225: Chapter 225 Underground Ice Cellar, Spirit-Binding Chains (1)

The entrance to the Ice Cellar beneath the Lords Mansion is located behind the partition wall of the kitchen cellar.

After dragging Scarface into the back door of the Lords Mansion, Leng Feng did not go upstairs—he turned directly toward the kitchen.

A three-foot-square old iron plate on the stone floor of the kitchen stove had been pried open, revealing a stone staircase extending diagonally downward beneath it.

Tiny beads of water seeped from the walls on both sides of the stone stairs—under the light of the cold-light stones, the water droplets shimmered with the same dark cyan hue as the Ice Cellar.

After descending about twenty steps, the temperature dropped from the humid heat of the surface to a level that made one involuntarily tense their back.

Scarface's left arm and right hand were dripping blood—the blood flowed down the stone steps, and after less than five steps, it was congealed by the cold air into a thin, dark red film of ice.

Leng Feng walked in the lead—his left hand gripping Scarface's belt, his right hand holding his unsheathed longsword.

Behind him, the six personal guards had all drawn their blades—the backs of the blades pressed against their forearms, with the edges facing outward.

The cold air in the Ice Cellar pushed the white mist exhaled by everyone up toward the top of the stone stairs—the mist lingered for less than half a breath under the cold-light stone lamps before dissipating.

At the end of the stone stairs was a door built of ice, about three feet thick.

The door was old—the ice surface was no longer transparent, having been frozen for at least several months.

There was an iron bolt on the door—Leng Feng kicked it open.

The ice door was pushed inward—the sound from the door hinge was extremely deep and muffled—the ice door was too heavy, and the hinge had been frozen for at least several months, so there was no sharp screech of rust friction when it turned, only a dull, heavy thud.

Behind the door was an underground Ice Cellar about three zhang square.

The four walls were made entirely of ice—six very dim cold-light stones were embedded in the ice layer.

The light from the cold-light stones could not penetrate the ice layer—it could only seep out from deep within the ice as a very faint dark cyan color.

The brightness of the entire Ice Cellar was only half that of the kitchen outside.

The ground was covered with straw—the straw had been frozen brittle by the icy air, and the sound of stepping on it was like stepping on withered leaves.

In the very center of the Ice Cellar—there was a thick iron stake driven from the ground into the ice layer.

Two coils of spirit-sealing chain were already hanging on the iron stake—the chains were deep black, and tiny, reverse Array Patterns were carved into the inside of each chain link.

The function of the spirit-sealing chain was to extract Spiritual Power—once the chain wrapped around a Cultivator, the Spiritual Power in their Dantian would be continuously drawn out by the reverse Array Patterns—the extracted Spiritual Power would be directed straight into the iron stake and then driven into the Spiritual Vein from the bottom of the stake.

The longer it was wrapped, the more severely the Spiritual Power would be extracted.

Blue Moon Island did not have a dungeon—this Ice Cellar was an old meat storage room.

Leng Feng had installed the iron stake and the spirit-sealing chain three months ago—at the time, Lu Changyuan had taken a look and said only two words: "Sufficient."

Leng Feng threw Scarface onto the pile of straw.

Scarface's back hit the frozen-hard straw—the frozen straw offered no cushioning, and his spine struck the ice surface directly beneath the straw.

After his left arm was pierced, his forearm was completely out of control—his palm was turned outward at an unnatural angle, and the skin below his wrist had already turned deep purple.

After the tendons in his right hand were injured, his entire palm was splayed open—spread exactly like the Black-Armored Commander's when he knelt on the sandy ground.

He twisted his neck to the side—spitting out the blood and bits of straw from his mouth.

Then he stared at Leng Feng—saying nothing.

Leng Feng squatted down—using his left hand to grip Scarface's chin.

Scarface tried to twist away—but with Leng Feng's finger joints bolstered by his Late Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Pressure, the grip between his two fingers could crush the jawbone of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He pushed Scarface's chin to the left—pushing it back into place.

Then, with the heel of his right palm, he struck Scarface's right temple—a very short, heavy blow—the spot struck was the attachment point of the masseter muscle, the most vulnerable part of the jaw joint.

A very muffled sound of bone dislocation—the jaw joint was unhinged from its socket.

Scarface's mouth hung open—he could not close it.

His tongue was still moving—but he could not form complete words.

