67: Chapter 67 Demon Clan's Divine Powers, [Sky Net] Investigation

The commotion outside the perimeter of the prison did not affect the depths in the slightest.

Chen Ran turned and walked into his small lounge, latching the door behind him.

He did not immediately check the heavenly book of prison suppression, but instead walked over to the water basin, carefully washed his hands, and then sat cross-legged on the hard wooden bed.

His mind sank into his Sea of Consciousness.

The ancient and heavy "heavenly book of prison suppression" was emitting a faint glow. Its pages turned without wind, quickly flipping past the dense records in the front, and stopped at the latest page.

[Prisoner: Black-Faced Demon Spider]

[Sin: Grave (Devoured living people, consumed essence and blood)]

[Status: Deceased (Karma cleared)]

[Participation: High (Feeding, observing, guiding, killing)]

[Obtained Yao Race Talent: Heavenly Web (Elementary)]

Chen Ran's breathing paused imperceptibly for a split second.

"Guessed right!"

As long as the participation is deep enough, not only the Cultivation Technique of Human Race Martial Artists, but even the innate talents of the Yao Race can be forcibly extracted by the heavenly book of prison suppression!

Although this time only a talent was dropped, without any accompanying cultivation base or experience, Chen Ran knew in his heart that the value of this thing far exceeded decades of cultivation base.

"Heavenly Web."

Chen Ran immediately closed his eyes and began to look for traces of this new talent within his body.

He had originally thought it would be like the spider demon, spitting out some substantial sticky spider silk from his mouth or hands. If that were the case, it would be too disgusting.

But soon, he realized he was wrong.

After this talent was converted by the heavenly book of prison suppression and integrated into his Human Race body, a miraculous mutation occurred.

It was not substantial spider silk, but rather closely combined with his Mental Energy, that is, his Divine Soul.

Chen Ran's mind stirred.

His perception no longer could only vaguely cover a few zhang around him as it had before.

Wisps of nearly transparent "threads," condensed from pure Mental Energy, silently spread out from between his eyebrows.

These Mental Energy threads were light and secretive, spreading rapidly in all directions like mercury spilling onto the ground, following wall cracks, the texture of floor tiles, and even the tiny air currents in the air.

They had no physical form, were invisible to the naked eye, and were extremely difficult for an ordinary Martial Artist's Protective Aura to detect.

Chen Ran took a deep breath and began to try to control these threads to expand outward.

"Ten zhang."

"Twenty zhang."

"Fifty zhang."

As the Mental Energy threads extended, the surrounding world "lit up" in his mind in a brand-new way.

He heard it.

No, to be precise, he "sensed" it.

The Mental Energy threads attached to the stone walls, clearly transmitting those extremely subtle vibrations and sounds back to his Sea of Consciousness.

First, in the adjacent corridor, two prison guards in charge of the shift change were whispering.

"Did you hear? Something happened in the Outer City. That batch of Yao Race prisoners taken away by the Demon Suppression Division this morning exploded halfway!"

"Good heavens, exploded? What happened?"

"Who knows! I heard that pieces of flesh were scattered all over the street at the scene, and several officers from the Demon Suppression Division died. The higher-ups are going crazy now, and they are imposing martial law across the city to catch people!"

Chen Ran's mouth curled slightly.

"This news travels fast enough."

He ignored the shock of the two prison guards and continued to extend the Mental Energy threads further away.

In a cell, an old Devil Head whose martial arts had been abolished was gnawing on his fingernails, making a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound.

In the torture room, the dull sound of whips striking flesh and faint screams were intertwined.

Deep in the cells, a certain insane prisoner was hitting his head against the wall again and again, mumbling indistinctly: "All must die... all must die..."

Further out...

The perimeter of the prison.

Patrolling soldiers in heavy armor walked along the bluestone road, their armor plates clashing with a crisp sound.

Further away, he could even hear the faint rustling of a mouse foraging in a pile of debris at the base of the wall.

Chen Ran suddenly opened his eyes and instantly retracted all the Mental Energy threads back into his body.

"Hiss—"

He rubbed his eyebrows, feeling a slight dizziness.

"The [Heavenly Web] ability is truly Heaven-Defying."

It was like weaving an invisible intelligence network around Chen Ran. As long as any disturbance touched these Mental Energy threads, he could detect it immediately.

In this closed, complex, and deadly prison, this ability was simply a tailor-made Divine Artifact.

From now on, anyone who wanted to plot against him, or any old monster in the prison who wanted to play tricks, would not be able to escape his perception.

But the drawbacks were also obvious.

This thing consumed an extreme amount of Mental Energy.

With his current fifth-grade strength, fully spreading out the Heavenly Web could cover a radius of about one hundred zhang at most, and it could not be maintained for too long, otherwise, he would have a splitting headache. The further the distance, the more blurred the information perceived.

However, after carefully comprehending the information transmitted by the heavenly book of prison suppression, Chen Ran discovered a setting that surprised him even more.

This talent could be upgraded.

As long as he was willing to invest his cultivation base, he could continuously strengthen the range and precision of the [Heavenly Web], and even reduce the consumption of Mental Energy.

"Problems that can be solved with cultivation base are not problems."

Chen Ran let out a long breath, his eyes shining.

What he lacked the least right now was cultivation base. As long as he continued to lay low in the prison, he would have gains every day.

This allowed him to see a brand-new path to becoming stronger.

The Yao Race prisoners in the prison were no longer smelly troubles in his eyes, but walking skill packs.

Just as Chen Ran was calculating how to look for new "experience babies" in the future.

The Heavenly Web, which had just been retracted not long ago, suddenly instinctively captured a trace of unusual movement.

Dense footsteps and the sound of wheels rolling over stone slabs came from the outer corridor.

The commotion was not small; not only were there the shouts of prison guards, but it was also accompanied by the heavy sound of chains dragging.

"New prisoners again."

Chen Ran closed his eyes again, carefully separated a wisp of Mental Energy thread, and extended it along the wall cracks toward the entrance of the prison.

The perceived image gradually became clear in his mind.

A large number of Demon Suppression Division Martial Artists and Six Doors constables were escorting several heavy prison carts into the prison.

Walking at the very front was a tall woman wearing the flying fish suit of the Six Doors.

Her face was cold, a saber hung at her waist, and her pace exuded a vigorous and resolute air.

It was Lin Wan.

Chen Ran raised his eyebrows slightly. Since the last prison riot, this woman seemed to have become even more desperate in handling cases, sending people to the prison every few days.

However, Chen Ran's attention quickly shifted away from Lin Wan.

His Mental Energy thread "touched" the heavy prison cart behind Lin Wan, which was made of refined steel and covered with evil-suppressing talismans.

There was a person locked in the prison cart.

No, perhaps that could no longer be considered a complete person.

His hands and feet were locked by iron chains as thick as a child's arm, and iron rings pierced through his shoulder blades. His hair was disheveled, and the prison uniform on his body had been dyed black-brown by dried blood.

Just as Chen Ran's Mental Energy thread approached the prison cart.

The heavy criminal, who had been hanging his head, suddenly stopped struggling.

His face, covered by messy hair, lifted slightly, facing the direction of the depths of the prison.

He let out a weird and hoarse low laugh.

"Hehe..."

This sound, following the perception of the Heavenly Web, clearly reached Chen Ran's Sea of Consciousness.

That person seemed to have long sensed that there was a pair of eyes watching him from the depths of the prison.

Chen Ran suddenly opened his eyes in the lounge, his gaze slightly condensed.

"This newcomer... is a tough nut to crack."