102: trial

After a moment of silence, Lin Luoxue seemed to have made a decision and spoke, "But if you take her primordial yin, you can gain one more Baptism."

As she said this, Lin Luoxue felt as if she were about to faint. Her face and earlobes were flushed a deep red, making anyone who saw her want to take a gentle bite.

Upon hearing Lin Luoxue say this, Zhang Daobai was instantly filled with immense joy.

Because when Lin Luoxue said those words, it meant she had truly chosen to accept Zhang Daobai—the kind of acceptance where they would never leave each other, sharing life and death for a lifetime.

However, facing the temptation of the primordial yin on Yue Liuli's body, Zhang Daobai thought for a moment and still chose to give it up.

Since Yue Liuli came from an Evil Path Sect, there was no guarantee she didn't possess some special secret technique or curse.

It was like a multiple-choice question: Is the pesticide Dichlorvos toxic?

A. Non-toxic

B. Toxic

So, for safety's sake, Zhang Daobai still chose to give it up.

To risk this much just to raise his cultivation a little was completely not worth it for Zhang Daobai.

In fact, Zhang Daobai's guess was correct; Yue Liuli did indeed have a special curse on her body.

This curse was personally placed by her Master, Empress Yin. Unless she willingly offered her primordial yin,

the moment the other party seized the primordial yin, its power would transform into a curse, causing the other party's Divine Soul to be utterly extinguished.

This was Yue Liuli's deepest hidden secret and her final trump card.

Yue Liuli believed that as long as the hidden enemy was a man, it would be impossible for him to refuse such a temptation.

Although losing her primordial yin would affect her future Cultivation, what did such a loss matter compared to staying alive?

But what Yue Liuli never expected was that the enemy secretly dealing with her was not a man, and was not even human.

Youying didn't care about any primordial yin; to it, that thing was not even as good as a spirit meal made by Zhang Daobai, so it had no intention of stopping.

Feeling that the person in the shadows had no intention of stopping, Yue Liuli finally understood—the person in the shadows was definitely a woman!

"Wait! I have important intelligence to tell you. This information is very important and can earn you a huge reward!"

One plan failed, so she tried another! To save her life, Yue Liuli hurriedly spoke again.

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai thought for a moment and then gave some orders to Youying.

Soon, all of Yue Liuli's storage equipment was taken away by Youying, along with her protective Spiritual Artifacts and everything else.

To be even safer, Youying didn't even leave any clothes on Yue Liuli, stripping her completely bare.

Looking at the naked Yue Liuli, Zhang Daobai couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

It couldn't be helped; it was only human nature.

Yue Liuli's beauty was not at all inferior to Lin Luoxue's. Due to her Grand Yin Sacred Body, her skin was even a few shades fairer than Lin Luoxue's.

At the same time, Yue Liuli's body carried a hint of holy moonlight hue, looking extremely pure yet carrying an ultimate temptation.

After looking at Yue Liuli, Zhang Daobai subconsciously turned his head to look at Lin Luoxue.

Noticing Zhang Daobai's gaze, Lin Luoxue's face turned red with shame again, and she turned to glare at him with beautiful eyes filled with anger.

"What are you looking at me for!?" Lin Luoxue asked in shy indignation.

Zhang Daobai smiled awkwardly upon hearing this and subconsciously replied, "Because you're beautiful."

"Oh no! I was planning to have you go ask her about that intelligence."

Zhang Daobai instantly realized he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly corrected himself.

Hearing this, Lin Luoxue nodded with blushing cheeks and prepared to fly toward Yue Liuli.

"Wait! No rush!"

"Let Youying test her again to see if she has any other trump cards left."

Seeing this, Zhang Daobai quickly reached out to stop Lin Luoxue and explained.

Lin Luoxue nodded in agreement. Evil Path practitioners often had various bizarre methods; even though Yue Liuli now had nothing on her, she still couldn't be underestimated.

Soon, Youying extended a claw from a spatial fissure and stabbed toward Yue Liuli's Dantian.

It had to be said that after eating the Golden Core of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, Youying had grown fond of those things.

