Is That A Wisp?

Warden Drake gazed at the back of the five figures that were escorted by a team of guards. He then looked at a soldier standing beside him and asked, "Any news on those we're actually expecting?"

"Based on the report from the scouts, those people have encountered a problem. A jailbreak wouldn't be happening anytime soon," the soldier replied while saluting. 

"It's better to be alert. Tell the soldiers to remain on standby," Warden Drake ordered as he glanced at Krune for a moment before turning around. "I'll inspect the inmates."

"Warden Drake," the soldier hesitated to speak, glancing at Krune's group. Though, after some time, he mustered his courage to ask, "Is it okay to let those people walk free just like that? Even if it's an accident, they still trespassed the prison grounds."

"It's just…not worth the effort." Warden Drake waved his hands as he said, walking away. "We have more important things to do."

He then entered a building and descended through a long spiral staircase that went deep into the pitch-black darkness. The sounds of his footsteps echoed through the place that seemed to possess no walls thanks to the darkness. 

At the end of the flight of stairs was a small platform on which a small, slideable plate could be seen. Warden Drake gently nudged the plate aside as he took a step back, watching a column of fire escape from it as it instantly illuminated the entire place. 

It was a narrow cylindrical path, only left with enough space for one person to descend through the flight of stairs. The column of fire blasted off and hit the flight of stairs, causing a thin layer of ash to form on it. Warden Drake rubbed it with his hands, dusting it off to reveal the pristine state of the stairs underneath. 

"How are the cells?" he laughed as he asked, making a couple of knocking sounds using his legs. "I hope they're to your luxury."

A wheezing sound resounded from within the small, open section as it replied with intense fury, "I'll kill you and destroy your damn country when I escape from this place."

"But…" Warden Drake laughed as he responded to the voice. "You were never able to defeat me before, not to mention when we're here. Your cultivation base has been fully suppressed to the First Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm. Even if you were to escape from here, what can you do? I'll capture you before you can revive and lock you up in here once again."

"Damn…you!" the voice from within cursed before breaking into a coughing fit. 

"Thanks to your Spiritual Incarnation, you would revive without a problem. But now, your Spiritual Incarnation is slowly getting eaten by the laws of the Immortal Severance Zone. Let's see how long you can still last until your Spiritual Incarnation is completely destroyed." Warden Drake smiled as he peered into the hole, gazing at the sludge that burned without rest. 

It was akin to lava that twisted and turned, trying to condense a humanoid figure. Though, every time it tried to get up, it collapsed into lava once again. On top of that, every time this happened, the lava forming it reduced in volume by a tiny fraction. 

"I'll…kill you! Bastard! I'll raze down everything once I escape!" His erratic voice resounded as Warden Drake stood up and smiled at him from above.

"Well, sweet dreams." he knocked the floor once as he said in response, emitting a gentle radiance. In the next moment, something metallic crept up from the cage floors and pounced on the lava, damaging it further. Hearing the intermittent roars mixed with the wailing screams of the inmate, Warden Drake laughed soon after before closing the plate above the hole. 

He then retreated, entering another building before reaching the end of its flight of stairs. This time, he opened the tiny plate to peer at the face of a man situated 20 meters below. His figure was wholly intact, save for faint traces of a gelatinous liquid that leaked out of his face, which looked like melting wax.

Every time a drop of the gelatinous solution dripped from the man's face, it was destroyed by the metallic substance on the floor. And every time this happened, the figure of the man gradually became more unstable. 

"Are you here to laugh at me?" The man stared at Warden Drake with a smile as he asked, "Did you think I would humiliate myself by screaming like that other dude you just visited? I already killed the ones that annoyed me. There's nothing you've accomplished by imprisoning me here. You haven't saved any lives by locking me up, haha."

"Tsk." Warden Drake increased the restrictive power of the cell as he stared at the face of the man that had more of the gelatinous substance drip more. His foundation was readily crumbling, but he neither grunted in pain nor showed any expression on his face. A second later, he smiled as he said, "Do whatever you want, bruh."

"This guy always irritates me," Warden Drake slammed the plate shut as he cursed, sighing as he inspected the condition of the other inmates. Regular criminals were killed then and there, saving the trouble. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to kill someone with a Spiritual Incarnation. As long as even a fragment of their Spiritual Incarnation existed, they would revive and eventually recondense their entire Spiritual Incarnation. 

Once that happened, they would cultivate and return to exact vengeance, causing lots and lots of headaches for the Zamuria Empire. So, instead of that, they made use of the Immortal Suppression Zone. In this place, the cultivation bases of everyone below the Primal God Realm were suppressed to the First Stage Godly Fusion Realm. 

