Chapter 388: Soul Search Technique, Regret
"Oh? I'm afraid you won't have the chance."
In the ancestral land of the True Phoenix Clan within Dragon Phoenix Heaven, an icy voice rang out.
The smirk on the youth's face froze instantly, replaced by sheer terror. The aura emanating from the figure behind him made him feel as though he had been plunged into a freezing abyss. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as his hairs stood on end.
"W who are you? How did you get in here?"
The youth stammered as he turned around slowly. It wasn't that his reaction was sluggish it was his body, paralyzed with fear, that made his movements seem stiff.
"Who am I?" Xiao Tiance's voice was cold and laced with malice. "You'll find out soon enough."
The chilling killing intent in the room was almost tangible, suffocating the youth. He felt as though he might be torn apart at any moment.
"Cl clack… clack…"
The youth's teeth chattered audibly, echoing like the sound of frostbitten children trembling in the cold. His legs wobbled, but his survival instincts kicked in.
"H help! Someone, help me!"
Despite his immobilized body, the youth mustered all his strength to scream for help. After all, this was the ancestral land of the True Phoenix Clan, a sanctuary of incredible power. No outsider would dare to act recklessly here. If his cries reached the elders, his life would surely be saved.
Xiao Tiance, however, smirked coldly and walked over to a chair, sitting down casually.
"Go ahead, scream. It's futile. I've already set up a sealing array. Not only will your cries go unheard, but even if you detonated yourself right here, nobody outside this room would notice."
The youth froze in disbelief. If Xiao Tiance's words were true, his life was completely at the mercy of this man.
His mind raced as a cold realization hit him. The aura emanating from Xiao Tiance far surpassed that of his clan's ancestral elders.
Suddenly, a glint of desperation flashed in his eyes. Summoning his courage, he asked loudly:
"Y you… are you Xiao Tiance? The teacher of those two… those two bastards?"
Xiao Tiance chuckled darkly.
"Not bad. You guessed correctly."
It wasn't surprising that the youth had identified him. News of Xiao Tiance's battle with the Western Sky War Emperor had already spread across the Great Thousand World. For a clan as powerful as the True Phoenix Clan, knowing his identity wasn't unexpected.
Raising his hand, Xiao Tiance beckoned. The two positioning jade tokens tied to the youth's waist flew into his palm. He glanced at them before recalling the vile conversation he had overheard earlier.
Rage surged within him, and for a moment, he couldn't suppress the eruption of his aura.
"Damn it!"
"BOOM!"
The overwhelming pressure shattered every piece of furniture and porcelain in the room. The youth spat out a mouthful of blood as his body crumpled to the ground, utterly drained.
"P please spare me! I am a genius of the True Phoenix Clan! If you kill me, Huang Min and Huang Lingyun will die as well!"
The youth's face was pale, and his voice trembled as he begged for mercy.
"Even if you're a Spirit level Heaven Sovereign, our clan's power is more than enough to destroy you. But if you let me go, I promise they will survive "
"SLAP!"
Before he could finish, Xiao Tiance's hand lashed out, striking him across the face. The force of the slap sent him spinning, leaving him stunned and disoriented.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear your nonsense," Xiao Tiance growled. **"I don't care how strong your clan is. I had no quarrel with the True Phoenix Clan before.
But since you dared to touch my disciples, you'll pay the price.
Now, I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. Speak a single word of nonsense, and I'll make you wish you were dead. Understood?"**
His eyes burned with unrestrained killing intent, leaving no doubt that he would make good on his threat.
"Y yes! Yes!"
The youth nodded frantically. In this moment, survival was his only thought.
"Your name."
"I am Feng Zhen," the youth stammered.
The name, though delicate, suited his androgynous appearance. Xiao Tiance didn't dwell on it and continued.
"Why did you target my disciples? Did they offend you?"
"N no, not at all!" Feng Zhen shook his head vehemently. **"Their bloodlines… their bloodlines are incredibly powerful! Huang Min's especially it rivals the ancestral bloodlines of our clan's strongest elders.
If I absorb her bloodline, I'll gain unimaginable talent.
As for Huang Min and Huang Lingyun, they were brought here by my ancestor. My clan's enforcement elder, Feng Lin, agreed to support my ancestor's plan to secretly replace their bloodlines.
Feng Lin's grandson, Feng Shan, suffered severe injuries that drained his bloodline power. This plan was devised to save him."**
Perhaps out of fear for his life, Feng Zhen spilled everything without hesitation.
"Hmph!"
Xiao Tiance snorted coldly. While furious, he felt a sliver of relief. Since this wasn't a decision made by the entire True Phoenix Clan, it meant the situation was salvageable.
"What happens after their bloodlines are drained?"
"They'll become useless husks," Feng Zhen replied quickly. "Their cultivation levels will plummet, and they'll never be able to recover or cultivate again."
Hearing this, Xiao Tiance's eyes turned colder.
He stepped forward and raised his hand, placing it on Feng Zhen's head.
"W what are you doing?!" Feng Zhen shrieked.
"Soul Search Technique," Xiao Tiance replied icily. "I don't fully trust your words. I'll confirm the truth myself."
The moment his soul searching technique began, Feng Zhen screamed in agony, thrashing helplessly as his memories were forcibly extracted.
Xiao Tiance's face darkened further with every scene he saw.
"So, it's true."
His hand tightened. "You'll regret everything you've done."
"What a cunning scoundrel!" Xiao Tiance cursed inwardly, barely suppressing the urge to kill those who had harmed Huang Min and Huang Lingyun.