Not only did they contain pure Qi, but they also provided great benefits to its cultivation.

Just as Youying's claw pierced Yue Liuli's skin and touched her Dantian, a terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from her body.

Seeing this, Youying quickly retreated back into the Void Realm, but the Spatial Power enveloping Yue Liuli was not withdrawn.

"I told you she still had some trump card!"

"Go hide in the spirit taming space first!"

As Zhang Daobai spoke, he quickly pulled Lin Luoxue into the spirit taming space and also put away the spirit boat.

Although the spirit boat was wrapped in Spirit Concealing Mist, accidents could still happen, so Zhang Daobai decided to be cautious.

After finishing all this, Zhang Daobai activated Void Stealth and, like Youying, hid within the Void Realm.

Soon, a peerlessly elegant figure emerged from Yue Liuli's body.

As soon as she took shape, an icy aura that could freeze everything instantly swept through the surroundings.

"Master!"

Looking at the familiar figure above, Yue Liuli's eyes, which hadn't shed a tear no matter how much pain she was in, couldn't help but blur.

Hearing Yue Liuli's call, Empress Yin immediately looked down. Seeing Yue Liuli's naked form and the twisted flesh on her body, her eyes filled with heaven-toppling rage.

"Who is it!?"

Empress Yin completely released her pressure, causing the space within a ten-mile radius to tremble.

But after Empress Yin spread her Divine Sense to scan the area, she failed to find a single person.

For a moment, Empress Yin's expression was incredibly dark. She then hurriedly tried to undo the restraints on Yue Liuli.

She soon discovered that the power on Yue Liuli was actually Spatial Power!

"Spatial Power? The Taixu Sect?"

"Good, good, good! Taixu Sect, you are courting death!"

Empress Yin suddenly thought of something, and her eyes instantly filled with murderous intent as she roared through gnashing teeth.

"Taixu Sect?"

In the distant Void Realm, Zhang Daobai heard this and felt as if the name of this Sect was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Zhang Daobai soon remembered; the Cultivation Technique he had exchanged, the Shocking Void Fist, seemed to have originated from the Taixu Sect.

Thinking of this, Zhang Daobai understood. Empress Yin had identified the Taixu Sect as the culprit behind Yue Liuli's persecution.

In other words, the Taixu Sect had become their scapegoat.

"Forget it, better a Fellow Daoist die than myself. Besides, the Taixu Sect should be quite strong, right?" Zhang Daobai murmured after thinking for a moment.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield of the Yinyue Mountain Range,

inside a giant spirit boat flying a Taixu Banner, a Silver-Haired Man suddenly sneezed.

"What's going on? Why do I suddenly have an ominous feeling?"

The Silver-Haired Man looked up toward the depths of the Yinyue Mountain Range and couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

After her roar, Empress Yin hurriedly mobilized her power, carefully helping Yue Liuli break free from this Spatial Power.

Because this Spatial Power was tightly pressed against Yue Liuli, and her flesh and bones had already been twisted and deformed.

If she used too much force, it would very likely worsen Yue Liuli's injuries.

As Empress Yin dispelled the Spatial Power, she plotted in her heart how to seek revenge against the Taixu Sect.

As for whether the culprit was from the Taixu Sect, Empress Yin didn't have the slightest doubt.

This was because people with spatial attribute spiritual power were rare to begin with, and in the entire Tianxuan Domain, almost all spatial attribute cultivators with any bit of strength came from the Taixu Sect.

And for someone to be able to push Yue Liuli to this point, their cultivation had to be at least at the Late Stage of the Golden Core Stage or higher.

Therefore, besides the Taixu Sect, Empress Yin couldn't think of anyone else who could have done this.

Just as Empress Yin had spent a considerable amount of effort to remove the Spatial Power from Yue Liuli,

a spatial fissure suddenly appeared behind Yue Liuli and instantly swallowed her up.

Seeing this scene, the hint of relief that had just appeared on Empress Yin's face was instantly replaced by extreme rage.

"Taixu Sect! You are courting death!"

After Empress Yin roared, she began to frantically attack everything around her like a madwoman.

