In the event they encounter a swarm of Spirit Devouring Beasts, the journey would take even longer.
If Zhi Yu Zun were fortunate enough to successfully break through to the Divine Transformation stage before the higher-ups of Wan Wan Tong could intervene, it would not only be a huge headache to deal with a Divine Transformation cultivator, but Gui Jia Zun would also face severe punishment from the Ling Zun elders.
If possible, Gui Jia Zun would have loved to report this matter to headquarters in person, but he couldn't. There was a strict rule set by the organization that no one assigned to the mortal realm could leave before their 300-year term was completed. A restrictive curse was placed on their spiritual consciousness, ensuring that if they so much as stepped into the Desolate Zone, their souls would be destroyed.
Therefore, even though his future cultivation and life were at stake, Gui Jia Zun dared not return to report the matter himself.
"Understood, Honored Zun!" The subordinate quickly complied, bowing and preparing to leave the dark chamber to carry out the orders, only to find himself unable to exit.
A foreign barrier had enveloped the room, trapping him inside.
This barrier was solid and impenetrable. The subordinate couldn't break it, so he turned to report this anomaly to Gui Jia Zun, only to see someone standing silently behind him.
He hadn't sensed anyone approaching at all!
"Who are you?!" The subordinate shouted, ready to summon his artifact and attack the intruder. However, to his horror, he found that he couldn't mobilize his spiritual energy. His powers had been sealed!
There was no doubt that the person standing before him had done this, but when had they done it? How had this person managed to seal the spiritual energy of a Golden Core cultivator so easily and silently?
Even Gui Jia Zun, a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, wouldn't have been able to achieve this with such precision!
How could such a powerful person exist in this barren mortal realm?
"Huh, just a Golden Core? Then you're not the Nascent Soul mid-stage supervisor," the intruder, Liao Pantu, remarked casually as he made a note in the jade slip he held. "Not bad, I even caught a little Golden Core in the process."
The commotion outside caught the attention of Gui Jia Zun inside the chamber. He stepped out to find his subordinate standing frozen in shock, and before them stood a stranger—an old man whose face was half black and half normal, giving him an eerie appearance.
"Who are you?!" Gui Jia Zun demanded, equally shocked. The isolation array they were using wasn't just some makeshift arrangement; it was a proper defensive formation set up using a formation disk.
Wan Wan Tong used this particular type of formation disk often because it was reliable and durable.
Yet, this stranger had managed to infiltrate without causing any disturbance. Gui Jia Zun was sure he had never given this man access to enter their barrier.
Wait—where was their array?
Gui Jia Zun scanned his surroundings, only to find that the Wan Wan Tong isolation array was gone, replaced by a seamless barrier that now surrounded the dark chamber.
Liao Pantu turned to face Gui Jia Zun, visibly pleased. "Oh, Nascent Soul mid-stage. Looks like you're the one I was after."
With a casual wave of his sleeve, Gui Jia Zun was instantly pulled toward Liao Pantu, who summoned a large iron cage from his storage ring.
The speed of the capture was so fast that Gui Jia Zun didn't even have time to resist before he was stuffed into the cage.
Liao Pantu's tactic was simple: strike swiftly and catch them off guard. After all, Gui Jia Zun was a Nascent Soul cultivator. If he had been prepared, the capture might have required more effort, but now it was effortless.
The subordinate, witnessing his superior—a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator—being so easily captured and imprisoned, immediately realized the danger he was in. Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted toward the exit.
Liao Pantu wasn't worried. He calmly watched as the subordinate ran straight into the barrier with a loud thud, then lazily raised a hand. The subordinate was pulled into the iron cage, joining his superior.
The cage was large enough to comfortably hold both prisoners.
Gui Jia Zun tried using his techniques to blast the cage open, but to his dismay, his spells dissipated the moment they touched the iron bars.
Panic filled his heart. What kind of artifact was this that could completely nullify the spells of a Nascent Soul cultivator?
The subordinate, following Gui Jia Zun's lead, also began attacking the cage. When spells didn't work, they resorted to using their magical artifacts.
But the cage remained utterly unfazed. It didn't budge, no matter how hard they tried.
Liao Pantu watched their futile efforts with satisfaction.
He hadn't expected the prison cage that Lin Xiao had crafted using the dreaded Jishi Stone to be this effective.
How Lin Xiao had managed to successfully forge an artifact from Jishi Stone was still a mystery to Liao Pantu. After all, Jishi Stone was notorious for its ability to devour spiritual energy. And since everything cultivators did—especially forging—relied on spiritual energy, how could one forge a material that absorbs all the energy used in the process?
Even the tools used for forging required spiritual energy. How could one possibly refine Jishi Stone?
Moreover, Jishi Stone was incredibly dangerous. It absorbed not only spiritual energy but also blood and life force. Anyone attempting to forge it would be sucked dry.
But Lin Xiao had sworn that the final product would have no negative side effects, maintaining only the stone's ability to absorb spiritual energy. He'd also assured that the cage would only consume the spiritual energy within its confines and wouldn't harm anyone outside.
The result was this iron cage—what Lin Xiao called the Spirit-Binding Cage.
Liao Pantu had tested it himself and found that the cage only activated its energy-draining ability when in use. When stored in a spatial ring or pouch, it remained dormant.
The cage's most powerful feature was its bars, which absorbed spiritual energy on contact. As long as those inside didn't touch the bars directly, they would only lose minimal energy.
For ordinary people, the cage had no effect at all—it was just a regular iron cage, no different from the ones used by officials to transport criminals.
Well, perhaps the officials' cages were different in one aspect—they were typically made of wood.