"Ah--!!!"
Xue Xinghai never thought that the joke he just made would turn into reality and that he would end up under the torture instrument forged by himself.
The seemingly ordinary small dagger in Zhuang Yan's hand could not break through the golden shell of a cultivator in the *Core Formation* stage, but it could cut through the body and the soul.
Zhuang Yan only lightly scratched Xue Xinghai's shoulder, but he was already sweating profusely and glaring fiercely at Yun Yiyi and the others who were watching.
But to be convincing, he had to endure it, at least for a while.
However, in just a quarter of an hour, Xue Xinghai couldn't stand it anymore and started shouting. "Stop, stop, I'll confess! I'll confess everything!!"
These words made Zhuang Yan's heart skip a beat.
He understood the power of the instrument in his hand and had seen some tough-talking criminal cultivators spit out everything they knew under this torture instrument.
He was now really worried that Xue Xinghai would break down and expose him.
Zhuang Yan looked at the three people on the side, put down the torture instrument, and asked, "Why did you kill the twenty-seven inner disciples?"
"I..."
Seeing Zhuang Yan's fierce eyes, Xue Xinghai realized that if he said something he shouldn't, Zhuang Yan would definitely kill him on the spot.
"Somebody instructed me to do so. That person is... Yan Hai!! He is a wanted criminal from the realm frontier. He paid me spirit stones to help him kill twenty-eight disciples who offended him."
Hearing this, Zhuang Yan pondered for a moment and quickly understood that he could still afford to lose some money to avoid trouble. Since Xue Xinghai said so, then all he needed to do was take some spirit stones as stolen goods and hand them over, and this matter would be covered up.
As for that person named Yan Hai, he could personally go and apprehend him. As long as he killed him immediately, there would be no evidence left.
"How many spirit stones did he give you?"
"Five hundred thousand."
*Can't you say a little less?!*... Zhuang Yan pouted and asked again, "Where are the spirit stones?"
"In... in the basement of the *Heavenly Sword Pavilion*."
"Well then..."
Zhuang Yan nodded, then turned to look at the three people listening beside him. "Young Lady, Elder Hu, it seems that it won't take long. I will send someone to the *Heavenly Sword Pavilion* to retrieve the money, and then this case can be closed. As for the culprit, the cultivator named Yan Hai, I will also send someone to arrest him."
Their poor acting skills made Ye Anping shake his head, but he didn't need to say anything. Hu Tianyue took the initiative to speak first. "Elder Zhuang, I have heard about this case. Killing twenty-eight inner disciples and two regular disciples is already an extremely serious murder case. Even if Pavilion Master Xue brought many benefits to the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, it is still a serious murder case. Even if we count past achievements and reduce the gravity of crime by some degree, it is still a capital crime. You really don't need to be merciful, just perform the soul-search method directly."
"This..."
Zhuang Yan had no way to refute for the moment. The soul-search technique was not commonly used due to its side effects and was generally only used for those who committed unforgivable crimes.
If a cultivator was subjected to the soul-search technique, it was essentially no different from being killed.
Although they would be left with their lives and cultivation level, their soul would be severely damaged.
When the divine soul was severely damaged, they would become a drooling fool with less intelligence than a baby. After all, babies would cry when they were in pain and laugh when they were full.
Xue Xinghai instantly panicked as well and hurriedly pleaded. "Elder Hu!! I have already confessed! Consider how I have been forging swords for the Sword Sect. How can you be so heartless..."
Ye Anping interrupted him. "Master Xue, you have taken the lives of thirty disciples of the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, and among them, twenty-eight were direct descendants of the Yun family with outstanding talents. In the end, everyone dies. At least the soul search will make your death less painful."
"Less painful? Do you call having your soul shattered less painful?!"
"Your ultimate punishment will undoubtedly be the Three Flames Execution. If you become a fool beforehand, at least you won't feel any pain then, right?"
