I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

Chapter 66 Deep Within the Heavenly Prison

The iron fence slammed shut with a clang.

The heavy clanging of chains echoed through the dark corridor, and the footsteps of the jailers faded into the distance, eventually disappearing into the darkness.

Li Bai leaned against the cold stone wall, panting heavily.

Each breath was accompanied by a tearing pain deep within his chest. At least seven or eight wounds on his left shoulder, abdomen, and back were still bleeding, and his dark purple prison uniform was soaked with blood, clinging to his body, cold and sticky. Specially made shackles were fastened to his wrists and ankles, each weighing more than ten kilograms, and covered with dense, dark blue runes—a restriction specifically designed to suppress spiritual power.

He tried to circulate the last trace of true energy remaining in his dantian.

As soon as the true energy moved, the runes on the shackles lit up.

A cold, heavy, mercury-like force surged from the shackles, instantly flooding his limbs and bones. The force was not violent, but extremely tough, like countless cold iron chains, tightly locking every strand of true essence flowing in his meridians and pressing it back into the depths of his dantian.

Li Bai groaned, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He stopped trying.

These shackles are indeed not simple.

He looked up and surveyed the cell.

The cell was small, no more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) long and wide. The walls were made of thick bluestone, with molten iron poured into the cracks, making it incredibly hard. The floor was damp, with a pool of dark green water in one corner, emitting a musty smell and a faint fishy odor. High above, near the ceiling, was a small window, about the size of a palm. Outside were thick iron bars, through which only a faint sliver of moonlight filtered in, casting a pale, white patch on the damp floor.

This is the lowest level of Chang'an's imperial prison.

A place that holds serious criminals, death row inmates, and... "special" prisoners like him.

Li Bai slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

Leaning against the cold stone wall, he could feel the moisture seeping from it, slowly soaking through his prison clothes. The air was thick with decay, dampness, and an indescribable sense of despair—the lingering regrets and fears left behind by countless prisoners who had spent their final moments here.

He closed his eyes.

Start recalling everything that happened today.

From waking up in Duan Qiniang's boudoir, to encountering that fifteen-year-old girl on the streets of Chengdu, to her clear, watery eyes, to the arc of her skirt as she turned to leave... and then to the subsequent chase, the desperate situation, the drawing of the Azure Lotus Sword, and the strange phenomena that soared into the sky...

Then, the Taoist priest from Mount Shu appeared.

Then there's... the Imperial Advisor.

The old Taoist priest, dressed in a faded gray robe, with a gaunt face, looked quite ordinary.

Li Bai remembered his gaze.

Those eyes were calm and deep, like an ancient well, bottomless. But when he looked at him, Li Bai could sense something flowing in those eyes—not murderous intent, not hostility, not even curiosity.

Rather, it is a kind of...examination.

It's a kind of scrutiny, as if examining an object, a tool, something... worth studying.

Why?

Why did the Imperial Advisor want to protect him?

Or rather, instead of protecting him, they're... locking him up here?

"Keep a close watch on them and do not use torture."

That's what the Imperial Advisor said at the time.

This statement, while sounding like protection, carried a deeper meaning for Li Bai. The Imperial Preceptor represented Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the imperial court, and the highest authority in Chang'an. His words could decide a person's life or death, and also their… worth.

So, what value do I have in the eyes of the Imperial Advisor?

Li Bai raised his left hand.

The shackles on his wrists were heavy and cold, but beneath them, the Xiling Jade Talisman emitted a faint, pale golden light. The light was weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, yet it persisted. The jade talisman clung tightly to his skin, emanating a warm, gentle sensation that seeped into his body, repairing his damaged meridians and nourishing his withered dantian.

He obtained this jade talisman in the secret realm of the Western Mausoleum Divine Kingdom.

When the high priest handed him the jade talisman, he only said one sentence: "This item is destined for you and can protect your life."

Looking back now, this sentence may have meant more than just its literal meaning.

Li Bai focused his consciousness into his dantian.

Inside his dantian, the blue lotus had completely withered, its petals fallen, its leaves scorched black, leaving only a bare lotus seedpod and a few wisps of faint blue sword intent remaining on it. The sword intent was very weak, like a wisp of silk, drifting slowly in his dantian.

