Chapter 173: Soul Search

When Zhang Nuo opened the bag, he saw a bald demonic cultivator covered in blood sitting inside, baring his fangs and brandishing his claws. As soon as he felt the terrifying Spiritual Pressure radiating from Nanxuan Laozu,

the demonic cultivator's eyes were instantly filled with terror! His facial muscles, already twisted by the torture of pain, now held a few more traces of fear! A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator—facing such a terrifying cultivator, the last shred of luck in the bald cultivator's heart vanished completely!

"I ask you! Why are you capturing so many Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators?"

Nanxuan Laozu's voice was not loud, but every sentence carried an extraordinary momentum. The bald demonic cultivator's body shook violently; the shock to his soul was far greater than the pain in his flesh.

"This is all done at the behest of the Sect Leader of Qingnian Demon Mountain! As for what it is for, I am not clear!"

Facing Nanxuan Laozu, the demonic cultivator dared not hold anything back and said it all in one breath. However, his cultivation was too low; he was only an ordinary disciple at Qingnian Demon Mountain and did not know much.

"Do the cultivators you capture have any special requirements?"

Judging by the cultivators who had gone missing during this period, they were not capturing all Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, but only targeting those who had been selected.

"Yes! They must be at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and they must be virgins!"

As soon as the bald demonic cultivator said this, the few people in the room frowned. In fact, Zhang Nuo had known this for a long time, but he still deliberately feigned a look of surprise.

Zhuge Qing's pretty face flushed slightly, and she stole a glance at Zhang Nuo, wondering what she was thinking! But a moment later, her face turned even redder!

"Virgins? How many in total do you need to capture?"

Nanxuan Laozu's expression darkened slightly. He had no time to pay attention to Zhuge Qing's changes and was lost in thought.

"I don't know the specific number. Many disciples on the Demon Mountain have been assigned tasks; if they cannot complete them, they will be punished!"

Zhuge An was also silently pondering at this moment: Why would the Five Great Demon Mountains capture so many Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators? And they had to be virgins, at that.

"Tell us everything you know!"

Nanxuan Laozu's expression grew increasingly ugly. His gaze fixed on the bald demonic cultivator like two sharp knives. The demonic cultivator was instantly terrified, his body trembling like chaff, and he stammered:

"That is all I know; I have already said everything!"

"Said everything? I still don't quite believe it. It seems I will have to do it myself!"

With a look of skepticism on his face, Nanxuan Laozu let out a cold laugh. Upon seeing the other's expression, the bald demonic cultivator seemed to realize something and retreated in fear, but his limbs had already been pierced by Zhang Nuo's Flying Sword, leaving him with no strength, and he could only scoot his buttocks along the ground.

"Senior! No! I really have said everything, please don't use the Soul Searching Technique on me!"

In the end, the bald demonic cultivator actually screamed out loud, his voice barely better than a wolf's howl! Zhang Nuo narrowed his eyes; hearing the term 'Soul Searching Technique' made his heart jump heavily!

This technique, which could only be performed by those at the Nascent Soul Stage, possessed immense power. A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator could search a cultivator's brain to obtain secrets they did not want to reveal! But the person being searched would suffer a mental breakdown or even death due to the forced extraction of information from their brain!

As soon as the bald cultivator saw that Nanxuan Laozu's tone was off, he immediately realized the other party intended to perform a Soul Search on him. If he were truly subjected to a Soul Search, he would be completely destroyed!

"No! No, Senior!"

Begging Nanxuan Laozu repeatedly, the demonic cultivator's eyes revealed a look of supplication!

"You might have forgotten certain things! It would be better for me to help you recall them!"

As Nanxuan Laozu spoke, he reached out with one hand toward the bald cultivator. With a 'whoosh', the bald demonic cultivator's large body flew directly into the Laozu's hand.

With a soft 'slap', one of Nanxuan Laozu's palms pressed onto the demonic cultivator's smooth head.

"Senior! I beg you, don't!"

Two lines of tears flowed from the bald demonic cultivator's eyes. He was calling to heaven with no response and to the earth with no answer! In this room, no one would help him! He was like meat on a chopping block, and Nanxuan Laozu was the knife! He was at the mercy of the other party.

Just at this moment, a five-colored radiance flashed in Nanxuan Laozu's hand, and strange fluctuations entered the demonic cultivator's head. At the same time, the wailing demonic cultivator suddenly went quiet, his eyes staring straight at the Laozu without any expression.

With eyes tightly closed, Nanxuan Laozu began to formally use the Soul Search method on the bald demonic cultivator. After a long while, the Laozu slowly opened his eyes, his aged gaze filled with confusion.

As he let go, the bald demonic cultivator's body collapsed to the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices; it was clear he would not survive. He had already been severely injured, and coupled with a Soul Search from a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, his body and spirit were already on the verge of collapse.

"It seems he was not wrong! He was only a low-level disciple and did not know much about the higher-ups' affairs. However, one thing is certain! The black giant snake that escaped that night indeed returned to Qingnian Demon Mountain!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone present gasped. Especially Zhuge Qing; everything happening now was caused by her going to the Trial Ground and slaying the two-headed demon snake. If not for that battle, Zhang Nuo would not have severed the black snake head! And Yu Lei would not have died because of it!

