Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 94 In Hell, Yearning for Freedom
"Do you resent it? Are you unwilling to accept it? Do you want to live?"

The voice seemed to come from the deepest hell, echoing endlessly in the depths of Chen Ye's consciousness.

At this moment, Chen Ye was falling into an endless abyss, surrounded by darkness, and his consciousness was gradually fading. The voice of the crimson serpent seemed to emanate from his very soul, as if it were his own inner voice.

Chen Ye's answer was the same as everyone else's.

"I want to live."

The giant snake let out a low laugh. Regardless of one's feelings, people will grasp at their last hope when they are on the verge of death.

This applies to mortals, cultivators, demons, and righteous people alike; human nature is the same, with no difference between them.

The crimson serpent once again bewitched you, saying, "Sing my true words, and I will grant you immortality."

As long as Chen Ye recites the true words of the prayer, he will become a believer of the Red Serpent Buddha, and his resentment and hatred will become the source of the Serpent Buddha's power.

Once inside the snake pit, it was powerless to struggle any longer.

Chen Ye's withered and aged face trembled slowly. He opened his mouth slightly, his chapped lips opening and closing as if he wanted to say something.

The crimson serpent waited patiently, waiting for yet another believer to fall into its lair.

However, what it heard was a rhetorical question: "You can grant me immortality, and you can take it back, can't you?"

Chen Ye, who was falling rapidly, suddenly stopped and hovered in front of the crimson serpent.

The aged body began to regain its youth and quickly returned to its original appearance.

Chen Ye opened his eyes, looked at the crimson snake in front of him, and suddenly grinned.

"I thought the shop owner was lying to me, but it turns out that even if you don't buy anything, a giant snake really does appear in your dream."

The crimson serpent was stunned. In such a desperate situation, how could Chen Ye still maintain his normal thinking ability?
Ambushed, falling from a great height, and aging rapidly... With so many deadly effects piled up, how could he still remain calm?

The giant snake couldn't help but ask, "You...aren't you afraid of death?"

Chen Ye said somewhat calmly, "If you're not afraid of death, why pursue immortality? But I absolutely do not want immortality bestowed upon me by others. Without freedom and ease, living is like being in hell. I may be in hell for a while, but I will always find my way out, rather than sinking into hell forever."

The crimson serpent remained silent.

Although the boy in front of me was afraid of death like everyone else, he had already developed a will to live even in the face of death, and he could not be bewitched by this simple trick.

The giant snake slowly sank into the darkness. Today was not the right time, but even humans have their moments of vulnerability. Snakes are masters of lurking, waiting for their prey to let their guard down before unleashing their venomous fangs.

However, Chen Ye suddenly said loudly, "Wait a minute, this is my dream, isn't it?"

In an instant, the darkness that had enveloped the surroundings receded rapidly like a tide, and the crimson serpent was no longer just showing its head; its entire massive body appeared before Chen Ye.

But before this behemoth could display its power, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky, crushing the Crimson Serpent to the ground with earth-shattering force.

Within the golden light, there was a huge bird that blotted out the sky, constantly changing its form.

Golden-winged Roc, five-colored phoenix, three-legged golden crow... their appearances are ever-changing, but each one is a divine bird that Chen Ye has heard of.

The sharp claws dug deep into the seven-inch mark of the red-striped serpent, cracking its indestructible bone armor and making a "crackling" sound.

Chen Ye hovered in mid-air and said to the red-banded serpent, "You just said that the Incense Burning Sect was settling a personal score with me, but it was the red-banded serpent that bit me. I was poisoned by the serpent, which is why I entered this dream."

"I knew Wei Changsheng shouldn't be so stupid. Given his selfish and self-serving nature, he wouldn't choose such a sensitive time to seek revenge. It turns out you were the one framing him."

"Who exactly are you? Are you the resurrected Crimson Serpent Demon Lord, or a Crimson Serpent that has become a spirit?"

Chen Ye spoke hurriedly, but every time he clearly uttered a sentence, the divine bird would grow stronger, and Chen Ye's control over the dream would increase.

The clearer and more rational one's thinking, the greater one's power within the dream.

The Crimson Serpent was pinned to the ground, but it did not show any signs of pain or struggle. Instead, it stared coldly at Chen Ye with its vertical pupils, as if trying to imprint him into the depths of its eyes.

Chen Yegang sensed something was wrong. The crimson serpent shrank instantly, breaking free from the divine bird's claws. The next moment, it used its tail to firmly bind him, and with a gentle pull, it turned him into nothingness.

The enormous snake's head drooped, its scarlet tongue flicking in and out in front of Chen Ye, as if it might swallow him whole at any moment.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ye quickly said, "Actually, my master has some connection with the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect. I am also a demon, so I can..."

The red-striped serpent didn't give Chen Ye a chance to speak; it opened its mouth and swallowed him whole.

Chen Ye felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and couldn't help but scream.

But he immediately felt a buzzing in his ears, as if someone was calling his name.

When Chen Ye opened his eyes, he found himself in a cage.

"Brother Chen, you're finally awake!"

A familiar voice rang out; it was none other than Lü Fusheng, whom they hadn't seen in a long time. Otherwise, Lü Fusheng would have been disheveled and in a sorry state. Also in the cell were two old acquaintances, Hou Lu and Chang Shou. Hou Lu was now barely breathing, lying weakly on the ground, while Chang Shou stared blankly out of the cell, looking much more haggard.

