What was happening by the shore was unknown to the two girls who had moved far away.
“Little girl,” Xu Lexian crossed her arms and pondered, “how do you think Tang Xin will get him to talk?”
“Based on my understanding of Senior Sister,” Shui Qiu replied seriously, “she will definitely appeal to his emotions and reason with him, persuading him to turn back and use her gentle words to soothe his wounded heart!”
As for who Senior Sister Tang was, even the troublemaking disciples of Xuanling Sect could consider her feelings. With such a dazzling presence, it surely wouldn’t be a problem to sway an enemy!
“Gentle…”
Xu Lexian shot her a glance.
The Saintess was no naive sweetheart; she couldn’t find any amiable qualities in Tang Xin, and there was even a hint of decisiveness in her demeanor that suggested a readiness for violence.
In today’s cultivation world, although there were constant minor frictions between factions, it had been a long time since any large-scale turmoil occurred. The decisiveness associated with violence was rare among the younger generation of cultivators.
Moreover, this kind of temperament didn’t seem to be something developed over time; it felt more like an innate quality, which was even more intriguing.
As the chief disciple of Xuanling Sect… it seemed necessary to investigate her background when they returned.
After a while, Tang Xin slowly appeared in their line of sight, waving her hand to signal that it was over.
Xu Lexian and Shui Qiu returned to the shore, only to find the enemy who had previously collapsed in a pool of blood now sitting cross-legged on the ground, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed, wearing an expression of complete detachment.
This… has he really been swayed?
“I’ve finished asking,” Tang Xin clapped her hands and said. “This group is just in it for the money; they don’t know much about their employer, they only know the name ‘Blood Sovereign Hall.'”
She turned to the Saintess.
“Do you have any impression of it?”
“Blood Sovereign Hall?” Xu Lexian frowned, thinking for a long time. “No impression. The name sounds like a demonic force. What about the origins of this group? They seem too tough to be a rabble.”
“Nine Star Pavilion,” Tang Xin replied. “It’s the largest and most mysterious underground force in the Nine Provinces.”
This Nine Star Pavilion was not a demonic force; in fact, during the righteous and demonic war a thousand years ago, they had resisted the invasion of the Demon Sovereign. However, after many ups and downs, they eventually returned to their old ways, becoming one of the most notorious dark forces in the Nine Provinces.
“This time, they dispatched cultivators at the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages, aiming to capture the Saintess alive,” Tang Xin shrugged. “Lucky for us, the Nascent Soul cultivators were tied up by your subordinates; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to escape.”
“Capture the Saintess alive?” Xu Lexian said expressionlessly. “I’m not bragging, but this task should be worth a fortune. No matter how you calculate it, it doesn’t seem like a worthwhile deal.”
What could they do with a captured Saintess? Use her to threaten Sacred Immortal Mountain? Even then, the ransom might not even match what the employer would pay, not to mention that Sacred Immortal Mountain might not meet their demands. They could send a team of top-tier experts to directly attack the enemy’s base.
If it wasn’t for exchanging benefits, could they raise her themselves? Not to mention that the Saintess had various countermeasures reserved by peak experts, what good would it do to obtain a genius?
“Why don’t they just send higher-level cultivators to wipe us out?”
Shui Qiu asked in confusion.
As an ancient underground force, Nine Star Pavilion’s foundation was likely comparable to that of superpowers like Sacred Immortal Mountain, and they surely had cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage.
“The circles of high-level cultivators are very small; once they take action, it’s easy to confirm their identities,” Tang Xin explained. “Moreover, the reason underground forces can exist in the Nine Provinces is that they adhere to a principle of not easily using high-level power. This is an established rule in the cultivation world.”
Also, how would the plot develop if that were the case? Why wouldn’t the final boss just appear at the beginning and kill all the protagonists?
There are some things that are destined to happen…
“Capturing the Saintess is a big deal,” Tang Xin continued. “Additionally, the employer has also commissioned other forces, including Nine Star Pavilion, to carry out another task: to gather various types of young geniuses.”
“Collecting geniuses?”
Xu Lexian repeated.
“Yes, the specific meaning is unclear, and this ‘various types’ is also worth exploring… It seems that poor Su Ling has unfortunately fallen into this trap.”
“The price for such a task is equally steep,” the Saintess said solemnly. “The employer’s background may be deeper than we suspect.”
Although they hadn’t fully understood why the other party wanted to capture the Saintess alive and collect young geniuses, they at least obtained a key piece of information: Blood Sovereign Hall.
The enemy being interrogated was just an ordinary member; getting this much information was already a pleasant surprise.
“I’ll remember Blood Sovereign Hall,” the Saintess nodded and then asked, “I want to know, I couldn’t get him to speak even with my mental attacks. What method did you use to obtain this information?”
“Uh, I used love and justice to…”
“Be serious,” Xu Lexian said earnestly. “I can offer to buy that; it’s quite a practical skill.”
Don’t make it difficult for her. “The Complete Guide to Torture and Interrogation” is definitely a demonic technique; how could she say that out loud?
She had previously thought this was just a matter of technique, similar to “The Complete Guide to Picking Up Girls in the Cultivation World,” but it turned out to be a comprehensive secret art targeting the physical body, soul, and spirit. It included cultivation methods, case studies, and experiences left by predecessors, even containing ways to turn people into X slaves.
If she were to compare, it was at least twice as evil as her “Ten Thousand Insects Devouring Heart Technique.”
“It seems there’s a difficulty,” Xu Lexian waved her hand. “Forget it, I won’t ask anymore. Let’s deal with this guy and get moving.”
“Okay.”
Tang Xin snapped her fingers at the enemy, who had an otherworldly expression.
“You are free.”
“Ha—ha—”
The man stood up, opened his arms, and ran with a blissful expression, shouting as if embracing the spring breeze.
“I—am—free—”
Then, without looking back, he ran to the Thunder River, leaped into the riverbed filled with thunder branches, and detonated the Golden Core within his dantian.
Boom—
Thunder gathered together, faintly outlining a smiling face in the sky.
Xu Lexian swallowed hard.
“You… have some skills, you really drove him mad?”
This guy definitely had a top-notch secret technique, perhaps even an ancient one. Wait, could it be something sinister? Isn’t what she knows quite mixed?
“At the last moment of life, he found liberation,” Shui Qiu said, gazing at the smiling face in the sky with a look of emotion. “He must be very grateful to his senior sister in his heart, right?”
“Good, good—”
Tang Xin clasped her hands together and bowed.
With everything settled, Tang Xin successfully advanced to the Golden Core stage and figured out the identities of this group. Next, they would head directly to the Graveyard Plains to rescue the future Sword God.
“Hang in there, Su Ling! We’re almost there, just a little bit more!”
