Xiaoming and I roughly staunched the bleeding from Liu Tianhao's body and infused him with our inner energy to stabilize his pulse. Then we went to Mangliang. Mangliang was breathing heavily on the sixth floor of the pavilion, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, and sweat streaming down his face. Clearly, he had exhausted both his physical strength and mental energy, so I asked worriedly,
"Are you alright?"
"Huff... huff, I'm fine. Considering the use of the Treasure Seal, this is a cheap price to pay..."
Cough!
Mangliang spat out a mouthful of blood and shook his head. He seemed to have regained his composure and said,
"I'll take care of the aftermath."
Whoosh
As soon as he finished speaking, flames shot up from the ground, starting to char the bodies of the fallen Jin Yi Wei and the monsters. The intense heat seemed to carbonize their bodies in no time. They transformed into something that would crumble at the slightest touch, leaving almost no trace of life.
I quickly ran down and used my inner energy to create a wind, sweeping all the remains into a hidden alley. The scene was now so clean that it was hard to believe a massacre had taken place. With a bit more cleanup, it would be impossible for trackers to find any clues.
'Is it that killing is forbidden, but exceptions are made for the dead?'
I felt that bringing Mangliang along was a wise decision. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to plan this operation, and we would have had to fight 11 against 2. Moreover, it would have been difficult to avoid drawing attention or to dispose of the Jin Yi Wei bodies. I patted Mangliang's back, who looked pale, and said,
"You are the best strategist."
How many times would I have had to die to resolve this situation without Mangliang? At the very least, I would have died several times, learning from trial and error. Considering the mental energy he saved me, Mangliang was almost a benefactor.
"Hehe... Not bad."
Mangliang chuckled and said,
"Let's hurry. There's a lot I need to hear from this guy."
We took Liu Tianhao to the secret exit outside the village. While people were in chaos, we disguised him as a refugee and managed to avoid drawing attention. Once we brought Liu Tianhao inside the building, I threw him down.
Liu Tianhao was unconscious from when his limbs were severed. I considered waking him up immediately, but since Mangliang wasn't in good condition, I decided to tend to him first. I said to Xiaoming,
"Can you perform True Qi Healing on Mangliang? His energy is not good."
"Of course. Follow me for a moment."
Xiaoming took Mangliang to a small room. If the Wu Dang Sect's True Qi Healing method was applied, Mangliang would likely recover his strength soon. There was no reason for Xiaoming to harm Mangliang now, so I entrusted him without hesitation.
Whoosh
I then infused Liu Tianhao with my energy. As the powerful force surged through his meridians, he woke up with a look of being pricked all over.
"... Ahhh!!"
"Pull yourself together. I have a lot to ask you."
"Gr... You madman!"
Liu Tianhao, perhaps realizing he had no chance of survival, immediately bit his tongue to avoid torture. His lack of hesitation suggested he had received considerable training. However, I calmly watched, and when he tried to bite down, I noticed his jaw muscles wouldn't move.
"......?!"
"To prevent you from biting your tongue, I've paralyzed your muscles. If you wanted to commit suicide, you should have done it when you were alone earlier."
Xiaoming was far more skilled in human anatomy and pressure points than I was. If he had blocked Liu Tianhao's ability to bite his tongue, it would have been impossible. I looked at Liu Tianhao coldly and said,
"Did you receive training to resist torture?"
"......"
"I don't know many torture methods, so I'll use the one I'm best at."
Swish
I extended my hand and placed my fingers on his philtrum. I then infused it with strong energy. As the energy penetrated through the philtrum, I confirmed that it was adhering and muttered,
"This is Qian."
"......?"
"I'm starting the Eight Trigram Seal."
Liu Tianhao didn't understand what I meant. The Eight Trigram Seal, along with the Six Directions Killing Formation, was a secret technique passed down in the Thunder God School, focusing on sealing and tormenting the opponent. Practitioners of the Thunder God School could extract information from their opponents without the need for physical torture.
Next, I placed my fingers on his throat.
