Chapter 25 Great Fortune

Ji Ning looked at the two figures prostrating themselves before him, his heart tightening: "It seems I've stumbled into being mistaken for the warden. Now I must be careful, best to figure out what the 'warden' does... and hope I'm not exposed and thrown into danger." The immense force that had pulled him in earlier made it clear that he was still very weak before the stele.

"It seems they hold me in great respect, my status should be higher than theirs."

Ji Ning pondered, then spoke, "You two, state your names."

"This humble one is Dong Qiu." The taller, burlier man said respectfully, his voice deeper, seeming honest and simple.

"This humble one is Xi Fu." The slightly plumper one also spoke quickly, "We two have been waiting for the warden for a full three chaos cycles. Since we were forged and born, we have worked diligently in this Seventeen World Prison, but without a warden, we were uneasy, fearing some变故 might occur in the world prison."

Ji Ning's heart stirred.

Three chaos cycles? This 'chaos cycle' must be a unit of time, seemingly representing an extremely long period.

Forged and born? Were they not living beings?

Seventeen World Prison? Prison, and I, the warden, am specifically in charge of the prison?

"So, has there been any变故 in this world prison?" Ji Ning followed up, wanting to ask more to gather information.

"By your grace, no变故 has occurred in these three chaos cycles. Those prisoners locked up here, wanting to overturn things? How could it be so easy?" The fat jailer Xi Fu quickly said, "I know you are busy, and all the trivial matters in the world prison are handled by us brothers. If a变故 occurs, we will immediately inform you, and you need only report to the Sovereign. Ordinarily, you can roam the world prison or focus on cultivation, and if anything arises, just command us."

"Mm, report to the Sovereign..." Ji Ning nodded lightly.

Sovereign?

What kingdom? Could this stele belong to that kingdom?

"Tell me all the trivial matters, big and small, in the world prison over these three chaos cycles." Ji Ning said.

The tall jailer Dong Qiu blinked at Ji Ning, thinking: "All the trivial matters of three chaos cycles? How long would that take? Is he that bored?"

The fat jailer Xi Fu, however, was excited and quickly said, "Listen, my lord... shall I start from when the previous warden left, or..."

"Tell me the main affairs of the previous warden, and then these three chaos cycles." Ji Ning, eager to learn more and afraid of exposing himself, spoke cautiously to avoid revealing any flaws. Though the jailers were extremely respectful, Ji Ning sensed...

Since his pure yang divine power had permeated the divine patterns, he had a vague control over this chaotic space.

He could even leave this chaotic space easily.

But he had no control over these two jailers; they were likely forged by a mysterious kingdom and obeyed its decrees. Once they found him an enemy, they would probably attack him.

"Ah, the previous warden once chatted with us—though he might have been boasting—he said he was the son of some Ancestral God, punished to serve as warden for one chaos cycle because he caused trouble." Xi Fu commented, "Hard to say if he lied, but from my experience, he probably didn't. Generally, those sent as wardens are core members of our Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom. Though it's a punishment, enduring solitude for a full chaos cycle, at least one can learn the seven top techniques. And one can also enjoy a bottle of 'Chaos Liquor' extracted from chaos in the Seventeen World Prison, which is a great benefit. Ordinary immortals and gods, even if willing to endure solitude for an epoch, cannot obtain the seven techniques or a bottle of Chaos Liquor."

"Chaos Liquor?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

The Tao Wu Eighteen Divine Fiends had three layers.

The first layer was easy to enter.

The second layer was thousands of times harder, as it allowed one to transform into eighteen avatars, each with the same strength as the original, including the same soul. While divine power and divine force were easy to cultivate, splitting the soul into eighteen identical, equally powerful souls was extremely difficult. External treasures were needed.

However, with Chaos Liquor alone, one could cultivate the second layer of Tao Wu Eighteen Divine Fiends. But Chaos Liquor was described as extremely precious in the technique.

"Yes, Chaos Liquor." The fat jailer Xi Fu quickly said, "A bottle of Chaos Liquor. According to the cultivation of previous wardens, one bottle is enough to cultivate the second layer of the external technique 'Tao Wu Eighteen Divine Fiends'."

"Where is the Chaos Liquor?" Ji Ning asked.

"The last batch was taken by the previous warden and offered to the Sovereign. But over these three chaos cycles, our Seventeen World Prison has been continuously extracting from chaos, accumulating quite a bit. My brothers and I have collected it, and since we haven't offered it for three chaos cycles, we now have eighteen bottles. The nineteenth is not yet full, still being collected slowly." Xi Fu said.

