"May I ask where our Xu Family has offended you, sir, to warrant such a murderous assault? If it's wealth you seek, we are willing to give all our assets to you, just to spare our family's lives."
Xu Liangpan's voice was hoarse as he saw his third son's severed head on the table, yet he still had to beg Su Jie for mercy.
Su Jie pointed at the corpses of the butchered commoners scattered on the ground, raising his eyebrows as he spoke, "When you killed those commoners, did they not beg for their lives?"
Xu Liangpan was trembling all over, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "These commoners were the ones driven away by the court; in doing what we did, we were also helping relieve the court of its worries. Otherwise, leaving these commoners unchecked as they stormed the cities and countryside, who knows what destruction and casualties they would have caused."
Upon hearing Su Jie speak up for the commoners, and apparently taking him for a member of the righteous, Xu Juyi said, "Those commoners are merely a disaster; we have greater uses than them, and naturally, we cannot let them run amok. Which righteous sect do you belong to? Perhaps our Xu Family even knows you. Let's not flood the Dragon King's Temple by mistake."
Su Jie shook his head with amusement, "Who among the righteous would drive out ghosts in this way? I am thoroughly a Demon Cultivator. As a disciple of the Guan Chao Pavilion, you should have heard of the bounty on my head—five million Spirit Stones. Sometimes I even think about taking my own head to claim the reward."
"Corpse Hand Man Slaughter, Su Jie."
The faces of Xu Liangpan and Xu Juyi went pale as they immediately thought of Su Jie's notoriety. His wanted poster still hung at the city gates of Xia Guang City.
"By your logic, the Demon Path slaughtering the righteous can also be considered relieving the worries of my Ghost Ridge Palace. Plus, since I am stronger than you, coming here today to exterminate your clan is justified. For instance, just now, your sophistry—it displeases me, so..."
While speaking, Su Jie's gaze landed on Xu Liangpan, and two beams of purple light shot out, completely dissolving Xu Liangpan where he stood.
Xu Juyi's soul was terrified, his guts turned to water by Su Jie's murderous technique of killing without batting an eye.
Su Jie lounged, legs crossed, examining the exquisite porcelain on the table, and spoke indifferently to Xu Juyi, "I'm quite interested in the Blood Elixirs you've been producing. With the resources at the Xu Family's disposal, to perform such demonic acts—what do you intend to use these Blood Elixirs for?"
"You devil, even if I told you, I would die. You will get no information from me."
As soon as Xu Juyi finished shouting, he turned and leapt out the window, unwilling to follow in his father's footsteps.
Outside, the entire Xu Family estate had turned into a hell on earth, with corpses everywhere. Under the slaughter of a few Fierce Ghosts, resistance or hiding were futile; death was inescapable.
Xu Juyi had just jumped through the window and not yet landed when a black cloud swooped down at incredible speed.
The black cloud was composed of densely packed human-faced moths, by the tens or hundreds of thousands. They enveloped Xu Juyi, forming a cocoon of insects around him.
"We Demon Cultivators enjoy stubborn mouths the most; I have many techniques that come in useful."
Su Jie snapped his fingers, a playful smile spreading across his face.
Wrapped mid-air, Xu Juyi was struck by terror as he found the human-faced moths burrowing into his skin, beginning to nibble away at his insides.
The agony of the insects devouring his body, physically experiencing his flesh and organs being chewed away bit by bit, was excruciating—every inch of skin screamed in unbearable pain.
What was even more desperate was that he couldn't die if he wanted to.
"Come on, don't give up the ghost so easily! I'm very patient. If you don't talk for a day, they bite for a day; if you last ten days, they gnaw for ten days. Let's see who outlasts whom."
Su Jie tossed a few Healing Pills into him, sustaining Xu Juyi's injuries.
Xu Juyi passed out from the pain, only to be woken by the torture again. Seeing Su Jie's face was like seeing the most terrifying enemy in his life.
"I'll speak; I'll tell everything."
In just over a dozen seconds, Xu Juyi couldn't hold on any longer. The pain swept over him like tidal waves, endless and eternal, making every second feel like a year. The pain was worse than death, and he could no longer keep up a facade of defiance.
"The Blood Elixirs are destined for Zhuang Liangru of the Guan Chao Pavilion's Supreme Elder. We were just carrying out orders."
At this familiar name, Su Jie's eyes narrowed, "Zhuang Liangru? This Supreme Elder of the Guan Chao Pavilion ordered you to create Blood Elixirs? If you're lying, you know the consequences."
"It's... Zhuang Liangru. During the sect war, Zhuang Liangru was gravely injured by the Sect Master of Ghost Ridge Palace with an annual ring worm, losing half of his body. The temporal poison from the worm continues to corrode his body, and his wounds have not healed over a long time. To heal, besides a Ten-thousand-year-old Elixir, only a Human Refining Blood Pill can gradually eradicate the temporal poison."
In order to end his suffering, Xu Juyi did not dare conceal anything and spilled everything, "Half a year ago, Zhuang Liangru went to Liuyun Manor to recuperate in secret to avoid detection at Guan Chao Pavilion. He also ordered the entire Liuyun Manor to collect Blood Elixirs for him, and who knows how many people have been killed for it. The Blood Elixirs we are currently refining ultimately must also be sent to Liuyun Manor."
Stroking his chin, Su Jie found the information quite heavy; he had seen annual ring worms before but hadn't anticipated that Zhuang Liangru, a practitioner of the Taoist Platform Realm, would be left with incurable injuries.
The mention of Liuyun Manor also struck a chord with Su Jie.
It was one of the five major certified merchants under Ghost Ridge Palace, conducting extensive human slave trade with them. Now it turns out they provided Blood Elixirs for Zhuang Liangru as well.
"Liuyun Manor, Zhuang Liangru, interesting."
Su Jie's eyes flickered, his mind spinning with calculations.