"It seems the Demon Emperor's split soul within the black giant snake wants to use the essence blood of thousands of cultivators to rebuild his physical body! Zhuge An, notify the sect: any Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator who is a virgin is not allowed to take a single step outside the sect from today on!"

"Yes!"

Zhuge An also sensed the severity of the situation and hurriedly replied!

The three of them left the Laozu's room, and no one spoke along the way. Zhuge Qing's brows were tightly furrowed; this was the biggest event she had ever experienced. Just as the Laozu said, the first thing the Demon Emperor did to rebuild his body was to return to the Black Swamp in the Trial Ground to retrieve the treasures in the Fenzhong!

Years ago, the Five Great Demon Mountains joined forces to attack the Tianjiang Plain, which had already caused them heavy losses. Now with an additional Demon Emperor, the consequences were simply unimaginable!

"Zhang Nuo! You are also a virgin, right!"

Zhuge An, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke!

Zhang Nuo nodded slightly but did not speak.

"You heard the Laozu's words just now; you are not allowed to leave the sect from now on. If there is anything to be done, just instruct others to do it!"

He nodded again, but Zhang Nuo still did not speak. In fact, he had intended to go into long-term seclusion upon his return and had never thought of leaving again, so this order was of no use to him!

When Zhang Nuo returned to his residence, Bai Xiu and Xun Zhen were sitting in the courtyard waiting for him. Having heard from others that Zhang Nuo had returned to the Nanxuan Sect, the two women were happier than anyone else.

The rumors of Zhang Nuo leaving that they had heard in the sect were thus debunked. Although Zhang Nuo had not given them any guidance since they acknowledged him as their Senior Brother, for some reason, they were deeply reliant on him!

"Senior Brother! You've finally returned; we missed you to death!"

Xun Zhen was the first to run to Zhang Nuo's side and said with great joy.

"Haha! You have worried for me during this time!"

Looking around, he saw that the entire courtyard was clean; the two had not let the place fall into disrepair because of his absence.

"Why would Senior Brother be so polite with us? Now that Senior Brother is back, let's see what those people outside have to say!"

Bai Xiu also walked to Zhang Nuo's side at this time, a faint look of joy on her face as she spoke.

"There is no need to pay attention to outsiders! Senior Brother will not leave again after this return! Before I go into seclusion, I will set aside some time to provide you with guidance, striving for you to advance to the Foundation Establishment Stage soon!"

Seeing the two women so devoted to him, Zhang Nuo felt comforted. He calculated the time in his heart and then spoke slowly.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiu's face immediately revealed surprise; this Senior Brother was finally willing to set aside time to guide them!

Zhang Nuo did not break his promise. Over the next two months or so, he prepared for his seclusion while providing guidance on the cultivation of Bai Xiu and Xun Zhen.

In the process of guiding the two, Zhang Nuo felt that their natural talent was much better than his own; with just a little guidance, they would grasp the concepts. It saved him unnecessary effort.

A few more days passed, and Zhang Nuo had prepared almost everything needed for his seclusion. This day, he arrived at the door of Zhuge Qing's room.

He knocked on the door twice lightly, and the young girl opened the door upon hearing the sound; the moment she saw Zhang Nuo, she revealed her signature smile!

"Brother Zhang, do you have something to see me about?"

"Hehe, it's nothing major. I am about to begin closed-door cultivation, so before that, I wanted to return the Spirit Stones I owe you!"

As he spoke, Zhang Nuo unfastened a Storage Bag from his waist and handed it to Zhuge Qing with one hand. A look of astonishment appeared on the young girl's face; the Spirit Stones Zhang Nuo owed her previously were not a small amount.

After taking the Storage Bag, when she opened the bag's mouth, the young girl's expression froze; her Divine Sense perceived that the bag contained a full one hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones. With such a large amount of Spirit Stones, even though she was the Young Master of the Nanxuan Sect, she could not help but be shocked!

"Brother Zhang! You... where did you get these Spirit Stones! And you didn't owe me this many Spirit Stones!"

Her bright eyes widened, and no matter how Zhuge Qing thought about it, she could not understand where Zhang Nuo had gotten the Spirit Stones!

Robbery! That was unlikely. Although Zhang Nuo's divine abilities were far above those of the same rank, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would not have that many Spirit Stones on them. Calculating based on the number of Spirit Stones in the Storage Bag in her hand, how many people would he have to rob to obtain so many Spirit Stones?

What puzzled her most was that these Spirit Stones were all Mid-grade Spirit Stones. One must know that compared to Low-grade Spirit Stones, Mid-grade Spirit Stones were much more precious! Although there was an exchange ratio between the two, no one would be willing to trade one Mid-grade Spirit Stone for one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Without minding the young girl's surprise, Zhang Nuo spoke a few more words to her before rising to take his leave! He returned to his dwelling to prepare for closed-door cultivation!