"Finally, there's a way out. If I had waited any longer, I would have gone mad. These two old geezers, once I'm strong enough, I'll settle the score with them."
With that, Wu Tao's body transformed into a streak of light and shot forward, plunging into the purple light circle.
Inside the light circle, the swirling spatial storms completely vanished. Wu Tao found himself in a space of countless layers, stretching for miles, seemingly without end.
He flew straight ahead, and within half a day, he had fallen into pitfalls dozens of times. His plight was truly miserable. If not for Wu Tao's profound cultivation, he would have surely perished long ago.
As Wu Tao cautiously pressed onward, in the core area of the Prison City minor world, the Sea of Origin, an old Daoist, reeking of wine and snoring loudly, suddenly opened his eyes.
A power akin to spatial laws emanated from him. He stretched out a withered finger, sensed briefly, and frowned. "These scoundrels! How long has it been already? They've sent another brat my way. Do they really think this is a trash bin?"
The old Daoist rose, revealing a robust physique that belied his appearance. He paced slightly, stroking his chin, and muttered, "I've been stuck in this godforsaken place for a thousand years. If it weren't for the fact that I can't defeat Old Man Huang, I'd have been out enjoying myself long ago."
"Those seven scoundrels always use the righteousness of the human race to pressure me, saying this minor world is the foundation of humanity and must be guarded by cultivators above the Purple Mansion stage..."
"But I've been here for over a thousand years, and I haven't seen any alien trespassers causing trouble..."
"Normally, all I have is finding excuses to beat up these youngsters in the Prison City minor world. It's my only amusement..."
"But in recent years, I've beaten them up too much. These brats have become too seasoned. The moment they see a stranger, they immediately kneel and beg for mercy. It's gotten to the point where my divine ability to transform my form is useless."
The old Daoist sighed for a long while, then looked at the two great spiritual treasures beside him: a mid-grade spiritual treasure, the Green Lotus Sword, and another mid-grade spiritual treasure, the Twelve-Colored Exquisite Pagoda.
The Green Lotus Sword was the old Daoist's personal protective weapon, while the Twelve-Colored Exquisite Pagoda served as the central axis controlling the minor world's operation.
The old Daoist was named Wu Kongzi, one of the eight contemporary Purple Mansion stage cultivators of the human race.
Wu Kongzi patted his head, an expression of joy appearing on his face as he thought of something.
He murmured to himself, "Isn't there a new junior here? Perfect, he doesn't know the rules yet. I can play with him for a few more years."
...
Meanwhile.
At this very moment, Wu Tao had arrived before a river of space.
Within this river of space, there were numerous small white fish swimming. Even more bizarrely, these fish were identical in size and movement to normal fish.
This was precisely their strangeness, for in this river filled with spatial power, even Wu Tao dared not enter. Yet these small fish swam freely, as if the river flowed with actual water.
"Do I have to cross this river of space with my bare body? That's absolute bullshit."
The usually fearless Wu Tao felt a sliver of dread towards the water in this spatial river.
After hesitating for a moment, Wu Tao tentatively threw a top-tier magical artifact into it.
The result was a hissing sound. The artifact lasted less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn before it vanished into the river, not even creating a ripple.
Seeing this, Wu Tao gritted his teeth, with no intention of moving forward. Instead, he took several steps back.
Standing on the bank of the spatial river, Wu Tao's mind raced. After comprehending everything, he actually stopped being anxious.
He decided to wait it out. He would see who could outlast whom. He didn't believe no one would come to pick him up.
After an indeterminate amount of time, perhaps days or weeks, an old Daoist covered in grease appeared behind him.
A faint aura of the laws of the universe emanated from him, terrifying Wu Tao into immobility.
The next moment, this old Daoist, Wu Kongzi, flicked his sleeve, sending Wu Tao flying like a ball.
Before he even spoke, Wu Kongzi, who had already taught Wu Tao a lesson, smiled playfully and said, "Little fellow, what did you do wrong to be sent here? Do you know the rules? If not, I'll tell you!"
