188: Chapter 188 The Imperial Observatory, Soul Stealing

By the time Chen Ran returned to the prison, it was already fully bright outside.

The sun hung high in the sky, casting its light downwards, dividing the prison into distinct areas of light and shadow.

Chen Ran stood in the sunlight, looking at the vast area of shadow deep within.

The prison, usually cold and deathly silent, seemed somewhat noisy at this moment.

The air was filled with a faint burnt smell, mixed with a thick scent of blood.

The earthquake last night had not only destroyed the Outer City but had also affected this prison, which was reputed to be impregnable.

Many of the Seal Formation patterns on the prison cells had loosened.

Some unlucky prisoners had even been crushed into pulp by the collapsing stones.

Jailers were busy clearing rubble and moving corpses.

Several mangled corpses were casually tossed onto carts; blood dripped from the cart boards onto the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.

"Move faster, don't dawdle!"

A captain shouted at the Jailers under his command.

"Take these corpses to the Mass Grave to be disposed of; don't leave them here to be an eyesore!"

Chen Ran, expressionless, avoided the bloodstains on the ground and continued walking inside.

The deeper he went, the more obvious the signs of damage to the Formation patterns became.

The runes on the walls, which usually glowed with a faint light, were mostly dimmed now.

In some places, huge cracks had even appeared, with wisps of black Evil Qi seeping out, causing the surrounding temperature to drop by more than ten degrees.

Not far away, several people wearing strange robes were standing in the middle of the corridor.

They wore wide hoods that completely obscured their faces.

Their robes were embroidered with intricate star patterns in gold thread, exuding a mysterious and unfathomable aura.

"People from the Directorate of Astronomy."

Chen Ran stopped and leaned against the wall, observing these unexpected guests.

This attire reminded him of the superstitious priests from his previous life.

In Great Wei, the status of the Directorate of Astronomy was extremely transcendental.

They did not cultivate the Dao of martial arts, specializing instead in Formations and astrology.

The suppression Formation patterns in the prison were all crafted by them.

It was said that the Director of the Directorate of Astronomy was one of the Great Wei Emperor's most trusted confidants, with a status even higher than that of the Governor of the Demon Suppression Division.

Chen Ran watched as they held compasses and muttered incantations.

The leading Formation Master took a crystal emitting a dazzling white light from his sleeve.

He pointed his fingers like a sword, quickly sketching several profound trajectories in the air.

The white light followed his fingertips and sank into the cracks in the wall.

Immediately after, he slammed the crystal into a groove in the wall.

"Hum."

A low humming sound rang out.

The previously dimmed Formation patterns lit up again, the light rapidly spreading along the walls, forcing back all the seeping black Evil Qi.

An invisible pressure once again enveloped the entire cell block.

All the prisoners standing in the area let out painful groans, curling up in corners and shivering.

"Formation Master…"

Chen Ran rubbed his chin.

He had heard that the path of Formations was completely different from the Dao of martial arts.

Martial arts valued innate talent and Comprehension Ability, focusing on polishing the Physical Body and condensing True Qi.

While Formations required a special talent called "Spiritual Perception."

Without Spiritual Perception, even if your martial arts were heaven-defying, you wouldn't be able to understand those ghost-like Formation patterns.

People with Spiritual Perception were one in ten thousand.

This was also the reason why the Directorate of Astronomy's status was so transcendental.

And because those Formation Masters were few in number, they usually hid their faces to prevent retaliation.

"I wonder if I have this thing."

Chen Ran muttered to himself.

If he could learn some Formations, he wouldn't be completely clueless when encountering enemies who understood them in the future.

But he was just thinking about it.

The Formation Masters of the Directorate of Astronomy did not have the miraculous effects seen in cultivation novels.

Based on the Formations he had seen so far.

These Formations at most blocked the circulation of True Qi and shielded the five senses.

Even Formations primarily for killing were rare.

With the heavenly book of prison suppression in hand, he just needed to safely and steadily stay in the prison to reap rewards.

There was no need to join in the excitement.

If a Formation Master was ever imprisoned in the future, he could just see if he could pilfer a Cultivation Technique from them.

Half an hour later.

The people from the Directorate of Astronomy finished repairing the Formation patterns on this level and left the prison without a word.

The crowd made way, watching these mysterious Formation Masters disappear from view.

Chen Ran withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the depths of Cell Block D.

He had more important things to do now.

