Chapter 21: Interrogation

Meanwhile, the scholar lightly curled his finger, and Cang Yin Yue involuntarily walked toward the valley.

At this moment, though anxious, Cang Yin Yue remained calm, thinking of a way to break free.

At the same time, her peripheral vision flickered toward Li Muxian, but she found him staring straight ahead, as if lost in thought.

“I thought this kid was some hidden expert? Turns out he has not even a speck of true Qi inside him.”

In the valley, the scholar glanced at Li Muxian from afar and sneered, shaking his head.

He had already silently unleashed the Formless Puppet Art to invade Li Muxian’s body, so he knew perfectly well what lay within.

Hearing this, the wounded woman, while rapidly cultivating to heal herself, spoke indifferently:

“If he’s just an ordinary person, Brother, just kill him outright. This man is useless for my Blood Phantom Claw Art.”

“True enough.” The scholar nodded.

He stopped looking at Li Muxian, flicked his finger slightly, and prepared to force him to commit suicide—right there, slit his own throat.

But soon, he let out a soft “Huh?” and looked again at Li Muxian.

The expected self-destruction never came. The handsome young man still stood in place, not moving an inch.

The scholar frowned and flicked his finger again.

Yet he discovered that his Formless Puppet Art, which had always worked flawlessly, had failed once more.

The scholar’s face darkened; he immediately poured all his dantian Qi into his fingers, trying to manipulate the threads connected to Li Muxian’s body.

But the result was still useless!

“How is this possible?” The scholar could not believe it.

The woman, puzzled by her suddenly distracted brother, was about to ask what was wrong.

At that moment, Li Muxian suddenly shook his head:

“This technique doesn’t seem that impressive. If I had the full scripture, I might study it.”

With that, he reached forward and grabbed—all the threads wrapped around his body vanished into his palm.

At the same time, the scholar, still doubting whether he’d made a mistake in his cultivation, suddenly felt a tremendous force surge into his palm.

He saw the scene before him rapidly recede, then his entire body crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact.

A sharp “Boom!” echoed through the silent mountains—rocks shattered, dust and soil erupted.

Before Li Muxian, the scholar lay buried beneath shattered rocks, his bones broken, flesh and organs a bloody pulp from the force of the impact.

Yet all he felt was excruciating pain covering every inch of his body—he still couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

“You…”

Through eyes blurred by dirt and blood, the scholar stared at Li Muxian standing beside him, but before he could speak, blood and shattered organs surged up his throat, choking off his words.

At that moment, Cang Yin Yue, having regained control of her body, flashed to Li Muxian’s side.

Her cold eyes flickered between the broken scholar in the rubble and Li Muxian, filled with shock.

“You broke his Formless Puppet Art? How did you do it?”

Li Muxian patted his hands, glanced at Cang Yin Yue, and chuckled:

“Miss Cang, why do you always ask the same question? Can’t you say something like, ‘Your Highness, you’re amazing,’ or ‘Truly terrifying’?”

Cang Yin Yue paused, then nodded seriously:

“Indeed, you’re amazing!”

But the next instant, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes—she vanished from her spot, becoming a dark shadow as she leapt swiftly into the valley.

The scholar’s sister, seeing her brother fly out inexplicably and then crushed into near-death, immediately realized she was facing a ruthless opponent.

So she seized the chance to flee—given her current wounded state, staying meant certain death.

Yet how could she outrun Cang Yin Yue now? Within seconds she was caught, subdued, and dragged back, thrown beside the bloody pulp of the scholar.

“Which sect are you from? What is your purpose in going to Shangyang City?”

Cang Yin Yue’s slender blade descended, hovering just before the scarred, ugly woman’s throat.

The complete Formless Puppet Art had never appeared in the martial world before; its sudden emergence strongly suggests the revival of the Formless Demon Sect.

Moreover, these two are entangled with General Wu’an’s men—this matter demands urgent investigation.

Hearing this, the ugly woman moved her lips, about to speak.

But Cang Yin Yue swiftly stopped her:

“To prevent collusion, we must interrogate them separately.”

At this, Li Muxian nodded:

“I have no problem.”

Then Cang Yin Yue dragged the ugly woman aside for questioning.

Meanwhile, Li Muxian slowly squatted before the scholar, thought for a moment, and said:

“Hand over the Formless Puppet Art. Let me study it.”

Hearing this, the scholar swallowed a mouthful of blood, stared at Li Muxian, and said nothing.

“Hmm? Won’t give it?” Li Muxian raised an eyebrow.

The scholar didn’t reply, only weakly gasped out:

“You… why… have no true Qi…”

Li Muxian smiled and asked:

“Do you know what Heavenly Unity means? What the Realm of Martial Dao means? What Returning to Simplicity means?”

The scholar opened his mouth, eyes widening in shock, then slowly shook his head, mumbling:

“You… can’t… be… Heavenly Unity…”

Li Muxian rolled his eyes and asked again:

“Will you give me the scripture?”

But the scholar only kept shaking his head, repeating the same words, refusing to answer his question.

Seeing this, Li Muxian shook his head:

“Fine, if you won’t give it, I don’t care.”

With that, he flicked a finger—extinguishing the scholar’s life.

He wasn’t a skilled interrogator like Cang Yin Yue—he had no patience to drag this out.

Even in death, the scholar’s face retained its expression of utter disbelief.

After a while, Cang Yin Yue returned, dragging the half-dead ugly woman.

“She’s confessed everything. What did you get from him?”

Cang Yin Yue looked at Li Muxian, wanting to compare their confessions.

But when her gaze fell upon the dead scholar, her elegant brows furrowed in suspicion:

“You didn’t ask him anything, did you? You just killed him?”

Li Muxian spread his hands:

“I’m not a professional. Getting two words out of him was already a win.”

“Interrogation is naturally your specialty, Miss Cang. I’m sure you got something?”

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue sighed softly and said slowly:

“Both of them were disciples of a man called the Formless Elder. Their martial arts came from him. As for their purpose in coming here…”

Here she paused, fixing her gaze on Li Muxian:

“They came to impersonate you.”

(End of Chapter)