Chapter 547: How Are We Supposed to Fight This? (Two-in-One)

"Rebel."

"Don't rebel."

"Rebel."

"Don't rebel."

"Rebel..."

Weng Lingxiao repeatedly pulled the Codex out from under the bed, only to shove it right back.

This Codex was different from the one he usually carried. Its gold-stamped cover was cast in a dark, murky tone, evenly splattered with large, radiating dark red circles that looked remarkably like dried bloodstains.

Right in the center of the cover sat a seaweed-like mass made entirely of arms. Each mismatched hand grasped a different object: gold coins, food, naked human bodies...

"Forget it, forget it."

Weng Lingxiao shoved the Codex under the bed again and stood up, his face breaking into a relaxed smile.

"Who knows if those two are just putting on another act. There's no need to gamble on something like this. So what if I have to play the lackey? I've been doing it for years; a few more won't matter."

He muttered to himself and headed for the door.

But just as he reached the threshold, his footsteps faltered. He slowly turned his head to look back under the bed.

After a few seconds of silence, he charged back to the bed and snatched up the Codex, his expression twisting into a savage scowl.

"Screw it, it's just a gamble. I'm rebelling!"

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A sudden knocking at the door startled Weng Lingxiao so badly his hand jerked, nearly dropping the book.

"Vice Warden Weng, are you in there?"

Yan Jing's voice came from outside. Weng Lingxiao tucked the book into his clothes, adjusted his collar, hurried to the door, and opened it. "Commissioner Yan."

Weng Lingxiao maintained a natural expression and smiled:

"What brings you here?"

"I really shouldn't have come." Yan Jing smiled.

"Because under normal circumstances, when something this massive happens, you would be the one coming to find me. I waited for quite a while but didn't see you, so I decided to come take a look." Weng Lingxiao's heart gave a violent jolt.

He hadn't expected Yan Jing to be so sharp. He had only delayed for a short while, yet Yan Jing had already come knocking on his door.

"I meant to come find you right away, but things are a mess right now. Plus, officiating the Wedding really wore me out, so I took a quick nap."

Weng Lingxiao laughed it off and looked at Yan Jing.

"I tend to snore when I sleep. I hope Commissioner Yan doesn't mind."

As he spoke, Weng Lingxiao stared intently into Yan Jing's eyes, trying to gauge if the man had overheard his earlier muttering.

"Is that so?"

Yan Jing smiled. "The soundproofing in our Great Prison must be quite good, then. What a pity. Otherwise, I could have recorded such precious material."

Weng Lingxiao pursed his lips.

It was impossible to tell whether Yan Jing was telling the truth or lying.

But true or false, as long as all pretenses hadn't been dropped, he had to keep up the act. He looked at Yan Jing and lowered his voice.

"Did something really happen to Warden Mu?"

"I don't know." Yan Jing shook his head.

"But even if something did happen, you saw him make a move today. He even managed to deceive an existence of that caliber. How could we dare make wild guesses?" "I see..."

Weng Lingxiao quietly tucked the Codex further inside his jacket.

He was worried it might accidentally slip out.

"But..."

Yan Jing shifted his tone.

"I knocked on his door, but there was no response. He's probably gone back into seclusion. I'm guessing he didn't make that move today lightly, and he might still be injured."

"Oh, is that so..." Weng Lingxiao quietly shifted the Codex in his jacket outward a bit.

That way, it would be quicker to draw if he needed to make a move.

"But regardless, I doubt those guys are going to let this go."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Right now, the Great Prison only has two safe havens left: Elite City and the Prison Fortress."

"If they didn't come here, they must have gone there."

"And since they went there, they will definitely come here afterwards."

Either way, they would come eventually.

"Don't worry, Commissioner Yan. When the time comes, I'll actively cooperate."

Weng Lingxiao adjusted his collar, putting on a serious expression.

"It's fine."

Yan Jing smiled.

"No need to trouble yourself."

Weng Lingxiao was taken aback.

"What do you mean by that..."

"I meant it literally."

Yan Jing smiled. He reached out and brushed some nonexistent dust from Weng Lingxiao's collar.

"Vice Warden Weng, Warden Mu thinks highly of you. I also consider you a rare talent, so I'd hate to see you meet with an accident."

"As for them, I'll handle it."

"You just need to watch from the sidelines. But if you truly want to intervene, choose a moment you feel is appropriate."

Weng Lingxiao's expression almost froze.

Those words carried two layers of meaning. On the surface, they meant one thing, but if taken the other way...

He had finally deciphered the implications and was just about to speak, but Yan Jing had already turned and walked away.

Outside the window, rain suddenly began to fall.

"I'll be the main attacker."

"Song Huien on support. Zhou Mian, you'll be the secondary attacker. Bai Chen is the fastest, so prepare for a sneak attack. Bai Yue, stick to the usual..."

