Chapter Ninety-Seven: A Friend I Haven't Seen in Eight Years Has Returned!

In a flash, Zhou Tian’s figure flickered, appearing outside the cage before returning inside it again.

He waited for a long while, but no one, nor any energy construct, came to check on him.

“That’s it?”

Zhou Tian muttered inwardly. The Inquisition’s guards were far too lax; he had assumed there would be sentries every few steps and posts every few paces.

Once more he appeared beyond the cage and headed toward Zhang Yi’s cell from memory.

Boom!

A cage erupted in white flames. A humanoid creature with a black horn suddenly threw itself against the cage’s metal bars. Its purple tail, covered in spikes, thudded frantically against the floor. Blisters rose across its skin, burst open, and blood spattered out only to be instantly vaporized. Dark energy surged through its flesh, healing the wounds in an instant, only for them to split open again, over and over in endless torment.

It was clear that the white flame did not merely scorch the body; it also wounded the soul. And yet, even like this, the creature’s pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Zhou Tian. Its mouth split open, toothless, and wisps of black vapor drifted out and dispersed in the flames, as if it were saying something.

Zhou Tian only glanced at it before looking away. He did not need to think to know what it was wondering: why could he get out?

Boom!

Boom!

As he walked on, the cages to either side repeatedly stirred to life. Some beings, their minds in disarray, slammed violently into the bars and triggered bursts of sacred flame. Others, with clear eyes and sound reason, simply stood behind the lattice and watched Zhou Tian in silence, their gazes flickering.

Zhou Tian ignored them all and made for Zhang Yi’s position as he remembered it. The closer he drew to Zhang Yi’s cage, the more bald heads rose into view, their eyes filled with astonishment as they stared at him. They had all tried the restraints on these cages before; there had been no way around them. How could Zhou Tian possibly have broken free?

Zhou Tian swept a glance over the bald men and raised an eyebrow.

Your rank is beyond your comprehension.

Zhang Yi also stepped out, his eyes full of surprise. Zhou Tian smiled, his form blurring as he appeared beside him.

“Zhou Tian, you...”

Zhang Yi was even more startled, but Zhou Tian cut him off before he could finish.

“Don’t ask. The answer is hard work.”

Zhang Yi let out a helpless smile. “All right.”

Since Zhou Tian did not want to say more, he would not press for details.

“Still, if your divine power can break through the cage’s restraints, then by rights there should be nothing here that can hold you. How did you manage to capture the Holy God Church?”

Zhang Yi voiced a new doubt.

“Why?”

Zhou Tian glanced at him.

“Wasn’t it to save you? I thought only those bald monks had been taken. Then I saw your name on the tribunal list too, so I came.”

“Uh...”

Zhang Yi froze, unsure what to say. To him, Zhou Tian had gambled with his life; one misstep and he could have been trapped here himself. Any words of thanks now would feel hollow.

“All right, enough with the syrupy nonsense. Just flatter me more once we get out.”

Zhou Tian waved a hand. He had never been able to stand such mushy talk. Two grown men—what needed saying was already understood.

“Flatter you?”

Zhang Yi’s expression turned strange. He considered it and decided that dying here might be slightly better.

“What exactly did you mean just now? Is this tribunal really that formidable?”

Zhou Tian changed the subject and asked, “What do you mean, if my power can break the restraints here, then the Holy God Church basically has nothing that can keep me down? Is this place really that impressive? There isn’t even a guard.”

“This tribunal is no simple matter.”

Zhang Yi shook his head and continued, “It wasn’t built by the present Holy God Church. It was left behind from ancient times. In those days, the divine realm was full of gods, and the Holy God Church, as one of the strongest religions of the age, had no shortage of enemies. So these tribunals were established to imprison and interrogate them.”

“The Holy God Church of that era was not something the present one can compare to. It was unimaginably powerful, and its enemies were just as formidable. These cages were all designed to hold emperor-level foes. As for these bars...” Zhang Yi pointed to the cage rails. “They’re made of strange black iron, what we call black-veined dragon steel. It is not only extremely sturdy, but also carries anti-magic effects. Combined with the seals carved into it, it is enough to ensure that the person inside cannot use even the slightest trace of mana. And what is even stranger is that once you touch the sacred flame on the cage, it burns you, but your own mana is unsealed and begins healing your wounds on its own, so you cannot even kill yourself.”

“At that time, there were many evil gods, and their methods were exceedingly bizarre. There were countless blasphemous arts. Even without using mana, speech alone, or a mere glance, even certain bodily gestures, could be enough to control a person’s mind.”

“So when the cages were designed, even the movements and faces of those inside could be sealed. But time has worn on, and no one has repaired this place. Many of its functions have failed. Now it can only seal sound, which is why the only guard left here from ancient times is one energy construct.”

“It’s not like the glory days of old. The Holy God Church today is little more than a handful of people. There are not enough powerful cultivators to guard this place, and the ordinary guards, whose minds are already fractured and who kill one another in madness, are more than one or two. Over time, the Holy God Church simply stopped sending anyone here. After all, no one had ever managed to escape.”

“Oh? So a handful of people can still catch you.”

Zhou Tian laughed.

“It was an accident...”

Zhang Yi said awkwardly.

“What exactly happened back then? By rights, they should never have abandoned you.”

Zhou Tian asked. This was something he had always wondered about. Zhang Yi was not the kind of person who could be discarded lightly.

“At the time, the ancient ship exploded, and with the power of that divine spear, the energy that burst forth was immense. But the spear had already been weakened a great deal, and with the two seniors doing everything they could to protect us, many of those present had life-saving trump cards. Very few died outright. Most were independent cultivators without any backing, though many of them were injured to varying degrees.”

Zhang Yi frowned as he spoke, his gaze flickering while he recalled those events.

“But before we could even land, the Holy God Church’s people swarmed in, along with quite a few others hoping to take advantage of the chaos. Though the two seniors were badly wounded, they were still Heavenly Kings. They had the confidence to deal with a rabble that did not even include a single emperor. But the church’s pontiff directly summoned two projections of holy emissaries. Just like Baqiel in the void storm, each had six pairs of wings, and their strength was comparable to a half-step Heavenly King.”

“The two seniors could not contend with them and could only fall back with the rest. The senior from the Artifact Nation and the senior from the Dao Alliance both sacrificed themselves. The Fool is closely allied with us, and the Treasure Pavilion also works with us, so in the end those monks were the only ones we could afford to abandon as sacrificial pieces.”

Zhang Yi slowly described the scene from then to Zhou Tian, who showed little surprise. He had already guessed most of it.

“And you? How did you get captured?”

“Uh...”

Zhang Yi’s eyes drifted aside as he said awkwardly, “My luck was a little bad. I landed right in their camp. There was no way for anyone to save me.”

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Thanks to Xx Little Bookworm, Shaojie Kissed You Once, and Jingbi Shenyuan Akito for the tips. Thank you, boss.
Also, I have an old friend I haven’t seen in eight years coming back, and I’m going to get barbecue with him, so there’ll only be one update today. Sorry, sorry... a hundred thousand times over.