Chapter 203: Torture

Secluded cultivation chamber.

Layer upon layer of formations locked Jiang Die tightly in place.

A woman—her body covered in wounds, face twisted with rage and pain—glared at the man in black robes.

The black-robed man, Jiang Dingtian, remained calm.

Even when the sound of the Heaven Bell rang out outside, he didn’t move.

Because right now, he was far too shaken.

This woman harbored more secrets than he had ever imagined.

“You hypocritical old dog. Someone’s looking for you—aren’t you going to take a peek?” Jiang Die sneered coldly.

Jiang Dingtian had long since grown used to such insults.

“Probably just the three elders botching the negotiation with Lu Ye. Useless trash. But it doesn’t matter—we can just try again.”

“Right now, I’m much more interested in the Infinite Void Scripture you mentioned. It’s truly profound. I’ve already reached the peak of the Unity Realm, all thanks to you!”

“Filthy bastard. You weren’t like this before. What happened to you? You’re disgusting now.”

What had Jiang Dingtian been like in her past life?

A gentleman of refined demeanor, courteous and kind.

Like the warmest of elders. During the war between Lu Ye and the void fiends, the Jiang Clan had gone out of their way to offer support—and their treatment of her had been beyond reproach.

He’d gently pat her head and say:

“Don’t be afraid of that Lu boy. He may be the strongest in all of Third Heaven now, but our Jiang Clan—your maternal family—won’t stand by if he bullies you. You just come home and tell us. We’ll always stand up for you.”

Back then, she had been so happy.

But now... how had it all become like this?

Jiang Dingtian furrowed his brow slightly.

“You’ve said that kind of thing several times now. You and I have never even met before. But somehow you seem to know me very well.”

“And you inexplicably know so many powerful scriptures, spells, and divine abilities.”

“So what exactly are you?”

Jiang Dingtian’s tone turned curious.

Jiang Die gave a chilling smile.

“You want to know? Come closer.”

At those words, Jiang Dingtian leaned forward—just as Jiang Die spat at him, a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.

But before it could land, Jiang Dingtian’s hand flashed.

SLAP!

Jiang Die’s head was flung to the side by the force of his strike.

“We’re both cultivators. No need for such vulgar mortal tricks. Spitting? That’s too low-tier.”

Jiang Die turned her head back slowly, her battered face swelling further with rage.

“If you don’t want to talk, I won’t force you. As long as you can endure the pain.”

Jiang Dingtian gave a sharp whistle.

Instantly, Jiang Die let out a piercing scream—her soul was being gnawed on by some horrifying entity.

That sickening chomp-chomp sound—it was like a silkworm devouring mulberry leaves.

Jiang Dingtian had already tried Soul-Search Techniques on her—but this Jiang Die was freakishly resilient, and the attempt had completely failed.

Left with no choice, he resorted to a brutal memory-retrieval method.

The soul-rending torment drove Jiang Die into an unending spiral of pain and madness. Her spirit was already wracked by suffering—constantly, relentlessly.

But the matter of rebirth was simply too monumental.

If she revealed the truth, she would never be able to escape.

So she could not speak.

Even if it meant enduring pain past the limits of the flesh.

“Hm?”

Jiang Dingtian looked mildly surprised.

She had broken earlier under this torture—but now, she was holding firm.

That meant—whatever she was hiding must be tremendously important.

He stopped the pointless torment. The punishment inflicted too much soul damage. If Jiang Die died from this, that would be counterproductive.

But then—what now?

If the soul couldn’t be broken—

Then he’d just have to break the body.

Jiang Dingtian stood and gripped Jiang Die’s face with one hand.

Her gaze was clear, sharp—and full of mockery.

“Heh... go on. Touch me.”

Jiang Die had long since stopped caring. She was certain—if Jiang Dingtian dared lay a hand on her, then Jiang Dingtian would absolutely die.

Because the thing Lu Ye hated most... was betrayal. Cuckoldry.

Even in this life, even if their relationship was nothing but enmity, even if Lu Ye had no affection left for her—so long as Jiang Dingtian dared to touch her, Lu Ye would kill him.

That one look—

Made Jiang Dingtian extremely uncomfortable.

It was the look one gave to a corpse.

He’d never seen her eyes look like that before.

He raised his hand slightly, just about to make contact—

Those eyes...

Those eyes...

Jiang Dingtian was a seasoned old fox. His skill at reading people was top-tier.

Even if he didn’t yet see any certain death scenario before him, that look in her eyes made him decide to play it safe.

He lowered his hand.

“AAAAAAAHHHH!”

The soul agony resumed. And this time, Jiang Dingtian wasn’t worried about killing her.

He just didn’t believe it.

Under this kind of endless torment, there was no way she wouldn’t crack eventually.

He didn’t believe she could hold out forever.

The Heaven Bell rang again.

But Jiang Dingtian, focused on his torture, paid it no mind.

Elsewhere, a gathering of Jiang Clan Elders had begun. They were holding an emergency discussion.

“Should we pursue and eliminate that bastard? Our people went to offer peace—that was us giving him an out. And not only did he refuse, he stomped all over it. If we don’t act now, the whole Third Heaven will treat the Jiang Clan like a joke!”

“Exactly! He’s only just ascended and already dares to slaughter Jiang Clan members? If we give him more time to grow, will he exterminate our clan next? I vote—hunt him down!”

“No! The Patriarch’s intention was not to make an enemy of Lu Ye. Even though he’s in seclusion, we shouldn’t defy his will.”

“What a joke! That ‘peace offering’ is over. He rejected it and butchered our people. Are we supposed to sit on our hands and wait for the knife at our throats?”

The argument raged.

But very quickly, the faction in favor of taking action won out.

“Since we’re striking, no need to hold back. The death of three Karma Realm elders means his combat power has clearly surpassed Karma Realm.”

“I propose—two Unity Realm, and three peak Three Lives Realm cultivators. We give Lu Ye zero chance of survival. Crush him completely.”

“What does everyone think?”

“Agreed!”

“Agreed!”

“If we’re sending Unity Realm, I’m in. My only objection to killing Lu Ye was that I feared we’d keep throwing Karma Realm and early Three Lives Realm people at him—basically handing him loot and EXP. If we’re sending peak-level Three Lives and Unity Realm elites, I have no complaints.”

“Agreed!”

To send Unity Realm cultivators to hunt a Destiny Realm cultivator—

Was to leap across three entire major realms.

Even if Lu Ye was heaven-defying, what could he do now?

Sometimes, geniuses ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ burn bright too early—only to become nothing but dust in a grave.

“Then count me in on the Lu Ye extermination mission!”

spoke Elder Jiang Benchu.

“Me too!”

said Elder Jiang Jiu.

Then another three peak Three Lives Realm experts volunteered.

A total of five top-tier powerhouses—

Set out to hunt and destroy Lu Ye.