"This immortal crystal lightning stone, though useless to me, is the primary material for forging a first-grade lightning divine ability for you younglings still condensing your divine abilities and forming your core.
Even my pavilion only condenses one such stone in a hundred years, yet this one is being contended for by hundreds. Whether you can obtain it depends on your own skill, young man."
Wu Kongzi smiled meaningfully, looking at Wu Tao, who was visibly excited.
Although Wu Tao did not possess a first-grade lightning divine ability, it didn't mean he wouldn't in the future.
Even if he couldn't obtain one later, he could use this immortal crystal lightning stone to exchange for fire-attribute, top-grade heaven-tier spiritual materials.
In the dozen or so years it took him to advance to the Core Formation stage, Wu Tao had suffered enough from the lack of a first-grade divine ability.
Wu Tao wanted to say something but remembered the temperament of the person beside him and wisely suppressed certain words he intended to speak.
In the center of the pavilion stood a large, purplish-gold cauldron, and above it rested a grayish-blue bowl.
At the bottom of the bowl lay a nascent immortal crystal lightning stone.
Silently noting the location of this pavilion and bowl, Wu Tao thought of something, a hint of disdain appearing at the corner of his lips.
...
After bringing Wu Tao to a separate dimension where he would be confined, Wu Kongzi, too lazy to explain the rules, simply tossed him a jade slip detailing the regulations of the Prison Small World and told him to read it himself.
Barren, silent, gray, a deathly quiet environment – this was where Wu Tao would spend the next ten years.
As far as the eye could see in this alien dimension, there was not a trace of green, mostly bare and desolate, without a single living creature.
No grass, no trees, no birds, no beasts – it was a place perfectly suited for introspection and tempering the mind.
Indeed, this was the prison of the Prison Small World.
Several hours had passed.
"Alien dimension, a punitive confinement!"
Wu Tao toyed with the jade slip in his hands, muttering to himself, and slowly infused spiritual energy into it.
Immediately, the seemingly inconspicuous jade slip trembled slightly, emitting a light that gathered and formed dense characters in mid-air.
These densely packed characters detailed rules that were absolutely forbidden.
For instance: Rule one, no killing within the Prison Small World; violators will be executed! Rule two, no damaging the environment of the alien dimension; violators will be executed! Rule three, the words of the prison city administrators are commands; violators will be executed!"
Behind the dense characters were only simple diagrams, roughly outlining the terrain, with some dangerous areas clearly marked.
The map was not complex, in fact, it was extremely simple. Wu Tao memorized it with just a glance.
"On this point, that lecherous old man didn't cheat me."
After carefully rereading the contents of the jade slip several times, Wu Tao immediately put it away.
"Meow... Meow..."
Suddenly, a purple figure emerged from Wu Tao's sea of consciousness – it was Youmeng.
In fact, as soon as they entered the Prison Small World, Youmeng had sensed the unimaginably dense spatial energy and immediately started causing a commotion in Wu Tao's sea of consciousness.
A strong urge, a desire to try it out, was instantly transmitted to Wu Tao's divine soul.
The powerful spatial energy surrounding them blocked the darker aspects of the human heart, severing all negative thoughts.
No wonder this place eventually became a world dedicated to imprisoning wrongdoers.
Allowing Youmeng to leave on its own, Wu Tao stood in place and took out various materials for building houses from his storage bag.
In no time, a simple cave dwelling about ten feet long was completed, and Wu Tao smiled.
During their earlier exchange, Wu Tao also understood why the Prison Small World confined offenders in individual alien dimensions.
There were at least several hundred, perhaps even over a thousand, cultivators in the Prison Small World. However, this was a place for punishment, not for enjoyment.
With so many people, if they were all having fun, how could there be any talk of punishment? Thus, the Prison Small World was divided into many alien dimensions.
Except for specific events, individuals could not see or interact with each other.
There was a reason for this. Most of the cultivators thrown here were exceptionally talented and possessed unyielding personalities.
When a group of unruly individuals gathered, none would submit to the others, and a few words would often lead to fierce battles, resulting in utter chaos.
Seeing this, the higher echelons of the human race became furious.
You want to fight? Fine, I'll separate you all. If you can't see anyone, you can't fight the air, can you?
No sooner said than done.
