Chapter 891
Interrogation of the Demon King
"The City Lord and Fellow Daoist Zixu are quite fast. Have you discovered anything?"
Shi Potian and Bai Zimo arrived late, and the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord's imposing aura gradually dissipated at this time.
"It's not a big deal that you two fellow Daoists have been alarmed. It's just that the person on the other side is angry and embarrassed."
Shi Potian's gaze swept over the group, finally settling on the [Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron] hovering in Song Changsheng's palm.
"Why is there such a strong demonic aura in your cauldron, fellow Daoist?"
Mu Guibai had already prepared his words and said gently, "Some time ago, I sent Dazhuang deep into the demon realm to gather intelligence and learn about the movements of the demon race."
After succeeding, he was inadvertently exposed and was chased to the Canglan River by the [Blazing Firebird] clan. Zixu happened to be nearby and came to his aid.
During this time, the [Blazing Firebird] Demon King was hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike, but was captured by Zi Xu.
The person on the other side, enraged, retaliated but failed, so he vented his anger in a small way.
"Fellow Daoist Zixu captured a demon king alive?" Shi Potian and Bai Zimo exchanged a glance and immediately understood the reason for the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord's rage.
Previously, Song Changsheng had already made it onto the kill list by killing the Golden-Winged Roc on the Canglan River. Now, he has captured the Fiery Demon King right under the nose of the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord. No wonder the other party is so furious.
If it weren't for the ancient covenant that bound them, they probably would have already broken out and fought their way out.
Shi Potian sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist Zixu has done what I've always wanted to do. However, we've made too many moves, and the Daoist essence is already under the control of the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord. Once we leave the Great Qi cultivation world, he will hunt us down. So we can only dream about it."
The Fiery Demon King holds a high position in the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom, so he should be able to extract a considerable amount of useful information.
Neither of them dwelled on the matter too much; the details of what happened were irrelevant to them, as their immediate interests were the most important thing.
They weren't afraid of angering the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord; what they feared was not receiving a sufficiently substantial reward after angering him.
"We all have our own sources of information, and since we've all gathered here today, why don't we take this opportunity to exchange information?"
Bai Zimo said calmly, "This concerns the future of the Great Qi, so we should naturally unite and share resources."
However, in exchange, shouldn't this Fiery Demon King also be handed over to us for joint trial?
"Of course there is no problem, but this demon king's willpower is extraordinary. Directly searching the soul is too crude and may miss some important information."
Whether we can get him to talk depends on you all.” Song Changsheng pushed his hand, placing the [Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron] directly in front of everyone.
Bai Zimo stared intently inside and found the Fiery Demon King lying in the cauldron, barely alive. His body was covered with a layer of faint crimson flames, and his life essence was disappearing at a steady and slow pace. A strange light flashed in his eyes: "What a domineering [Purple Void Divine Fire]."
Song Changsheng's [Purple Void Divine Fire] is almost becoming one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the cultivation world of the Great Qi.
Because they searched through all the ancient books but found no record of this kind of spiritual fire.
Furthermore, they compared it with other spirit flames and concluded that only the top-ranked spirit flames could directly contend with it.
It's truly perplexing that such a powerful spiritual fire could be found without any related records.
Moreover, when he first used this spiritual fire, he was only a low-level cultivator, and theoretically, he shouldn't have been able to withstand it at all.
Therefore, many people secretly speculated that Song Changsheng's sudden rise to power in such a barren border region was due to inheriting the legacy of a powerful figure.
The facts were pretty much as they had guessed, but the situation had changed too quickly. Song Changsheng was no longer the insignificant character they could easily manipulate.
Thinking about it, I do feel a little regretful.
“If you don’t stop your supernatural powers soon, he will probably be burned to ashes.”
"Don't worry, he won't die anytime soon. This is just to deplete his life essence and reduce his ability to resist."
Song Changsheng waved his hand to retract the [Purple Void Divine Fire] covering the Fiery Demon King, then looked at the crowd and asked, "Does anyone have any effective interrogation methods?"
"My Golden Crow Sect has a method of using bitter water to corrode bones. Once it comes into contact with the water, it directly invades the bone marrow and penetrates deep into the soul. Over time, it may even attach itself to the true spirit and become impossible to remove."
