Ling Tian listened to Ghost Hand Yue Nanshan’s words, completely unconcerned, and instead smiled.
“Indeed, if you don’t speak, it’s difficult to pry your mouth open. However, don’t you know that there are methods in this world that allow me to know what you’re thinking without you saying a word?”
“Heh heh, bragging without a draft…” Yue Nanshan sneered.
“You think I’m bragging? Then I’ll let you open your eyes. Since you’re someone from the crooked path, you must have heard of a technique called Soul Searching Art!”
When Ling Tian uttered the words “Soul Searching Art,” Ghost Hand Yue Nanshan’s expression instantly changed.
He had certainly heard of the reputation of Soul Searching Art. It was said to be a very sinister cultivation or sorcery technique that allowed the user to directly extract relevant information from the target’s mind.
However, this Soul Searching Art was particularly cruel. Those who had undergone it either lost all consciousness and became vegetative, or died immediately after the procedure!
“No, no, you can’t do this to me, you can’t! You’re from the Righteous Alliance, aren’t you the ones who preach justice? How can you use such a venomous method!”
Yue Nanshan’s words directly amused Ling Tian.
“Let me correct a few of your mistakes. Firstly, when dealing with enemies, there’s no such thing as evil or not evil. Especially when dealing with people like you who are steeped in sin and have committed countless atrocities, any cruel method is justifiable! Secondly, I have no enmity with you, yet you dare to come to my doorstep to cause trouble and take my life. It wouldn’t be excessive even if I were to flay you alive with a knife right now!”
Ling Tian’s Soul Searching Art was not learned from his first or second master. Neither Buddhism nor Taoism possessed such cruel and wicked techniques. Ling Tian learned it from his fourth master, the King of Assassins, Xiang Yuntian. As a top assassin, obtaining intelligence was a necessary skill. However, some people were stubborn, and for urgent missions, certain methods had to be employed. Of course, Ling Tian had only learned this method but had never practiced it.
However, as Ling Tian gained vast knowledge from the Spiritual Realm, especially after his soul was refined in the Soul Refining Furnace, his mastery over the mysterious domain of the soul deepened. He combined these insights with what his fourth master taught him, gaining further understanding of Soul Searching Art.
Currently, Ling Tian was very interested in Yue Nanshan’s motives, so he decided to give it a try. Ling Tian felt no burden in striking down someone whose hands were stained with blood and who had committed heinous crimes; he considered it eliminating a menace for the people.
With this thought, Ling Tian stepped forward and pricked Yue Nanshan’s body with silver needles, one after another. This time, Ling Tian used the Life-Taking Needle Technique. As the needles were inserted, Yue Nanshan’s sense of pain was amplified dozens of times in an instant. He was already in pain from being hit in the face with a brick by Ling Tian and falling from the tree, and now this pain was suddenly magnified.
At this moment, Yue Nanshan couldn’t bear it. He felt as if his wounds were being sliced by a small knife, then sprinkled with salt, and then seared with a hot iron.
“Ah… hiss… Kill me, kill me, give me a quick end.”
Ling Tian’s lips curled into a cold smile, his heart as hard as steel. When this scoundrel massacred entire families, had he ever thought of showing mercy!
The reason for using the Soul-Seeking Needle before employing Soul Searching Art was to better establish a connection between their souls and broaden the channel for information transfer. Originally, the Soul Searching Art learned from his fourth master did not include this step; this was considered Ling Tian’s innovative creation through analogy.
Ling Tian saw that the situation was almost ready. Under extreme pain, the opponent’s spirit was nearing collapse, and this was the most effective time to use Soul Searching Art. Ling Tian stepped forward, rapidly forming hand seals, chanting incantations. An invisible energy emanated from Ling Tian, enveloping both of them. Then, Ling Tian extended his hands, his right four fingers pressing against the top of Yue Nanshan’s head. His right thumb was precisely aimed at Yue Nanshan’s glabella. Ling Tian’s left hand was in the same posture, but his left hand pressed against his own head, his thumb also aimed at his glabella!
When Ling Tian’s thumbs simultaneously touched both their glabella, Ling Tian could feel a vast amount of information, like a surging ocean, pouring into his spiritual world from the opponent’s mind. Ling Tian calmed himself and quickly began to sift through the information transmitted from the opponent’s brain. This information started from recent events and gradually extended backward. Among this information, Ling Tian saw Jin Peng, Bai Guanghai, and even the Gu King…
However, abruptly, the information transmission ceased. Ling Tian felt as if his head had been struck by a hammer. Ling Tian opened his eyes, shook his head, and then realized that Yue Nanshan opposite him had already breathed his last. Using Soul Searching Art on a dead person would yield nothing, just like trying to download data from a shut-down computer.
Ling Tian pondered for a moment and understood what had happened. His fourth master, Xiang Yuntian, would typically use Soul Searching Art for a very short period, focusing only on the most critical information needed at the moment. Moreover, using Soul Searching Art was a great burden on the practitioner. A large influx of external information entering the brain could easily cause a normal person’s mind to crash and lead to death.
However, Xiang Yuntian had not anticipated a freak like Ling Tian. This fellow had encountered many fortunate encounters, and his brain capacity had been fully developed, making it effortless for him to process such information. Especially since Ling Tian had used the Life-Taking Needle Technique on Yue Nanshan before using Soul Searching Art, which increased the information transmission rate between them by several times.
Ling Tian had only taken about ten minutes to gather nearly a year’s worth of memories from his opponent into his mind. Of course, the side effect of doing so was immense destruction and damage to the target’s body and soul. Thus, Yue Nanshan perished, completely freed.
Ling Tian picked up another brick and smashed it onto Yue Nanshan’s head. His internal energy penetrated directly into the brain, instantly turning it into a mess of brain matter. Ling Tian also knew well that if the people of the Righteous Alliance found out he knew Soul Searching Art, he might also be labeled as belonging to the crooked path, and Ling Tian did not want to cause such trouble.
Ling Tian took out his phone, opened the GPS, and then sat by the roadside, beginning to process the information he had obtained from Yue Nanshan’s mind.