Chapter 1261: Chapter 581: Overcoming the Calamity and Gaining a First-Grade Opportunity (2)

It felt that even at its peak, it would have been hard to do this so perfectly.

"That’s right, human, thank you for your help."

"If it weren’t for you, the Immortal Prison Hall would’ve long since been utterly finished."

"I really didn’t expect you’d be able to grievously wound this guy."

"Leave what comes next to me, I’ll go all out to expel this bastard."

"Even if I can’t expel it, I’ll completely suppress it so it has no chance to stir up trouble again."

At this moment, the Artifact Spirit of the Immortal Prison Hall finally awakened.

It seemed that after a long, long time, it had finally recovered part of its power.

It looked at Jiang Fan with deep gratitude.

If this human Cultivator hadn’t taken action to help, it would probably have been completely finished already.

Although that strange entity was still alive, it felt the thing could no longer pose any threat to it.

"No need to thank me, I was just doing it to protect myself."

Jiang Fan said. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Boom~~

Right then, a message instantly plunged into the depths of his sea of consciousness: "You fell into the schemes of the strange Prison Elder, but you remained unafraid in the face of danger and instead ambushed the Prison Elder, grievously wounding it, while also fully reviving the Artifact Spirit of the Immortal Prison Hall. You successfully passed through a life-and-death calamity. You obtain four hundred million Luck Points and one First-Grade Opportunity."

Sensing this message, Jiang Fan immediately understood that he had finally dealt with the Prison Elder and successfully survived this calamity.

If not for this notification, he would still be wondering whether the Prison Elder was lurking in the dark, uninjured.

Now it seemed the Prison Elder truly wouldn’t be able to pose much of a threat to him in the short term.

"In any case, you’ve rendered great service this time."

"Your prison guard rank will be raised from Sixth Grade to First Grade."

"From now on, you’ll be a First-Grade Prison Guard, and your authority in the Immortal Prison Hall will greatly increase."

"At the same time, you may also enter the treasury of the Immortal Prison Hall and freely pick a single Treasure."

The Artifact Spirit of the Immortal Prison Hall said at once.

First-Grade Prison Guard?!

Hearing this, Jiang Fan raised his eyebrows. He had stayed in the Immortal Prison Hall long enough to have learned a bit about the official ranks within the Immortal Prison.

From Ninth Grade Prison Guard to Seventh Grade Prison Guard, this rank actually belonged to the Yin Soldiers, equivalent to the lowest-tier soldiers of the Immortal Prison, specializing in hard and dirty work, with very little authority.

But things were different starting from Sixth-Grade Prison Guard. From Sixth Grade to Fourth Grade Prison Guard, that rank was Yin Official, and Yin Officials weren’t just stationed in the Immortal Prison—they could leave the Immortal Prison to travel the world, capturing escaped ghosts and Demons.

At that level, both power and status rose by a great margin.

It was precisely because of this that, after Jiang Fan advanced to Sixth-Grade Prison Guard, the Prison Elder could no longer do as he pleased with him and couldn’t kill him for no reason.

As for Third-Grade Prison Guard up to First-Grade Prison Guard, their status would undergo a qualitative leap. At that point they were no longer mere ghost officials, but Yin Marshals, marshals of a region within Hell.

Once at that rank, they could command tens of thousands of Yin Officials under them, as well as numerous ghost officials.

A Third-Grade Prison Guard could command ten thousand Yin Soldiers; a Second-Grade Prison Guard could command a hundred thousand Yin Soldiers; a First-Grade Prison Guard could command a million Yin Soldiers.

As for ranks above prison guard, those were the true officials of Hell—the Judges.

At that position, there was no need to take action personally; one only needed to sit within Hell and judge the sins of all kinds of criminals. Officials at this level had begun to grasp the authority of Hell itself.

It was precisely because of this that Jiang Fan’s promotion to First-Grade Prison Guard was already quite remarkable.

He had essentially reached the limit of what he could be promoted to right now.

If he wanted to become a Judge, at the very least he would have to become an Immortal.

Back in the full-flourishing era, the Yin Officials of the Immortal Prison were all Immortals.

Being able to make Jiang Fan a First-Grade Prison Guard was already a promotion that broke all rules.

Boom~~

Before Jiang Fan could think much more, a force instantly wrapped around him and transported him to a mysterious space, and within this mysterious space were countless dazzling Treasures.

The first things that entered his sight were pieces of High-tier Materials imbued with Law Dao Rhyme. From these Materials one could comprehend many of the Heaven and Earth Laws, enough to drive any Cultivator Above Unity mad with desire.

It was likely that these Dao Rhyme–infused Materials all came from the Immortal Realm, since the Mortal World simply didn’t have so many High-tier Materials.

