Yao Jin looked expressionlessly at the breach torn in the [Holy Light Barrier].

He slowly wheeled his wheelchair into the alley, seeing two heavy armor guards unconscious on the ground.

The exit of the secret dungeon was also shattered.

Just as he thought... the light fire rising above Red Lake was indeed the signal for the prison break.

He didn’t even see a shadow of Su Ye.

That was not beyond his expectations, as the Saint Heir was long left behind by Gu Nanfeng, not only in speed but also in layout and strategy.

"Hoo... Hoo..."

Yao Jin felt the wind gathering from all around.

He pushed his wheelchair, stopping at the entrance to the secret dungeon, and could not help but think self-deprecatingly.

No wonder he always felt today’s wind was quite clamorous, and with a sort of bloody clamorousness.

Yao Jin did not enter the secret dungeon.

Since Gu Nanfeng already broke in, then the heavy armor guards inside certainly wouldn’t be able to stop him...

As for himself, even less so.

Although Yao Jin’s spiritual power ranks among the top of the younger generation, he knows his limits. No matter how powerful he is, he is only a Fourth-order Transcendent, and no spiritual power can contend with a Titled one, let alone Gu Nanfeng, a top genius who advanced to Titled status at such a young age.

If it’s about fighting.

He couldn’t even surpass Su Ye, let alone stop Gu Nanfeng.

But...

What he needed to do now was just to block Gu Nanfeng.

For a long time, he was the true master of this secret dungeon... Even if he was dismissed by the Great Elder, no one understood the mechanisms, array patterns here better than him. Yao Jin knew every inch of this dark land’s layout, and he also knew what kind of people were held in this secret dungeon.

Yao Jin took out the [Light Mirror], temporarily taking control of the secret dungeon.

"Bang!"

Although the exit door of the secret dungeon was shattered, there was an emergency secret door in the nearby corridor, which now closed with a loud thud.

Yao Jin began unlocking the mechanisms inside the secret dungeon. He flicked the [Light Mirror], and the precisely crafted underground prison echoed with the sound of gears meshing.

One by one, secret doors closed.

Within the secret dungeon were countless array patterns, prepared for such major upheavals as a "prison break."

For decades.

These array patterns were used for the first time.

After activating these mechanisms...

Yao Jin hesitated for a moment, then continued to turn the [Light Mirror], this time not to activate certain mechanisms, but to deactivate them...

He deactivated the most important mechanism in the secret dungeon—the secret silver doors that restrained the Transcendent criminals.

The cages holding the major offenders were opened.

Yao Jin’s voice echoed within the secret dungeon.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I am Yao Jin."

As his voice rose, most of the eyes within the darkness were filled with fear, for this was the name they dreaded most in recent years.

"I have good news."

Yao Jin calmly said, "The temple has decided to pardon a portion of your evil deeds... but only a portion."

Upon hearing this, the entire secret dungeon fell into silence.

All the Transcendent criminals were listening to Yao Jin’s voice.

"I swear in the name of light, if you can complete the upcoming task, you shall have the opportunity to leave the secret dungeon alive."

"You must have seen the Transcendent who just broke into the temple..."

"I don’t demand that you kill him, just hurt him, even leaving a single wound will result in the temple pardoning your sins, and from then on you can see the light of the outside world."

Yao Jin spoke slowly, pausing for a moment, then looked back at the empty alley behind him, and softly said, "Of course, you can also try to destroy the emergency heavy door of the secret dungeon, but beyond this door awaits a number of heavy armor guards and Holy Judges beyond your imagination, who would unhesitatingly shoot the escaping convicts."

Through [Light Mirror] surveillance, he surveyed the pitch-black secret dungeon.

He voluntarily unlocked the secret silver prison doors incarcerating the Transcendent criminals...

In the darkness, footsteps began to echo.

Those fallen lanterns, extinguished of firelight, were picked up and relit one by one.

The Transcendent criminals left their narrow confines, marking the most absurd day of their lives, when the secret dungeon was breached from the outside.

The one who breached the secret dungeon did not free them from their bindings.

The one who truly "untied" them was Yao Jin, who tormented and abused them for years, even decades.

They looked back towards the end of the corridor, the direction to leave the secret dungeon, where stood a seemingly not very sturdy heavy door, perhaps one person couldn’t break it, but with many, there was a chance to shatter it.

But no one moved towards the heavy door.

Because they did not know... whether beyond this small door lay light, or an even greater darkness.

There was no one behind Yao Jin.

No heavy armor guards, no Holy Judges.

If they escaped now, they would meet true freedom...

But sadly, no one chose this option because the "freedom" before them seemed simpler than breaking the heavy door; as long as they left a single wound, they could receive "pardon," which seemed not at all difficult.

...

...

Gu Nanfeng, who shattered the black silver cage, also heard Yao Jin’s voice resonating within the secret dungeon.

Helping Meng Xizhou, he slowly left the last cell.

The darkness was illuminated by the lanterns’ light fire.

But now blocking their path were not heavy armor guards, but those Transcendent criminals who had left their cages.

Most of these people were imprisoned in the secret dungeon for carrying murder cases, committing unforgivable crimes, with some being about to lose their sanity as "out-of-control"...

This was also why Gu Nanfeng did not shatter these cages before.

If he had chosen to release these people, it would undoubtedly have made the situation chaotic, alleviating his pressure.

But it would also have resulted in many innocents being harmed.

