Chapter 583: Gentle

Unknowingly, Changgeng's strength had become so astonishing, far more composed than when he faced the demon clan in the past.

Qu Tuan gazed at the scene beneath the Xuanhuang Ta, his eyes filled with deep emotion.

The Duobao Daoist, who was acting alongside Qu Tuan, was well aware of the details behind this incarnation of the Yu Di. Although he didn't directly address him as "Shi Shu," he was exceedingly polite at this moment.

After all, the fate of the three teachings in this calamity was, to a certain extent, in the hands of the Yu Di.

Duobao Daoist smiled and said:

"Shi Di Changgeng has exceptional insight, and his achievements today are the result of his own efforts."

"That's right, his insight has always been impressive."

Qu Tuan clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes reflecting a touch of reminiscence, and he spoke calmly:

"When Changgeng first came to the Tian Ting, the Yu Di was quite perplexed.

At that time, the Tian Ting was impoverished and isolated, with only a lone ruler and a few loyal ministers supporting each other. Few in the Da Huang knew of it, and when it was mentioned, it was merely in reference to some events involving the six saints from the past.

There was the demon court that had been overthrown by the human race, and the Zhong Shen Zhou with its countless immortal sects standing side by side, leaving the Tian Ting's position extremely awkward.

It was Changgeng who believed in the Tian Ting and threw himself into it without hesitation, step by step leading it to where it is today."

Duobao Daoist narrowed his eyes with a smile, though in his heart, he couldn't help thinking...

If one traced Changgeng's growth trajectory back from now, this guy must have known early on that the Tian Ting would become the driving force behind this great calamity, so he sneaked in to avoid disaster, right?

It was probably just an illusion, nothing more.

"Everything is arranged by the Tai Shi Shu."

"The Daoist school's San Qing are true saints."

Then, the incarnation of the Yu Di and Duobao Daoist exchanged smiles, understanding everything without words.

Beneath the Xuanhuang Ta, several more fierce demons were struck down by Li Changgeng's spear; by now, Li Changgeng was covered in blood, with a few wounds on his body.

The armor formed by immortal power had been shattered, revealing muscles as tough as ancient tree roots, his long hair disheveled, resembling a demon god.

Yang Jian: ...

He finally understood why he had been smacked into the clouds back then.

He took back what he had said earlier about catching up to the Taibai Xingjun after cultivating for a few hundred years—that was too arrogant, ignorant of the heights of heaven and earth.

He had even heard others say he was the child of great calamity, protected by immense destiny, destined to shine brightly in the future.

No shining for him, no chance, forget it.

If Yang Jian had to say something right now, the two words bubbling up in his heart would be "farewell."

If he had to do something here, he would quietly pull out a pre-prepared shadow-recording orb.

—As a professional Tian Ting recorder, such a treasure for capturing rare scenes was essential.

When he got back to Mei Shan, he would open his exclusive bronze mirror, play this footage, and imitate Bian Zhuang's voice:

"Tian Ting Entertainment, Tian Ting Entertainment, this is your recorder Yang Jian, now presenting a precious combat recording for all.

Taibai Xingjun battles fourteen outer demons.

Yes, that one wearing the face armor, fighting amidst wisps of Xuanhuang aura—that's our revered head of Tian Ting civil officials, Taibai Xingjun Li Changgeng.

Don't believe it?

Honestly, I don't believe it either. It feels like a dream—such a kind-eyed old immortal, tearing off his clothes and roaring as he charges in.

Tian Ting combat strength totals ten units, Taibai Xingjun takes six, all civil officials take five, military generals lose one..."

"Shi Zhi, Shi Zhi? Yang Jian?"

"Di Zi is here!"

The distracted Yang Jian immediately responded, bowing with a daoist salute to Taiyi Zhenren.

Taiyi smiled warmly and said:

"Are you so influenced by Changgeng's heroic bearing that it's affecting your dao heart?"

Yuding Zhenren also looked over with concern.

