Techniques and Dao

Chapter 121 Crystal Lock
After a while, suddenly the wooden plank on the small door was pulled away with a whoosh, revealing a small window. Inside the window appeared a pair of wrinkled, bull-like faces, exuding a savage air, who demanded, "Who goes there! State your name!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun pushed forward and said, "Lord Jailer, I am Tai Shang Xiao Jun."

The ox-faced man peered up and down through the small window at Hua Sheng and Taishang Xiaojun: "Who is Taishang Xiaojun? Do you even know where this is? What are you doing here?"

Taishang Xiaojun said patiently and politely, "Please, Lord Jailer, help me make an exception and inform Erlang Zhenjun. Tell him that Taishang Laojun's grandson is passing through your esteemed place today and wishes to pay his respects. Please take some time out of your busy schedule to meet with him."

"Laozi?" The ox-faced man's tone seemed to soften slightly.

The bull-faced jailer's eyes darted around, then he glanced through the window at the heavy bundle of flowers lying on the ground, and said in a sarcastic tone, "A last-minute visit? Did you send a letter or official document to Lord Erlang Shen first? I don't know if he has the time."

Upon seeing the other party's expression, Taishang Xiaojun said, "We are also here to pay our respects to Lord Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun. Chief jailer, please inform him. I believe that Lord Erlang, out of respect for Taishang Laojun, will surely be willing to see us. Thank you so much!"

As he spoke, he reached into his bag and rummaged around, immediately taking out a finely crafted little ruyi (a type of scepter) and handing it in through the window.

"Ah, haha! Laozi is also a celestial being from the Heavenly Court, no need for such formalities. Hmm... then who is this person next to you?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun explained, "His name is Hua Sheng. He is my fellow disciple, and we have come to pay our respects together today."

"Wait a moment!" The ox-faced man deftly put away the small Ruyi and closed the wooden board.

Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun waited outside the door. After a while, Niu Lian still hadn't returned to open the door.

Hua Sheng then asked, "Xiao Jun, didn't you say you were going to buy dog ​​food and toys for Xiaotian Dog? Why did you buy something as expensive as Ruyi instead?"

"Dog food, of course, comes in different prices," Taishang Xiaojun replied softly. "Whenever you encounter someone with power or influence, if you don't have connections, you'll inevitably encounter watchdogs blocking your way. You and I are both just looking for unimpeded passage, for our own convenience, so what's the difference between buying dog food or something else?"

There's clearly a hidden meaning in those words.

At that moment, the small black door creaked open. The bull-faced jailer stood behind the door and said, "You two! Come in!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun immediately slipped inside, with Hua Sheng following closely behind.

Hua Sheng then saw clearly that the man with the bull-like face was broad-shouldered and burly, a full two heads taller than himself. He was carrying a trident, and the ground thumped as he walked.

The little ruyi that had been handed to him earlier was nowhere to be found; it must have been hidden in his bosom long ago.

As the ox-faced man led the way, he said, "Erlang Zhenjun still has some documents to review. I'll take you both to the main hall and wait a moment."

"Thank you, sir!"

While dealing with the jailer, Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked around and surveyed his surroundings.

The bull-faced constable glanced at the package in Taishang Xiaojun's hands and said, "You two must have something to ask of the general and are here to deliver a gift..."

Taishang Xiaojun glanced at the package and laughed heartily, "Not at all. It's just some food and snacks for the general's Howling Celestial Dog. There's nothing valuable inside."

The bull-faced jailer chuckled and said, "I think so too. These days, people don't give gifts in big bags and small packages, especially when they bring them to the yamen openly. If it were something valuable, who would dare to accept it? Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun responded, "The jailer is absolutely right. Such a thing, which is clearly digging a pit for you and putting the general in a difficult position, must never be done."

Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun followed the bull-faced jailer along the narrow corridor.

After walking for a while, the narrow corridor suddenly widened.

Suddenly, I heard a series of hurried footsteps, and a small dog was running towards me.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Corgi weighing about ten pounds, covered in short golden fur.

"Huh? They're keeping Corgis here? They allow pets to roam freely in a prison?"

Looking at the Corgi's adorable short legs, Hana couldn't resist going up to pet them.

Unexpectedly, the corgi suddenly bared its teeth and barked fiercely at Huasheng.

Startled, Hua Sheng quickly withdrew her hand and said, "Why is this corgi so aggressive towards people?"

The bull-faced jailer stood in front of Hua Sheng and said to the corgi, "Why are you running around again?"

But the corgi seemed unwilling to back down at all, barking more and more fiercely, and even began to show its sharp teeth as if it was about to bite.

The bull-faced jailer said, "Strange, this dog is usually quite docile. Even when it encounters strangers, it hasn't been this fierce in a long time. It's like it's met some kind of demon."

Hua Sheng quickly took two steps back, his heart pounding with guilt. He wondered, could it be that Mie Ying had hidden it on his person and that this dog with its keen sense of smell had discovered it?
If it's discovered that someone else snuck in, and they're caught red-handed, making the bull-faced jailer think they have ulterior motives, then today's matter is probably over.

Just as Hana was pondering how to retreat and get away from the fierce corgi, Taishang Xiaojun hurriedly took out a ball made of hemp rope from his bag and went to meet it, placing the ball on the ground.

The rope ball rolled towards the dog, and the corgi's attention was immediately drawn to the ball, and it started playing with it.

