Translator: CinderTL

"Rest assured," Song Wen transmitted telepathically. "As long as you help me find the person, I won’t kill you."

"Really?" Wu Luan’s eyes were filled with suspicion.

Song Wen replied, "Killing you would inevitably alert Wu Bo and Wu Shandie, and I’m no match for them. Besides, the Wu Clan’s internal defenses are bound to include Entrapment and Killing Formations. Once activated, I’d have no chance of escape."

Perhaps convinced by Song Wen’s logic, the fear on Wu Luan’s face eased slightly.

"I remember the divine soul you’re seeking, Senior. Please follow me."

Wu Luan turned and headed toward a passage in the western stone wall.

Song Wen and Ke Zheng immediately followed.

The passage was pitch-black, with fist-sized windows in the stone doors of the cells lining both sides, offering glimpses inside.

Not every cell was occupied; some stood empty.

But in those that held prisoners, the scenes were utterly horrifying.

Some were covered in festering wounds, suspended in mid-air by iron hooks piercing their collarbones; others had their eyes gouged out, maggots crawling in the empty sockets; still others had been reduced to human pigs, curled up in corners.

In some cells, members of the Wu Clan were still torturing the prisoners.

"Ah..."

"Please... kill me."

A cacophony of screams and pleas mingled in the air.

But the only response was the Wu Clan members’ sinister laughter.

"Want to die? It’s not that easy. Once you’re in Frozen Hell, you’ll live longer than you ever did outside. Hahaha..."

As they ventured deeper, a dark cloud gradually settled over Song Wen’s heart.

If these low-ranking prisoners were subjected to such brutal torture, what torment awaited Lan Chen, who had offended Wu Bo?

Sensing the chill emanating from Song Wen, Wu Luan shuddered slightly and quickened his pace.

Before half a cup of tea’s time had passed, the trio reached the end of the passage.

It was a stone wall.

Wu Luan retrieved the black token from earlier and placed it into a groove in the wall.

Instantly, the ground began to tremble gently, and the stone wall slowly rose, revealing a massive underground cavern.

From the cavern’s ceiling hung dozens of chains.

At the end of each chain was a stone pit, approximately fifteen meters deep.

The stone pits served as prison cells.

Each prisoner was suspended in the center of their pit, impaled through the shoulder blades by iron hooks extending from chains, like livestock awaiting slaughter.

At the bottom of each pit, a layer of pale green flames burned, relentlessly searing the prisoners above.

The prisoners were all crimson with burns, their bodies covered in festering wounds that oozed pus and blood.

When the pus and blood dripped into the pale green flames, the flames erupted violently, like oil thrown into a fire, sending tongues of green flame licking upward.

Yet the chains, beyond merely restraining the prisoners, seemed to possess some healing and mind-restoring properties.

Though the prisoners appeared utterly wretched, none had died, and all remained conscious.

Suddenly, Wu Luan felt a massive force slam into his back.

The impact was overwhelming, sending him flying uncontrollably through the air. He crashed into several chains before finally slamming heavily onto the ground.

Song Wen lowered his left hand, satisfied that Wu Luan had triggered no hidden restrictions or traps. He flashed into the cave and landed beside one of the stone pits.

Imprisoned in the stone pit was none other than Lan Chen.

Though she no longer possessed a physical body, her divine soul, like those of the other prisoners, was pierced through the shoulders by chains and suspended in the center of the pit.

Perhaps due to prolonged confinement, Lan Chen’s divine soul was exceedingly weak, riddled with cracks that threatened to shatter at any moment. Her consciousness had long since descended into chaos, and she lay unconscious.

"Hahaha... Wu Luan, I never thought you’d end up like this! Has the Wu Clan already fallen? How did you get captured?"

"Senior, please save me! From this day forward, my life belongs to you!"

Similar voices rose and fell, all emanating from the other prisoners.

Song Wen ignored them completely. With a thought, the Soul Cleaving Blade flashed out.

Clang!

The chains snapped instantly.

Song Wen immediately unleashed a stream of spiritual power to catch Lan Chen’s divine soul and pull it toward him.

He reached out with his right hand, grasped the iron hook at the end of the severed chain, and carefully extracted it from Lan Chen’s soul.

Mmm—

As if sensing something, Lan Chen slowly stirred awake.

His eyes were dim and lifeless, like a candle flame flickering in the cold wind.

"Ji Yin, is that you? I remember the scent of your soul."

Lan Chen’s eyes suddenly brightened slightly.

But in an instant, they dimmed again, and her eyes closed tightly.

Lan Chen’s divine soul once again fell into unconsciousness.

Song Wen retrieved a Soul Bottle and carefully collected Lan Chen’s divine soul inside.

The Soul Bottle couldn’t heal Lan Chen’s soul, but the situation was urgent. Song Wen would have to tend to her injuries after leaving the Wu Clan.

"Senior, please release us too!"

"Once we’re free, we’ll follow you and help you slaughter every last member of the Wu Clan!"

The surrounding prisoners continued their incessant clamoring.

Song Wen found their pleas increasingly irritating, but he paid them no heed.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a strand of spiritual power to pull Wu Luan toward him.

Sensing the bone-chilling killing intent radiating from Song Wen, Wu Luan’s expression twisted in terror.

"Senior, you promised not to kill me! If I die, you’ll also..."

Wu Luan’s words were abruptly cut off.

Song Wen had injected a massive amount of corpse qi into Wu Luan’s body.

The corpse qi not only blocked the circulation of Wu Luan’s spiritual power but also began to corrode his flesh.

With a casual wave of his hand, Song Wen tossed Wu Luan into the stone pit.

The ghastly green flames instantly erupted, engulfing Wu Luan.

Yet the flames were not violent, refraining from immediately incinerating him to ashes. Instead, they slowly licked at his flesh.

Wu Luan’s skin gradually began to ulcerate, revealing raw, crimson flesh beneath.

"Ah—!"

Wu Luan’s agonizing screams echoed through the stone pit, reverberating throughout the cavern.

His eyes burned with a desperate desire to live, but the corpse qi within his body rendered him completely immobile. He could only watch helplessly as the green flames devoured his flesh bit by bit.

Ignoring Wu Luan’s suffering, Song Wen vanished into the shadows and darted toward the cavern’s exit.

Under the searing heat of the green flames, Wu Luan wouldn’t last long. Within fifteen minutes at most, the life force in his body would be completely extinguished.

At that moment, the corpse qi and spiritual power Song Wen had injected into him would explode outward with catastrophic force, enough to obliterate the entire Frozen Hell.

Emerging from the cave, Song Wen used his spiritual power to retrieve the token Wu Luan had left on the stone wall.

The wall immediately collapsed, sealing the cave entrance.

"Let’s go!" Song Wen said to Ke Zheng, who had been guarding the passage.

Following their original path, the two quickly exited the Frozen Hell and arrived at the entrance halfway up the mountain on the island.

The Nascent Soul Stage female cultivator was still diligently guarding the cave entrance. Upon seeing them emerge, she eagerly asked Ke Zheng, "Senior, did you encounter your enemy?"

"I did," Ke Zheng replied curtly, not stopping as he continued leading the way toward the Wu Clan’s mountain gate.

The journey proceeded smoothly, without any obstacles.

Just as the mountain gate came into view, less than fifty kilometers ahead, Song Wen suddenly noticed an enemy standing in mid-air beyond the barrier:

Gu Huang!

Beside Gu Huang stood a robust female cultivator—Wu Shandie, another Ancestor of the Wu Clan!

(End of the Chapter)

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