Leng Feng drew a waterskin from his waist—and poured a little water into his mouth.

The water trickled out from the corner of his mouth—dripping onto the wound on his left arm, melting the dried blood film.

Leng Feng watched for a breath—confirming that Scarface had not hidden poison under his tongue or inside his gum line.

He handed the waterskin back to the personal guard behind him—then stood up—and forced Scarface's mouth shut.

When the jaw was realigned—Scarface's body shuddered all the way up from the base of his spine.

Joint reduction was much more painful than dislocation.

He made no sound—but the whites of his eyes rolled up for an instant.

"Dislocate his jaw—check if he has hidden any poison." Leng Feng wiped the blood from his hand onto the side of his trouser leg.

"He hasn't. Put the chain on him."

Two personal guards squatted down—and uncoiled the spirit-sealing chain from the iron stake.

When the chain touched their palms—the fluctuations of Spiritual Power in the two personal guards' hands were drawn away by the reverse Array Patterns by about two parts—the fingers holding the chain trembled slightly.

The chain was wrapped twice around Scarface's waist—then it branched out from his waist—one part going up to lock his collarbone, and one part going down to wrap around his left thigh.

The collarbone and the thigh—two points where Spiritual Veins intersected.

Wrapping the wrong spot would drain him on the spot—wrapping the right spot could precisely control the speed of Spiritual Power extraction.

Leng Feng's Late Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense swept over Scarface for two breaths—he pointed to two locations with his finger.

The two personal guards wrapped the chain three times around each of the two spots—then locked it tight.

The instant the spirit-sealing chain began to operate—a very low, muffled vibration came from Scarface's Dantian.

The reverse Array Patterns on the inside of the chain links lit up simultaneously—the light collapsed inward, opposite to the direction of emitted spiritual light.

Dark cyan spiritual light seeped from the chain links into Scarface's body—once inside, it began to draw the Spiritual Power out of his Dantian.

As the first wisp of Spiritual Power was extracted—a visible shudder passed through Scarface's body from his abdomen to his limbs.

The pain of having Spiritual Power extracted was different from physical pain—it was a pulling ache that dragged outward from the Dantian.

Scarface kept his mouth shut—his teeth biting down on the realigned jaw joint—a trace of blood seeped from between his teeth.

Leng Feng pulled the key for the iron stake of the spirit-sealing chain from the top of the stake—and handed it to Lu Changyuan.

Lu Changyuan stood at the entrance of the Ice Cellar—he did not step inside.

His cuffs were still stained with the charcoal powder he had picked up from the chart table during the day.

He glanced at the spirit-sealing chain on the iron stake—the Array Patterns on the inside of the chain links were drawing out the fourth wisp of Spiritual Power.

The Spiritual Power reserves in Scarface's Dantian—estimated based on the average capacity of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator—were enough to be extracted for about one hour.

After one hour, the Spiritual Power would be drained—the Dantian would seal itself and enter a state of suspended animation.

He would not faint—but every muscle in his entire body would feel like it was filled with lead.

For interrogation—it was enough.

"How much longer does Su Qingli need for the formation?"

"Two hours. The Confusion Formation has to be dismantled from the Formation Affairs Room—moving a Tier 3 formation once will wear away about thirty percent of the base Array Patterns."

"She has to trace the patterns again—and the formation Materials must be prepared again as well. The old ones were taken from the Guhe shed—they aren't enough."

Leng Feng hung his sword back on the sword hanger at his waist. "Two hours—it will be just right for him to have his Spiritual Power drained to the bottom."

Lu Changyuan nodded. Then he turned and walked upward. When he stepped onto the third stone step—Scarface spoke up in the Ice Cellar.

"Are you—not planning to negotiate terms with me?"

The voice was squeezed out from his realigned jaw—every word was bitten out with great force, the intensity pushing the jaw joint back out by about half a degree.

Leng Feng looked back at him—but did not respond.

Scarface continued. His voice bounced briefly between the stone walls of the Ice Cellar—and was then swallowed by the light of the cold-light stones in the ice layer.

"I have a buyer. If the buyer wants you dead—you will die."

"Let me go—I will go and tell them I am not taking this job. I can even give you all the information on the buyer—as long as you let me leave."

"I will not go ashore—I will go straight into the water from the Pier—you will never see me again. The people who came with me earlier are all dead—no one knows I am here."