But even under the suppression of the shackles, these few strands of sword intent were not completely extinguished.

They are still there.

Li Bai's heart stirred.

He tried not to circulate his true energy, but instead to sense those few strands of sword intent.

Sword intent is the extension of will, the manifestation of thought, and an existence that transcends true essence and spiritual power. It originates from the "Azure Lotus Sword Manual," from his understanding of the "sword," and from his obsession and will in his two lifetimes.

Shackles can seal spiritual power and suppress true essence.

But can it block willpower?

Can you block out your thoughts?

Li Bai closed his eyes and focused all his attention on those few strands of sword intent.

At first, nothing happened.

The sword intent remained faint and elusive.

But gradually, Li Bai sensed something different.

Those few strands of sword intent began to flow slowly, extremely slowly...

It wasn't the surging, overwhelming flow of true essence, but rather like an undercurrent beneath the water, like the movement of the earth's veins, like... something deeper, more essential, slowly awakening.

As the sword intent flowed, Li Bai felt a strange connection forming between himself and the withered lotus seedpod deep within his dantian.

That lotus seedpod is the core of the Azure Lotus Sword Intent, a "Dao Seed" that condenses in the dantian after the Azure Lotus Sword Manual has been cultivated to a certain level. Although it has withered now, its essence and its foundation remain.

At this moment, guided by the sword intent, the lotus seedpod began to tremble slightly.

A faint, pale blue light shone from deep within the lotus seedpod.

The light was very faint, so faint that it was almost invisible.

But it was this glimmer of light that gave Li Bai a jolt.

He sensed that the connection between himself and the Azure Lotus Sword had not been completely severed.

Although the sword was confiscated and the true energy was sealed, the connection that originated from the depths of the soul, the realization that "the sword is me, and I am the sword," still remained.

As long as this connection remains, he still has hope.

Li Bai took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement.

He began to try to use his sword intent to communicate with the lotus seedpod, to guide that wisp of pale blue light to flow slowly through his meridians.

very slow.

So slow you can barely feel it.

The runes on the shackles continued to suppress the flow of all spiritual energy. But the light guided by the sword intent did not seem to belong entirely to the category of "spiritual energy"—it was closer to the manifestation of "Tao," closer to fragments of "laws."

Therefore, the suppression of shackles is much less effective against it.

Li Bai could sense that faint blue light, like a tiny stream, struggling to move forward in a dried-up riverbed. It bypassed the blockade of the shackle runes, passed through the damaged meridians, and flowed little by little throughout his body.

Wherever it passed, the damaged meridians began to feel slightly warm, sending a tingling, itchy sensation through them.

That's the wound healing.

Although it's slow, it's definitely healing.

Li Bai was certain of this.

He no longer rushed things, but instead immersed himself entirely in this slow, meticulous process of repair. Time lost its meaning in the darkness. Only a faint blue light flowed slowly through his meridians, like a firefly in the night, weak yet resolute.

I don't know how much time passed.

Footsteps could be heard in the distance.

The footsteps were heavy, the sound of jailers' leather boots on the stone steps, accompanied by the clatter of chains dragging on the ground, coming from afar.

Li Bai opened his eyes.

The pale blue light instantly receded, sinking back into the depths of his dantian. He leaned against the stone wall, closed his eyes, and pretended to be unconscious.

Outside the iron fence, the torchlight shone.

Two jailers stood outside the bars, peering through the gaps.

"Are you still alive?" a rough, hoarse voice asked.

"He's panting," another voice replied. "The Imperial Advisor instructed that he cannot die. Has he been given food?"

"Not yet. The higher-ups said this person is unusual, and a special person needs to be in charge of delivering the food."

"When will that be? Don't let them starve to death."

"They won't starve. People like that can go without food for a few days without any problem."

The two whispered a few words to each other, and then their footsteps gradually faded away.

The torchlight faded, and the cell was plunged back into darkness.

Li Bai opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

A dedicated person is responsible for delivering meals...

This means that the imperial advisor's "attention" to him was closer than imagined.

He closed his eyes again and continued to guide his sword intent to heal his injuries.

