However, Soul-Devouring Venerable had once been a powerhouse of the Nine Heavens, and his soul body had existed for ten thousand years. His research into souls had reached the absolute pinnacle, and this wisp of remnant soul was a trump card he had prepared with utmost care.
Even though Chen Ping reacted swiftly, a very small number of soul threads, carrying either irrelevant memories or pure interference data, still managed to slip through the net and dissipate into the air.
The main consciousness of the remnant soul was completely annihilated in the self-detonation, leaving behind only scattered, incomplete memory fragments.
Chen Ping’s divine sense swiftly seized and scanned these fragments.
The information within was extremely vague and chaotic. Most of it concerned trivial matters of the Heavenly Evil Sect, together with some promises and controlling methods Soul-Devouring Venerable had used on Elder Evil Bone.
The core memories about the hiding place of his true body appeared to have been protected by powerful restrictions that were thoroughly shattered the moment the remnant soul destroyed itself.
Nevertheless, among these broken fragments Chen Ping still caught one crucial piece: “Nether… Blood Sea… edge… Soul Burial…”
Though incomplete, Chen Ping knew the name “Nether Blood Sea”.
It was an extremely perilous forbidden zone in the Nine Heavens, located at the very edge of the lowest layer. Legend said it was an ancient battlefield of gods and demons. The sea of blood stretched without end, filled with countless resentful souls and chaotic laws. Not even peak Heavenly Immortal experts would lightly venture deep inside.
For Soul-Devouring Venerable to hide his true body in such a place perfectly matched his sinister, cunning nature and his habit of exploiting deadly environments.
“Nether Blood Sea… Soul Burial…”
Chen Ping silently repeated the words, his eyes turning sharp. “It seems I must make a trip to the most deadly forbidden land of the Nine Heavens.”
By now the battle below had also reached its conclusion.
When Elder Evil Bone saw Soul-Devouring Venerable’s remnant soul flee, his last shred of hope shattered.
His mind collapsed. The evil-god dharma manifestation lost an arm to Old Black’s frenzied Heaven-Splitting Dragon Claw, then suffered successive heavy blows from the fire dragon’s breath and the thunder dragon’s lightning. Finally it let out an unwilling wail and exploded into nothingness.
With the dharma manifestation broken, Elder Evil Bone and the remaining elders suffered backlash once more. They spurted blood wildly, their auras weakening to the extreme.
“We surrender! We surrender!”
Some elders broke down completely, threw away their treasures, and knelt to beg for mercy.
As the upper echelons lost all fighting strength, the surviving disciples of the Heavenly Evil Sect also lost the will to resist. They knelt and trembled on the ground.
Chen Ping descended. His gaze swept across the devastated battlefield strewn with corpses, finally settling on Elder Evil Bone, whose face was ashen as he was pinned down by several dragons.
“Where exactly in the Nether Blood Sea is Soul-Devouring Venerable’s true body hidden? What comes after ‘Soul Burial’?”
Chen Ping asked directly, his voice ice-cold.
Elder Evil Bone gave a bleak laugh, blood continuously spilling from the corner of his mouth. “Heh… heh heh… Chen Ping, you have won… But you think you can find His Venerable? Keep dreaming! His Venerable’s divine abilities are boundless, his plans flawless. How could you possibly fathom them?”
“I know nothing! And even if I did, I would never tell you!”
A trace of madness and resolve flashed in his eyes. Clearly he had no intention of cooperating.
Chen Ping was not surprised. Demonic path tycoons, especially someone like Elder Evil Bone, were usually unafraid of death, or rather, they knew surrender meant death anyway.
“You will talk.”
Chen Ping said calmly. The Demon-Suppressing Tower appeared once more in his palm. A suction force aimed specifically at divine souls instantly enveloped Elder Evil Bone.
He did not need the elder to speak willingly. The Demon-Suppressing Tower possessed the ability to refine and search souls. The process would simply be slower and far more painful than extracting information from a willing or powerless soul.
“No! You will never!”
Feeling his soul about to be torn away, Elder Evil Bone let out a terrified roar and attempted to detonate his own divine soul.
“Suppress!”
Chen Ping gave a cold hum. Radiance flared from the Demon-Suppressing Tower, instantly crushing all resistance. It began forcibly extracting and refining the elder’s divine soul, peeling away the memory fragments within.
