Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1742: Chapter 917: Capture (Part 2)

Though the soul of the illusion clone was impacted and became momentarily confused, Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul suffered even more. The soul of the Nascent Soul was impacted by the energy shell of the illusion clone first before colliding with the soul of the illusion clone.

The Nascent Soul also entered a brief state of dizziness, but unfortunately, while the illusion clone was in a daze, the four late-stage Golden Corpses and the Golden Winged Dapeng were all being controlled remotely by Li Shiming’s separate brains.

While the illusion clone and Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul were simultaneously in a stagnant state, the four late-stage Golden Corpses reached the Nascent Soul. Each released a stream of Yin Cold Energy, while the Golden Winged Dapeng unleashed a stream of five-colored energy, creating a two-layered cage trapping the Nascent Soul within.

The illusion clone awoke and, seeing the Nascent Soul trapped within the two-layer energy confinement, smiled.

He took out a prohibition talisman from his soul crystal ring. At this moment, Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul also awoke but was unable to move due to the confinement of two layers of cages.

It could only watch as the illusion clone embedded the prohibition talisman into its body, causing the Nascent Soul to lose consciousness completely.

"This is quite an excellent material for research!" the illusion clone murmured to himself.

During the collision process between the Nascent Soul and the illusion clone, he discovered a peculiar phenomenon: it seemed that his illusion clone did not reject the foreign Nascent Soul.

During the docking process, the illusion clone suffered damage mainly from the soul collision, while the energy of the Nascent Soul did not cause much harm to the illusion clone.

The current environment was not suitable for research, so he stored the Nascent Soul in a prohibition jade box, specifically made for confining Nascent Souls.

At this moment, the six Great Cultivators had long collapsed nearby. Their attempt to block the four late-stage Golden Corpses resulted in such outcomes.

The illusion clone collected Hua Ying’s body and then grabbed Yi Xiao’s body, returning to the back of the Golden Winged Dapeng.

The Golden Winged Dapeng let out a cry, disappearing from the safe point in the sea, leaving chaos behind.

The Golden Winged Dapeng returned to the large flying boat of Luanyang Palace. From departure to return was only a matter of dozens of breaths.

"Mr. Li, Yi Xiao has been captured, wonderful!" Great Cultivator Jiang Hao exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the captured Great Cultivator Yi Xiao.

You couldn’t blame him for being impolite; Yi Xiao’s defection had greatly tarnished the prestige of Guiyuan Sect.

Guiyuan Sect, in order to restore its influence, had demanded war against Bitao Sect despite the significant decline in Great Cultivator strength.

Now that Great Cultivator Yi Xiao was finally caught, albeit by Li Shiming’s illusion clone, it was a joint action, and regardless of who captured Yi Xiao, Guiyuan Sect was on the winning side.

"Mr. Li, could you lend me Yi Xiao for a while? I need to interrogate him to uncover certain matters," Great Cultivator Jiang Hao asked, having calmed down quickly, aware of the need to extract information from Yi Xiao brought back by the illusion clone, asking somewhat embarrassingly.

"No problem, but you cannot release the prohibitions on him; I do not wish to capture him again. I must know whatever you find out!" the illusion clone waved his hand and said.

He too was curious how Great Cultivator Yi Xiao managed to find refuge in Bitao Sect; otherwise, he would have casually killed Yi Xiao earlier.

His interrogation techniques were learned when he was of a lower level, and he feared they might be insufficient against a Peak Great Cultivator.

"Phoenix Palace Master, I need a quiet room where Mr. Li can observe as I interrogate," Great Cultivator Jiang Hao requested from Phoenix Palace Master.

He expressed his open attitude toward interrogating Great Cultivator Yi Xiao aboard the flying boat of Luanyang Palace while allowing Li Shiming to observe.

"Use that room!" Phoenix Palace Master pointed to a room on the top level.

Great Cultivator Jiang Hao bowed to Phoenix Palace Master in gratitude and carried Yi Xiao Great Cultivator to the room.

The illusion clone followed behind him, entering the room together.

