Chapter 733: The Inescapable Prison

"You can talk if you want, but only if you can withstand this ghost thorn whip!" The gray-clad man gave a sinister laugh and suddenly swung his arm.

The black whip transformed into a thick dark shadow, shooting out like a venomous dragon toward Han Li's face.

Before the whip's shadow arrived, a piercing chill rushed at his face, nearly piercing through Han Li's skin.

Han Li stood there calmly, showing no intention of dodging.

The black whip stopped just inches from his face, its sharp tip only a few inches from his eye.

Han Li looked at the black whip before him with a calm expression, not even blinking.

"You've got some nerve, no wonder Lord Yin Kuo personally came to capture you. Since it's your first offense, I'll let this whip go. If you speak out of turn again, it won't be so easy." The gray-clad man gave Han Li a deep look, flicked his wrist to retract the black whip, and continued walking forward.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and he followed without speaking again.

"Brother Li, a wise man knows when to yield. Better not to clash with them," Shi Chuankong said in an almost inaudible voice, approaching Han Li.

Han Li nodded.

His sudden outburst just now was not an impulsive act but a test of the gray-clad man's attitude toward him.

The attitudes of Yin Kuo and You Luo had left him with a vague sense of unease.

After the recent incident, Han Li had gained some insight.

The group walked a distance further, and a vast space appeared ahead, where the air suddenly grew scorching hot.

It was an underground plaza similar to the one inside the ring-shaped building, filled with blazing furnaces emitting rolling waves of intense heat.

The air itself seemed to burn; each breath felt as if flames were licking the lungs.

Stone pillars stood in the plaza, each with a prisoner bound to it.

These prisoners' bodies were scorched red by the flames, and they let out miserable screams.

Beside them stood some gray-clad overseers, holding something like a water jug, occasionally pouring a milky white liquid into the mouths of dying prisoners.

After being fed the white liquid, the dying prisoners would regain some vitality and continue to endure the flames.

Seeing this, Han Li and the others changed expression slightly.

"Heh, kid, since you had the guts to take my whip, I'll explain for you. This is the first level of the nine-layer prison, the Purgatory. Enjoy the view," the gray-clad man said with a sinister grin, glancing at Han Li and the others.

"Chief Steward!" Some nearby overseers saw the gray-clad man and quickly bowed.

The gray-clad man waved them off and led Han Li forward, soon arriving at a downward staircase and quickly descending to the next level.

This level also had a large plaza, but it was filled with black pools emitting a bone-chilling cold.

In the black pools were immersed prisoners, their faces ashen, bodies trembling, also letting out miserable screams.

"This level is the Cold Prison," the gray-clad man said casually, then led them past the plaza to another staircase, descending to the third level.

The third level plaza also had pools, but they were filled not with water but with venomous snakes, scorpions, and the like.

Prisoners were driven into these poisonous insects, enduring the pain of snake and scorpion bites.

Then the fourth, fifth, sixth levels...

The gray-clad man seemed intent on showing Han Li everything, taking them through each level.

On every level, the prisoners endured excruciating pain, some of which Han Li had never heard of or seen.

Hu San, Shi Chuankong, and the others also looked pale after seeing it all.

It took a full half hour for the group to finally reach the ninth level of the prison.

Contrary to their expectations, the ninth level had no furnaces, cold pools, or other torture devices—only rows of cells that appeared quite clean.

However, the baleful aura here was extremely dense, several times that of the upper levels, almost visible to the naked eye, with gray mist drifting everywhere.

Moreover, this baleful aura was different from ordinary baleful qi, carrying a fierce and savage quality. As it churned, faint sounds could be heard, like the wailing of a hundred ghosts at night.

The moment Han Li and the other four stepped onto this level, they felt as if thousands of steel needles pierced their bodies, and their expressions changed.

Seeing their reactions, the gray-clad man sneered a few times and continued walking deeper without stopping.

There were not many cells here, only twenty or thirty, most of them empty, with only a few holding prisoners.

Moreover, on the entire ninth level, not a single guard was visible, and the imprisoned prisoners remained silent, everything shrouded in deathly stillness.

"Get in!" The gray-clad man opened five cages and locked Han Li and the others in separately.

"This is the ninth level, the Inescapable Prison. For the time being, you'll stay here and enjoy yourselves," the gray-clad man said with a few sinister laughs, then quickly turned and left, as if unwilling to stay any longer.

Han Li watched him leave, frowned slightly, and began to carefully survey his surroundings.

The pain from the baleful aura invading his body was bearable.

After a few glances, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he let out a soft exclamation.

The cell itself was nothing special—just an ordinary prison with some basic restrictions.

Han Li and the others could barely walk and couldn't exert much strength, so such a cell was enough to hold them.