"This is Dui."
Zap
"Huh... Ahh!!"
Suddenly, Liu Tianhao twitched as if electrocuted. As energy was infused into his meridians through Qian and Dui, his nervous system became highly activated. This also meant his pain sensitivity increased. I smiled at Liu Tianhao, whose eyes were filled with confusion.
"Qian has numbed your mind, and Dui has taken control of your lungs. As I continue with Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, and Kun, the Eight Trigram Seal will progressively activate, making your pain sensitivity and sense of time more acute."
Smack!
I didn't hit him hard; I just lightly tapped his forehead with my fingers.
"Ahhhhh!!"
However, Liu Tianhao writhed as if his head had been sawed. The sensation of his skin peeling off must have been overwhelming. I grinned and said to Liu Tianhao,
"You've only experienced two trigrams of the Eight Trigram Seal, so it's still weak. Let's continue."
The Eight Trigram Seal involves placing seals on the eight parts of the body: the head, arms, legs, torso, brain, heart, lungs, and reproductive organs. As the trigrams increase, the pain intensifies and the sense of time becomes distorted, making it far more effective than physical torture. Eventually, the mental strain would destroy the spirit.
However, the Eight Trigram Seal consumes a massive amount of inner energy. It takes over 80 years of cultivation to place four trigrams, and the energy required increases exponentially with each additional trigram. I had never used this technique on a human before, so I wasn't sure how far I could go, but even now, I wasn't certain I could place all eight trigrams.
Still, it was effective enough. Even with just two trigrams, Liu Tianhao looked as if he had forgotten all happiness in life. Normally, it would take about 100 lashes to elicit such a reaction.
Liu Tianhao, who had been barely holding on, finally broke when I placed my fingers on his heart and said,
"This is Li."
He cried out, tears streaming down his face,
"Wait! Just wait a moment!"
"What is it?"
"What do you want to know? What will you let me live if I tell you?"
I squatted down and looked at him coldly.
"Why live? You've already lost one arm and one leg. You can't even live as a normal person, let alone a martial artist. Do you still want to live?"
"Ugh... Yes, please. I'll tell you everything I know."
"......"
"Please..."
Liu Tianhao's pitiful state, crying and thrashing on the floor, was truly sorrowful. Normally, such pleading might soften one's heart. But I felt no sympathy.
I saw Liu Tianhao's suffering and the madness of the massacre, where thousands must have suffered. The mastermind behind this tragedy begging for his life didn't move me.
"I just followed orders! Please... let me live!"
"Superior... Are you referring to the Chief of the Jin Yi Wei?"
"Y-Yes."
"Anyone higher?"
"I don't know. As a low-ranking member, I only receive orders from above. The Deputy Chief gives the commands directly."
The Jin Yi Wei was an incredible organization. A peak expert who could match a Wu Dang elder called himself a low-ranking member. It was likely that the Deputy Chief and Chief were among the most formidable experts in the martial world.
I thought for a moment and asked,
"Do you have a family?"
"... Yes."
"Where do they live?"
"......"
Liu Tianhao hesitated, unable to speak. Despite his earlier promise to tell everything, he couldn't betray his family. I pressed the next trigram, activating his senses further. He twitched and screamed,
"Ahhhhh! Ah, Ahhhhhh!!"
I didn't know exactly what pain he was feeling. As the one performing the technique, I couldn't fully understand. But from the way his eyes rolled back and his limbs trembled like a leaf, it must have been worse than any ordinary torture. I loosened the seal slightly and asked,
"Tell me."
"Sniff... Sniff... Haojing..."
"Shaanxi Province. Not far."
I folded my arms and asked,
"If your family in Haojing had been targeted, what would you have done?"
"I... I would have moved them before that."
"What about the other people living in Haojing?"
"......"
"Would you have let them die?"
As I raised my hand as if to strike, Liu Tianhao panicked and shouted,
"I... I couldn't do anything! How could I defy orders from above?! The Jin Yi Wei demands absolute obedience!"
