Soul Searching

The Nullification Array appeared especially dark and gloomy under the cover of night.

Xie Xuanyi's white robes stood out jarringly against the pitch-black surroundings...

The vital energy radiating from the Azure Origin Pill swirled around him, emitting a radiant divine light.

In contrast, Xu You, covered in blood, looked exceptionally miserable in the glow of that light.

"An official appointed by the Great Chu needs to undergo scrutiny by the nation's vital treasure, the Primal Chaos Monitor. Your every move within the city is monitored by the Imperial City Division of the Central Province... Is that why you chose to act outside the city?"

Xie Xuanyi took out a white silk cloth from his robes, wiping the blood from his soiled hand, and said softly, "But I can't understand why a dignified Deputy City Lord of Taian City would resort to such base methods. Was taking your five Azure Origin Pills really worth setting up a Nullification Array to take my life?"

"Heh..."

Xu You stared intently at Xie Xuanyi, unable to resist a sneer.

"It seems the Azure Origin Pills are truly precious to you."

Xie Xuanyi crouched down in front of Xu You, saying calmly, "But your real purpose is more than that, isn't it? You want my life, but why?"

"There's no why."

Xu You sneered, "Do I need a reason to kill you?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled slightly, not angered.

Xu You's current physical condition was terrible; he was only gasping for air.

It was just that he hadn't gotten serious in a long time.

He hadn't controlled himself just now, and his strikes had been a bit too heavy. A few more blows, and he might send this guy ascending to the heavens on the spot.

"Your backing isn't the Great Chu, is it?"

Xie Xuanyi suddenly asked.

"I started to suspect it from the moment I entered the pass from Fengsui City. The Lingluo Mountain incident didn't have any obvious flaws, but the traces of deliberate planning were too obvious. How could there be so many coincidences in this world? A fallen noble lady throwing herself into my arms time and time again. Shen Yan had already escaped death once; what made her think I had the ability to bring her into the city? And why did she think the Deng family members were good people?"

Xie Xuanyi sighed softly, "Although I don't know which 'Honored One' from the Demon Realm is behind you, this scheme wasn't planned meticulously enough. A woman who desperately wants to live won't trust anyone. Those who believe 'there are many good people in the world' can't survive in the Northern Prefecture; they would have been buried under Fengsui City long ago."

Xu You's expression became very unsightly.

Silence spoke volumes at this moment.

"Indeed... After so many years, the Demon Realm still hasn't forgotten the Northern Prefecture and Qing Province."

Xie Xuanyi stared into Xu You's eyes, speaking softly, "How about we make a deal? I, in the name of Xie Zhen, guarantee that as long as you reveal the title of your master, I'll spare your life. Tonight's events will be as if they never happened."

"Is this... true?"

Upon hearing this, Xu You fell silent.

He sized up the white-robed youth, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Xie Xuanyi smiled, frankly saying, "Completely true."

"Come a little closer."

After a moment, Xu You croaked, gesturing for Xie Xuanyi to come closer.

Xie Xuanyi approached with a smile.

As quick as lightning.

Xu You took out a slender object from his robes, stabbing it towards Xie Xuanyi!

This was the very token that Shen Yan had desperately delivered!

A section of finger bone.

As Xu You poured his vital energy into it, the withered black finger bone suddenly turned snow-white!

The night sky of the Nullification Array was torn open in an instant. An extremely terrifying and vast energy gathered in the valley. This finger bone seemed to have become an incomparably sharp sword, and wherever the tip of the sword pointed, the void shattered!

"Shriiiiiek!"

The scalding white vital energy tore apart the Nullification Array. This array, once formed, was extremely sturdy and almost impossible to destroy from the inside. Now, a slender opening was torn into it, and the vital energy of heaven and earth continuously entered the array patterns. Along with this ear-piercing tearing sound, the ink-like black night sky scattered specks of faint starlight.

And specks of scarlet blood.

Xie Xuanyi turned his head expressionlessly, looking at his right shoulder, where his clothes were in tatters.

His white robes were stained red with blood, but that was all.

This stab was terrifying.

But unfortunately, it missed its mark.