What he hadn’t expected... was that the one who truly opened the cages was Yao Jin.

"What to do with these people?"

Gu Nanfeng turned to look at Meng Xizhou.

Sitting numbly for six years.

Meng Xizhou’s body was quite frail, and now she needed to lean on Gu Nanfeng’s shoulder just to barely stand steady...

Seeing those greedy, covetous eyes fall upon her.

Meng Xizhou lowered her gaze, and after a moment, she spoke in the softest tone, uttering the coldest words.

"...Kill them all."

Gu Nanfeng chuckled silently.

This was actually the response he had expected.

The reason for their acquaintance back in the North Continent was that Meng Xizhou had also used an alias and trained under the Fourth Legion of Rusted Bones. The two had performed countless missions, big and small, and faced multiple life-and-death situations together...

Whatever Meng Xizhou decided to do, she would never drag her feet or hesitate.

He looked at the woman by his side, saying with satisfaction, "No wonder it’s you. Knowing about the Secret Dungeon, I was very worried... that your character would change."

"Darkness cannot erase my heart."

Meng Xizhou smiled, "You should have some faith in me. Whether it’s six years or sixty years of sitting numbly... what I decide to do, I will never change."

"Now..."

"I want to leave this Secret Dungeon."

"I want to see the light outside."

Her voice was slightly hoarse and somewhat choked. When leaving the last Secret Dungeon room, she couldn’t help but glance back at the prison where Yuan Yang resided. It had already been cleaned, with not a trace of blood left to be seen.

Her mentor was dead.

As if he had never lived.

The words Yuan Yang left before dying... still lingered and echoed in her heart, bringing a pang of bitterness every time she thought of them.

["Little Meng, once you get out... go and see the light."]

Gu Nanfeng gazed into Meng Xizhou’s eyes.

He could feel the sadness emanating from those eyes.

"What a pity, there’s no sun outside now."

He drew his wooden sword and said softly, "But there are brilliant stars, and starlight... is also very beautiful."

...

...

Once he arrived at the Secret Dungeon and manipulated the Light Mirror to alter the barrier, Yao Jin hurried away.

The spiritual surveillance of the Light Mirror was destroyed the moment Gu Nanfeng drew his sword, losing all perception over this place, but that didn’t matter...

He could probably envision the outcome of this battle.

The Secret Dungeon imprisoned several powerful super-criminals, but before Gu Nanfeng’s Lan Qie, these guys were hardly any different from sheets of paper, perhaps just able to withstand an extra slash or two.

Their lives and deaths did not matter.

Yao Jin never cared about the fate of those he released.

As a believer in light, he wouldn’t joke with the name of "light." If someone could really harm Gu Nanfeng, he wouldn’t mind offering leniency with "pardon," but only if the person was still alive.

Clearly...

Once these people left the cage, they were destined to die under Gu Nanfeng’s blade.

After doing all this, Yao Jin quickly left the alley.

He was very cautious and cherished his life.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Su Ye must have been positioned far away from the Secret Dungeon by Gu Nanfeng. Now they just needed to delay a bit to wait for Su Ye to arrive, followed by the reinforcements from the Light Temple...

Along the way, Yao Jin had already sent dozens of messages to Su Ye urging him—

But there was still no response.

Opening all the barrier array patterns of the Secret Dungeon to block.

At the same time, releasing criminals to cause interference.

He had done all he could...

But, it was still useless.

As he pushed his wheelchair to leave the scene, within mere seconds, Yao Jin heard the sound of the Secret Dungeon’s emergency heavy door being blasted open. The sound was so loud that he could hear it through several alleys.

This battle ended much too quickly.

Yao Jin suddenly realized the terrifying nature of Lan Qie Extreme Speed. You couldn’t outrun it or escape it. From the moment he arrived at the Secret Dungeon, his fate seemed already sealed.

"..."

A gust of wind assaulted Yao Jin from behind.

He turned around to see Gu Nanfeng, with splatters of blood staining him, supporting Meng Xizhou with a cold expression, appearing before him as if by instantaneous movement.

The wooden sword, too, appeared at his throat as if by instantaneous movement.

Yao Jin knew he couldn’t escape.

He slowly turned his wheelchair, raising his head to look at the Goddess, speaking meaningfully, "Does Lady Divine want to kill me?"

Gu Nanfeng slightly turned his head, watching Meng Xizhou’s expression.

Meng Xizhou remained silent.

"The Great Elder relieved me of my ’Secret Dungeon Master’ status, allowing me to meditate at Sunset Mountain. According to the laws of Light City, one in meditation without major crimes should not be disposed of on the spot," Yao Jin said softly. "I ’pardoned’ those criminals, merely overstepped. You have no reason to kill me."

These were heart-piercing words.

In the dungeon, you are a prisoner.

Above the dungeon, you are the Goddess.

Being the Goddess, you must abide by the laws of Light City... Some things a Goddess must not do.

"Very reasonable."

Looking at Yao Jin’s face, Meng Xizhou chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "But I’m not the one who’s going to kill you. What do you mean by the laws of Light City?"

Yao Jin’s eyes filled with bewilderment.

Meng Xizhou glanced at Gu Nanfeng and whispered, "Make sure no blood splashes onto me."

"Of course."

The latter chuckled, nodding with understanding.

The wooden sword trembled.

In the alley, a fierce wind erupted, and a spray of blood burst forth, splattering everywhere.