This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

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Cultivators' time is precious, yet not so precious.

Cultivators' cultivation contends with heaven for fate.

Foundation Establishment has two hundred years, Golden Core has five hundred years.

For Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they must break through to the Golden Core Stage within two hundred years to gain the additional three hundred years of life, which naturally means they cannot afford to waste a single second.

However, whether cultivators are practicing Cultivation Techniques or refining Magic Artifacts, it is often measured in months and years.

Thus, in a sufficiently long span, cultivators are also the ones who lack the concept of time the most.

Just like now.

All the guards in the tower are gathered here, quietly waiting for the interrogation results from the Prison Warden Office, oblivious to the passage of time.

...

Prison Warden Office.

Unlike the gloomy secular cells one might imagine, this place is clean and bright, untouched by dust.

Today's Prison Warden Office is more bustling than ever.

In one of the scattered rooms equipped with Spirit-restricting Formations, at this very moment, cultivators captured by the guards are imprisoned.

Inside one of the prison rooms, smoke fills the air, and the oddly scented sandalwood continues to burn.

This is the Soul-bewitching Incense, which has a significantly enhancing effect on the Soul-bewitching Technique used on cultivators.

Members of the Prison Warden Office have many varied methods of extracting information from cultivators.

The most common is to use some unique Techniques to torture the captured cultivators, who naturally confess everything when they can no longer endure the pain.

Yet among cultivators, many have firm wills and often endure pains that ordinary people cannot withstand.

At this time, more advanced methods are needed, such as Illusion Techniques, Soul-bewitching Techniques, and Soul Searching Techniques among others.

Liu Mi is a Spiritual Cultivator within the Prison Warden Office skilled in the Soul-bewitching Technique.

Liu Mi quietly sized up Xuan Ming, whose face was covered with terrifying blood spots.

Being familiar with his colleagues' methods, he immediately recognized these as traces left by bloodthirsty ants.

The bloodthirsty ants are exceptionally small and enter the cultivator's body through every pore, moving continuously inside, consuming blood until the cultivator is drained dry, turning into a mummified corpse.

During this process, the affected cultivator not only feels intense itching all over but also unbearable pain, certainly qualifying as a form of torture.

Yet, Xuan Ming faced such brutal torture and still did not speak up, so they had handed Xuan Ming over to him.

Thinking this, Liu Mi sighed, "To have such resolve, why then engage in such forbidden acts."

Xuan Ming looked at Liu Mi expressionlessly, "The Evil Cultivation Faction has always been this way; this is a natural and justified act, where does the talk of prohibition come from?"

Liu Mi shook his head, no longer speaking to Xuan Ming.

Arguing over whose beliefs are correct has always been a meaningless endeavor.

Mentally stirring, Liu Mi's immense Divine Soul power poured out from his forehead, surging towards Xuan Ming.

Xuan Ming's cold eyes gradually lost their light, his pupils moving upward, leaving only the whites visible.

This was the sign that the Soul-bewitching Technique was taking effect.

Suddenly, Liu Mi's expression changed, and then his steps faltered, nearly causing him to stumble and fall.

"You!" Stabilizing himself, Liu Mi pointed at Xuan Ming, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Just when the Soul-bewitching Technique took effect, Xuan Ming, disregarding the restrictions of the Spirit-restricting Formation, employed some peculiar spell to dissolve his own Divine Soul.

The fluctuation from the collapse of his Divine Soul also gave Liu Mi, who had sent his Divine Soul power into Xuan Ming's Divine Soul, a harsh blow.

Yet Xuan Ming's situation was worse, as blood continuously seeped from all seven apertures of his head.

Once the Divine Soul collapses, it truly means the soul is scattered and there is no chance for reincarnation.

Xuan Ming's resolute action caught Liu Mi off guard.

"You so-called righteous people think you can get the information you want from me? Dream on!"

Seeing Liu Mi's gloomy expression, Xuan Ming chuckled darkly and then slowly closed his eyes.

His body, showing no signs of life, could no longer support him standing; it fell directly to the ground like a pool of mud.

Clack!