"Let alone a demon king, even a demon lord, given enough time, would be unable to withstand it." Bai Zimo held his sword with both hands and spoke the most chilling words in a calm tone.
The true spirit is the root of all life's reincarnation. This so-called bitter water can directly adhere to the true spirit, which means that even if the true spirit enters the cycle of reincarnation, it will still be continuously eroded by the bitter water.
To end this suffering, the only option is to annihilate the true spirit as well.
The pain caused by soul searching is nothing compared to this.
Shi Potian retorted, not to be outdone, "My Heavenly Vein Sect has a method of extracting souls and spirits, which can directly extract his three souls and seven spirits, and then use the Soul-Striking Whip to whip his souls and spirits."
Even a demon king would be utterly destroyed after being whipped eighty-one times. If interrogated using this method, even without asking any questions, he would eventually beg to tell us.
Song Changsheng and Mu Guibai exchanged a glance, both seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes. They had only ever seen such a cruel interrogation method in ancient books.
It was just a casual question, but I never expected that both sects would have such ruthless methods. No wonder those powerful forces with deep roots think that the Soul Searching Technique is a minor skill. Compared with these methods, it is indeed insignificant.
Just hearing their descriptions sends chills down your spine.
The same methods that can be used to deal with demons can also be used to deal with humans.
Song Changsheng didn't even dare to think whether he could have endured it if Su Ding had used that so-called "bitter water" on him in order to prolong his life.
“Since you two each have your own methods, then Luoxia City and the Song Clan will not compete with you. How about we go to the Golden Crow Sect first? If we can’t get him to talk, then we’ll go to the Heavenly Vein Sect last,” Mu Guibai said calmly.
Although he deeply loathed such methods, he believed that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. He agreed with Song Changsheng's judgment that the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom was definitely plotting something in secret, otherwise they wouldn't have tolerated it so sullenly.
The most important thing right now is to figure out their conspiracy; personal preferences are not important.
After arriving at the Golden Crow Sect.
Bai Zimo led them to an underground chamber, where a huge pool filled with a strange, pale yellow liquid was bubbling away.
For some reason, as soon as he arrived here, Song Changsheng felt uneasy all over, as if countless voices were wailing in his ears.
"This so-called Bitter Water Pool, I wonder how many wronged souls have drowned in it," Mu Guibai suddenly transmitted to him.
"The methods are indeed too cruel, but if our people fall into the hands of the demon race, their fate will not be much better."
If Song Changsheng had just been reborn into this world, he might have thought such methods were inhumane and too cruel. But with time and experience, and after witnessing the sacrifices his family suffered, he had completely changed his mind.
As long as it reduces casualties among the clan and minimizes bloodshed, the means are not important.
All of this boils down to one thing: family interests come first.
In the process of growing up, you always have to lose something.
He should bear the infamy that comes with it.
"Fellow Daoist, just place that Fiery Demon King inside. Soak him for three days. If he still refuses to give in, Fellow Daoist Wutian, use the Soul-Striking Whip to whip his soul with bitter water. With both methods combined, he won't have to give in," Bai Zimo said in a chilling tone.
He was far more extreme than Song Changsheng. At least Song Changsheng still adhered to some bottom lines, but his bottom lines had long been crossed. He only cared about efficiency.
Song Changsheng threw the dying Fiery Demon King into the bitter water pool in front of him.
The moment it entered, several thick, black chains emerged from the bottom of the pool, piercing into the body of the Fiery Demon King and binding its flesh, inner core, and even soul within the pool, subjecting it to the corrosive effects of the bitter water.
Before long, the Fiery Demon King, who had been knocked unconscious by the bloodthirsty aura, began to struggle violently in the pool, emitting painful and sharp cries.
Even when he was covered by the [Purple Void Divine Fire], he had never struggled and cried out in such pain.
Less than fifteen minutes after entering the pool of bitter water, his willpower was already on the verge of collapse. It's hard to imagine what kind of pain he was going through at that moment.
Song Changsheng had initially thought Bai Zimo's description was somewhat exaggerated, but now it seemed completely accurate. He even felt that, given the current state of the Fiery Demon King, he couldn't possibly last three days.
Most importantly, his demon core was bound, which meant that even if he wanted to die, he had absolutely no chance.
"Let's go, lest we get caught up in this." Bai Zimo's face was as cold as iron, his tone completely calm.
