No Escape

The general led Wu Zhen through the city slowly. It was as if he was showing off Wu Zhen like a fisherman showing off to his friends about the fish he caught

Eventually, they arrived at a building that looked like a prison. They entered in, where they met with other guards.

"General!"

The guards stood up and saluted.

"Do me a favor, guards. Take this man to the highest security cell we have."

"Yes, sir!", the guards shouted before taking Wu Zhen into their custody. He walked through the prison, looking at all the prisoners inside.

"A new one! Wait, could they be taking him to that place?!"

All kinds of people were in this prison. From the small crimes to ones that made people sick, they all resided together in these cells.

However, there was one type of prisoner who got special treatment.

The beast prisoners.

It got warmer the further they walked until they stopped. In front of them was a pit of magma.

"Raise the bridge!"

As he finished speaking, platforms rose from the magma and formed a bridge.

They walked across until they reached the cell in the middle of the room.

They opened the door and throw him. As he fell, he could hear the door closing from behind him.

He kept falling. Wasn't this supposed to be a prison? Why did it seem like it was a deadly pit instead?

He braced for impact. While he wouldn't normally be scared of a fall, his regenerative abilities and tough-as-steel body had been reduced to a mortal state as well.

A physical cultivator uses Qi to strengthen and heal themselves

Without Qi, they would just be as strong as mortal bodybuilders.

Eventually, he hit the ground with a loud thud.

He had fallen on his side, dislocating his elbow and shoulder. One or two ribs of his were broken as well. Still, he had faced worse wounds.

Bearing the pain, he managed to get up again.

"I haven't seen someone in a long time.", an elderly voice spoke from the darkness of the cell.

"Who is it?!", Wu Zhen instinctively looked around.

"I'm not going to hurt you. These elderly bones can't even walk very well, what makes you think I can fight?"

Wu Zhen calmed down a bit and sat down while leaning against the wall.

"Why'd they have to make this pit so deep?", Wu Zhen groaned as he held his dislocated arm.

Click! Click!

"Aagh! That hurt!"

Wu Zhen had put his dislocated shoulder and elbow back into place.

"I'll answer your question. They're afraid of us. They're afraid of cultivators."

Wu Zhen looked up.

"You're a cultivator too?"

"Of course, of course. There used to be a lot more cultivators down here. They all died of old age.", the old man replied.

"Hahahaha! For a cultivator to die of old age. That's a disgrace. Couldn't they have at least tried to escape?", Wu Zhen yelled loudly.

"Escape? That's impossible. There's no way a mortal could ever climb these walls.", The elder casually said.

"Then, I'll just become an immortal again!", Wu Zhen said as he started to meditate to sense the Qi.

Strangely, he couldn't sense any Qi. One or two specks were floating around, and those were quickly snatched up by the elder.

"Oi, those are mine, you old bastard! You're gonna die soon, so why do you need all that Qi?", Wu Zhen shouted.

"Respect your elders."

A fire lit up the darkness of the cell. The old man had created a small flame in the palm of his hand, allowing Wu Zhen to catch a glimpse of his face.

His body was sickly. He looked like he was made out of bamboo. The hairs left on his head looked like they could be blown away by the wind.

However, his eyes looked fierce.

"I've lived in this cell for 90 years, absorbing whatever Qi I can so I can escape, and this is the only thing I can do."

The flame quickly went out.

"I put it out so the guards don't notice."

The elder and Wu Zhen sat in silence for a while.

"Nothing is impossible. If we can ascend heaven and earth, then why can't we climb up this stupid wall!?"

Wu Zhen scratched at the wall, yet it left no dents.

"Give it up, I'm telling you it's impossible. The only way for us to leave is if we somehow regained our powers, and that's impossible for us."

Wu Zhen sat there, pulling out his hair. There really was no way to escape.

The old man spoke once more, "What's your name?"

"My name's Wu Zhen."

"Nice to meet you, Wu Zhen, my name's Meng Shan."

The old man sighed.

"I've waited for someone else's arrival for a long time."

The room was silent.

"Wu Zhen, could you put this old man out of his misery?"

Wu Zhen looked a bit surprised.

"Listen, Oldie Meng, it's not impossible. Even if you die here, at least keep trying to the end!"

Meng Shan laughed.

"Even if I get out of this place, what am I gonna do? My family members are probably already dead. Even if I have family that is still alive, in their eyes, I'm long gone. Besides, there's no way to get back to the Crimson Rose Continent."

The old man paused to breathe.

"It's fine even if you don't kill me. An old man like me will die soon anyway."

Wu Zhen was suddenly struck with an idea.

He tried to use his Soul to enhance his attacks, but even that couldn't break the walls. Moreover, his wrist broke.

"Shit, even the Power of the Soul won't work."

The old man smirked.

"The Power of the Soul. Seems like you're quite a genius to be able to use it at that age."

"Thanks for the compliment, but couldn't you try and help me?"

Wu Zhen heard a sound from above.

"Hey! Lunch's coming!"

Two packages fell onto the ground near them, one almost hitting Wu Zhen.

When they opened their packages, there was nothing much. It was the bare minimum needed to survive.

A bottle of water, and rice with one side dish.

He looked at the old man, who was eating the rice grain by grain.

"Oldie Meng, why are you eating that slow? Even if you're old, you're a human, not a turtle."

Meng Shan looked up and said, "I'm savoring it. They only give us food once every three days, after all."

"Once per three days?!"

Wu Zhen almost fainted.

He wasn't expecting to have a banquet in the prison, but only getting to eat once every three days? That was just inhumane! Even the damn white void gave him one meal a day!

"They want us starved. If we ate a lot, we might get strong enough to escape after all."

Wu Zhen ate his meal in silence.

His stomach growled even after the meal, but there was nothing he could do.

Meanwhile, outside of the prison, the general was kneeling.

In front of him, the Royal Emperor of Tael, Yohan Tael.

"Another beast-human? Good, good. Soon, we'll be able to unlock their secrets, and become Immortals! AHAHAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Your highness, your laughing is scaring the servants."

The emperor looked a bit annoyed, but then calmed down.

"Sorry, sometimes I get a bit too excited! AHAHAHAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The general sighed.

Back at the cell, Wu Zhen was still trying to think of ways to escape. He only had one more thing he was able to do. He started meditating.

"Freedom God-Emperor! Get out here! Oi, are you there?"

His voice echoed in his own mind.

"No."

"I knew you were there! Help me get out of this place, will you?"

"Only if you ask nicely."

"Tch! Fine. Freedom God-Emperor, could you help me escape this prison, please?"

"Fine. Since you're begging me, I guess I'll tell you how to get out."

"What is it?! Hurry up and tell me!"

"Die."

Wu Zhen was confused.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, I'm just telling you that if you want to get out, you have to die."

"Oi! If I die, there's no point in getting out! I'll be a corpse!"

Freedom God-Emperor sighed.

"There's no way an idiot like you would understand."

Wu Zhen cursed Freedom God-Emperor in his mind.

"I can hear everything you think, you know."

"Shut up, or I'm gonna die for real and take you down with me!"

"If you died, I'd just escape. In fact, I'd like for you to die as quickly as possible so I can leave."

Wu Zhen looked like he was trying to pull out his own brain.

"Just shut up!"

Wu Zhen looked up at the ceiling. He missed seeing the blue skies of the continent. It was a brutal dog-eat-dog world, but it was still better than this place. Then again, they always said the grass was greener on the other side.