Elder Nether Scorpion's screams echoed through the underground waterways. Toji, expressionless, grabbed his hair and dragged him through the damp, dark passage.
"Uh... ah..."
Elder Nether Scorpion's limbs had been torn to pieces, his joints twisted and broken, and the sound of bones shattering could be clearly heard.
His arms hung limply at his sides, and his legs had been dislocated by Toji's brute force, his kneecaps crushed. He was like a lump of mud, and could only be dragged along by Toji.
Blood dripped down his body, leaving a long trail on the ground.
"Stop playing dead."
Toji spoke coldly, her fingers tightening slightly as she pulled his hair up, forcing him to lift his head.
Elder Nether Scorpion's pupils were dilated, and blood kept spilling from the corners of his mouth, but he remained conscious.
Toji deliberately avoided fatal wounds, keeping him conscious and allowing him to endure every bit of pain.
"You... kill me..." he croaked, his voice strained as if squeezed from a broken bellows.
"I've told you everything I know. When are you going to give me a clean break?"
Toji chuckled, offering no reply, and simply continued dragging him along.
The underground waterways were intricate and complex, but Toji's senses were extremely sharp; he could clearly hear footsteps coming from the street above.
The Soul Engineer of the Mingdu Defense Force are searching for their whereabouts.
The commotion just now was too loud.
He seemed to have destroyed several streets in a fit of anger.
In this great city of Mingdu, it certainly seems inappropriate to do such a thing.
Fortunately, he learned a lot about Xu Tianran's current situation from Elder Nether Scorpion.
For example, Elder Nether Scorpion was sent by the Xishui Alliance to reinforce Xu Tianran, and he is one of the people who will later take action against the current emperor and his family of the Sun Moon Empire.
Elder Nether Scorpion's position is neither low nor high, so he knows a lot of things, Toji now has nearly 70% of Xu Tianran's intelligence.
But there's still one problem.
How can I escape from the encirclement of the Mingdu Defense Force?
"It's like a persistent ghost."
Toji became slightly alert, slowed his steps, and moved close to the wall while listening intently to any sounds above.
"Report: No target found in the East District!"
"Keep searching! They couldn't have just vanished into thin air!"
Toji narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings before finally settling on a drain leading to the ground.
Although the Soul Engineer outside were almost no match for him, he couldn't withstand the sheer number of opponents.
Moreover, this is Mingdu. If the commotion gets out of hand, I'm afraid Level 9 Soul Engineer will come and punish me.
Do you really want to live?
Toji, he spoke to Elder Nether Scorpion, whom he was holding in his hand.
"Who doesn't want to live?" Elder Nether Scorpion's bloodied and mangled face twitched slightly. "Unfortunately, you won't give me the chance to live."
Who said I wouldn't give you a chance?
Toji placed him on the ground, squatted down again, and looked at him:
"If you cooperate with my plan, I'll let you go. Whether you live or die is up to fate."
"What?"
Elder Nether Scorpion was completely stunned:
"You... you're going to let me go?"
After saying that, he immediately realized, "Wait, what action do I need to cooperate with you on?"
"Next, I'm going to break through the defense forces' encirclement. Taking you with me will greatly increase the chances of being discovered." Toji chuckled wickedly, his true intentions completely unknown at this point.
"If you promise me that you'll remain silent the rest of the time, and we'll leave Mingdu together, I'll let you go."
"How about this deal?"
"How can I be sure you'll really let me go?" Elder Nether Scorpion's voice filled with terror. "Who knows if you'll go back on your word?"
"I swear by my Martial Soul that if I break this oath, I will never be allowed to cultivate Soul Power again." Toji lowered his voice considerably when he said the last two words.
Elder Nether Scorpion was bewildered. "What are you not allowed to cultivate?"
"Did I beat you so badly you went deaf?" Toji said impatiently. "I've already sworn an oath with my Martial Soul, what more do you want?"
"Alright, alright, I agree to the deal." Elder Nether Scorpion replied immediately when he saw his displeasure, afraid that he would not give him this opportunity.
He seemed to be so dazed from being hit by Toji that he couldn't process what was happening for a while.
Seeing that she had finally fooled him, Toji turned around and couldn't help but laugh. She took out a bag from her Storage Soul Tool and forcibly stuffed Elder Nether Scorpion into it.
"Stay put inside and behave yourself. If you're discovered, don't worry, I'll kill you before the defense forces can rescue you, and then I'll leave without a trace."
"I... I understand," Elder Nether Scorpion said.
Toji grabbed the bag and quickly climbed the iron ladder leading to the drain.
Pushing open the iron gate of the drain, I cautiously surveyed my surroundings. This was a secluded alley, and there was no sign of the defense forces for the time being.
He quickly emerged from the ground, grabbed the bag, and began to leave Mingdu.
I don't know how much time passed.
Toji led Elder Nether Scorpion out of Mingdu and arrived at the Jingyang Mountain Range.
"It's a nice place."
Toji murmured to herself, and then continued to lead him deeper inside.
"We... we're out now, aren't we? You should fulfill the terms of the deal and release me," Elder Nether Scorpion suddenly said from inside the bag.
"Yes, it's time to let you out."
Toji kicked the bag, then stopped in a relatively open space.
He roughly tore open the bag and poured out Elder Nether Scorpion.
He grabbed Elder Nether Scorpion's mangled body, dragged him by the hair, and pulled him away.
"Ugh...!"
Elder Nether Scorpion was in excruciating pain from the rough handling, but he didn't even have the strength to scream, and could only let out weak groans.
"Where... where am I?"
Elder Nether Scorpion barely opened his eyes, only to see the surrounding environment: ancient trees reaching for the sky, and the occasional low growls of Soul Beast echoing from the dark forest.
He had a bad feeling about this.
I want to put your place here.
As he spoke, Toji drew a sharp dagger from his waist and lightly sliced his wrist.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."
The blood, radiating intense energy, dripped onto Elder Nether Scorpion's body, quickly soaking through his already tattered clothes.
"W-What are you going to do?!"
Elder Nether Scorpion completely failed to understand Toji's intentions.
Even the blood flowing from his body contained immense nutrients and energy, attracting him to lick it vigorously in order to further heal his injuries.
Unfortunately, Toji had already beaten him so badly that he had no strength left.
"Don't you understand? I wish you a safe journey."
Toji laughed and continued to drag Elder Nether Scorpion along the rugged mountain path.
The fresh wound on his wrist had already healed, and the blood on Elder Nether Scorpion was radiating an extremely rich aura of Qi and Blood.
And it continued to permeate the air.
Elder Nether Scorpion seemed to sense something and began to fidget uneasily.
His face turned deathly pale, especially when he saw the dark forest around him and the flashing beast eyes in the distance.
"This... this isn't right, is it?"
Elder Nether Scorpion seemed to have completely understood his meaning:
"Why, why are so many Soul Beast following us? What do you want? Aren't you going to let me go?"
"Don't forget, you swore an oath with your Martial Soul!"
What's the rush?
Toji looked down at him, a cruel smile playing on her lips.
"I did say I'd let you go, but I didn't say it..."
"In what way?"