499: Chapter 499 You took down the Soul Palace headquarters all by yourself?

As soon as these words were spoken...

The Soul Hall members all around completely broke down.

What kind of decent person joins an evil cult and doesn't practice evil arts?

Wouldn't it be better just to say he wanted to kill them?

"Instructor Ye! I... I practiced demonic arts!"

A middle-aged man was in tears.

"But I was forced! Tong Sanqian said only by practicing demonic arts could I stay in the Soul Hall; if I didn't, I'd die!"

"We only did it to survive..."

His words were like opening a floodgate.

"I practiced it too! But I only did it for self-preservation, I've never actively harmed anyone!"

"Me too! I've practiced demonic arts for three years, and I only absorbed the leftover souls they didn't want!"

"Instructor Ye, please see clearly! I've been in the Soul Hall for five years, and I've only done gatekeeping and night watch duties. I really haven't participated in those heinous acts!"

...

For a moment.

Pleas for mercy and justifications rose and fell in the hall, turning into a chaotic mess.

Ye Chen raised his hand and pressed down.

"Quiet."

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Ye Chen glanced at the people kneeling all over the floor and spoke calmly.

"Practicing demonic arts is fine, as long as you didn't kill people indiscriminately."

As soon as he said this, many people felt as if they had received a great pardon, their faces showing the relief of having survived a disaster.

But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, Ye Chen added another sentence.

"But if I find out whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but merely raised his right hand, the golden light in his palm flashing slightly.

The meaning was self-evident.

Several Soul Hall members whose hands were stained with blood turned pale, their bodies involuntarily shrinking back.

"Instructor Ye! I... I am willing to atone for my crimes through service!"

Another Soul Hall member crawled forward on his knees, his voice urgent, "I know the Soul Hall has another secret base in Southeast Asia, which contains what Tong Sanqian has accumulated over the years..."

"Enough, enough." Ye Chen waved his hand impatiently, "Don't push your luck, my patience is limited."

The Soul Hall member trembled in fear, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, not daring to say another word.

Ye Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes like torches as they swept across the faces of those kneeling on the ground one by one.

"I will give you a chance."

"Honestly confess what you have done."

"If anyone lies..."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, "And is exposed by someone else, that will cost two lives."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly tightened.

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes flashing with various complex expressions.

Some struggled, some hesitated, some calculated secretly, and some had already begun to quietly size up the people around them...

After a brief silence, someone finally spoke.

"I... I'll confess!"

A thin Soul Hall member moved forward two steps on his knees, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Three years ago, Tong Sanqian sent me to Southwest Province to handle a batch of 'cargo,' twelve people in total, including three children..."

His voice grew smaller and smaller, and his head lowered further, "Later..."

"Later what?" Ye Chen's voice was neither cold nor warm.

The Soul Hall member gritted his teeth: "Two of the children didn't make it on the way... they were thrown into the river."

A dead silence fell over the hall.

Ye Chen nodded expressionlessly: "Continue."

The Soul Hall member trembled all over but didn't dare to stop, shakily pouring out every evil deed he had handled.

With the first, came the second, the third...

Some confessed they were responsible for transporting "cargo," some confessed they collected intelligence for Tong Sanqian, and some confessed they had guarded the refinement sites for human puppets...

One after another, it was like a unique "confession convention."

Just then.

A Soul Hall member kneeling in a corner suddenly spoke: "Instructor Ye, he's lying!"

He raised his hand and pointed at a bald man beside him.

"What Zhao Laoliu just said wasn't everything!"

"He didn't just transport 'cargo,' he personally killed two people!"

"One was in Hai City, and the other was on a freighter transporting cargo, I saw it with my own eyes!"

The bald man's face changed drastically: "You... you're framing me!"

"I'm framing you?"

The Soul Hall member sneered, pulled a phone from his chest, and quickly opened an encrypted folder, "Instructor Ye, look, this is the evidence I kept back then. Zhao Laoliu is a ruthless man, I was afraid he'd turn on me one day, so I kept this as a fallback."

On the phone screen, several photos were clearly visible.

Under the dim light, the bald man's hands were covered in blood, and a curled-up figure lay at his feet.

Zhao Laoliu's face instantly turned as white as paper.

He turned his head sharply, staring fixedly at the Soul Hall member who had betrayed him, his eyes full of disbelief: "Lao Ding! You... you fucking actually..."

Before he could finish, Ye Chen had already raised his right hand.

Slap!!!

A flash of golden light, and Zhao Laoliu's body was as if struck by a giant hammer, flying sideways and crashing into the wall, losing all signs of life on the spot.