"Give them to me." Ji Ning ordered.

The fat jailer Xi Fu hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Instantly, eighteen black bottles appeared floating in midair, ancient in appearance with divine patterns on the surface, seeming like ordinary objects.

"My lord," Xi Fu quickly said, "You will be here for at least one chaos cycle, and you may only use one bottle. Please do not use more. The Sovereign knows exactly how much we can collect here. If you use too much, trouble will arise. This Chaos Liquor is extremely precious... usually, it is given to the warden only when his term ends and he leaves."

"Don't worry, I won't seek my own death." Ji Ning smiled, waving his hand to collect the eighteen bottles.

Xi Fu smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes. You are of noble status, naturally you won't act recklessly."

"Hmm, are there any other treasures in this Seventeen World Prison?" Ji Ning asked, his eyes gleaming.

"None." The fat jailer Xi Fu shook his head. He had served several wardens and knew they all held special status, core members of the 'Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom', sent to such key places. Though it was punishment, it also brought great benefits. Having obtained Chaos Liquor, it was common for them to be greedy for more.

"Truly none. This is just a world prison, a place to hold many prisoners." The fat jailer said, "If you have means to get benefits from the prisoners, that would be your skill. But those prisoners are full of hatred, many with immense power, and they might kill you instead of giving you anything. If you truly wish to interact with prisoners, it's best to first cultivate the Tao Wu Eighteen Divine Fiends. With eighteen avatars, at least you won't risk death."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

Prisoners?

"Continue. Tell me about the previous warden and all the trivial matters of these three chaos cycles. I'm bored. Alas, one chaos cycle is too long." Ji Ning sighed.

"Listen, my lord." The fat jailer Xi Fu was excited, as he loved to talk, while Dong Qiu was a mute, which annoyed him. He even chatted with the prisoners, making many want to kill him, but he always stayed outside the restraints, so the prisoners couldn't harm him.

More than half the prisoners in the Seventeen World Prison hated this talkative fat jailer.

"The previous warden had a bad temper. I think he was indeed spoiled by the Ancestral God. When he first arrived..." The fat jailer Xi Fu began to ramble on.

Ji Ning listened with a smile, looking relaxed.

Relaxed?

He was not relaxed at all, but he knew that obtaining this 'stele' was a stroke of great luck, a great fortune. The more such moments, the more cautious he needed to be, lest he end up with nothing.

...

As he listened, Ji Ning understood more and more.

Inside the stele, a vast great world was indeed opened, seemingly extremely expansive. It held many prisoners of the 'Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom'.

The Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom was a very powerful kingdom.

The strongest in this kingdom was the 'Nine Directions Sovereign', an incredibly formidable being. This 'stele' with a world inside was forged by the Nine Directions Sovereign, who made thirty-six such steles. The thirty-six prison steles naturally formed the 'Ninefold Locking Heaven Formation', with awe-inspiring power, making it hard for enemies to infiltrate; only their own could enter.

On each of the thirty-six steles were seven techniques.

A total of two hundred and fifty-two techniques, all left by the Nine Directions Sovereign. Though not his invincible ultimate arts, they were among his top techniques. Each warden could learn the seven techniques on his own stele, but not those on other steles.

...

"Hmph, Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom? Sounds like some kingdom in the chaos." Ji Ning muttered inwardly, "The chaos is indeed wondrous. Many chaos races have invaded my Three Realms before. The chaos is vast and boundless, even capable of birthing True Gods and Ancestral Gods, and even beings like Pangu. Having such a 'Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom' is normal."

"But the jailer said the thirty-six steles form the 'Ninefold Locking Heaven Formation'—that's a joke."

"This stele fell into Shao Yan Chou's hands since ancient times, and now into mine. Over such a long time, and the stele has been alone all along, the Ninefold Locking Heaven Formation was probably broken long ago, and the steles scattered. I wonder what this stele has experienced to end up in the Three Realms."

Though surprised, Ji Ning was wise.

The Three Realms had clashed with chaos races many times, slaying beings like Luohu and even stronger ones like the Lord of All Things. They had likely obtained many treasures and techniques from chaos races. His was just one share, seemingly a powerful one.

...

Ji Ning listened leisurely, then smiled, "Alright, you can stop."

He had listened for three full days and nights, and now had heard enough.