"Still not talking?"

A group of people surrounded the avatar, stalemating for nearly a two-hour span, yet this avatar steadfastly refused to utter a single word.

Che Dapao employed both soft and hard tactics, but none had the slightest effect.

He was so enraged that he shouted angrily, clutching the long knife at his waist, and after his anger burst forth, he unsheathed it and slashed twice swiftly.

But as a result, he couldn’t even scratch the opponent’s surface, and the blade ended up with several notches instead.

Che Dapao finally pried open the opponent’s mouth, but was only met with a burst of mocking laughter.

"Worthless scrap metal."

Even after spending a quarter of its energy, this avatar was still a Spiritual Treasure, not something these ants could harm.

Seeing him open his mouth, Quan Xiaotong, who had been silently observing, suddenly stepped forward, slowly approaching him.

"May I know how long your faction has existed?"

He looked at the soul fragment that seemed like mud and smiled faintly, "This shouldn’t be a secret too hard to share, right?"

The soul fragment looked up at this scholarly old man with disdain in his eyes, sneering, "Our history predates any dynasty; it’s not something you mere mortals can fathom."

Quan Xiaotong appeared thoughtful, lowering his head in contemplation for a long time. When he looked up again, he wore a look of certainty.

"I know about the altar in the East Sea Realm; it indeed resembles the sacrificial culture passed down from the tribal period thousands of years ago. You rose to power thousands of years ago."

This isn’t hard to guess; within the Fifth Tower, there’s no lack of talent, and there are those who can understand the Tao Pattern.

"Spending thousands of years yet showing no success, it seems to be the same old story, chasing after some illusory things."

Quan Xiaotong shook his head, with a touch of sarcasm.

The soul fragment’s expression changed, his tone icy, "How could you understand the greatness of the Holy Sect? Sooner or later, we’ll tower above you, controlling your life and death."

"Oh? You powerful cultivators can’t tower above us now? The number of ordinary people and cultivators who’ve died because of you over the past year is countless."

Quan Xiaotong laughed mockingly at him.

"So what, a few insignificant lives, all for the sake of..."

The soul fragment stopped speaking here, casting a peculiar glance at Quan Xiaotong, a heavy feeling sinking in his heart.

This guy’s silent baiting was simply impossible to guard against.

He had resolved not to engage in any more dialogue with him.

"So, your goal isn’t just some lives, you seek to control more people by means other than strength."

Quan Xiaotong mused out loud, not even bothering to look at him with intention.

"A few hundred years ago, it was actually you setting a trap for the Cultivator Realm! The annihilation of Qingzhou Prefecture was done by people like you."

"The so-called battle between Qinglong and Celestial Beings, I’d guess your enemies came to interfere, actually just your people fighting each other."

At that time, with the dynastic shift happening, solely relying on the Nine Sects to rally the whole Cultivator Realm to fight the so-called Corpse Refining Sect would probably be beyond their power.

It’s more likely someone was backing it from behind the scenes.

For what, Dragon Blood Stone? Or the lives of cultivators?

A look of astonishment flashed in the soul fragment’s eyes, just caught by Quan Xiaotong, who then realized he had probably guessed the general outline.

Indeed, the soul fragment was extremely shocked; such matters were handled very cleanly at the time, leaving no trace within the Qingzhou Prefecture, save a minor flaw of a small cultivator managing to escape.

But it hardly affected the overall situation; the Divine Platform Realm battle wasn’t something a small cultivator could comprehend, and the subsequent events went unseen because that cultivator was in a rush to flee while the opposition managed to piece together a rough image.

"Among mortals, you do indeed rank among the very clever ones."

The soul fragment couldn’t hold his tongue, eventually commenting.

Quan Xiaotong was quick to pick up the thread, naturally steering the conversation further.

"Mortals, is that what you call all the cultivators in the Central Continent?"

Reasonably speaking, Quan Xiaotong was also a cultivator in the Realm of Transcendence, and even though there was a chasm between him and the Divine Platform Realm, to regard even Transcendence cultivators as mortals, this faction must be immensely arrogant.

The soul fragment, however, clammed up again, no matter how Quan Xiaotong tried to hint or probe, he remained deaf, unresponsive, and inattentive.

In the end, Quan Xiaotong showed a sign of helplessness; there was too little information. If only the other side would speak up, he could always glean something from their words, but if they remained tight-lipped like the soul fragment, he was just as powerless.

He regretted not bringing along Feng Buping, who excelled at empathy, with him. Letting his words tempt the mind, and having him perceive from the side, would undoubtedly yield more.

"How about you give me some fine wine, and I’ll teach you a trick?"

Han Yu suddenly snickered and spoke up.

The people around turned to look at him, unsure if it was because of Han Yu’s strange request or curiosity over what better idea he might have.

This guy in front of them seemed unafraid of blades, nor did he fear pain; interrogation might not work.

And killing wasn’t an option.

"If your trick works, I’ll give you ten years’ worth of fine wine."

Quan Xiaotong agreed readily, though he didn’t know what trick Han Yu had in mind, allowing him free rein was never a loss.

Han Yu cheerfully stepped forward, squatting to adjust the soul fragment’s slumped form, grinning oddly, "This guy is full of treasures. His body was crafted from a Spiritual Treasure, wouldn’t you say it resembles a Magical Treasure developing intelligence?"

The peculiar existence of the soul fragment indeed had a substantial initial impact on everyone present.

Unseen before, it’s hard to believe cultivators could live like this.

"He’s certainly not afraid of pain, physical torture doesn’t bother him, but if you say remaking this body into a chamber pot or piss bucket, or cast it into a septic tank to marinate for ten days or half a month, wouldn’t that be quite entertaining?"

Bam!

The group flinched collectively, glancing at him peculiarly, all with varied expressions.

Is this bizarre method something a person could think up?

The soul fragment, helpless in controlling its appearance, indeed resembled an intelligent dead object.

If it truly were to be remade without harming its soul, and such things were done...

Ling Wuce shuddered at the thought of becoming a lump of scrap metal marinated in a latrine for half a year, spending each day with...for company, unable to speak, unable to move, and having that stuff dumped from above every day.

He couldn’t help but shiver; how damn vicious.

The soul fragment also jolted with fright, never having imagined his prized Spiritual Treasure could be played with like this, particularly given Han Yu’s words; his entire jaundiced face distorted.

"You can’t do that!"

He blurted out; such punishment was simply worse than death.

Moreover, such an action would be twelve times more damaging to him mentally; one avatar suffering, and the remaining eleven would have to endure the same feelings.

"I don’t know Artifact Refining, but I could at least turn your Spiritual Treasure body into a pile of something; my skills may be subpar, so bear with it." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Han Yu cheerfully extended his hand, a torrid aura suddenly emanating from his palm. As he grasped the opponent’s arm, an outpouring of energy erupted, even affecting the surroundings directly.

The group nearly toppled under the surge, each one looking at him aghast.

"Are you pulling a real trick?"

The soul fragment similarly shouted.