Zhuang Yan frowned and brought up etiquette to interrupt. "Young Master Ye, you haven't officially married into the Yun family yet, how dare you meddle in internal matters of the Sword Sect's interrogation?"
At this, Yun Yiyi also showed her dissatisfaction and supported Ye Anping. "Elder Zhuang, Young Master Ye is just speaking up for me. As the Eldest Young Lady of the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, am I not allowed to have a say in this matter?"
"..."
Zhuang Yan pursed his lips, thinking hard about how to save Xue Xinghai. After all, he was considered a "general" under his command; he was proficient in refining weapons and swords, and his qualifications were also very good.
It would be a shame for such a person to die in such an absurd way.
But what could he do now?
How about giving up the charade and trying with Xue Xinghai to see if they could kill Hu Tianyue and the other two people in the room?
However, no matter how you think about it, this was just wishful thinking.
For cultivators below the *Nascent Soul* stage, it was possible to kill each other in an instant, but above the *Nascent Soul* stage, as long as they were at the same cultivation level, basically no one could kill the other.
A fight could last even more than ten days with no result.
Was giving up on Xue Xinghai the only option?
Zhuang Yan frowned and finally made up his mind. He turned to look at Xue Xinghai with an apologetic look in his eyes as if to say: *For the sake of the overall situation, I have to sacrifice you.*
Seeing this, Xue Xinghai widened his eyes. *This is not what we agreed upon!*
Zhuang Yan promised him that after he used the inner disciple's organs to refine a body with the Yun family's bloodline so that Yun Kunwu, who was locked up in the forbidden land, would have his soul attached, he would be made the Chief Sword Master of the Sword Sect.
It was mainly for this reason that he agreed to do this for Zhuang Yan, and the secondary reason was that Yun Kunwu had been kind to him.
But he never expected that he would end up dying in Zhuang Yan's hands.
"Zhuang Yan!!! What the hell..."
"..."
Zhuang Yan condensed spiritual power at his fingertips, swiping in front of Xue Xinghai's neck, and instantly causing golden flames of burning soul to appear in his eyes. His features distorted and he desperately struggled with his arms bound on the rack.
Within ten breaths, a brilliant golden light emerged from Xue Xinghai's throat, floating in mid-air like a will-o'-the-wisp, and was then crushed in Zhuang Yan's hand.
Xue Xinghai's memories flashed through Zhuang Yan's consciousness one by one like a revolving lantern.
*Ding-ding---*
The sound of the hammer hitting iron resounded incessantly. For hundreds of years, all his focus had been on sword forging and tool refining. Even helping him kill his disciples was just so that he could get better sword-making materials.
However, he also saw, at one point, the jade pendant that Xue Xinghai saw at Ye Anping's waist.
Just now Zhuang Yan still thought that Xue Xinghai was making a mountain out of a molehill, but after he actually saw the *Illusory Form Pendant*, he understood. It was truly difficult to find such a pure and precious item in all the sects of the **Southern Region**.
But the good thing was, he also saw that the demonic body that Xue Xinghai had refined had also been completed, and all that was missing was one *Blood Spirit Bead*.
"Retrieve!"
After seeing this, Zhuang Yan waved his hand horizontally and withdrew his spiritual sense, before saying to the three people watching, "This matter was indeed caused by a criminal named Yan Hai. As for the specific reason, he doesn't know either. He just did it for money."
Hu Tianyue nodded and took a sip from her jade gourd, seeming a bit bored. She stood up and waved her hand, saying, "Then, I'll trouble you to handle it."
With that, she turned and walked toward the door of the interrogation room. Ye Anping and Yun Yiyi also stood up, cupped their hands, and left with her.
Zhuang Yan stood there, looking at Ye Anping with a deep frown. It wasn't until the three of them walked out of the room that he looked back at Xue Xinghai, who was still tied to the torture rack and murmured. "My friend, I will definitely bring these three heads as an offering for you."
"Abba, Ababa, Abba---"