The group arrived at the main hall of the Golden Crow Sect and exchanged the information they had gathered.
Overall, the conclusion was that the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom was still in preparation but showed no intention of launching it anytime soon.
This is precisely what puzzled everyone.
Even if the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord doesn't personally intervene, the overall strength of the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom is far superior to that of the Great Qi Cultivation World. Even if it can't conquer the Great Qi Cultivation World in one fell swoop, it can still significantly weaken their strength.
Given the limited resources of the Great Qi cultivation world, without external resource assistance, its recovery speed will certainly not be as fast as that of the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom.
The gap in overall strength between the two sides is too obvious. In the battle of Canglan River, three demon kings of the Golden Eye Demon Kingdom were killed. In just a few decades, they have cultivated two more demon kings.
In contrast, in the cultivation world of the Great Qi, there was only Zhan Tianxia. After that, Bai Zhengchun, the Golden Core seeds of the Golden Crow Sect and the Heavenly Vein Sect all failed to break through one after another.
The main reason for this is that the two resources were not accumulated enough.
Through thousands of years of inheritance, the accumulation and utilization of resources have long formed a virtuous cycle. On average, it takes several hundred years to cultivate a Golden Core True Person, which is used to ensure the healthy inheritance of the sect and maintain its dominant position.
The advantages of doing this are very obvious. Even if a major upheaval occurs, such as the annihilation of the entire high-level team, new Golden Core cultivators can be cultivated as quickly as possible. Even if their aptitude is lacking, they can still be cultivated through sheer effort.
There will not be a long period without a Golden Core cultivator overseeing things.
However, the downside is that it is too focused on stability, making it difficult for the sect's strength to make a leap forward in a short period of time.
The Golden Crow Sect has been established for over five thousand years, and the number of Golden Core True Persons has always remained between one and three, without ever experiencing a gap in numbers. It can be said that the allocation of resources has been taken to the extreme.
The Heavenly Vein Sect is similar; in its four thousand years of existence, the number of Golden Core True Persons in the same period has never exceeded three.
Over time, they have developed a comprehensive system that meticulously calculates when resources will mature and when they will be used.
This balance is very fragile; once it is broken, rebuilding it requires starting from scratch, and there is no guarantee of success.
Nobody wants to take unnecessary risks unless they are truly on the verge of life and death.
The reason why the Song family's strength has increased so rapidly is that they did not carry out such long-term planning.
Simply put, it means making full use of existing resources and transforming them into strength.
The advantage of doing this is that it can rapidly improve one's strength, but the disadvantage is that it lacks the ability to withstand risks. If a major change occurs, it may fall directly to the bottom.
Simply put, it means that the entire future of the family is being placed on Song Changsheng's shoulders.
As long as Song Changsheng doesn't stop moving forward, the Song family will not be able to.
It would be difficult to achieve this without absolute trust and confidence, and only a force like the Song family, which has risen from the depths of despair, could accomplish it.
The deeper their heritage and the longer their history, the more cautious and rational they become in this regard. They have witnessed the rise and fall of too many geniuses, making it difficult for them to place complete trust in any one person.
It was precisely this kind of thinking that severely restricted the strength of the cultivation world in the Great Qi, making it like a stagnant pool that hadn't changed much for thousands of years.
In contrast, the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom on the other side of the river is like a flowing river with a constant source, its strength increasing very rapidly.
From the perspective of the demon race, with one side gaining and the other losing, it's only a matter of time before they conquer the cultivation world of the Great Qi.
In fact, the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord and the Black Dragon Demon King have always done this, launching a beast tide from time to time to weaken the strength of the Great Qi cultivation world.
But now, contrary to his usual behavior, he is holding back, which is quite out of character for this demon lord.
Regarding the demon race's secret plot, the group had their own guesses, but they could not reach a consensus, and no one could convince anyone else.
Finally, Mu Guibai interrupted their pointless speculation: "Alright, all these speculations I've been waiting for are meaningless. We'll find out what conspiracy they're plotting in three days!"
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The Fiery Demon King ultimately couldn't withstand the torment of bitterness and spilled everything he knew, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
He knew quite a lot of information, much of which they hadn't yet grasped. The most important piece of information was that the Golden-Eyed Demon Lord was waiting for a very important ally…
...(End of chapter)