Heroes' Prison-Chapter 1098 - 1040: The Desolate Castle

After leaving the Heavenly Demon Little Dragon, Huang Yi once again mounted his Soul Warhorse and flew towards the center of the Blood-colored Plains.

After rising into the night sky, he glanced back. In the distant forest, the flickering bonfire seemed still visible. He wondered what the Heavenly Demon Little Dragon would do next—would it also venture into the Blood Castle?

Huang Yi saw a reflection of himself in the Heavenly Demon Little Dragon. The Heavenly Demon Little Dragon was persistently striving for revenge, just as Huang Yi was tirelessly working to overthrow the World Federation. In a way, they were the same kind of people.

But who knew what their next meeting would be like?

"Whoosh!" Suddenly, a blood-red light shot up from the forest below, brushing past him. Fortunately, the Soul Warhorse reacted swiftly and dodged in a flash.

This Blood-colored Plains was full of danger, a moment’s inattention could lead to death here.

Huang Yi put aside his thoughts and began to focus on his journey.

Gradually, the long night passed.

During that night, Huang Yi encountered various dangers and even started encountering mystic formations. Sometimes while flying, the surrounding scenery would suddenly change, and he would fall into illusionary formations. However, having studied formations at the Oskan Royal Academy, he was able to escape from those formations after spending some time.

When dawn broke across the horizon, a mountain peak finally appeared on the distant skyline, on which stood a grand castle.

The castle was built against the mountain, with some structures directly perched on cliffs. The buildings inside were mainly constructed of stone, lavishly designed, with spires and domes soaring into the sky, densely packed and eerily imposing.

The castle had complete facilities; briefly observed, there were small gardens, churches, tombs, watchtowers, an astrolabe, and a bell tower, among other things. In the Ancient Times, Bloodhoof the Ascendant and his tens of thousands of servants lived here, with countless people laboring in the estates and plantations on the Blood-colored Plains outside the castle, sustaining its operation.

But now the castle was deserted, deteriorated over time, with some buildings collapsed, and numerous plants growing wildly, covering the castle. Green moss covered the stones of the buildings, with vines even spreading through the windows.

At this moment, the golden-red morning sun slanted up from the horizon, bathing the rest of the sky in golden-red dawn, but hovering above the castle was a thick cloud. When the sunlight reached around the castle, it seemed blocked, unable to shine in, keeping the castle shrouded in gloom.

The castle appeared to be isolated from the outside world, like its own Small World with its own weather system.

"The Blood Castle truly lives up to its reputation!" Huang Yi murmured to himself as he gazed at the castle from afar.

Regions that are their own Small Worlds are top-level areas, such as his Heroes’ Prison and the Thunder God’s Ancient Godship, both isolated from the outside world.

Huang Yi dared not impulsively fly over the Blood Castle; instead, he cautiously descended and, putting away the Soul Warhorse, walked to the foot of the mountain.

From the ground looking up, the Blood Castle appeared even more majestic; lifting one’s head couldn’t encompass it entirely. One could only vaguely see layers upon layers of buildings on the mountain, seemingly extending into the sky.

Surrounding the mountain was a high wall made of stacked boulders, covered in moss and vines, too tall to climb. The only way in was through a single entrance in the wall.

Huang Yi took a deep breath, cautiously observing for a while, before finally stepping through the entrance.

Just as he stepped in, Huang Yi felt a distinct sense of foreboding as if he was being watched by something unknown.

From now on, his life was no longer secure, and he could face death at any moment. Throughout history, countless people had explored this castle; those who reached here were top experts, but to this day, no one has fully explored the castle, not even demigod experts.

At this point, a twisting narrow path lay before Huang Yi, winding upwards towards the castle on the mountain. Flanking the path were ancient oak trees with twisted trunks, lush foliage casting large shadows, making the path feel eerie as if it were dusk.

Looking further ahead, the scene became unclear, veiled by a faint mist drifting in the air, obstructing vision.

Huang Yi followed the path into the oak woods, slowly ascending towards the peak, his shoes making a "rustling" sound as they stepped on fallen leaves.

The woods were silent; not even the sound of birds could be heard, with only Huang Yi alone. The ancient trees seemed like Ancient guardians quietly watching Huang Yi’s arrival.

