Chapter 553: Have We Met Before?

This warm, lustrous pill lived up to its name.

The moment Wen He swallowed the pill, wisps of white mist rose around her. Her wrinkled skin plumped with visible speed, regaining its youthful fullness. The weight of time receded like an ebbing tide, and the red threads began to retract.

Wen He stared blankly at the scene before her.

She could feel her life origin rewinding, becoming even stronger than before.

Looking at Yan Jing's calm face as he held her, her mouth turned down, and she felt the urge to cry all over again.

She had been saved again.

After all these years, she still had to rely on this youth, just like before.

A pill like this... how much must it have cost? She couldn't even fathom it...

She buried her head against Yan Jing's chest, her face so red she didn't dare look up. "I'm sorry, Little Jing... I messed up again..."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

"It's fine, I'm used to it," Yan Jing said calmly. "But Sister Wen He, you might need to stand up first."

Only then did Wen He realize what she was doing. She hastily scrambled out of Yan Jing's arms and glared at Mu Tian opposite them, shielding Yan Jing behind her like a mother hen protecting her chick. "Warden Mu, we agreed back then—the deal could be canceled at any time."

"Yes." Mu Tian wore a spirited smile. "So the deal is over. Now, I'm taking what I want by force."

"Two against one, we aren't afraid of you—Ouch—"

Before Wen He could finish, Yan Jing patted her head and casually tossed her behind him.

"No fighting when you haven't fully recovered. Go to the back and rest."

"Oh, okay."

Wen He nodded obediently and hid behind Yan Jing.

"You won, Yan Jing." Mu Tian looked at Yan Jing, his face entirely devoid of frustration over having his prize snatched away. Instead, he wore a spirited, confident smile. "You always win, but I didn't lose this time, either."

"..."

Yan Jing looked at Mu Tian, his expression calm.

"This place really isn't the River..." Mu Tian said with a smile, taking the initiative to expose his own previous lie.

He had once told Yan Jing about all the experiments he had conducted to prove that this place wasn't the River.

He had even killed the very person he wanted to fish out.

But in reality, all of that was false.

The true way to verify the River was—

To find another person strong enough to verify the River, someone who had their own reasons to do so, and who actually dared to test whether this place was the River or not.

Such people were exceedingly rare—finding one was far more difficult than simply killing one's own Anchor Point.

But evidently, he had found one.

Yan Jing's face remained impassive. "Does it even matter to you anymore whether it is or isn't?"

"Either way, you can't step into the Tenth Tier now."

Mu Tian chuckled. "Perhaps before this, I wasn't sure if I could step into the Tenth Tier. But now, I am absolutely certain of it."

"In fact, I should be thanking you, Commissioner Yan."

Yan Jing remained expressionless. He knew it was because of Wen He standing behind him.

Previously, Wen He had transformed her life origin into the red threads. If she wanted to die, no one could stop her. She could give away her origin, choose not to give it, or give it to Yan Jing as she had just done.

But things were different now.

Arranging the red threads took time; previously, she had exploited the time gap before Mu Tian had fully recovered.

And after reuniting with Yan Jing, Wen He would absolutely never choose to seek death on her own accord.

This meant that if Mu Tian won this battle...

He would be able to complete the sacrifice using his own methods.

Clearly, Mu Tian was very confident.

Coincidentally, Yan Jing was also very confident.

An apple materialized in his palm, but just as he prepared to take a bite, Mu Tian moved.

A transparent hand, coiled with power, appeared on Yan Jing's right side, grabbing toward the arm holding the apple.

"Hum—"

A layer of fluorescent light lit up on Yan Jing's arm, blocking the hand.

However, some powder still managed to seep into his skin.

A strange sensation arose in Yan Jing's heart.

It felt as if someone had appeared behind him, grabbing his arm and attempting to control his hand.

Mu Tian smiled faintly. "I believe someone told you that the Great Prison is full of my eyes, Commissioner Yan."

Even though he hadn't stepped out of his room, he had already seen far too many of Yan Jing's abilities.

Right now, their understanding of each other's powers was completely lopsided.

Yan Jing had anticipated this long ago, which was why he had been so restrained in using his abilities. Even during the final battle with Song Huien's group, he had consistently tried to defeat his enemies using the fewest abilities possible.

If it hadn't been for Song Huien and Bai Chen joining forces to launch a sneak attack at the very end, he might not have even used his Faster Time ability.

"I apologize for only letting you see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my abilities, Warden Mu."

Yan Jing smiled slightly. "But you'll have the chance to see them all in just a moment."