Taking advantage of the situation, Taishang Xiaojun patted the corgi's head and said, "Xiaotian! Xiaotian! Do you recognize me? I recognize you!" Hua Sheng hurriedly asked, "Xiaojun, you call him Xiaotian? Could this be... Xiaotian Dog?"

While stroking the corgi, Tai Shang Xiao Jun said, "Didn't you notice?"

"Who could tell? Even the Celestial Hound should be a big dog, right? But this is clearly a pet dog!"

"Corgis can herd cattle, you can't underestimate them!" Tai Shang Xiao Jun seemed to have become interested.

When the topic of cattle herding came up, the ox-faced jailer frowned.

But Taishang Xiaojun continued to tease Xiaotianquan. Xiaotianquan seemed quite amused by him, and rolled over to expose his belly.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun was having so much fun that he forgot all about home. He turned to Hua Sheng and said, "I didn't expect Xiao Tian Quan to be so cute! Hahaha, do you want to come and pet the dog with me?"

"Petting the Celestial Dog? But this dog looks kind of cute and fierce."

Hua Shengben was a little hesitant, but he felt that this opportunity to pet the Howling Celestial Dog was too rare, so he reached out his hand.

Who knew that Xiaotianquan, who had just been easily amused by Taishang Xiaojun, suddenly jumped up and bit Huasheng's hand!
Fortunately, Hua Sheng pulled his hand back quickly, and the Howling Celestial Dog missed its target with a snap. Hua Sheng was still terrified; if it had bitten him, he would have been badly injured, losing two fingers! And if it had bitten his watch, injuring Mieying would have been even worse!
The celestial hound appeared unusually alert, barking wildly at Hua Sheng again, as if preparing to pounce and bite.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun quickly stepped in front of Hua Sheng, patted Xiao Tian Quan's head, and said, "Xiao Tian! He's a human, not a monster, don't yell like that."

Hua Sheng thought to himself, "If I keep petting him, wouldn't that be courting death?" He quickly waved his hand and said, "Forget it! It seems I don't have the right aura for this divine dog. Maybe next time!"

After saying that, he cautiously turned his face towards the Howling Celestial Dog, keeping his back pressed against the wall as he walked away at a distance.

Seeing that Hua Sheng and the bull-faced jailer were walking away, Tai Shang Xiao Jun reluctantly bid farewell to Xiao Tian Quan.

After passing through the long corridor, the space suddenly opened up, revealing a vast expanse of land.

Because the area was extremely open, Hua Sheng almost returned to the outdoors. But his intuition told him that he was still inside the Heavenly Prison building. He looked around carefully and found that although the place was large, it was still sealed off by deep red walls, and he couldn't see a single window at a glance.

Although it was still within the Heavenly Prison, it was at least tens of miles away no matter where you looked. Looking up, there was no light of sky or stars in sight, which suggested that the area above was sealed off.

Although there was a ceiling, it was astonishingly high. Hua Sheng could even vaguely see wispy clouds from inside. No wonder, from the outside, this Heavenly Prison building seemed to pierce the clouds.

Within this vast space surrounded by deep red walls, rows of long stone pillars are arranged neatly from front to back and from left to right. The pillars are spaced about one or two miles apart and are arranged in a tidy and orderly manner.

Surprisingly, each stone pillar extends directly from the ground upwards, as if connected to an inaccessible ceiling. Yet, it doesn't appear to be a supporting beam for the ceiling.

Because of the vast difference in elevation, these sturdy stone pillars, which would normally require dozens of people to encircle, appear at first glance like thin threads connecting the sky and the earth. And in the center of each "thin thread" is a section of luminous "space".

Those spaces display different shades of color, and from a distance, they look like each "thin thread" is strung with a bright, multicolored gem.

The originally dim space was illuminated by these glowing "gems," which served a certain lighting function.

These "gems" resemble fireflies dancing in the night. However, unlike fireflies, these points of light do not move; they simply float in mid-air.

Both Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun were stunned by the wondrous and beautiful scenery.

Hua Sheng unconsciously took a few steps forward to try and see more clearly, when suddenly his forehead slammed into an invisible wall.

At the same time, an orange spot of light appeared in front of them and spread out in all directions.

"A celestial array?"

Hua Sheng rubbed his forehead with his right hand and reached forward with his left hand. Sure enough, his fingers touched a cool and smooth surface, like touching the heat-insulating glass of a refrigerator.

The bull-faced jailer said sternly, "Don't look around. That's the prison area ahead, protected by a magic array. No unauthorized personnel allowed."

As he spoke, he pointed to the red wall behind him and said, "You all walk along the wall to the side!"

Hua Sheng asked, "What's that glowing in mid-air?"

“Those are prison cells. There’s one on each pillar.”

What do these different colors represent?

"Each cell is constructed using a different magical array because it holds different prisoners. Therefore, they are different colors. The darker the color, the more serious the crime committed by the prisoner."

Seeing an opportunity, Taishang Xiaojun casually asked, "I heard that Dao Lingxingjun, one of the Seven Sages of the Founding Realm, was recently imprisoned here. What kind of formation is used to imprison such a high-ranking immortal saint?"

Upon hearing this, the bull-faced jailer seemed to get a little boastful and said with a hint of pride, "That Star Lord is no ordinary person. I heard that he was personally escorted here by Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King."

He pointed into the distance and said, "They're trapped in that crystal lock array."

(End of this chapter)