Once, I wanted to be a good person

Facing Dahei Jialuo, someone he would absolutely not let go and was preparing to replace, Fang Ze didn't even bother to cover up.

So he looked at Dahei Jialuo, smiled, and said honestly, "It's me. Your Excellency Garo. Haven't seen you in hours, all well?"

Previously when he was alone in prison, Dahei Jialuo was full of doubts and apprehension, confused about his future, but now seeing Fang Ze, he calmed down instead.

So he maintained his position sitting cross-legged on the ground, pinching a Zen Meditation Seal with two hands at his abdomen, while other two hands naturally drooped, his single eye quietly watching Fang Ze, warmly saying, "Thanks to you, not too bad."

Fang Ze glanced at the ground full of pointed knives, then looked at Dahei Jialuo sitting cross-legged on the tip, smiled and said, "Since all is well. Then please, let's have a good chat."

Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, a trace of contemplation appeared in Dahei Jialuo's eyes, "Outside? Aren't you afraid I'll escape?"

Fang Ze confidently smiled, "Do you think you can escape?"

Dahei Jialuo's mouth pulled into a smile, "How would I know without trying?"

Fang Ze stepped aside, then towards the door, said, "Then please. Let me see Your Excellency's escaping ability."

Dahei Jialuo saw this, stood up from the knife tip, then floated towards the door.

Previously besieged by Lan Bing, Hei Po, and others, he already lost the chance of victory, so he directly self-detonated the Incarnation Vessel and Divine Soul, planning for his consciousness to return to Spirit Realm Mountain, unexpectedly trapped by the [God-Imprisoning Method]. This caused his consciousness to be bound to that single shred of remaining Divine Soul, similar to the Flower God's current state.

Floating out of prison, Fang Ze closed the door behind, while Dahei Jialuo took the opportunity to observe the prison with his single eye. Skilled at observing and analyzing, he quickly discovered some clues.

'12 cells, counted by Earth Branch.'

'Five in front of me? Could it be.... that five Demigods have already been caught here?'

While pondering this, Fang Ze reached out and grabbed his Divine Soul, "Don't look where you shouldn't, follow me."

With that, Fang Ze took Dahei Jialuo's Divine Soul to the Late-Night Investigation Room.

The reason Fang Ze went through the trouble of bringing Dahei Jialuo to the Late-Night Investigation Room was mainly because... before this, Dahei Jialuo did not meet the summoning conditions of the Late-Night Investigation Room: Fang Ze was too cautious, he didn't participate in the fight with Dahei Jialuo, never even touched him. So he could only use this cumbersome method to bring Dahei Jialuo into the Late-Night Investigation Room.

Arriving at the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze gestured for Dahei Jialuo to sit on the sofa, and then slowly opened his mouth, "Your Excellency Garo, I have a few questions to ask you."

Since leaving prison, Dahei Jialuo continuously gathered information and checked his status.

He discovered something remarkable, from the moment he left that cell, his perception of Divine Body and Divine Soul on Spirit Realm Mountain, all his senses had recovered.

Although because he lost his vessel and his Divine Soul is down to a single shred, there isn't much he can do, but... he could self-destruct again!

If he self-destructed his Divine Soul, wouldn't his consciousness return to his body?

At this moment, sitting opposite him, Fang Ze watched Dahei Jialuo, listened to the voice of his heart, expressionless reminded, "Your Excellency Garo, I might need to remind you of something. You think when you self-destructed in Spirit Realm, your consciousness was trapped here by me, now after self-destructing here, your consciousness could return to your body?"

Dahei Jialuo didn't expect his thoughts to be seen through by Fang Ze so easily, but he wasn't foolish enough to admit it, so with his single eye watching Fang Ze, coolly said, "I don't understand what you're saying."

With that, he actively changed the subject, "However, I'm curious about what questions you want to ask me?"

Upon hearing Dahei Jialuo's words, Fang Ze looked at him deeply, didn't expose him. Then Fang Ze casually produced a set of paper and pen, spread them on his lap, asked his first question, "What is your relationship with He Weidao?"

Hearing Fang Ze's question, while continuing to observe the layout of the Late-Night Investigation Room, Dahei Jialuo indifferently replied, "He Weidao? I have no relationship with him."

