Chapter 127 Interrogation
Ye Yunhai, as the de jure spiritual leader of the Ye Army, ought to have eaten, lived, and fought alongside the soldiers this time. The unforeseen event happened too swiftly, however. His mother finally told him all the secrets before entering You Prefecture. Even though Xiao Huating was a seed that the Demon Race planted in the General’s Manor in Luoyang for twenty years, she was ultimately still a mother. Ye Yunhai was her biological son.

The noblest existence in the world was maternal love. Such love could surpass races and beliefs.

Xiao Huating couldn’t alter the disaster that was about to befall You Prefecture. She was even doing her best to make sure it succeeded. However, she refused to allow her son to come to danger. It was quite the contrary, in fact. She wanted to use this disaster to win a colossal opportunity for him.

This went against the interests of the Mountain Valley of Pure Blackness. It also had nothing to do with the Ye Army or the imperial court. It was purely for her and her son, Ye Yunhai.

She mobilized a lot of forces for this purpose, even going as far as to persuade her Senior Brother who she hadn’t met for many years. It was the Senior Brother that she cultivated with when she was in the Mountain Valley of Pure Blackness. Thus, Ye Yunhai not only escaped the war in You Prefecture unscathed, but he even experienced a sharp increase in his cultivation.

Ye Yunhai, who stood in the middle of the smelting square of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, was now halfway to the Formless Realm. He even appeared to be emanating the noble air of a royal with his every movement.

The reason for this was very simple. Xiao Huating had used her secret technique in changing Ye Yunhai’s cultivation to a devilish one and had him absorb part of the Blood Qi and departed souls in You Prefecture. She even had him swallow the Luck of the Second Prince, Li Chunyu.

Her actions were as good as having defied heaven and changed the course of lives. For this, she paid the price with her own life and her lifetime cultivation. She didn’t regret her choice even when she was on the brink of her death. That was because she was Ye Yunhai’s mother. She was willing to sacrifice for her son.

Formerly the Young Master of the General’s Manor in Luoyang and a mounted officer in the Ye Army, Ye Yunhai was now a half-step Formless Realm devilish cultivator. It had been a smooth process, abnormally so. Perhaps, deep in his heart, he had never been happy with his previous life and a devil lived in his subconsciousness all along. He might have been yearning for a life of decisive killing.

Thus, when an agitated and ignorant disciple of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder rushed over to them, he was able to send the former flying out of the mountain gate with a single punch. Even now, he could feel a slight burning sensation between his fingers. It was a feeling that he had never experienced before.

It was incredibly stimulating.

Incredibly hot-blooded.

Incredibly satisfying.

Ye Yunhai wore a faint demonic smirk as he slowly took a few steps forward until he was at the forefront of the group.

He turned his head to glance at the Elders of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. “What’s the point of telling them all this nonsense? If anyone disagrees, just beat them up until they do. Find a way to make them obedient. The fist is always more effective than the mouth. It’s also more straightforward.”

After giving it some thought, Ye Yunhai added, “I remember someone saying that you’re the Elder in charge of the law here. Don’t tell me you can’t make sense of such negligible reasoning. It’s no wonder a hundred-year orthodox sect like yours is forever lagging behind everyone else.”

Fan Zhen was indeed the Elder of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder responsible for administering the law, but he was also a disciple of the pavilion. If he killed all of their younger disciples, what future was there for their sect? Just because he chose to get help from the Mountain Valley of Pure Blackness, it didn’t mean that his object was ruining the sect. He merely wanted a change in the Pavilion Lord and to take the position for himself.

That was all he wanted, plain and simple.

To him, killing the soldiers who escaped north of You Prefecture and grassland barbarians who were defeated was nothing demanding. It might be a little grisly, but what cultivator didn’t have bloodstained hands?

Who dared to claim to possess clean hands?

Weren’t the murder of a soldier and the murder of demons and monsters one and the same? To claim otherwise would be pure hypocrisy!

Hesitantly, Fan Zhen said, “Lord, we should persuade whenever we can. If we kill everyone, who’d kill the soldiers who escaped north of You Prefecture and the grassland barbarians who are returning north after their defeat? Northern You Prefecture is so vast. If we’re short on manpower, we won’t be able to search the place.”

Ye Yunhai narrowed his eyes. “Do you have the confidence to persuade them?”

Fan Zhen nodded. “I need time, but it’ll definitely work. Human hearts are made of blood and flesh. Every human will have their Achilles’ heel. The same applies to cultivators.”

While the two of them lowered their heads and talked quietly, Lei Tianyou and the rest were waiting in silence. They were even glaring at the two, looking like they were staring death down on its face.

They were at the age where their passions ran hot, after all. Their ideals had just taken shape and their lives yet to be polished by the passing of time. They were at the sharpest state of their lives.

Their dream was to rejuvenate the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder.

Whoever dared to besmirch this place would be their common enemy. Furthermore, Lei Tianyou was here to lead them.

The Pavilion Lord might be dead, but their Eldest Senior Brother was still here. They still had their leader.

“Get into formation.”

“Windstorm and Thunder Hitting Nine Prefectures Formation.”

When Lei Tianyou waved his hand, 49 disciples stepped forward from behind him. They unsheathed their swords at the same time, summoning the whistling of a windstorm and thunder next to their ears. In the blink of an eye, the sword formation took shape. The Windstorm and Thunder Hitting Nine Prefectures Formation was a sword formation that the disciples here were most familiar with. It was also the most basic formation that they had learned. Even though it wasn’t the most powerful formation around, it was absolutely the easiest to perform and control.

For them to unleash a sword formation now meant that their negotiation was on the brink of collapse and the battle was about to begin.