Yang Jian gave a bitter laugh, not knowing how to respond.

Yuding said:

"There's no need to compare yourself to others; the dao is true only to oneself."

"Yes, Di Zi understands."

Yang Jian agreed, but his mood couldn't recover right away.

Just then, a sudden change occurred under the Xuanhuang Ta.

Li Changgeng was in the midst of fierce combat, his dao body seeming to activate step by step, growing fiercer and more unstoppable with each exchange; the small Lu Shen Qiang seemed fused with his arm, darting forward without pause.

This pure physical combat even made him feel his blood boiling.

So, Li Changgeng brought out a few treasures, activating these long-neglected items one by one.

The most eye-catching was a purple-white large gourd—the Zhixian Fei Dao from Lu Ya.

This renowned killing treasure from his homeland, Li Changgeng wouldn't forget it; he still planned to use multiple aliases during the Fengshen calamity, and this gourd was an important tool.

Over the years, he had been refining it, though he hadn't exchanged many words with the essence of Yi sealed inside, he had figured out most of its complex structure.

Now was a good time to test it.

So, Li Changgeng seized an opening, held the Zhixian Fei Dao in his left hand, and a white mist sprayed from the gourd's mouth, condensing into a pair of sharp eyes.

At that moment, the seven or eight black shadows that had been suppressed by him all felt a violent spiritual alarm and scattered to evade.

Li Changgeng urged the treasure gourd, making the eyes lock onto one of the humanoid creatures with lower cultivation, which he had already wounded with his spear, and he shouted lightly:

"Qing bao bei, zhuan shen!"

In that instant, the eyes glared angrily at the shadow, shooting two red lines that locked onto its primordial spirit, making the figure stagger and nearly faint.

Without warning, the eyes suddenly shifted direction, and a beam of white light shot from the gourd's mouth straight toward Li Changgeng's forehead!

For some reason, Li Changgeng, who was three zhang away from the large gourd, quickly threw a punch; his fist met the white light head-on, shattering it instantly.

Blood splattered, leaving a deep, bone-visible gash on Li Changgeng's left fist. He frowned at the suddenly "rebellious" large gourd.

In that moment, he considered destroying this Fengshen treasure.

But he held back, and two streams of yin-yang qi surged from his sleeve, forcibly sealing the Zhixian Fei Dao and pulling it back into his hand.

This unexpected turn made the daoist immortals frown in various ways, and Yunxiao Xianzi couldn't help but want to step forward to check Li Changgeng's injury. The remaining seven "escaped" experts were also stunned.

These demons here had all been vicious figures in the Da Huang, fleeing to the Chaos Sea only because they could no longer stay; they reacted quickly and, seeing Li Changgeng hindered by his own treasure, seized the opportunity.

They activated their treasures, unleashed their divine powers, and some even burned their own primordial spirits to launch their strongest assault on Li Changgeng, aiming for mutual destruction and a chance to survive in desperation.

However, Li Changgeng's attention was entirely on the Zhixian Fei Dao; he had achieved several of his goals and no longer wanted to waste time.

He released his grip on the small Lu Shen Qiang, raised his palm high, and black-and-white light quietly bloomed. The innate treasure Taiji Tu expanded to hundreds of zhang in diameter, hovering over his head and effortlessly piercing through the Xuanhuang Ta's aura.

Li Changgeng swept his gaze and calmly said:

"Feng."

As soon as the words fell, the remaining seven shadows halted their movements almost simultaneously.

Their divine powers dissolved, their treasures lost their spirit, and the burning primordial spirits were bound by yin-yang qi, leaving the forward-rushing figures frozen in mid-air.

The power of the Taiji Tu was terrifying indeed!

Of course it was...

Li Changgeng silently took out a bottle of pills and swallowed one, desperately suppressing his mental exhaustion to maintain an air of composure.

Actively using the Taiji Tu drained eighty percent of his immortal power in an instant and nearly shattered his mind with its yin-yang intent.

Impressive, yes, but clearly beyond his current capabilities.