Zhan Cangtian swept his cold gaze over the other four.

"Just one thing: no one turns traitor."

"Otherwise, neither Elite City nor the Prison Fortress will tolerate you, and I don't know where else you could go."

"Naturally."

Song Huien was the first to smile.

"We'll follow your arrangements, Brother Zhan."

The other three remained silent.

They were all Ninth Tier experts. In the outside world, any one of them possessed world-shattering power. Yet here, not only were they ganging up on one opponent, they even had to resort to sneak attacks. It was humiliating just to speak of it!

But...

This seemed to be their best option right now.

This was a battle of life and death, entirely different from last time. Pride could be tossed aside. Everyone present had clawed their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

They merely needed someone to give them a final push.

Clearly, Yan Jing was that someone.

According to the plan, Zhan Cangtian led Zhou Mian and Song Huien toward the front of the fortress.

Bai Chen circled around to the other side, while Bai Yue utilized the traits of his Pathway to conceal himself within the wind, ready to adapt to the situation.

Aside from Bai Chen, none of them bothered to mask their Weird Energy fluctuations.

Under these circumstances, any fool would know they were marching on the Great Prison. They had already prepared themselves to face an army of thousands.

But contrary to their expectations, they flew all the way to the entrance of the Prison Fortress without seeing a single guard.

It seemed... their opponent hadn't even considered the possibility.

"Coming at night was the right choice."

Zhan Cangtian's voice carried a hint of gladness.

In his eyes, seizing the initiative meant the battle was already half won.

The others, however, only felt their hearts sink further.

To them, it was utterly impossible that Yan Jing hadn't anticipated this strike.

If such a situation was really unfolding...

It only proved that their opponent's preparations might far exceed their expectations.

Sure enough, as they continued their ascent, they suddenly spotted countless vines dangling from the sky above. Each one was as massive as a soaring dragon, and even a random pitch-black root was as thick as a grown man's waist.

Billows of black mist drifted across the roots. With just a single glance, the group subconsciously pulled back.

"The essence of Fear..."

Zhou Mian recognized the true nature of the mist, his expression turning grim.

"Even that family in the Eerie Capital might not possess such dense essence..."

Hearing Zhou Mian's words, the expressions of the others changed as well.

The Eerie Capital—a Class Complete Domain that stood on equal footing with the Heavenly Kingdom, Immortal Anomaly, Train, and Chaos.

One had to realize that Pure Blood City was merely one of the three leading powers within the Heavenly Kingdom, its territory but a drop in the ocean compared to the realm's vast expanse. But that family was entirely different—they laid claim to the very core of the Eerie Capital.

Even if rumors suggested their growth had been mediocre in recent years, they were absolutely not an entity the Great Prison could afford to provoke.

"Are there people from the Eerie Capital in the Great Prison?"

Zhan Cangtian looked at Song Huien.

Song Huien shook her head.

"There are some criminals, but definitely no one from that great family. We've vetted all their files."

"Heh. If that family wanted to send someone inside, do you honestly think the Great Prison could sniff it out?" Zhou Mian sneered, his tone frigid. It was hard to tell if he was speaking to Song Huien or to himself.

"You want to retreat?"

Zhan Cangtian shot Zhou Mian a cold glare.

"That's not what I meant."

Zhou Mian pursed his lips, awkwardly denying it.

Zhan Cangtian's expression turned cold:

"I don't buy that they have ties to the Eerie Capital. If Mu Tian actually had that kind of connection, would he have sent his son off to Pure Blood City?"

"If you want to leave, leave now, but don't ever set foot in my Elite City again."

"To be honest, if I fought Yan Jing one-on-one, I wouldn't necessarily lose to him."

"Alright, alright, we were just guessing. Let's head up," Song Huien said, smoothing things over.

Yet as they pressed higher, they noticed another anomaly. The roots were growing denser. More unsettlingly, scrolls of calligraphy and paintings dangled from the tips of the roots. Most of the scrolls were blank, but no matter how they looked at them, they made everyone uncomfortable.

"Is this... the handiwork of Minhu? Or the Luofu Palace?"

The Luofu Palace was an organization composed mainly of existences who walked the Technique Pathway. Supposedly named after an ancient text, it was also a Class Incomplete Domain.

It was similar to Pure Blood City.

In short, it was stronger than the Great Prison.

"It's a diversion."

Song Huien breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the scrolls.

"The Great Prison has never had any dealings with the Luofu Palace. That place operates on its own reward and punishment system; they've never sent anyone here." Hearing this, Zhan Cangtian laughed coldly. Looking as though he had seen through it all along, he said:

"This only proves that the other side is faking it."

The rest of the group also let out sighs of relief.