Many of the human race's higher-ups used their great divine abilities and extraordinary means to split a third of the Prison Small World into numerous alien dimensions.
And so, this rule has been passed down to this day.
Perhaps in the human heart, what is most feared is not life or death, but loneliness.
Seeing no one for one day was bearable, two days, bearable, three days, bearable. Ten days, half a month, half a year, a year, ten years, a hundred years...
This kind of solitude and loneliness could wear down a person's will and temper a cultivator's dao heart.
Fortunately, the spiritual energy in this Prison Small World was exceptionally dense, making cultivation here highly effective.
With a whoosh, on this desolate wasteland, streams of spiritual energy roared, forming vortexes of spiritual energy.
Beneath these spiritual energy vortexes sat Wu Tao.
A large amount of spiritual energy poured into his body through the top of his head. Perhaps due to absorbing so much spiritual energy, the divine light in Wu Tao's eyes grew increasingly intense.
Wu Tao endured this kind of修炼, a period of constant tension, for three full months.
After three months, Wu Tao lay on a bamboo chair, looking up at the sky, watching the dust on the wasteland sway in the wind, with a look of having no will to live.
Allowing the gentle breeze to brush over his body, Wu Tao opened his eyes and sighed softly, gazing at the invisible cage above him.
After three months of arduous cultivation, his cultivation had not progressed even a tiny bit, nor had his application of divine abilities improved significantly.
Wasting away aimlessly, even a cultivator with Wu Tao's disposition could no longer bear it.
Wu Tao, unable to contain his pent-up anger for three months, suddenly sprang up and cursed at the sky.
"You bunch of old bastards, do you have to be like this? It's been three months, and I haven't seen a single person..."
"You scoundrels, kill me or dismember me, give me a quick end! Why are you tormenting me like this?"
After shouting at the sky for over half an hour, Wu Tao, perhaps tired from yelling, lay motionless on the bamboo chair, as if asleep.
Just then, the space beside Wu Tao rippled, and then churned like boiling water. A small purple cat emerged from the space, walking with an arrogant stride.
At this moment, Youmeng blinked its star-like large eyes, looked around, and upon seeing Wu Tao, quickly shifted its gaze away, without any lingering affection, as if Wu Tao didn't exist at all.
Seeing that Wu Tao didn't react for a long time, Youmeng directly transformed into human form.
Although Youmeng was small when it was a cat,
It transformed into a voluptuous, top-tier beauty with long, straight legs.
Especially its pair of purple eyes, which were charming and beautiful.
The pair of cat ears on its head exuded a wild aura, and the cat tail swaying behind it gave one the urge to swat it.
Suddenly, Youmeng produced a white stone in its left hand.
Tossing the stone playfully, it murmured softly, "Meow, meow, meow, I've been working my tail off in the river of space for three months, and you're here lying around resting..."
"I originally wanted to give you a gift, but now it seems you can't enjoy it. I'll have to keep it for myself to exchange for food."
As it spoke, Youmeng intended to sidestep Wu Tao and return to its own den.
Just then, a figure suddenly blocked its path.
Immediately, Wu Tao's hand snatched the white stone from Youmeng's grasp, while the other hand grabbed Youmeng's cat ear.
"Ah... meow meow meow... That hurts!"
With its cat ear grabbed, Youmeng's face turned red with pain, almost to the point of rolling on the ground.
After Wu Tao released her ear, Youmeng parted its red lips and said indignantly, "You scoundrel, not only do you steal my things, but you also bully me! I'm going to scratch you to death!"
As she spoke, her slender hands with sharp nails lunged towards Wu Tao's face.
Wu Tao dodged to the side with a swift movement, and Youmeng quickly pursued.
Thus, the man and woman chased and fled, their laughter occasionally echoing, adding a hint of liveliness to the silent, deathly still environment.
During this process, Youmeng's snow-white smooth skin and beast-like charm significantly improved Wu Tao's mood.
"Meow meow meow, let go of me, you shameless fellow! Let go of my tail quickly, or I'll get serious!"
Youmeng cried out in alarm, as its cat tail was tightly grasped by Wu Tao.
Cornered, Youmeng could only open its small mouth, revealing a few tiny cat teeth, and its head suddenly elongated, then turned to bite Wu Tao's hand.
"Alas! So many years have passed, Youmeng, you're still like this. It seems you'll never grow up..."
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