The sudden restraint of Wu Jinliang was indeed shocking; on one hand, he was startled by the ambush, and on the other hand, he watched helplessly as the giant guillotine descended, not knowing whether to save himself or Shi Chun. Outsiders could scarcely understand his feelings at this moment.

The whole person was stunned instantly, his heart calling out that it was over!

He truly believed it was over, believed Shi Chun was finished, believed that he himself was doomed.

At the same time, he regretted why he came out to witness this, thinking that one downfall was better than both going down together.

People are like this; unless they hit a wall, they don't understand what regret means.

On stage and off stage, everyone watched in awed silence, only the sound of the giant guillotine slicing down broke the silence and touched the heartstrings.

The tremor from the sliding guillotine transmitted from the beam to the groove, the row of prisoners could feel it clearly on their necks, Shi Chun truly experienced what it meant to be clever but ended up being outsmarted.

Kneeling at the back, Granny Qi watched Shi Chun's desperate struggle, and her heart was filled with complex emotions, not expecting that getting involved with him would also put her own life at risk.

Previously executed were mostly personnel from the Royal Court, and now it was the turn of outsiders like them. Many of the condemned Bai Clan people and Extreme Fire Sect disciples saw the blood flowing like a river and shivered in fear, each fall of the guillotine seemed to splash blood onto their faces.

The scent of blood at such a moment, this feeling of imminent death made some of them nauseous, completely different from the feeling of personally killing someone and seeing blood.

Those in the audience connected to the condemned prisoners all held their breath, some felt their scalp tingling, some couldn't bear to watch directly, people like Miao Yilan closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Some found pleasure in others' misfortune, like Gong Shaoci.

In front of the mirror image in the grand hall, Dao Zhen, as the guillotine fell, shifted his gaze towards the Demon Queen.

There's nothing entertaining about killing; he was more concerned about the Demon Queen's reaction.

He found that the Demon Queen's expression remained calm, with no intention of sparing those under the guillotine.

This made his lingering doubts even harder to dispel.

Suddenly, he saw the Demon Queen's face change abruptly, her eyes fixing intensely on the mirror image.

He swiftly turned his head to look at the mirror, only to see a streak of golden light flash across the sky over the sea of spectators, striking the descending giant guillotine.

Or rather passing through the giant guillotine.

The group in front of the mirror image all changed color, especially Queen Xin, whose face showed rage, as someone dared to interfere with the execution of the East Victory Royal Court!

Only the Qingqiu Fox Clan leader Yin Luo showed slightly moved brows and eyes but did not react further, this change seemed to have been within her expectations.

People at the execution site vaguely sensed a streak of golden light flying over their heads, followed by a clear snap, not too loud, but audible even to those at the edge of the execution grounds, as if having pierced the giant guillotine.

What happened? Shi Chun, with his neck on the guillotine, also heard the sound, but unfortunately, could not lift his head to see, as his head was held down by the tight chain, but a thought of optimism crossed his mind: Have Situ Gu and the others finally taken action?

Following a booming shock, his neck went numb, his chin ached, his ears buzzed.

Then something warm splashed all over his face, sticking to his eyes and flowing downwards, he blinked hard, saw red blood, and saw heads on either side, chained, bouncing as they hit the ground.

With the numb pain in his neck, he cried out in his heart, so this is how it feels when one's head falls, so consciousness remains so clear after one's head has dropped.

His originally tense struggling body relaxed.

The head has fallen off, what's the point of struggling? Better save some energy.

As the body slackened, the pulling sensation from it felt wrong again.

Can you still feel the binds of the body with your head detached?

He instinctively twisted his neck forcefully to look around.

Though unable to lift his head, his head could still move slightly side to side, coupled with the ability of his eyes to glance sideways, he immediately saw the spraying blood on the ground and sensed the height of his vision.

He hurriedly twisted his neck to struggle a bit more, instantly realizing his neck was still attached to his head.

The guillotine had fallen, how come others' heads have dropped while his had not? What's going on?

Such luck seemed unreal, completely unreal.

Where's the sound? Why is there no noise at all? Why has the post-execution sobbing gone silent?

Little does he know, everyone there has been stunned by the scene, even those who were originally crying had forgotten to cry.

So he questioned, is this how a soul feels after death?

His body moved again, and he found himself still bound by chains, raising suspicions whether the soul could be bound by chains after death. Could the East Victory Royal Court's chains be some kind of magical treasure?

Any joy from being alive was nonexistent for him at this moment.

Anyway, without seeing the truth, his mind was filled with thoughts of life or death, uncertain of whether he had crossed the line between life and death.

The reality was, at the guillotine under the stage, only the chains on his body still had signs of struggle.

Directly in front of the giant guillotine, his head didn't fall to the ground and was still wobbling.

Behind the giant guillotine, only his waist and butt were still twisting like a larvae.

