A cold sensation seeped in from all directions as Yang Kai slowly came to. He dazed for a moment, then abruptly recalled the scene before he lost consciousness and sprang to his feet, assuming a defensive stance as he warily scanned his surroundings.
What greeted his eyes left him stunned. This was no longer the room where Bei Limo had been. It looked more like an ice chamber — translucent ice walls on every side, polished to a mirror sheen, roughly several zhang across. It resembled a prison cell! The bone-piercing cold had already soaked through his body, raising goosebumps all over his skin.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed. What in the devil's name was this place? His memory stopped at the instant Bei Limo's palm had struck him unconscious. As for what happened after, he genuinely had no idea. Thinking back on it now sent a chill down his spine — the might of a Demon Saint was truly something he could not yet contend with.
"Heh heh heh, you're awake?" A deep, leering laugh suddenly came from behind him.
Yang Kai's expression turned grave as he spun around. A moment later, a sense of disbelief washed over him — the voice had been incredibly close, yet if the speaker hadn't made a sound, he wouldn't have noticed them at all. It was only then that he realized something was wrong with his body. A quick inspection made his face darken in an instant.
Several layers of seals had been placed inside his body, locking his Emperor Yuan completely. He couldn't access a shred of it. Judging by the energy traces on those seals, it was clear that only Bei Limo herself could have achieved this.
No wonder he felt so cold. Without Emperor Yuan to shield him, in an environment this harsh, it would be stranger if he weren't freezing.
But compared to that, he cared far more about where exactly this place was and what Bei Limo intended to do with him.
The one who had laughed was a Stone Demon — broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, apparently of considerable cultivation. He stood several zhang away, watching Yang Kai with a look of amusement. Between the two of them stood a door, fitted with only a small window through which Yang Kai could see a sliver of the world outside.
This really was a prison cell! Yang Kai's face darkened further. He leaned toward the small window, sized up the Stone Demon, and said in a low voice, "Who are you? Where's Bei Limo?"
The Stone Demon adopted an expression of surprise. "You dare address the Holy Sovereign by name? You really do have audacity to spare — no wonder you were thrown in here."
"I'm asking you a question. Are you deaf?" Yang Kai said impatiently.
The Stone Demon smiled faintly. "The Holy Sovereign left me a message for you. The moment you sincerely repent, the moment she'll let you out. You'd best think carefully, boy." He gave Yang Kai a meaningful look, then turned and walked away.
Yang Kai was immediately displeased. He erupted into a torrent of curses: "Repent to her? Tell her to go eat shit!" He had been invited here to repair a World Gate, and now Bei Limo had locked him up in this wretched place — his anger was hardly going to settle easily. To make matters worse, the woman had knocked him unconscious earlier. He was clearly the one who had been wronged, yet Bei Limo still presumed to lord over him. Old grudges and new grievances surged up together, and at that point, he couldn't care less whether she was a Demon Saint or not — he would curse first and deal with the consequences later.
The Stone Demon nearly tripped over his own feet, spinning back to gape at the ice cell where Yang Kai was held, his eyes practically bulging from his skull.
What was wrong with this human? He actually dared to insult the Holy Sovereign like that — was he tired of living? If such words reached the Holy Sovereign's ears, the consequences would be unthinkable! If any other demon imprisoned here had spoken so recklessly, the Stone Demon would have cut them down on the spot. But Yang Kai was not someone he could kill. After all, that female demon had just told him this man was of great use to the Holy Sovereign — tossing him in the ice cell was merely meant to teach him a lesson and break his spirit.
Shaking his head, the Stone Demon said, "Boy, if you don't want to die, I suggest you shut your mouth. Trouble comes from the tongue — you've surely heard that saying."
Yang Kai had only been venting with a casual curse, but the Stone Demon's warning only stoked the flames of his fury. He immediately bellowed, "So what if I curse her?" Then, word by word, he roared: "Bei Limo is a cheap wench!"
Since he couldn't beat her, venting his anger through words was the next best thing. If he could actually provoke Bei Limo into showing her face, even better — he had some pointed questions for that woman.
Such vulgar language made the Stone Demon's eyelid twitch. His fists clenched, a murderous aura flaring across his face. Yang Kai insulting Bei Limo was tantamount to shaming every demon under her command. Not hearing it was one thing — but having heard it, how could he remain indifferent?
He wanted to go teach Yang Kai a lesson, but after a moment's thought, he reined in the impulse. He feared he might accidentally kill the man with a single blow — after all, this human's cultivation had been sealed by the Holy Sovereign and likely couldn't withstand even a few of his fists. He let out a cold laugh. "Curse all you want. Let's see if you still have the breath to do it in a little while!"
And curse Yang Kai did. His voice was thunderous, full of vigor, as a stream of crude and insulting words poured from his mouth without pause, echoing ceaselessly through the seven-level ice prison.
On the seventh level alone, there were far more imprisoned demons than just the Stone Demon — at least a hundred. When they suddenly heard someone cursing Bei Limo, every one of them wore an expression of pure horror. They scrambled to the windows of their cells and peered toward Yang Kai's location, as if trying to get a look at whoever could possibly be so brazen. They all knew they were locked in here with no hope of survival, yet not a single one among them had ever dared to blaspheme Bei Limo like this.
Daring to do so wasn't a matter of a simple death sentence. In this world, there were plenty of methods far worse than death.
Though the Stone Demon had left, he never stopped monitoring Yang Kai's movements. Listening to the human's eloquent, unending torrent of abuse, the veins on his forehead bulged and danced. In Bei Limo's entire life, she had probably never been called so many names in a single day — and almost none of them were repeated. The Stone Demon was genuinely impressed. To be able to curse someone with such righteous indignation, with a fury that could shake the stars?
The human cursed for a solid two hours before finally falling silent. The Stone Demon's patience had nearly reached its breaking point as well. When he realized Yang Kai had stopped, he let out a heavy breath of relief, assuming the man had simply run out of strength.
After all, Yang Kai's cultivation had been sealed. The seventh level wasn't particularly deep, but with his powers locked down, even staying here wouldn't be easy for long. The fact that he had managed to curse for a whole two hours was already impressive. Compared to his verbal venom, the Stone Demon found himself more in awe of the man's sheer endurance. But now that he had finally hit his limit, at least things could be somewhat quieter.