At the peak of Kunlun Mountain, purple mist billowed for thirty thousand miles. The morning bell of Yuxu Palace pierced through the sea of clouds, startling the cranes into flight across the nine heavens.
Beneath the ten-thousand-foot abyss of ice, however, the Ice Prison remained in eternal silence.
The walls of black ice radiated a ghostly blue, distorting the impatient faces of two Yuxu disciples. The green lanterns in their hands flickered, casting spectral shadows against the stone corridor.
"Bad luck! Master is preaching today, and every immortal of the Three Realms is gathered, yet we’re stuck on duty in this godforsaken place!" The younger disciple kicked a fragment of ice across the floor.
The older disciple quickly hushed him, "Watch your tongue! The one imprisoned here is—"
"What is there to fear?" the younger disciple sneered. "He’s nothing but a beast in human skin. With his shoulder blades pierced by the Nine Nether Ice Chains, what trouble could he possibly stir up?"
Their voices echoed through the ice cave, unaware that every word landed like a sharp ice pick upon the curled figure in the deepest corner of the prison.
Shen Gongbao slowly opened his eyes.
He surveyed his surroundings. The black ice chains pierced his shoulder blades, and the congealed blood had formed scarlet crystals, glowing with an eerie light in the gloom. He looked down at his leopard claws, the mottled fur matted with wounds.
Memories rushed in like a tide.
He knew where he was. This was the Ice Prison! It was the forbidden place where Yuxu Palace punished the most heinous demons. And as a practitioner of Yuxu Palace—a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun himself—he had once been imprisoned here.
So… he had been reborn?
Sharp pain and the metallic scent of blood stimulated his nerves. Shen Gongbao’s eyes cleared in an instant, and a mocking curve tugged at the corner of his lips.
Having died once already, what was there left to fear?
In his previous life, under his father’s guidance, he had learned the arts of inhaling the sun and moon. In a mere few decades, he had achieved humanoid form and became a renowned prodigy among the demon race. On a snowy morning, he had climbed the summit of Kunlun Mountain and knelt before Yuxu Palace, refusing to leave until he was accepted.
Before long, he became an envied disciple of Yuxu Palace. Relying on his natural talent and tireless effort, he became the closest peer to the Twelve Golden Immortals.
Yet, despite his extraordinary talent and dedication, in the eyes of Yuanshi Tianzun, he never compared to the other disciples. His achievements earned no praise or affirmation from his peers; on the contrary, the more brilliant he became, the more they despised him. To win the genuine approval of his Master and fellow disciples, he had spent his entire life working himself to the bone, only to end up being cast into the North Sea eye.
The events of his past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. The scorching rage in his eyes gradually faded, eventually replaced by a deathly stillness.
In his previous life, he had given his all. In this life, he chose to stop fighting.
So what if I am a demon practitioner?
Do whatever you like!
[Ding!]
[Host’s Dao Heart detected as clear and enlightened.]
[Primordial World Lay-Flat System activated.]
An ice-blue screen unfolded before Shen Gongbao:
Host: Shen Gongbao
Cultivation: Early Mysterious Immortal
Technique: Yuqing True Formula (Fragment)
Arts: Puppet Art, Yin Thunder Spell
Magic Treasure: Thunder Lord Whip
Mission: None currently assigned
Shen Gongbao narrowed his eyes. Had the Way of Heaven finally favored him? But what exactly was this "Primordial World Lay-Flat System"?
Before he could ponder further, familiar footsteps echoed from the distance. He looked up to see a face that always wore a mask of compassion, looking down at him with feigned pity.
"Junior Brother Shen, do you realize your mistake?"
The man had hair white as snow, styled in a high bun secured by a green jade immortal pin, with patterns of auspicious clouds faintly visible within the strands. His two long, white eyebrows hung down like weeping willows, the tips shimmering with golden light. He was the very picture of an immortal sage.
This was his Senior Brother, Wuliang Xianweng.
Shen Gongbao studied the man’s face closely. Since Shen Gongbao had entered Yuxu Palace, although he was nominally a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, the Master had never taught him a single thing. All of Shen Gongbao’s techniques had been taught by this very Senior Brother. In a sense, Wuliang Xianweng was the person closest to him in Yuxu Palace.
But as he recalled everything Wuliang Xianweng had done to him in his previous life, the warmth in Shen Gongbao’s gaze vanished.
Seeing the dullness in Shen Gongbao’s eyes, Wuliang Xianweng frowned.
"Junior Brother Shen, you went too far this time. You know Junior Brother Jiang’s cultivation level; how could he possibly endure such a heavy strike from you?"
"If Master hadn't intervened in time, his cultivation might have been permanently damaged."
"Fortunately, Junior Brother Jiang is kind-hearted and does not blame you. As long as you sincerely admit your fault, the other brothers and I will plead with Master to release you from the Ice Prison early."
Shen Gongbao sneered inwardly. In the previous duel, he had indeed injured Jiang Ziya by accident, but it was a crucial match deciding who would hold the God-Conferring Board—how could he not treat it with the utmost gravity? Besides, Jiang Ziya had been the one to use the Yuqing Divine Thunder across cultivation levels; if he hadn't fought with all his might, how could he have protected himself?
If you truly didn't want Jiang Ziya to be hurt, you could have just told him to forfeit early. Before that moment, I gave you plenty of time to intervene or for him to yield. But not one of you moved. You only chose to label me a traitor for harming a fellow disciple the moment Jiang Ziya’s Yuqing Divine Thunder was about to strike me and I was forced to defend myself.
Where were you before that?
But in this life, Shen Gongbao had no intention of arguing with Wuliang Xianweng again.
In his previous life, because he refused to admit guilt, he had been locked in the Ice Prison for a full year. For over a year, he endured the constant torment of the Nine Nether Ice Chains and the Soul-Eroding Gale. When he finally emerged, his cultivation had dropped to the True Immortal Realm, and even then, he hadn't escaped the accusation of harming his fellow disciples.
Since his admission—or lack thereof—wouldn't stop them from pinning that crime on him, what was the point in resisting?
Shen Gongbao looked calmly at Wuliang Xianweng and said, "I know I was wrong."
"You know you were wrong?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Wuliang Xianweng’s face. He knew better than anyone how stubborn Shen Gongbao was. He had expected to spend a great deal of effort persuading him, not thinking that Shen Gongbao would admit his fault so quickly.
"Yes."
Shen Gongbao nodded again, his voice as calm as the unmelted snow atop Kunlun Mountain.
"That is good. Since you have sincerely admitted your mistake, I shall go and report it to Master now and plead for him to show leniency and let you leave the Ice Prison!"
Watching Shen Gongbao’s reaction, which was so different from the past, Wuliang Xianweng frowned almost imperceptibly. Was this a genuine change of heart, or was he merely trying to deceive him?
He hesitated, but ultimately, Wuliang Xianweng chose not to ask.
As soon as Wuliang Xianweng disappeared from his sight, Shen Gongbao could wait no longer, turning his full attention to the ice-blue screen before him.