Chapter 207 - 206: Taking an Oath

Fiery light swirled around.

The glow penetrated every detail of the darkness. At its center, the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl seemed to spontaneously manifest patterns of mountains and rivers within, radiating an ancient charm.

The Demon Sect elder on the ground had been reduced to minced flesh, but his Divine Soul was trapped within the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl. He was not allowed to die. Instead, he was forced to endure the ceaseless, day-and-night torment of having his soul burned.

He would suffer until he knelt before Chen Qingyang and begged for the mercy of death.

When it came to human nature, Chen Qingyang was an old hand.

Putting away the Dragon Pearl, Chen Qingyang once again transformed his consciousness into a swimming fish, patrolling the Myriad Cave. Since the elder had been guarding this place, the Immortal Grass he coveted had to be nearby.

The aura of Extreme Yin was so incredibly dense that it was impossible to hide from the probing of his Conscious Fish. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Chen Qingyang detected an unusual Qi Mechanism.

Following the trail, he found a Brocade Box hidden in a dark corner. He opened it and saw four stalks of Immortal Grass inside.

The Immortal Grass had ink-green leaves and bloomed with dark red flowers. Each stalk was five inches long, translucent and crystalline, as if carved from crystal.

The Brocade Box was made of a fine material, perfectly suited to preserving the Spiritual Rhythm of the four Immortal Grass stalks. This further confirmed Chen Qingyang's suspicion—the elder had come here specifically for the Immortal Grass.

After securing the Brocade Box, Chen Qingyang retraced his steps out of the Myriad Cave. He found Ding Xiulong still waiting at the entrance. Seeing him emerge, Ding Xiulong hurried forward. "Senior Brother Chen, you're finally out."

"It went smoothly enough," Chen Qingyang said calmly. "That Demon Sect Disciple took the form of an old man. We can confirm his identity after we check with Celestial Master Zhang. I have already slain him, and this Brocade Box contains the Immortal Grass he stole."

Ding Xiulong moved closer to get a better look, then lowered his voice. "So... Senior Brother Chen, were you able to interrogate him? What is the true purpose of these Demon Sect members sneaking past Nine True Mountain to come here?"

He was born and raised in the Yong Kingdom; his greatest concern was always the safety of his homeland.

With a thought, Chen Qingyang released the elder's Divine Soul. At this moment, the Divine Soul was just a wispy mass, having long lost its human form. It looked like foam churned up by a mountain stream, ready to pop at the slightest touch.

"Th-this... is his Divine Soul?" Ding Xiulong's face paled in horror.

Chen Qingyang didn't answer, his gaze fixed coldly on the Demon Sect elder's Divine Soul. "You should know that I never planned on letting you live. You should also understand that I can make your existence a living death, one that lasts forever."

A light breeze swept by. The face on the elder's Divine Soul swelled and collapsed erratically, but the bone-deep hatred was written all over it. He just gritted his teeth in resentment, remaining silent.

"It seems you haven't had enough of your soul being seared by flames. In that case, you can stay in there a while longer. There will come a day when you can't take it anymore."

Many from the Demon Sect had tasted the agony of a flame-scorched soul, and some had even been brutally broken into submission by Chen Qingyang.

This Demon Sect elder was the stubborn type who wouldn't yield until faced with absolute despair. Seeing the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl descend upon him again, he finally panicked and cried out, "You've already found the Immortal Grass! Why are you still torturing me like this?"

Chen Qingyang said coldly, "You traveled thousands of miles to sneak into this place. It couldn't have been just for a few stalks of Immortal Grass. Tell me your true purpose for coming here."

The elder's defiance returned. He stared deathly at Chen Qingyang, still refusing to speak.

In an instant, a torrent of flame shot out from the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl, practically merging with the mass of the Divine Soul. A heart-rending, gut-wrenching pain spread through every fiber of the soul, like countless small knives stabbing into his abdomen and frantically shredding his flesh.

The elder's Divine Soul shrieked and writhed wildly on the spot. Its form, like soft rubber, was stretched long by the flames one moment and pulled flat the next. This horrifying scene lasted for a full hour.

Ding Xiulong watched from the side, dumbfounded. When he looked at Chen Qingyang again, the respect he once held for a visitor from an Immortal Sect was gone, replaced by deep-seated fear.

