Chapter 264 : The Old Daoist
Chapter 264: The Old Daoist
“May I ask how I should address you, my lord?”
After entering the Celestial Prison, Chen Ming asked for the name of the First Grade purple-robed man.
“Tang Shouzheng,” the man replied casually. “And you don’t need to keep calling me ‘lord’ this, ‘lord’ that. If you don’t mind, just call me Brother Tang.”
“How could I—”
“What? You look down on me?” Tang Shouzheng pretended to be offended.
Seeing him say so, Chen Ming naturally followed along obediently. “Brother Tang.”
Only then did Tang Shouzheng show a satisfied smile. “That’s more like it, Brother Gu. Before meeting you, I had already heard about your deeds—at only twenty years old, you’ve already stepped into Second Grade and even slain three First Grades. Such earth-shaking feats truly command admiration.”
“Brother, you flatter me.”
“Hahaha, Brother Gu, your future is boundless. Who knows, perhaps one day, this old brother will have to rely on your help.”
So that was his plan.
Chen Ming thought to himself—well, you’re destined to waste your efforts on this one.
In twenty days, during the Night Banquet of the Ghost Festival, he would either break free from the Gu Family’s control, or he would be imprisoned—or quietly killed by them.
In any case, there would be no more “Gu Xianyu” after that.
Still, since this Tang Shouzheng was willing to lower himself and make friends, it was a good thing—it would make things more convenient for him.
The two chatted as they walked. Every jailer they passed saluted Tang Shouzheng without asking a word, which showed his high standing.
Casually, Chen Ming asked, “Brother Tang, I’ve heard that this Celestial Prison has nine levels—is that true?”
“Actually, I’m not so sure myself.”
“Huh? Even Brother Tang doesn’t know?”
“They say this prison was built during the Eternal Life Immortal Dynasty. The Eternal Life Emperor conquered several immortal mansions and imprisoned the captured immortals within the different levels of this prison. Unfortunately, the dynasty collapsed eight thousand years ago. Only the first five levels can still be opened; the methods to unlock the last four have long been lost.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Chen Ming hadn’t expected the Celestial Prison to have such an ancient history. He then asked, “Then, were there truly immortals in those immortal mansions?”
“Naturally. But only after reaching the Divine Repository Realm would one even have a chance to enter an immortal mansion. Whether I’ll ever see one in my lifetime, I don’t know. To witness an immortal’s grace… that would be something.” Tang Shouzheng’s expression was full of longing.
Chen Ming thought, so these so-called “immortals” of this world weren’t much after all—if they could be captured by a mortal emperor, their strength couldn’t have been that great.
As they spoke, they arrived at the gate leading to the third level.
The first level held ordinary criminals.
The second level held Third and Second Grades.
The third level imprisoned First Grades.
The fourth, Divine Repository Realm experts.
As for the fifth, even Tang Shouzheng didn’t know—since he came to the prison, that gate had never once been opened.
“Come to my side.”
Tang Shouzheng took out a seal from his robes. The seal lit up and flew to the massive gate, merging into it.
At once, the thick door opened silently, revealing a pitch-black passage.
Retrieving the seal, Tang Shouzheng explained, “This seal can only be used twice—once for entry and once for exit. After that, it’s useless. To come again tomorrow, I’d have to apply to Lord Lei. Quite the hassle.”
Chen Ming said gratefully, “I didn’t expect it to be so troublesome. Thank you, Brother Tang.”
“You’re a brother—no need for formality. Go on in.”
Tang Shouzheng’s tone made it sound as if they were already close friends.
Upon entering the third level, Chen Ming immediately felt an immense pressure. His divine sense was suppressed by an unseen force within his Niwan Palace, making his realm seem to regress back to Third Grade. The sensation was most uncomfortable.
Seeing his discomfort, Tang Shouzheng smiled. “The third level is an independent space with its own rules. Divine sense is restricted here. That’s why First Grades are imprisoned here—no matter how strong they are, they can’t stir up trouble.
“At present, thirty-seven prisoners are held here. Of them, eighteen are beyond my authority to interrogate. The other nineteen—you can pick any one.”
Chen Ming nodded in understanding.
Those eighteen were the so-called ‘political prisoners,’ not to be touched by just anyone.
He said, “Brother Tang knows this place best—why not recommend one for me?”
“Alright,” Tang Shouzheng agreed.
He summoned the jailers, and one by one, they began bringing the prisoners out for interrogation.
Those imprisoned here were all renowned First Grades—each a former overlord or infamous villain.
But once thrown into the Celestial Prison, they were like tigers declawed, eagles with broken wings—left for Chen Ming, a mere Second Grade, to trample upon.
Without their divine sense, sealed by the Dragon-Sealing Needle for years, their strength was less than a tenth of its prime—no match for Chen Ming at all.