Even though she knew her attacks couldn't hit anyone in the Void Realm, what else could she do?

At this moment, besides impotent rage, what other choice did she have?

She was currently just an Incarnation; without any Spiritual Artifacts or Spirit Treasures, she could do nothing to someone in the Void Realm.

After venting her anger for a while, Empress Yin felt that the time for this Incarnation was running out and could only stop helplessly.

After scanning the area once more with her Divine Sense and finding no one else, Empress Yin closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Taixu Sect, you just wait. This matter is not over!"

Having said that, Empress Yin's Incarnation dissipated on the spot, leaving behind only a piece of ground riddled with devastation.

Seeing Empress Yin's Incarnation disappear, Zhang Daobai finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt extremely fortunate.

If it had been Lin Luoxue who went to interrogate Yue Liuli just now, even with Youying, she might not have been able to escape.

After a while, Zhang Daobai emerged from the Void Realm, and Youying also appeared before him with Yue Liuli.

Looking at the man in front of her, Yue Liuli finally understood that the person in the shadows was actually just a Purple Mansion Stage ant.

Thinking of this, Yue Liuli stared blankly at the sky, feeling an incomparable sense of frustration in her heart.

As Zhang Daobai looked at the naked Yue Liuli at such close range, his heart rate couldn't help but speed up a bit.

But thinking back to his previous deduction, Zhang Daobai quickly calmed down again.

"Come then. Since you're not bad-looking, I can reluctantly accept it."

Yue Liuli suddenly seemed to have come to terms with it. She turned to look at Zhang Daobai and spoke to him in a charming and seductive manner.

It was only because her body was currently shackled by Spatial Power again; otherwise, she would have struck a few poses to tempt Zhang Daobai.

"Are you ready?"

Zhang Daobai locked eyes with her and asked with a smile.

A flash of disgust crossed Yue Liuli's eyes upon hearing this, but she still smiled seductively and said, "Anyway, I'll have to go through this sooner or later. It doesn't matter anymore."

Zhang Daobai nodded with a smile and then said, "Then let's begin."

Hearing this, although Yue Liuli was already mentally prepared, she was still somewhat sad.

To prevent Zhang Daobai from seeing anything unusual, Yue Liuli had no choice but to close her eyes.

Squelch!

“Ah!”

In the next second, Yue Liuli opened her eyes in horror, looking down in disbelief,

only to see a pitch-black claw piercing through her Dantian and extracting her Golden Core.

Seeing this, Yue Liuli finally understood that when Zhang Daobai asked if she was ready earlier, he was actually referring to this.

“Why?”

A trickle of blood flowed from Yue Liuli's mouth as she asked Zhang Daobai, her eyes filled with confusion.

“Don't get agitated yet. If you're going to die, do it later.”

As Zhang Daobai spoke, he took out some healing Medicinal Pills and fed them to Yue Liuli,

fearing that without her cultivation, she wouldn't be able to suppress her injuries and would die.

Feeling the pill Zhang Daobai stuffed into her mouth, Yue Liuli originally didn't want to swallow it,

but Zhang Daobai directly pinched her mouth and forced it down. The Medicinal Pill melted the moment it entered her mouth, leaving her no way to resist.

With the treatment of the healing Medicinal Pill, Yue Liuli's injuries were barely stabilized.

Then, Zhang Daobai took her and Youying into the Small World.

After entering the Small World, Yue Liuli initially thought Zhang Daobai had teleported her somewhere else.

However, she soon discovered that the sky here was very wrong, and the surrounding environment felt strangely off in an indescribable way.

Meanwhile, above a mountain range, a streak of white light flew from the distance in an instant, stopping in mid-air and transforming into a peerless beauty.

Empress Yin looked at the compass in her hand, her expression grim, as the device had stopped moving.

Ever since her Incarnation dissipated, Empress Yin, who had been presiding over the Yin Yang Tower, could no longer remain calm.

Ignoring her plans to cause trouble for the Taixu Sect, she hastily took out a positioning compass and rushed toward Yue Liuli's location.