Fan Zhen appeared unconcerned about all these. He took another step forward and looked at Lei Tianyou. “Tianyou, you can disregard the painstaking efforts that the Elders put in as well as the lives of your juniors behind you. But are you going to disregard your parents’ lives as well? If you insist on not heeding my advice today, what you’ll see tomorrow are two corpses.”

He made use of relationships to confuse Le Tianyou’s morality, affection to break the latter’s bravery, parents’ lives to threaten the latter. He was undoubtedly the Elder who had administered law in the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder for decades. His grasp of the human heart, particularly the speculations of these young ones, was stellar.

Lei Tianyou was calm while listening to Fan Zhen, but the expression of the disciples around him changed. Some even began hurling abuse at Fan Zhen. In the blink of an eye, several flaws appeared in the sword formation that had just taken shape.

Fury was the greatest hit on battles.

Lei Tianyou exhaled a deep breath and raised his right hand, indicating the disciples behind him to not act recklessly. “Calm yourself and remember your purpose. Don’t let external factors affect your mind.”

Following his words, the sword formation swiftly returned to tranquility. He turned to look at Fan Zhen. “Elder Fan, your actions in the past few days weren’t painstaking efforts but acts of evil. I’m more concerned about the lives of the juniors behind me than heaven itself. I’m their Eldest Senior Brother. If I can’t protect them, then the first to die will surely be me. You said you’d capture my parents and kill them. I’m not underestimating you, but you’re free to try. I have no comment.”

Lei Tianyou’s words seemed to have reinforced the sword formation, which had just regained its calm. The disciples in the formation seemed to be responding to their Eldest Senior Brother.

He tapped his back with his finger and a white sword flew in front of him. The blade was perfectly straight and imbued with the power of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. “Since you’ve been interrogating me all this while, I also have some questions for you.”

Fan Zhen’s expression turned solemn and said nothing. He considered that his tacit agreement.

“Did the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder nurture you?”

“Have you ever kill devils and demons with the sword in your hand?”

“Can you be proud of your cultivation?”

“The Pavilion of Wind and Thunder beheads devils and demons. Will you be one of them? Will you taint the disciples of the pavilion just because you have become a devil yourself? What about the oath you made before joining the pavilion? What about the absolute rules of your Criminal Law Hall? Did you forget them all? Or did a dog eat them all up?”

Lei Tianyou’s eyes were bright and his voice was like a sword that stabbed straight into the heart. “Who exactly are you? Are you still the Elder Fan Zhen that we know?”

His questions prompted absolute silence in the square.

Fan Zhen’s face had already turned ashen.

Ye Yunhai, on the other hand, looked indifferent. He even looked like he was ruminating. It was as if he had seen something fun.

“You’re still so obstinate despite being in the wrong!” Fan Zhen bellowed.

“You’re the scum of the orthodox sects!” Lei Tianyou bellowed in response, refusing to give in.

“You’ll die a tragic death,” Fan Zhen said. His murderous intent was evident.

“Humph.”

Lei Tianyou scoffed and waved his hand to point behind him. “Since the time of our founding Pavilion Lord, our sect has always been courageous on our cultivation journey. We dare to cleave winds, dare to terrify lightning, dare to venture where no humans dare to venture. That’s the spirit of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. If we never forsake our courage even in the face of death, if even just a few of us manage to escape, our pavilion will never die.”

His words were like swords!

When the words left his mouth, he thrust his sword as well!

Lei Tianyou’s white sword advanced against a backdrop of 49 swords. Together, they aimed for Fan Zhen.

There were even more people standing behind Fan Zhen. Naturally, they had magic treasures and flying swords for defense. A loud collision of a mass of weapons resounded.

Numerous sword marks appeared on Fan Zhen’s cyan robe, soaking it with blood. Fan Zhen, who stood at the forefront, looked like he was in a dire condition. It didn’t matter that he was the Elder of the Criminal Law Hall of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, whose cultivation was halfway to the Formless Realm. The sword formation, that included Lei Tianyou in it, targeted most of its attacks on him. Ye Yunhai and the rest were considered invaders and external enemies. Whatever they did was within the realm of acceptance. If they couldn’t defeat their external enemies, they could only admit their inferiority.

However, Fan Zhen was one of them. An Elder responsible for governing one of their Halls and a group of brainwashed disciples had killed their Pavilion Lord and even tried to ruin their sect. Obviously, he was their prime killing target.

They could let anyone off, except for Fan Zhen!

“Lei Tianyou, you dare instruct the disciples to kill the Elder of the Criminal Law Hall? Impudent!” a messy-haired Fan Zhen yelled hysterically.

“You drew devils and demons into our pavilion and conspired with them to kill our Pavilion Lord. It’s only natural to kill you! Why wouldn’t I dare do so?!”

Lei Tianyou yelled with his gaze fixed on Fan Zhen. The words had just left his mouth when he felt a chill on his waist. When he lowered his head to look, he saw a black dagger piercing in his abdomen like a viper. Intense pain swiftly spread all over his body.

Similarly, a black dagger also appeared on Fan Zhen’s waist. Similarly, like a viper, it penetrated his abdomen.

“Save your breath! You still have to make your move in the end. It’s ultimately a matter of whose fist is harder, isn’t it? You’re really a stubborn old fool. What do I need you for? What an eyesore!” A youngster took out the dagger embedded in Fan Zhen’s waist and walked out from behind him. It was a smirking Ye Yunhai.

Lei Tianyou didn’t look at Ye Yunhai. He whipped his head around and found a girl dressed like a disciple of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. She wore her hair with two adorable pigtails and had a pair of large, black eyes.

“Why?”