Next, on a series of enormous racks lay one Magical Treasure after another. These Magical Treasures were at least Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Level, and there were even Immortal Artifact Level Magical Treasures among them. Every single one radiated a powerful, unfathomable aura.

One could imagine how many Treasures this treasury of the Immortal Prison Hall contained.

If he hadn’t rendered huge service, he wouldn’t have been qualified to enter this treasury at all.

Obviously, his First-Grade Opportunity lay within this treasury.

"Hm?!"

Jiang Fan quickly noticed a particular Magical Treasure. After all, picking out something suitable for himself among so many dazzling Magical Treasures was very difficult, but under the guidance of destiny, he still found it quickly.

What appeared in front of him was a staff, about six feet long, its entire body a dark black, forged from Yellow Springs Black Sink Willow—this Yellow Springs Black Sink Willow grew on the banks of the Yellow Springs River, absorbing deathly and Yin energy for tens of millions of years. It took a hundred years to sprout, a thousand years to branch, ten thousand years to become usable wood. Its material was incomparably precious, and it was especially effective in restraining the soul.

The staff was wrapped all over with snow-white funeral paper. Seven Soul-Capturing Bells hung from its butt-end. When shaken, they let out a tinkling "ding-ling" sound that could cause the minds of the dead to collapse, their Souls scattered.

The head of the staff was inlaid with a ferocious skull (two skulls interlocked), with a core of Netherworld Cold Iron inside. In that core were carved four Runes reading "Peace Under Heaven." Each time it was swung, it would annihilate one ferocious ghost, and the color of the Runes would deepen accordingly.

Its exterior was sheathed in Ninefold Cold Iron, and within were hidden thirty-six Soul-Suppressing Nails, specially designed to break the protective astral qi of Evil Cultivators. It innately restrained Demons and monsters, with immense power.

"Oh, you’ve taken a liking to the Immortal Artifact Mourning Staff?"

"That is indeed an extremely powerful Magical Treasure, one that can be said to be unique to our Immortal Prison."

"However, only a few prison guards are ever able to obtain this kind of Immortal Artifact."

"It truly suits your current self."

The Artifact Spirit of the Immortal Prison Hall spoke, having noticed Jiang Fan’s choice, its tone full of approval.

Although there were indeed many powerful Magical Treasures in the treasury, most of them were not suitable for Jiang Fan, because he was still too weak right now.

Even if he obtained a complete Immortal Artifact, he wouldn’t be able to activate it many times.

But the Mourning Staff was different. It didn’t contain an Artifact Spirit, so activating it was very simple.

At the same time, its might was immense, its destructive power astonishing.

If Jiang Fan obtained this Magical Treasure, it would definitely raise his combat strength considerably.

What’s more, this Immortal Artifact greatly restrained Demons, strange entities, and similar enemies.

After all, it specifically targeted the soul; one strike was enough to send many powerful enemies’ Souls flying apart.

Boom~

Thinking this, Jiang Fan reached out and picked up this Magical Treasure. He spent a portion of his Luck Points and instantly gained control over this powerful Magical Treasure. A surge of information plunged straight into the depths of his sea of consciousness.

He instantly understood all the abilities this Immortal Artifact, the Mourning Staff, possessed.

Essentially, it had three abilities.

The first was Soul-Knock: a light tap on a dead soul could wake it up or knock it unconscious; a heavy blow would scatter its Soul, preventing reincarnation. Used on the living, it could place them into a state of feigned death, with their soul leaving the body.

The second ability was Soul-Hook: used together with Netherworld Spells, it could seize Souls from afar, ignoring spatial barriers. Even demon souls that had cultivated for thousands or tens of thousands of years would find it hard to escape.

The third ability was Soul-Suppress: thrusting the Mourning Staff into the ground could form a Netherworld Barrier with a radius of a million kilometers, imprisoning all Souls within that range so they could neither leave their bodies nor flee.

One could say that, with the Mourning Staff in hand, ordinary enemies wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single strike from him.

Even Demons possessing an Undying Body would be knocked completely unconscious by one blow from him.

Without a doubt, this was an extreme counter to those beings with an Undying Body.

"Thank you, senior, I’ll take this Magical Treasure."

Jiang Fan said immediately, very satisfied with this Immortal Artifact.

"Haha, you really were born to belong to our Immortal Prison."

"If our Immortal Prison were still in its full prime, you would definitely receive proper cultivation and training."

"But now the Immortal Prison has collapsed, and at present it can’t exert too much power."

"So if you want to grow stronger, you can only rely on yourself."

The Immortal Prison Hall said somewhat regretfully.

It sensed that this human Cultivator’s talent was absolutely extraordinary. Even in the Immortal Realm he would be counted as a peerless genius. Unfortunately, the Immortal Prison had already declined, shattered into pieces, nearly destroyed.