We rushed up ahead and across the bridge, not to waste any moment from the effect of the Breath Sealing Poison.
The cultivator group was baffled unable to understand how they were hit this hard and why their Qi was suppressed. Right now, we were on equal footing.
Though I knew for a fact that we were slightly disadvantaged, since they were a group of four, while we're just two. We can't use our Qi, nor can they but they still are martial artist masters, and if they were to use self-defense techniques I'll end up beaten black and blue.
I was about to pull another dozen pills to use against them, when Liang Yu shot forward, far faster than I imagined she would, and dove knee first into the first cultivator.
The cultivator was sent rolling on the ground, while she made a perfect landing and twisted her body masterfully towards the second cultivator, she struck with open palms on several parts of the cultivator's chest, paralyzing him then sent a roundhouse kick to his head sending him rolling after the first cultivator.
The other two realized that trying to use Qi-based Martial arts in such a situation was stupid. So they went on the offensive with their own martial arts, striking hard at Liang Yu who seemed to be parrying bone-breaking punches with feather-like movements of her gentle hands.
She was so masterful of the art I was shocked at how easily she treated the group.
I hurried after her, wanting to help, but thankfully I didn't need to embarrass myself with my close to nonexistent knowledge in hand-to-hand combat.
She disposed of the two other cultivators as she did to the first group, with smooth movements and evasion of all of their halfhearted blows, and retaliated with a fist of steel, unlike her gentle appearance and grace.
"Let's go," she said. As she made a hand dusting gesture after all the cultivators were groaning on the ground.
I was about to follow before I said, "Give me a moment," I said and grabbed a few pills, forcefully feeding them to the unconscious cultivators.
"What are those?" she asked.
"Those are a type of consumables, once digested they'll seal the user's Qi for a few days. They have no side effects, and will literally cause them to become mortals for a while. They won't be a bother to us once we seal them," I said.
She nodded at me, and waited for me to finish, once I was done, I asked X to round up the cultivators and then had them all tied at the same time with ropes, then grabbed the talisman I had left on the bridge earlier and placed it right between them and added a small formation.
I slapped one of the cultivators back to consciousness and told him, "Hey, you," I said.
He looked at me with angry eyes but when I showed him the explosive talisman he gulped.
"See, your Qi has been sealed, and this," I said as I pointed to the ground, there was a formation there, "If you try and tamper with this formation, this talisman will blow up, this isn't a talisman I made, but it was made by one of your Guard friends. So, technically, if you die, it won't be my fault, because I didn't use anything to kill you off, so yeah, if your buddy comes you should ask him to try and decipher the formation if they want to release you first," I said smiling at him.
My words were clear, don't even think of leaving the formation area unless you disable it, and something like this formation, though it took me no more than five minutes to make unless a person is a direct disciple of Master Rain, I hardly doubt they'll be able to disable it in a short while.
"Cya," I said and turned along with Liang Yu.
The two of us headed to another Gaol and we found the same thing at that place, prisons where creatures that resembled man and beast were trapped, where they rested waiting for the day of release, hoping to exit but without any hope of ever leaving.
The situation didn't change much, it was the same as in the first Gaol, I used the mixture of poison and paralyzing Mourning Burial Petal extract alongside the Joyful weed, only this time I increased the potency of the joyful weed, at least to lessen their death throws and make them pass away without much pain.
the trap rung once again tolling for no one.
One we grabbed the other two pieces of Information, there was one left, and it was on the other side of the broken bridge.
Now, no wonder the prison had mentioned that there are only nine Pieces of Information, it's because the last one is inaccessible.
Flight is not possible within this place, and the distance is far too long for a jump.
A prisoner won't have the Qi necessary to even jump a quarter of the distance, and a guard is clearly unable to go to the Gaols due to some limitations.
Me and Liang Yu stood at the edge of the broken bridge, stuck and unable to proceed.
"What now?" she asked.
I thought for a while before asking , "X can you fly over this?"
X immediately shook his head, "There is a Qi suppression field, I'll lose power and fall down," he slowly said.
"Right, hmmm, give me your arm," I asked X and he handed it to me.
I opened X's arm and began modifying it, I didn't need to do much, nor did I have the time for a full modification, and thankfully, as a man from Earth I always reminded myself of having something important with me through my travels, and always in my holding bag.
A rope
A simple tool that no cultivator would ever have on them, but I would always have one on me, you never know when you can use one.
I then pulled one of X's Pile Bunker Bullets and linked its base to the rope, I lowered the power of the Pile Bunker bullet and once the bullet was placed back on X's arm, I spoke.
"Shoot at the other side of the bridge," I said.
X cocked his arm forward, and shot the bullet. It was fast but not fast that it tore the rope as it flew.
The bullet's sharp edge embedded itself onto the other side of the bridge and then it began spinning further forcing its way into the foundation of the bridge.
I then linked the other end of the rope to one of the bridge's railing and made sure it was tight enough for us to cross over.
"Time to do some acrobatics," I said to Liang Yu who seemed rather impressed with how simple the solution was.
"I'll head out first," she said and jumped on the rope, she then dashed on top of it as if didn't phase her or if the endless looking drop even bother her in the slightest.
Cultivators are a scary breed.
I shook my head.
I placed X back in my holding bag then jumped on the rope. I gulped then began moving, only to find it rather easy. A cultivator's balance is something of legends, with the ability to control one's body far more than any mortal can, I could easily move above the rope without much fear.
So, I moved rapidly across it without breaking a sweat. And once I arrived to the other side, I debated between if I should cut the rope or leave it as it is.
"Might as well remove it," Liang Yu said, "if the cultivators inside the main prison were to come out, they'll probably wat for us at the other end of the bridge, and I don't think your trick from earlier will work again."
She was right, it's pointless to keep the rope behind us.
I pulled Creeping Demise and sliced at the rope cutting it off.
We then headed towards the last Gaol, only for us to find something out of the ordinary there.
The gate was open, unlike the other gates, this one had already been used.
I crouched to the ground and noticed a few footprints on the dust on the ground, they looked fresh.
"No wonder," I mumbled.
"What? Did you figure out something?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's the second cultivator, the second Snitch, I think," I said as I looked inside the Gaol, "I think he was teleported here, and since the bridge is broken, he couldn't move away from this area, also," I said as I stood up, "I think he went down and never made it out," I said.
I twirled Creeping Demise playfully as I got closer to the entrance of the final Gaol, "Get ready, this isn't going to be as simple as the last time."
It would seem that we're being expected.