Withdrawing his finger, Nie Kong lightly tapped, and the stone door groaned, opening at his touch.

That was it?

Lan Ling's pretty face froze, even the look of reverence still fixed in her pair of bright blue eyes. She never imagined that the phantom talisman, which seemed unbreakable in her estimation, would be as fragile as a thin sheet of paper under Nie Kong's hand, broken with a mere poke, causing him practically no hindrance at all.

What exactly was this person's background?

Lan Ling's heart was filled with shock and doubt. By the time she recovered her senses, Nie Kong had already slipped inside. She hastily suppressed the chaotic thoughts flooding her mind and quickly followed him in.

Behind the door, the path continued to curve.

Neither of them spoke, only the echoing sound of their footsteps resonated through the empty space. After what had just transpired, Nie Kong appeared even more profound and inscrutable in Lan Ling's eyes. Her gaze frequently fell upon him, brazenly sizing him up, as if desperate to reach into his throat and pull out every secret hidden in his gut.

After another hundred meters, the second phantom formation archway appeared.

Then came the third, the fourth...

The sixth...

...

More and more opened phantom formation archways revealed themselves, and the doubt in Nie Kong's heart deepened proportionally.

Was this truly the prison of the Spirit God Temple?

On the Tian Ling Continent, the highest cultivation realm was the Tian Ling Master. Even for imprisoning a Tian Ling expert who had passed the Second Spirit Tribulation, a single phantom formation stone door, combined with the Soul Devouring Flower, should have been sufficient. Yet, the phantom formation archways appearing so far numbered eight... and this eighth archway might not even be the end.

Furthermore, starting from the second archway, the function of the phantom talismans on the doors had shifted. They no longer seemed to be about sealing the passage or reinforcing the strength of the stone door, but rather about concealing some kind of aura. Could there be something hidden deep within this supposed prison?

In the time it took to snap his fingers, Nie Kong had absorbed the life force of the phantom formation and pushed open the eighth archway. He mused, "Lan Ling, how many years have you been guarding for the Spirit God Temple?"

"Roughly two thousand four hundred years."

Lan Ling pondered for a moment before replying, "It was shortly after I first gained sentience, and my strength was weak. I was nearly eaten by an eighth-rank Spirit Beast. The then-Master of the Spirit God Temple passed by, saved me, and brought me here to guard this Spirit God Temple prison for him. In return, the Spirit God Temple regularly provided me with spirit medicines for my cultivation."

Nie Kong frowned, "Aren't the Spirit God Temple worried that you might leave once you've cultivated successfully, or even turn against them?"

Lan Ling scoffed, "Of course they were afraid. That's why the Spirit God Temple Master at the time extracted a wisp of my soul essence and took it away. The Spirit God Temple is the foremost sect on the Tian Ling Continent. Even if I cultivate to the level of passing the Second Spirit Tribulation, with that wisp of soul essence held by them, it would be difficult to escape their capture."

Nie Kong inquired curiously, "Now that you've followed me, aren't you worried about the Spirit God Temple coming for you?"

"What's there to worry about?"

Lan Ling pouted. "If the Spirit God Temple wants to catch me, they'll have to get past you first. If you can't withstand the experts of the Spirit God Temple, what does it matter if I'm captured? At worst, I'll just return here to keep guarding their prison. Do you think they'd kill me?"

Nie Kong fell silent, suddenly realizing he had asked a foolish question. It was the classic case of 'when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.' Now that Lan Ling was under his command, he was that tall one, so naturally, she had no need to worry. Shaking his head with a slight smile, Nie Kong then asked, "Does the Spirit God Temple often send prisoners here?"

Lan Ling tilted her head, thinking for a moment, then replied, "Roughly once every fifty years, two at a time. That makes forty-eight times in total."

Nie Kong was startled. "Are they all Tian Ling experts?"

"All of them."

This time, Lan Ling nodded without hesitation.

Nie Kong’s confusion grew deeper. Sending two Tian Ling experts every fifty years... even the imprisonment of prisoners had become systematic. Was there truly something fishy hidden here?

A trace of ominous premonition flashed through Nie Kong's mind. A golden light flickered, and his speed suddenly increased; in an instant, he vanished from Lan Ling's sight.

