Shi Hao furrowed his brows, sighing lightly. “There is a hidden danger. If an ancient true deity is sealed within Black Prison, releasing it would bring calamity upon us, and we wouldn’t stand a chance against such power.”
This issue weighed heavily upon them. Even though great rewards lay amidst great danger, and though they wished to seize the opportunity amid chaos, they needed to survive to see it through.
Shi Yun Feng, too, grew cautious. He sensed an unusual aura here. Leaving the mine cave, he gazed remotely at the prison constructed from black metal, and his heart sank instantly.
This dark prison was covered in densely woven glyphs, governed by complex and profound laws that even he found daunting. It was a formation left behind by a supreme master, grand and immense, difficult to decipher.
“We mustn’t act recklessly. This formation is too formidable—I probably can’t break it.”
The matter was of grave importance. Both of them studied it for a long time, finally determining that deeper within the Black Prison was an even more complicated array, crafted by a mighty being from the Upper Realm, making them all the more cautious.
“Although I’d love to surprise the Immortal Mountain by releasing their enemies, it’s just too difficult,” Shi Hao shook his head.
Later, they emerged aboveground. Shi Hao chatted casually with others on Demon Island and learned a shocking truth about the prison.
“It may imprison a celestial deity within, one whose existence stretches back unfathomable ages—it may still be alive!”
“But no one has seen it. It’s only a legend. However, the deepest part of Black Prison is forbidden land; even the warden who has ignited divine flames dares not step near.”
…
Shi Hao inhaled sharply. The Black Prison on Demon Island was far more terrifying than imagined, far more than a mere cage—it called for careful strategizing and reckless actions must be avoided.
“You lot, back to mining! You won’t be allowed up until today’s tasks are completed!”
From afar, a shout rang out. Qin Cheng Shang and others wielded lightning whips, striking prisoners so fiercely their flesh tore open, blood flowing profusely.
“I can’t endure anymore—the curse within me runs too deep. I must rest or I won’t survive a few more days!” someone pleaded.
“Rest or no, you’re a prisoner—no conditions are acceptable here! Refuse to descend, and you’ll be executed right now! Now, back to work!”
The Qin family members barked orders, lashes flying, lightning splitting the skies, scorching the man’s body until his bones were exposed. He screamed in agony.
“Mercy, please have mercy!” some prisoners begged.
“Begone! All of you, descend immediately and work faster, or I’ll beat you all!” Qin Cheng Shang roared.
“What arrogance—lording power here,” Shi Hao murmured, his eyes flashing with cold killing intent.
Several days later, unrest flared again. Several miners died underground, their bodies carried out one by one. Many prisoners grew furious—since death was inevitable, nothing frightened them anymore.
This caused dire consequences: repression inevitably bred rebellion.
“Seize the chaos,” Shi Hao decided to act.
During these days, he and Shi Yun Feng had studied intensively. They believed they could tear the outermost layer of the prison and ensure their actions remained untraceable, though any large-scale move would be impossible.
After all, this was a heavily fortified place; if it were that easy to breach, someone would have successfully broken in during countless ages past!
In recent days, Shi Yun Feng ventured deep into the earth. Skilled in earthen Shunshu (earth-element techniques), he laid plans underneath the outermost prison, and now it was time to activate them.
“Will any clues be found?” Shi Hao asked.
“Not at all. This is a natural formation. With my divine eye, I traced terrifying underground lightning deep in the land’s veins. I subtly redirected its energy, making it seem like just another mining accident—an immense lightning eruption from below.”
The rarest resource beneath Demon Island was the blood of the Demon Overlord, so scarce that not even a drop had been seen across countless millennia, along with forbidden forces left behind from ancient celestial lightning tribulations.
Chaos escalated. Conflicts broke out in every ancient mine, as prisoners fought desperately for survival.
“Go!”
Shi Hao and Shi Yun Feng descended into the ancient mines, unleashing the thunderous energy buried below.
“Hong!”
The first layer of Black Prison rumbled violently. Blinding lightning pierced through metallic structures, glyphs were obliterated, radiant brilliance lit the heavens, and a seal was broken.
At the same time, key ancient mines cracked, revealing dazzling thunder below.
“No! The thunder below erupts! Fragments of celestial laws are breaking through. Protect Black Prison at all costs—or we face catastrophe!” a jail warden shouted, for the implications of releasing an ancient true deity were chilling—heavy with dread.
“Hurry—suppress the underground lightning!” Numerous wardens appeared, stronger figures surging forth. Indeed, lightning eruptions beneath Demon Island were no rare occurrence across its long history.
“This is our chance!” Nearby the ancient mines, rebellious prisoners opened wide eyes, filled with shock and delight. They surged toward the lightning, using its force to blast their restraining chains and shackles, hoping to break free.
Lightning danced wildly, thunder gushed out in torrents. Thunderous laws manifested near every mine, splitting the earth, radiant Radiance erupted (radiant brilliance erupting).
All of heaven and earth changed. Elemental energies surged violently, holy light surged forth powerfully.
“Kill!”
Some managed to shatter their bonds; bodies glowing with glyphs, having special secret techniques, their combat power returned. With bloodshot eyes, they charged at the guards, helping others nearby tear off their shackles and destroy restraints. It was a grand uprising.