Even their Spiritual Incarnations were suppressed to this realm. That was why it was easier to control them. This prison was established to make use of this trait and imprison the powerful cultivators to wear them down over time using the laws that made up the Immortal Suppression Zone.

After all, only a Spiritual Incarnation could deal with another Spiritual Incarnation. The moment they were imprisoned, Warden Drake would kill the captives. This caused them to return to their state of being a Land Incarnation. The moment this happened, the laws of the Immortal Severance Zone conflicted with the laws forming their Spiritual Incarnation, eating away at it little by little.

Warden Drake also used his Spiritual Incarnation from time to time to further whittle down their strength. This way, they were able to contain and destroy the captives. Warden Drake had precisely decided to spend the rest of his life in the Immortal Severance Zone. It was because of his devotion to his Empire. 

Since he was only a mortal in the Immortal Suppression Zone, he would eventually reach the end of his lifespan. When this happened, he would exit the place, head into the world beyond, and commit suicide. He would swiftly revive and return.

After all, he would already be at the First Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm upon reviving. It was the stage he was at when he was given birth. If he wished to, he could cultivate and swiftly breeze through the ranks. Then again, as he planned to return to the Immortal Severance Zone, he never bothered to cultivate.

After looking at the nine inmates, Warden Drake sighed as he arrived within a large room. There were more than 10 containers here, storing something within them. The moment he arrived at the room, a chaotic voice resounded from all ten containers, each uttering one syllable in order that soon formed a sentence. "H.O.W M.A.N.Y T.I.M.E.S H.A.S T.H.I.S B.E.E.N?"

Warden Drake frowned as he replied with a question, "Can't you speak from one room? I can barely understand what you say."

"…Fuck you."

"That's better," Warden Drake chuckled as he responded, though his expression was anything but happy. He was vigilant, intending to react the moment something turned amiss. That was because the individual trapped in front of him was tremendously dangerous. 

First Stage Primal God Realm!

A tremendously powerful cultivator that once caused irreversible damage to the Zamuria Empire. The emperor had to personally come and kill him, though he ended up paying a tremendous price to do so. Eventually, when he was killed, the emperor split his Spiritual Incarnation into ten parts. 

Warden Drake then resigned from his post and volunteered to oversee his sealing. 

"You will never live to see the light of day ever again." Warden Drake said, hearing a cacophony of laughter from all ten containers. 

"The force I left behind will grow to become strong enough to storm this place and break me free. And…" Followed by the sounds of laughter, the captive spoke, "I'll soon get an inheritor, hahaha. He or she would become the spark that crumbles your puny Empire. I'll see how long the Zamuria Empire can watch the ongoing continental war from the fence."

"How…did you know?" Warden Drake asked with a frown as his eyes widened in shock. He then realized something as he uttered through gritted teeth, "You still have some fragments in the outside world."

"Of course, haha. Also, they're so small that none of you can sense their presence. But, they're enough for me to know everything that happens in and around the Zamuria Continent." His voice resounded from all ten containers once again. "S.O.O.N!"

…

"We'll have to blindfold you from this point onward," a soldier spoke as he faced Krune. He also returned his belongings.

"Fine," he replied, wearing his storage ring as he placed all five shields inside. He then inspected it to see that it wasn't tampered with, neither were any of his items stolen.

'Even if they push me out of this path, I can still use my shields to escape,' Krune thought to himself, allowing the soldier to blindfold him. He made sure to keep an eye on the soldier's actions through his Mental Energy Scan, ensuring the others were also safe.

They then walked forward, crossing the film of mist before continuing to walk further. Krune noticed the path stretch for another two kilometers as they walked, soon reaching the ground. 

They then boarded a carriage that had been waiting in place. A building had been built here, acting as a fort of sorts to prevent anyone from crossing the path undetected. Moreover, it was fully walled on all sides.

So, the only way to walk on the path was to enter from the fort. Around 100 soldiers stood to watch in the area, allowing their carriage to exit the fort. Krune kept watching on everything that had transpired through his Mental Energy Scan.

As their Divine Sense could only extend for a meter, the soldiers didn't use anything to inhibit it. After all, there wasn't much one could see through a meter. Throughout their travel, they were kept blindfolded. 

A day's journey later, Krune suddenly sensed a restriction placed on him being lifted. His cultivation was still in the First Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm, but he was assured it would recover as time passed. It meant that they had left the Immortal Suppression Zone. 

They journeyed for some more time before the carriage stopped. 

"You can get down now," a soldier said, watching Krune and the others remove their blindfolds as they alighted from the carriage. 

"Have a safe journey." Saying their piece, the soldiers that had accompanied them entered the carriage and drove off, quickly returning to the Immortal Suppression Zone.