44: Chapter 44 Absolute certainty, the Demon Suppression Division's transfer order!

The night was deep, like a massive black curtain, tightly shrouding the entire capital.

Chen Ran sat cross-legged on the somewhat hard wooden bed in the breakroom.

A dim oil lamp flickered in the corner, stretching his shadow long.

The [heavenly book of prison suppression] slowly opened in his mind, with a faint golden light flowing across its ancient pages.

[Participated in the daily patrol of high-risk prisoners in the Cell Block D and suppressed the prison's Evil Qi, gaining one year of cultivation.]

As this line of text appeared, an extremely pure heat flow emerged out of thin air within his limbs and bones.

This heat flow was larger than any previous time, surging down through his Meridians like a burst river, emitting low rumbles, and finally flowing into his Dantian like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

Chen Ran opened his eyes abruptly, a daunting brilliance flashing through his deep gaze.

He opened his mouth and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The stale air did not disperse in the air, instead transforming into a white arrow of Qi that shot out over three feet before gradually dissipating.

"Ninety-nine years of cultivation."

Chen Ran murmured softly, feeling the terrifying power within his body that was almost overflowing.

He was only one step away from the century milestone.

He could clearly feel that the True Qi within him had reached an incredibly dense level.

If his previous True Qi was a small stream, it was now a surging river.

With a slight circulation, the True Qi made thunderous sounds within his Meridians.

"After cultivating in this prison for so long, I finally have some capital for self-preservation."

A faint smile curved at the corners of Chen Ran's mouth.

He stood up, leisurely tidied his jailer uniform, and straightened the saber at his waist.

The corridor was quiet; occasionally, painful deliriums of prisoners or the harsh scraping sound of chains dragging on the floor drifted from the cells on both sides.

Chen Ran walked along, his gaze sweeping calmly over the prisoners in their sleep.

Until he reached the very end of the corridor.

The deepest cell in the Cell Block D.

The Evil Qi here was several times denser than outside, and even the air seemed to have become viscous.

Jiang Mengli still maintained that lazy posture, leaning against the cold, damp corner.

Her eyes were slightly closed, her breathing steady and long, and her chest rose and fell slightly with each breath, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

That devastatingly beautiful Face still radiated a heart-stopping allure under the dim light.

Chen Ran stopped, holding the lantern, his gaze falling calmly upon her.

On the surface, this Saintess of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult showed no abnormalities.

But within Chen Ran's perception.

The Qi within her body was slowly circulating in a peculiar rhythm, bit by bit eroding the Seal set by the Demon Suppression Division.

"This witch is indeed not that honest, actually secretly recovering her strength."

Chen Ran raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly returned to calm.

The Seal of the Demon Suppression Division was no trivial matter; for an ordinary Martial Artist, let alone recovering strength, even mobilizing a sliver of True Qi would be impossible.

But Jiang Mengli was worthy of being the Saintess of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult, to actually find a way to exploit such a loophole.

Chen Ran stood outside the cell, watching silently for a while.

He did not speak to interrupt, nor did he turn around to report it to his superiors.

If it were a few months ago, had he discovered such a thing, he would likely have broken out in a cold sweat and reported it to the captain without hesitation.

After all, a demonic Saintess who could break the Seal at any time was a ticking time bomb for low-level jailers like them.

But now...

Chen Ran felt the ninety-nine years of profound cultivation within him, his heart remaining completely calm.

Even if Jiang Mengli broke the Seal right now and returned to her prime, he had absolute certainty that he could suppress her again.

The overt identities of the two were still worlds apart.

One was a demonic Saintess who once dominated the world and made countless people in the Jianghu tremble with fear, now a prisoner.

The other was a lowly jailer who could only waste his days in the prison.

But the true comparison of strength had long since quietly undergone a heaven-turning reversal during this day-after-day cultivation.

"Keep cultivating slowly; I hope that when you finally escape, you can bring me an even bigger surprise."

Chen Ran thought to himself.

I just wonder, if a prisoner who escapes from the prison is caught by me again, what kind of reward would that count as?

