On Blackwind Mountain, shrouded in swirling black mist, a figure sat in a pitch-black cave, cultivating in seclusion. A deep, eerie green light emanated from its body, casting a spectral glow upon the cave. In this light, one could clearly see the cave's surroundings piled high with white bones. These skeletons were complete, without a single fracture, and did not appear old.
Most notably, these complete skeletons were all human-shaped, and judging from their size, they were all the remains of children, numbering over a thousand, stacked on either side of the cave.
Needless to say, this figure was none other than the Blackwind Mountain demon.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, the air in the cave vibrated, followed by a "poof" sound from the Blackwind Mountain demon, as if some kind of bottleneck had been broken through. The green light emanating from the demon intensified sharply, and its aura instantly surged to its peak.
"Rumble!"
The entire cave trembled violently due to the Blackwind Mountain demon's aura, as if it were about to collapse. However, the trembling soon ceased as the demon quickly restrained its aura.
"The human body elixir concocted from the essence and souls of a thousand young boys and girls not only allowed me to break through a bottleneck that had held me back for many years, but it also rejuvenated me. This Heaven Refining Technique truly lives up to its legendary reputation."
The Blackwind Mountain demon spoke within the cave, but its voice was surprisingly young, even somewhat childish, although its tone betrayed a sense of vicissitude, hardly befitting a young person.
With a wave of its hand, the Blackwind Mountain demon sent several luminous pearls soaring, embedding them into the stone walls. The pearls were very bright, and the light they emitted instantly illuminated the cave.
And the Blackwind Mountain demon revealed its true face.
It was a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties, but the vicissitudes deep within his eyes proved that he was not a true youth.
The Blackwind Mountain demon felt the surge of power within its body, and its heart filled with excitement. It glanced at the skeletons left in the cave, its eyes devoid of any emotion, its expression even quite cold.
"Ten years is almost up. After refining the young boys and girls from the surrounding towns into great demons, I'll seek revenge on that little bitch."
As if thinking of some enemy, the Blackwind Mountain demon's young, fair face suddenly became twisted.
"Challengers? Hmph, I've already broken through to the Saint Realm. You better hope you've left this place, you stinky bitch, or I, Black Cloud, will tear you to pieces to avenge my sect."
The Blackwind Mountain demon, calling himself Black Cloud, roared, his voice like thunder, instantly shattering the skeletons in the cave into white powder.
"Who's there?"
Suddenly, Black Cloud sensed someone approaching and turned his sinister gaze towards the cave's only entrance.
Two figures, one red and one black, walked in.
The red figure was naturally Ye Hongyi, while the Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc wore a black robe, also exceptionally valiant.
Black Cloud sensed the auras of Ye Hongyi and the Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc and sneered, "One at the fifth level of the Transcendent Realm, and the other at the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm. Two wet-behind-the-ears kids dare to come and vanquish demons?"
Listening to Black Cloud's words, it seemed that during these ten years, there had been people who wanted to eliminate him, this "Blackwind Mountain demon," but clearly, those who came had already become his victims.
Ye Hongyi remained silent, coldly staring at Black Cloud. The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc beside her said to Ye Hongyi, "Miss, there are probably more than just the hundred pairs of young boys and girls that the tavern owner mentioned. There are at least a thousand."
Upon hearing this, Ye Hongyi's face darkened, and she said, "It seems that Blackwind Town wasn't the only place affected. Other places have also been harmed."
The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc nodded.
"You two... arrogant! How dare you ignore me!"
Seeing the two people in front of him talking to each other as if he didn't exist, Black Cloud was completely enraged.
"You mere ants of the Transcendent Realm dare to be so presumptuous in front of me. Today, I will take your heads to celebrate my achievement of the Saint Realm. Die!"
Black Cloud attacked furiously, but without using his full strength. In his eyes, the two were only at the Transcendent Realm. Unless they were both as freakish as that bitch from ten years ago, but he didn't believe that there were so many freakish geniuses in the world. That woman from ten years ago had a special physique, and even among special physiques, she was one of the best.
He didn't believe that these two were as terrifying as that woman.
"Die!"
Black Cloud snorted coldly, his left and right hands striking out simultaneously. The image of their heads being crushed by him already appeared in his mind, and a perverted smile appeared on his face.
But the next moment, he suddenly felt a tremendous force impacting his body. With a "bang," Black Cloud's figure flew out like a meteor, crashing into the stone wall of the cave, creating a human-shaped crater.
"Cough, cough..."
Black Cloud coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his aura weakened significantly, and his face became extremely pale. A fist print appeared on his chest, causing him immense pain. But compared to the physical pain, he was in even greater mental anguish.
He had no idea what had happened. In his impression, he seemed to have been hit by a dragon?
A dragon? How was that possible? That was a legendary creature... No, it was possible. The Heaven Refining Technique he obtained from his master was also a legendary immortal technique.