The hall fell silent once again.

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the shocking bloodstain on the wall, their hearts pounding like drums.

Ye Chen withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on the Soul Hall member who had informed, and he nodded slightly.

"Not bad."

"With me, identifying someone who lied can offset one of your own offenses."

The Soul Hall member was stunned at first, then overjoyed, kowtowing repeatedly: "Thank you, Instructor Ye! Thank you, Instructor Ye!"

At this, the place exploded with noise.

"Instructor Ye! I know the bad things Zhang San did! He killed a family of three in Yunnan Province last year!"

"Bullshit! I was acting on orders! But you, Li Si, what about that business you did in Min Province? Do you want me to help you remember?"

"You... you're talking nonsense! I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do anything? Then that mother and daughter who went missing in Zhejiang Province last summer, you dare say it had nothing to do with you?"

"You're fucking looking for death!"

"Instructor Ye! I have evidence! I secretly backed up all his transaction records!"

"I have evidence too! I also know where he hid a sum of stolen money, it's at..."

"Enough! I'll kill you first!"

...

For a while, the hall was in a complete mess.

The people who were originally kneeling were now pointing at each other's noses and exposing their deeds.

Some rolled up their sleeves to fight.

Some crawled on their knees towards Ye Chen, shouting that they had evidence.

Others took advantage of the chaos to quietly move toward the door...

The three Venerables kneeling at the very front watched the chaos behind them, their faces turning various shades of blue and white.

Venerable Vermilion Bird stole a glance at the expressionless Ye Chen, then looked at Tong Sanqian, who had long since been lifeless on the ground.

The next second.

She gritted her teeth, crawled forward a few steps on her knees, and spoke with a trembling voice: "Instructor Ye, I... I will also confess."

Ye Chen looked down at her and calmly uttered a single word: "Speak."

Venerable Vermilion Bird took a deep breath.

"All the Soul Beads Tong Sanqian refined over the years are hidden in a secret compartment in his cultivation chamber!"

"There are thirty-seven in total, each condensed from over a hundred human lives."

"I know the location of the chamber's mechanisms and how to open them."

"In addition..."

She paused, her voice dropping even lower.

"Tong Sanqian also has a backer in the Kunlun Ruins!"

"That person comes to collect Soul Beads every six months, and in a few days, it happens to be the time for the collection."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly: "Who is that person?"

Venerable Vermilion Bird shook her head: "I don't know his real name, Tong Sanqian never mentioned it. I only know that person comes from the Kunlun Ruins, wears a mask every time he comes, and his strength is far above Tong Sanqian's."

"Far above Tong Sanqian's?"

Ye Chen nodded thoughtfully, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, "Interesting."

If he was far above Tong Sanqian, that meant his strength was at least at the Peak Tianyi Realm, or even...

The Golden Core Stage!

He turned around, his gaze falling on Elder He.

Elder He's heart tightened under that gaze, and he quickly bowed: "What are your orders, Instructor Ye?"

"You have merit for leading the way, which offsets one of your offenses."

Ye Chen spoke calmly, "But you've been in the Soul Hall for thirty years; don't leave out a single word of what you should confess."

Elder He felt like he had received a great pardon and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! This old man will definitely tell you everything I know!"

Ye Chen ignored him, pulled out his phone, and dialed Yan Qingwu's number.

The phone rang twice before being picked up.

"Ye Chen? Where have you caused trouble now?" Yan Qingwu's listless voice came from the other end, clearly still catching up on sleep.

Ye Chen coughed dryly: "I'm at the Soul Hall headquarters."

There was a three-second silence on the other end.

"What did you say?"

She never expected...

This guy just said yesterday he was going to Guang City, and now he's at the Soul Hall headquarters?

My god...

Does he have that much energy???

"Soul Hall headquarters, on an island."

Ye Chen said nonchalantly, "Tong Sanqian, the Hall Master of the Soul Hall, has been dealt with. Send someone to wrap things up."

Yan Qingwu was completely awake now: "You wiped out the Soul Hall headquarters alone???"

Ye Chen shook his head: "Not alone."

Yan Qingwu breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought this guy was about to do something earth-shattering again.

One had to know.

The Hall Master of the Soul Hall had already reached the Mid-stage Tianyi Realm many years ago!

But before she could think further.

Ye Chen added another sentence: "I also brought Bing Lan with me."

Yan Qingwu: "..."

Good lord!

Isn't that the same as bringing no one?

She took a moment to digest the information before saying in a daze: "Wait there, I'll arrange for people to head over immediately."

"Right." Ye Chen suddenly remembered something, "I want to ask you something."