Chapter 431 - 407: Identity Exposed

Chapter 431: Chapter 407: Identity Exposed

"Your Highness, the Third Prince, is absolutely right. Those three women and the few who just escaped will not get away. Once we capture them, we will make them regret it immensely!"

The Tiger Demon and the other two Divinity Transformation cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and quickly chimed in to show their loyalty.

"Enough. Ignore them for now. Immediately place a Restriction on every Nascent Soul Cultivator on site. Then, have them split up and bring the entire Endless Desert Sea under control."

"As for the Desert Divine Palace, other experts are there. Even if our enemies make it that far, they won’t escape."

"Right, where are Wang Chongming, Cheng Ran, and the others? Bring them to me at once. They are to undergo my Soul Search!"

The Third Prince cut them off impatiently, rattling off a series of commands.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The Tiger Demon and the other Divinity Transformation cultivators scrambled into action.

It wasn’t long before Wang Chongming and his group were found and brought before the Third Prince.

There were six of them in total, all of whom had been Zhang Chi’s companions during the exploration of the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion.

At this moment, they were filled with terror and rage.

Their Divine Souls were all protected by Restrictions to prevent a Soul Search. If someone were to force the issue, their souls would instantly shatter.

But unfortunately, even if they wanted to resist, it was utterly impossible.

The Grand Array had already cast down rays of golden light that fell upon countless cultivators, instantly sealing their cultivation. Even Nascent Soul Peak experts had no time to dodge, much less resist.

"Your esteemed Highness, the Third Prince, whatever you wish to know, we can tell you directly! We beg you, please don’t use a Soul Search on us! If you do, we’ll die on the spot!"

"Yes, and even if you did, you wouldn’t get the information you want. There’s no benefit in it for you at all."

At this, Wang Chongming pleaded loudly for mercy.

His other companions quickly chimed in.

They were all clever. They knew the Third Prince had singled them out from everyone else, most likely because he wanted to know about the Divinity Transformation Cave Mansion from all those years ago. Thus, they were very cooperative.

In any case, that cave mansion no longer existed, and now the Desert Divine Palace was gone too. They had nothing left to hide.

"Heh heh, no need to worry. While I do intend to perform a Soul Search, I will be using the secret Soul Searching Technique of my Great Qian Royal Family. This technique is exceedingly profound; it even originates from the Upper Realm."

"Therefore, even with the Restrictions in your Divine Souls, you can’t stop me. This is far more credible than just taking your word for it."

"Of course, if you truly don’t wish to die, then submit to me now and become my slaves. If you do, I will use a corresponding Secret Technique to spare your lives. You will still be injured by the Soul Search, but you will not die!"

The Third Prince gave a disdainful laugh, as if scorning Wang Chongming and the others for their ignorance.

"We are willing to submit!"

Although Wang Chongming and the others felt utterly humiliated, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief at being spared death. They immediately seized the opportunity and knelt in obeisance.

The Third Prince nodded slightly, not at all surprised by this outcome.

He had subjugated more than just one Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch, let alone a group of Nascent Soul Peak cultivators.

The Third Prince then immediately activated his powerful Divine Soul and ordered Wang Chongming’s group to lower their mental defenses. He proceeded to successfully plant Restrictions within their Divine Souls.

"There. You are now my slaves. I can kill you with a single thought."

"But consider this a stroke of luck. An ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, even one at the Nascent Soul Peak, would never have the honor of being personally subjugated by me. Now, come forward and accept the Soul Search!"

Only then was the Third Prince satisfied.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Wang Chongming and the others had resigned themselves to their fate. They immediately lined up and moved forward to cooperate with the Third Prince’s Soul Search.

Soon, the Soul Search was complete. The Third Prince indeed possessed a Secret Technique that could bypass the Restrictions in their Divine Souls.

After the Soul Search, they were still alive, but they were all bleeding from their seven orifices, their faces deathly pale. It was clear their Divine Souls had been severely damaged.

They estimated that even with the help of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, an injury like this would take at least a hundred years to fully heal.

Yet they dared not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, they immediately thanked the Third Prince for sparing their lives, then obediently stepped aside.

There was no other reason; they had no choice but to bow their heads to the one in power.

Furthermore, the powerful Secret Technique and Divine Soul the Third Prince had displayed had undoubtedly intimidated them.

For instance, the Third Prince’s Divine Soul had shockingly reached the Primordial Spirit Middle Stage, which was how he had so easily and successfully performed the Soul Search on Nascent Soul Peak cultivators like them.

’So it really was Master Taixuan. Does that mean the cave mansion was actually the legendary Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion? But how could Master Taixuan still be alive?’

’Many years ago, an ancestor of our Great Qian Immortal Dynasty Royal Family deliberately leaked the method for contacting a powerful being from the Demon Realm to Master Taixuan. Master Taixuan thought he’d gotten lucky and stumbled upon a great opportunity, so he was certain to try it!’

The Third Prince quickly finished the Soul Search. Even though he was unharmed, he was exhausted.

He rested for a good while, took some Elixirs, and meditated for a bit before finally recovering.

Then he began to process the information from the Soul Search. As he did, he found himself both surprised and puzzled.

It turned out that not long after the exploration, the Heaven-defying Alliance and the Beast Alliance had informed the Third Prince about the Divinity Transformation Cave Mansion, precisely to get revenge on that mysterious Divinity Transformation cultivator.