'This is the gap between me and the Tai Fashi.'

He also thought that even when Xuan Du Shi Xiong urged the Taiji Tu, it still burdened the treasure...

The strength of Tai Qing Teacher was truly fearsome.

Li Changgeng sighed inwardly, cast aside his distractions, withdrew the tower, and several figures appeared around him.

In the void within the Da Huang Heavenly Dao barrier,

The eight humanoid black shadows were bound by yin-yang qi, now drowsy and disoriented.

Before returning, they had searched carefully and found another vicious evildoer from the human race who had fled to the Chaos Sea in ancient times, so they brought him back as well.

The corpses, of course, were disposed of according to Li Changgeng's standards, leaving not even ashes.

Watching those specks of ash scatter into the Chaos Sea, Li Changgeng couldn't help but feel nostalgic for his days running a full-service funeral business.

That was his lost youth...

Now, with a dark expression, Li Changgeng stood aside, looking at the "silent" large gourd in his hand. He added two more layers of yin-yang qi seals and tossed it next to the eight black shadows.

The immortals were puzzled, and Duobao asked:

"Changgeng, what do you mean by this?"

"Review it together," Li Changgeng said calmly. "This thing owes me an explanation, or I'll treat it as a traitor today."

The immortals couldn't help but chuckle.

At that moment, Zhao Gongming shook out his sleeves and laughed heartily:

"I ask the fairy ladies to step aside, and any dao friends who can't bear to see brutality should also avoid this. Extracting information from them won't be easy."

Jin Ling Shengmu snorted lightly, "Let's go wait over there, my three junior sisters."

Yunxiao Xianzi, Wudang Shengmu, and Gui Ling Shengmu each agreed and went together to a nearby spot in the void, setting up a barrier and chatting over tea.

Huang Long Daoist coughed and said, "Shi Zhi Yang Jian, don't watch this; come with me to wait on the side."

Yang Jian lowered his head in agreement. Although he wanted to see how the daoist and Tian Ting bigwigs interrogated the outer demons, he didn't dare contradict Huang Long Shi Shu's kind intentions.

As for whether Huang Long Shi Shu couldn't bear brutality...

That was truly a joke; Huang Long Shi Shu was a high figure from the Chan School, having survived from ancient times and emerged from the San Qing's small courtyard—a famous non-open spot on Kunlun Mountain. How could he not handle it?

Qu Tuan thought for a moment; his identity was an unspoken secret, so he couldn't participate in such interrogations. He honestly went off to the side, arms folded, to "observe."

Jin Peng and the nineteen demon soldiers spread out for vigilance, while the Jie School immortals who came along joined Huang Long Daoist.

The remaining ones were the main force for interrogating the demons:

Tian Ting ordinary minister Taibai Xingjun;

Taibai Xingjun's attendant and second mount of the Human School, the ancient demon commander Bai Ze;

The Chan School's elegant and amiable Taiyi Zhenren and the inscrutable Yuding Zhenren;

Jie School's senior brother Duobao Daoist and the semi-retired prehistoric ceramics king Zhao Gongming.

These six had both strength and intellect, with plenty of methods at their disposal, and were all figures whose word carried immense weight.

Before retracting the Taiji Tu, Li Changgeng cautiously stepped forward, severely injuring each of the eight demons, then had Zhao Gongming use the Dinghai Shen Zhu to suppress the area, and Duobao Daoist bind them with nine immortal ropes.

He even symbolically tied on the Zhixian Fei Dao.

Once Li Changgeng withdrew the Taiji Tu's power, the eight demons immediately awoke.

Each glared angrily at Li Changgeng at first, then recognized their situation.

They had been captured.

Li Changgeng asked, "Who wants to go first?"

Bai Ze smiled and said, "I have acquaintances here; let me go first."

The immortals all approved, and Bai Ze stepped forward slowly, flicking his finger to dispel the illusion around one black shadow, revealing its humanoid form.

This was a defiant figure, with eyes full of ferocity and nine snake heads among his long hair, each hissing.