The cells were barred cages, allowing easy view of the other prisoners.

The prisoners held here were all extraordinary.

Although Han Li's immortal spiritual power was sealed, his spiritual eyes were still sharp, granting him keen vision.

These people were all of high cultivation, the weakest at the Golden Immortal level, and nearly half were Taiyi stage existences.

Moreover, these prisoners were not only from various Grey Realm races; two of them, like Han Li and his group, were from the True Immortal Realm.

"Brother Li, have you found something?" The cells were connected, and the one next to Han Li held Shi Chuankong, who, hearing Han Li's exclamation, quietly approached and asked softly.

Han Li did not hide anything and told Shi Chuankong what he had seen.

"Brother Li, are we really going to wait here to die? You have many tricks up your sleeve—do you have a way to escape?" Shi Chuankong glanced at the two True Immortal cultivators, then looked away, seemingly unconcerned, and quietly discussed escape plans.

"Our immortal spiritual power is sealed, making us little different from ordinary mortals. This is the deepest level of the prison—how could I have any means to escape?" Han Li said with a bitter smile.

"Heh, thinking of escaping from this prison? How naive." Just then, a cold voice came from nearby.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong's expressions changed slightly, and they turned to look. The voice came from a cell not far away.

In that cell was a gaunt man with disheveled hair, with black scales visible on his exposed arms and ankles, seemingly some kind of Grey Realm alien race.

His face was hidden, but his ears were extremely long, nearly reaching his shoulders, suggesting exceptional hearing.

Han Li looked at the man, his gaze falling on those long ears.

Their divine sense was sealed, preventing telepathic communication. Even though he and Shi Chuankong had lowered their voices to a minimum, it was still overheard.

"Who are you, sir? Why do you say that?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"Do you think this prison is just an ordinary place?" The long-eared man did not answer Han Li's question but let out a harsh laugh and retorted.

Hu San, Mo Guang, and Bai Liyan also looked over upon hearing the voice.

"Isn't this just a prison of the Nine Nether Tribe?" Shi Chuankong asked, puzzled.

"A prison? Haha! Where did you people come from, not even knowing this?" The long-eared man burst into laughter.

"What do you mean?" Shi Chuankong's face darkened as he said coldly.

"A bunch of rookies. Let me tell you: this prison is where the Nine Nether Tribe refines high-grade puppets. Every prisoner locked in here is raw material to be made into puppets." The long-eared man glanced at Shi Chuankong with a mocking sneer.

Shi Chuankong's expression changed upon hearing this.

Han Li frowned slightly but did not look too surprised.

He had seen the puppet refining fortress earlier and had already suspected as much during the descent.

"You saw the conditions on each level on the way down, didn't you? That's the initial physical tempering of the prisoners to prepare them for later refinement. From the moment you were captured and brought into this prison, your fate as slaves of the Nine Nether Tribe was sealed. There's no escape!" The long-eared man suddenly became agitated, shouting hoarsely.

"Slaves..." Shi Chuankong and the others turned pale at his words.

"Yes, slaves. Soon you'll become puppets on strings, controlled and toyed with by the Nine Nether Tribe for eternity." After his outburst, the long-eared man seemed drained of all strength, leaning back against the cell, speaking woodenly.

"Explain clearly—what exactly is going on?" Shi Chuankong's face was ashen as he said coldly.

As the young master of the Guangyuan Pavilion, he was of noble status and had his pride. If he was to become a slave at the mercy of others, he would rather die.

But the long-eared man seemed to have lost interest and refused to answer no matter how Shi Chuankong pressed him.

"You seem quite knowledgeable about the Nine Nether Tribe's puppet arts, friend. I once investigated a puppet refining fortress in the Baizang Region, and the situation there was somewhat similar to the upper levels," Han Li said slowly, looking at the long-eared man.

The long-eared man's eyes moved, glancing at Han Li, but still he did not speak.

"The Nine Nether Tribe's puppet arts are unmatched in the Grey Realm. The puppets refined in the Baizang Region are just crude, strong and agile ones, without ghost soul worms planted inside. Once turned into puppets, their consciousness is essentially lost, which is a kind of release. But for those brought here, it's different. Soon, ghost soul worms will be planted inside you, and you won't even have control over life and death, forever enslaved by the Nine Nether Tribe." An aged voice came from another cell, belonging to an old man with white hair.

He was also a Grey Realm alien, with features similar to Han Li's, but his face was full of gloom and ferocity, exuding a fierce aura.

However, the old man had a long black snake tail trailing behind him, indicating an unknown race.

"Ghost soul worm? What is that?" Han Li looked at the white-haired old man and asked.

Shi Chuankong and the others also turned their gaze toward the old man.