He hadn't had a chance to test the power of the Soul-Reaping Blood Evil Blade he had just obtained last night.

This blade technique specialized in severing the Divine Soul and was eerie and unpredictable.

Chen Ran patrolled the prison a few times; passing Jailers all looked up to greet him, not daring to say much.

To test this Cultivation Technique, he must slaughter living beings to achieve his goal.

It was precisely because of this brutal method that this Cultivation Technique had become a conscience-less Demonic Cult technique.

But for Chen Ran, finding a prisoner with heavy sins in the prison was simply too easy.

He scanned the first few levels of the prison, and soon a prisoner who met the criteria appeared in his sight.

[Prisoner: Liang Tao]

[Realm: Meridian Opening Realm Peak]

[Sins: Heavy]

[Experience...]

Chen Ran looked at the panel before him and quickly scanned his life story.

This person was a lecherous thief who had committed rape and murder; he had once ambushed beautiful women under the cover of night and had over a dozen lives on his hands.

It had caused quite a stir in the capital at the time, and it wasn't until a few months ago that he was arrested by Six Doors and imprisoned among the death row inmates in the prison.

"You're the one."

Chen Ran changed direction, his figure gradually moving away.

Click, clack.

His shoes made contact with the ground; the sound approached from afar and finally stopped on the spot.

Inside the cell, a large man wearing prison clothes and covered in filth, even though bound by iron chains, could not hide his fierce aura.

Hearing the footsteps, the man raised his head, a trace of ferocity flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He looked up and saw, under the dim candlelight, a handsome face illuminated by the flickering light.

It was an extremely young and handsome man, wearing a black robe and holding a scroll in his hand:

"Liang Tao, right?"

"Tch, so what if it's me!"

He didn't know Chen Ran.

He just assumed he was some new Jailer.

"Yo, newbie, do you know the rules?"

Liang Tao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, his tone arrogant.

"I'm in a bad mood today, hurry up and get some wine and meat. If you serve me well, I'll teach you a few tricks of the bedroom arts…"

As he spoke, he stood up, walked to the iron bars, and shook them vigorously.

"What are you looking at? Never seen someone as imposing as me?"

"When I was out living it up, you were still wearing open-crotch pants!"

"The Young Miss from the Li family in the east of the city, that figure, tsk tsk…"

"And the new bride of Shopkeeper Wang in the south of the city, she was so tender…"

The man unscrupulously boasted about his "great achievements," trying to provoke the young Jailer in front of him who looked somewhat dull.

Chen Ran ignored his filthy language and looked at the man in the cell expressionlessly.

His right hand slowly gripped the hilt of his blade.

"What, still want to make a move?"

Seeing this, the man was not afraid, but instead laughed wildly.

"Come on, chop at me! If you can't chop me to death today, you're my grandson!"

He was certain that this little Jailer wouldn't dare to kill anyone privately in the prison.

The prison rules were strict; killing a prisoner without cause was a capital offense.

Moreover, as a Meridian Opening Realm expert, although his cultivation was sealed, his physical foundation remained, and ordinary Jailers couldn't hurt him at all.

Liang Tao laughed heartily, but suddenly a chuckle reached his ears, a sound that seemed to be mocking him.

"Zheng—"

The next moment, a crisp blade hum rang out.

A dark red blade gleam cut through the dimness.

The man's laughter came to an abrupt end.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Chen Ran.

A thin line of blood extended from his forehead all the way to his chin.

"Thump."

The man's body fell straight down, splitting into two halves.

Blood gushed out, staining the ground red.

He didn't even have time to scream.

Chen Ran sheathed his blade, and the panel before him surged, transmitting a piece of information.

[You used Soul-Reaping Blood Evil Blade to kill a death row inmate in Yi Ward; participation settled]

[Reward obtained: Three months of cultivation]

[Blood Evil Blade devours the Divine Soul; your Soul Power has been improved]

A cool stream of air surged into his mind.

Chen Ran felt his Mental Energy grow slightly stronger.

The perception that was somewhat blurry in his mind now became clearer.

He could even feel the Evil Qi drifting in the surrounding air, trying to drill into his body through his pores, thread by thread.

"This Soul-Reaping Blood Evil Blade is indeed domineering."

It could not only sever the Physical Body but also directly snatch the Divine Soul.

If used with full force...

Chen Ran glanced at the corpse on the ground and turned to leave.

"I wonder how many more death row inmates in this prison are enough for me to chop."