Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1334 - 524: Song Tao Enters the Cloud Prison
National Academy Supervisor Wang Shu stood in a corner to the side, holding a roll of white silk in his hands. The white silk was woven from the finest “Cloud Pattern Brocade,” its texture delicate, its surface smooth as a mirror.
The silk was already filled with the sacrificial text.
The sacrificial text totaled three thousand words, not a single character could be wrong, not a single stroke careless. With every stroke that fell, a strand of Literary Energy had to be infused; with every character formed, it had to be gently nurtured by the Heart Spirit. The slightest mistake would render the entire piece void, to be discarded and rewritten.
Wang Shu was making a final inspection.
Not long after, Jixia Academy Sacrificial Wine Han Song arrived together with the Huazhang Country Lord.
Zheng Jing and Wang Shu both bowed to pay their respects.
“Secular courtesies may be dispensed with.” The Huazhang Country Lord’s expression was solemn; his main attention was focused on this national sacrifice.
He walked to the front of the Altar, carefully surveying the surroundings, inspecting the arrangements.
Han Song, meanwhile, extended his Divine Sense to touch the Golden Seal Jade Book.
When the Huazhang Country Lord finished his inspection, Han Song opened his eyes and immediately spoke in audience: “My Lord, over these past two days the Qi Fortune resonance has continued; the Golden Seal Jade Book has already locked onto the source of that turbulence. At the source, fortune is arising, with an obvious upward trend.”
“You set a limit of two days, and we have saved one; this is truly wise!”
The Huazhang Country Lord chuckled: “This is the protection of the national fortune. My esteemed Ministers, enter the altar with me.”
In daily life, the Country Lord was mild and unhurried, but whenever an important action arose, he often moved with thunderous decisiveness.
The four of them ascended the Altar at the same time.
The Golden Seal Jade Book lay quietly upon the three-tiered White Jade Altar, its sixty-two pages of Jade Plates closed together, as though awaiting the commencement of this national sacrifice.
On the surface of the Yellow Silk spread over the platform, sun, moon, stars, mountains and rivers, grass and trees, the names of ancient worthies, all appeared faintly within nine-colored radiance, vivid and lifelike.
In the Green Jade Incense Burner, three sticks of sandalwood incense had already been inserted, only awaiting ignition.
Han Song, Zheng Jing, and Wang Shu sat separately on the three sides of the Altar, closing their eyes to begin Breathing Control, conserving and nurturing their strength.
The Huazhang Country Lord, meanwhile, went to the highest tier of the Heaven-Sacrificing level, sitting cross-legged before the desk, facing directly toward the incense burner and the Golden Seal Jade Book behind it.
The palace gates were tightly shut.
Zhou Zheng stood on the outer side of the hall door, personally keeping guard, motionless, like a statue.
The remaining guards were mostly concealed in various places, loose without, tight within.
A deep silence prevailed.
Time flowed slowly, bit by bit.
Wanxiang Sect’s Main Mountain Gate.
Song Taosheng walked toward the Cloud Prison’s main gate with a blank expression.
The mountain wind blew his Confucian robe slightly, just like the hidden waves in his heart.
In his mind he recalled the intelligence concerning the Cloud Prison.
“The Cloud Prison belongs to the Evil Slaying Hall, built leaning against the cliff, its nine levels stacked one atop another, shrouded year-round within a sea of clouds. Each level is constructed from a special stone called ’Yun Gang Rock,’ incomparably hard, and capable of resonating with cloud and mist.”
“Based on the Yun Gang Rock and the structure of the Cloud Prison Ninth Floor, the Myriad Images Sect arranged the outermost defensive Great Array of the Cloud Prison, named the Nine Heavens Cloud Gang Array. This array draws upon the power of the Nine Heavens’ Gang Clouds, condensing it into a tangible Cloud Gang barrier, three zhang thick, indestructible. Even if a Divinity Transformation Cultivator struck with full force, it would be hard to move it by even a hair.”
“There is no hope for a frontal assault, not the slightest!”
Song Taosheng reached the gate and came to a halt.
He was not alone; behind him followed five cultivators, all dressed as servants.
At the entrance of the Cloud Prison stood two cultivators on guard; one of them stepped forward, “It’s you.”
The guard had recognized Song Taosheng.
Not long ago, Song Taosheng had followed Zhao Hansheng and the others into the Cloud Prison, personally witnessing the entire Debating Scripture session.
Song Taosheng produced an official document and handed it over.
The guard took the document, gave it a single read, then took out a Jade Talisman, performed a simple comparison, and after confirming there was no error, immediately allowed them through.
Only when everyone had formally stepped into the Cloud Prison, passing through the first level, did they finally breathe out in relief.
They had succeeded!
At that moment, Song Taosheng timely recalled the plan Kong Zhaoming had given him—
“With the Nine Heavens Cloud Gang Array in place, there is absolutely no possibility of forcing your way in to kill. But precisely because the defenses are too strong, and because in over a hundred years the Cloud Prison has never had any incident, the Guardian Cultivators are generally lax and not vigilant.”
“The most direct method is to enter the Cloud Prison openly and ’visit the prisoner’!”
Visiting a prisoner could not be done at random either; it required prior filing.
Song Taosheng, being a member of the Confucian Cultivator Group, had first gone to seek out Duanmu Zhang, telling him that he had decided to follow Zhao Hansheng and head for Huazhang Country. But before departure, being unwilling to resign himself, he wished to go and confront Qin De once more.
As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles; if he could glean as much intelligence as possible, then when he rejoined Zhao Hansheng, he could present it to the latter as a meeting gift.
After hearing this, Duanmu Zhang immediately approved, and further exhorted Song Taosheng with a few words, telling him to go to Huazhang Country, to closely follow Zhao Hansheng and diligently cultivate Heart Learning. Should Zhao Hansheng fail in the future, Song Taosheng would still have some remaining hope.
Song Taosheng sighed inwardly, feigning agreement.
Duanmu Zhang then reported upwards, requesting that Song Taosheng, as representative, be allowed to visit Qin De.
The Cloud Prison was a place of utmost importance, and the approvals went through a lengthy process. But Duanmu Zhang and the current Evil Slaying Hall Hall Master Zhong Dao were close friends, a friendship widely known.
The cultivators responsible for approvals, considering their superior, had always processed Duanmu Zhang’s applications with the greatest speed.
Had Wang Yu been present in the future, the approving cultivators might still have had misgivings. But Wang Yu had already completed the Soul Search, and with no further instructions, he had simply left.
From the perspective of the Evil Slaying Hall, Wang Yu, representing the Myriad Images Sect high echelon, had personally acted to conduct the Soul Search and review, confirming that there was no mistake, no flaw, that everything was already settled.
Thinking of this, the approving cultivator hesitated no further and issued the written approval.
Duanmu Zhang obtained this approval document and had it sent to Song Taosheng.
One of the five Death Soldiers arranged by Kong Zhaoming immediately went all out to alter the written approval.