Bai Ze cupped his hands and said with a smile, "We meet again, Yuan Shuai Jiu Ying."

The ancient demon commander just sneered and said calmly, "Since I've been captured by you, I won't think about survival. If you still consider yourselves figures from the Da Huang, give me a quick end."

Another black shadow added from the side, "You won't get anything from us.

I'll tell you straight: it was Kun Peng who invited us to gather here, saying he would draw the Heavenly Dao's attention while we entered the Da Huang to seize some vital energy to replenish ourselves.

That's the whole story.

Do it, no need for extra humiliation.

Given the sins we've committed in the past, you won't let us live anyway."

"This..."

Bai Ze turned to look at Li Changgeng, then shook his head. "I'm really not skilled at interrogations."

With that, he turned and retreated, sighing.

Yuding Zhenren said, "If they don't fear death, then there's nothing to fear."

Taiyi Zhenren transmitted, "Can't we make some empty promises first, give them hope, let them spill everything they can, then eliminate them?"

Li Changgeng said seriously, "Though that's a flexible approach, it involves inconsistency in words and deeds, which isn't worth it.

Kill half and question the other half, see if they really don't fear death."

Duobao asked, "What if important information gets killed off?"

Li Changgeng pondered for a moment, glanced at Yunxiao, and some ideas surfaced in his mind, but he suppressed them.

He had shown off enough today; if he arranged everything, Zhao and the others would have come for nothing.

Better to play it safe and let them try first...

After a few exchanges via transmission, the interrogation team fell into difficulty.

What Li Changgeng mainly wanted to ask was about Kun Peng's forces and residence in the Chaos Sea, and how to find him;

If they could also learn about the number of such demons in the Chaos Sea, that would be even better.

These ancient and prehistoric ruthless figures who dared to flee to the Chaos Sea were no simple characters.

Now, they knew they were doomed and shared a subtle sense of solidarity against a common enemy, refusing to reveal anything about others, which stalled the interrogation before it even began.

Zhao Gongming said, "How about I lie down and give it a try?"

Li Changgeng smiled helplessly, and Zhao quickly changed the topic.

Soon, Duobao and the others decided on a strategy of psychological attack, each picking a target and starting to reason with them, recounting past events, trying to extract useful information.

But after half a day of effort, they got nothing and even faced some mockery from the eight demons.

Li Changgeng: ...

He sighed inwardly and secretly transmitted a message to Yunxiao Xianzi and Jin Ling Shengmu in the distance.

Like this, and like that.

"What's going on?"

Jin Ling Shengmu frowned and came over, asking puzzled.

Zhao Gongming sighed, "They won't open up and don't fear death, so almost no gains."

"Where's the brutality you mentioned?"

Jin Ling Shengmu snorted, gestured behind her, and Yunxiao Xianzi, Gui Ling Shengmu, and Wudang Shengmu flew over together.

Jin Ling asked, "Changgeng, since you can't get anything from these guys, are you just going to kill them?"

"Um," Li Changgeng nodded, "We probably won't gain much today, but eliminating these demons removes a hidden threat."

Gui Ling Shengmu said, "Then let us try."

"Oh?"

Li Changgeng laughed and exchanged a glance with Yunxiao Xianzi, whose eyes were as gentle as water, almost melting him.

"Give it a try, then."

Taiyi Zhenren tucked his hands into his sleeves and chuckled, "Maybe they'll be won over by the charm of you ladies and spill everything."

Li Changgeng gave Yunxiao an encouraging look and calmly retreated a hundred zhang.

And so, the interrogation team stepped back to the second line, leisurely awaiting the performance of the four Jie School fairies.

The four Jie School fairies first gathered to discuss, then dispelled the illusions of the eight demons and wandered before them for a while.

Jin Ling said, "I'll pick first; I want this one, this one, and this one. Is that okay?"

The other three fairies had no objections, letting Jin Ling Shengmu summon the three demons to her side.

