Chapter 35: The Princess Has Breached Containment!
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Yan Xiaolong's eyes snapped open. His vision was blurry, but he could still see the boundless and barren world around him.

 

The earth was dead, containing soil so dry that it had the same texture as sand. The sky was dark and hazy, filled with grey clouds and a bloody sun. No signs of life could be detected from this world, yet, the smell of burnt flesh and boiled blood infested his nostrils and lungs. 

 

Many sword-shaped tombstones were impaled into the ground, each with unique markings and letters. Ancient names were inscribed on there, but strangely, the guidebook did not translate these letters. In the distance, a large hill towered above all else, with a stone sword that stood quietly at the summit. A pocketwatch hanged from the sword’s guard; its original color was gold, but under the beams of the bloody sun, it appeared copper. 

 

The only colors of this world was black, grey, and red. It was similar to the Ancient Flame Hell Dungeon that he visited in his dream world, but clearly, this world was much, much grimmer. 

 

"Awake, are you?"

 

Threads of black silk-like string rose from the ground and formed into the humanoid shape of a woman. A white mask appeared on her head and the mouth of the mask moved. "You have returned the pocketwatch, but you are not allowed in here. You should know that." 

 

Her voice was stoic and stiff, like her mask; it was the expression of someone who was threatening while not being angry. 

 

"Please excuse my intrusion, Senior. I am really only here to return that pocketwatch and nothing else!" Yan Xiaolong tired to bow, but realized that his entire body was tied together by the very same strings as the masked entity's. 

 

"Only one person is allowed in here and that is the Lord of Yama Castle. Anyone else would be an intruder. And all intruders..." The masked entity squeezed her hand into a fist and the strings around Yan Xiaolong tightened. "... Must die!" 

 

The defensive talismans were breaking off one after another. It did not take long before the strings pierced his skin and squished his organs together. "What the hell did I get myself into!? I'm actually going to die... like this!?" 

 

Then, the strings loosen and his body dropped to the ground. The masked entity floated and spun around him. "But as a son of the Yan Clan, and the person who delivered the Key of Eons, I'll make an exception by giving you that small punishment. I have no clue why Lord Yan would send an envoy, but since he sent you, you must be the heir to the lordship. After all, only the most exceptional child of a generation is allowed to know anything about this place." 

 

The mask was no longer stoic, but rather, gleeful. However, the smile was overly large and wide, giving it a more sinister, creepy expression. "I wonder why Lord Yan chose someone like you as his heir. Although the previous heir was naughty and arrogant, at least he was strong and talented. Even if his crime of stealing the Key of Eons is worthy of death, I don't see why they chose someone like you so soon. Well, you are still young and possess a pretty decent mixture of exalted bloodlines. Too bad it’s not pure.”  

 

Yan Xiaolong kept his bow and tried to not let out a groan of pain. Although he was unsure of what the masked entity was saying, he knew that he had to play it cool, or else, he would surely be killed. 

 

"Heir to the Lord of Yama Castle? This place is called Yama Castle? If the previous heir of Yama Castle stole the pocketwatch, does that mean Uncle is the heir? No, that shouldn't be true. He's from the Tie Clan. The greatest Chosen of the Tie Clan. I even read up on the sect documents that detailed his life. What is going on-" 

 

Whoosh! 

 

"Well? What's your problem!? Take something out!" The strings slashed his back and gave him hundreds of thin gashes. 

 

"Ah!" Yan Xiaolong let out a surprised exhale. "W-What!?" 

 

"Huh? You didn't hear me or something? I said to take something out as offering." A opened palm of black strings reached out. "It has been a while since anyone delivered subsistence. Go on. Take out some offerings. If it satisfy Her Imperial Highness and I, then you can go. Otherwise..." 

 

The strings weaved into hundreds of long needles that pointed their tips at his head. 

 

"Subsistence? This devil is asking me for food?" He peeked up and saw the masked entity impatiently tapping her foot midair. 

 

The gears in Yan Xiaolong's head started to turn. Then, an idea came to his mind, courtesy of the guidebook. He brought out the cezve and coffee powder. 

 

......

 

"What is this? This is not the usual." The masked entity stared at the two small cups of coffee placed atop the palm. Her stoic expression returned. Although, the brow region of her mask were slightly furrowed with curiosity. 

 

"This is a new product that is very popular in the Yan Clan at the moment. Although this is not the usual offering, this humble one assure you that this is very tasty and worthy of your grace and appetite, Senior." Yan Xiaolong said. He lied as naturally as he breathe, and the masked entity did not suspect anything. 

 

"Well, this certainly is novel." The masked entity picked up a cup of coffee. She titled her head and drank the coffee. Although the masked entity's body was entirely composed of strings, the coffee did not spill out. Rather, it was somehow devoured through the mask. The gleeful expression returned.

 

"Oh? Very delicious!" The masked entity quickly took the other cup and disappeared. 

 

Yan Xiaolong continued to bow there. The better his act of subservience, the more likely he would survive. Since the masked entity was giving face to the Yan Clan, he just needed to play along. Of course, while he had the Yan Clan’s bloodline, he had never encountered a single member of the Yan Clan before. A seed of curiosity was implanted in his heart, but he forcefully quelled it under the current circumstances. 

 

After a few minutes, the masked entity returned. "Your offering is strange, but has pleased Her Imperial Highness and I. From now on, along with the usual subsistence, bring us more of this 'coffee.' You may go now. Tell Lord Yan to come see me when he's done with whatever he's doing. I want to hear an explanation from him." 

 

She waved her hand, and a spacetime vortex appeared above him. 

