"Speak! What is your purpose for coming to Shanhai State? Why did you attack the cultivators of the Li family?" Xiaoqing demanded harshly, holding a steel whip covered with barbs.
The Demon Cultivator kept his mouth tightly shut, not uttering a word.
But if he thought he could resist Xiaoqingâs interrogation this way, he certainly wouldnât last long!
"Unwilling to talk? Then Iâll see just how tough you can be!" Xiaoqing looked at him with disdain.
A flash of Spirit Light at the fingertip sank into his body, causing his body and Spiritual Soul to become extremely sensitive, particularly amplifying the perception of pain by dozens of times!
With just a light flick of the steel whip in hand, boundless pain surged towards him like a tidal wave, pulling him down unceasingly, yet never letting him die, making him wish for death over life.
"Ahhhhhâ"
A piercing scream burst from the Demon Cultivatorâs mouth, but gradually, he could no longer scream, like a puddle of mud, lying on the ground motionless.
Even with such extreme pain, it actually didnât cause him much serious injury. That previous flick of the whip merely left a red mark on his body.
This secret technique of amplifying the senses was the result of a mistake during the deduction of methods by a member of the Li Clan. Initially thought to be a useless method, it instead shone brightly in the hands of a clan member responsible for interrogation, displaying unique brilliance.
"Willing to speak now?"
Despite asking, Xiaoqing didnât stop his actions, and this time he increased the intensity, slashing the steel whip hard on the Demon Cultivator.
"Iâll talk..."
The Demon Cultivator pleaded with a despairing face, "Iâll talk, just give me a quick death!"
Having survived countless life-and-death trials, yet for the first time did he find pain to be so terrifying, so horrifying!
Just two lashings were enough to make him surrender.
He knew very well the lives of many Li family cultivators weighed on him, and even if he told everything he knew, he couldnât atone for his crimes and ultimately couldnât escape death.
So he didnât bother to beg for mercy, just hoping not to suffer any longer, wishing to die swiftly, his greatest luxury.
"Those Heavenly Immortal Great Demons bore grudges against the Sun and Taiyin Star Gods, foiling their plans in the Demon-contaminated Primordial Spirit Realm, but didnât dare to challenge the Heavenly Court, so they shifted their hatred onto your family, mobilizing a significant number of Demon Cultivators from nearby State Domains to attempt to annihilate the Li family."
However, upon arriving in Shanhai State, they discovered that the Li family was immensely powerful, far beyond what they could besiege.
After private discussions, they decided to slowly undermine the Li family cultivators, wreaking havoc, weakening the Li familyâs strength, and finally attempting to attack Mount Wanxian to eradicate the Li family.
"Hmph!"
Xiaoqingâs face darkened and he said, "Truly typical of Demon Cultivators who bully the weak and fear the strong!"
"Where are you hiding in Shanhai State now? Why canât even the Earth God find any trace of you?"
"Because weâre not on the ground, but hidden in the clouds, moving around and not staying in one place for long."
Xiaoqing suddenly realized, understanding why no matter how diligently Li Mingyao searched, he couldnât find the traces or whereabouts of the Demon Cultivators. It turned out they were hiding in the sky.
"Then how do you accurately find the gathering locations?"
"In the Storage Magical Treasure, there is a Positioning Treasure."
A glint of insight flashed in Xiaoqingâs eyes, and instead of immediately retrieving his Storage Magical Treasure, he turned and walked out of the cell.
He needed to confirm the Demon Cultivatorâs confession with Li Mingyao.
The other captured Demon Cultivator was held elsewhere under the same conditions, and they didnât know any other accomplice had been captured too.
This way, they could determine if the two were lying.
Furthermore, Xiaoqing suspected that the Demon Cultivatorâs words might harbor malicious intent. He needed a clan memberâs help.
"Mingyao, how is it? Did you get any information from them?"
Under the secret technique that amplifies the bodyâs and Spiritual Soulâs senses, most beings cannot withstand it, and this Demon Cultivator was no exception.
"Yes, according to him, the Demon Cultivators are hidden in the clouds..."
Upon comparing notes, the two discovered that what the two Demon Cultivators said matched, confirming they were not lying.
Nonetheless, to be cautious, Xiaoqing sought out a clan member named Li Xianyan from the Realm of Human Immortality.
The reason for finding him was naturally his ability to control the two Demon Cultivators!
Because he was the Puppet Master of the highest realm in the Li family.
Under normal circumstances, Li Xianyan certainly wouldnât be able to control an Earth Immortal, given the significant gap in power.
However, now that the Demon Cultivatorâs Dantian, body, and Spiritual Soul were sealed, unable to exert any power, he could further weaken and wear down the cultivator to achieve complete control.
He blended potion after potion, drawing various sigils on the Demon Cultivatorâs body, and then cast spells, slowly gaining control over him.
The entire process wasnât quick, taking nearly two hours to refine him into a living puppet!
Strictly speaking, this Demon Cultivator was still alive, but from now on, he would become merely a puppet in Li Xianyanâs hands, unable to control his own body or Spiritual Soul.
And due to this puppet, Li Xianyan barely possessed the power of the Earth Immortal Realm.
Saying it was "barely" due to the fact that a puppet, after all, is still a puppet, and there are inherent differences in many aspects compared to a real living being.