Yunxiao Xianzi gestured invitingly and said softly, "I'll question three at random."

Gui Ling Shengmu and Wudang Shengmu stepped forward, each selecting a demon and taking them to the right side.

Gui Ling sighed lightly and said to the demon before her:

"I have no grudge with you, fellow daoist; this time, I'll send you on your way. Do you have a favorite tune? I'm skilled at playing music, but not at interrogation."

Wudang Shengmu also said, "I'll recite a few scriptures for you, fellow daoist; it can purify the resentment in your heart."

The male immortals in the back all showed relieved smiles.

Taiyi Zhenren, uncharacteristically not sarcastic, sighed:

"The fairies of Jie School are truly gentle."

"Of course," Duobao Daoist said with his hands behind his back, full of senior brother pride, "My junior sisters cultivate with grace and elegance, so they're very gentle.

What do you think, Changgeng?"

"Shi Xiong Duobao is right."

As soon as Li Changgeng finished speaking, a golden light flashed, and Yunxiao held the Hunyuan Jindou in her hand, firing three purple-gold beams at the three demons.

Her face was cold, her figure hidden in the mist, her voice devoid of fluctuation as she asked calmly:

"Will you speak?"

All she got was three cold huffs or sneers.

Yunxiao nodded slightly, turned the Jindou, and a profound dao rhyme flowed out. Bursts of pure spiritual energy surged around the three demons.

As their bodies trembled, each of their cultivations suddenly dropped a level, a wave of weakness spreading from within.

The Hunyuan Jindou—reverting to the origin!

"You! What are you doing?"

"The Hunyuan Jindou!"

"Why destroy our cultivation? Just kill us!"

"Will you speak?" Yunxiao asked the same question, still without fluctuation.

The three demons trembled violently, their injuries barely contained; before they could respond, the Jindou turned again.

Each of their dao realms dissipated another layer!

The three demons collapsed weakly, their dao realms crumbling step by step, their great dao slowly fracturing, as if their marrow was being drawn out thread by thread...

If this happened in an instant, it wouldn't be so agonizing, but Yunxiao asked once and stripped away some of their cultivation, peeling away their dao fruits like layers of an onion...

They had never imagined such a way to shatter their dao hearts.

This was worse than killing them!

Suddenly, sword light flashed on the other side, drawing the immortals' gazes.

Jin Ling Shengmu held her long sword, and a demon beast's head slowly flew off, its blood floating in the void.

She advanced on the remaining two demons, a faint smile on her lips, a hint of anticipation in her eyes, her long sword wrapped in blood light, her golden gauze skirt unstained by dust.

"Are you really not afraid of death?"

The two demons just sneered.

In secret, a faint aqua-blue light bloomed, enveloping the two demons; Li Changgeng's right hand was aimed discreetly at Taiyi Zhenren.

Balance: Fear of death!

Jin Ling said softly, "The one who speaks later dies first."

Without another word, she swung her sword horizontally!

"I'll speak!"

"I..."

Two shouts, one head.

Jin Ling Shengmu's sword stopped at a female demon's neck, already half an inch in.

"Speak everything?"

"Everything."

Jin Ling Shengmu nodded faintly, turned, and called out, "Old Zhao, come ask; you all make this so troublesome."

At the same time, Yunxiao turned back, the three true immortal realm demons behind her trembling, each clutching their heads and sobbing.

Yunxiao asked gently, "What do you want to ask them? They've agreed to say everything."

Zhao Gongming: ...

Li Changgeng smiled calmly inwardly, mirroring Zhao's expression.

The void fell silent, save for the sound of Gui Ling Shengmu's flute and Wudang Shengmu's admonitions:

"Demons are born of demon mothers, spirits of spirit mothers.

All living beings must die; your sins are deep, and you won't survive today, so why not reflect on how many lives you've taken and what sins you've committed..."

The male immortals present all shuddered slightly. It was as if they heard Taiyi Zhenren's earlier sigh again, their thoughts... complex.

The fairies of Jie School are truly gentle.