Ye You saw Xu Gui's frightened expression and couldn't help but chuckle, "Brother, don't scare him too much. If we don't get anything out of him, he'll break down and go mad first."
Hearing Ye You's words, Xu Gui realized Ye You was easier to talk to than Ye Ling. He repeatedly kowtowed to Ye You, "Thank you, my lord! I will cooperate! I will tell you everything I know! I only beg you to spare my life!"
Looking at Xu Gui and the Great Peng Demon Saint, Ye Ling lost interest in torturing them. "Since that's the case, tell me one by one what you've been doing in Shu Mountain and what your objectives are."
"Oh, and a friendly reminder, I already have some information before coming to Shu Mountain. If you hide anything or lie, you won't get a second chance."
Ye Ling deliberately lowered his voice at the end, making Xu Gui and the Great Peng Demon Saint shiver. They nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understood."
After a bit of intimidation, Ye Ling turned to Xu Gui, "You go first. Remember... the more detailed, the better!"
Heeding Ye Ling's warning, Xu Gui stammered, "Ten years ago, a person found me and said he could help me become the sect leader, but the price was for me to find a key for him."
"A key?" Ye Ling raised his eyebrows.
Xu Gui nodded, "That's right. He said it was a key infused with flesh and soul. If I could find it for him, he would make me the sect leader of Shu Mountain and help me break through to the ninth-grade Red Dust Immortal!"
"I couldn't resist the temptation at the time, so I agreed to his request. For the past ten years, I've been searching for that special key in Shu Mountain for him."
"Did you find it?"
"No..." Xu Gui shook his head. "That person only said the key was infused with flesh and soul and was related to the Demon Locking Tower. I had to find more information. However, I haven't found the key in ten years, and my desire to become the sect leader has only grown stronger!"
"That person seemed to be running out of patience. He found me again not long ago and said he had already contacted the ancient great demons of the Demon Town, who could help me seize the position of Shu Mountain sect leader. However, the price was that I needed to cause chaos in Shu Mountain so that he could search for the key within Shu Mountain himself."
"At that time, I had been searching for the key for ten years, and my desire to become the sect leader had reached its peak. I once again succumbed to temptation and agreed to his request. I captured the daughter of the third elder, Xu Tian, as a hostage and had her join me in the rebellion."
"With the help of that person and the demons, I easily captured the sect leader Xu Lingzhi and the great elder Xu Changsheng and took control of Shu Mountain."
"Also... the Great Peng Demon Saint was also released by that person..."
After hearing Xu Gui's words, Ye Ling pondered for a moment, then asked Xu Gui, "Who is the person you are referring to?"
Xu Gui shook his head, "He wore a Shura mask, and his voice was artificially altered... I don't even know if he's male or female. I only know that his strength is far above mine... he's likely from the Immortal Realm."
As he spoke, Xu Gui quickly added, "I swear I don't know the true identity of that person. If you want to know, you can ask the Great Peng Demon Saint! That person specifically asked me to release the Great Peng Demon Saint, so he must know the Great Peng Demon Saint!"
Seeing Xu Gui suddenly shift the blame to it, the Great Peng Demon Saint couldn't help but curse inwardly, wishing it could kill Xu Gui on the spot!
However, the Great Peng Demon Saint didn't dare to show any anger on the surface and quickly said to Ye Ling, "Reporting to my lord... the masked man Xu Gui mentioned was, was my master a thousand years ago..."
"It was under his guidance that I wreaked havoc in Yan Hua back then!"
"However... I was suppressed beneath the Demon Locking Tower for a thousand years, and all memories of my master were forgotten. I don't know anything now..."
Xu Gui interrupted, "Nonsense, you are a ninth-grade demon beast with a powerful soul. How could you forget? And you forgot your master!"
"Who would believe that?"
The Great Peng Demon Saint, interrupted by Xu Gui, immediately defended itself, fearing Ye Ling would misunderstand. "Every word I say is the truth, absolutely no lies!"
"When I was subdued by my master, I was still young and ignorant. The environment beneath the Demon Locking Tower was extremely harsh. It was difficult enough for me to maintain my sanity, let alone remember having a master!"
"It's Xu Gui who has a problem. He searched for a key for ten years based on one person's words, and inexplicably betrayed his sect and killed his fellow disciples... How foolish can someone be to do such a thing?"
The Great Peng Demon Saint, having been bitten by Xu Gui, began to bite back, trying to make Ye Ling act against Xu Gui.
Xu Gui was not to be outdone and continued to defend himself, "I admit that I was blinded by greed at the time and was tempted by the little strength that person displayed. My actions can be explained, but the Great Peng Demon Saint forgetting its own master is simply too exaggerated!"
"I don't believe it at all! My lord, please discern the truth, it must be lying!"
"Xu Gui, I just made a move to save you. Now you're slandering me, what's your intention?"
"You were instantly defeated by my lord, what use are you?"
As the Great Peng Demon Saint and Xu Gui argued, they suddenly started quarreling, their voices rising in a heated debate, their faces flushed.
"Enough."
Ye Ling, growing impatient, stopped the bickering Great Peng Demon Saint and Xu Gui, releasing a sliver of his aura.
Sensing Ye Ling's aura, the Great Peng Demon Saint and Xu Gui instantly realized they were still prisoners and immediately shut their mouths, sweating profusely.
Finally, silence descended upon the surroundings.
Ye Ling glanced at the Great Peng Demon Saint and Xu Gui and asked Ye You, "What do you think of what they said?"
Ye You pondered for a moment and said, "The masked man they mentioned is the only one who can connect this series of events... I suspect he's also the one who abducted Sister Ruo Xue."
"He caused chaos in Shu Mountain and lured us here... Is he trying to use our power to find that so-called key infused with flesh and soul?"
Ye Ling nodded slightly, "Yes, my thoughts are similar to yours. It seems their objective is not the ultimate power hidden within us, but the key hidden in Shu Mountain."
"If we find that key, we should be able to save Ruo Xue."
Ye You then asked, "But how do we find it? With just the information about being infused with flesh and soul, we can't find the key..."
Ye Ling said, "Xu Gui's rebellion, Shu Mountain's chaos, I think the person who orchestrated this plan must have stirred up trouble here to lure something out. If we follow the clues, we might find something."
Ye You sighed slightly, "This is the only way. We'll have to search slowly..."
Then, she looked at Xu Gui and the Great Peng Demon Saint and asked, "What should we do with them?"
"Cripple their cultivation and hand them over to Shu Mountain."