But unfortunately, this Heaven Refining Technique was only an auxiliary technique, without any supernatural powers or spells, otherwise...
After Ye Hongyi heavily injured Black Cloud with a punch, she said to the Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc, "Sky Roc, collect the ashes on the ground."
"Okay." The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc did not hesitate and directly collected the scattered ashes of the children.
Ye Hongyi then slowly walked towards Black Cloud with light steps. At this time, Black Cloud was seriously injured. Ye Hongyi's punch was the True Dragon Fist Technique. Not to mention someone who had just reached the Saint Realm, even an ordinary peak Saint Realm cultivator would not dare to easily withstand Ye Hongyi's punch. If Ye Hongyi hadn't held back, this punch would have been enough to turn Black Cloud into dust.
Black Cloud watched Ye Hongyi walk over, and the figure from back then involuntarily appeared in his mind. Vaguely, he superimposed the figure that destroyed their sect back then onto Ye Hongyi, finding that although the two had different clothes and temperaments, their figures were very similar.
The woman back then had covered her face, surrounded by immortal energy, making it impossible to see her face.
"Impossible, impossible, are you that person from back then?" Black Cloud looked at Ye Hongyi, who was getting closer and closer. He forgot all his previous bold words, and only fear remained in his heart.
Ye Hongyi's face froze, and she couldn't help but ask in a cold voice, "Who are you talking about, that person from back then?"
But Black Cloud was already scared out of his wits and lost his mind, not listening to Ye Hongyi's words at all. The scene of their sect being destroyed by a white-clothed woman ten years ago constantly flashed in his mind.
Ye Hongyi frowned slightly. After thinking about it, she stretched out her slender fingers, which emitted a divine glow. The divine glow landed on Black Cloud's head and instantly entered Black Cloud's divine sea, reading his memories.
Forcibly reading other people's memories would cause damage to their souls, turning them into idiots at best, and leading to death and the dissipation of their cultivation at worst. Under normal circumstances, Ye Hongyi was unwilling to use such methods.
But today was different. Not to mention that Black Cloud might know information about her sister, just the fact that he had harmed thousands of young boys and girls meant that even if Ye Hongyi pulled out his soul and lit a sky lantern, it wouldn't be excessive.
Before long, Ye Hongyi retracted her hand, a glint flashing in her eyes.
"Sister, so you've been here before." Ye Hongyi's expression was complicated. Although the Holy Maiden of Yaochi had been here, it was already ten years ago. Whether she was still here now was unknown.
Black Cloud, whose memory had been forcibly read, now had white eyes, devoid of any expression, and was foaming at the mouth, with only his last breath remaining, on the verge of death.
Ye Hongyi glanced at Black Cloud indifferently, then said softly, "Sky Roc."
"Here!" The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc responded.
"Do you have any methods of torturing people? Preferably ones that can make the other person feel pain while also keeping them conscious."
Ye Hongyi asked.
"Yes." The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc nodded and said, "Our ancient clan has a cruel punishment that was banned because it was too brutal."
"What is it?" Ye Hongyi asked curiously.
"It's refining the other person's soul into lamp oil using a special method. This method can preserve a person's will. Then, the lamp oil is tempered with true fire. During this process, as long as the lamp oil isn't completely burned, the person will forever feel pain, unable to live and unable to die," the Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc said.
"This method was used by the ancient clan to deal with our human race in the past, right?" Ye Hongyi asked.
The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc's face showed a hint of embarrassment upon hearing this, but he just scratched his head and didn't speak.
Ye Hongyi didn't mind. In the past, the human race and the ancient clans were like fire and water, each wishing to destroy the other. It wasn't until her master was born, and the human race became powerful, even suppressing all races, that this situation improved.
"Then use it on him!" Ye Hongyi pointed at Black Cloud and said.
The Ancient Crown Prince of the Sky Roc nodded and then said, "Miss, would you like to go out and avoid it?"
Ye Hongyi nodded and walked out of the cave, arriving at a cliffside clearing. Before long, she heard Black Cloud's incomparably shrill screams coming from inside the cave, but there was not the slightest pity on Ye Hongyi's face. If she were to feel pity, she would only feel pity for the children who had been poisoned by Black Cloud.
Ye Hongyi took out a storage ring. This ring belonged to Black Cloud. By reading Black Cloud's memories, she not only learned about the Holy Maiden of Yaochi's information, but also learned some unknown secrets.
For example, the reason why Black Cloud's sect was destroyed by her sister was actually very simple. The things Black Cloud's sect did were the same as what Black Cloud did, but they were done very secretly, but her sister still found out, so she destroyed them.
And also... the Heaven Refining Technique.
"Hmm?"
Just as Ye Hongyi was about to check Black Cloud's storage ring, she sensed someone coming towards the mountaintop.
And not just one person, but two people.
