The Divine Prison has many layers; the prisoners held on the first nine layers pose no great danger and are thus monitored by third and fourth-class Prison Guards like Zhao Sheng.
Below the ninth layer, however, higher-ranking Prison Guards take over, where they guard either great villains of the Demon Path or notorious murderers, some of whom are Taoists of their own sect who violated its rules.
According to the elder, the deeper the layer in the Divine Prison, the greater the danger.
Of course, most of the Demon adherents and demons confined within the third layer of the prison were Qi Refinement practitioners and couldn't stir up any trouble.
"Later, watch how I do it and learn! You will have to do it yourself in the future."
The two walked down the gloomy corridor; Qi Peng was instructing Zhao Sheng beside him as they went.
Zhao Sheng nodded silently beside him, not uttering a word.
On the stone walls of the corridor, the Fluorescent Pearls emitted circles of white light, dispelling the darkness nearby.
Below the light of the pearls stood door after door made of heavy, dull Mystic Iron, from behind which came faint cries and moans.
The other Prison Guards had already left one after another, mencing their regular day's work.
When the two arrived in front of a silent, iron door, Qi Peng suddenly stopped and glanced at the cell number: three~thirty-six.
"This is the one. Let's start with something simple," he said.
After speaking, Qi Peng unhooked a Hexagram Token from his waist on the Crimson Armor and inserted it into the keyhole in the middle of the door, turning it one round to the right. The iron door made a rumbling sound and then, with a bang, creaked open slightly.
Qi Peng shoved the door open and entered, with Zhao Sheng following closely behind.
Bang!
The Mystic Iron Gate automatically closed, and before them was another ancient bronze-colored door, covered in countless intricate and mysterious runes, veiled in a layer of white light.
It goes without saying why the Divine Prison had two sets of prison doors.
Qi Peng stepped forward, placed his hand on the bronze door, muttering under his breath while his right hand emitted a faint white light.
Clack, clack!
The ancient bronze door slowly opened inwards, revealing the scene behind the cell.
The room was low and cramped, no more than twenty paces from front to back, with walls on all sides made of solid steel, while the ceiling of the cell bore an engraving of a thousand-armed, three-headed Prison God.
With arms fanned out like wings, the Prison God formed various Spell Seals, the left head passionate, and the right fierce, while the central head was without face or form but emanated supreme majesty.
Sitting cross-legged on a thirty-six-petaled Red Lotus, surrounded by towering Karmic Fire, myriad life forms bowed to the deity amid their cries of anguish under the scorching flames.
In the dim fluorescent light, a burly man with a naked upper body, with disheveled hair, hung his head low, motionless.
This man's skin was pale, his limbs and shoulder bones pierced through by rune chains, cruelly secured to a cross-shaped steel frame.
On the man's pale skin, particularly over the heart on his left chest, there clung a swollen Blood-sucking Leech, as big as a fist.
Qi Peng approached and ran his hand over the man's neck, feeling the icy touch.
"Sigh, another one without breath! Just my bad luck today, not even a living corpse fetched," he lamented.
As he spoke, Qi Peng deftly removed the leech and placed it inside the black Space Storage Seal at his waist. He quickly unclenched the rune chain and laid the body down on the ground.
Turning back, he saw Zhao Sheng standing there stunned and called out, "Don't just stand there, wrap up the body. I'll check to see if it's spawned any ghostly creatures."
Zhao Sheng advanced, his right hand reaching to the black Space Storage Seal at his waist, and pulled out a white hemp corpse bag. He bent down, lifted the body, and skillfully stuffed it inside.
The black Space Storage Seal, standard issue for Prison Guards, contained a variety of items; not only corpse bags but also Zombie Coffins, Sealing Ghost Pots, and various torture instruments - it lacked nothing.
"Let's go, let's go! Not even a stray soul. Damn bad luck!" Qi Peng grumbled as he pleted his tasks. He stepped over to Zhao Sheng, waved, and stored the wrapped body back into the Space Storage Seal.
Bang, bang!
The two sets of Prison Gates were re-secured.
Qi Peng led Zhao Sheng to the next cell.
Taking advantage of the moment of opening the doors, Zhao Sheng asked him about the various taboos and precautions inside the cell.
Qi Peng didn't pretend to be mysterious and freely shared a lot about the Divine Prison.
Just then, the cell door opened...
"Roar—"
A wild roar ensued as soon as the door opened.
On the cross steel frame was a bare, dark blue-haired wolf-headed humanoid monster, desperately trying to pounce towards the door, feral and vicious. However, the rune chain automatically tightened and burst with countless sparks of Electric Light, shocking it into continuous heartbreaking howls.
"A werewolf? Man-wolf? Or a divine abomination?!"
The cell stank to high heaven, filthy all over.
Zhao Sheng covered his nose and mouth and, with a flick of his finger, fireballs shot out one after another, erupting into flames upon hitting the steel floor and quickly burning away the filth.
Then he cast the Clear Wind Skill three times in succession to disperse the dense stench.
"Heh heh, now you know being a Prison Guard isn't an easy job! This is just the beginning; there's plenty more for you to 'enjoy.' Adapt quickly, or you won't even know how you died," Qi Peng smirked jeeringly at Zhao Sheng, then with a sudden frosty expression on his old face, he stretched out his right hand to reveal a black whip two zhang long, with a diameter of only one finger, its surface bristling with visibly sharp barbs.
Crack, crack, crack!
Without another word, he began to whip the wolf-headed humanoid fiercely, lacerating its skin, eliciting piteous wails.
"Will you confess?"
Crack, crack!
"Confess, or not?"
Crack, crack, crack!
Qi Peng whipped rhythmically, and Zhao Sheng watched with a glint in his eyes.
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