However, after only a short while, the positioning compass lost its lock on Yue Liuli.

Even if Yue Liuli were dead, the positioning compass should still be able to find her. The fact that her signal had vanished...

...meant that either someone had hidden her or she had been taken into the Void Realm again.

“Damn that Taixu Sect!”

Empress Yin cursed through gritted teeth while clutching the positioning compass.

Inside the Small World, Zhang Daobai skillfully brought Yue Liuli to the ridge beside the spirit fields.

Because of Yue Liuli's special Physique, Zhang Daobai placed her near the spirit fields where ice and water-attribute Spirit Medicines and spirit plants were grown.

Afterward, Zhang Daobai released Lin Luoxue and handed the next task over to her.

Yue Liuli looked at Lin Luoxue and then at Zhang Daobai. After a moment of silence, she asked, “Can you handle two people?”

Zhang Daobai: “...”

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai was both speechless and annoyed.

What did she mean by that?

What did she mean, 'handle two people'?

You've got to be joking! I can handle at least ten!

Of course, Zhang Daobai only retorted in his mind. After all, Lin Luoxue was standing right there.

“He has me, and that's enough. You aren't worthy!”

Lin Luoxue looked down at Yue Liuli, speaking with cold disdain.

“Heh! I possess the Grand Yin Sacred Body, and my primordial yin is still intact. What do you have?”

Yue Liuli looked at Lin Luoxue provocatively, asking back with a light chuckle.

“Grand Yin Sacred Body? It won't be for long.”

Lin Luoxue didn't intend to waste any more time. She drew a Spiritual Artifact sword and pointed it at Yue Liuli's throat.

“Speak. What was that important information you mentioned earlier?”

Hearing this, Yue Liuli turned her gaze toward Zhang Daobai.

“I want him to interrogate me.”

Yue Liuli didn't actually care who interrogated her; she just wanted to take someone down with her before she died.

If Zhang Daobai were the one, she could seduce him and then use a curse to take him with her to the grave.

“You are in no position to make demands.”

As she spoke, Lin Luoxue condensed a bolt of Evil-Warding Golden Thunder at her fingertip and threw it at Yue Liuli without hesitation.

In the next second, Yue Liuli was enveloped by the Evil-Warding Golden Thunder. Her body shook uncontrollably from the shock, and her eyes rolled back.

After a moment, Lin Luoxue withdrew the Evil-Warding Golden Thunder and asked again, “Will you talk?”

Yue Liuli's body twitched occasionally as she stared indifferently at Lin Luoxue, showing no intention of speaking.

Seeing this, Lin Luoxue condensed the Evil-Warding Golden Thunder once more and threw it at her.

“Crackling!”

As the golden lightning continued to flash, Zhang Daobai watched for a moment before turning his gaze elsewhere.

The sight of those trembling 'snowy peaks' was truly quite captivating.

After an unknown number of shocks, Yue Liuli finally spoke.

“Is this the only trick you know?”

“!!!???”

Wait, sister? You're that brave?

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai turned his head back and looked at Yue Liuli in surprise.

Lin Luoxue was also somewhat angered and speechless. She carefully recalled the various punishments Zhang Daobai had used before.

Then, she looked thoughtfully at Yue Liuli's smooth lower body.

Lin Luoxue remembered that when Zhang Daobai had pointed a dagger at the crotches of previous prisoners, they had all confessed immediately.

However, those were all men. She wondered if that tactic would work on a woman?

With that thought, Lin Luoxue turned her gaze toward Zhang Daobai.

“Why don't you try Lingchi on her?” Zhang Daobai suggested after a moment's thought.

“What is Lingchi?”

Both Lin Luoxue and Yue Liuli were confused by the term.

“It involves slicing the flesh off the body piece by piece. Each slice must be as thin as a cicada's wing. You must ensure the prisoner doesn't die during the process and remains fully conscious. It's best to start from the limbs, and there should be at least three thousand six hundred cuts.”

Zhang Daobai briefly described the method of execution known as Lingchi.

Wait, big brother? You're the real Evil Cultivator here, aren't you?