Chen Qingyang knew that if such a vicious reputation spread, it would be inconvenient for him in the future. He explained to Ding Xiulong, "When dealing with Demon Sect members, you must use their own methods. Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to make them talk. Sometimes, saving the people of this city requires more than just compassion."

This reasoning left Ding Xiulong stunned. After a moment, he nodded repeatedly. "Ah... Senior Brother has a point."

Chen Qingyang paused, his tone softening slightly. "My hand was forced. What happened today should stay between you and me."

Ding Xiulong reacted at once. 'If word of these methods got out, it would definitely tarnish Senior Brother Chen's transcendent, immortal-like image.' He immediately nodded and replied, "I understand. I won't mention a single word of this, not even to Senior Brother Zhang."

Seeing this, Chen Qingyang finally relaxed and focused on channeling the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl to continue torturing the Demon Sect elder. If he didn't carve this pain deep into the man's Divine Soul, the elder would never truly wish for death.

The stalemate lasted for another hour before Chen Qingyang slowly withdrew his power. When the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl spat out the elder's Divine Soul again, it was almost deathly still.

"If you still don't get it, I'll just put you back inside. From now on, day and night, I'll give you a taste of this at random times. You'll never know when it's coming, constantly on edge, always dreading the terror that could strike at any moment." Chen Qingyang's voice was even, yet it carried a chilling pressure. "I don't think... you need to make things so hard on yourself. Don't let it get to the point where even begging for death becomes a luxury."

After panting for a long time, the Demon Sect elder finally spoke, his voice trembling. "I'll tell you anything, but you have to let me go."

Chen Qingyang feigned a moment's hesitation, then nodded. "I promise."

"You have to swear an oath to the heavens, or I'll never believe you!" The Demon Sect elder was like a drowning man clutching at a straw, desperately forcing Chen Qingyang to make a vow.

Chen Qingyang didn't hesitate. "Fine. I swear to the heavens that if you tell me the truth, I will let you go. If I break this oath, may my path to the Great Dao fail, my Essence Blood be exhausted, and my soul shatter and disperse."

"Senior Brother Chen, this..." Ding Xiulong was startled. He hadn't expected him to make such a decisive oath and couldn't help but want to intervene.

Chen Qingyang waved his hand, his tone firm. "I said I'd let him go, and I will. Now, you can answer my question. What is the real purpose of your mission?"

Finally, after a moment of hesitation and struggle, the Demon Sect elder forced out two words: "To kill."

"How?"

"Last time, the Daoist Sect caused hundreds of casualties in our Demon Sect. Netherworld Peak suffered the most grievous losses. The disciples under its banner were furious and wanted nothing more than to avenge Master Youming. That's why they decided to cross Nine True Mountain and enter the Yong Kingdom's territory."

The story was full of holes. Before Chen Qingyang could even speak, Ding Xiulong rebuked him. "Nonsense! If it was just for revenge, why would you need to go deep into the heart of my Yong Kingdom and lure away all the disciples of the Tai Xu Sect? What are you really after in Yunxi City?"

The Demon Sect elder seemed prepared for this, speaking in a calm tone. "Causing trouble at Nine True Mountain was merely to draw away Xuanwei Master. Luring the Tai Xu Sect disciples was just to trap them all in one net and slaughter them. As for why we chose the Yong Kingdom, it was to make your people know the might of our Demon Sect and to make the world understand that believing in the Tai Xu Sect leads to a bad end."

Ding Xiulong didn't believe him at all and continued to press, "Fifty years ago, an elder in a Profound Robe took a Prince as his disciple. That Prince's surname was Zhang. Is he in your Yu Xiao Demon Sect now?"

Hearing this, the Demon Sect elder actually scoffed. "What baseless nonsense! There are as many disciples with the surname Zhang in my Demon Sect as there are hairs on an ox. Even if such a person existed, how would I know?"

After speaking, he turned back to Chen Qingyang, his tone now somewhat fawning. "There are sixteen Demon Sect Disciples who infiltrated the Yong Kingdom this time. The one with the lowest Cultivation is at the Essence Condensation First Realm, and the strongest is a senior brother at the Essence Condensation Third Realm. He has set up an ambush Array three hundred li east of this city. In just a few days, he'll be able to refine all of those Tai Xu Sect disciples."

