Ye Ling walked up to Mo Qianji, a dark demonic sword condensing in his hand.
Ye Ling used the tip of his sword to lift Mo Qianji's chin and said lightly, "I have a question for you."
"P-Please, senior, ask..."
Even though Mo Qianji was over a hundred years old, in front of Ye Ling, he was like a child, trembling, utterly terrified.
"Six years ago, your disciple Qiu Baiyi colluded with the Jiang family in Jiangcheng to annihilate the Ye family. Do you know about this?"
Mo Qianji didn't understand why Ye Ling was suddenly asking about this. However, Qiu Baiyi had indeed annihilated an ordinary family to investigate the whereabouts of Ye Feng and the Heavenly Secrets Diagram, and had later sent a special girl over. Thus, he had a deep impression of that incident and quickly replied, "Y-Yes, I know..."
"Very well, then you should also know that Qiu Baiyi captured a girl named Ye You. Where is she now?"
Mo Qianji trembled, paused for a moment, and then shook his head, "I-I don't know..."
"You don't know?"
Ye Ling raised the sword blade, and the demonic sword easily sliced through Mo Qianji's jaw, causing him intense pain.
Infinite fear surged within him!
Terrified, Mo Qianji quickly kowtowed, "Senior, spare my life! I truly don't know where she is!"
"Qiu Baiyi did send a group of children over back then, but later an eighth-rank Sword Immortal attacked my Tianyin Pavilion and took away the girl named Ye You!"
"An eighth-rank Sword Immortal?"
Upon hearing Mo Qianji's words, Ye Ling frowned slightly and said coldly, "Ye You is just an ordinary girl. Why would an eighth-rank Sword Immortal be interested in her?"
"Senior, you may not know, but Ye You is a rare Heavenly Demonic Qi Body. That is a physique inherited from the ancient demon god Chi You!"
"In the five thousand years of Yan Hua, it has only appeared once, three thousand years ago. Per-perhaps that eighth-rank Sword Immortal was interested in Ye You's Heavenly Demonic Qi Body..."
Mo Qianji stammered his reply, inwardly cursing profusely.
When Qiu Baiyi had sent Ye You to Tianyin Pavilion back then, he had intended to refine her into a pill, but unexpectedly, he had refined out Ye You's Heavenly Demonic Qi Body.
At that time, Ye You, in her ordinary state, had gone berserk. With just the Heavenly Demonic Qi Body, she had nearly injured him, who had a seventh-rank cultivation!
Later, Ye You's aura attracted an eighth-rank Sword Immortal. That eighth-rank Sword Immortal had caused chaos in Tianyin Pavilion, forcibly taken Ye You away, and almost severed his head!
It had taken Mo Qianji several months to recover from the eighth-rank Sword Immortal's pressure. He never expected that six years after Ye You was taken away, another Immortal of the Mortal World would come knocking!
Mo Qianji cursed inwardly but maintained an innocent and subservient demeanor outwardly.
"Heavenly Demonic Qi Body?"
Hearing Mo Qianji's words, Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked again, "Who was that eighth-rank Sword Immortal? And where is he now?"
Mo Qianji swallowed again, trembling, "I-I don't know..."
Seeing the hard-won clue severed, Ye Ling's anger flared. The demonic sword at Mo Qianji's throat dispersed into spiritual energy, invading Mo Qianji's mind as he began to forcibly extract Mo Qianji's memories.
"So painful! S-stop... Ahhhhhh!"
Mo Qianji's piercing screams echoed through Tianyin Pavilion. The disciples still alive in the plaza looked at their阁主's tragic state with despair.
Mo Qianji, the Pavilion Master of Tianyin Pavilion, was already a top existence in Hua Guo. Yet, before Ye Ling, he was utterly powerless to resist...
No one could fathom how strong Ye Ling was.
He was...
A demon!
Soon, Ye Ling finished extracting all of Mo Qianji's memories and extinguished Mo Qianji's life.
