Chapter 1842: Eighteen Inner Domains
Perhaps sensing Fang Chen's confusion, Fang Lie's expression shifted slightly. He said with a hint of curiosity, "You don't know how to use the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower?"
Fang Chen thought for a moment and nodded. "I indeed do not."
Fang Lie could not help but laugh. "How strange. If it weren't for the fact that your background and certain characteristics match exactly what that senior from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect described, I would truly doubt whether you are a disciple of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect."
Fang Chen sighed inwardly as well.
He was a disciple of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect. That was beyond any doubt. It was just that the Reincarnation Immortal Sect during the Nine Realms Era... seemed to have very few disciples left. Even if there were any, they might be just like him right now, inside the History Immortal Book.
Fang Lie said, "Never mind, let me explain the usage of this tower to you."
After a short while, he could not help but look toward Fang Cangyou. "What are you still doing here?"
"Oh, then I'll head out first."
With a strange expression, Fang Cangyou pushed his wheelchair and left the hall.
Only after he left did Fang Lie personally begin teaching Fang Chen how to use the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower.
"First of all, this Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower is extremely miraculous and is connected to the Soul Race, so it is actually a bona fide Soul Treasure. To use it, you must first be of the Soul Race. Let me ask you, are you of the Soul Race?"
"I should be... But senior, are you one as well?"
"Yes, I became part of the Soul Race very early on. After I die, I will be a high-ranking member within the Soul Race."
"If it were not so, do you think Saint Wangqing could truly show her face? She came here facing many obstacles. If I were merely of the human race, those obstacles would have surely made it impossible for her to take a single step."
"Soul Artifacts have a rather special characteristic. As long as someone is of the Soul Race, they can use it. Truly making it recognize a master is extremely difficult; even I am unable to accomplish it. Therefore, you must first ensure that this object remains in your hands. If it falls into the possession of other Soul Race members, it will be used by them instead."
"Aside from this, inside the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, there are eighteen Inner Domains."
A look of surprise appeared on Fang Chen's face. "Inner Domains?"
He could not help but glance at the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower in his hand.
"Correct. Everyone knows that to become a Half Sage and take the Third Step of Limit Breaking, you must condense an Inner Domain. Yet this Soul Artifact has a full eighteen of them inside, and every single Inner Domain is a terrifying purgatory. The remnant souls collected into it will endure the tortures of purgatory day and night, never to be reborn for all eternity, until their soul spirits finally atone for their sins and completely dissipate into nothingness."
Fang Lie smiled. "The guys who stood on the wrong side earlier are the chickens I used this time to warn the monkeys. Their remnant souls have all been absorbed by the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, and based on their cultivation bases when they were alive, they are currently in different Inner Domains. For example, the Limit Breaking Limit cultivators will be in the fifteenth Inner Domain, also known as the Fifteenth Heavenly Purgatory.
"The first Foundation Realm, on the other hand, will be in the first Inner Domain, also known as the First Heavenly Prison. The torture endured by the former is more than ten thousand times more painful than that of the latter. In the future, as long as you hold this tower, the remnant souls of anyone you kill will be captured by the prison tower and dispatched to different purgatories depending on their cultivation."
Fang Chen noticed several pieces of key information in these words.
Fang Lie had said that the Limit Breaking cultivators were in the Fifteenth Luotian Purgatory. Since there were still three purgatories below it, didn't that mean he could imprison Half Saints, Saints... and even those above Saints?
Secondly, Fang Lie had repeatedly emphasized remnant souls. This puzzled him somewhat.
Fang Chen asked, "Does the remnant soul you speak of refer to an incomplete soul spirit?"
"Correct. The Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower always leaves a thread of survival and will not absorb a complete soul spirit. Therefore, the souls it absorbs can still go to the Underworld and enter reincarnation. But when they become human again in their next life, they will either have incomplete physical bodies or incomplete mental faculties because a portion of their soul spirit is right inside the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, suffering and atoning for their sins. Perhaps even after reincarnating more than ten times, that portion of the soul spirit still has not completely dissipated."
Fang Lie lamented, "This is a very painful punishment. Under normal circumstances, I do not use it. After all, I am rather kind-hearted and compassionate."
Speaking up to that point, Fang Lie looked at Fang Chen seriously. "I am telling you so much just hoping that you will hold onto it well and not let it fall into the hands of others. Its might is perhaps far beyond my imagination, but unfortunately, it will not recognize me as its master. If this kind of Soul Artifact falls into the hands of foreign clans, it would ultimately not be very good."
He paused for a moment. Finally, he said, "Ever since I became a Half Sage, I haven't used it again, so the remnant souls inside from before have already finished atoning for their sins and have been completely refined. Right now, the remnant souls inside are all those I just captured and suppressed this time. If you want to deploy them, you need to wait for a while. For example, depending on the cultivations of the Limit Breaking cultivators, their refinement will take between five hundred and two thousand years. The Three Foundation Realms and the Nine Transformations Realm will be much faster. As for the specifics, you can go back and figure it out yourself when the time comes."
Fang Chen's expression stirred. "Five hundred to two thousand years before I can command the Limit Breaking cultivators?"
He cupped his fist. "Senior, is there a way to accelerate the refinement process?"
Fang Lie smiled. "You can, but they will experience a lot of pain and consequently turn extremely violent and bloodthirsty by then. I do not recommend doing this, as it is too cruel after all. But the option is there. You can use Yin Lifespan. Of course, you must use clean Yin Lifespan. Plundered Yin Lifespan will cause them to lose control. The moment they are released, they will turn against you."
Speaking up to that point, he paused and sized Fang Chen. A profound look appeared in his eyes. "Your primary cultivation is in sword divinity?"
Fang Chen nodded candidly. "Yes."
"I am very familiar with the aura on your body. You are not bad. You should have inherited a bit of my mantle. It is just that there is one thing I truly cannot fathom. Why is your bloodline so incredibly pure? I suppose this must also be one of the miraculous aspects of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect?"
Fang Lie smiled slightly, then did not delve any deeper into the topic and dismissed Fang Chen.
Fang Chen's thought stirred, and the Eighteen Heaven Prison Tower immediately fused into his Nine Heavens Profound Yin Primordial Spirit.
He bowed and retreated from the hall.
Not long after he left, Fang Cangyou pushed his wheelchair back into the grand hall.
Fang Cangyou grumbled, "Old Master, are you truly willing to return the Eighteen Heaven Prison Tower? You have already become a Saint now. Even if the experts of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect come knocking on our door, we wouldn't need to fear them, right? Besides, they only sent a greenhorn over, and they even chose one of our own family members. This clearly shows they were afraid you wouldn't bite, meaning they had a guilty conscience."
"What do you know? The Reincarnation Immortal Sect is unfathomable, and the matters surrounding it extend far beyond what you can imagine. I only know the mere surface for now. The price for pocketing it is too great. Besides, it is already of no use to me now. After all, this object refuses to recognize me as its master."
Fang Lie glared at Fang Cangyou, then spoke indifferently, "As for the Demonic Beasts side, you need to maintain more contact with them. It would be best if you could extract information on where they came from."
"Old Master, the Divine Realm is so vast, and the Nether Ruins are but a drop in the ocean within it. We haven't even figured this place out yet, so why do we still need to go—."
"Even a crafty rabbit has three burrows. It is never wrong to prepare a few more backup plans for everything."
"Alright then, I will just use a few tricks to try and fish for some information from them."