Chapter 933: The Prisoner In The Belly Of The Mountain

Dong Qitian felt somewhat dejected.

I was such a reputable figure back in my day... Just because I stopped appearing in the mortal world for a while, no one speaks of me anymore. How can this world be so cruel?

Thus, he initiated the proper, procedural matters with a glum sigh and took his oath, an oath to be acknowledged by the heavens.

Dong Qitian pledged his oath, feeling dispirited. It was followed by a sudden strike of lightning, indicating that the oath had been acknowledged by God's will.

At this point, Yun Yang finally relaxed.

Since God's will of this realm had already acknowledged it, it proved that this name was not feigned. This was something he could put his trust in.

If that was the case, there was nothing more to worry about.

Yun Yang rested for a bit more to allow his body to regain its peak condition. Then, he got to work.

Initially, he thought that employing his earthen abilities would be the best and most convenient way to get the job done. However, the severe injuries he sustained earlier had not yet healed completely.

Although his movement speed was back to normal, his mystical Qi, deific consciousness and strength were still at their weakest. That was the reason why Yun Yang was making very slow progress.

Thankfully, Dong Qitian was not in a hurry. He did not urge him to pick up the pace but waited patiently instead. He even managed to start up a conversation with Yun Yang while he waited for Yun Yang to dig his way into wherever he was.

"How's the situation out there?"

"Same old."

"Same old?"

"The mountains are still green, the waters are still emerald, the martial world is still a dog-eat-dog world. You've got to compromise — you can't always do as you wish. Didn't I mention this before? " Yun Yang summarized the current state of affairs concisely.

"Nonsense!"

Dong Qitian was already reeling with anger. That little bastard out there could truly spout words that would anger him to no end.

"Hey, you seem to have been here for a good few years already, but I was the only person you've bumped into? Why didn't you let someone else save you? The conditions you offered are sure to touch a few men's hearts, right?" Yun Yang asked.

"Someone else?" Dong Qitian snorted with disdain. "Do you think this is a place where anybody can simply stroll into?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... You're the only person that could make your way here after all these years!" Dong Qitian was overflowing with resentment as he explained his predicament.

That was his original plan — to hope for help when somebody arrived and get himself out of here.

However, after all these years, the people he could sense within range that were coming close to him would mysteriously disappear, or go around him completely...

In other words, before Yun Yang, there was nobody else that came near this mountain!

Yun Yang was stumped and caught by surprise when he heard this. This sounded completely outrageous!

Dong Qitian had confirmed this several times — there were no restrictive hexes or concealed formations contained within the surroundings of this mountain. Whatever bizarre forces there may be, there was none of it!

However, why could others not make their way here after all these years?

This was a matter he simply could not wrap his mind around!

Whenever Dong Qitian pondered about this question, he would wonder about another; How long have I been sealed here?

Has it only been ten years or so... it seems unlikely!

Occasionally, he would force himself to shut off his outward-scouting deific consciousness. He isolated himself from the world to meditate and cultivate in silence, and a self-imposed exile like this would easily take up ten years or more. Sometimes, even a light nap would take up quite some time...

Then, there was also his dedication to the study of his martial craft. He had studied every move and stroke meticulously, fussing over the tiniest, insignificant details and eliminating the tiniest flaws... The time taken up by this had slipped away like sand in an hourglass.

There was no need to mention that his time spent doing absolutely nothing was even more...

Taking all of that in... have I been enslaved for ten years, or even more?

Perhaps ten times more than that... was not even close!

"Boy, what year is this?" Dong Qitian finally asked, a little hesitant.

"I'm not too sure about that..." replied Yun Yang. "However, I believe it's probably still within the calendar cycle of the Bound of Universe."

Dong Qitian almost spat blood. "Nonsense! It has always been the same calendar cycle since the existence of the Bound of Universe! What other calendar cycle would it be if not for the Bound of Universe's!"

"I'm not aware of the details. When you're out of there, ask somebody else."

Yun Yang's reply did not manage to anger Dong Qitian this time, for he could feel that Yun Yang seemed to be getting nearer!

It was almost the next immediate moment that a loud explosion could be heard. A massive hole tore open the belly of the mountain and a proper connection with the outside world had been established.

In the midst of dust and smoke, Yun Yang stepped inside and stood beside Dong Qitian.

"How fast..." This entire break-in into the center of the mountain took Dong Qitian by surprise.

From how he had imagined it, Yun Yang was a person with a very shallow cultivation base, but even with a good weapon, he should not have been able to dig his way in here that quickly.

Yun Yang laughed it off. "The middle was largely made up of soil, so the process was quicker than anticipated."

He had to raise his head to size up this 'Qitian Who Stands Tall' and nodded subtly. Everything else aside, his height was enough to live up to his name.

Yun Yang was already considered rather tall — seven and a half feet. That was around one point eight meters.

However, Dong Qitian's height seemed to be at least nine feet! Both his torso and his legs were long — a brawny man indeed.

However, this brawny man was currently in a very sorry-looking condition.

As mentioned by Dong Qitian before, the perimeter of the space that encompassed the belly of the mountain was only four to five-hundred feet long.

In the middle of this space, there was an odd-looking platform that seemed to be made out of neither gold, jade or stone material, softly emitting a dull glow.

There was a pole erected on that platform. It had only the girth of a human's thigh, and Dong Qitian was entirely bound to it.

A chain punctured and looped through both his clavicles. It looped around his neck, its ends connected to the top end of the pole.

Another chain thrust through the left side of his waist and punctured back through his right, as if it was coiling around his spine, binding him against the pole behind him.

Both his legs were kept apart from each other like the '八' character, bound at the ankles by two separate chains. His hands, however, was not bound to the pole but kept horizontally apart in opposite directions. Each wrist was clasped with a chain, tethered to the top of the stone walls on opposite ends.

When Yun Yang inspected closely, he determined that there must be poles on both ends of the stone walls to guarantee maximum security.

To sum it up, the great Dong Qitian was spread-eagled, resembling the '太' character. Secured in this manner, besides being able to turn his head slightly from left to right and shake his derriere a little, he was unable to move otherwise.

Yun Yang could not refrain himself from reeling in shock.

"You managed to survive for so many years after being locked up like this? It seems that you, Dong Qitian, must be an extraordinary being — you must've got a pretty remarkable backstory!"

Of course, the most unusual thing his gaze first fell upon was Dong Qitian's beard and hair. Dark strands of mustache dragged across the floor. His hair was even a few feet long as they spread across the ground.

From one quick glance, his entire being seemed to have landed in a pile of grass, grass that had continued to grow thicker and thicker.

Thankfully, the pair of eyes shrouded in that mass of hair and beard was still dancing with life, brimming with an exuberant fighting spirit.

"How pitiful!" Yun Yang sighed. "Sigh, Elder Dong, pardon me for saying this — a monkey is even better-looking than how you look now."

Dong Qitian seethed with anger. "Why don't you try cuffing a monkey here for a few years?"