Chapter 2995: The Person Behind it All

Jian Chen nodded. He told Yun Wufeng to wait outside the demonic formation before entering the Empyrean Demon Prison with the grand elder.

The Empyrean Demon Prison churned with demonic clouds inside. The demon Qi within was so powerful that the demonic formation outside was nowhere close. It had a world of its own inside. It seemed like a tiny prison on the outside, but the interior was an extremely spacious miniature world.

The miniature world was divided into numerous individual spaces. Every single space could serve as a perfectly-sealed cell. Not only were they extraordinarily tough and could block off all energies, but they also possessed a suppressive force inside.

The suppressive force came from a high quality god artifact. It was so powerful that even Grand Primes would be reduced to the same state as mortals if they were locked up inside, let alone Chaotic Primes.

The dozen or so Chaotic Prime great elders of the Hefeng clan had been separated and locked up in individual cells.

With a flash, Jian Chen appeared in one of the cells silently under the accompaniment of the grand elder.

The person imprisoned there was an Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime.

“You can directly ask about whatever you need to know. There really aren’t a lot of people that can hide their secrets in the Empyrean Demon Prison,” said the grand elder.

At this moment, the person in the cell opened his eyes. Even though he already knew a horrible fate was awaiting him, he came off as extremely composed as if he had already accepted death.

“You can do whatever you want with me, whether it’s to kill me or to torture me, but I’d advise you to give up if you want to learn anything from me. Even if I die here, even if I have to suffer all the tortures there are in the world, I’ll never tell even a peep to you demons,” the great elder said coldly.

Jian Chen turned a blind eye to his attitude. He stared at the person in the cell sharply and asked, “Two days ago, an Infinite Prime was captured in the Ice Goddess Hall. Did you do it?”

The Chaotic Prime shut his eyes and sat on the ground with his legs crossed like he was meditating, ignoring everything going on around him.

“Grand elder, didn’t you say there really aren’t a lot of people that can hide their secrets in the Empyrean Demon Prison?” Jian Chen looked at the grand elder beside him.

The grand elder chuckled and said nothing. He immediately formed a seal with his hand, and demon Qi churned in the cell. A few strands of black demon Qi that were clearly distinct from the other demon Qi separated out, constantly twisting about as they wormed into the Chaotic Prime’s head like threatening fiends.

In the next moment, the Chaotic Prime’s expression changed, but very soon, he seemed to experience unendurable pain. All of the muscles on his face twisted in an extremely violent manner. He even let out deep growls from his throat.

This process lasted for almost an entire minute. By the time he opened his eyes again, they had already lost their prior clearness. His scarlet eyes were filled with indescribable pain and madness.

There were also some chaotic emotions in the mix.

“The Empyrean Demon Prison that master left behind isn’t just for imprisoning people. It can also interfere with the minds of those imprisoned here to a certain degree, thus achieving basic control over their souls.” The grand elder smiled before he continued, “As a high quality god artifact, perhaps Grand Primes might be able to withstand its control over souls for a moment, but it’s never failed against Chaotic Primes.”

“Jian Chen, keep asking.”

Jian Chen repeated the same question as before. Sure enough, everything unfolded extremely smoothly this time. The Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime imprisoned in the cell directly answered Jian Chen’s question without the slightest hesitation at all.

“I’ve already spent several decades in secluded cultivation in the clan. I only emerged when the Empyrean Demon Cult attacked. I probably know absolutely nothing about what’s unfolded during these decades.”

“It’s not him!” Jian Chen frowned slightly and felt a hint of pity, but he was not dejected, as there were a total of three Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Primes in the Hefeng clan.

Jian Chen and Cheng Ming immediately ventured to the next place and saw the second Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime of the Hefeng clan. The grand elder used the same trick and controlled his soul through the Empyrean Demon Prison before carrying out the interrogation.

“I entered secluded cultivation for good a century ago, striving towards my breakthrough to the Ninth Heavenly Layer. I only emerged when the clan faced devastation.”

“It’s not him either.” Jian Chen’s frown deepened. He had already questioned two of the three Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Primes of the Hefeng clan. Neither of them were the expert with the bamboo hat that abducted Shui Yunlan.

“There’s one last Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime.” Jian Chen felt rather uneasy, arriving at the final spot with the grand elder.

“I’ve been in secluded cultivation the entire time. I’ve never seen the person you speak of.” This was the response from the last Eighth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime.

With that, he had already questioned all three great elders of the Hefeng clan that satisfied the conditions, but the end result made Jian Chen pale. His heart felt empty as if he had just lost his soul.

Did his lead to Shui Yunlan just end here? Shui Yunlan’s fate was of no concern, but her safety directly impacted the fate of Changyang Mingyue.

In particular, after witnessing a soul-controlling ability like the Empyrean Demon Prison, Jian Chen became even more worried.

Perhaps this was the only ability, secret technique, or evil art for controlling souls that the Empyrean Demon Cult was capable of, but it definitely was not the only one in the world.

“Jian Chen, perhaps the person you’re searching for doesn’t belong to the Hefeng clan at all. I don’t know the exact details, but in my opinion, the current Hefeng clan would never be bold enough to capture someone in the Ice Goddess Hall with their current strength, as they can’t even look after themselves properly after their Grand Prime ancestors died,” said Cheng Ming.

Jian Chen’s eyes immediately lit up with that. He suddenly came to a realisation. His thoughts really had been confused from all of his concern. The expert with the bamboo hat entered the Hefeng clan, but did that really mean he was from the Hefeng clan?

Aside from that, he suddenly remembered what ancestor Lan had said earlier today. There was the shadow of a Grand Prime behind the expert with the bamboo hat who helped him obscure the heavenly secrets and cover his tracks, which prevented ancestor Lan from finding anything.

Meanwhile, the Hefeng clan no longer had any Grand Prime ancestors left!

“Let’s go interrogate the others. If the mysterious figure with the bamboo hat you mentioned actually entered the Hefeng clan, then he must have made contact with the upper echelon of the Hefeng clan, as the protective formation of the Hefeng clan still isn’t weak enough for Chaotic Primes to infiltrate. He obviously received permission to be able to enter the Hefeng clan,” said Cheng Ming.

As a result, Jian Chen and the great elder immediately began questioning all the great elders imprisoned here, starting with the strongest.

Effort and dedication always paid off in the end. When they finally got around to a Sixth Heavenly Layer Chaotic Prime, Jian Chen learnt the person’s identity.

“The expert you’re talking about is a great elder of the Snow sect. People call him elder Xie. Elder Xie did indeed visit our Hefeng clan two days ago, but that was just to exchange for a few God Tier materials with our clan. He left very soon.”

After learning the identity of the expert with the bamboo hat, Jian Chen was both excited and alarmed. He was excited over the fact that he had finally tracked down Shui Yunlan.

However, what left him alarmed was he actually belonged to the Snow sect.

The Snow sect, the most powerful organization on the Ice Pole Plane!