Give up on continuing to torture him, and stop letting the Netherfire continue to burn his soul!
To put it bluntly, he's still afraid of pain, otherwise he would have kept quiet and wouldn't have been advised to give up...
Ling seemed not to hear Jiang Quan's words. While instructing Xiao Jiu within the space to continue burning his soul with Netherfire, he said with a half-smile:
"Your suffering will be relieved immediately once you are willing to tell us the purpose of your trip."
Upon hearing Zero's words, a flicker of hesitation crossed Jiang Quan's face, which was contorted with pain.
Zero is absolutely right.
He won't kill him, but he can torture him, gradually wearing down the last bit of toughness and resilience in his heart...
He can endure it for a while, but not forever.
The agony of his soul being burned is endless; as long as that flame isn't extinguished, it will continue to scorch his soul. Though he doesn't die, he will forever suffer this living hell...
His hesitation was clearly seen by Xiao Jiu, who controlled the size of the Netherworld Fire.
“Master, he’s starting to hesitate.”
"Very good, add another layer of fire."
Ling said indifferently, not taking Jiang Quan seriously at all.
Moreover, he never shows mercy to his enemies!
"Ahhh—I'll talk! I'll talk! Let me go! I'm willing to talk!"
Finally, under Xiao Jiu's repeated scorching of the Netherworld Fire, Jiang Quan finally softened and stopped insisting.
Perhaps guessing that Jiang Quan wouldn't be so easily obedient, Ling said quietly:
"Don't try anything funny. You only get one chance, so it's up to you whether you seize it or not."
Upon hearing Ling's words, Jiang Quan's initial thought of saying something casually and trying to get away with it vanished.
He knew this boy wasn't lying to him. If he said he'd give him a chance, he would definitely do it! If he said he'd give him a chance, he meant it.
"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything... but could you please put the fire down first... I can't speak like this..."
Jiang Quan had always thought that it was the flames of zero control that were burning him. Now that he had given in, he wanted to negotiate with him to remove the flames.
Ling slightly narrowed her eyes, actually communicating with Xiao Jiu inside the space—
"Xiao Jiu, if we withdraw the flames, will he escape control?"
"No, Master. My Netherfire can be condensed to a tiny wisp and stored in his soul. Even if he manages to escape, I can immediately activate that wisp of flame. He won't be able to escape."
"Then reduce the flame size and continue roasting him, keeping him in a moderate amount of pain."
"Yes, Master."
Zero did not make Xiao Jiu withdraw the Netherworld Fire, but only made him reduce the power of the flames. Jiang Quan felt that the pain of his soul body had lessened a lot, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Although it still hurt, it was within his tolerance level. Being sensible, he didn't say much and asked directly:
What do you want to know?
He wasn't that stupid to tell the boy his whereabouts and purpose directly.
He was certain that Zero wouldn't know his purpose, otherwise he wouldn't have tortured him like this just to get some information.
He's now outwardly saying he'll tell everyone, but in reality, he's using a feigned retreat to advance, keeping Zero from knowing what information he has.
Ling could easily guess his little scheme, and directly threw out a question that forced Jiang Quan to tell him everything he knew:
"Just tell me why you're arresting these people."
Jiang Quan: "..."
Why are these people being arrested?
Isn't that the purpose of his trip?
If I tell him, wouldn't that reveal their thoughts?
His eyes darted around, and Jiang Quan gave an ambiguous answer:
“These are the people the higher-ups want; I’m just responsible for taking them back.”
This statement is a mixture of truth and falsehood; it neither reveals his true purpose nor fails to answer Zero's question.
"oh."
Zero simply responded with a "yes," which was considered as hearing his answer.
"Then tell me, who does this 'above' refer to, and what is the purpose of bringing them back?"
Two more questions were posed to Jiang Quan, and this time even the Black Dragon Clan members perked up their ears.
They also wanted to know what the man in the black robes wanted to do with them...
Seeing that his bluff hadn't glossed over the matter, but instead made Ling's gaze towards him even colder, and that the pain felt by his soul seemed to have deepened slightly, Jiang Quan gritted his teeth and finally told her the truth:
“I am merely a subordinate; the master is the one in charge of everything. As for the master’s name, I am not qualified to know it; we all address him as ‘master’.”
After saying that, he glanced cautiously at Zero, and seeing that he didn't react, he continued:
"As for why these people were arrested, it was simply because I was ordered by my master. We subordinates cannot presume to know what our master is thinking, and I only know a little bit..."
"Then tell me the 'little bit' you know. Remember, tell me everything, down to the smallest detail, without missing a single word."
Although the words were seemingly harmless, Jiang Quan sensed a crisis in them no less intense than when facing his master. Without hesitation, he spoke the truth:
"My master has a grand plan, a plan he has been implementing for a long time. Each step is managed by different people, and I am responsible for the first step."
"The upper realm is in turmoil, and many people have descended to the lower realm voluntarily or been forced to do so for various reasons. In the master's view, this is the first step in implementing his plan."
"Those who come from the upper realm to the lower realm are generally people with spiritual power, that is, spiritual cultivators. In the master's plan, spiritual cultivators are an indispensable element..."
"Those we captured were all people with spiritual power, and among them were quite a few with considerable strength."
At this point, perhaps fearing that Zero wouldn't understand, he simply laid it all out:
"Let's do it today. Three of them have already been sent away ahead of schedule using special methods."
The moment Jiang Quan uttered the word "three," the Black Dragon Clan members instantly realized he was referring to their eldest brother, Zhou Shi, and Qi Sheng. They couldn't stand it any longer and angrily retorted:
"Where did you take our eldest brother?"
"Give us back our brothers!"
"Don't think that just because you're a spirit now we can't do anything to you. This lord can deal with you with ease. If you know what's good for you, quickly tell us everything you know..."
The last sentence made not only the Black Dragon Clan members feel ashamed, but even Zi You, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, feel a pang of embarrassment...
Their ability to "borrow the tiger's power" is quite impressive...
The speaker glanced at Zero and, seeing that he wasn't angry, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He just said those things without permission. If the adults blamed them, they would be finished... Luckily, the adults didn't hold it against them...
Touching their still wildly beating hearts, the Black Dragon Clan members tacitly fell silent.
Ling naturally wouldn't get angry over a single sentence, especially since the man was right; he did indeed need Jiang Quan to provide all the information.
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