The cold wind swept like knives through the mouth of Falling Star Valley, carrying its nauseating stench of blood howling into the depths of the ice plains.
Chu Bai stood motionless in the snowstorm, his blue robes snapping in the wind, his expression as indifferent as an ice sculpture that had remained frozen for ten thousand years.
Beside him, the silver needle formed from the [Star-River Gold Embryo] hovered less than three inches from Hou San's brow.
Its tip trembled faintly. Every time it released a glimmer of starlight, Hou San's pupils contracted violently, as though the needle had already pierced his divine soul.
This was no mere threat of death, but absolute suppression from a higher order of life.
"S-Senior..."
Hou San knelt on the rubble-strewn frozen ground. His knees had long since been scraped bloody, yet he did not even dare wipe away the cold sweat running into his eyes.
Trembling, he raised his head to meet those eyes, still as an ancient well. His throat felt parched, and even his pleas for mercy came out hoarse and ugly.
"Two breaths."
Chu Bai spoke softly, yet his voice carried clearly above the howling wind, edged with an unquestionable chill. "Give me a reason not to kill you. If you waste my time, I'll search your soul."
At the words "search your soul," Hou San shuddered violently. It was the cruelest punishment in the cultivation world. At best, its victim's mind would be destroyed, leaving him an imbecile; at worst, his soul would scatter, forever denied rebirth.
Driven by this overwhelming terror, Hou San's mind raced at its limits, his words firing out like a barrage:
"I'm useful! I know the secrets of Cold Crow Island! Black Scorpion... though Black Scorpion was only a minor leader in Ghost Cry