Chapter 635 345: Prison King

"Hmph!" Zhenwu Ancient King's expression darkened instantly, and his eyes locked onto the figure's back. He desperately wanted to find out exactly where this person came from.

Meanwhile, within the vortex, a streak of purple flame Flowing Light shot out at extreme speed.

The group reacted swiftly, dodging out of the way, and watched helplessly as this Flowing Light shot directly into Qin Yun's body.

BOOM—The purple flames instantly ignited. Just like the figure from before, they completely engulfed Qin Yun.

But immediately after, Qin Yun let out an agonizing, distorted howl. "Aaaargh—"

He seemed to be suffering immense pain, his figure constantly twisting and writhing within the flames.

Fortunately, it only lasted for a brief moment before the flames gradually subsided. However, Qin Yun's body had shrunk by nearly half. He looked completely emaciated—the flesh and blood beneath his skin seemed to have almost entirely vanished, leaving his skin clinging tightly to his bones. It was a chilling sight.

His aura was incredibly weak, and he gasped heavily for air, but he was still alive.

"Thank goodness he endured it." Sun breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "This counts as a successful assimilation."

"Such high temperatures and terrifying lethality. It burns both flesh and spirit," the Hanhai Emperor remarked with a solemn expression after witnessing the entire process.

The others seemed to realize something as well and simultaneously turned their heads. The vortex above the Flame Fire was gradually disappearing.

The figure engulfed by the flames was nowhere to be seen. Qin Yun could barely endure it for just a brief moment, yet that guy was completely wrapped in the flames and seemed utterly unaffected.

"I'm afraid his strength is no less than ours, perhaps even slightly superior," the Bronze Ancient King speculated solemnly to himself. "Since he's not a Professional from the Dust Star Sea, he likely comes from another Star Realm."

Watching the vortex gradually disappear, Su Chen was surprised. "It's over? The pathway was already opened, yet no one attempted to come in. These big shots sure are patient.

"But it's just as well that no one came in. Otherwise, I would have to run away for now."

His body descended, gradually landing on the ground.

The ground was also forged from some kind of purple metal. The space inside this Flame Fire resembled a base of some sort.

Su Chen looked around. "Logically speaking, this Flame Fire was left behind after Sun's death. Since it's a posthumous remnant, how could there be a scene like this inside? Who built it?

"Or did it evolve into this state because of his Professional Traits?"

Knowing very little about this tier, Su Chen could only make wild guesses. He crouched down and pounded hard on the ground. The resulting sound was dull and muffled—it was solid.

He glanced around. The sprawling clusters of metal buildings were mostly empty shells. Only the pyramid-shaped structure in the center seemed somewhat unusual.

His gaze followed it up to its highest point, which was exactly where the Spirit of Sun had just erupted from.

"Let's see what's going on. Even if I can't take advantage of the situation right now, I can't afford to waste nine drops of Divine Blood every time I come here..."

Such a massive expenditure was too much even for him to bear.

Unsure of what dangers might lurk here, Su Chen advanced step by step, remaining extremely cautious.

He didn't encounter any additional risks along the way, gradually approaching the cluster of metal palaces situated beneath the pyramid.

"It seems... I can actually enter these metal palaces?" he mused.

Su Chen leaned in for a closer look. Unlike the empty shells outside, the doors of the palace before him were tightly sealed. A metal puppet stood on each side of the entrance. As if sensing his approach, a faint purple glow lit up in their pupils, and a chilling killing intent erupted from them.

"Not letting me in?" Su Chen quickly stepped back, and the guards returned to normal.

"There really is something inside! Resources? Technology? Professions?" Su Chen speculated to himself. "How can I qualify to enter? By becoming a Recognized One, or is it exclusively for a Chosen One?"

He looked up at the main staircase in the center of the pyramid and hesitated slightly. Just as he was about to step onto it, a faint call reached his ears. "Sir..."

Hm?

Su Chen's heart tightened. "There's someone else here?"

"Sir?" the voice called out again. This time, it was much clearer, and it sounded a bit urgent. "I have something important to tell you. Please, come to your left."

"A trap?" Su Chen frowned slightly, not making any immediate movements.

"Please believe me. I have some understanding of this place and can be of assistance to you," the voice urged, sounding even more hurried.

Su Chen hesitated for a moment before following the sound. He raised his guard, pausing every few steps as he made his way over.