The next second, Yan Jing shook his right hand, and it completely returned to normal.

Mu Tian's eyes narrowed.

He could feel that his soul powder had been eaten by something.

Something else was hidden inside Yan Jing's body!

Seeing Yan Jing swallow the apple whole, alarm bells blared in Mu Tian's mind. With a wave of his gray robes, an illusory River condensed around him.

The River circled Mu Tian, growing larger with each revolution.

In mere moments, it expanded from the size of a ribbon into a surging torrent hundreds of meters wide. In every drop of spray and every ripple, a pure soul could be seen, acting out the cycle of its own birth, aging, illness, and death.

This was clearly the exact same move Mu Tian had previously used against the entity from the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom.

Only, it was even more terrifying now.

Every drop of water in that river of souls felt like a bottomless black hole; once one's gaze fell upon it, looking away became impossible. Figures materialized within the rushing waters—armored warriors wielding halberds, sages in long robes, emperors in dragon-patterned garments—and all of them turned in unison to look at Yan Jing.

The next second, the myriad figures thrust out their hands.

Countless abilities erupted from within the vast River, bringing down an absolute natural disaster.

Their target was Yan Jing.

Mu Tian's goal was naturally to prevent Yan Jing from deploying that towering tree form from last time.

Based on his observations from before, Yan Jing required a rather long wind-up to execute that form.

But to his complete surprise, a streak of dark green leaped from Yan Jing's fingertips and landed right between his own eyebrows.

Like a seed, it rapidly sprouted on his forehead, extending branches and unfurling leaves.

Instantly, a terrifying pressure expanded from Yan Jing's body.

This speed far exceeded Mu Tian's estimations, and the sheer might displayed was vastly more exaggerated than last time.

Countless rifts tore open around Yan Jing. He hadn't intentionally restrained his aura, and as a result, the sheer pressure directly shattered the surrounding space. The aura of Chaos permeated the air, and an indescribable sense of fear surfaced in Mu Tian's heart.

"Boom!!!"

The illusory River surged toward Yan Jing, but Yan Jing merely lifted a single finger.

The next second, offense and defense inverted.

The mighty, roaring River vanished without a trace, and countless Thorns erupted from behind Yan Jing, directly piercing through Mu Tian's body.

Mu Tian let out a muffled groan, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.

It was only then that he finally understood what those Ninth Tier cultivators struck by Yan Jing had felt back then. The extreme agony sent violent tremors through his very soul.

Yet, to Yan Jing's surprise, Mu Tian quickly calmed down.

Billows of thick white mist surged from his eyes. The mist seemed to carry the intense pain he ought to have been feeling, and the moment it fell into the air, it transformed into a sea, with phantom souls rising within its waters.

This sea was vastly more expansive than the River from before.

Yan Jing's face darkened, and he blinked his eyes.

Instantly, Mu Tian's body froze.

But as the dense white mist poured from his eyes once more, he broke free from the effects of the Freeze Frame Moment and immediately regained his mobility. Thanks to his rapid recovery, the sea suspended above their heads wasn't interrupted, completing its final evolution.

Countless motes of starlight emerged and danced within the sea. Every single speck of starlight carried a terrifying, suffocating aura, like a mesmerizing, brilliant sea of stars beckoning people to draw near.

"Splash—"

The sound of crashing waves washed into Wen Qiao's ears.

Her eyes glazed over; she seemed to see a house.

Where was she?

She acutely realized that something was wrong. Wooden floors surrounded her, the walls were decorated with handmade ornaments, all bathed in warm yellow-brown tones—it was the house of her dreams...

No, she had been hit by an illusion.

Wen Qiao was very calm. She had spent far too long in the River of Time; a trick like this couldn't deceive her.

As long as she could find a way to break through...

Suddenly, Yan Jing's figure materialized before her.

"Time to eat."

Carrying a tray of food, Yan Jing patted her on the head.

"Grab some chopsticks, Sister Wen Qiao."

"Oh, okay."

Wen Qiao nodded subconsciously.

In a clash at this level, such a momentary lapse was practically fatal.

Fortunately, this time someone was standing in front of her.

Yan Jing had shut off the sound ahead of time. Countless sharp spikes and threads materialized in the air, plunging straight into the sea before him.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang—"

The starlight and the sharp spikes collided. Unobstructed, the threads pierced into the Black Robe enveloping Mu Tian.

With a soft thwump , there was no spray of blood. The Black Robe on Mu Tian erupted with a dark light, intercepting all the threads.