Especially now that Chen Ming had raised Heaven and Earth’s Lone Swan to the sixth stage, filling his greatest weakness.
Of course, doing so had nearly exhausted all the experience points he had accumulated these days.
【You defeated an opponent of LV97, gaining 95,000 experience points.】
【You defeated an opponent of LV98, gaining 100,000 experience points.】
【You defeated an opponent of LV99, gaining 105,000 experience points.】
…
After consecutively defeating eighteen First Grades, Chen Ming was filled with a sense of accomplishment—and had harvested nearly two million experience points.
He was eager for more. “Brother Tang, let’s bring out the last one.”
Tang Shouzheng, who had watched him crush one First Grade after another, was utterly shocked.
After all, First Grades possessed far superior mental composure, combat techniques, and battle experience. At first, he had thought to enjoy a good laugh.
But this youth’s strength was truly astounding. His swordsmanship was nearly on par with his own, and his movement technique—ghostlike and unpredictable—was terrifying.
He even possessed a frightening instinct, as if he could foresee danger. Several times, he had evaded lethal strikes purely through this intuition.
Tang Shouzheng had broken into cold sweat watching him, yet every time, Chen Ming dodged just in time, leaving him speechless.
For someone who had just advanced to Second Grade, his combat power was already at the top of the rank.
Were the young people of this generation truly so monstrous?
Tang Shouzheng swallowed hard. Hearing his request, he snapped back to his senses. “That last one… I’m afraid can’t be brought out.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Come with me, Brother.”
If his earlier address of “Brother” had carried some self-interest, this time there was genuine respect—he acknowledged Chen Ming’s qualifications to stand beside him as an equal.
Following him, Chen Ming arrived before a cell. Inside sat an old man, motionless and breathless—at first glance, a corpse.
Tang Shouzheng explained, “This man is a cultivator, with strength equivalent to a First Grade martial artist. He was imprisoned fifty-seven years ago, and since then, he has remained like this—neither speaking nor moving, neither eating nor drinking—just like a dead man. But every few years, people from the Celestial Master Residence come to inspect him. They say he’s merely in a state of false death, not truly dead. So, he’s been kept here all this time.”
Chen Ming was astonished.
Fifty-seven years without food or drink—and still alive. The means of a cultivator were indeed bizarre. A martial artist could never do such a thing.
Just as he was thinking this, he felt a faint stirring from the tortoiseshell hidden in his robe.
Suddenly, the old man in the cell opened his eyes and looked straight at him, a strange smile spreading across his face.
“Holy shit!”
Chen Ming was startled, nearly jumping out of his skin—he thought the old corpse had just come back to life!
“What’s wrong, Brother?”
Tang Shouzheng looked at him, puzzled.
“He—”
When Chen Ming glanced again, the old man was as before, eyes closed, motionless—as though what he’d just seen was an illusion.
He hesitated, then decided not to mention it. “I just remembered something important I almost forgot. Brother Tang, could you escort me out?”
“Haha, I thought it was something serious. Let’s go.”
Moments after Tang Shouzheng escorted Chen Ming out, someone came to report—the cultivator in the third level had died, his body turned to ashes.
Tang Shouzheng hurried to report to his superiors, obtained a new seal, and rushed back down.
Sure enough, in the cell that had been occupied for fifty-seven years, the old man was gone—only a pile of ashes remained.
“How could he suddenly die, just like that?”
Tang Shouzheng frowned, recalling the strange reaction of “Gu Xianyu” earlier. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
But he remembered that when he left, the old man had still been sitting there intact—it must be a coincidence, he thought.
Still, he ordered someone to summon the Celestial Master Residence.
Such matters were best left to professionals.
Soon, the Celestial Master Residence sent someone—the first disciple of the current Celestial Master himself, showing their great concern.
After confirming the old man’s death, the disciple left quickly.
Thus, the Celestial Prison struck the old man’s name from the records.
After leaving the prison, Chen Ming boarded the Gu Family’s carriage, yet couldn’t shake off the image of the old man opening his eyes. A sense of unease gnawed at him.
He reached into his robes and grasped the tortoiseshell. “What exactly happened back there?”
He pondered for a while but found no answer.
Returning to the Duke of Jingguo’s Residence as usual, he entered his room and began cultivating with his Visualization Diagram.
Unknowingly, night fell.
Half-asleep, half-awake, he suddenly felt a strange power pull him into an unfamiliar space.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a stone chamber. Sitting before him was a kindly-faced old Daoist, smiling gently.
“The poor Daoist Wang Chenzi greets this young friend.”
It really was that old geezer!
Chen Ming immediately recognized him—the same old man imprisoned for fifty-seven years in the third level. He had actually come out!
This was bad.
Keeping calm, Chen Ming asked, “Senior, dragging this junior into such a place—what is your intention?”