"Convenient excuse. Just one phrase and everything is over. Even as thousands went mad and died."
Liu Tianhao said regretfully, perhaps genuinely,
"Ugh... I don't know who you are, but this is foolish. The Jin Yi Wei is far more powerful than you think. Even with the protection of the Nine Sects and One School, you can't avoid death."
"I know. I know that the Jin Yi Wei is divided into ten teams, and you are the team leader, Tianhao."
"......!!"
Liu Tianhao's eyes widened. What I said was a direct revelation of the Jin Yi Wei's organizational structure and secrets. I looked at him calmly and said,
"There's no need to be surprised. You will now reveal all the Jin Yi Wei's organizational relationships, secrets, headquarters, goals, and the martial arts of its leaders."
I deliberately revealed this to show that I could detect lies.
"......!!"
"Will you tell me if you do?"
"Of course."
Liu Tianhao's eyes darted around, and he began to spill out information desperately. I listened calmly, organizing the details, particularly interested in the relationship between the Jin Yi Wei and other organizations.
I also asked about other information. After listening to his story for about an hour, I asked,
"So, this was the 'first attempt'?"
"As far as I know, yes..."
Fortunately. According to Liu Tianhao, this was the first time the Jin Yi Wei and the sorcerer had worked together to carry out a massacre. This meant no other villages had been sacrificed before. By thwarting this plot, we had prevented the monster from growing.
I glanced at Mangliang. He looked unsurprised. Given the justification I had provided, his skepticism was understandable, but he had likely considered this possibility from the start.
"When did the sorcerer interpret the secret disciple scroll?"
"About a year ago... That's when the initial plan was formed, and the Jin Yi Wei began special training."
A year ago.
I repeated the words and said,
"You can use special verbal commands to brainwash, right? How is that possible?"
"What do you mean?"
Zap
"Ahhhhh!! I... I understand! The 10 of us, including me, received the verbal commands for brainwashing from the sorcerer!"
As expected. This was not a common technique of the Left Path sects. It felt more like a dark power from another realm. The sorcerer likely passed these commands to the team leaders to brainwash new Jin Yi Wei members.
"How did you learn it? The sorcerer can't speak."
"While he can't speak, the sorcerer could communicate through mental messages. And I believe he taught more advanced techniques to the Deputy Chief and Chief."
"Advanced techniques? Are they also verbal commands?"
"I don't know. But after learning them, the Deputy Chief and Chief became much stronger."
"Stronger? To what extent?"
Liu Tianhao hesitated before saying,
"Originally, the Chief of the Jin Yi Wei and the head of the Dongchang were almost equally skilled. Both were considered supreme experts in the martial world. But a year ago, the balance of power shifted. The Chief of the Jin Yi Wei now overwhelmingly surpasses the head of the Dongchang, and since then, the Dongchang has been supporting the Jin Yi Wei with intelligence."
"......!!"
I was taken aback by this unexpected information.
If true, the highest-ranking members of the Jin Yi Wei and Dongchang were originally on par with the leaders of the Nine Sects and One School. But if the Chief of the Jin Yi Wei had become overwhelmingly powerful, he must be a superlative expert, perhaps on par with Sanjie Li Guang.
If I wanted to eliminate the Jin Yi Wei, I would need to defeat the Chief. I pondered and asked Liu Tianhao,
"If Xiaoming and I combine our strength to fight the Chief, what are our chances?"
"......"
"Answer me."
Liu Tianhao reluctantly replied,
"You are formidable experts. Rare top-tier peak experts in the martial world, but even combined, you can't defeat the Chief. His power transcends human limits."
"Is that so."
Liu Tianhao, who had revealed his family's whereabouts, seemed unlikely to lie about this. The Chief's power was indeed formidable.
"Is the Chief the top expert in the imperial palace?"
"Definitely. This plan assumed that all martial world forces would become enemies, but with the Chief, they calculated that victory would be easy."
"Hmm."
"Is that enough? Let me go!!"
