"Old Bones" immediately responded, "Li Tangzhu, what do you want to ask? I will definitely answer truthfully."

I held up a finger and said, "Where did Ban Jie Ta go?"

I hadn't seen Ban Jie Ta since the prisoners came down.

I also knew that now was not the time for me to stop and get to the bottom of things. However, with a figure like Ban Jie Ta disappearing at such a crucial moment, I wouldn't know the hidden dangers unless I clarified the reason.

Old Bones turned around and said, "Ban Jie Ta, didn't he come down?"

The remaining people looked at each other for a few moments before replying, "Master Ta, we don't know where he went!"

I couldn't help but frown.

Ban Jie Ta could sit on equal footing with Old Bones, and it certainly wasn't just because of prestige. At least in terms of cultivation, he had to be able to suppress these desperate criminals imprisoned in the iron cage.

Even if such a person couldn't get out of the upper level of the prison, he wouldn't disappear silently.

At the very least, he should have been able to make a sound to warn us.

I asked in a deep voice, "I remember, Ban Jie Ta said that he lost his legs on the second level."

"Has he ever left the prison, ever ventured through the iron cage?"

"This…" After a slight hesitation from Old Bones, someone said, "Master Ta once ventured through half of the Inverted Pagoda Dungeon. That's how he got the name Ban Jie Ta."

My face darkened as I turned to look at Old Bones, "I remember you said that everyone who went out of the prison door to explore the prison never came back. What's the matter with Ban Jie Ta?"

Old Bones quickly said, "Ban Jie Ta claimed that he had explored half of the dungeon, but he didn't say what he encountered in the dungeon."

"Others were afraid of him and didn't dare to question him. His subordinates believed in him like a god. Only I didn't believe him. That's why we two are at odds."

The implication of Old Bones' words was that Ban Jie Ta was bragging and he had never believed it.

Old Bones' words made me even more suspicious of his motives.

Thinking back carefully, Ban Jie Ta wanted to speak twice during the process of us coming down from above, but he was forcibly interrupted both times.

Ban Jie Ta's disappearance was likely because he had been silenced.

I said calmly, "Let's not talk about Ban Jie Ta's matter for now, how did you get locked up in this prison?"

Old Bones said, "This is a long story."

"Some of us committed crimes outside, and some were arrested and imprisoned in this prison one after another more than sixty years ago because of identity issues. When I first came in, I was only in my twenties, and now I'm old bones."

Old Bones said, "Of course, there are people in here who came in even earlier than us. The Four Heavenly Kings are from that time. No one knows how long the Four Heavenly Kings have been here."

"I only know that they dominate here."

"When we were first locked up, this was a prison specifically for imprisoning warlocks. Although we couldn't get out, we still had time to air out."

"Until more than twenty years ago, our prison cell was suddenly closed."

Old Bones recalled, "I still remember that it was after we went out to air out that day, just after returning to the prison cell. The prison outside was in chaos."

"I heard the warden shouting: Close all prison doors, set up weapons, anyone who dares to move will be killed without mercy."

"At that time, we all thought someone had escaped. In order to help the brothers who escaped, we started knocking on the prison doors non-stop to create chaos."

"This would attract some of the prison guards over, and the brothers who escaped would be able to get away more easily."

I heard from Jiu Gui that there had always been such a rule in prisons for serious offenders. No matter which prisoner escaped, whether they were familiar with him or not, they had to help out when needed, and even if they couldn't help, they had to pretend they didn't see it.

Of course, this rule was limited to prisons for serious offenders.

Because most of the people locked inside couldn't get out, and there was no difference between having one more day or one less day of imprisonment.

If it were a prison for minor offenders, there would be no such thing. Reporting and assisting in the capture of escapees might lead to direct release due to meritorious service.

Sometimes, the rules of the martial world lie in the balance between interests and human nature.

Old Bones continued, "At that time, we started smashing the doors without any order. The prison guards were afraid that we would really cause a big problem, so they rushed over to suppress us."

"We were smashing the doors from the inside, and they were smashing the doors from the outside. The entire prison was in chaos."

"Later, I don't know who shouted: Something happened, come out quickly. Those prison guards didn't care what happened to us here, and they all ran out."

"Logically speaking, they should have been able to come back after running out. But we waited for almost a day, and not only did no one come back, but even the people who delivered food didn't come. We shouted in the prison cell for a long time, but the prison guards outside couldn't hear us."

"We started smashing the doors again. This time, we were passing signals to each other."

"We all wanted to know what happened outside, but no one could say why. Even the person in charge of cooking wasn't taken out by the prison guards."

"Later, the Eastern Heavenly King started sending signals, asking who among us was missing."

"As a result, we realized that no one was missing from the entire prison cell."