Fang Ze nodded, recorded a few lines in his notebook, then continued, "Do you know each other?"

Dahei Jialuo did not answer this question, his gaze returned, fell on Fang Ze, then said, "Fang Ze, reciprocation aids communication. So I feel it's only fair, after you've asked me questions, can I also ask you questions?"

Although Dahei Jialuo's suggestion seemed unreasonable, Fang Ze pondered slightly, feeling it does help Dahei Jialuo reveal more information, so he nodded and agreed to his request, "Okay. You may ask."

Receiving Fang Ze's consent, Dahei Jialuo did not hesitate, directly asked, "What is this place?"

Fang Ze replied, "This is the Origin Fort."

Dahei Jialuo hesitated, muttering, "Origin Fort....?"

A moment later, he asked, "What is the Origin Fort? I've never heard of it."

Upon hearing his question, Fang Ze slowly shook his head, "That's the second question. You should answer my question first."

Dahei Jialuo's already dark face seemed to darken even more, but eventually, he said, "Just now you asked if I knew He Weidao? We do know each other. But not much contact."

Fang Ze nodded again, then wrote a few words in the notebook, then he raised his head to explain to Dahei Jialuo, "The Origin Fort is one of the few regions born at the beginning of the world along with the World Origin. These regions are the source of all Awakening Abilities, each different category of Awakening Ability corresponds to different regions."

"The abilities associated with the Origin Fort are related to souls. Hence it can intercept all souls."

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Dahei Jialuo frowned slightly, repeating Fang Ze's words in his heart.

He felt Fang Ze was lying. But..... Fang Ze's words seemed real, almost convincing.

He wanted to believe Fang Ze....but felt these statements were too fantastical, peculiar.

A region similar in rank to the World Origin, source of Awakening Abilities? Imprisoning souls? That's too outrageous....

If such a place truly exists, why can Fang Ze come and go freely?

What is his identity?

Thinking about this, Dahei Jialuo was momentarily filled with confusion.

And at this moment, Fang Ze asked his third question, "Have you ever traded with He Weidao?"

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Dahei Jialuo paused, then he deeply looked at Fang Ze and seriously replied, "No."

This time, upon hearing Dahei Jialuo's words, Fang Ze didn't speak. He looked up, forcefully poked at his notebook with his pen, and said seriously, "Lord Garo! Do you think I'm a fool?"

"We are exchanging intelligence, not playing house! When facing your questions, I speak with full disclosure, yet you completely deny any response to mine. And you do so thoroughly."

"Do you think I would believe you?"

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Dahei Jialuo realized his previous responses had been too simplistic and uncooperative.

So his mind raced, contemplating how to make amends.

After a moment, he had an idea in mind, so he slowly began to speak, "Indeed, I was at fault earlier. But I truly wasn't lying, just answered a bit too simply."

He paused, then said, "He Weidao and I do know each other because we have crossed paths before, and we both know the other's information. But we really don't have any relationship. As for transactions, there's even less to talk about."

"If we're talking about interactions, the most significant interaction between us was me using him."

At this, Dahei Jialuo deliberately displayed a smug smile on his dark face, "The Golden Sparrow Flower incident all those years ago was deliberately set up by me, creating all conditions for him, using his hand to kill the whole Si Family."

"It was by the bloodline and souls of that noble Si Family that I collected the offerings and materials needed to bear the true form of a demigod's descent."

Fang Ze quietly listened, then carefully recorded.

But... if you look closely, you'd find that what he wrote didn't quite match with Dahei Jialuo's story.

Thus, one recounted truths mixed with falsehoods from the past, while the other fabricated a mysterious place. In any case... both were probing each other, trying to conceal the truths they knew as much as possible.

The only difference was: Fang Ze could eavesdrop on Dahei Jialuo's inner thoughts, while Dahei Jialuo could only rely on experience and details to analyze everything Fang Ze said.

In this way, the probing continued for a full three hours. Fang Ze finally asked his last question, "My Lord, what do you think of Xin Yi, the one wrapped all in bandages? I recall you said before she escaped that her identity was not simple."

Hearing Fang Ze's question, Dahei Jialuo replied with a smile, "Her identity is problematic, very much so. I suspect she might actually... be a demigod as well."