As far as they were concerned, the harder the enemy bluffed, the more it proved they were insecure.

Ascending further, they spotted the tangled threads Yan Jing had wielded in his previous battle, alongside a massive, ancient pair of shears lying dormant like a slumbering beast, and a colossal crimson eye blinking open at the base of the roots...

Every single one of these sights was deeply unsettling and enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. Yet, reassured by Song Huien's analysis, the group only felt more relaxed. If the Great Prison truly possessed such assets, they would never have waited until today to use them.

"Alright, stick to the plan."

Staring at the towering, sky-obscuring tree trunk before them and sensing the dense surges of Weird Energy pulsing from above, Zhan Cangtian led Zhou Mian and Song Huien straight up. They burst through the canopy of leaves that blotted out half the sky and saw their target.

Yan Jing.

Except...

Seeing Yan Jing's current state, their hearts suddenly skipped a beat.

Amidst the torrential rain, Yan Jing stood at the entrance to the Great Prison. Countless gray threads radiating the aura of death coiled around him. Beneath him was a Crown woven from pitch-black Thorns.

The threads converged from all directions. Following their path, it was easy to trace them back to their source—

—this towering, sky-obscuring giant tree.

The threads burrowed deep into the tree's trunk. Within every single strand, a crimson eye seemed to be hidden, looking right at them.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing was wreathed in thick black mist. His eyes resembled dark red Scythe Blades, and his mouth had split all the way to the corners of his mouth.

He looked entirely different from the man who had played the Piano last time.

"Everyone."

Yan Jing's voice carried a strange, indescribable tone, sounding as if thousands of people were speaking simultaneously. The words sent a tremor through their hearts.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Drop the cheap theatrics."

Zhan Cangtian took a massive stride forward. The surrounding space instantly fractured into pitch-black rifts. He stepped right into one, and in the very next instant, his figure emerged from another rift just behind Yan Jing's right shoulder. A massive halberd materialized in his grasp, and he violently thrust it forward.

It felt as if the sky itself had been pierced by the strike. The torrential downpour was torn completely asunder, and the rain across a radius of several li simply ceased. It was an unavoidable strike.

Because the range encompassed the entire surrounding area.

Right out of the gate, Zhan Cangtian had unleashed his two ultimate techniques.

What a pity that Yan Jing didn't even try to dodge.

Countless threads surged from every direction, tightly wrapping around the iron halberd in Zhan Cangtian's grasp. The scarlet eyes blinked like a sea of crimson stars. A second later, a gust of blowing sand swept past, and a figure materialized directly behind Zhan Cangtian, burying a Dagger deep into his back.

"Painless!"

Song Huien's reaction was fast; she instantly nullified Zhan Cangtian's sense of pain. Zhan Cangtian twisted his waist and delivered a devastating punch to the figure on his back, before stepping into a nearby spatial rift and reappearing right beside Song Huien.

He stared at the figure standing across from them.

It was entirely wrapped in bandages. Astonishingly, it was none other than Shaliko—the man Yan Jing had beaten to death earlier.

"Shaliko! What are you doing?"

Zhan Cangtian's eyes were savage, but a split second later, he noticed a clue.

The eyes staring back at him lacked a certain spark of life.

Although he looked no different from normal, in essence...

He was more like a corpse.

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

"Everyone, welcome to the Great Prison."

As his words fell, an endless wave of threads swept out from the surroundings, rolling toward the group.

Every single thread was sharper than a blade—and there wasn't just one or two, but tens of thousands of them.

"Soften."

Song Huien spoke again, but the effect was limited. The crimson eyes embedded in the threads actively resisted her ability. One thread whipped past, nearly striking her throat.

"Block for me!"

Zhou Mian looked at Zhan Cangtian.

Without waiting for Zhan Cangtian to reply, currents of water surged around Zhou Mian. A pitch-black Ocean flooded out of the void, gradually solidifying. In the midair around them, the silhouettes of sea beasts began to surface.

Seeing Zhou Mian already charging his attack, Zhan Cangtian was left with no chance to refuse. With no other choice, he brandished his halberd and charged forward. If he only had to deal with the threads, he wouldn't have felt any pressure at all.

But there was also Shaliko!

"Leave Shaliko to me!"

Song Huien spoke, darting forward to intercept Shaliko:

"Ten Thousand Gold."

A speck of gold bloomed right in front of Shaliko. Every grain of sand it touched was instantly transmuted into gold, slipping out of Shaliko's control and raining down below. Zhan Cangtian felt the pressure on him drop dramatically. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he launched himself upward to meet Yan Jing.

On the other side, Song Huien fought while retreating, slowly falling back until she stood beside the charging Zhou Mian.

The two exchanged a glance, both sharing a mutual understanding.

How the fuck were they supposed to fight this? Just putting on an act would have to do.