When Wuji Sanren said what essentially boiled down to an offer of cooperation, Liu Xing raised his eyebrows. Asking for context to provide better answers would certainly benefit Liu Xing, yet he sensed something was amiss. This was Wuji Sanren, an elder of the Nether Lotus Sect, said to be intelligent and ruthless. Yet here he lay, cooperating with Liu Xing simply because he did not want to endure pain. It seemed too good to be true, yet Liu Xing could not deny that it would make the situation easier for him.

  "For starters," Wuji Sanren continued, "is it true that the people who were kidnapped were all women?"

  After thinking for a moment, Liu Xing nodded. "Yes," he said. "All thirty of them were women."

  "How about their age?" Wuji Sanren asked calmly, though he grimaced as if another wave of pain washed over him. "Are all of them young?"

  "They are certainly not old, but not all of them are young. Some of them already have children who are old enough to marry."

  Su Nian, of course, was too young to be married, but her sister was old enough. He had heard that she actually had a boyfriend, though she recalled him with sadness covering her face, and Liu Xing was certain that he was dead. He then remembered the chats, the giggles, and the song after that topic came and went, and thinking about them made anger flare within him. He needed a moment to rein himself in.

  "Why?" Liu Xing finally asked. "Do you know the reason for it?"

  He made sure that the little bell registered his question, made sure that he knew for a fact that Wuji Sanren told him the truth.

  "I have a hunch," Wuji Sanren answered, and the bell's silence indicated that he was honest. "Ye Xuanming was a brilliant person, cunning, and a capable researcher. The subject that he focused on was, of course, cultivation and immortality. We wanted to advance. However, our paths diverged. I am more focused on how to cultivate, how to maximize my innate talent, whereas he chose to research a shortcut to immortality."

  "What is your hunch, then?" Liu Xing asked.

  "The gap between our relationship had widened, and all of this, I suspect, is because he had a breakthrough in his research. Truth be told, I don't know much about the recent him. He was immersing himself in his research so much that it felt as if he had abandoned the sect. But then, he came back; you're the witness of it." He paused for a moment, trying to flex his muscles yet again, and failed once again. "To answer your question, I suspect that the reason he kidnapped those women was simple. He needed them for something."

  "And what is this something?" he asked. For this question, he decided not to use his bell. At this point, he realized that Wuji Sanren's words contained too much talk for too little substance. Perhaps it was the effect of the prayer beads and the mist that muddled his thoughts. He was quite different from the cold and calculated man that Liu Xing had observed.

  "Honestly, I don't know," Wuji Sanren answered. "Perhaps he truly found a way to become an Immortal even though his cultivation is still low. As I said earlier, I need more context to give you better answers."

  "You truly don't like pain, huh?" he commented. It was the only reason he could think of for Wuji Sanren to cooperate with him.

  "Even if I'm a demonic cultivator, and there are many people under me who like to be hurt, I am not one of them. Most importantly, I want to live. And you, Liu Xing, promised to release me after you finished questioning me, isn't that right?" The man smiled, though his smile was not one of happiness, but one that felt mocking.

  This smile made Liu Xing's stomach twist again, as if the man knew something important that Liu Xing did not. In that moment, he poured more qi into the treasures that held Wuji Sanren. Wuji Sanren's smile was erased, replaced by a grimace of pain that made his fists clench and his body twist on the ground. Liu Xing held it for a moment longer, trying to remind the man that he had control of his life. Not lessening the force that held Wuji Sanren, Liu Xing opened his mouth. "Do you know about the Heaven Severing Pill?"

  Upon hearing his words, the man who had been writhing in pain as if he were being boiled alive suddenly flinched. Then, slowly, he opened his wide eyes. It was as if an understanding had dawned on him.

  "What did you say?" The man twisted his neck and looked in Liu Xing’s general direction.

  "You heard what I said," Liu Xing answered.

  In truth, he did not want to mention that pill's name in front of this man. That pill was, after all, a child. He had thoughts of his own, dreams, and aspirations. Reducing him to the name Heaven Severing Pill felt like reducing the name Liu Xing to a bag of flesh. Still, Wuji Sanren stated that he needed more context to give him information, and giving that information to gain much more was wise.

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  "Heaven Severing Pill," Wuji Sanren tasted the name on his lips, then his face twisted into a rage. "Heaven Severing Pill! That damned traitor, to think he made me forget about that name. Yes, yes, it all makes sense now, what he's trying to do. Foolish. To think that his plan was as shallow as that. What kind of madness twisted his mind to think something like that would work?"

  Liu Xing felt his heart drum against his ribs. He remembered Jin Wuyi's medicine to make those who used it forget certain things. Perhaps Ye Xuanming did a similar thing to this man, and the act of saying the name of the Heaven Severing Pill broke that effect.

  "Wuji Sanren," Liu Xing called to him with a heavy voice, intensifying the effect of the treasures. "Tell me clearly, what is his plan? What is he trying to do to those women?"

  "I have no evidence, but I'm sure that his plan is this."