From Mo Qianji's memories, Ye Ling remembered the appearance of the eighth-rank Sword Immortal and gained some understanding of Ye You's Heavenly Demonic Qi Body.
"Heavenly Demonic Qi Body, said to be a physique inherited from the ancient demon god Chi You. Its possessor inherits the demon god's power... If this legend is true, then Xiao You, with this physique, should at least be safe."
"Could it be that the Heavenly Demonic Qi Body changed Xiao You's aura, thus making all the divine weapons unable to track her whereabouts?" Ye Ling muttered to himself, his mood gradually calming. He then looked at the remaining cultivators around him.
As Ye Ling's gaze swept over them, they all trembled with fear, even forgetting the searing pain of their wounds.
Only Ye Ling thought that he could destroy this Tianyin Pavilion at any moment!
Li Wenjie was still kneeling on the ground. He glanced at Meng Xinyue, who had collapsed, and Mo Qianji, who was completely dead, then tried to steady his mind and kowtowed to Ye Ling, begging, "Most of the disciples in the pavilion are innocent. I deserve death, but I beg senior to spare Tianyin Pavilion!"
Currently, the only one in Tianyin Pavilion capable of fighting was Li Wenjie. However, he had lost all will to fight and only wished to surrender and survive.
Preserving Tianyin Pavilion was paramount!
Tianyin Pavilion had a legacy of two thousand years; it could not end with their generation!
Ye Ling looked calmly at Li Wenjie. Demonic energy surged behind him and swept towards Li Wenjie.
Boom!
The demonic energy invaded Li Wenjie's body, instantly destroying his foundation and crippling all his cultivation.
In an instant, Li Wenjie became incredibly aged.
When Li Wenjie saw Ye Ling attack, he thought Ye Ling was going to take his life. He never expected Ye Ling to merely cripple his cultivation.
Realizing that Ye Ling would not pursue them to the death, Li Wenjie was overjoyed. He dragged his weakened body and kowtowed to Ye Ling in gratitude, "Thank you, senior, for sparing my life!"
Ye Ling's action signified that he had spared Tianyin Pavilion, leaving them a sliver of their legacy.
Although after this battle, Tianyin Pavilion's decline was inevitable, at least their lineage remained, and they were not completely annihilated.
However, from now on, they had no choice but to seal their mountain and recuperate.
Ye Ling then looked at the terrified Tianyin Pavilion disciples around him. The surrounding demonic energy completely dissipated.
Mo Qianji had refined humans into medicine. Those who had consumed the Blood Pills had extremely noticeable malevolent energy within them. When Ye Ling had gone on a killing spree earlier, it seemed like indiscriminate attacks, but in reality, the demonic sword automatically tracked those who had consumed the Blood Pills.
Those who had survived now were either new disciples who had just joined or disciples who had never consumed the Blood Pills.
For these individuals, they had neither grave sins nor any enmity with Ye Ling...
Ye Ling had no inclination to slaughter the innocent. After a minor punishment, he would naturally let them go.
"Mo Qianji refined people for medicine, and Qiu Baiyi founded the Ghost Gate. Both committed unforgivable sins. You turned a blind eye to this, and some even acted as accomplices. I should have annihilated your lineage."
"However, considering that there are innocent people among you, I have shown mercy."
"Those who are still alive are all disciples who have not consumed Mo Qianji's Blood Pills. I hope you will remember today's events well and not stray from the righteous path."
With that, Ye Ling casually waved his hand, and a wind blade flew out, slicing the Hidden Immortal Hall behind Li Wenjie in half!
Rumble!
The grand hall collapsed, leaving all the disciples dumbfounded.
Amidst the roaring sounds, Ye Ling did not linger in Tianyin Pavilion and turned to leave.
Li Wenjie watched Ye Ling's retreating figure as he descended the mountain. He took a deep breath and tremblingly kowtowed towards Ye Ling's back, bidding him farewell, "Farewell... Immortal!"
The surviving Tianyin Pavilion disciples exchanged glances, then also knelt towards Ye Ling, kowtowing their farewell!
"Farewell, Immortal!"