Chapter 621: Fly Off Into The Sunset....
This was not Bai Xiaochun’s first time hearing about Devil Penitentiary. Early on, the chief of the Bai Clan had threatened to have him thrown in that very prison, which had sparked Bai Xiaochun’s curiosity. Afterward, he had asked Zhou Yixing for some information about the place, and had learned that Devil Penitentiary was a prison in Giant Ghost City. It was a very famous place, with all sorts of dangerous prisoners locked up inside. They were all evil villains who, for various reasons, had not been put to death. Instead, their cultivation bases had been sealed, and they had been imprisoned. In any case, they were all the type of people that no one would ever want to run into on the outside....
Furthermore, there was a saying in Giant Ghost City. Death isn’t frightening. Get locked up in Devil Penitentiary, and you’ll wish you were dead!
“How could an illustrious major general like me serve as a lowly prison guard…?” Bai Xiaochun thought angrily. However, he knew that a true leader should be flexible. Plus, if he pulled off the act successfully, he might be able to use this as an opportunity to get access to the teleportation portal and get home.
Before he could even say anything, Duke Deathcrier was gone, and Li Xu and his subordinates straightened up from their bows. Li Xu was the type of person who looked threatening without being angry. After coldly looking Bai Xiaochun up and down, he said, “So you’re Bai Hao from the Bai Clan?”
From the cold tone of his voice, he didn’t seem too pleased to see Bai Hao standing there, and it was the same with the other two men. After all, they had all heard stories about him recently.
They knew that he was vicious and cruel, the type of person who didn’t care about family, and could hide his intentions easily. He had even killed numerous members of his own clan. A ferocious person like that was not the type that people would like to get close to. Of course, at the same time, no one would want to offend him either.
“You can’t act the way you did back in your clan. Now that you’re here, you have to live by my rules. In Devil Penitentiary, I'm in charge! The prison isn’t open at the moment, so come back tomorrow at this same time.” Without even waiting for a response, Li Xu waved his sleeve, causing the whirlpool to reappear in the black waters of the moat. Deep at the bottom of the whirlpool was a cave that Li Xu immediately entered, followed by his two subordinates. Then the whirlpool vanished.
“Gone, just like that?” Bai Xiaochun thought, eyes widening. Obviously, they were trying to impress him with the fact that it wasn’t easy to get into Devil Penitentiary. The message was clear: from now on, stick your tail between your legs and behave!
“What kind of a crappy place is this prison anyway?” he muttered angrily. “I'm definitely not going in there!” After all, he was a major general, and although he had originally forced himself to go along with the idea of working as a prison guard, that changed when people tried to threaten him.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, he snorted coldly and walked away.
It was currently noontime. Giant Ghost City was a huge place, and the outer city seemed to go on and on without end. People were everywhere, including soul cultivators, necromancers, and even a lot of savage giants.
This was one of the five major cities of the Wildlands, a place which kept watch over a huge area, and was filled with plentiful resources. Just about everything one could imagine was available for purchase, and the streets were packed and loud no matter where one went.
Occasionally, patrols of city guards would fly overhead. However, it was rare to see anyone else flying around. Other than the city guards, the only people allowed to fly were devas.
Still prickling with anger, Bai Xiaochun strolled around and tried to find out where the teleportation portal was. As it turned out, it was no secret, and he was soon heading in that very direction.
“I guess I’ll just have to do without that extra deva soul. Once I get back to the Great Wall, I’ll figure out what to do about the situation.”
Giant Ghost City’s teleportation portal was located in the northern part of the city, in the middle of a huge public square. It was an enormous gate made of glowing light, with a constant flow of soul cultivators, necromancers, and savages going in and out.
By the time Bai Xiaochun got there, it was already evening. After sizing the place up, he noticed that there were city guards in charge of the place.
However, Bai Xiaochun had seen a lot of city guards already, and wasn’t worried about them. As he neared, his eyes began to glitter. This teleportation portal represented his ticket back to the Great Wall. Although it wouldn’t take him directly there, he would at least get close. Considering the level of his cultivation base, making it back from that location shouldn’t be difficult.
His heart was already pounding with excitement, and yet, he couldn’t help but worry about something he had learned while in the Bai Clan. Supposedly, the teleportation portal would check your identity strictly before allowing you to use it.
Ever since Zhou Yixing had told him that, he had begun to wonder how the process worked. Therefore, he stopped some distance away from the portal itself and looked around the area more closely.
Almost immediately, his expression flickered as he noticed that every single soul cultivator who entered the teleportation portal would be touched by flickering ripples. After studying the ripples for a short time, he realized how they worked.
Clearly, they represented some magical technique that assessed a person’s identity....
“With my mask, I shouldn’t have any problems, right...?” After some hesitation, he looked up into the evening sky and then gritted his teeth. “I might as well give it a shot!”
Making sure to breathe calmly, he walked toward the teleportation portal. None of the guards paid any attention to him, and after paying the requisite soul medicine tax, he was given access.
Those few short steps were ones of incredible anxiety. Then, he found himself standing in front of the shining light, his eyes alive with anticipation.
“It’s definitely going to work, and then, I’ll fly off into the sunset!” Taking a breath, he stepped forward, putting him in contact with the light.
However, as soon as he made contact, his heart leapt as a strange, prickly sensation spread across him. It was almost as if some spirit automaton were examining him. Rumbling sounds echoed out from the teleportation portal, and the fluctuations entered him, seemingly intent on scouring his soul!
It was a soulsearch to confirm his identity!
Thankfully, his mask quickly went to work to conceal his true identity. However, the power levels involved surpassed imagination, and Bai Xiaochun could tell immediately that the mask would only be able to hold out for a brief moment under such intense scrutiny. If he didn’t pass this test and allow the soulsearch to confirm his identity, he wouldn't be able to teleport away, and would also be revealed as an imposter!
In the moment of time that the mask bought him, he stepped backward, away from the teleportation portal. As he did, quite a few people noticed, and strange expressions appeared on their faces.
Seeing so many eyes on him, his heart trembled nervously. Raising his voice, he said, “Ah, forget it. I'm not going anywhere. Giant Ghost City is the best place to earn a name!”
With that, he walked away.
People continued to look at him curiously until he melted into the crowd and vanished.
Some distance away, he hurried along, ashen-faced and heart pounding.
“What do I do?” he wailed inwardly. “If I can’t use the teleportation portal, how will I get home?” He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. All of his hopes had been wrapped up in the teleportation portal, and yet now, he knew he couldn’t use it....
A bit later, he blinked a few times and then sighed at how bitter his life had become. Feeling completely crestfallen, he found a random inn to stay the night. The next day, he walked out of the inn bleary-eyed.
“If I can’t get back, I guess I just need to rise to prominence here. Perhaps that’s just my lot in life. How completely annoying for a low-profile kind of person like myself.” Sighing helplessly the entire way, he headed back toward the moat....
Now that he thought about it, being a guard at Devil Penitentiary might not be that bad after all. With that status, he would be temporarily safe from the Bai Clan, which was a good thing.
He got to the moat early, whereupon he sat down cross-legged and frowned his way until evening. At that point, the whirlpool sprang up again, and one of Li Xu’s subordinates appeared. When he saw Bai Xiaochun, he gave him an expressionless nod.
“Alright, come with me,” he said. Without another word, he turned and headed back toward the whirlpool.