  And so, Wuji Sanren told him what he thought Ye Xuanming was trying to do.

  Upon learning it, Liu Xing could not help but glance at the center display. Currently, there were only texts on them, but before, there had been several illustrations of spirit beasts. To think that what Ye Xuanming did was truly something so foolish. What he was trying to do was akin to a mortal trying to command a giant river. It was almost impossible. And that was not even counting whether the giant "river" also existed or not. So, perhaps a more apt description was akin to a mortal trying to control a giant river whose existence was merely a legend.

  Liu Xing asked the man for more info, and considering the importance of the information, he decided to use his bell fully. The moment he asked his fifth question while activating the bell, and Wuji Sanren answered truthfully, it cracked and shattered into dozens of fragments.

  "Tell me, Wuji Sanren, do you believe in its existence?"

  "I don't," he shook his head. "But perhaps I am the one who is wrong. After all, it seems that even the great sects came for it, and they, as well as Ye Xuanming, certainly knew more about it." He let out a bitter laugh. "This is the life of a demonic cultivator. We live either to betray people or to be betrayed. To use people or to be used. The moment we outlive our usefulness, your friends will abandon you. Ye Xuanming, were our bonds truly that shallow, for you to hide something so big like that from me? Was the Nether Lotus Sect truly nothing to you, for you to put it on the path of ruin?"

  He lamented for a bit more, and Liu Xing asked him more questions. However, in that mood, Wuji Sanren refused to answer. Even when Liu Xing intensified his hold and the pain, the elder ignored him, as if he were drowned in sorrow. A small corner of his heart felt sympathy for him; however, that thought was mercilessly crushed.

  "Wuji Sanren, I thank you for the answers that have shed some light on the mystery plaguing my mind."

  He understood the "why," though it would be a lie for Liu Xing to say that he fully understood the situation. What Wuji Sanren told him was important. However, there were still many missing pieces preventing him from fully comprehending the situation. He was sure, though, that the farther southeast he traveled, the more information he would find. He glanced at the wide blue screen to his left, once again trying to commit the map to memory.

  Wuji Sanren shot him a nasty glare. "Now, will you release me, or will you too discard me the moment I outlive my usefulness?"

  Liu Xing pressed his lips, his left hand clenching the handle of his gun. A bitter taste spread in his mouth, and his stomach twisted in shame. He was indeed trying to discard someone who had been useful to him.

  Instead of answering, Liu Xing pointed his gun. The Exploding Fist bullets were ready to fire. However, he needed to weaken Wuji Sanren further, so Liu Xing intensified the effect of his treasures, accelerating the poison ravaging his body. Wuji Sanren thrashed about as if he were burning from an invisible fire. This was quite fitting, considering the man had branded his disciples with marks that would make them burn if they passed a certain threshold.

  Wuji Sanren's body began to wither. His skin dried out as if the moisture was being sucked from it, and his veins turned black as if his blood had turned to ink. He began coughing up black blood, and his qi paths shrank to the point that his own qi began to ravage his insides. Even if the man survived, it would be difficult for him to continue cultivating, which would make him a certain type of cripple. Liu Xing was reminded of the old man in Water Tower City. But then he refocused his mind. He was not trying to cripple a man; instead, he was trying to weaken his enemy so that a single shot would kill him. The elder's screams and wails became louder, shrill, and high-pitched, but then his voice began to lose its strength.

  At that moment, Liu Xing aimed at his head, put his finger on the trigger, and without any hesitation, pulled it.

  The blue bolt shot from the tip of his invisible gun. It was the same shade of blue that emanated from the screens, but brighter, illuminating the room for a single moment. In a flash, the bullet hit the man's head, and like a watermelon smashed by a hammer, Wuji Sanren's head burst, his blood splashing the desk, the corpses near him, his invisible body, his gun, and the three screens. It was a messy death, yet it was one that would make sure he would be truly dead.

  After a moment, the stump of his neck began gushing blood, and Liu Xing inhaled deeply. However, he was suddenly struck by a realization. He glanced toward his gun. Usually, after he killed a target, his gun would absorb their qi. He was sure that his gun was not broken, and yet, he did not feel that his gun was loaded full of bullets. This could only mean two things. Either his gun was broken, which was something he did not even know was possible, considering it was a gun so out of this world, or something easier to explain that Wuji Sanren was still not dead.

  At that moment, a realization dawned on him, why he felt there was something he had missed or forgotten, why Wuji Sanren cooperated with him so readily, and most importantly why he was so easily subdued.

  Liu XIng suddenly realized that he was not the only one interrogating Wuji Sanren; Wuji Sanren had been interrogating him as well. Even if one of them was bound and one was not, both of them had gained valuable information.

  At that moment, Liu Xing's heart beat faster, and he was truly glad that he had not dropped his invisibility. After all, Wuji Sanren was still not dead, and if his conjecture was true, then he was actually still within this room, waiting for an opportunity to either attack Liu Xing or for him to leave.

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