After climbing a section of steps along the path, Huang Yi finally traversed the oak forest. Turning back, he found the tree crowns of the oak woods were now beneath him; his height now allowed a view over the entire oak forest.

Ahead on the path stood a bell tower. The bell tower was already ruined, with its mechanical clock stopped, a gigantic hand somehow fallen like a massive sword stuck in the ground, covered in rust. A blood-red rose entwined around it, blooming a few vibrant flowers.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!" Suddenly, Huang Yi heard the sound of a clock ticking, faintly indistinct, as if transmitted through something.

Huang Yi turned his head and looked around, but his eyes met with barrenness; the clock on the bell tower was indeed damaged, no longer ticking. The ticking sound seemingly wasn’t coming from the bell tower.

When Huang Yi wanted to listen more carefully, the ticking sound vanished as if playing hide-and-seek, suddenly disappearing, seeming like an illusion.

Shaking his head, Huang Yi bypassed the bell tower and continued exploring ahead.

Next, he passed by a watchtower and arrow tower, encountering no danger along the way, yet the atmosphere was intensely eerie, making him uncomfortable.

Gradually, Huang Yi reached the halfway point of the mountain, entering important areas of the Blood Castle.

Standing ahead was a huge church. At the top of the church stood a statue of a religious figure, extending its hands in a caressing gesture, as if stroking the heads of the masses. After years of exposure to wind and rain, the statue had almost weathered away, leaving only a vague outline.

The church windows were domed, presumably once adorned with beautiful stained glass, but now long shattered. A gust of wind blew through the broken windows, emitting a low, mournful wail.

Huang Yi stepped on the fallen leaves in front of the church door, walking inside step by step.

The interior of the church was in disarray, with dust accumulated on the ground turning into a thick layer of dirt. Moss and roses stubbornly grew upon it, with vines stretching in all directions, nearly occupying the church’s interior, also creeping into the surrounding antechambers.

Huang Yi turned his head, looking around. Originally, the walls of the church should have been hung with murals, and the ceiling should have had magnificent crystal chandeliers, but now nothing could be seen. The entire church was empty and almost nothing was left.

Huang Yi walked a circle inside, checking each antechamber, but found nothing unusual.

Gradually, he came to the side of the Prayer Stele.

The Prayer Stele was a stone monument that, after long years of baptism, still stood tall. It was overgrown with a layer of green moss, with a morning glory spiraling around it.

The Prayer Stele is generally an important part of a religious church, either carved with the doctrines of the religion, excerpts from important scriptures, or the holy words of the pope.

In the Heroic Sect Temples of Huang Yi, the Prayer Stele was inscribed with the doctrine, present in every Heroism Religion church across the world.

Huang Yi reached out his hand and peeled away the moss from the Prayer Stele, tearing off the spiraling morning glory, revealing the original appearance of the stele.

Sure enough, a carved text appeared on the Prayer Stele, barely discernible despite countless years having passed—

"I follow in the footsteps of the sages,

Praying for all living beings,

To pave new roads.

I use the death of one world,

To exchange for the splendor of another world.

For this, I shall pay the price of life,

But this is not my ultimate destination.

One day,

I shall return,

Revealing my true form..."

Huang Yi softly murmured, reading out the passage. The text was written in the most common lingua franca, understandable by anyone, but deciphering its specific meaning was extremely difficult. The words faintly exuded a kind of mysticism, seemingly telling an ancient story, half-revealed, impossible to ascertain the truth.

"Whoosh!" At that moment, a gust of cold wind blew in from outside the window, causing a flapping sound resembling the swaying of curtains and cloaks.

But the windows around the church had long been ruined, with no curtains whatsoever!

In a flash, from the corner of his eye, Huang Yi faintly perceived a shadow flicker in an antechamber to the east of the church.

His heart tightened, reflexively fanning the Wings of Freedom, activating the effect to render himself invisible.

Simultaneously, he swiftly slipped into that antechamber, observing the scene inside.

The next moment, he was startled.

In the dim antechamber, there unexpectedly appeared five sacrificial maidens clad in blood-colored robes.

Yet earlier, when Huang Yi had inspected this antechamber, he had seen no sign of them.

These red-robed maidens must have just appeared!

However, the maidens appeared semi-transparent, seemingly not real beings, but remnants of a historical projection.

At this time, they bore stern expressions, holding magic wands, forming a circle, muttering as if in prayer.