In the desolate ice plains of the Sand Kingdom, Lu Yun lay stunned on the ground, his mecha in ruins.
"This, this is impossible..."
Lu Yun was bewildered, staring blankly at Ye Ling, his mind a complete blank.
He knew better than anyone how powerful his mecha was!
He was confident he could defeat even some immortals from the Immortal Realm with his anti-magic armor.
Yet, this mecha, which he had poured all his heart and soul into, rendering it impervious to blades and water, was so easily crushed by Ye Ling...
It was akin to a craftsman, who had spent his entire life forging a divine weapon he took pride in, only to find it as fragile as a wooden stick in front of someone else!
Such a blow was more unbearable for Lu Yun than death itself!
Even Mo Qingfeng, lying nearby, was stunned. He stared at Ye Ling, who resembled a demon god, with a face full of terror, his thoughts in utter chaos.
What kind of monster was this?
Though he had verbally scorned Lu Yun, he knew in his heart that he might not be a match for Lu Yun in that mecha.
Now, with Lu Yun, who was superior to him in strength, pinned to the ground by Ye Ling in a single move...
He himself would not fare any better facing Ye Ling.
To think that such a vast disparity in power existed in this world made him question the reality of it all.
Not far away, the black-clothed woman, who had been sent flying by Ye Ling, was also filled with dread upon seeing Lu Yun's defeat. She quickly sent a distress message to the headquarters of the Hongchen Pavilion and then immediately activated a device hidden on her person, preparing to flee.
"Where are you going, young lady?"
Ye Ling's voice suddenly sounded behind the black-clothed woman, startling her and causing her to tremble.
Her hand, poised at her wrist, hesitated to press the button.
She had a premonition that if she dared to press the teleportation button, her head would fall from her neck before she could even teleport.
The black-clothed woman shakily raised her hands and stammered, "I, I surrender..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a rope condensed from spiritual energy bound her tightly, sealing all her meridians.
Ye Ling picked up the black-clothed woman and tossed her beside Lu Yun and Mo Qingfeng.
Ye Ling glanced at the three figures lying on the ground and chuckled, "Alright, now I need to consider how to deal with the three of you."
It was clear that the sludge and evil spirits in Jianlong Mountain were closely related to Lu Yun and Mo Qingfeng.
From their previous conversation, it could be inferred that Mo Qingfeng was a descendant of the white-robed swordsman, possibly aiming to revive him.
And the sludge was likely a creature created by Lu Yun through special means.
With the technology of the Hongchen Pavilion, creating such monsters should not be difficult.
Both Mo Qingfeng and Lu Yun had their sights set on the treasure bone in Jianlong Mountain, and Ye Ling's intervention coincidentally caused the sludge and evil spirits to engage in a fierce battle.
Sensing the abnormality in Jianlong Mountain, Lu Yun and Mo Qingfeng rushed there simultaneously. The two sides met and immediately engaged in a chase, until Ye Ling caught up to them.
However, these were all deductions Ye Ling made based on the available information. The specific circumstances would need to be understood from Lu Yun and Mo Qingfeng's memories.
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Lu Yun finally managed to snap out of his defeat.
He composed himself and said to Ye Ling, "Ye Ling, I don't know what grievances you have with Ye Feng, but I have no conflict of interest with you. In fact, I can even help you deal with Ye Feng. There's no need for you to kill me..."
"Perhaps there's some misunderstanding between us in this conflict."
Having fallen into Ye Ling's hands was a foregone conclusion. The only thing he could do now was to propose conditions to preserve his life.
From the beginning, he didn't want to fight Ye Ling, and now he even less wanted to die at Ye Ling's hands because of Ye Feng!
Seeing the intense desire for survival in Lu Yun's eyes, Ye Ling's eyes flickered with a hint of amusement.
Indeed, there was no need for him to kill Lu Yun.
From the Hongchen Pavilion's database, he had learned that the Twelve Venerables of the Hongchen Pavilion were not a monolithic entity. He could easily sow discord among individual Venerables through coercion and enticement, thus dismantling the Hongchen Pavilion with ease.
However, now that he had all of Ye Feng's whereabouts, he could locate the headquarters of the Hongchen Pavilion at any time.
But when a rat hiding in the dark is exposed to the light, the trouble ceases to be trouble.
He had no need to go through the trouble of dividing the Twelve Venerables to deal with the Hongchen Pavilion.
Once he found a way to break the soul-bound contract, he could easily crush them.
Therefore, Lu Yun's allegiance or lack thereof held little significance for him.
Ye Ling smiled at Lu Yun and said, "Let me ask you a question first. This question will help me determine how useful you are to me, and whether I should kill you?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Lu Yun's heart tightened, but he knew he had only one path to take: cooperation. He replied, "What do you want to ask?"
Ye Ling looked directly into Lu Yun's eyes and asked, "Has any restriction been placed on your soul?"
"Restriction?"
Lu Yun was taken aback at first, then he understood what Ye Ling intended to do!
The Hongchen Pavilion was most skilled at implanting restrictions in the souls of their subordinates, sealing their memories.
This way, they could prevent Hongchen Pavilion members from revealing the pavilion's secrets if captured by enemy forces.
Ye Ling had been dealing with the Hongchen Pavilion for some time, and countless people had fallen into his hands. Ye Ling must have encountered the restrictions placed by the Hongchen Pavilion.
Now that Ye Ling was asking him such a question, it was clear he was preparing to search his soul!
Realizing this, Lu Yun felt an immense sense of humiliation, but he was helpless. He said to Ye Ling, "I am one of the Twelve Venerables of the Hongchen Pavilion, possessing core authority within the Hongchen Pavilion. I can be considered one of the highest leaders of the Hongchen Pavilion."
"Naturally, there are no seals within my soul."
"None..."
Hearing Lu Yun's answer, Ye Ling mused, recalling the seal in Ye Feng's soul.
If that were the case, Ye Feng's seal was not done by the Hongchen Pavilion.
"Speaking of which, Ye Feng also joined the Hongchen Pavilion within the last century."
"In just a century, he climbed to the position of one of the Twelve Venerables of the Hongchen Pavilion, while also having close ties to both the Immortal Realm and Hell..."
"A mere abandoned disciple of the Tianyin Pavilion, without any other backing, could not have achieved such success in such a short period, no matter how high his talent..."
"If the mastermind behind the scenes pushed Ye Feng to the position of the Twelve Venerables... then it's not just Ye Feng, perhaps the entire Hongchen Pavilion... is merely a pawn of that person..."
With this thought, Ye Ling looked at Lu Yun again and asked, "How much do you know about Ye Feng?"
Lu Yun was not surprised by this question and replied directly, "He was the last to join the Hongchen Pavilion among us Twelve Venerables. However, he is the youngest and the fastest growing among us Twelve Venerables."
"When he joined the Hongchen Pavilion a hundred years ago, he seemed to be only at the sixth or seventh rank. Now he has reached the Immortal Realm... How he cultivated so quickly is a mystery to the rest of us Venerables."
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, "In other words, you don't know how Ye Feng grew either?"
Lu Yun nodded, "You could say that... I've also been looking for an opportunity to study him, and I've been observing him intentionally and unintentionally."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and said to Ye Ling, "I also know a secret about Ye Feng that the other Venerables don't know!"
Hearing Lu Yun's words, Ye Ling's eyes lit up, "Tell me!"
Lu Yun glanced at Mo Qingfeng beside him, then said to Ye Ling, "Mo Qingfeng was once Ye Feng's master!"
Mo Qingfeng, who had been watching the show, was instantly stunned when Lu Yun suddenly brought him into the conversation!