Xie Xuanyi reacted faster than Xu You. He had never let his guard down from beginning to end, and he didn't believe that this demon spy would so easily reveal the secrets of his backer... He had dodged and responded the moment the finger bone's light bloomed, but the speed of this attack was simply too fast. Under such a close-range strike, a piece of flesh was scraped off Xie Xuanyi's shoulder.

But at this moment... everything had truly come to an end.

Xie Xuanyi grabbed Xu You's wrist.

His five fingers exerted force.

"Crack!"

Xu You howled; his wrist was completely broken!

The finger bone fell to the ground with a soft thud, rapidly changing from snow-white to pitch-black and dull after losing the infusion of Yuan Qi.

"So, this is the source of my real unease?"

Xie Xuanyi murmured softly in his heart.

He picked up the finger bone and examined it carefully. After a moment, he smiled and said, "This is what Shen Yan wanted to deliver, right?"

"???"

Xu You's face was pale, but not because of the pain, but because of what Xie Xuanyi said next.

"Shen Yan has a talisman stuck to her calf. This talisman looks like a 'Thousand-Mile Talisman', but it actually contains Yuan Qi fluctuations of other array patterns. To find out what's going on, you need to tear off the talisman..."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, "I should have told you that I know a little about talisman techniques. From the first moment I saw her, I noticed the strangeness of this talisman, but I couldn't really ask Miss Shen to strip naked and lie on the couch for an inspection... However, after seeing the Eight Hundred Li Forbidden Zone in Qing Province, I suddenly guessed the use of this talisman."

"The most likely purpose of this talisman is to 'smuggle forbidden items'."

"Now, the truth is very clear."

"The Demon Realm has important items that need to be urgently sent to the Qing Province area—but the existence of the 'Eight Hundred Li Forbidden Zone' makes it almost impossible for demon cultivators to cross the border. The Demon Realm can only send trusted human subordinates to secretly cross the border with the forbidden items, so that at least when facing border inspections, their racial identity will not be suspected."

"After crossing the border, they can then make the handover."

"You are a Vice City Lord of Taian City, yet you dare not welcome Shen Yan. This is because the Imperial City Division's Primal Chaos Monitor is constantly watching Taian City. Whether you go out to welcome her or assign subordinates to escort her... you will be targeted by the Primal Chaos Monitor. This token must be very important, right? The person behind you doesn't want any mistakes during the escort process, so they came up with such a method."

Xie Xuanyi said quietly, "No matter how powerful the Primal Chaos Monitor is, it can't monitor every mortal entering and leaving the Qing Province area. It's safest and most discreet for Miss Shen to 'deliver the goods'."

"You, you, you..."

Xu You looked at the white-robed youth in front of him, his lips trembling uncontrollably. "Who... who exactly are you?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled softly.

He squatted down and said calmly, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

A hand gently pressed on Xu You's head.

This time was different from before.

This time, Xie Xuanyi's hand moved very lightly, like a straw, gently falling on Xu You's head.

But this time, the fear Xu You felt in his heart surpassed any previous time.

"Soul searching... you want to search my soul?"

Soul searching.

The most notorious technique in the cultivation world, almost without exception.

The difficulty of initiating soul searching is very high. It is impossible to perform soul searching during a battle... Even the most evil, darkest, and desperate ghost cultivators usually only use the soul searching technique on people who are close to "death."

Because this is a technique that immerses one's own divine soul into the minds of others.

Once it hits a wall.

The caster's divine sense will be fragmented, and the entire person's soul sea will collapse. But if successful, the caster will see the fragments of memories hidden deep within the soul-searched person.

The higher the divine soul realm, the greater the difference between the two divine souls, the greater the probability of successful soul searching...

But whether successful or not, it will cause great damage to the soul-searched person's soul sea!

"I'm sorry, I never perform soul searching on 'people'."

Xie Xuanyi indifferently looked down at the man in front of him.

He said calmly.

"But you have already defected to the Demon Realm, haven't you?"

Can someone who defects to the Demon Realm still be considered a person?

Xie Xuanyi's palm gently fell.

"...Ah!!!"

Xu You screamed miserably, pressing his hands against his face, his ten fingers digging in, pinching out lines of blood.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and his entire crown seemed to be sucked in by a vortex.

Rolling Yuan Qi gathered on his forehead.

Faintly visible, a wisp of a weak "humanoid soul spirit" condensed in Xie Xuanyi's palm!