This time, he no longer just repaired his meridians, but began to try to "observe" the runes on the shackles.

The runes were a deep blue, engraved on the surface of the shackles forged from black iron. The lines were intricate and mysterious, interlocking to form a complete system of restrictions. Li Bai didn't know much about runes, but as a geological engineer in his previous life, he had an instinctive sensitivity to "structure," "energy flow," and "systems."

He carefully observed the direction of the runes.

He soon discovered a pattern.

These runes are not evenly distributed.

On the inside of the wrist shackles, near the pulse point, the runes are less dense. There are also several points where the runes are relatively weak at the joints of the ankle shackles.

These nodes may be the "connecting points" of restrictions, or the "turning points" of energy flow.

In short, it is a relatively weak area.

Li Bai's heart stirred.

He tried to guide that wisp of pale blue light to the rune node on the inside of the wrist shackles.

The moment the light touched the runes, the dark blue runes on the shackles suddenly lit up!

A strong recoil force came, causing Li Bai's wrist to ache terribly, and he almost cried out.

But he held back.

He sensed that, at the same time as the recoil, there was an extremely subtle... loosening at that rune node.

Although it lasted only a moment and was quickly compensated for by a stronger flow of energy, that moment of loosening was real.

This means that these shackles are not unbreakable.

It just takes time, patience, and... an opportunity.

Li Bai withdrew his brilliance and stopped trying.

Now is not the time.

His injuries have not yet healed, and his sword intent is still very weak. Rashly attacking the shackles would only alert the enemy.

He needs to wait.

Waiting for his injuries to heal, waiting for his sword intent to grow stronger, waiting... for that "opportunity" to arrive.

Time continues to flow.

In the darkness, Li Bai could hear groans coming from the distant prison cells, the footsteps of the guards on patrol, the rustling of rats gnawing at something in the corner, and the dripping of water seeping from the cracks in the stone.

These sounds formed the background noise at the bottom of the prison.

Monotonous, oppressive, suffocating.

But Li Bai's heart gradually calmed down.

He began to think about more questions.

What is Yang Yuhuan doing now?

What impact did that strange phenomenon have on Chang'an and on history?

What exactly did the Imperial Preceptor mean by the "Secret of the Green Lotus"? And how much did Emperor Xuanzong of Tang know?

And there's Mount Shu...

The Shu Mountain Taoist who suddenly appeared said, "This boy carries the secrets of Xiling, and Shu Mountain will not sit idly by." Was this a threat or a promise?

The Secret of Xiling...

Li Bai looked down at his left wrist.

Even under the shackles, the light of the Xiling Jade Talisman remained faint but persistent.

What secret does this jade talisman hold?

Why is Shushan so concerned about it?

Why does the Imperial Preceptor... seem to have designs on it as well?

One question after another swirled in Li Bai's mind.

But there was no answer.

The only thing he was certain of was his current situation—severely injured, imprisoned, and his spiritual power sealed, but he still had a glimmer of hope.

This glimmer of hope rests on this jade talisman, on those few strands of sword intent, on... his memories and will from his two lifetimes.

I don't know how much time passed.

Footsteps could be heard again in the distance.

This time, the footsteps were light, steady, and unhurried.

Not a jailer.

Li Bai opened his eyes and looked outside the iron fence.

A figure appeared in the torchlight.

He was a middle-aged eunuch.

The eunuch wore a dark purple official robe, had a fair complexion, no beard, and eyes as calm as a stagnant pool. In his hands he carried a wooden tray with a bowl of water and two steamed buns on it.

He walked up to the iron fence and stopped.

The jailer quickly stepped forward, took out a key, and unlocked the fence.

The eunuch bowed and entered the prison cell.

He didn't look at Li Bai, but simply placed the tray on the ground, straightened up, and turned to leave.

But just as he turned around, his lips moved slightly.

A very low, very soft voice reached Li Bai's ears:

"The Imperial Advisor asked me to tell you—"

"Wait patiently and do not act rashly."

"Your Majesty already knows the secret of the Azure Lotus."

After saying that, he walked out of the cell without looking back.

The jailer locked the bars again, and the eunuch's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The torchlight faded, and the cell was plunged back into darkness.