Lan Ling, unable to use her spiritual power in the tunnel, could only resort to running at full tilt. When she caught sight of Nie Kong again, he had just opened the ninth phantom formation archway.

"Creeaak!"

Pushing the stone door open, Nie Kong flashed through the gap.

Illuminated by the golden light radiating from his body, Nie Kong felt the view suddenly open up. A vast, circular space entered his vision. In the very center of this space, a circular altar several meters high had been constructed.

Ringed stairs ascended tier upon tier. On every level of steps, black statues were placed, surrounding the sphere at the top of the altar like stars revolving around the moon. At this moment, black mist was constantly spewing out of the sphere and then being sucked back in, resembling breathing—it looked extremely bizarre.

And on the ground surrounding the altar, dense phantom talismans were intricately carved—precisely Spirit Sealing Phantom Talismans.

"This place is definitely more than just a prison!"

Nie Kong’s heart gave a jolt. He rapidly swept his gaze around, then took a single step, appearing directly on the altar steps, his eyes constantly searching. To Nie Kong’s astonishment, this place was completely empty aside from the altar and the sculptures; there were no cells at all.

Perhaps the prison cells were concealed by something.

"Ah-yah!"

Suddenly, Nie Kong heard Lan Ling's sharp cry. Following the sound, he looked over to see her also running onto the altar, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on a black sculpture before her.

"What's wrong?"

Nie Kong frowned, his figure shimmering with golden light as he appeared beside her.

Lan Ling exclaimed in shock, "I recognize this statue! When I first started guarding the prison, one of the first two Tian Ling experts the Spirit God Temple sent here was him, so my impression of him is extremely deep... and him, him, him... they are all Tian Ling experts sent by the Spirit God Temple!"

Nie Kong was stunned. He carefully examined the black statue facing Lan Ling. Its eyes were wide open in rage, so lifelike, as if sealed within a layer of black wax.

All the surrounding sculptures were the same!

There were ninety-eight such sculptures here... that meant ninety-eight Tian Ling experts, plus the Soul Devouring Flower, which possessed the strength of a Tian Ling-level spirit material...

"Soul Sacrifice?"

Fragments of memory suddenly flashed through his mind, and Nie Kong couldn't help but exclaim aloud.

Lan Ling looked surprised. "What is Soul Sacrifice?"

"This is an extremely vicious method..."

Nie Kong spoke rapidly. In the memories inherited from Pan Hu, there were records concerning 'Soul Sacrifice.' It was said to be a cultivation gate researched by a peak Spirit God expert before the Illusory Spirit Continent was shattered.

The process involved refining the souls of ninety-eight Tian Ling experts one by one, then fusing them with one's own soul, elevating each soul to the peak Spirit God realm... Finally, extracting the soul of a spirit material possessing Tian Ling strength, and similarly refining, fusing, and elevating that soul.

When the last spirit material's soul also reached the peak Spirit God realm, using it as a catalyst, it would gather the ninety-nine peak Spirit God souls to execute the 'Nine-Nine Heaven Soul Array.' This held a one-in-ten chance of allowing oneself to break through the shackles of the peak Spirit God realm and step into the supreme Tai Zun realm.

This method was incredibly malevolent. The Spirit God expert who researched the 'Soul Sacrifice' gate had his plan only halfway realized before he was jointly slain by over ten Spirit Gods.

Afterward, the Spirit Gods of the 'Tai Zun Spirit Realm' believed this technique was lost, never guessing that a peak Spirit God expert from the 'Tai Zun Spirit Realm' was secretly using this secret method here to manufacture soul sacrifices! No wonder so many archways appeared in the passage—it was to mask the auras of these sacrifices!

"Lan Ling, the reason the Spirit God Temple kept you here wasn't to guard the prison, but so that one day they could extract your soul to refine it into the catalyst for the 'Nine-Nine Heaven Soul Array'!"

"..." Lan Ling was struck speechless, her face pale, cold sweat dripping profusely from her forehead.

"Not good!"

Suddenly, Nie Kong's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he shot towards the highest tier of the steps. Since someone was employing the 'Soul Sacrifice' technique here, his parents, after being sent in, must have met the fate of becoming sacrifices—and they were the last two human sacrifices!