NOVEL WEB Chapter 15: Chapter 13 Imprisonment
Hongye Prison, located in a city to the southeast of the Immortal Sect, had at its center a Third Grade Red Maple Ancient Tree. Its branches and leaves stretched over hundreds of miles, absorbing the spiritual energy from the fiery veins below.
Many more First and Second Order Red Maple Trees, cultivated by the cultivators, formed a Great Formation, offering a spectacularly beautiful scene.
A hovering Flying Boat entered Hongye Prison, and the guards scanned the files of each individual.
Within the Immortal Sect, there were not a few criminals, including many promising cultivators, as well as people whose families had been law-abiding and pure before committing crimes.
For many, sometimes they were just a little bit of money away from buying the right Alchemical Elixir to break through their current level. If they missed the opportunity and had to wait another two or three years, when old age and declining vigor took hold, they'd lose their chance forever. And by that time, they already would have maxed out any loans they could take.
Under these circumstances, even the most rational person might consider pulling off a big job, not to mention the elderly and infirm cultivators who faced death if they did not succeed.
In such cases, what could you do? Could you believe in the elusive possibility of "Growing Golden Lotus"?
The Immortal Sect also found this situation to be a major headache. Many of these people had been law-abiding citizens for decades, life-long hardworking taxpayers. You couldn't just kill all these people, after all. Many of them engaged only in robbery without murder or feared execution so much they did not practice Demonic Arts. Did you want to drive people to more desperate acts?
Every year, cultivators from the Immortal Sect were imprisoned, and of course, they could not be detained together with the people who hadn't reverted from the Acquired back to the Innate state.
They were all high-quality prisoners.
Today, getting off the vehicle were groups of elderly in their fifties, sixties, seventies, or even older, until at last, a handsome and dashing young man stepped down, causing the Supervisor to pause.
Meng Yu, age 16, killed thirty-two people.
Instantly, he thought of this person, since the matter had caused quite a stir recently. It truly was a pity.
From now on, they would live here.
The Supervisor asked Meng Yu if he had any requests, to which Meng Yu stated he wanted to see the Prison Warden.
...
Seven days later.
Prisoners entering incarceration underwent a week-long adaptation period. They would not be assigned heavy work but were instead allowed to experience the taste of losing their freedom.
Beforehand, Meng Yu had researched the Immortal Sect's prisons online. Reports said life there was good, with quality food and dedicated rehabilitation in hopes of leaving the bitter life behind and reintegrating into society. There were also many who self-studied and found success after their release.
Meng Yu had also seen information on the dark web, where comments claimed the inside was dark. There were all sorts of nonsense happening, etc., unless you had a special skill.
So, what was the reality like?
The reckless would charge at rocks, head-on. The clever would simply sidestep, not probing the depths.
Three days later, the Prison Warden agreed to meet with Meng Yu.
The Prison Warden was a middle-aged man over fifty (by Immortal Sect standards), and on his desk lay Meng Yu's personal file.
"Speak, what is it you want to say? If you are thinking of asking for special treatment due to your young age, don't bring it up. I believe myself to be quite fair, and I'd rather you not put me in a difficult situation."
The reason cultivators of the Immortal Sect did not wish to be imprisoned wasn't due to poor conditions inside, but because they could not cultivate normally there. Many cultivators were extremely wealthy, but inside, they were only allowed to spend up to a certain limit from their personal accounts each month.
However, for a cultivator, sometimes a single Alchemical Elixir could cost over ten thousand!
Then, he flipped through Meng Yu's personal records.
"You only know how to make Fire Blast Talismans, nothing else?"
"You've never studied Formations either?"
"Unaware of Beast Taming, can't farm..."
"Hmm, sure, your middle school was an ordinary one, with no Spiritual Medicine Field, no mines, no enterprises."
In the Immortal Sect's prisons, there is a strict reward and punishment system. If you're imprisoned but still wish to continue cultivation and live a good life, you must earnestly work on the sewing machine.
For example, for those skilled in healing techniques, aside from having easy work, in the prison's affiliated hospital, you'd be a respected doctor, and that includes Flying Knife.
For example, if you understand talisman crafting, as long as you complete enough tasks each day, you're free to do whatever you want afterward, even work overtime to reduce your sentence.
The Immortal Sect has ruled for ten thousand years and discovered that for the very same person, you might beat them, humiliate them, even push them to death, but the value they create through their labor is actually limited, and they may even intentionally destroy production tools. However, give them decent pay and the promise of a big reward, and they'll voluntarily work three times or even more than that, sometimes even with initiative, including abandoning their family and forsaking marriage just to work until death.
The same applies to prison.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I'm still a high school student, so I haven't learned that much, but please rest assured, I will work hard to learn," Meng Yu said with a good attitude, while the Prison Warden pondered Meng Yu's future arrangements.
Managing Qi Refinement Practitioners is different from managing ordinary people; simply put, Qi Refinement Practitioners belong to the immortals of the Immortal Sect.
Aside from those utterly wicked and beyond redemption, it's common for passionate individuals in both cultivation and martial training to be unable to help themselves and end up getting caught.
Within the Immortal Sect, one of the greatest animosities is the way of the wicked. Many devotees to cultivation make mistakes, which is normal, but you cannot just capture them and waste their cultivation, nor can you prevent them from practicing for a long time. Among these people are many children from wealthy families and even prodigies. If you lock them up for a decade, block their True Qi, and then they can't establish their Foundation or form their Golden Core, wouldn't they seek revenge, along with their families?
Heaven doesn't seal off all exits; you must leave a glimmer of hope!
In the history of the Immortal Sect, there was an instance where someone, in defense of his family's honor, accidentally killed someone. His wife and three sons each achieved their Golden Pill of Achievement, yet they could only watch as their husband and father grew old and died due to his delayed cultivation. Afterwards, they made the lives of everyone involved utterly miserable!
Their approach was simple: to dig up old cases and publicly discuss the deeds of certain systems within the Immortal Sect, incessantly reviewing and scrutinizing them!
This is a world where great power can reside in an individual, and working in prison is merely a way to earn a living. Is it really worth a life-and-death struggle?
One generation plants the trees under which another gets shade, just like the current Meng Yu...
Convicts entering the prison, no matter how powerful they are, must be disciplined, but he was different. Although only at the third grade of Qi Cultivation, he has developed Sword Intent. Such a talent ranks among the strongest within the entire prison, and if he had a change of heart and was willing to serve beyond its confines, the higher-ups would surely approve. After all, he somewhat resembles a Sword Madman (the Immortal Sect favors Sword Cultivators, not only for being the best at slaying but also less likely to collect a pension), honed into a fine blade. So was there any sense in unduly offending him?
"Officer, I will abide by all the rules within the prison and do my work well, not causing any trouble for everyone. Moreover, I believe I have some ways I can be of assistance to you," Meng Yu stated.
"Go on," said the Prison Warden with a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth. Did he really think he could bribe him with money?