A chess piece heavily landed on the board.

The player, a burly man looking about thirty years old, wore a gray robe; his high nose and broad mouth underlined by a large, square face that showed signs of weathering.

"Have you still not found the reason for the failed plot to seize the mirror in Yuanshan City?"

Two cold, electric-like gazes swiftly circled the face of the man opposite him.

Sitting across from the burly man was an old man with white hair and beard.

If Dantai Qingrun were here, he would certainly recognize that this old man was Luo Yan, the former City Lord of Yuanshan City, who had vanished without a trace after the battle there.

Luo Yan looked at the two cannons that had crossed the river on the chessboard, his expression darkened as he lightly moved a piece, positioning a knight defensively.

"Lord Asura, I have thoroughly investigated all those involved in the Yuanshan City operation and found no clues.

However, having strategized in Yuanshan City for many years, meticulously planning every detail, I can find no other reason for the failure of the mirror-snatching plan aside from there being a traitor within."

It turned out the burly middle-aged man was indeed Asura, who supervised the Zhenjiang region for the Prison Warden Office.

"If you have played chess for an hour and still don't know who the lousy player is," Asura responded indifferently, advancing his chariot into the camp, the pieces on the board―chariot, horse, cannon―aligned to the edge in a three-piece retreating movement.

"Then you are that lousy player!"

Luo Yan fell silent for a long while, his voice hoarse: "Your subordinate understands."

Asura made a killing move, capturing Luo Yan's flying horse in one bite.

"News just came in, it's unknown where the leak happened, but Zhenjiang Tower mobilized all its guarding cultivators, rounding up those evil cultivators who collaborated with us and were involved in crafting corpse puppets for us."

Luo Yan's hand, which was lifting a piece, trembled slightly but eventually steadied as he placed a bishop in the diagonal to thwart Asura's continuous attacks.

"Our people, in contact with those evil cultivators, never revealed their true identities nor their faces.

Even if Zhenjiang Tower goes to great lengths, forcing those evil cultivators to open up, they shouldn't be able to obtain any meaningful information, right?"

Asura, expressionless, moved his chariot across, capturing the bishop: "Among all the Hall Masters, you are the most cautious and thorough in your actions, meticulously planning everything. I had the greatest respect for you.

But doesn't the current situation look familiar to you?

In Yuanshan City, you were just as self-deceptive, neglecting the signs even though you found them, stubbornly sticking to the original plan and causing years of arrangements in Yuanshan City to go to waste.

Is that not enough, having gone through that battle, for you not to learn your lesson?"

Feeling the dissatisfaction in Asura's words, Luo Yan broke out in a slight cold sweat on his back, hurriedly moving his chariot back in defense: "You're right in your reprimand, sir. So now?"

Asura made a cannon jump, capturing the chariot Luo Yan had pulled back: "Do you know what is most taboo in playing chess?"

Without waiting for Luo Yan to answer, Asura spoke with a cold tone: "The most feared thing in chess is falling into the opponent's rhythm.

Just like you are now, being passive, continually moving pieces in defense against my attacks, yet every step you take is within my expectations.

Playing chess like this, there's no chance of winning."

Luo Yan, taken aback as if enlightened, gradually changed his movements, isolating a pawn: "So, what we need to do now is to disrupt the rhythm of Zhenjiang Tower's actions."

Asura glanced at the direction of Luo Yan's pieces, chuckling coldly: "Good understanding, but by the time you realized this and decided to take the initiative to disrupt my arrangement, I see it as merely futile struggling."

Luo Yan's expression became somewhat embarrassed, mixed with a bit of confusion: "Then... what should we do?"

Asura reached out, crossed the boundary of Chu and Han, gently picked up Luo Yan's general piece, then suddenly flipped the chessboard.

Pieces scattered, rolling onto the ground.

Asura tightly held onto the general in his hand, his tone full of murderous intent: "Paying respect to the gods relies on incense; playing Chinese chess relies on the general!

As long as the general is still in play, no matter how poor the game, it's not considered a loss yet.

Since facing off directly has already put us at a disadvantage, why not just flip the chessboard!"