Chapter 34: Soft Rice Can Also Be Eaten Hard

If speaking from the heart, Chen Ye did not want to meet a fellow traveler.

Good people always hope everyone in the world is good; bad people think the same.

If everyone were a gentleman and only one were a hypocrite, how delightful those days would be.

But ultimately it is merely a beautiful fantasy; there are always countless villains in the world, and Chen Ye has now encountered one.

Chen Ye asked the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, "Master, how does one break this charm technique again?"

Chen Ye's cultivation time was simply too short; he had not studied this charm technique in detail. Although both affect the soul and spirit, their principles differ from that of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Hearing Mo Ci's human face floated upon the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. After observing the scar-faced man carefully, he said, "What a vicious method. This charm technique appears to be an incomplete fragment, causing immense harm to the victim; the person subjected to it will lose at least thirty years of lifespan."

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Master, I asked for a method to break it. Why do you care about someone else's life and death?"

Hearing Mo Ci helplessly replied, "I said this charm technique is an incomplete fragment, likely self-discovered, so the damage is immense... therefore, I do not know how to break it either."

Chen Ye:...

This master is always useless at critical moments; as an ancient demon hundreds of years old, it is truly shameful.

Chen Ye, helpless, could only ponder it himself.

Amid the scar-faced man's hoarse screams, Chen Ye busied himself for a long time, yet ultimately failed to figure out how to break this charm technique.

But the problem was not great, because the charm technique was ultimately broken.

The torment of the Thorns Hell caused the scar-faced man to endure endless pain; under such extreme stimulation, the shackles of the charm technique were shattered by his own will.

Should one say his will was firm or not firm?

Chen Ye did not know how to evaluate it.

However, breaking the charm was always a good thing; the scar-faced man, who had just been proud and unyielding, now cried like a freshly castrated wild dog, reduced to whimpering pleas for mercy.

Now, whatever was asked would be answered.

That so-called number one handsome man of the Jianghu was merely a figure who had emerged in recent years. Upon learning that this scar-faced man was a notorious bandit known throughout the surrounding villages, famous for his ruthlessness, he went to his door to request an audience.

The scar-faced man had met him once, and somehow submitted to this Young Master Najiang's "beauty," becoming this Young Master Najiang's loyal hound.

He still committed crimes such as robbing houses, killing people, and setting fires, but all the benefits gained were delivered to this Young Master Najiang. To the outside world, he pretended to have repented, claiming he had been influenced by Jiang Shiyue and would henceforth be a good person.

This Young Master Najiang also made a name for himself in the Jianghu by using the trick of "influencing villains," and combined with that charm technique, he created the title of the number one handsome man of the Jianghu.

Originally, this group was thousands of li away; for some reason, this Young Master Najiang suddenly wanted to come to Cui Xian.

Upon arriving here, he immediately colluded with the county magistrate. The Jianghu people under his command were sent to the Horizontal Blade Inn, weaving a net to lure and kill those truly righteous heroes.

Chen Ye repeatedly questioned others, and the results were largely the same.

The other Jianghu people were much the same; originally they were people full of crimes and heavy sins, but after being bewitched by that Jiang Shiyue, they became dedicated to committing evil for him.

Seeing him weeping and repenting, Chen Ye assumed he knew he was about to die, so he did not disappoint his expectations.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was retracted, and this soul of supreme wickedness was drawn into it.

Originally, he had wanted to find someone whose crimes did not warrant death to release and send a message, but who would have thought that after this interrogation, none were worthy of Chen Ye's mercy.

Even the attendants of the Horizontal Blade Inn, who had not been bewitched by Jiang Shiyue, under the torment of the Thorns Hell, all appeared to prefer a quick death.

The pain of the Thorns Hell is related to one's sins; anyone with fewer sins would not suffer a life worse than death.

This is no surprise; after all, the Horizontal Blade Inn was a black shop cooperating with corrupt officials. How could one be an attendant there without paying a token of loyalty? Naturally, they were all people who deserved to die.

Chen Ye could only sigh, "The quality of this generation of Jianghu people is simply too low."

Although the interrogation process went smoothly, Chen Ye obtained little useful intelligence.

These Jianghu people were merely puppets controlled by a demonic cultivator; they could not know the truth. The only thing that could be called intelligence was that this Young Master Najiang had only recently arrived in Cui Xian, just two days ago.

No wonder Su Chunyi had investigated for so many days and found nothing regarding this Young Master Najiang; previously, he simply was not in this place.

"Now that the demon has appeared, what will you do? Wait for Su Chunyi to return and use her sword to slay this demon?"

Hearing Mo Ci's voice came from the white banner.

Just now, while Chen Ye was interrogating, Hearing Mo Ci had been motionless as if asleep, but now he suddenly spoke.

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Master, are you afraid I cannot win?"

Hearing Mo Ci warned, "This demon's cultivation should be higher than yours."

Although they had not met, casting that charm technique was not easy; Chen Ye's cultivation was currently almost the lowest in the cultivation world, so he was likely inferior to that demon.

Chen Ye understood this logic, but he shook his head and said, "For safety's sake, we should indeed wait for Miss Su to return before dealing with him slowly. But I have already startled the snake; I imagine that Young Master Najiang will soon learn his puppets have been killed. If I do not trouble him, he will not let me go."

Hearing Mo Ci asked, "You rascal, what twisted scheme do you have now?"

"Master, arrays are of great use. In the cultivation world, overcoming the strong with the weak mostly relies on setting up arrays in advance. I heard that in the past, a Demon Venerable of the Dao-Integration realm was killed by a cultivator two realms lower using an array."