 

"Of course, Senior! Of course! Thank you for showing mercy!" Yan Xiaolong jumped up and quickly left the desolate world. After this, he was going to quickly leave Yama Castle. This was the third time he encountered a life-and-death situation. As much as enjoyed adventure, even he knew when to quit. 

 

The vortex closed. The masked entity took a step back disappeared. When she reappeared, it was before the hill of the lonely sword. She kneeled on one knee and stared at the empty cup. 

 

“Your Imperial Highness, how was this new delicacy?” 

 

“We know you prefer sweets so we present you with this new beverage.” 

 

“We hope this will satisfy your urges until the next offering, which I’m sure will come very shortly.” 

 

“Please answer soon. We are all waiting for you, Your Imperial Highness.” 

 

She spoke for a long time, but no voice responded to her. Shaking her head, the masked entity stood up and gave a deep bow by the waist. She picked up the cup and opened up another spacetime vortex to return the cup to Yan Xiaolong, expecting him or someone else to later take back the cup. 

 

Whoosh! 

 

Suddenly, at that very moment, a blade of red light appeared and stabbed right toward her neck before she had any idea what was happening. With a clean cut, the blade sliced her head off, leaving the strings of her body to collapsed onto the ground. The mask flew into the air, still in shock which was evident by the gaping mouth expression. 

 

“Who-”

 

Swish! 

 

The glowing phantom of a man in black clothing appeared in front of her. In his hands were two red swords that he swiftly slashed out with savagery. Though he glowed, it was possible to see through him. A piece of paper could be seen where his heart was located. 

 

It was Yan Xiaolong’s offensive talisman. 

 

“I-It’s you! How is this possible!? But I-”

 

Before the masked entity could finish speaking, the two red swords descended and obliterated the mask out of existence. 

 

......

 

“Who is it... Who is calling for me again...” 

 

“Why have you come again... Leave...” 

 

“Have you not taken enough... Leave at once...” 

 

“I will never give you my approval... It belongs to me...” 

 

“You have taken everything from me... Except this... Because this... Belongs only to me and...” 

 

"Oh... What is this..."

 

"Ah... This familiar smell... This familiar taste..." 

 

"Sweet and bitter... Just like what was served back then..." 

 

"This is the sign... So you've returned to me..."

 

......

 

After consuming a few medicinal pills, Yan Xiaolong quickly ran through the hallways of Yama Castle. Strangely, his body felt mightier after leaving the red alter. His cultivation base was still suppressed, but circulated much more swiftly than before. 

 

Power thrummed from his blood and even his sense were sharper. In fact, he was sure that he was so powerful that he could even be compared to a peak-stage Qi Disciple cultivator. It was not much, but compared to his mortal state from before, it was obviously an improvement. 

 

"It must be because of that pocketwatch. Senior Brother Shen did say that it was cursed. Did returning it dispelled any curses from me?" 

 

[Indeed. Cultivation base has improved since delivering Golden Salvation, the Key of Eons. Now, current condition is only slightly suppressed by Yama Castle. After leaving, cultivation base should returning to normal and may slightly improve.] 

 

"Oh? That's great! I guess good and bad fortunes does come hand-in-hand after all. Not only will my cultivation base improve, I even got plenty of experience from exploring Yama Castle. Hm... I'm thinking of making a new story." 

 

[It is highly recommended that you work on your cultivation instead.] 

 

"Meh. I have plenty of time for that." 

 

[You do not. You must quickly improve your cultivation base as soon as possible. The heart-devil is growing at an alarming rate.] 

 

"Heart-devil? I don't get it. I'm not particularly fixated or bitter about anything. There's definitely the minor attachments and desires, but those are enough to develop my heart-devil?" 

 

[While those aspects will develop heart-devil, your current heart-devil is centered around a second will. You must be wary about your next breakthrough. Even with the drop of blood essence, insufficient preparation will lead to mental breakdown and spiritual instability. Your soul will be out of your control. Seed of restlessness and impatience is expanding exponentially at this very moment.] 

 

"No shit. If you tell me something that bad, yet vague, I'm obviously going to restless and impatient!" 

 

Yan Xiaolong carried on while conversing in his mind. Then, without any warning whatsoever, the lights inside the castle turned to a deep shade of red. 

 

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

 

"Warning: level 6 emergency! Warning: level 6 emergency! Warning: level 6 emergency!" 

 

"Attention all personnel in Yama Castle! Attention all personnel in Yama Castle!" 

 

"The seal on the Altar of Champions has been broken! The seal on the Altar of Champions has been broken."

 

"God-class security units are to be deployed to Room 1 this instance!" 

 

The agitated tone of a mechanical voice echoed across Yama Castle. The sound of marching soldiers and gyrating of gears shook the floor. The alarms, the sirens, the panic, and the light all merged together into a symphony of utmost terror. 

 

Yan Xiaolong's stomach dropped. "Oh God, oh fuck. Did I had something to with do that?"

 

His steps quickened. He madly dashed across the hallways and down the stairs, desperately looking for the exit. At each passing moment, the alarms grew intensely, until it ultimately reached the peak. 

 

"Attention! Attention!"

 

"Prisoner 001, the Princess, has breached containment! Prisoner 001, the Princess has breached containment!"

 

"On-site Void Terminator Bomb shall be activated if the Princess is not re-contained within 3 hours!

 

"On-site Void Terminator Bomb shall be activated if the Princess is not re-contained within 3 hours!"

 

"I repeat: on-site Void Terminator Bomb shall be activated..."

 

Slightly longer chapter than usual. Yeah, releases are going to be a little slow. Reason: school.

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