At the command, Tiger Demon King Ben carefully manifested a tiny bit of Demonic Power in his left claw and sent it into the Qi Sea of the unconscious Old Yang on the floor. Old Yang’s body convulsed violently—an instinctive reaction—before he opened a pair of yellowed eyes.

The confusion in Old Yang’s yellowed eyes was fleeting. The moment he saw the Tiger Demon’s massive face, he was filled with terror, but he made no futile attempt to struggle. His cheeks bulged as if he were trying to speak, but the black metal plate over his mouth kept him from making a single sound.

After waking Old Yang, Wang Ben immediately cupped his fists and bowed toward Wang Ping, who sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion deeper in the attic.

Seeing Wang Ben’s respectful posture, Old Yang subconsciously rolled over. The red ropes binding him tightened, and the pain made his eyes roll back in his head. But when he saw Wang Ping, he immediately fought through the agony and began slamming his head forcefully against the floorboards.

THUD THUD THUD

The sound was surprisingly rhythmic.

Yu Lian spoke, "Don’t get my floor dirty!"

She could be something of a neat freak.

At her words, Old Yang immediately stopped. He then tried to use his own body to wipe up the bloodstains on the floor. His writhing caused the red ropes to dig in deeper, and though his whole body trembled in pain, he kept trying to clean the floor.

But he only succeeded in smearing the blood around, making the mess worse. Panicked, he could only lie stiffly prostrate on the floor.

"You want to talk?" Wang Ping’s voice was cold.

To Old Yang, however, the question was like a gentle spring breeze. A flicker of hope appeared in his yellowed eyes, and he began nodding relentlessly.

"Untie him and let him speak," Wang Ping ordered Tiger Demon King Ben.

"Yes!"

Ever cautious in Wang Ping’s presence, the Tiger Demon formed a Spell with his right hand, first removing the red ropes from Old Yang’s body.

Next, the nearby Ox Demon also bowed to Wang Ping. He, too, carefully formed a Spell to dissipate the Array on the surface of the metal frame over Old Yang’s mouth. Then, reaching out, he gave it a gentle pry. With a soft CLICK, the metal contraption came off.

DRIP.

A puddle of yellowish-black, inflamed pus and blood dripped onto the floor. Old Yang’s mouth had rotted away, leaving little more than a skeletal frame to which blackened, necrotic flesh still clung.

SPIT.

Old Yang spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with black, rotting tissue.

Seeing this, Yu Lian let out a displeased HISS, startling Niu Qi into quickly casting a Cleansing Spell to tidy the floor.

Wang Ping glanced at the metal frame in Niu Qi’s hand. ’It must be a special torture device unique to the Demon Race,’ he surmised. ’Otherwise, Old Yang’s mouth couldn’t have rotted so quickly.’

"May I ask, Your Excellency..."

Old Yang’s Zhongzhou dialect was slurred, and with his ruined mouth, every word was an immense struggle. He had barely spoken before he coughed up more black blood, and another chunk of rotten flesh fell from his jaw.

Niu Qi quickly cast another Cleansing Spell.

Wang Ping extended his right hand. As Old Yang watched in terror, Wang Ping made a soft gesture in his direction. In the next instant, the Cyan Wood Technique manifested in the space around the old demon, just as Wang Ping willed it. A dense Wood Spirit, heavy with the aura of life, immediately found the wounds on Old Yang’s mouth and healed them in a matter of moments.

THUD.

Old Yang prostrated himself on the floor, his limbs and forehead pressed flat. "Thank you for saving me, Daoist," he said to Wang Ping.

"You, old sheep! If you’re so afraid of dying, why did you break the rules of the Daoist Scripture Hall?" Yu Lian’s tone dripped with contempt, making no effort to hide her disgust for Old Yang.

Niu Qi, standing nearby, also felt this old sheep was a complete disgrace to the Demon Race. He snapped, "Mountain View, you’d better see things clearly. This is the Newly Appointed Pacification Envoy of Nanlin Road, Daoist Changqing. If you want to live, answer his questions properly. If not, we’ll just kill you and take your memories anyway."

"If you kill me, the memories you get will only be a blur."

Mountain View chose what he believed to be his most crucial bargaining chip. "I know a lot," he said. "I know the secrets of ’First Day.’ I’ve met one of their Fourth Realm Cultivators. And I know Daoist Xiu Yu’s secrets..."

"Heh."

Wang Ping waved for Niu Qi to step back. He looked at Mountain View and said with a smile, "You certainly do know a lot."

His smile was devoid of any emotion.

Mountain View shuddered. He casually scratched at the new flesh at the corner of his mouth, pulling off a piece of sloughed skin, before replying, "To answer your question, Daoist Changqing, they need me for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. Sometimes, to keep things secret, certain important people come to me in person."

"What do you want?" Wang Ping asked.

"Just let me live," Old Yang replied, his head bowed. "You can even lock me in a dungeon. I still have many years of life left."

Wang Ping reached out to stroke Yu Lian, calming her impatience to return to Qianmu Mountain and see Shen Xiaozhu. Then, he said patiently, "That will depend on the value of your information."

"I will certainly not disappoint you, Daoist Changqing. I believe you have already tried to read Wulang’s memories, and you must have found many of the key clues to be indistinct."

Old Yang carefully raised his eyelids to peek at Wang Ping. "That’s a Secret Technique from ’First Day.’ As soon as our soul and consciousness dissipate, the memories stored in our minds become distorted. No matter what measures you take to preserve the body, you can’t prevent this distortion... unless you can preserve our soul and consciousness intact."

"Oh?"

Not a flicker of surprise showed on Wang Ping’s face. ’He hadn’t, in fact, read Wulang’s memories, and this was one of the reasons. Wulang was a veteran Second Realm Cultivator with hundreds of years of life experience. If his memories could be stolen that easily, then many things would be far too simple.’