He carried the lantern and turned to leave without hesitation, his footsteps gradually fading away.

Inside the cell, at the very moment Chen Ran turned around, Jiang Mengli's long eyelashes trembled slightly.

...

At dusk.

A dozen or so jailers who had just finished their shifts were temporarily assembled here.

They stood in two rows, the formation loose and sloppy, many with Faces showing fatigue and confusion, whispering to each other.

"It's late at night; why are they calling us here instead of letting us go back to rest?"

"Who knows? Probably just some new rules from above."

"Sigh, when will these days ever end..."

Just as everyone was whispering, a steady, powerful sound of footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

Li Changfeng walked in front of the crowd, scanned them, and gave a heavy cough.

The scene immediately quieted down, and the jailers straightened their backs, putting away the slackness on their Faces.

"I've called everyone here today because there is an important matter to announce."

Li Changfeng's loud voice echoed in the empty courtyard.

"A transfer order has just been sent down from the Demon Suppression Division." He paused, his gaze sweeping over every Face.

"Recently, because of frequent demonic disturbances in various places, plus the incident at the execution ground a while ago, the Demon Suppression Division is severely short-handed. The higher-ups have decided to transfer a few people from our prison to help supplement the internal affairs team."

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously quiet crowd was like a bomb being thrown into it, instantly erupting into chaos.

"What?! Go to the Demon Suppression Division?!"

"Are you kidding me! That's a life-threatening job!"

"I'm not going, even if you kill me! Pockmarked Wang, who was transferred last month, I heard that when he was helping the Demon Suppression Division deal with a prisoner the day before yesterday, they couldn't even find his whole body."

"Exactly, with our meager cultivation, wouldn't going to the Demon Suppression Division just be serving ourselves up as food for those demons?"

The jailers discussed heatedly, everyone's Face full of resistance and fear, and some even subconsciously took two steps back.

The treatment at the Demon Suppression Division was indeed good; the salary was several times that of a prison jailer, and the status was high—even people from the Six Doors had to give some Face when walking on the street.

But that was exchanged with one's life!

Every day, one had to deal with those cruel and bloodthirsty demons and evil spirits, and vicious Jianghu outlaws; a slight carelessness meant being decapitated or dying without a complete corpse.

Working as a jailer in the prison, although the environment was oppressive and the Evil Qi was grueling, as long as one was careful and didn't provoke those high-risk prisoners, one could at least safely keep one's life.

If your strength isn't enough, going to the Demon Suppression Division is purely going to your death.

Li Changfeng watched everyone's reaction, his brows tightly knitted together.

He sighed in his heart.

How could he not know that this job was not easy to do?

These jailers were all brought up by him; he knew exactly how much they were worth.

Sending them to the Demon Suppression Division was indeed no different from sending them to their deaths.

"Quiet, all of you!"

Li Changfeng abruptly drew half of his waist saber, emitting a crisp ringing sound.

The crowd quieted down again, but the fear in everyone's eyes intensified.

"I know what you are thinking." Li Changfeng took a deep breath, his tone softening slightly.

"But this is a transfer order from above; no one can defy it. Going to the Demon Suppression Division is also an opportunity to rise in the world."

"As long as you can achieve merit, the rewarded Cultivation Technique and Medicinal Pill are things you would never get in a lifetime of working in the prison."

He looked at everyone with eager eyes.

"Is there anyone who wants to sign up voluntarily? For those who go voluntarily, I will personally sponsor them ten taels of silver as a relocation fee!"

The jailers lowered their heads, looking at their toes, fearing they would meet Li Changfeng's gaze and be forcibly named.

Li Changfeng waited for a long while, and seeing no one respond, his expression gradually darkened.

He sighed, knowing it was impossible to count on these people to volunteer.

Just as he was preparing to harden his heart and directly open the roll to forcibly designate a few unlucky ones.

A faint voice suddenly came from the back of the crowd, breaking the suffocating silence.

"I'll participate."

Everyone turned to look in unison.

They saw a handsome, tall man walk out from the crowd.