Upon Dahei Jialuo's answer, Fang Ze's eyes slightly narrowed, gently tapping his pen on the notebook, as if pondering something.

After a moment, he smiled and then stood up, saying to Dahei Jialuo, "Alright, I understand. Lord Garo, thank you for your cooperation tonight. If there's nothing else, I'll return you to the prison."

Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, Dahei Jialuo, with his single eye fixed on Fang Ze, also smiled and said, "Thank you too for informing me about the Origin Fort. Once I return, I'll thoroughly investigate what you've mentioned."

"However, regarding the prison, I won't be going back! Until we meet again!"

Having said that, the divine power around him gathered once more, then exploded fiercely!

This explosion was far less powerful than the one he created in the Spirit Realm, lacking even the power of a casual peak-level Martial Skill from Fang Ze, but Dahei Jialuo's form, at that moment, still vanished without a trace.

Yet, faced with Dahei Jialuo's action, Fang Ze seemed unsurprised. He just naturally stood there and said, "Lord Garo, you're being naughty. You think that self-detonating in the Spirit Realm, I can still capture you to the Origin Fort; so in the Origin Fort, self-detonation would mean your escape?"

Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, Dahei Jialuo's frail figure indeed reappeared in the Late-Night Investigation Room, but there wasn't much anxiety on his face from being trapped by Fang Ze. He weakly spoke, "Origin Fort? Do you truly think I'd believe in something like this? Or do you think I can't distinguish between the laws of prison and this space?"

"If there really is an Origin Fort as you say, it must be that prison rather than this space."

"As for you detaining my consciousness, do you honestly believe I don't know about the God-Imprisoning Method your family ancestors researched years ago?"

"During our conversation, I was testing whether you're using the God-Imprisoning Method and whether your God-Imprisoning Method is complete."

"Alas, it seems your God-Imprisoning Method is merely a semi-finished product."

"You can stop one self-detonation, block two, but can you block the third, fourth?"

At this point, Dahei Jialuo's somewhat illusory divine soul began to swell again, as if preparing for a second self-detonation.

But this time, Fang Ze simply looked at him and said calmly, "My Lord, you see, your biggest flaw is your unwillingness to trust people. And you always doubt others are deceiving you."

"Though these two spatial laws have some differences, you truly are within the Origin Fort."

As he spoke, Fang Ze gestured with his hand. In an instant, Dahei Jialuo only felt darkness before his eyes; when he came back to his senses, he found himself back in the prison full of blades.

And as soon as he returned to that prison, all the reactions from his previous self-explosion were instantly suppressed! Meanwhile, his abilities, perception, and connection to his Divine Body and Divine Soul were once again sealed!

At that moment, he resembled an ordinary ability user who had touched the boundaries of law prohibition, completely losing all authority and power.

At that moment, Dahei Jialuo truly struggled to believe it, 'How's it possible? How did I end up back here again?'

'The God-Imprisoning Method doesn't have this effect.'

Thinking of this, Dahei Jialuo's brow furrowed deeply. He closed his eyes, his four arms forming three seals: Turning Dharma Seal, Earth-Touching Seal, and Fearless Seal, to calm his mood.

After a moment, his single eye opened, his black face filled with gloom, and he felt an ominous premonition in his heart.

Leaving aside whether the Origin Fort exists or not, just speaking of this prison: he is likely locked in this prison by his soul information, able to be directly imprisoned in this prison regardless of which space or place he is. Only then could the previous events be explained.

Thinking of this, Dahei Jialuo couldn't help looking at the tightly closed prison door,

'In that case... things get tricky. We'll have to wait for Fang Ze to reveal a flaw....'

.....

Meanwhile, Fang Ze, who had directly imprisoned Dahei Jialuo in the Demigd Prison, sat on the sofa, contemplating the contents recorded in the notebook.

There's no denying, for a conspirator like Dahei Jialuo, who sets traps over decades, inciting the Absolute Pinnacle Demigods, helping the Outer Realm Demigods successfully create a critical breach in the Real World, harbors far too many secrets.

——

The next chapter, Chapter 225, will be updated around 2:00 on December 13 on the "Qi" "Dian" app. Looking forward to your reading~