No other options were left, as a notch appeared at the blade edge above his neck, pierced by that golden light just now.

So after the giant guillotine fell, ninety-eight heads on either side rolled down; only his head didn't fall. He was vividly immersed in the most realistic beheading experience.

The tartness of it is beyond ordinary people's perception.

The golden light that pierced the guillotine hovered in the sky over the execution scene; it was a golden pen, approximately an arm's length, radiating with faint rays.

Most people below gazed at the pen without knowing what it was.

But Miao Yilan, who dared not look directly, slowly turned her head, immediately captivated by it, then blurted out: "Judge's Pen?"

Beside her, Gong Shaoci didn't recognize it either. After some prompting and pondering, he realized it couldn't be the Netherworld's Death Prison pen, so he tentatively asked: "Life Prison Judge?"

Miao Yilan nodded slightly, then eyed with shock, subconsciously covering her mouth. She noticed that Shi Chun's head was not severed, realizing Shi Chun was still alive. In disbelief, she blinked repeatedly, suspecting her own vision.

Gong Shaoci and others nearby were equally taken aback.

Though they hadn't seen the Judge's Pen, they knew it belonged to Du Huoguan, the Life Prison Inspection Envoy, considered his magical treasure, and Du Huoguan was known as the Judge in the mortal world.

Why the outside world called him the Judge, and how 'prison master' and 'domain master' shared a phonetic nuance, hence people called him 'prison chief' had analogous significance.

The Death Prison in the underworld had the Yin Judge; Du Huoguan served as the Yang Judge for the mortal realm's Life Prison.

Du Huoguan was second only to one man, ruling over thousands in the Life Prison, an entity of immense terror to most, where those condemned by his pen would be sent to serve punishing fates worse than death.

Of course, the Judge's Pen couldn't indiscriminately assign crimes without evidence; external factions wouldn't tolerate blatant misconduct.

However, among those dabbling in the Cultivation World, whoever had committed shady deeds feared that Judge. In their hearts lurked three parts guilt, weighing potential exposure of their misdeeds.

Even Gong Shaoci at the moment felt secretly anxious while full of doubts; was the Judge sparing Shi Chun?

It shouldn't be; they only heard of the Judge apprehending people, not rescuing them.

Elderly and restrained, Wu Jinliang showed equal astonishment, then regretted he hadn't listened to Chun Tian—who assured preparations were made—for staying hidden. What brought him here, causing trouble unnecessarily?

He finally regained his rationality, pondering over who captured him.

Before the mirrored Heavenly Mirror in the grand hall, Queen Xin coldly remarked upon seeing the golden pen: "Du Huoguan!"

The Demon Queen's eyes flashed with surprise.

At the execution ground, guards, unable to discern anomalies, reacted as though facing a dire threat, ushering vigilance all around.

Three figures swept across the sky, clad in heavenly court armor like those of the Royal Court. The leading figure reached out and caught the golden Judge's Pen, holding it against his chest, like a Command Arrow.

He had a round face, smiling slightly, with whimsical moustaches, exuding a strongly mischievous vibe, unmistakably giving an impression of an insidious character, named Qie Shan, a Life Prison walker.

He belonged to Du Huoguan's retinue.

For such a trivial matter regarding someone unworthy of Du Huoguan's presence in the external world, sending an underling sufficed.

Nevertheless, Qie Shan was notorious, spawning fear whenever he appeared to capture people for the Life Prison, possessing competence and connections.

Fear of him presupposed familiarity, ignorance was indeed bliss.

"Smiling Tiger…" Miao Yilan muttered softly.

She recognized him, though the majority present didn't, but the Executioner did and signaled to raise the guillotine.

Holding the Judge's Pen, Qie Shan, treading over slippery bloodstains, strolled before Shi Chun, smiling as he said: "Verify identity."

A subordinate immediately squatted down to unshackle the hoop around Shi Chun's head.

The trio ignored the surrounding Royal Court horsemen.

I'm really not dead, am I? Shi Chun started struggling again.

The blood-dripping raised giant guillotine, though missing a notch, revealed like a curtain, placing the Executioner and Qie Shan confrontationally across a groove.

The Executioner brandished a sword, the edge pressed against Shi Chun's neck; Shi Chun, after glancing around and confirming his survival, calmed down, squeaking twice in vain attempt to convey meaning, fearing misunderstanding and remedy, then obediently laid his neck back down.

Qie Shan grinned at the Executioner, "You look familiar; we've met, haven't we?"

The Executioner, wielding a slanted sword, responded sternly: "Qie Shan, what's your intent, disrupting the execution ground?"

"You speak heavily; as law enforcers, breaking the law is impossible." Casually, Qie Shan gestured towards the Judge's Pen he held, "Being merely a courier, what business could I have except obeying orders to detain culprits?"

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