Turning a corner, he finally found the source of the voice in the shadow of a palace.

It was a blurry phantom, its body seemingly bound by chains. Su Chen stopped at a distance, not daring to approach recklessly.

"Sir." Seeing his arrival, the figure's body seemed to solidify, revealing its facial features—perhaps in an attempt to look more sincere.

Su Chen stared at the somewhat familiar face, feeling a surge of astonishment. "Isn't this the Prison King?"

He had seen the man once before at the Balance Dao Central Hub. The other party had seemingly intended to intercept and kill the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator's Spiritual essence, but after being deterred by the Ancient King's phantom, he only showed his face briefly before leaving with his people.

That was the first Morning Star Tier Professional Su Chen had ever seen, so it had left quite a deep impression on him.

And aside from lacking the proud and indifferent expression the man had worn that day, this face was exactly the same.

"So, is it because his Spirit Body was left here while his physical body got out that he's been in a coma all this time?" Su Chen wondered.

Alarm bells instantly rang in his head. "He has seen me before too. If he recognizes me..."

"No, wait," he quickly realized. "If he had recognized me, he would have already attacked by now."

He observed the Prison King's expression and found no trace of shock or surprise—instead, there was a touch of reverence.

"Can this Residual Fire also conceal my appearance?" Su Chen wondered thoughtfully.

Seeing that the other party remained silent, the Prison King had no choice but to brace himself and speak again. "Sir, you may call me Zhen Yu."

"Zhen Yu?" Su Chen deliberately disguised his voice as he repeated the name.

Relieved to finally get a response, the Prison King quickly said, "Exactly..."

As he replied, he was secretly astounded. Looking at the Sun Fire swirling around the man, his heart palpitated to the extreme. "He is actually enduring it head-on!"

"You said you have a good understanding of this place and can be of help to me. Is that true or false?" Su Chen asked in an indifferent tone.

"It's true!" the Prison King said hurriedly. "Please save me, Sir!"

"He wants me to save him?" Su Chen found it odd, realizing that the Prison King seemed to think very highly of his strength. "Makes sense. The other Morning Star Tier experts were all killed by the Spirit of Sun. If he saw me facing the Spirit of Sun without dying, he'd definitely think I'm no ordinary person."

He ignored the second half of the Prison King's plea and simply asked, "What is inside those tightly sealed metal palaces, and how can one enter?"

"I'm not too sure what's kept inside..." the Prison King said hesitantly before quickly adding, "However, I do know how to get in. Only by becoming a Recognized One can you gain the authority to enter."

This more or less matched his own estimations. Su Chen pondered this inwardly but scoffed outwardly, "Nonsense!"

The Prison King's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly explained, "Currently, no one can enter these palaces, so it is indeed impossible to know what exactly is hidden inside."

Su Chen remained noncommittal and changed the subject. "I see that you're a Spirit Body and seem to be trapped here. Was this the doing of the Spirit of Sun? How did you anger the Spirit of Sun?"

The Prison King was startled. Although he had already estimated the other party's strength, he hadn't expected the man to see through his current predicament at a single glance.

His demeanor grew even more respectful as he explained, "I had teamed up with several friends to explore this place together. One of them was named Qin Yun.

"Harboring wild ambitions, he accidentally angered the Spirit of Sun, which resulted in the deaths of all my other friends while I was left trapped here. As for him, he managed to escape in a miserable state."

"I want details!" Su Chen feigned displeasure. "Accidentally? What kind of accident? If it was just normal exploration, would it have angered the Spirit of Sun?"

The Prison King quickly clarified, "I was just getting to that. Qin Yun was Enchanted by a Residual Spirit that has been trapped here for a long time."

"A Residual Spirit?" Su Chen's mind stirred. "Nine times out of ten, it's that guy who called himself Sun."

"A Residual Spirit? What Residual Spirit?" Su Chen probed further.

"Qin Yun encountered that Residual Spirit not long after coming in," the Prison King explained. "It claimed to be a Spirit Fragment left behind after the death of a Sun Tier existence. It told us that there was a special method to bypass the Spirit of Sun's trial and allow us to become Recognized Ones.

"We were deceived by it and made preparations according to the steps it laid out. As a result, we enraged the Spirit of Sun. Several of my friends died on the spot, while Qin Yun colluded with the Residual Spirit and escaped, leaving only my Spirit Body trapped here."