At that moment,
A voice came from behind.
"Not yet."
I turned around. Mangliang and Xiaoming were walking out. Mangliang looked much better after the sincere energy treatment and was no longer coughing.
He pointed at Liu Tianhao and said,
"Ask him the same questions again from the beginning."
"......!!"
Despair washed over Liu Tianhao's face. When I looked at Mangliang with a questioning gaze, he explained,
"He thinks he can escape this situation. While what he told you isn't entirely false, he likely mixed in lies or omitted information to cover himself. We need to ask again until he tells the truth."
"He might die."
"You can control it. I'll watch him, so don't worry."
Mangliang seemed to have a keen eye for detecting lies. I glanced at Xiaoming, who turned his head and said,
"I understand that this is for the justice of the martial world."
Xiaoming's words reassured me. I had been uneasy about whether a transcended Daoist would condone such torture, but he seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and wanted to protect his disciples and himself by gathering as much information as possible. He seemed willing to accept reality if necessary.
"Alright. I'll try my best to keep you alive."
I placed my fingers on Liu Tianhao again, and he screamed in convulsions.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it!!!!"
The interrogation lasted for two hours.
"Heh... Heh..."
Liu Tianhao, worn out from pain and suffering, was drooling and had wet himself, sitting in a chair. Sitting him down was better than having him lie down, as it made him more vulnerable to the psychological impact. He was in a half-dazed state from repeated torture. It was possible to break a person's spirit with pain alone, without physical damage.
Mangliang had watched the entire process, detecting lies and omissions, ensuring the information we obtained was mostly true.
Mangliang said to Xiaoming,
"Fortunately, your disciples didn't arrive on time. If they had, it would have been difficult to extricate ourselves."
"Hmm, what should I do?"
"Return to the Tai Zheng Hall immediately and welcome your disciples. Then, use a suitable excuse to leave, perhaps to suppress bandits. It's better to face some criticism than to get entangled with the Jin Yi Wei unnecessarily."
"I will do as you say."
Xiaoming looked uneasy, perhaps because he had just learned the shocking truth. He had likely only suspected a cult uprising, not that the Jin Yi Wei was aiding the sorcerer. Now, his priority was to avoid drawing attention from the Jin Yi Wei and protect the Wu Dang Sect.
Xiaoming, who could likely extricate himself from this situation without major risk, disappeared from the room. After confirming he was gone, Mangliang spoke to me,
"You're lying. You don't plan to stop here."
"......"
Swish!
Without a word, I used a hand strike to sever Liu Tianhao's neck. The head fell off with almost no blood, as I had never intended to keep him alive. I wiped the blood from my hand with a cloth and said,
"Of course not. We've already created a powerful momentum. At the very least, we need to cripple the Jin Yi Wei so badly that they'll be forced to close their doors for a decade. If the execution team is destroyed, even the emperor's will won't be enough to continue."
This is safer. If I tried to evade, the enemy's strength might only grow. Like a monster growing, the royal court would continue to make advantageous choices. I planned to crush them before they could even think of tracking me.
Moreover, this was the perfect opportunity to gather information while the Jin Yi Wei was in disarray due to the destruction of one of their teams and the death of the sorcerer. They would struggle to act rationally for a while, giving us time to gather intelligence and counterattack.
"Why don't you want to go into hiding?"
"It's not about wanting or not wanting. The traces of today's events haven't been completely erased. It's only a matter of time before the Jin Yi Wei comes after me."
Mangliang smiled bitterly.
"Your judgment has improved through battle. You're right."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Of course, I'll follow you, Bai Xiong. We're in this together."
Mangliang's eyes gleamed.
"Strike while the iron is hot. If you're determined, there's a way to quickly crush the Jin Yi Wei."
"What is it?"
Mangliang's next words decided our next destination.
"Let's seek help from my teacher in Luoyang."
Mangliang's teacher, the [real] Mangliang Xianshi!
The greatest sorcerer in Central Plains, a figure even Wu Dang elders respect.