Unfortunately, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty was embroiled in a tense war with the Xingluo Sea at the time, so the Third Prince never came. He only appeared now, when the Beast Alliance and Heaven-defying Alliance were on the verge of annihilation, intending to deal with the three Palace Masters of the Desert Divine Palace and investigate this matter on the side.

The Great Qian Royal Family had a sophisticated intelligence network and had even had some dealings with Master Taixuan back in the day. Because of this, they had kept some files on him, including his portrait.

Therefore, it was not difficult for the Third Prince to recognize him after the Soul Search.

"Right, there were eleven of you on that exploration. Only two died, and six of you are here. What about the other three?" After composing himself slightly, the Third Prince looked at Wang Chongming and the others with suspicion.

"We do not know. Perhaps they are already dead?"

Wang Chongming and the others felt that since the Prince had already searched their souls, he was asking a question he already knew the answer to. Still, they answered honestly.

Zhang Chi had actually sent them a voice transmission earlier, but unfortunately, they hadn’t taken it seriously at first. By the time they realized the danger, it was too late.

And when Zhang Chi and the others fled, the scene was chaotic, so they had no idea that it was Zhang Chi’s group that had escaped.

After all, Zhang Chi’s group was shrouded in the bloody light of the Divine Technique. Forget them, even a Divinity Transformation cultivator couldn’t have seen their faces clearly, let alone identified who they were.

"Impossible. The battle may have been fierce, but they couldn’t have all been so unlucky as to die. Especially Qin Yushan and Chen Bufan—those two are true masters among their Same Tier."

"Men, investigate! I’ll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Find out what happened to them at once. Even if they’re dead, I want to see their bodies!"

The Third Prince didn’t suspect Wang Chongming and the others of lying; after all, he knew everything they knew.

Besides, they wouldn’t have the guts.

But he was still very displeased and immediately gave the cold command.

He even had a strong premonition that the Qin Sisters and this "Chen Bufan" were likely connected to Master Taixuan.

He didn’t know where this feeling came from, but he had always trusted his powerful intuition.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

His subordinates accepted the order and immediately sprang into action.

"Reporting to Your Highness! The three are not dead! They escaped! They were the ones in the bloody light that fled earlier!"

The cultivators of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty were highly efficient. It wasn’t long before they uncovered some of the truth.

"These cultivators were right next to the Qin Family Siblings and the others at the time. They personally witnessed them being enveloped by the bloody light and then disappearing."

"And it wasn’t just the Qin Family Siblings who left; there were several other cultivators. The one who used the Secret Technique to take them away was a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator named Chen Bufan."

The subordinate continued his report.

Even as they spoke, they wore expressions of disbelief.

Behind them stood several other cultivators, the very eyewitnesses they had specifically sought out.

"It was them? And what’s the deal with this Chen Bufan? Could he be the one who drew his sword earlier? How could he possibly be so strong?"

Hearing this, the Third Prince was stunned. Wang Chongming and his group, as well as the Tiger Demon and the other two Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs, were all dumbfounded.

Clearly, none of them had expected this.

"Damn it, there’s definitely something wrong with that Chen Bufan! He’s most likely connected to both Master Taixuan and the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion. Immediately investigate his origins and whereabouts!"

"Also, issue a bounty! A hefty reward for any cultivator who can provide clues or capture him!"

It took a while for the Third Prince to calm down, his gaze turning icy cold.

He didn’t care that a Divinity Transformation cultivator had managed to escape, but for a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator to flee from right under his nose was a great humiliation. It was an arrogant provocation.

Especially since this was related to the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion, he could not possibly let it go.

After all, Master Taixuan had been incredibly strong in his time. His Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion not only contained many rare treasures but was also said to be a powerful, rapidly-growing Spiritual Treasure itself.

"Your Highness, I have a clue that might be useful. I suspect that ’Chen Bufan’ is an alias. His real name is actually Zhang Chi!"

At that moment, an idea flashed through the mind of Fellow Daoist Zhou, the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-defying Alliance. He immediately stepped forward to report.

"Yes, that’s highly likely!"

Upon hearing this, Fellow Daoist Long immediately agreed.

"Zhang Chi? And who is that?"

The Third Prince was rather puzzled. It was clearly the first time he had ever heard the name Zhang Chi.

"Zhang Chi is..."

Fellow Daoist Zhou quickly recounted everything he knew about Zhang Chi.

Apparently, after the Demon Leopard and other experts ambushed Qin Yushan’s group, Zhang Chi killed them all. This had caused Fellow Daoist Zhou and Fellow Daoist Long to pay close attention to this mysterious cultivator, Zhang Chi.

The two of them had already investigated Zhang Chi’s exploits in the Endless Desert Sea in great detail.

From Zhang Chi’s encounter with the Shang Family’s merchant caravan, to his later mission with the Hundred Flowers Palace Saintess, and the subsequent conflict between them—they knew it all like the back of their hands.

It was just that before, they had never connected "Chen Bufan" with Zhang Chi.

After all, the combat power "Chen Bufan" had displayed was nowhere near as formidable as Zhang Chi’s.

But now that they knew "Chen Bufan" also possessed immense combat power and, like Zhang Chi, had a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure Flying Sword, it was not difficult to deduce that the two were very likely the same person.