Mutou Masao heard Ye Ling ask the same question again, but his mood was completely different from before.
Previously, he would have refused to answer Ye Ling's questions without hesitation, and even tried to kill Ye Ling to silence him.
But now, when facing Ye Ling, he was filled only with fear.
He dared not refuse to answer Ye Ling's questions anymore!
However, if he revealed the secrets of Takamagahara, he would be hunted by the gods, and even if his soul fell into hell, he would suffer endless torment from the gods.
Thinking of this, Mutou Masao's desire to die surpassed everything else, and he was about to sever his own heart's脉!
It was better to end himself than to fall into Ye Ling's hands!
Unfortunately, Mutou Masao's thoughts were too simple, and things did not go as smoothly as he had predicted.
After severing his heart's脉 and experiencing the final agony, he found that his consciousness was still there, and the pain continued to gnaw at his nerves, causing him unbearable agony!
"Why, why didn't I die?"
Confusion appeared in Mutou Masao's eyes, and he looked at Ye Ling with a terrified expression, his body trembling violently.
Something was wrong...
He had used his last ounce of strength to cut off his heart's脉. His heart wasn't even beating now, and his whole body felt extremely cold...
But his consciousness was incredibly clear!
Ye Ling looked at the terrified Mutou Masao and chuckled, "I forgot to tell you, until I get a satisfactory answer, you can't die even if you're chopped into meat paste."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Mutou Masao's pupils shrank sharply, and endless despair welled up in his eyes.
This left him no way out!
This meant he would die without a burial place!
Under extreme fear and despair, Mutou Masao completely let go of all his dignity and trembled as he begged Ye Ling, "Please, please spare my life. I really cannot reveal anything about Takamagahara..."
"Otherwise, my soul will never find peace!"
Ye Ling sighed, "This is a bit troublesome. The gods behind you are watching you. Once you leak the secret, they will never let you reincarnate. But I think you should also understand..."
"Your fate in my hands won't be much better."
Mutou Masao completely broke down and roared at Ye Ling, "What enmity do I have with you? Why do you treat me like this?"
Ye Ling smiled, "Perhaps the enmity is great, but I am not someone who leaves no room for retreat. I will give you two choices now."
"One, either cooperate with me, tell me everything about Takamagahara, and lure out those gods. I will deal with them all, and your soul will be free, without suffering the torment of purgatory."
"Two, you are still afraid of the gods' punishment and refuse to cooperate with me. Then I can obtain the information I want through soul searching, and you will still be spurned by the gods you serve, and your soul will fall into the abyss of hell."
"Choose one of these two options."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Mutou Masao exclaimed, "You want to slaughter the gods? What kind of joke is this?"
Ye Ling said, "You should make your choice, one or two. Don't make me wait too long, or I'll choose for you."
Seeing Ye Ling's unquestionable demeanor, all the words Mutou Masao was about to say were blocked in his throat, and he fell silent.
The two choices Ye Ling gave him, the first one he could still gamble on. If Ye Ling's strength was sufficient, his end would not be too miserable. Moreover, the worst outcome of the first choice was the same as the second choice.
Although there seemed to be two choices, Mutou Masao found that he had no choice at all!
After a moment of silence, Mutou Masao made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and said, "I understand. I can cooperate with you, but you must also guarantee that after everything is over, my soul will be free, at least I can reincarnate!"
Ye Ling smiled, "You are not in a position to negotiate with me. To me, there is not much difference between one and two."
Hearing Ye Ling's answer, Mutou Masao paused, immediately understood his current predicament, and felt bitter.
No longer struggling, Mutou Masao had no choice but to nod, "I understand..."
"It's good that you understand."
Ye Ling smiled slightly, summoned the law of time, and reversed Mutou Masao's personal time.
Mutou Masao had severed his heart's脉 and been cut in half. By all rights, he should have been long dead. Ye Ling had only forcibly protected his soul from dissipating.
To heal Mutou Masao, even Ye Ling had to exert a little effort.
Rather than doing so, it was better to use the law of time to reverse time.
Mutou Masao's time was separated from the entire world. His entire time began to flow backward. The blood spilled on the ground returned to his body, his shattered heart's脉 recovered, and his body, which had been broken in two, was reassembled.
Mutou Masao only felt as if he were going backward, his body constantly returning from weakness to its peak!
That peculiar feeling was beyond his imagination!
Soon, Mutou Masao found himself back at his peak cultivation, without a single scar on his body, and even his body seemed much younger!
"This, this is!!!"
Mutou Masao felt his current body, then looked at Ye Ling with shock, and exclaimed, "Are you the God of Time?"
Ye Ling said, "Think whatever you want. What you need to do now is cooperate with me to find Takamagahara."
The effect of time reversal he imposed on Mutou Masao was temporary. Once the incident with Takamagahara was over, Mutou Masao would die due to the severance of his heart's脉.
After all, Mutou Masao was a member of Takamagahara, and he was not exactly a good person. Ye Ling was not so kind as to let Mutou Masao continue to enjoy life in the world.
The current Mutou Masao was merely a dead man whose life had been temporarily extended.
However, Mutou Masao did not know all of this.
After recovering to his peak, while becoming even more awestruck of Ye Ling, his thoughts also began to stir.
He did not want to be killed by Ye Ling after everything was over!
But for now, Mutou Masao dared not disobey Ye Ling. He asked, "My lord, you want to find Takamagahara, right?"
"Mm."
Mutou Masao pursed his lips and continued, "Although I don't know if Takamagahara has a headquarters, nor do I know the whereabouts of Izanagi..."
Ye Ling frowned, "Then what use are you to me?"
Seeing Ye Ling's displeasure, Mutou Masao panicked and quickly said, "My lord, don't worry! Although I don't know the core secrets of Takamagahara, I know that all members of Takamagahara will return to the Land of the Rising Sun recently to hold a ceremony in the Eastern Capital!"
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, "Ceremony?"
Mutou Masao nodded, "That's right! An unprecedented grand ceremony, presided over by Izanagi himself, at which all the gods will possess and descend! If you want to cause trouble for Takamagahara, you can completely act during that ceremony!"
Ye Ling asked again, "Where will that ceremony be held? When will it be convened?"
Mutou Masao shook his head, "That has not been announced yet, but before the ceremony is held, Izanagi will notify all members of Takamagahara. My lord need not worry about missing it."
"And I am also preparing for the Takamagahara ceremony recently!"
Ye Ling: "What preparations?"
Mutou Masao: "Attacking the Ryūjin branch!"
After Mutou Masao finished speaking, he suddenly felt the surrounding temperature drop, and he shivered.
He suddenly felt... as if he had said something wrong.