Zhang Tie tilted his head, flicked nonexistent dust from his sleeve with a fingernail, and drawled, "You Shadow Clan people... are boring beyond belief. Why does every single one of you have restrictions placed on your souls? I can't even find anything through a soul search."
The red-robed young man's Adam's apple bobbed violently, cold sweat sliding from his temples into his collar.
He had seen with his own eyes how his Nascent Soul stage companion had been reduced to ash.
His voice trembled, but his words were clear. "Senior, please see clearly—this is a clan rule."
"Anyone who advances to the Nascent Soul stage must plant a Soul Locking Curse in their sea of consciousness. Ask whatever you wish, Senior. This junior will not speak a single false word."
"At least you know what's good for you."
Zhang Tie suddenly bent down, his shadow completely engulfing the other man. "But I'll question you separately. If even half a word in your accounts doesn't match... you can keep each other company on the Yellow Springs Road."
Before his words had even faded, a giant golden hand swept the early Spirit Transformation young man away through the air.
A fierce wind stirred the mining sand across the ground, rolling it into a reddish-gold mist beneath the setting sun.
When Zhang Tie returned a hundred breaths later, he strolled up to the red-robed young man. "What's your name?"
"Ni Hua!"
The young man answered quickly and urgently, as though hesitating for even half a beat would send him after his companion.
"How many Nascent Soul stage cultivators are in the mining area? How many Void Refinement cultivators? And how many Integration cultivators? Tell me truthfully," Zhang Tie continued.
"Excluding the three of us, there are nine Nascent Soul stage cultivators inside. Void