The corners of Mu Tian's lips curved upward slightly.

The surrounding sea evolved to its next phase.

Those starlike motes of light suddenly unleashed terrifying might, as if some existence had shattered its shackles to be born. Countless figures in Black Robes manifested within, simultaneously raising their hands toward Yan Jing.

Yan Jing's eyes flickered.

The very next second, the entire sea zone burst apart like a fragile bubble.

A melodious tune began to play.

Endless gray expanded outward from a single point in front of Yan Jing, instantly touching Mu Tian.

Frozen in time, Mu Tian shifted his eyes slightly.

That white mist seemed to want to pour out again and shatter the temporal bindings, but ultimately, it remained still.

"Bang!"

Yan Jing used Blink to appear directly in front of Mu Tian and raised his hand.

The moment his hand fell, tens of thousands of fist shadows materialized.

With a Ninth Tier physical body and tens of thousands of fists raining down, the gray robes around Mu Tian were ultimately unable to block the onslaught. In that moment of frozen time, an endless bloody mist exploded from his body. Horrific wounds surfaced all over him. His head looked as though it had been beaten flat; his face was bruised and swollen, blood streaming freely from his mouth and nose.

Billowing white mist once again flowed from Mu Tian's eyes.

He retreated almost instantly, but in the very next moment, a massive pair of scissors appeared behind him.

The blades of the iron scissors gleamed with terrifying, icy light, aimed right at Mu Tian's waist as they forcefully snapped shut.

At this critical juncture, a Soul Lamp manifested behind Mu Tian. A dark green light blazed forth, freezing the iron scissors in place.

Only then did Mu Tian escape disaster, falling back several thousand meters away.

At this moment, he looked to be in extremely poor condition. The blood vessels in both of his eyes had completely burst, leaking bright red blood. His gray robes were covered in fist imprints, their luster severely dimmed, and the body beneath was riddled with countless ghastly wounds, exposing bone in quite a few places.

"Give up, Warden Mu."

Yan Jing's eyes were calm. "I have a good relationship with Young Master Ning. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't want to kill you."

"If you stop now, you can live for at least another year. I can leave some things for you, enough to guarantee you'll survive until the arrival of Advent Day."

"If you die, have you thought about what kind of situation Ning Wei will face?"

"Heh..."

Mu Tian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and began to laugh. "Yan Jing, there's no need for so many words between you and me."

"You saw through what I want to do, and I saw that you saw through it."

"That ability of yours that nullifies powers can't possibly be unlimited."

"How many more times can you use it? Twice? Three times? You're afraid, which is why you want to negotiate a truce with me."

Yan Jing's expression remained perfectly calm.

Yes, he had seen right through Mu Tian's thoughts.

He only had one last use of the Praying for Death Evolution left. In order to guard against Mu Tian's final trump card, there was a high probability he wouldn't be able to use that ability again right now.

It was just like playing cards. He could use a pair of jokers to beat his opponent's four sixes, then produce a brand-new pair of jokers to crush their four tens. But his 'cheat' could only be used one more time. When the opponent played four kings, he had to consider whether the opponent was still holding onto four twos to counter his four aces.

"So we have to continue?"

Yan Jing looked at him calmly.

"If you were in my shoes, and Zhuoran was swapped with Wen Qiao, would you continue?" Mu Tian was equally calm.

"Alright. I understand."

Yan Jing nodded. "Then come."

Mu Tian gave a nod and lifted the Soul Lamp in his hand, causing it to flare brilliantly. This was his third-to-last killing move.

If Yan Jing nullified it this time, he would use his second-to-last, and then his final one.

Of course, he could also just jump straight to the final one and gamble on Yan Jing failing to nullify it.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, he had a lingering premonition that the number of times Yan Jing could nullify an attack absolutely wouldn't exceed three.

When fighting at this level, battles were sometimes decided by a mere gut instinct.

He held up the Soul Lamp and plunged his own soul into it to serve as the wick.

Instantly, a dark green radiance flooded the entire space.

Yan Jing felt it.

The surrounding air was vibrating.

No, it was more accurate to say it was trembling in terror.

Not just the air—the flowing wind, the gathering clouds, the unfallen lightning, and even this very stretch of heaven and earth—everything trembled at this moment.

Mu Tian's aura was skyrocketing. His pitch-black hair danced wildly under the Soul Lamp's illumination, and a grand, terrifying presence gradually descended around him. Everyone situated within the Great Prison seemed to sense it; they found it hard to breathe, as if something were crushing their hearts.

