Chapter 641

Chapter 641: Walking Alone in the Dungeon

In the eerie dungeon, Wang Chen walked alone.

He had only been in District J9 for a short while and had already gained an enemy, but he felt indifferent about it.

Wang Chen had long understood that the way of cultivation is all about competition.

Compete with the heavens, compete with the earth, compete with others; lying flat and doing nothing will always lead to nowhere.

Furthermore, there will always be those who seek the weak to devour the strong, trying their best to take and hoard others’ cultivation resources.

People like Hu Qi have existed in the past, exist now, and will continue to exist in the future.

Whether in the Mountain-Sea Realm or the Haotian Realm, there is no essential difference!

He worked hard to improve his cultivation level precisely to avoid being humiliated and oppressed by such despicable characters!

So when Hu Qi prattled on, Wang Chen couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

But if that scoundrel crossed his bottom line…

Then he would unleash the Thousand Transformations!

Though he walked alone in the dungeon, Wang Chen felt no fear.

His newly assigned patrol route was nearly twice as long as before, and it wound around through several awkward turns.

The Yongle dungeon had nine levels, each with a different layout, resembling a large underground maze composed of several smaller mazes.

District J9 was one among them.

Perhaps out of safety concerns, the cells were often spaced far apart, even hundreds of steps away from each other.

For example, around the cell of Yu Fei, the female cultivator from the Hehuan Sect, there were no other rooms within a hundred steps in all directions.

So even if she had extraordinary charm, she wouldn’t be able to affect the other prisoners!

And the cell that Wang Chen was currently patrolling was even farther away.

“Look, a little chick has come!”

Just as Wang Chen passed by one of the prison cells, a small window suddenly opened, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes peering out. The gaze was filled with an unspeakable malice: “Let me guess, when will this poor little chick be eaten? Ga ga ga!”

The prisoner’s voice was old and hoarse; his laughter was exceptionally unpleasant, making it hard to listen to!

Wang Chen stopped and turned to look at the small window of the cell.

Their eyes met.

“This little chick seems a bit tender.”

The old prisoner cackled, “So young and already at the higher level of the Purple Palace. Who did you offend? Why are you sent to keep an eye on us old folks?”

Wang Chen’s heart sank.

The foul old man truly had a sharp gaze; Wang Chen was currently suppressing his own aura, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to see through his realm.

“Eh?”

The old prisoner exclaimed, “Not only have you practiced the Buddha’s body-refining technique, but you’ve also cultivated to the point where your essence is deeply hidden, and your outer shell is undetectable. That’s truly…”

He shook his head, appearing both regretful and mocking: “What a pity!”

Wang Chen remained composed, exchanged a glance with the old prisoner, and continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

“Hey, wait a minute, kid!”

The old prisoner sounded a bit anxious. “I have something to tell you!”

However, Wang Chen had no interest in engaging with this despicable old man, even if he claimed to possess some earth-shattering secret.

With a new patrol route and new prisoners, caution was always wise!

The corridor ahead grew dim, the Obsidian Lamps hanging on the rock walls struggled to shine brightly, but the heavy negative energy constantly suppressed their glow.

Wang Chen took out the patrol route map to check.

He hadn’t gone the wrong way, as each passage was marked with etchings and numbers, so as long as he followed the map, he wouldn’t lose his direction in the maze-like dungeon.

But this treasure-level map wouldn’t show the current real situation inside the passages.

Wang Chen had a vague sense that something was off.

The dark forces and malevolence filling the corridor were clearly in excess.

Moreover, they showed signs of condensing.

Once the dark forces and malevolence gathered together, there was a high likelihood of evolving into evil spirits.

These evil spirits were much stronger than ordinary ones and were not easily dealt with.

Countless prisoners had been locked away in the Yongle Ninth Level Dungeon, and it was easy to imagine the immense resentment and malice accumulated over decades or even hundreds of years; even with the protective formations in place, a significant number of guards died at the hands of evil spirits each year.

Although Wang Chen had yet to encounter any evil spirits during his patrol since entering the Forbidden Prison Office, he had heard plenty of stories about them from others.

Some stories were absurd and couldn’t withstand any scrutiny, merely meant for entertainment and to earn a bit of pocket money.

Others were a mixture of truth and illusion, adding a mysterious allure to the dungeon’s evil spirits!

His instincts warned Wang Chen that there might be danger ahead.

Feeling a surge of determination, Wang Chen gripped the Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil, which was tightly bound to his arm.

Just after he had walked twenty or thirty steps, a hissing sound suddenly came from the passage ahead, as if something was about to break free, short and urgent.

Demonic Serpent!

The name instantly popped into Wang Chen’s mind.

A demonic serpent wasn’t a true serpent, but it was more terrifying than most serpents in this world.

A fully manifested demonic serpent possessed battle power comparable to that of a mid-level Purple Palace cultivator and was extremely difficult to handle!

However, as Wang Chen moved with utmost caution to finish the corridor, he didn’t encounter anything unusual.

The rumored demonic serpent seemed to be elusive and mysterious!

Just as he was about to turn into another fork in the path, Wang Chen abruptly stopped again.

He had no hesitation or doubt; in an instant, he turned back and threw the Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil behind him!

Because just moments before, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as if something incredibly malevolent was approaching. His Immortal Body reacted almost instinctively.

As Wang Chen rapidly infused his magic into the net, the Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil silently and swiftly expanded.

As it occupied the entire corridor, it also "pushed" further ahead!

The Exorcising Net contracted and expanded, enveloping everything that could become invisible, catching an evil spirit!

Now, Wang Chen no longer hesitated; he tightened his grip on the net’s rope and pulled back.

“Creak!”

A very unpleasant screech abruptly rang out.

What he caught in the Exorcising Net was a serpent as thick as a teacup!

Its size was considerable, and it managed to hide completely, making it difficult to perceive even from close range.

But under the coverage of the Exorcising Net, it couldn’t hide at all; it immediately bit with sharp teeth and desperately struggled to break free from the ropes.

As a result, the net tightened even more, continuously drawing the negative energy from within the demonic serpent.

Cold, mechanical, and relentless!

The trapped demonic serpent sensed that things were going badly and suddenly erupted as its body shrank.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Different parts of the serpent’s body started to explode.

A massive surge of negative energy poured out from the serpent, filling the already dense underground space with even more malevolence.

Frost appeared on the rock walls!