At that very moment, Shi Hao plunged deep underground, breaking through layers of hard rock toward a precious treasure beneath.
“This…!”
Both he and Shi Yun Feng were astonished. Upon breaking through the stone, elemental energy surged violently, bursting forth with brilliant illumination—a plant rooted within, brighter than the sun.
It was an extraordinary grass—golden-yellow and translucent, with five leaves, surrounded by crackling lightning, emitting endless thunder power.
“Great fortune! What kind of grass is this, to contain such mighty lightning!” Shi Yun Feng exclaimed. As soon as he approached, before even touching it, he was knocked backward by an arc of electricity.
At the same time, blinding radiance burst from the mine. Although Shi Hao and Shi Yun Feng quickly used formations to suppress it, some electric flashes still escaped, dazzling to behold.
Fortunately, they had already caused great chaos throughout the mines and prisons, struck by lightning, otherwise this brilliance would have alerted everyone.
Despite this, a few wardens with ignited divine flames glanced suspiciously this way but did not approach immediately.
The five-leaf grass was rooted within a strange stone the size of a human head, similarly filled with lightning, as if an ocean of thunder had been sealed inside, deafening.
“What a marvel—growing a grass while brimming with lightning, truly extraordinary!” They couldn’t yet estimate the grass’s and the stone’s worth but knew they must be extraordinary.
Faintly, Shi Hao saw glowing runes flowing inside the golden stone and within the grass itself, and his heart leapt with joy—surely the inscriptions must be valuable for study.
It was said celestial lightning descended, annihilating the Demon Overlord of the island—could they be the inscriptions? Just imagining it filled him with excitement.
“Hurry, seal it up! Otherwise, even all this thunder outside can’t mask its unusual energy,” Shi Yun Feng urged. Though they had already created chaos, their actions still had to be quick.
Together, they sealed the grass and the stone, placing them within the magical space of the divine-level artifact, the Demon Subduing Mace.
Then Shi Yun Feng swallowed the mace whole, hiding it within his body—a place akin to a budding small world, capable of shielding spiritual fluctuations.
“Go!”
The two stealthily returned to the surface.
Above, pandemonium had erupted. Battle cries shook the heavens. Many prisoners tore free from their chains, helping each other break their magical restraints, locked in fierce combat.
Shi Hao secretly intervened, helping a group regain their freedom. Like rolling a snowball, the prisoners of the ancient mines rose in massive rebellion.
This was a catastrophic consequence!
Though masters with ignited divine flames arrived to quell the rebellion, within the particular ancient mine, prisoners of equal rank had also broken their seals, triggering the most terrifying battle.
“Run!”
At this moment, not only prisoners but wardens and outsiders who came to mine rushed to flee in all directions, unwilling to be caught in the terrifying war of gods.
“No one escapes!” Some wardens tried to block escapees, but the masses surged in every direction—how could they possibly stop them?
“Rebels will be executed without mercy!” Qin Cheng Shang roared, frantically resisting. If blame were assigned later, his mine had been the first to erupt, and he’d bear responsibility.
Shi Hao deliberately passed by. Amid the chaos, he acted, fists flashing with thunderous light, delivering a mighty punch.
With cold cruelty, Qin Cheng Shang grinned maniacally, rushing forward, but his expression soon froze.
“Pltsh!”
An arm exploded instantly, the blood turning to ash under the fierce lightning.
What power Shi Hao possessed now! A Venerable-level cultivator—barring junior prodigies among the strongest, who could stand against him?
“You… who are you?” Qin Cheng Shang sensed danger, shrieking in terror. A venerable warrior this powerful, yet so young—such prodigies were exceedingly rare, legends among youth.
Shi Hao’s eyes burned with icy hatred. The man had once tried to strangle his grandfather; he was already a dead man in Shi Hao’s eyes. Wordlessly, he struck again.
“Hong!”
His second fist shot forth with thunderous brilliance. Qin Cheng Shang exploded immediately, but blood and remains vaporized quickly, body and soul vanishing in the flash.
Though Demon Island was clouded in thick mists, several members of the Qin family nearby witnessed the carnage, screaming in shock: “You…!”
Such terrifying strength, so ruthlessly displayed—far more fearsome than even their own Qin clan’s prodigies—sent terror into their bones.
Shi Hao merely snapped his fingers, sending bolts of lightning piercing into their foreheads. Blood spurted, flesh blackened, and all fell heavily to the ground, lifeless.
Many fled the island, others hiding in safe areas outside the island’s edges, waiting for the chaos to subside.
Calmly, Shi Hao stepped into another half of the land—the true uninhabited zone of Demon Island, a forbidden wasteland.
The fog thickened here, and immediately upon entering, disorientation became a danger. Lightning occasionally flashed across the skies, illuminating piercing brilliance.
“What a place!” Shi Hao wasn’t frightened but delighted. He could feel the power of thunder laws here, and perhaps could even cultivate and comprehend something within.
Especially, he had unearthed that golden, strange grass from the mines, whose mysterious runes flickered—perfect to study in this place.
“Grandfather… are you here?” Shi Hao called out as he walked deeper inward, his heart filled with hope of reunion, longing to see his grandfather once again.
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