"Is Chiliao finally going to make a move?"
"Six years and three months. Chiliao hasn't changed his seated posture since he arrived here. Now he's not only changed his posture but also walked out of his cell! I have a premonition that a bloody massacre is about to begin!"
"Lin Zhiping! Close the gate! Hurry and close our cell door! We don't want to become sacrifices after Chiliao goes mad with bloodlust!"
The other prisoners in the Heaven-class prison were terrified and cried out in panic.
Even if they hadn't personally witnessed Chiliao's terror, anyone who had heard of his reputation would know: this was a devil who reveled in slaughter!
His Taoist robe wasn't naturally red; it was stained crimson with the blood of those who had died by his hand!
"Hello there, little darling."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Taoist Chiliao, from the Dragon Tiger Celestial Masters' Mansion. Well, although they've certainly expelled me by now, I'm quite sentimental and don't easily betray my sect!"
Chiliao raised his head, his disheveled hair fluttering around his cheeks as if moved by an unseen breeze.
It revealed a face with a ferocious bone structure.
This person seemed inherently evil!
His features, his bone structure, all appeared to be crafted from an evil mold.
A single glance filled one with primal fear!
Ying Chen heard Chiliao's introduction and remained unmoved, as if indifferent to who this person was, where he came from, or what his strength might be.
Ying Chen merely glanced at Chiliao and asked, "Are you the strongest person in this prison?"
Chiliao grinned, "I don't really want to admit it, as it makes me seem immodest. But what can I do? If I claim to be second, no one would dare claim to be first. So, I'll grudgingly admit it."
"Oh." Ying Chen nodded.
The next moment, Ying Chen vanished from his spot.
Chiliao's wide grin froze on his face.
His pupils dilated, and he stared in disbelief at the spot where Ying Chen had been, shouting, "How is this possible?"
With his strength, he couldn't sense Ying Chen's presence at all!
It was as if Ying Chen had traversed time and space and left the prison!
*Smack!*
Suddenly, a hand emerged from in front of Chiliao and grabbed his neck.
With a powerful push, Chiliao was pressed against the wall.
The immense inertia caused the wall, cast from fine iron, to dent, forming the shape of a human body!
Following the hand, one could see that its owner was none other than Ying Chen!
"What... what's going on?" The other prisoners in the Heaven-class prison were stunned.
They had all prepared themselves for Chiliao's rampages, ready to witness the scene of Chiliao splitting Ying Chen's skull open. To their surprise, the most terrifying existence in the entire Heaven-class prison was no different from Granny She Kun, Shi Yan, or Mei Yu; he was subdued in a single exchange!
"Who... who is this guy? He's even more terrifying than Chiliao!" a prisoner trembled and asked.
But no one could answer him.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Chiliao roared in shock and rage.
As he uttered the three "damn its," a strange rune appeared in his eyes.
The moment the rune manifested, a terrifying pressure descended upon the entire Heaven-class prison.
Chiliao's emaciated body made creaking sounds, and vein-like structures resembling withered branches rapidly grew, spreading across his body and covering him in an instant.
"Die!"
Chiliao exerted his strength, and the withered branches instantly came alive, erupting with power as immense as a tsunami.
He surprisingly broke free from Ying Chen's suppression and escaped Ying Chen's grasp!
Ying Chen was slightly taken aback.
"Withered Wood View?"
Withered Wood View was a technique that mimicked the wilting of wood in winter and its sprouting in spring.
By shifting between life and death, one could unleash power several times greater than their own.
It was a renowned technique from the Seventy-Two Southern Arts.
If cultivated deeply enough, it could even rival the superior arts in the Thirty-Six Northern Arts.
However, it seemed this technique had become incomplete due to the passage of time.
At least from Chiliao's display, there was no sign of the life-and-death essence that Withered Wood View should possess.
True Withered Wood View should carry a sense of detachment that transcends life and death, and the power unleashed should be imbued with a fearlessness that disregards everything.
Chiliao, however, only exuded ferocity, like the unwilling struggle of a person before death, completely lacking any sense of transcendence.
If Ying Chen were to critique it, he would only give it three words: unworthy.
"Heh heh..."
Chiliao let out a piercing laugh.
"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable... but this Taoist's technique isn't Withered Wood View, it's Withered Wood Zen, snatched from the Buddhist Court!"
"A killing knife, a living sword, life and death culminate in Withered Wood Zen! It is precisely because I possess this that I have carved out my name and gained such a formidable reputation!"
"Today, I will let you witness why I am called Chiliao! And I will also tell all you brats inside and outside the prison to show me respect from now on! Address me as 'Taoist Master' and kneel in greeting!"
As Chiliao spoke, he subtly glanced at the camera placed at a distance.
Lin Zhiping, the six-fingered man in black who was observing the situation in the Heaven-class prison through the monitor, his face instantly darkened.
He understood that Chiliao was warning him!
In the past, he might have already activated the "King Ming's Eye" to suppress Chiliao.
But now, he had to rely on Chiliao, so he could only endure it and speak through the microphone, "Chiliao, stop the nonsense! Deal with this guy, and I'll give you whatever you want!"
"Hahahaha... at least you're sincere!"
"Then watch closely! This Taoist master will perform a trick for you, grandson!"
Chiliao laughed heartily and suddenly his body trembled.
Instantly, large masses of bloody aura emanated from Chiliao's body. The already dim Heaven-class prison became even harder to see through.
The air rippled like water, constantly undulating.
The lights hanging from the ceiling flickered erratically, making crackling sounds.
In a haze, Chiliao seemed to transform into a colossal, hideous, and ferocious demon god!
Two enormous tusks protruded from his mouth, and drops of blood dripped from their tips.
*Swish!*
Upon seeing this scene, everyone, whether prisoners inside or Lin Zhiping and his companions outside, changed their expressions.
So, this was the true origin of the name Chiliao!
Not, as the江湖 rumors claimed, because he liked to wear a red Taoist robe!
"Team Leader Lin... This... could it be a Dharma Idol?" a staff member asked Lin Zhiping fearfully.
Lin Zhiping's face grew solemn, and he shook his head, "I don't know. But... it looks very much like it."
Dharma Idol was currently the most difficult divine ability to cultivate in the Xuanmen realm!
Even among the Five Great Sects, only a handful of individuals, easily counted on one's fingers, could cultivate a Dharma Idol.
Who would have thought that an expelled rogue cultivator had secretly mastered it?
A flicker of unease crossed Lin Zhiping's mind, and he quietly instructed a staff member beside him, "Dispatch more personnel. When Chiliao deals with that guy, subdue him immediately!"
"Otherwise, with Chiliao's Dharma Idol, it will be difficult to send him back to the prison again!"
"Understood!" The staff member acknowledged and immediately went to dispatch personnel.
At this moment, Lin Zhiping's attention was entirely focused on Chiliao, no longer on Ying Chen.
Because in his mind, the moment Chiliao's Dharma Idol appeared, Ying Chen's death had been sealed!