"As for me... I was just greedy for treasure, so I secretly turned back to steal these stalks of Immortal Grass and bring them back to the Sect in exchange for Merit. This is all I know. I beg you, Senior Brother, to honor your promise and let me go."

After all that torture, he was now being extremely cooperative.

Chen Qingyang glanced at him coolly. "Is that all you know?"

"It's the absolute truth! If you have any other questions, Senior Brother, I will answer everything I know!"

Chen Qingyang's brow furrowed slightly. He turned to exchange a look with Ding Xiulong, and in the next moment, with a flicker of his will, the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl once again bore down on the elder's Divine Soul.

This time, it didn't absorb the soul. Instead, the flames flared violently, instantly refining the mass of the Divine Soul into nothingness. It was so fast that the Demon Sect elder couldn't even let out a scream before he completely dissipated from the world.

Chen Qingyang casually took stock of his gains. He had collected all the Immortal Seedlings; adding the two batches together gave him a total of 3,427 wisps. 'Just the first day, and I've already gained so much. This trip was truly worthwhile.'

This whole series of actions left Ding Xiulong utterly speechless. It took him a long moment to recover. "Senior Brother Chen, you just swore an oath to spare his life. Now that you've broken it, won't there be...?"

Chen Qingyang sneered, his tone indifferent. "I did say I would let him go if he told the truth. But from beginning to end, everything he said was nonsense."

"Then... how did you know which part was a lie, Senior Brother? Does this mean the Demon Sect has another reason for choosing the Yong Kingdom?" After witnessing these successive ploys, Ding Xiulong finally understood the meaning of the saying: when the devil grows an inch, the Dao grows a foot.

"I'm not certain yet." Chen Qingyang changed the subject. "You just said that some senior brothers and sisters from the Tai Xu Sect were lured away by the Demon Sect. How many of them are there? And what are their Cultivation levels?"

Ding Xiulong had trouble keeping up with his line of thought. He paused for a second before quickly answering, "There are nine senior brothers and sisters in total. The one with the highest Cultivation is at the Essence Condensation Sixth Realm, and the lowest has at least opened their Earth Root Acupoint."

Demon Sect Disciples were no fools. Chen Qingyang had learned this lesson at Nine True Mountain; they always acted with meticulous planning and deep calculation. The only reason they lost last time was due to the unexpected variable of Master Yun Ci. Otherwise, their plan would have been flawless.

Thinking of this, Chen Qingyang spoke slowly. "Even if they set up an Array, they would never send an Essence Condensation Third Realm Cultivator to ambush an Essence Condensation Sixth Realm opponent. That's no different from suicide. He deliberately said the strongest was only at the Third Realm because he assumed my Cultivation was at the same level. He wanted to lure me to my death. Tell me, does that not count as a lie?"

It dawned on Ding Xiulong, and he nodded emphatically. "Right! That's it! The people of the Demon Sect are truly cunning to the extreme... But..."

"But what?" Chen Qingyang looked at him.

A trace of fear entered Ding Xiulong's eyes as he looked at Chen Qingyang and whispered, "If... if he wasn't lying to you, Senior Brother, wouldn't you suffer the backlash from your own oath...?"

Before he could finish, Chen Qingyang's gaze turned sharp. Ding Xiulong instantly shrank back and quickly corrected himself, "Fortunately, Senior Brother knows the Demon Sect's people like the back of your hand, so of course you wouldn't have such worries."

"Heh." Chen Qingyang let out a cold laugh, then asked, "Are there any Half-Step Foundation Establishment Cultivators under Xuanwei Master here? Where are they now?"

Ding Xiulong quickly replied, "I saw them with my own eyes. They all followed Xuanwei Master to Nine True Mountain. The situation over there is the most critical one right now."

Hearing this, Chen Qingyang was finally certain that there were no top-tier experts left among the Demon Sect Disciples in the Yong Kingdom.

He handed the Brocade Box containing the Immortal Grass to Ding Xiulong and instructed, "It's inconvenient for me to carry this. Keep it safe for me. I'm heading out for a bit and will retrieve it when I return."

Ding Xiulong immediately understood that Chen Qingyang was going to support his trapped sect members. He quickly said, "In that case... Senior Brother Chen, would you like me to go with you and help?"

Chen Qingyang refused flatly. "There's no need. Like Celestial Master Zhang, you just need to guard this area."