Don't worry, he'll soon wish he was dead.

Under the night sky.

Elder Li walked around the mountain from the east with a grave expression.

Those disciples from the Tianyan Sect were indeed not simple. They had feinted, making it hard to discern their true intentions. While they appeared to act foolish and clueless, they undoubtedly possessed a wealth of information.

In just a single day, they had even managed to turn a Golden Core elder to their side.

Moreover, Zheng Xiaofeng seemed like a completely different person. Once cautious and tactful, he now dared to point at the sect leader and call him an old fool.

Strangely, the sect leader had endured it without even a word of rebuttal, remaining silent even as Zheng Xiaofeng hurled insults throughout. When questioned about the details, the sect leader refused to explain.

The only conclusion was that Zheng Xiaofeng must have gained some leverage left behind by the Tianyan Sect disciples.

Then there was the blood qi spirit stone the sect leader had produced…

Ever since the mine was attacked, they had set up a triggered formation on top of the existing illusion array.

Any outsider stepping into it would trigger alerts sent to both the Qingfeng Sect and the elders at the mine.

Every disciple at the mine carried a special token to prevent the formation from mistakenly triggering the alarm.

Since he hadn’t received any alerts from the mine’s formation, it should have been impossible for anything to have gone wrong there.

Yet, the appearance of the blood qi spirit stone, coupled with the Tianyan Sect’s successful recruitment of an elder, painted a picture that was far from normal.

Now, even though there was a risk of exposure, the mine had already reached an agreement with those rogue cultivators, and the operation was in its final stages.

Given the circumstances, doing nothing would likely seal his fate.

He had no choice but to head to the mine first, gather information, and see if he could expedite the process or relocate it altogether.

After putting some distance between himself and the Qingfeng Sect, Elder Li activated an earth escape technique and made his way toward the Qingfeng Sect’s mine.

Preoccupied with his worries, Elder Li failed to notice a spiritual sense locking onto him from above.

However, he did sense the sudden surge of a fierce sword qi approaching from behind.

He quickly emerged from the ground, summoning a long sword. His Golden Core vibrated as he channeled his spiritual power, unleashing a burst of energy. Facing the terrifying sword qi, his sword transformed into a streak of light, darting forward to intercept it.

The two forces collided, and a powerful shockwave instantly tore through the earth, reducing trees to splinters.

Elder Li’s spiritual sense quickly scanned the area, soon detecting a figure who made no effort to conceal their presence.

He turned to look and saw Yaoqin standing atop a large tree, her expression cold and indifferent as she held her sword, her gaze fixed on him.

Elder Li’s expression darkened. He had been baited, just as he feared!

Yaoqin’s voice was icy. “Surrender, and you’ll avoid unnecessary suffering.”

Damn it! Avoiding suffering would mean certain death!

Without hesitation, Elder Li sent his flying sword hurtling toward Yaoqin while simultaneously making a desperate dash westward.

At this point, reaching the mine was out of the question. Whoever wanted to deal with it could do so—his own survival was all that mattered now.

As a Golden Core cultivator, he could always find a new way to live freely in this world.

But before Elder Li could get far, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Trembling, he turned to look and saw his life-bound flying sword shattered into pieces, glinting faintly under the moonlight as it fell from the sky like a stream of light.

Through the fragments of the sword, he caught a glimpse of a pair of cold, emotionless eyes staring at him as if he were already a dead man.

“Huh… Yaoqin, you’re quite ruthless.”

Chu Xingchen looked on in surprise as Elder Li, now bound tightly with his tendons severed and his face deathly pale, was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground by Yaoqin’s spiritual energy.

There was no doubt that Yaoqin had also dealt with his meridians.

Yaoqin spoke with a hint of helplessness, “I’ve caught him. I interrogated him briefly before bringing him here, but he refused to say a word. Do you think you can get anything out of him?”

A somewhat unsettling smile appeared on Chu Xingchen’s face as he replied,

“As for interrogation… my second disciple gave me some ideas.”

“Huh? He knows about this?”

“Well, strictly speaking, he was on the receiving end.”

“What?”

Yaoqin looked puzzled, but then she saw Chu Xingchen pull out some spirit herbs… and a small pot from his spatial ring.

Yaoqin watched as Chu Xingchen seemed to be preparing to refine a pill and said,

“Don’t worry, I held back. He won’t die.”

Chu Xingchen replied earnestly, “And don’t you worry, he’ll wish he were dead soon.”

“Huh…?”

Confused but curious, Yaoqin decided to wait and see.

Chu Xingchen extracted the essence from the spirit herbs, mixed it with raw flour and honey, and then absorbed all the liquid into the mixture.

Holding the emerald-green pill aloft with his spiritual energy, Chu Xingchen looked at Yaoqin with a serious expression and said,

“What you’re about to see must remain confidential. Don’t go spreading it around!”

Chu Xingchen would never admit that taking one of his own pills was akin to torture!

“…Alright.” Though puzzled, Yaoqin nodded in agreement.

With her assurance, Chu Xingchen approached Elder Li, holding the pill, and said sincerely,

“I’ll give you one last chance. Tell us everything, and we’ll handle this amicably.”

Elder Li sneered, his expression filled with disdain. If death was inevitable, he wasn’t going to make things easy for them.

Faced with Elder Li’s refusal to cooperate, Chu Xingchen sighed. Using his spiritual energy, he forced Elder Li’s mouth open and shoved the pill inside.

Unable to use his spiritual power to resist, Elder Li’s first instinct was to push the pill back with his tongue.

Chu Xingchen didn’t seem bothered by this small act of defiance. He simply smiled gently and then used his spiritual energy to clamp Elder Li’s mouth shut.

Soon enough!

Elder Li experienced the unparalleled taste of the flour pill.

This damn thing…

It was bitter from the tip of his tongue all the way to the back of his throat, then straight into the depths of his mind.

The bitterness seemed to penetrate his very soul, making his head ache unbearably. But with his mouth sealed by Chu Xingchen’s spiritual energy, there was no escape.

Fine, death would be better than enduring this torment!

With a fierce glare, Elder Li swallowed the pill.

Then he saw Chu Xingchen’s smile grow even wider.

It didn’t take long for Elder Li to realize that the flour wasn’t holding together well. As he swallowed, bits of it clung to the inside of his mouth, spreading the bitterness even further.

The assault on his tongue intensified!

Soon after, as the pill began to take full effect, Yaoqin watched in confusion as Elder Li’s expression shifted rapidly.

Then she saw Elder Li’s body suddenly begin to tremble violently, his eyes wide as he let out muffled sounds.

“Mmmph… mmmph…”

Bound tightly, his body started writhing like a worm.

It didn’t take long before Elder Li’s wide eyes turned to Chu Xingchen, filled with desperate pleading, as if begging to confess everything.

Chu Xingchen smiled faintly and said,

“You want to die… oh, my mistake. You want to talk?”

Elder Li’s muffled cries continued as he nodded his head frantically.