released Wu Tao. Not only that, they also returned his storage bag.
Wu Tao did not smile gleefully at this. After securing his storage bag, he calmly looked ahead.
The month spent in prison had tempered Wu Tao's temperament, making him more composed.
Ahead, a beast carriage made of pure jade was steadily flying towards him.
Two cultivators in golden armor, at the early stage of Core Formation, were seated within the beast carriage.
Wu Tao furrowed his brow, faintly suspecting that his release this time was not as simple as it seemed.
However, he stood his ground, not moving an inch, simply waiting.
Because he knew deep down that he could not escape.
The beast carriage, appearing slow yet moving rapidly, arrived silently before Wu Tao in a few breaths.
The two early-stage Core Formation golden-armored cultivators in the beast carriage carefully examined Wu Tao.
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