The first prison in Fenghai County belonged to the Sword Holding Palace. Its reputation spread far and wide, striking fear into the hearts of many.
The people imprisoned inside were wicked criminals from all races, including the Holy Demon Race, the Quasi-Immortal Race, and even the Holy Wave Race. Humans who had committed major crimes were also incarcerated here.
Since ancient times, other than the Holy Demon and the Quasi-Immortal who had an agreement with the human race, none of the criminals from the other races could come out alive.
The reason why these criminals were suppressed and not killed immediately was because their cultivation bases were used as a power source of the county's Taboo magic treasure.
Therefore, as long as the prisoners weren't wiped out in one go and as long as there were replenishments, it didn't matter if thousands or tens of thousands of them died. To a certain extent, the criminals here could be arbitrarily dealt with by the Prison Department.
As a result, this prison was filled with the aura of death, so sinister that one could imagine how terrifying and cruel the Pawns working here were.
For example, the Ghost Hand that had taught Xu Qing previously was one of the Pawns. The baleful aura on him was so strong that Xu Qing clearly sensed it.
In addition, according to Xu Qing's understanding of the seven days of secret training, this prison in Fenghai County had a very long history, and was built in the same era as Fenghai County.
Its construction was personally supervised by the first Sword Holding Palace Master of Fenghai County.
It had a total of 177 floors. Every floor was tampered with spatial methods, endless restrictions, and countless array formations.
Even a Nihility expert wouldn't be able to escape.
This was because other than the terrifying defense of this prison, the Sword Holding Palace Master guarded it all year round.
This tradition of the Palace Master guarding the prison had existed from the moment the prison was built. It was proposed by the first Sword Holding Palace Master. From then on, the successive Palace Masters of Fenghai County's Sword Holding Palace followed this tradition for generations. They placed their office and residence in the prison and guarded it themselves.
Hence, every Palace Master would also be the head of the Prison Department.
Other than imprisoning and providing a power source for the Taboo magic treasure, this prison also had another use, and that was intimidation.
This was one of the methods the human race used to intimidate the nonhuman races in Fenghai County.
For countless years, the number of cultivators imprisoned in the prison was a secret. Only the Prison Department knew.
According to the rough statistics made by outsiders, this number… was like the stars in the sky.
When this information appeared in Xu Qing's mind, he had already left the Sword Holding Palace. At that moment, he was speeding through the sky toward the Prison Department on the ground.
From the sky, the entrance of the prison on the ground was transparent, allowing one's vision to penetrate the barrier without obstruction and see into the depths of the prison.
Except for the first dozen or so floors, which were still visible, the lower floors were pitch-black, like an endless abyss or a frigid ghost cave, exuding a palpable chill.
As Xu Qing approached the prison, the oppressive atmosphere became even more intense. When he finally reached the ground level, he stood at the edge of the deep pit of the Prison Department and personally experienced the pressure emanating from this Abyss Prison.
He even felt a tremor under his feet, as though a behemoth was struggling underground.
At the same time, the fiendish aura rising from the deep pit intensified, accompanied by waves of mournful roars.
Xu Qing took a deep breath and took out his appointment token before proceeding toward the entrance.
As he got closer, an invisible barrier appeared in Xu Qing's perception. Then, a terrifying divine sense, like angry waves, pressed down from all directions.
It contained brutality and a sense of expulsion.
It was as though an invisible giant was waving its massive hand and slapping at him.
Xu Qing's mind shook but he stood his ground. He raised the appointment token in his hand and spoke calmly.
"Sword Holder Xu Qing, reporting for duty."
As soon as these words were spoken, the terrifying divine sense instantly gathered on the appointment token in Xu Qing's hand.
A moment later, this divine sense slowly dissipated. The invisible barrier shone with a red light. After it became tangible, it transformed into a gate that was still flowing with blood.
This gate emitted an ancient and profound, filled with the sense of the passage of time. Countless runes surfaced on it, each exuding a powerful intent. They combined into a huge beast head that glared at Xu Qing angrily.
Xu Qing looked at it with a calm expression.
After a long time, the gate creaked and slowly opened, and an ordinary-looking middle-aged cultivator stepped out.
He wore the Daoist robe of a Sword Holder, similar in appearance to Xu Qing's own, but with one key difference: instead of the fiery red patterns on Xu Qing's robe, the patterns on his robe were black.
There was also a scar on his face, formed by some kind of spell that could not be removed. The skin in that area withered, giving him an extremely sinister appearance.
His eyes were slanted like triangles. As he lifted his eyelids slightly, he swept his gaze across Xu Qing, paying particular attention to his face. He then spoke with a sinister smile.
"Welcome to the Prison Department."
With that, he turned and stepped into the gate.
Xu Qing glanced around before following the middle-aged cultivator. The moment he stepped through the red gate, he passed through the barrier and appeared on the other side of it.
Other than the huge deep pit in front of him, there was also a staircase that circled down the edge of the deep pit .
Xu Qing followed the Pawn along the stairs.
A chilling aura gushed over from below, accompanied by waves of howls and mournful cries that continued to reverberate. The tremors formed by the tumbling of the behemoth were even more intense here.
At the same time, black was the main theme here, and darkness pervaded everything.