However, he knew his top priority was to find them first. Swallowing his fury, he asked coldly:
"Where are they now?"
"In the dungeon," Feng Zhen quickly replied, his voice trembling. "That's where our clan confines offenders. It's also the only place suitable for setting up the bloodline extraction ritual."
Hearing this, Xiao Tiance nodded. His soul power remained locked on Feng Zhen, ready to detect any hesitation or falsehood through the slightest changes in heartbeat or demeanor.
Seated, Xiao Tiance's mind began to churn with possibilities. He needed a precise plan to locate and rescue Huang Min and Huang Lingyun. After a moment of contemplation, he slapped his forehead lightly, as if remembering something.
Standing abruptly, he strode over to Feng Zhen. Just as he raised his hand, Feng Zhen collapsed to his knees, pleading frantically:
"Please! I swear I'm telling the truth! Spare me!"
"Spare you? Dream on!"
Xiao Tiance sneered, his expression cold. With a flick of his fingers, his soul power surged forward, locking Feng Zhen in place. Without giving him a chance to say another word, Xiao Tiance pressed his hand firmly on Feng Zhen's head.
Soul Search Technique
The Soul Search Technique was a sinister method, allowing one to delve directly into the memories of another and uncover their entire life's experiences.
Initially, Xiao Tiance had resorted to questioning Feng Zhen out of concern clouding his judgment. Now that he'd calmed down, he realized this roundabout approach was unnecessary. The Soul Search Technique would provide all the answers without delay.
Of course, this technique came with severe consequences. It would destroy roughly 80% of the victim's brain, leaving them either incapacitated or dead.
Xiao Tiance rarely used this ruthless method unless facing an irredeemable foe. Since learning the technique, he had never resorted to it until now.
"Ahhhh!"
As Xiao Tiance activated the technique, Feng Zhen screamed in agony, his entire body writhing uncontrollably. The excruciating pain of having his soul pried open rendered him nearly insane.
But Xiao Tiance paid no mind. The screams were muffled by the sealing array around the room, ensuring no one outside could hear.
For Xiao Tiance, the enemy's suffering was irrelevant. When it came to protecting his disciples, no measure was too extreme.
The Truth Unfolds
As Xiao Tiance delved into Feng Zhen's memories, the depth of the True Phoenix Clan's darkness unfolded before him.
Feng Zhen's memories revealed secrets that left Xiao Tiance both alarmed and enraged:
True Phoenix Clan's Top Combatants
The clan boasted nine Heaven Sovereign level powerhouses, including the strongest, a half step Saint level Heaven Sovereign.
Several other elders had ventured outside the ancestral land, but those remaining were formidable enough.
Feng Zhen's Ancestor
Although Feng Zhen's ancestor was only a Lower Earth Sovereign, his own ancestor a generation higher was a late stage Celestial Heaven Sovereign, making him a force to be reckoned with.
Bloodline Replacement Ritual
The bloodline replacement technique was a cruel and domineering practice. Victims had their bloodline essence forcibly extracted, leaving them crippled at best or dead at worst.
Feng Zhen's memories revealed that this technique had only been used three times in the clan's history. The sole successful case was none other than his ancestor, the late stage Celestial Heaven Sovereign.
Typically, the ritual required the victim's consent, and it was reserved for saving gravely injured clan elites. But this time, Feng Zhen's ancestor and Elder Feng Lin had conspired to use it on Huang Min and Huang Lingyun for personal gain.
Finally, Xiao Tiance located the dungeon where his disciples were held and saw their current condition. His fists clenched tightly as he pieced everything together.
"You deserve death."
With a cold declaration, Xiao Tiance released a surge of soul power. Feng Zhen didn't even have time to scream before his body exploded into a bloody mist, his soul obliterated in an instant.
"Pathetic," Xiao Tiance muttered, his killing intent surging even higher.
If Feng Zhen was merely a beneficiary of this scheme, then the real culprits his ancestor and Elder Feng Lin would pay an even steeper price.
However, Xiao Tiance was no fool. Elder Feng Lin's strength, comparable to a mid stage Spirit level Heaven Sovereign, coupled with the clan's deep foundation, made this a precarious situation.
A Plan of Action
Xiao Tiance cleared the room of blood and gore, removing all traces of the earlier confrontation. He needed to act quickly.
"The top priority is ensuring Huang Min and Huang Lingyun's safety. If their bloodline essence drains completely, it'll be too late," Xiao Tiance thought.
After having Ling'er reinforce the concealment array, he exited the room and headed straight for the dungeon.
Thanks to the memories extracted from Feng Zhen, Xiao Tiance knew the exact layout of the dungeon, including the locations of guards and traps.
The Dungeon
Standing before the tightly sealed entrance, Xiao Tiance refrained from forcing his way in. He couldn't afford to alert the entire clan.
"Good. The food delivery should be arriving soon. That'll be my chance to slip inside."
Moments later, two low ranking servants arrived with food barrels, conversing briefly with the guards before the heavy door creaked open.
Using the same concealment technique he employed earlier, Xiao Tiance slipped inside unnoticed.
Once inside, his soul power swept across the dungeon, mapping every inch in seconds. At the far end, in a dimly lit cell, he finally saw his disciples.
Huang Min and Huang Lingyun's wretched state made his heart twist in pain.
"Those bastards… to torture my disciples like this!"
Xiao Tiance wasted no time, rushing toward the cell.
The Reunion
Standing before the cell, Xiao Tiance's voice trembled as he called out softly:
"Min'er, Lingyun… your teacher is here. I'm so sorry for being late."
(End of Chapter)
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