Chen Ye subconsciously touched his body. His storage bag was gone, as were the Myriad Soul Banner and the sword box. Wei Changsheng really treated him like a prisoner.

Chen Ye asked Lü Fusheng in confusion, "How long have I been asleep?"

Lu Fusheng said, "It was only a short while. After Wei Changsheng brought you in, he left looking very unhappy. Brother Chen, were you also bitten by the red snake?"

Chen Ye said helplessly, "Bad luck, we were ambushed. Brother Lü, when did you come in?"

Previously, when Wei Changsheng accused him of colluding with demons, Chen Ye thought that Mo Ci's identity had been exposed. He thought to himself, "The Qinghe Sword Sect has already helped him modify the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, so who is it to oppose it, Wei Changsheng?"
It seems something is wrong now; something might have happened to Lü Fusheng.

Lu Fusheng had no choice but to recount the whole story. Upon hearing that the three of them had been captured by the Venerable One and taken underground to hatch the Crimson Serpent, Chen Ye sensed something was amiss.

Why would a demon lord pay wages to rogue cultivators, and so much at that?

"What happened to Brother Hou and Brother Chang?" Chen Ye asked.

Lu Fusheng said with some shame, "They tortured Brother Hou, and we couldn't bear it any longer, so we had to confess. Now all three of us are accused of colluding with the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect. Brother Chang, he... he's been like this for many days."

Ever since the storage bag was taken away, Chang Shou has been like a lost soul, sitting there without eating or drinking, muttering something incoherently.

Lu Fusheng whispered to Chen Ye, "Brother Chang had already saved up enough Azure Pearls to buy Vajra Powder, but this accident has been a huge blow to him, and he may be a little out of his mind."

Chen Ye frowned and asked, "Has no one from the five righteous sects inquired about this matter?"

Lu Fusheng sighed, "No one has come to ask. Most of the guards here are from the Incense Burning Sect and the Mirage Sect, since they have the most disciples. Wei Changsheng of the Incense Burning Sect seems to be settling a personal score and doesn't give us a chance to explain at all."

Chen Ye looked at the dazed Chang Shou, who was emaciated, with bloodshot eyes, his head banging against the cage engraved with runes. He looked completely insane.

Sensing Chen Ye's gaze, Chang Shou suddenly turned his head, looked at Chen Ye with his blood-red eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Chen, you've been arrested too. Even the Qinghe Sword Sect couldn't protect you?"

Chen Ye said helplessly, "After all, I am not a disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect."

Chang Shou smiled bitterly and muttered to himself, "Even you've been arrested, even you've been arrested... We rogue cultivators are as insignificant as ants. Their so-called righteous path doesn't even have a shred of reason. They say we're colluding with demons, but I think they're the demons, they're the real devils!"

Chang Shou gripped the cage bars with both hands and shook them violently, his veins bulging, but he couldn't budge them an inch.

The cage seemed to have a special restriction, isolating it from external spiritual energy. Without the replenishment of spiritual energy and without the help of treasures, the three of them, Fu Lu Shou, were powerless to escape.

Even though his hands were bleeding from gripping the cage, Chang Shou refused to let go, frantically ramming against the sturdy cage until his head was bleeding profusely.

"Brother Chang, calm down!"

Lu Fusheng rushed to hug Changshou, but was suddenly knocked over.

Originally weak and powerless, Changshou suddenly found strength from nowhere, a layer of golden flames ignited around his body, and he chanted incantations:
"Crimson scales blot out the sun, poisonous mist swallows the stars. The mother of all scales, the master of blood mist, lies prostrate listening to the cries of lambs. Winding along lava as her pillow, coiling around skeletons as her nest, rotting flesh nurtures spirits, resentment takes form. Those who shed their old bodies are reborn, those who burn themselves see the great light!"

"He who burns himself sees the great light!"

Chang Shou's eyes were wide open, his face contorted with rage, and he roared the last sentence over and over again, filled with endless grief and despair.

The golden flames engulfed his body completely, causing the cage in front of him to shake violently.

With each tremor, the light of those runes dimmed a little more.

In a short while, these runes could not withstand the scorching heat of the golden flames and turned into wisps of green smoke.

Chang Shou suddenly raised his foot and kicked the cell door with all his might.

With a loud bang, the tightly closed door was kicked open by his force and flew out, crashing heavily onto the ground some distance away.

Chang Shou strode out of the cell, roaring to the sky: "The righteous path is unjust, it has degenerated into the demonic path! We rogue cultivators have been oppressed for too long, today is the day of reckoning! Who is willing to die with me?!"

Chang Shou's voice echoed in the space, carrying a do-or-die spirit that made people's ears buzz.

In the darkness, golden flames shone like stars. These flames reflected each other, illuminating the surroundings.

At the same time, deafening roars rolled in from all directions, echoing Chang Shou's shouts.

The sound of countless cages shattering echoed, and figures engulfed in golden flames emerged and gathered around Chang Shou.

Upon seeing this scene, Chen Ye said to Lü Fusheng without hesitation, "Take Brother Hou with you and escape from here first."

Looking at Changshou, who had fallen into madness, Lü Fusheng felt reluctant to abandon his friend.

Chen Ye said, "Don't think so much. Go to the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters. That's where you can save your life."

Lu Fusheng then asked, "And what about you?"

Chen Ye calmly said, "The one who tied the knot must untie it. I'll go find the culprit."

(End of this chapter)