Yue Liuli, lying on the ground, stared at Zhang Daobai in utter shock.

At this moment, she felt as if Zhang Daobai were the Evil Cultivator and she was the innocent girl from the Righteous Path.

Lin Luoxue considered it and looked down at the Spiritual Artifact sword in her hand, feeling it wasn't quite suitable for the task.

She put the sword away and instead condensed a wisp of Geng Metal Sword Intent on her fingertip.

“This is Geng Metal Sword Intent; it is incomparably sharp. Although I've never performed Lingchi, I will do my best to complete all three thousand six hundred cuts.”

Lin Luoxue crouched down and showed the Geng Metal Sword Intent on her fingertip to Yue Liuli, her tone remarkably flat.

Hearing this, Yue Liuli subconsciously swallowed. She turned to Zhang Daobai and asked tentatively, “Are there no other punishments?”

“Oh, there are. I have many more punishments like this!” Zhang Daobai replied with a smile and a nod.

“I have a toxic mist that can corrode your flesh and your Soul, allowing you to feel the agony of both your Physical Body and your Soul simultaneously.”

“Besides that, I can find some tiny insects and place you in a box filled with them, leaving only your head exposed. These insects will crawl all over you, slowly devouring your flesh, organs, and even your bones.”

“Furthermore, I can seal your five senses and lock you in a tiny, pitch-black space without a single sound. There, you will lose all concept of time, and your inner loneliness and fear will be amplified a thousandfold until your mind finally breaks!”

“And for example...”

“Enough!”

Just as Zhang Daobai was getting more and more excited, Yue Liuli suddenly cut him off.

Only now did Yue Liuli finally understand why her Master used to say that people from the Righteous Path were no good.

She never expected that people from the Righteous Path could be even more twisted than Evil Cultivators.

“Just ask.”

Yue Liuli no longer expected any 'surprises' from Zhang Daobai. She turned her expressionless face toward Lin Luoxue.

Lin Luoxue was also momentarily stunned. She nodded and slowly brought the Geng Metal Sword Intent on her fingertip closer to Yue Liuli.

“Wait! I meant for you to ask me directly, not to torture me into answering!” Yue Liuli shouted, her composure finally breaking.

“Tell me sooner next time.”

Lin Luoxue withdrew the Geng Metal Sword Intent from her fingertip, looking somewhat disappointed.

Will there even be a next time for me?

Yue Liuli felt that the saying 'birds of a feather flock together' was truly accurate.

She felt as though both Zhang Daobai and Lin Luoxue were completely out of their minds.

“Then tell me, what was that important information you mentioned?” Lin Luoxue asked after withdrawing her Sword Intent.

“The reason we have been refining cities and performing Blood Sacrifices lately was to Cultivate a yin yang harmony tree. The yin yang harmony fruit on that tree will be ripe in just a few days.”

Yue Liuli seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. She stared blankly at the sky and spoke at a measured pace.

“yin yang harmony fruit!”

A look of realization flashed in Zhang Daobai's eyes. He had been right; there truly was a treasure in the Yinyue Mountain Range that both the Evil Cultivators and the Demon Slaying Alliance valued highly.

Zhang Daobai had learned about the yin yang harmony fruit before. He knew it was a treasure used to break through to the Soul Transformation Stage or to increase the cultivation of Soul Transformation Stage experts.

To Zhang Daobai's disappointment, even though he knew this now, it wasn't particularly useful to him.

He couldn't exactly go and compete with a bunch of Soul Transformation Stage experts and Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators for the yin yang harmony fruit.

Wait, no!

Zhang Daobai suddenly remembered that Yue Liuli had said she knew an especially important piece of information—one that would earn a massive reward if reported.

But clearly, the upper echelons of the Demon Slaying Alliance already knew about this. Even if she reported it, she might be silenced instead of rewarded.

Therefore, there was a high probability that Yue Liuli was either testing him or lying to him,

not that the news was necessarily false, but that this likely wasn't the 'important information' she had mentioned earlier.

With this in mind, Zhang Daobai turned to Lin Luoxue and shared his suspicion with her.