Charlie did not notice the change in Ye Ling's tone. He nodded and said, "Our Holy See has been cooperating with the Red Dust Pavilion in secret. The Holy See's influence spans eighty countries worldwide, and the operational funds required are quite substantial. The Red Dust Pavilion provides almost half of our funds annually."
"In return, the Red Dust Pavilion often asks our Holy See to do things for them. Leveraging our worldwide influence, the Red Dust Pavilion has engaged in many unsavory activities."
"To put it bluntly, our Holy See is not much different from the forces under the Red Dust Pavilion."
Hearing Charlie's words, Ye Ling's brow furrowed slightly, and he fell into thought.
Previously, he had been very curious. This ancient ruin had been opened not just once or twice, but in the past, when it opened, not many forces bothered to come and join the fray.
But this time, every force with even a slight reputation in the world had come to get involved, sending people to this ancient ruin.
What was even more abnormal was that the Red Dust Pavilion had only sent a few eighth-rank cultivators, which did not seem like they were here to obtain anything from the ancient ruin.
After learning about the secret cooperation between the Holy See and the Red Dust Pavilion from Charlie, Ye Ling finally understood what the Red Dust Pavilion was planning.
The cultivators from the Red Dust Pavilion who entered the ancient ruin were all decoys!
The ones truly doing the work in the ancient ruin were forces like the Holy See, who were secretly working for the Red Dust Pavilion.
It was likely that the forces working for the Red Dust Pavilion within this ancient ruin were not limited to just the Holy See.
"This Red Dust Pavilion is quite interesting..."
Ye Ling chuckled and shook his head, becoming increasingly interested in what Charlie knew. He then unleashed another surge of demonic energy, enveloping Charlie's head, and began to violently search his soul.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Charlie immediately let out a pig-like scream as the pain of soul searching continuously assaulted his nerves.
He cried out sternly, "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I have already betrayed the Holy See! I did not lie to you!"
"Such matters naturally require personal confirmation to be assured."
After finishing his soul search of Charlie, Ye Ling looked at the demon Augustus, who was hidden behind Charlie, and said indifferently, "Since this fellow has already sold his soul to you, take his body as well. You can do with it as you please."
Shortly after Ye Ling finished speaking, Augustus's massive form appeared in the ancient ruin.
He respectfully bowed to Ye Ling, "Thank you, Emperor, for your bounty."
With that, Augustus extended his giant claws, grabbed Charlie's leg, and lifted him into the air.
Charlie, still somewhat dazed from Ye Ling's soul search, suddenly found himself suspended, instantly sobering up and clearly seeing Augustus's appearance!
"You, you..."
Endless fear immediately surged into Charlie's eyes!
He naturally recognized the demon now holding him as the one who had been corrupting and tempting him, urging him to sell his soul!
Charlie exclaimed, "I only just sold my soul to you, how did you appear so quickly?"
Augustus grinned and said, "I have completed the contract, removed the Pope's mark from your soul, and even made you a fallen knight. Your soul naturally belongs to me."
Charlie screamed, "That's only my soul after death that belongs to you! In the contract, my body still belongs to me. Before I die, you have no right to take my soul!"
Since Charlie dared to make a deal with a demon, he was naturally prepared.
In the contract he signed with Augustus, as long as he did not die, Augustus had no right to take his soul.
And he was an eighth-rank cultivator. As long as he continued to cultivate, living for a few more centuries was not a major issue. Before his death, he would have enough time to resolve the demonic contract.
But now...
Looking at Augustus's sudden appearance, Charlie became extremely flustered, realizing that his carefully laid plans had completely fallen through!
Augustus looked at Charlie and smiled, "Naturally, we demons have always been the most dedicated to contractual spirit. As long as it is within the contract, I will abide by it."
"In the contract, I only possess your soul after death. Logically, as long as you are alive, besides providing you with power, I cannot interfere with anything else."
Charlie shouted, "Since you value the contract so much, then quickly release me!"
Augustus shook his head, "However, you chose to pledge allegiance to the Emperor, which means you are now the Emperor's person. And now the Emperor has given you to me."
"This way, your body also belongs to me, and I can naturally take you away now."
"This is within the reasonable scope of the contract. To use your human saying, it's doing business according to the contract."
"You!!!"
Hearing Augustus's words, Charlie's pupils contracted sharply, and he began to struggle violently. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly looked at Ye Ling and said, "My lord! Quickly tell him to release me! I am your person now!"
"You promised me that as long as I..."
As he spoke, Charlie suddenly trembled, and endless despair welled up in his eyes.
He remembered that Ye Ling had never guaranteed him that he would let him go if he betrayed the Holy See!
Realizing he had been tricked by Ye Ling, Charlie's expression became incredibly contorted, and he roared at Ye Ling, "You lied to me? You're lying to me!"
Watching Charlie's hysterical state, Ye Ling felt no emotion. He urged Augustus, "Hurry up and take him away."
Augustus respectfully replied, "Yes, I will take him now."
With that, Augustus began to drag Charlie towards hell.
In fact, from the moment Charlie intended to kill Feng Ke, Ye Ling had already considered him a dead man.
The only reason Ye Ling hadn't acted yet was that he was contemplating what kind of death to give Charlie.
Now, handing Charlie over to the demons of hell to deal with seemed like a good choice.
Charlie roared hysterically, trying to break free from Augustus's grasp, but the power gap between them was too immense. He could only watch as Augustus dragged him into hell!
Feng Ke watched Charlie and Augustus disappear and couldn't help but ask Ye Ling, "Is this okay? He was, after all, a powerful individual, and he had pledged allegiance to you... sending him to hell like this is a bit..."
Ye Ling replied, "He is merely a piece of trash, not worth bothering about."
"Moreover, he intended to harm you. How could I let him off?"
Hearing Ye Ling say this, Feng Ke's pretty face suddenly flushed, and she quickly took a few steps back, becoming shy.
"You, you... how can you say such embarrassing things?"
"I didn't expect you, this girl, to still be shy?" Seeing Feng Ke's reaction, Ye Ling shook his head and teased.
Feng Ke quickly changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this anymore... we should go find Wang Die and the others!"
Ye Ling, however, shook his head and said, "Their strength is quite good. Within this ancient ruin, as long as they don't court disaster themselves, they are basically not in much danger."
"Moreover..." Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of Wang Die.
As a prophetess, Wang Die must have her own secrets for choosing to come to this ancient ruin.
And Wang Die definitely knew that after entering the ruin, everyone would be teleported away from each other, yet Wang Die had not mentioned this at all, clearly intending to act alone.
Ye Ling understood this and deliberately gave Wang Die the opportunity to act alone, wanting to see what tricks Wang Die could pull in this ancient ruin.
Feng Ke asked, "If that's the case, what should we do now?"
Ye Ling smiled, looked in the direction where Chris and Lawson had fled, and his lips curved slightly, "The Holy See sent the Twelve Knights of the Round Table, there are still two left, aren't there?"
"Let's go find them."