Chapter 316: Mask Removed!

Shen Kai’s cold voice rang throughout the prison.

"What’s there to explain?"

"He was lured here by the appearance of a Nascent Soul cultivator."

His icy gaze shifted toward Dowblis Snake.

"A perfect material for his sacrifice."

"As for the seal..." Shen Kai sneered.

"Why would he waste effort suppressing his own army?"

"They’re his Pishachas."

"He could probably control the entire seal with a single thought."

Wu Taeyong’s pupils violently contracted.

"You—"

His heart sank.

How...

How could Shen Kai know that secret?

That brief moment of disbelief proved fatal.

Dowblis Snake’s eyes flashed sharply.

"Kobra Snipe!"

His figure suddenly twisted like a striking serpent before his fist pierced through the air with explosive speed.

*Boom!*

The punch smashed directly into Wu Taeyong’s temple.

The old man was blasted sideways, crashing through several ruined prison buildings before finally skidding to a halt amidst countless broken stones.

At that exact moment...

Su Mo’s calm voice echoed inside Dowblis Snake’s mind.

["Don’t pursue."]

Dowblis Snake immediately halted.

He merely stood in place while coldly staring at Wu Taeyong.

"Cough..."

"Cough..."

Wu Taeyong slowly climbed to his feet while coughing mouthfuls of blood.

The murderous intent filling his eyes was so dense that even the surrounding temperature seemed to plummet.

His gaze locked onto Shen Kai.

"How dare you utter such ridiculous nonsense?"

His voice trembled with rage.

"This sect..."

"...is my life’s work."

"You cannot slander me with baseless accusations—"

"Save your theatrics." Shen Kai mercilessly interrupted him. His expression remained cold.

"Yuna is already with me. We’ve learned everything."

"..."

For the first time... Wu Taeyong fell silent. His expression darkened to an unprecedented degree.

The painstaking brainwashing he had spent years planting inside Wu Yuna...Had failed.

He had never imagined she would recover.

It should have been impossible. Yet the facts stood before him.

If she hadn’t regained her memories... His secrets would never have reached Shen Kai.

Noticing the obvious change in Wu Taeyong’s expression, Wu Haruto felt his heart violently tremble. His lips quivered.

"Please..."

His voice had become hoarse.

"Please tell me it’s all a lie, Ancestor."

His eyes had already begun turning red.

"How..."

"How could you...?"

Wu Taeyong glanced at the devastated Wu Haruto before sweeping his spiritual sense across the battlefield.

Shen Kai was already stepping forward.

Dowblis Snake remained ready to attack at any moment.

The surrounding cultivators had likewise begun tightening their encirclement.

If this continued...

Even he would gradually be cornered.

His expression slowly became incomparably sinister.

’Looks like...’

’I can’t continue hiding it anymore.’

Just then...

His spiritual sense suddenly detected a familiar aura only a short distance away.

It was his bloodline aura. It wasn’t Wu Haruto’s.

His gaze slowly shifted toward an unconscious young man lying among the rubble, not far from the battlefield.

The faint resonance of their bloodline was unmistakable.

A strange smile gradually appeared on Wu Taeyong’s face.

His eyes then shifted back toward Dowblis Snake.

’Since a Nascent Soul cultivator has already presented himself as the perfect sacrifice...’

’I no longer need to concern myself with the others.’

The hesitation that had lingered within his eyes completely disappeared.

"Fine."

He slowly straightened his back despite the injuries covering his body.

"Let’s stop the act here."

Silence fell across the prison.

Everyone stared at him, waiting for his next words.

"Ancestor..."

Wu Haruto’s eyes widened in horror.

His lips trembled, but the words became lodged in his throat.

Wu Taeyong calmly looked at him as though nothing had happened.

"Haruto." His voice became unusually gentle.

"If you’re willing to stand beside me and kill them... I’ll spare your life."

He slowly spread his arms.

"You might even have the opportunity to witness a far greater world alongside me."

His gaze gradually drifted toward the distant sky.

"The countries you know... and the so-called hidden cultivation world..."

"They’re nothing more than a remote countryside in that greater world."

"There, cultivation resources are endless."

"Heavenly treasures are everywhere."

"Peerless geniuses emerge one after another."

"Everything you can imagine exists there."

A trace of longing flashed across his aged face.

"I can take you there."

"As long as you stand beside me..."

"...and fight them."

Wu Haruto lowered his head.

His fists clenched until blood seeped from his palms.

After several breaths, he slowly raised his head again.

His eyes had already become bloodshot.

"I don’t care about your greater world!"

"I don’t care about heavenly treasures!"

"I only want one answer."

His voice echoed throughout the prison.

"Are you..."

"...the source of those Pishachas?"

The surrounding cultivators subconsciously held their breath.

Wu Haruto’s body trembled violently.

"If you are..." His voice suddenly rose into an enraged roar.

"Then, WERE OUR LIVES NOTHING MORE THAN A JOKE TO YOU?!"

"My comrades..."

"My brothers..."

"The countless sacrifices we made believing we were protecting the sect..."

His breathing became increasingly ragged.

"Was everything..."

"...nothing more than part of your damned plan?!"

Wu Taeyong quietly stared at him. There wasn’t the slightest ripple in his eyes.

No guilt, remorse or hesitation.

Finally... He nodded and calmly uttered.

"Yes."

"I created those Pishachas."

The entire prison instantly fell deathly silent.

A chill ran down everyone’s spine.

Even the elders felt their scalps go numb.

Wu Taeyong continued speaking as though discussing something insignificant.

"Do you know how those Pishachas were created?"

A sinister smile gradually appeared on his face.

"The comrades you keep talking about..."

"The disciples who died..."

"The elders who sacrificed themselves..."

"They became the perfect materials I needed."

"I used my secret technique on their corpses."

"They all were reborn...as my Pishachas."

Several cultivators immediately turned pale. Some even felt nauseated.

Those monsters... had once been their friends! Their brothers! Their families!

Wu Taeyong suddenly threw both arms wide open. His face twisted with fanaticism.

"With such a loyal army beneath me... And once I reach the strength of the Soul Formation Realm..."

"What is there for me to fear?!"

His laughter echoed like that of a madman.