Phoenix Palace Master stood still, as Jiang Hao had not invited her, indicating his desire to keep her uninformed.

Her gaze shifted to the battlefield, where Bitao Sect’s Nascent Soul Cultivators had realized the safe point was compromised and began retreating.

Given the current situation, the war was effectively over.

Upon entering the room, Great Cultivator Jiang Hao took out an Array Plate. When activated, it created an isolating array covering the room.

"Mr. Li, if any secrets of Guiyuan Sect are revealed by Yi Xiao, I hope you will keep them confidential," Great Cultivator Jiang Hao earnestly requested of the illusion clone before beginning the interrogation.

"I will keep my mouth shut!" the illusion clone nodded in agreement.

Great Cultivator Jiang Hao didn’t demand any vows from the illusion clone, as he trusted Li Shiming greatly in terms of credibility.

He produced a rope woven from silver threads, utilizing high-quality material, though the illusion clone couldn’t discern its exact quality immediately.

Li Shiming deduced that the rope might be a peculiar artifact or a treasure.

"Please loosen the prohibitions on Yi Xiao a bit so he can speak!" Great Cultivator Jiang Hao bound Great Cultivator Yi Xiao with the rope and turned to the illusion clone.

While he had the capability to do it himself, Great Cultivator Yi Xiao’s prohibitions were set by the illusion clone, out of respect, he requested the illusion clone to adjust them.

The illusion clone obliged without hesitation, adjusting the strength of the prohibitions on Great Cultivator Yi Xiao.

Great Cultivator Yi Xiao awoke from an unconscious state, immediately understanding his predicament upon seeing the illusion clone and Great Cultivator Jiang Hao.

Upon noticing the silver rope, his eyes turned despondent.

"Heart Inquiry Rope, I didn’t expect Junior Brother Jiang to bring this treasure along; it seems I can’t keep my thoughts hidden!" He gave up resistance.

As a Great Cultivator from Guiyuan Sect, how could he not know the ’Heart Inquiry Rope’?

This treasure was used by Guiyuan Sect for interrogating significant offenders; no cultivator could withstand its influence.

Of course, the ’Heart Inquiry Rope’ wasn’t flawless; it only worked when the bound cultivator couldn’t use spiritual power.

Essentially, the ’Heart Inquiry Rope’ could only extract information from cultivators completely controlled.

"Yi Xiao, Guiyuan Sect has treated you well, why betray Guiyuan Sect?" Great Cultivator Jiang Hao asked furiously, eyes burning with anger.

Great Cultivator Yi Xiao had joined Guiyuan Sect during the Qi Refinement Realm, and Guiyuan Sect had nurtured him to a Peak Great Cultivator. Jiang Hao couldn’t comprehend why Great Cultivator Yi Xiao would betray Guiyuan Sect.

"Hahahaha, Guiyuan Sect treated me well! After Lin Yuan’s demise, Guiyuan Sect used forbidden techniques to forcibly elevate me to the Peak Great Cultivator Realm; did you ask my opinion?" Great Cultivator Yi Xiao, restricted by the ’Heart Inquiry Rope,’ spoke genuinely, but his expression relied on his emotions.

"You received great kindness from Guiyuan Sect. When it needs your strength, despite the grievance involved, forbidden techniques aren’t irreparable, and there’s a chance of recovery in the future. Is this your reason for betrayal?" Great Cultivator Jiang Hao shook his head, continuing to question.

"That’s only one reason. Initially, I didn’t plan to betray the sect; taking the ’Cold Heaven Scripture’ was merely a precaution. I schemed to blackmail Li Shiming for compensation of losses from forced elevation." Pausing, Great Cultivator Yi Xiao glanced at the illusion clone.

The illusion clone remained silent, coldly observing.

"When contemplating to pressure Li Shiming, I realized potential consequences. Given Li Shiming’s influence, should events be exposed, Guiyuan Sect likely wouldn’t protect me!" He smirked derisively at mentioning ’won’t protect me,’ facing Great Cultivator Jiang Hao.

After his incident, information from Guiyuan Sect hinted the sect decided to forsake him to mend relations with Li Shiming.