On the other side!
Wu Tao, who had just gotten up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Just as he was about to erupt, he sensed the dense law power emanating from Wu Kongzi.
Facing a Purple Mansion stage cultivator, Wu Tao immediately caved. His heart trembled, and he dared not look further, lowering his head and saying,
"Senior, this junior is young and made some minor mistakes, which led to me being escorted into this Prison City minor world. I am to stay for ten years, and only after my sentence is complete can I leave."
"Oh, is that so!"
After hearing Wu Tao's words, Wu Kongzi retracted his law power, scrutinized Wu Tao from head to toe, and nodded.
"Seeing as you are under a hundred years old and possess such cultivation, your aptitude is indeed good..."
"However, everyone who has come to my Prison City minor world, from ancient times to the present, has had no shortage of aptitude. Their problem lies with their character, and you are no exception."
"For the human race, a person's character is far more important than their aptitude."
...
"Uh!" Wu Tao was initially startled, then flatteringly said, "What Senior says is very reasonable..."
Secretly, Wu Tao was cursing profusely in his mind.
These old men, one by one, claim I have character problems. It's *their* character that's problematic, and severely so.
...
Although Wu Kongzi's cultivation was profound, he couldn't read minds, so he had no idea what Wu Tao was thinking.
Wu Kongzi clasped his hands behind his back and continued in a deep voice, "Heh heh, but if you're lucky, you might gain some fortune here. Come, I'll take you."
With that, Wu Kongzi started walking forward.
...
Wu Tao dared not delay and followed closely behind Wu Kongzi.
As he followed, Wu Tao noticed something: these small fish seemed to possess a special ability, able to devour the spatial power within the river of space and survive on it.
Following Wu Kongzi, Wu Tao found that whenever he touched these small fish, they would pass through him and Wu Kongzi. It was as if they were not in the same world, or perhaps they were illusions.
As if sensing Wu Tao's confusion, Wu Kongzi shook his head and explained, "These small fish are called Void Fish. Don't let their small size fool you; they are born with spatial divine abilities."
"Although their methods are simple, facing the attack of tens of thousands of Void Fish, even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator deploying their domain would find it difficult to move."
...
Wu Tao nodded, forcing a smile and flatteringly saying, "Senior is truly formidable. These Void Fish are completely unaffected by us under your command."
...
"Tsk, you stinking brat. Besides your poor character, it seems your brain isn't working well either."
"These Void Fish are my pets. Have you ever seen a trained soldier turn on their master?..."
Since he wasn't accustomed to flattering others, Wu Tao's sudden attempt missed the mark, and he was once again mocked by Wu Kongzi.
However, since Wu Tao had said as much, Wu Kongzi was willing to elaborate.
"Don't underestimate these Void Fish, even though they are my Dao soldiers. For you nascent stage cultivators, they can still be quite a fortunate encounter..."
"Because they feed on spatial power, their bodies accumulate a certain amount of Void Crystals."
"Void Crystals are top-grade celestial materials, one of the best for refining spatial divine abilities."
After this period of interaction, Wu Tao had a rough understanding of Wu Kongzi's personality: eccentric and unpredictable, enjoying mocking and beating others.
Wu Tao's expression shifted as he nodded continuously, saying only what sounded good. In his heart, he was cursing, "You bastard, if I could beat you, I'd beat you so badly your parents wouldn't recognize you."
"You, a dignified Purple Mansion stage cultivator, bullying me, a Golden Core stage cultivator, and you have the nerve!"
"Bullying the weak isn't supposed to be done like this. Fortune or not, I can't be too greedy facing this old man, lest something else goes wrong."
...
After another three to four hours, Wu Tao, following at a distance, saw a pavilion built entirely of Lightning Dao Stone standing there.
At this moment, Wu Kongzi stopped. He looked up at the pavilion not far away, pointed to it, and said with a tone full of temptation, "This pavilion has a rather extraordinary function. It can condense a portion of the minor world's lightning power into Immortal Crystal Lightning Stones."
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