After everyone from the Decimo Dao Palace left, Tianming and Bai Zijin jumped into the Infernal Soul Purgatory under the witness of the entire Ancient Qilin Clan. On the Qilin Altar, the eight exalted ones were watching as the two of them disappeared into the purgatory.
“With the lifetime curse imposed on him and throwing him into the Infernal Soul Purgatory, his pentabane will be useless for the next six months,” Ling Xing said with a smile.
“Not only that. Even if it’s only for six months, the lifetime curse will destroy his talent.”
“This brat’s cultivation isn’t high. It might be decent in the Grand-Orient Realm, but it’s nothing in the Theocracy. After six months, he won’t be able to catch up with his peers. So let’s see how the Decimo Dao Palace is going to groom him then,” Jing Yue sneered.
“Now, there’s two matters at hand. First is to see Li Muyang’s reaction to this matter. We should still carry on with our pursuit, and while we’re at it, we should advertise his son’s situation. Second, we should inform the Ancient Theocrats about the Decimo Dao Palace’s actions,” said Chong Yang.
“That’s right. Who knows if they can bring this brat away six months from now and remove the lifetime curse. They’re poking their nose too far into this matter. Don’t forget about the Infernal Soul Race’s outcome.”
“The Decimo Dao Palace’s heritage goes way back. Right now, they’ve long forgotten that they were defeated by the Ancient Theocrats and changed from a sect to a school. If they take it too far, they’ll even lose their school.”
“Putting it bluntly, they’re just interested in Li Wudi being an octabane.”
“This person who changed his fate is nothing but trouble. If this continues, he’ll definitely become the strongest person in the Theocracy. His potential is even higher than Li Muyang’s from forty years ago!” Jing Yue locked his brows together.
“Don’t think too much about it. Having more bane-rings might not necessarily be a good thing. It’s easy for him to suffer a loss if he shows off too much. With the Ancient Theocrats and Divine Capital’s power, they won’t allow him to peacefully cultivate.”
“That’s right. How many geniuses have fallen before they even have the time to grow?”
“The Ancient Theocrats won’t allow anyone stronger than them to exist.”
……
On the Qilin Altar, many people of the Ancient Qilin Clan followed after Tianming went down the Infernal Soul Purgatory, and Qin Feng was one of them. Everyone naturally knew what they wanted to do. Although his injuries had been treated, his face still looked terrible. As for Li Mulin, her face was still terribly swollen.
So far, there were thousands of people preparing to enter the purgatory.
“Qin Feng.” A towering man suddenly appeared before Qin Feng.
“Great grandfather!” Qin Feng immediately bowed.
“Are your three cousins still in purgatory?” Qin Dingtian asked.
“Yes!” Their Qin Clan had a Qilin King, and they were one of the biggest factions in the Ink Qilin Branch. Although Qin Feng had many cousins, he knew which three Qin Dingtian was talking about. They were direct descendants of Qin Dingtian, and they were all younger than the age of twenty. They were the most talented batch of the Ink Qilin Branch.
“Then listen to me,” Qin Dingtian said.
“Please speak!” Qin Feng became excited when he heard that his great grandfather had an idea.
“It’s impossible for you guys to kill him with a sky saint protecting him, not to mention that he cannot die. But if you can force him to make a move first, such as by insulting his parents, he definitely won’t be able to hold back. He’s an impulsive person, and you can easily provoke him into attacking first. So as long as he starts the fight, you can beat him up until he’s afraid, although you cannot kill him. Putting it in a nutshell, make him taste hell for the next six months,” Qin Dingtian whispered.
“Please be reassured. I’ll definitely convey your message to them!” Qin Feng’s eyes lit up.
“Good. If Tianming makes the first move, Bai Zijin won’t be able to say a word even if you guys torture him. You can even try crushing his will. In this way, he will be a cripple even if he has talent. After all, there’s many similar examples of that. But if he doesn’t make the first move, you guys can just get creative about insulting him.” Qin Dingtian patted Qin Feng’s shoulder.
“Great grandfather, to what extent can we take it?” asked Qin Feng.
“It won’t be a problem breaking his arms and legs, or killing his lifebound beasts. Isn’t he a triple beastmaster? Just leave him with one. Remember, the key is to make him start the fight and you guys will have no choice but to fight back. Do you understand?”
“Understood.” Qin Feng nodded.
“Honestly speaking, it might not even be your turn. After all, thousands of people went in as well.” Qin Dingtian laughed.
“The competition is fierce.” Qin Feng’s eyes turned cold.
……
The entrance to the Infernal Soul Purgatory wasn’t a bottomless pit. It was an underground world sandwiched between the Flameyellow continent and the Abyssal Battlefield. It was rumored that there was a huge underground volcano—the Infernal Soul Volcano—where the Infernal Soul Race was held imprisoned and suffering the torturing of lava for generations.
