"Self-destruct? If I let you blow yourself up, what would be the point of me even living?"

Nie Yun could stop Nie Qiang from self-destructing back when he was only in the Gang Formation Realm. Now that he had reached the Ultimate Venerable Level, if he let this man succeed right in front of him, he would be a complete joke.

With a cold sneer, he pointed a finger. A searing power surged into the man’s Qi Sea, completely shattering all of his Dantians.

Before, Nie Yun had only destroyed his Qi Sea, leaving his Dantians intact. But now, with his Dantians shattered, his entire cultivation and all his talent for it were gone for good. Not even the finest Elixirs could repair the damage. He had nothing left.

"Aaargh... My Dantian! No, no..."

Feeling his Dantians shatter, leaving him without even the strength to self-destruct, the man in black’s eyes filled with deep despair.

The life force of someone at the Qi Sect Realm was incredibly strong. Even if all their limbs were severed, they wouldn’t die as long as they weren’t starved. But... in this state, what was the point of living?

"Tell me who you are and what power you serve, and I’ll give you a quick death. Otherwise, I’ll stuff you in a pickle jar and boil you over a raging fire every day. I’ll make you beg for life and pray for death!"

Staring at the man in black before him, Nie Yun spoke with a glacial tone.

’Having your limbs cut off, being stuffed in a pickle jar, and having salt eat away at your wounds every day... how painful would that be?’ The answer was obvious.

For Nie Yun, devising such cruel tortures was child’s play.

"You might as well kill me. No matter how you torture me, I won’t talk. I won’t tell you which power I serve!"

Hearing the young man’s words, the man in black imagined the agony, and the corner of his mouth twitched. But a moment later, a flash of hatred appeared in his eyes. It seemed that even in death, he would never reveal what power they served or who they were.

"Hmph. Just because you won’t talk doesn’t mean the others won’t."

With a snort, Nie Yun walked over to the seven men he had knocked unconscious. He roused them with a wave of his hand, then casually hoisted a Late-Stage Qi Sect powerhouse into the air and asked coldly. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Speak. Who are you, and where did you take my parents?"

"I won’t tell y—"

Before the Late-Stage Qi Sect Realm powerhouse could finish his sentence, he felt a warm sensation on the side of his face and saw an ear drop to the floor.

"Aaargh..."

Feeling the searing pain where his ear used to be, the man let out a wretched scream, his eyes wide with terror.

"Speak!"

Nie Yun ignored his screams and commanded flatly.

"I won’t say..."

SLICE!

Before he could finish, his other ear, along with his nose and eyes, fell to the floor with a soft THUD.

"Aaargh..."

Seeing the young man’s viciousness, the remaining six men were on the verge of losing their minds.

’Casually gouging out someone’s eyes, nose, and ears... without even blinking. Is he even human?’

’How could a boy of sixteen or seventeen be so cold and heartless?’

A dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and you die.

His parents were Nie Yun’s reverse scale. These people hadn’t just touched it; they had smashed it. Even if he couldn’t kill them, Nie Yun would feel he had wronged himself if he let them off easy.

"Speak!"

Having gouged out the man’s nose and eyes, Nie Yun asked again.

"I... I won’t... talk..."

SWISH! SWISH!

The others saw the flash of a blade, and the man’s arms and legs fell from his body, landing heavily on the ground with a spray of blood.

THUMP!

After carving the man into a human torso, Nie Yun walked to the next Qi Sect Realm powerhouse and hauled him up.

"Your turn. Speak!"

"I... I won’t talk!"

Seeing the previous man’s wretched state, this one was terrified. However, remembering his orders, he gritted his teeth.

SLICE! SLICE!

He had barely finished speaking when his vision went black, followed by excruciating pain all over his body. Just like the man before him, his eyes, nose, ears, and all four limbs had been severed.

THUMP!

After casually finishing his work, Nie Yun walked to the next man.

"Your turn. Speak!"

"I—"

SLICE! SLICE!

The man had only uttered a single word before Nie Yun carved him into a human torso.

"Your turn. Speak!"

"I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! My lord, please, don’t do anything..." Seeing that the young man had at least let the first one speak a few words but was now attacking before a single word could be finished, the third Qi Sect powerhouse couldn’t bear it. The moment Nie Yun grabbed him, he screamed.

"Speak!"

"Yes, yes! We were taking your father and the others to Divine Wind City! We’re using a Flying Demon Beast, so they’ve probably already arrived..." the man said in a rush, terrified of suffering a brutal fate for speaking too slowly.

"Divine Wind City? Which power in Divine Wind City do you serve?"

Nie Yun asked.

"We are—"

WHOOSH!

Just as the man was about to reveal the power he served, a flash of sword light shot out like a bolt of lightning, aimed straight for Nie Yun’s back.

Although the one who unleashed this attack hadn’t reached the Ultimate Venerable Level, their Swordsmanship was uncanny. The moment it appeared, it carried an undeniable killing intent. Nie Yun felt his back go numb, as if he’d been bitten by a venomous snake.

’An Assassin Master? A powerhouse who possesses an Assassination Dantian?’

As he felt this sudden killing intent, a certain special talent flashed through Nie Yun’s mind.

’An Assassin Master!’

’They possess the Assassination Dantian. "Kill one man in ten steps, travel a thousand li without leaving a trace." Once they strike, it’s with the force of a thunderbolt. They can even kill experts several levels stronger than themselves!’

The Assassin Master behind him was only at the Early-Stage Qi Sect Realm, but once targeted by his Assassination Qi, Nie Yun felt as if he were caught in a raging storm, unable to break free or even escape.

’To think an Early-Stage Qi Sect powerhouse could push me this far... As expected of someone with the rare talent of an Assassination Dantian. They’re terrifyingly strong!’

"Hmph! Break!"

The killing intent followed him like a shadow, ready to pierce him at any moment. In his desperation, Nie Yun bit the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain allowed him to move again, and he swung the Profound Jade Sword backward with a WHOOSH!

BANG!

The incoming sword light was shattered by his strike and vanished within the hall, as if it had never been there.

One strike, and if it fails, an immediate retreat.

That was the way of an Assassin Master.

"Trying to leave? Since you’re here, you can stay!"

If Nie Yun let someone get away with an assassination attempt, he would have lived two lives for nothing. With a long cry, and without any visible movement from him, a pitch-black Black Bear appeared in the air and punched at a specific point in the void.

BANG!

A dark figure fell from the sky, landing flat on the ground. It lay there twitching, foaming at the mouth.

The moment Nie Yun had felt the killing intent at his back, he had used his Beast Taming Dantian to notify his three great Demon Beasts to seal all the hall’s exits. No matter how strong the Assassin Master’s Concealment technique was, there was no way he could evade the constant surveillance of the three Demon Beasts. So, just as he tried to flee, he was knocked out of the air by a punch from Hei Yan.

An Assassin Master poured all of their Essence, Qi, and Spirit into a single strike. Regardless of success or failure, they would enter a period of weakness for a short time afterward. In that state, how could he possibly be a match for the Ultimate Venerable Level Hei Yan? He went down in a single blow.