Chapter 1082: Mysterious Ruins (Second update, requesting all)

"It is not impossible to spare your life, provided your answers satisfy me!"

Li Zhangsheng said this, but in his heart, he had already sentenced the Nujiang Great King to death.

First, the Nujiang Great King was a Demon Saint-level Spirit Beast, and a near-top-tier one at that; it could not be kept in a Secret Realm, and sealing it would consume exorbitant resources.

Second, the Nujiang Great King flooded Tianfang City, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of commoners and leaving even more displaced, shaking the foundations of the Dai Kingdom; its crimes were punishable by death.

The reason Li Zhangsheng used delaying tactics, besides wanting to know about the Nujiang Great King's broken horn from years ago, also had to do with its recent actions.

According to Zhao Yuanqing, the Nujiang Great King had stayed in Wangjiang for a hundred years; although it would occasionally stir up trouble when in a bad mood, it had never before flooded a city, so Li Zhangsheng felt there was something suspicious about it.

As for why he did not use soul-searching, Li Zhangsheng could only search partial memories, and even if he guided the Nujiang Great King to think in that direction, it was not guaranteed that he could obtain all the memories regarding these two aspects.

Although the Nujiang Great King's strength was similar to Huensi's, its soul was likely stronger than Huensi's, making it more capable of resisting soul-searching.

"Great King, please ask. This little dragon will certainly tell you everything it knows without reservation."

For the sake of its life, the Nujiang Great King chose to bow its head; it had lived for several hundred years and still wanted to continue living, especially since it had grown accustomed to a life of luxury over the past hundred-plus years and had long since lost its former ambition.

"The first question: what is the story behind your broken horn? You had best not hide anything. I have soul-searched the memories of the Treasure King; although there were only partial memories, I know some details. If what you say does not match what I know, do not blame me for not giving you a chance."

Li Zhangsheng's words were nine parts true and one part false. He had indeed absorbed partial memories of the Treasure King Mo Tu, but he happened to lack memories regarding the Nujiang Great King's broken horn; it seemed this part of the memory had been specifically sealed by the Treasure King, which was why he did not know even a single detail.

The Nujiang Great King transformed into a human body with a dragon head, but it did not answer immediately, instead looking at Li Zhangsheng with hesitant eyes; it could not be certain whether Li Zhangsheng had truly obtained partial memories of the Treasure King.

Li Zhangsheng saw the Nujiang Great King's doubt and said, "To dispel your concerns, I can mention some of the Treasure King's deeds."

"The Treasure King ascended to King rank at 58, and to Double-Character King at 215. His Life-Bound Demon Pet was an Eight-Headed Lion, and his main Demon Pets were... You were a Demon Pet contracted when he was 43, and at the time, you were still a top-grade Dragon Python. Is this enough?"

The Eight-Headed Lion possessed a Vigorous Grade Nine-Headed Lion Bloodline. The Nine-Headed Lion, like the Nine-Faced Dragon God, possessed nine heads, though its strength was significantly inferior, and it could only be considered an ordinary Divine Beast.

"Enough, enough. This little dragon will tell you."

The Nujiang Great King was now certain that Li Zhangsheng possessed partial memories of the Treasure King, otherwise, he could not be so detailed.

After a moment of silence, the Nujiang Great King seemed to fall into reminiscence and began to recount the events of that year.

"This matter happened nearly two hundred years ago. At the time, my master felt his lifespan was running low and was searching everywhere for Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure that could extend life. In the process of searching, he happened to enter some Ruins."

"Those Ruins had a powerful Forbidden Array. Just as my master was breaking through the outer Forbidden Array, a Jade Ruler suddenly shot out from the array. Fortunately, this little dragon reacted quickly and subconsciously lowered its head at the time; otherwise, it wouldn't just have been a matter of a broken dragon horn, I fear my life would have been forfeit."

Thinking of the scene of that exploration of the Ruins, even after nearly two hundred years, the Nujiang Great King still felt lingering fear. Given the power of that Jade Ruler, if it had been struck in the head at the time, its skull would likely have been pierced through directly.

"At the time, my master wanted to stop that Jade Ruler, but even after exhausting all his means, he was helpless and instead lost two companions. In that situation, my master could only choose to give up and decided to wait until later to explore again."

"What about the information on those Ruins?"

"Its specific location is at... As for who left the Ruins, my master didn't say at the time, and this little dragon does not know either."

The Nujiang Great King hesitated for a moment but decided to answer truthfully; it really did not dare to take the risk.

"What about that Jade Ruler?"

"That was very likely a Langhuan Supreme Treasure. At the time, my master suspected that the Jade Ruler had birthed an Artifact Spirit and was the treasure suppressing the eye of the Forbidden Array. As for information on the Jade Ruler, my master did not say; please forgive this little dragon, I truly do not know."

The Nujiang Great King finished speaking tremblingly; only it knew whether it had hidden anything.

Li Zhangsheng pondered for a moment and silently noted down the location of the Ruins, intending to explore them if his strength was sufficient in the future.

As for that Jade Ruler suspected to be a Langhuan Supreme Treasure, it would be a lie to say Li Zhangsheng was not tempted, as he did not yet possess a treasure of that rank in his hands.

"The second question: what was your motive for flooding Tianfang City?"

"This... this little dragon originally wanted to come out for some air and was stirring up trouble in Wangjiang, and as a result, I accidentally flooded Tianfang City."

The Nujiang Great King spoke somewhat hesitantly, clearly having not yet organized its thoughts.

"Do you think I will believe that? You had best speak the truth, otherwise, you know the consequences."

"This little dragon wants to speak, but I have sworn a Heavenly Dao Contract and cannot reveal what happened that day. I truly cannot say, Great King, please just treat it as if I passed gas and let this little one go."

The Nujiang Great King felt bitter in its heart. Seeing Li Zhangsheng's poor expression, its legs went weak, and it knelt on the ground, wanting to beg Li Zhangsheng.

If it spoke, it would be violating the Heavenly Dao Contract and would certainly be struck to death by the Heavenly Dao. If it did not speak, there was still a chance of survival. Choosing the lesser of two evils, the Nujiang Great King could only make this choice.

The Nujiang Great King regretted it deeply; it should never have agreed to flood Tianfang City. Now, it had almost cost itself its own life.

Li Zhangsheng squinted at the Nujiang Great King and said word by word, "You really won't say?"

The Nujiang Great King's scalp tingled, but it could only bite the bullet and answer, "I truly cannot say."

"Then go to your death!"

Li Zhangsheng waved his hand, and the Huangquan Sword in his hand instantly slashed at the Nujiang Great King's neck.

"No..."

The Nujiang Great King let out a cry of unwillingness as its head flew high into the air, and fresh blood gushed out from the headless stump like a fountain, dyeing the ground bright red.

It was a Demon Saint-level flood dragon after all; its vitality was not ordinarily tenacious, and even after its head was severed, it did not die immediately.

Before the Nujiang Great King's head could fall, Li Zhangsheng released the Original Light, which instantly adhered to the Nujiang Great King's head; almost all of the Nujiang Great King's recent thoughts and memories were stolen.

Besides this, there were many scattered memory fragments.

(End of chapter)