Ghost City - The Dungeon.
This wasn't a damp cell. It was a luxurious room, gilded with gold, but the windows were sealed with Void Iron bars.
Ling Long sat on the bed, glaring at the door. Her cultivation was sealed. She was helpless.
The door opened. Mo Tian entered, carrying a tray of food.
"Dinner," Mo Tian said, placing the tray on the table.
"I will not eat slop," Ling Long turned away.
"It's Roast Phoenix wing," Mo Tian sat down and took a bite. "Your loss."
He watched her.
"Why didn't your grandfather put a tracking seal on you?" Mo Tian asked casually.
Ling Long flinched. "He did. You just haven't found it."
"I found three," Mo Tian counted on his fingers. "One in your hairpin. One in your necklace. One in your dantian. I removed them all."
"You... you removed a seal from my dantian without killing me?" Ling Long was shocked. That required surgical precision beyond a Sky Immortal.
"I'm good with my hands," Mo Tian smiled. "But I suspect there is a fourth one. A Bloodline Resonance. He is coming, isn't he?"
Ling Long smirked triumphantly. "Ancestor Xuan Yuan is a Golden Immortal. When he arrives, your city will fall from the sky. Surrender now, and I might ask him to leave your corpse intact."
"A Golden Immortal," Mo Tian mused. "Scary."
He leaned forward.
"But you aren't just a beloved granddaughter, are you? The System scanned your physique. Key of the Void."
He pulled out an ancient scroll he had looted from the Profound Gold Treasury.
"This scroll talks about the Tomb of the Void Emperor. An ancient ruin floating in the chaotic space above this continent. It opens once every thousand years. Or... it can be opened by a living key."
Ling Long's face went pale.
"You... you know about the Tomb?"
"I suspected," Mo Tian said. "The Alliance controls this continent, but you haven't Ascended to the next realm. Why? Because you are waiting for the Tomb. It contains the Dao of Space needed for the Ancestor to break through to the next level."
Mo Tian stood up.
"You aren't a princess, Ling Long. You're a tool. Your grandfather has been raising you like a pig for slaughter. To open that Tomb, the Key must be... consumed."
"Liar!" Ling Long shouted. "Grandfather loves me!"
"Does he?" Mo Tian threw a dossier on the bed. "I hacked the Alliance archives. Look at the records. Every 'Key' born in your family for the last ten generations died 'mysteriously' at the age of 20. How old are you, Ling Long?"
"I... I am 19," she whispered.
She looked at the files. The dates matched. The Tomb opening cycles matched.
She was going to be sacrificed next year.
Mo Tian walked to the door.
"The Ancestor is coming," Mo Tian said. "Not to save you. But to retrieve his key."
He looked back at her.
"I'm a villain, Ling Long. I kidnap people. I kill people. But at least I'm honest about it. Your grandfather is a hypocrite."
He left the room, locking the door.
Ling Long sat there, staring at the files. Her world was cracking.