Wen Qiao's face changed. She tried to step forward, but Yan Jing shoved her far into the distance.

He raised his hand, but what formed in his palm wasn't the Praying for Death Evolution; it was a different ability entirely.

An ability he had never used before.

He twisted his body, withdrawing his aura to the absolute limit.

Previously, he had seemed like a razor-sharp blade baring its edge, but now, he became like a plain stone.

Yan Jing raised his arm and looked toward Mu Tian opposite him.

Even though Mu Tian was thoroughly battered and covered in scars, he still wore a smile on his lips, his eyes brimming with confidence.

A true heavenly prodigy.

The number one person in the Inner World below the Tenth Tier.

Mu Tian also looked at Yan Jing.

He, too, saw through Yan Jing's intentions.

It wasn't nullification. It was an equally devastating ability. In this final moment, Yan Jing had chosen to meet force with force.

This meant Mu Tian's judgment was correct: Yan Jing's nullification wasn't limitless. It also meant that after this strike, even if Yan Jing managed to survive, there was a high chance he wouldn't be able to counter Mu Tian's final two moves.

Mu Tian began to laugh.

Not because his current judgment was correct.

But because his previous judgment had been right.

The master of this Great Prison could only be one of two people.

Himself, or Yan Jing.

"Only a person like this is fit to inherit the Great Prison! Come!! Yan Jing!!!"

Mu Tian threw his head back and roared at the heavens. Under the Soul Lamp's glow, his entire body lit up to the absolute extreme. The surrounding space completely collapsed. Piece by piece, visible Space Rifts broke apart, drawn directly into that Soul Lamp.

"Come."

Yan Jing's expression was composed.

Then, he threw a punch.

An incredibly ordinary punch.

It looked just like a regular person casually throwing a fist. Whether in speed, power, or momentum, there was absolutely nothing praiseworthy about it—it couldn't even match a standard military boxing routine.

The only thing different about this punch was perhaps its name.

Its name was...

[Forsake Life]

Light, shadow, wind, clouds, soul...

Everything rushed toward its absolute end beneath this utterly ordinary punch.

Mu Tian's pupils trembled. As if realizing something, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

The very next second, everything in front of Yan Jing was reduced to nothingness.

Tens of thousands of meters of sky turned completely into a pitch-black, gaping hole.

Yan Jing's entire body visibly began to wither and decay.

Until—

"Crack—"

Shards of ice crystals manifested over the surface of his body, then shattered.

The death-evade passive of the Divine Heart - Frost was directly triggered.

That single punch had directly cost Yan Jing one of his lives.

Yan Jing stared into the pitch-black void before him. Taking a single step, he materialized in a certain area and grabbed the corner of a Black Robe that was about to be sucked away by the shattered space.

Within the Black Robe, Mu Tian had reverted to his previous elderly state, except that half of his body was completely missing.

"That was an incredible move, Yan Jing... a truly incredible move..."

Mu Tian smiled weakly, his breath as faint as gossamer. "Make a deal?"

"Speak." Yan Jing's expression was calm.

A gigantic pitch-black scythe materialized in front of Mu Tian.

"My... my Black Robe, the Soul Lamp, and this scythe... take them all..."

"I would have taken them anyway," Yan Jing replied levelly.

"Heh... you really don't give any face..."

Mu Tian chuckled. He had to pause for a long time after every sentence now; just speaking drained all of his strength. "I know... these are just extras..."

"The real trade is... a secret."

"Tell me."

"I saw the souls behind you... there's more than one."

"There's an orphan, a camera, a young master, a cat, a noble... these ones are intact. There are many more incomplete ones... a member of the Wizard Tribe, a researcher, a fish, a specter..."

"Your soul has been partitioned by someone, Yan Jing."

"There aren't many people capable of such an ability. I know this very well, because my final move is exactly that..."

As he spoke, Mu Tian's eyes suddenly trembled, as if a layer of fog that had always covered his vision was finally pulled away.

Looking back up at Yan Jing's face, an inexplicable feeling washed over him.

His voice quivered. "Yan... Jing... have we... met before?"

"Answering questions comes at an extra cost, Warden Mu."

Yan Jing's expression was placid, as if he had anticipated this all along. "Tell me what it is you want."

As if understanding something, a flash of relief crossed Mu Tian's eyes. He smiled faintly. "Don't let news of my death spread."

"Alright."

Yan Jing nodded.

"And..."

As if foreseeing something, Mu Tian slowly closed his eyes. "Don't try to save me, either."

In the sky that had been reduced to nothingness, it began to rain once more.