In the dim room, the Old Daoist Priest could no longer even scream. Shen Bai's words had completely left him at a loss.
"You chopped off both my hands and legs, and you call that merely two legs?"
He felt that no normal person could say something so chilling.
Even if they were sworn enemies, there was no need for such humiliation.
As the saying went, a scholar could be killed but not insulted.
"If you have the guts, kill me with one stroke!" the Old Daoist Priest said through gritted teeth.
Shen Bai's gaze was indifferent. He raised his right foot and planted it on the Old Daoist Priest's face, grinding down hard.
The Old Daoist Priest's teeth were crushed to pieces beneath that foot, and his words became muddled and indistinct.
Shen Bai removed his foot and said calmly, "You are the fish on the chopping block, and I am the knife. Did I permit you to speak?"
The Old Daoist Priest opened his leaking mouth. "You think you can control me? I'll speak if I want to! I'll shout at the top of my lungs and alert all the constables! Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!"
Shen Bai said nothing. The longsword in his hand swung back.
A flash of cold light streaked past.
The next moment, the Old Daoist Priest felt wind sweep past both sides of his face.
When he came back to his senses, searing pain struck him. His ears had separated from his cheeks and fallen to the ground, blood pouring out in streams.
"These days, living is easy. Dying is a very extravagant thing."
Shen Bai's voice drifted over like a demon's, making the Old Daoist Priest shiver from head to toe, as though he had suddenly been thrown into ice and snow in the height of summer.
"If you cooperate, you can die quickly. If you do not, after you have suffered every torment, I'll find somewhere to bury you, pour honey over you, and let snakes, insects, rats, and ants lick you clean. You can think carefully about how that will feel."
"I'll give you three breaths."
The Old Daoist Priest felt every hair on his body stand on end, every pore tightening shut.
"One."
Shen Bai's voice drifted over, calm as still water.
"Two."
At that moment, the Old Daoist Priest felt Shen Bai's gaze, and terror continued to breed in the depths of his heart.
Before Shen Bai could say the third word, the last line of defense in the Old Daoist Priest's heart utterly collapsed.
"I was wrong, sir. Give me a quick death later. I'll cooperate with whatever you want!"
The corners of Shen Bai's lips curled slightly upward. He seized the Old Daoist Priest by the collar and vanished from the Qian Family courtyard in just a few steps.
By then, the sky had already darkened.
Shen Bai had no desire to concern himself with what happened afterward to the Sun Family, nor was he able to.
Because Shen Bai now had a newer target.
With only his torso and head remaining, the Old Daoist Priest looked like a somewhat larger bundle as Shen Bai dragged him by the collar.
Throughout the night, the Old Daoist Priest did not dare say a single word, keeping his mouth tightly shut.
That was because Shen Bai had said before that if he dared utter even one stray word, terrifying torture awaited him.
Intense pain radiated from his wounds, yet the Old Daoist Priest still gritted his teeth and endured it.
Shen Bai dragged him all the way until they reached a relatively secluded street.
After dragging the Old Daoist Priest's mangled body into an alley, he found a quiet, dark corner and finally let go.
Carried by inertia, the Old Daoist Priest rolled across the ground several times, ending face-down in the dirt, unable to move.
"Alright, now tell me. What does Sophora Tree Longevity Borrowing mean?"
Shen Bai's voice came from behind the Old Daoist Priest.
The Old Daoist Priest had barely opened his mouth when a mouthful of dirt was poured into it.
He struggled to turn over, but he was utterly powerless.
Then the Old Daoist Priest felt a burst of pain in his lower abdomen.
Shen Bai kicked him over with one foot. He looked at Shen Bai with pitiful eyes.
The Old Daoist Priest was old, and coupled with his miserable state, he truly looked like a frail, pitiful old man.
But when Shen Bai recalled how the Old Daoist Priest had loosened his Daoist Robe and intended to defile the Sun Family's young lady sleeping in the coffin, he felt nothing but disgust.
"If you won't speak, I'll cut off your nose next."
Shen Bai held his coldly gleaming longsword and gradually approached.
The Old Daoist Priest shuddered and hurriedly spoke.
"Sir, it's a Bizarre Entity, a Bizarre Entity! The sophora tree is a Bizarre Entity! It is a towering sophora tree that has become a Bizarre Entity, but its circumstances are special—it cannot move. Greed arose in my heart, so I seized its branches."
"While the Bizarre Entity's branches were weak, I used them to harm others and obtain lifespan."
"A Bizarre Entity that cannot move?"
Shen Bai stroked his chin, growing curious. "Why can't a Bizarre Entity move?"
The Old Daoist Priest found this slightly strange.
He did not understand why an expert of the Three Treasures Realm such as Shen Bai did not know such simple knowledge, but with his life at stake, he hurriedly answered anyway.
"Bizarre Entities are not limited to humans. All things beneath heaven can become Bizarre Entities. Certain special Bizarre Entities, such as mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, grass, and trees, can only affect a single area after becoming Bizarre Entities."
"For example, the sophora tree can only affect the area around it. But once a branch is taken, it can be carried far away."
"Sophora trees belong to yin. Their yin energy can be used to create illusions and kill people. I merely used the sophora tree's yin nature to obtain the qi and blood of ordinary people for cultivation."
"With the world so turbulent these days, everyone wants to live a little better. I had no choice either."
Shen Bai sneered. "I told you not to play pitiful with me."
Sword light flashed. The Old Daoist Priest felt agony erupt from his nose.
Amid the spray of blood, his nose was sliced into a mangled mass of flesh by the longsword.
"Aaah!"
The Old Daoist Priest could no longer endure it and struggled as he screamed.
But the scream came to an abrupt halt.
Shen Bai raised his foot and heavily stomped on the Old Daoist Priest's face again and again.
The sounds of bones breaking became increasingly dense. Shen Bai stomped the Old Daoist Priest's entire face until it was fractured and ruined.
"Sir, I won't scream anymore, I won't scream anymore," the Old Daoist Priest hurriedly begged.
"Where is the sophora tree now?" Shen Bai continued asking.
After hearing the Old Daoist Priest's explanation, Shen Bai had suddenly come up with an excellent idea. As for whether it was feasible, he intended to try it later.
After suffering that pain, the Old Daoist Priest did not dare hesitate in the slightest.
He answered rapidly before Shen Bai's gaze could even sweep over him.
"It is at Liuyun Lake west of Ascending Cloud County. There is an island in the middle of the lake, and the sophora tree stands there."
Shen Bai nodded, rather satisfied. "Not bad. I like people who answer frankly. You are quite good."
Upon hearing that, the Old Daoist Priest put on a fawning smile and nodded repeatedly.
Coupled with his miserable appearance, he was enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.
Especially without a nose, with only two holes left behind, he looked even more horrifying.
Shen Bai stroked his chin. "One last question."
The Old Daoist Priest hurriedly asked, "Sir, what else do you wish to know? I will tell you everything I know without holding anything back."
Shen Bai smiled. "If we keep the sophora tree and take its branches every day, would it continuously produce Bizarre Entities?"
Before you continue