Moreover, it was said that the Infernal Soul Barrier could burn souls, allowing creatures within the barrier to suffer the burning pain for eternity. The Ancient Qilin Clan’s task was to maintain the barrier keeping the Infernal Soul Race suffering. It was an order from the Ancient Theocrats for the Ancient Qilin Clan to atone for themselves. So that meant the Ancient Qilin Clan was just right above the barrier.
“It’s a little hot.” Tianming could sense the heat the moment he entered the purgatory. Just from the heat alone, it wasn’t something that someone without beast ki could bear. In this place, there was no way Jiang Feiling could live her life normally.
About thirty meters further down, Tianming saw paths on both sides of a cave, passing around an underground palace. The underground palace was huge, and it could probably house thousands of people.
“Big Sister Bai, what’s this place?” Tianming asked curiously.
“The place for Ancient Qilin Clan’s kids from five to ten years old,” said Bai Zijin coldly.
Tianming immediately understood. It was said that kids had to spend six months per year in the Infernal Soul Purgatory, starting from age five. Those kids naturally couldn’t go deep into the purgatory and provide energy for the barrier, so the Ancient Qilin Clan dug an underground palace to allow the kids to live there. This place was probably just barely within the Infernal Soul Purgatory’s scope, preventing their lifetime curses from breaking out. After all, there was no way the beast veins of those kids could bear the temperature.
“It’s fortunate that I can’t feel anything.” With the Aeternal Infernal Body, Tianming would probably be unaffected even if he was dropped into the lava. He might even be able to bathe in it.
When he walked through the passage, Tianming saw a vast underground space. So it turned out that the Infernal Soul Purgatory was this huge! The walls had long turned red from the high temperature, and the place was like a boiling pot; you could even see the space distorting from the high temperature.
But when Bai Zijin came in, she immediately started to sweat and knitted her brows. She wasn’t fond of this place, and complained, “You bastard. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have to suffer here. Not only does it hinder my cultivation, but it also feels terrible.”
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,” Tianming replied.
Bai Zijin turned and looked at Tianming, then replied, “At least you’re still polite and sensible. You’re better than that scumbag father of yours. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve left immediately.”
“Big Sister Bai, you know Li Wudi?” Tianming was pondering what Li Wudi did to Bai Zijin for her to call him a scumbag.
“What’re you saying? I’m talking about Li Muyang.” Bai Zijin snorted.
“Him?”
“That’s right. I heard he used to be the lover of the princess, but used her to steal the Cyclic Mirror and even killed her afterward. But that wasn’t all. While he was on the run for the past twenty years, he even got together with your mother, and that resulted in you. So what is he if he’s not a scumbag?” Bai Zijin said furiously.
Well, that did sound like a scumbag indeed.
“Big Sister Bai thinks so too?”
“That’s what everyone thinks.”
“I see.” Tianming nodded and didn’t think too much about the matter. Looking down, the Infernal Soul Purgatory was huge. There was some darkness in the surroundings that might lead elsewhere, but the volcano crater was directly below. The crater was burning red, and just above the caldera, there seemed to be a transparent black barrier that completely sealed it, suppressing the lava and steam from the volcano. That was the Infernal Soul Barrier, and Tianming had to admit that it looked spectacular.
“The Infernal Soul Barrier used to be the Infernal Soul Race’s greatest creation. They probably never imagined it’d be used to imprison them.” Bai Zijin sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing that you need to know.”
Tianming could only say that Bai Zijin was a little cold, but Ying Huo did mention that he wanted to conquer an aloof mount. As they walked down the passage, Tianming saw people moving in the black barrier as he got closer.
“That’s the Infernal Soul Race?” Tianming asked, pointing at those people.
“Those are the earth saints of the Ancient Qilin Clan,” Bai Zijin answered.
“They’re also imprisoned by the barrier?” Tianming was baffled.
“No. There’s three layers to the Infernal Soul Barrier: the upper, middle, and lower layers. What you see right now is the upper layer, while the middle and lower layers are both in the volcano. Only earth saints can move about freely in the middle level, while the lower layer requires sky saints. But as long as you’re not in the Saint stage, you just have to remain in the upper layer,” Bai Zijin explained patiently.
“I see.…”
“Putting it bluntly, the Infernal Soul Barrier is mainly maintained by the sky and earth saints of the Ancient Qilin Clan. As long as the two lower layers remain stable, it satisfies the Ancient Theocrats’ requirement of torturing the Infernal Soul Race. That means those who aren’t in the Saint stage basically don't have anything to do. Out of the next six months, you only have to be in the barrier for three of them,” said Bai Zijin.
“So I’ll need to stay in the upper layer of the Infernal Soul Barrier and go into seclusion?” Tianming’s eyes lit up.