Hearing Mo Ci sneered, "It is true, but to kill a Demon Venerable of the Dao-Integration realm, three Void-Return cultivators, eighteen Soul Transformation cultivators, and thousands of cultivators above the Profound Mystery realm died. They must all have been fearless, offering their blood, bodies, and lifelong cultivation as the foundation for the array, guided by a true array master, to seize the single opportunity. You rascal, do not indulge in wild fantasies."

Hearing Mo Ci was speaking of the Wujiu Demon Venerable, who ranked second among the eighteen Demon Venerables back then and was the first to die an unnatural death.

This was the first counterattack of the Righteous Path; not only was the concealment of heavenly secrets done very secretly, but a grand drama was also specially arranged so that the five remaining Righteous Path sect leaders at the time all appeared elsewhere, ensuring they had no possibility of intervening.

The Demon Venerable died, and the Righteous Path's several sect leaders had alibis; who was the murderer?

The eighteen Demon Venerables held considerable grudges against one another.

The death of the Wujiu Demon Venerable triggered mutual suspicion among the experts of the Demonic Sect; old grudges that had been temporarily shelved were dug up again. At first, it was merely mutual arguing, but soon someone thought, "Strike first to gain the advantage."

Then came the internal strife within the Demonic Sect that even shattered the heavens.

When the Demon Venerables fell one after another, the favorable situation began to reverse.

Big and small demons all knew they had been tricked, but there was no way to stop. They were all selfish people who suspected one another; even if they knew they were wrong, they would only double down on their mistakes.

You just killed my disciple and seized my sect's supreme treasure; now you tell me to stop?

You are unwilling to spit out the benefits you have already swallowed?

Then you should just go to your death.

It can be said that the death of the Wujiu Demon Venerable was the first brick in the collapse of the Demonic Sect. But ironically, the corpse of this Wujiu Demon Venerable has not yet been completely extinguished of life force; he is now sealed in a forbidden place named Green Coffin Mountain, suppressed by the Incense-Burning Gate, one of the five great Righteous Path sects.

The Demon Venerable who died earliest has lived on; although it is no different from death, compared to those who were completely annihilated, leaving not even a remnant soul, the Wujiu Demon Venerable is actually the luckiest one.

But no matter how legendary the story, it had nothing to do with Chen Ye.

Hearing Mo Ci reminded, "Arrays can indeed allow cultivators to triumph over the strong with the weak, but setting up a formidable array requires not only time but also many heavenly treasures and earthly gems. Where will you find them?"

Chen Ye replied, "Master, don't pour cold water on me. The Young Master Jiang we are dealing with is not a Demon Venerable. Besides, what harm is there in trying? If I do nothing, will I not be hunted down?"

Hearing Mo Ci asked, "What array are you preparing to set?"

Chen Ye asked, "Although the soul of the Monk Ku'e is weak, his cultivation is still at the Profound Mystery Realm. Tell me, if he detonates his entire vital blood, can he kill someone at the Profound Mystery Realm?"

Hearing Mo Ci shook his head, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. He is now so weak that even his soul is incomplete, and he has no physical body at all. What can he detonate? At most, it will be like a stifled fart, blowing dust in someone's face."

"Lacking a body, we shall simply find one for him."

Chen Ye looked at the martial artists he had just defeated; they were all robust and healthy, excellent bodies. For demonic cultivators, these were all good things.

Hearing Mo Ci was shocked, "You really have gone mad! On what basis do you dare to play like this? Can you control him? What ability do you have to force a Profound Mystery Realm cultivator to commit suicide?"

Chen Ye smiled, "Let's try. Since we are doing it, we might as well do it decisively."

Hearing Mo Ci thought for a moment. Now that the Monk Ku'e had no power to resist, and considering this young man's research into souls, it was not entirely impossible.

But there was still a key issue.

"Wicked disciple, you may not have that much time to prepare."

Chen Ye did not refute; this was indeed the biggest problem. Whether refining a body to control the Monk Ku'e or setting up an array, both required much time.

But news that the Hengdao Inn had been smashed had likely already spread. Who knew if the enemy possessed any means of tracking?

Chen Ye said, "Let's take a gamble. I do not know if that Demon Venerable possesses a skilled evasion technique. Even if I flee with all my strength now, I may not escape. It is better to use an array to protect my life. If that fails, I still have one sword talisman, which can save my life at a critical moment."

"Moreover, this disciple has a way to delay things a bit."

Having spoken, Chen Ye waved the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, drawing all remaining yin qi into it, ensuring not a single fragment of a soul escaped.

Then he lightly tapped the sword case on his back. Several sword lights flew out, and under Chen Ye's control, they carved a line of large characters: "Chen Ye, an outer sect disciple of Qinghe Sword Sect, captured this villain here. Those seeking revenge, meet at the nameless lone peak one hundred li south of the city at dusk in seven days to settle the score."

After leaving the sword marks and inscriptions, Chen Ye hung the jade token gifted by Su Chunyi in a conspicuous place.

Seeing Chen Ye's actions, Hearing Mo Ci exclaimed in surprise, "That jade token is the real thing. You are using it to deceive people?"

Chen Ye replied, "If you are putting on a show, do the whole thing; otherwise, how can you deceive a Demon Venerable? Besides, when I see Miss Su again, I will simply ask her for another one."

Hearing Mo Ci said, "You speak lightly. You are killing people, refining souls, and preparing to refine corpses. These are all demonic sect methods. Are you not afraid that your Miss Su will learn of this and chop off your head?"

Chen Ye spoke calmly, "Master, I have my own code of conduct. Those guilty of heinous crimes are not worth sparing; if they are killed, they are killed. Although Qinghe Sword Sect holds a high status, I am also a cultivator and need not be so humble. Besides, now Miss Su is the one seeking my help; why should I bow my head and lower my eyes?"

Hearing Mo Ci:...

To eat soft rice so hard, he is truly a shameless little Demon Venerable.