The silver radiance of Liang Ze's sword illuminated the damp underground chamber. The tip of his blade hovered a mere inch from Yan Kesh's throat.
"Explain." Liang Ze's voice was as cold as absolute zero. "Why is Yan Bohai's corpse here? And why is he still breathing?"
Yan Kesh, gripping the chains binding Yan Bohai, did not retreat. Sweat drenched his face, veins bulging along his neck. He did not look at Liang Ze with fear—but with desperation.
"Observer Lord! Don't just stand there! Help me suppress the seal!" Yan Kesh shouted. "The demon inside his body is about to explode!"
"Absurd. You've been torturing him."
"Torturing him?!" Yan Kesh burst into hysterical laughter. "Look at his eyes! Look at his aura! Does that look like a human cultivator's aura to you?!"
Liang Ze turned toward Yan Bohai.
The man hanging from the chains was indeed horrifying. His body was half-frozen, half-charred. Worse still, his eyes were pitch-black, devoid of any whites, and thick black smoke seeped from his mouth.
This was not natural.
It was the effect of the bone necklace demonic artifact that He Qiu had just installed—combined with Yan Kesh's own Audit manipulation.
Inside his mind, Yan Kesh was executing a frenzied transaction.
[EMERGENCY TRANSACTION]
[Source: All Negative Energy Reserves in Storage]
[Target: Yan Bohai's Body]
[Objective: Qi Overload (Simulated Demonic Possession)]
Yan Kesh pumped the remaining "waste energy" into Yan Bohai's ruined body. His damaged meridians could not withstand the pressure. They began to crack, emitting a chaotic aura eerily similar to Demonic Qi.
"GRAAAHHH!"
Yan Bohai roared. It was no longer a human voice, but the cry of a wounded beast. The iron chains trembled violently. The stone walls began to fracture.
"He was already infected by the Black Mist when he arrived!" Yan Kesh lied swiftly. "I tried to kill him, but he rose again as a Demon Corpse! I hid him because I feared the Ashen Vein Sect would be accused of harboring demons!"
"I only tried to bury him here—but he's too strong!"
Crack!
One chain snapped.
Yan Bohai lunged forward, his charred hand clawing toward Yan Kesh's face.
"Observer Lord!" Yan Kesh shouted as he rolled away. "If he escapes, he'll slaughter an entire sect! Fulfill your duty! Eliminate this anomaly!"
Liang Ze froze.
Logic battled within him.
Scenario One: Yan Kesh, a sadistic captor.
Scenario Two: Yan Kesh, panicking while concealing a demonic outbreak.
But his eyes saw only facts: A monster stood before him, radiating thick malevolent aura. And the primary duty of the Sky Book Pavilion was to eradicate anomalies.
"Move aside," Liang Ze ordered.
Yan Kesh leapt back.
Yan Bohai—now fully controlled by pain and chaotic energy—locked onto Liang Ze as a threat. He charged forward with insane speed.
"Filthy creature," Liang Ze hissed.
His silver blade blazed brilliantly.
Observer Technique: Verdict of Light.
Zrrrat!
A flawless horizontal slash.
White radiance cleaved through the darkness of the underground chamber.
Yan Bohai's body halted midair.
The next instant, it split cleanly in half at the waist.
Sacred energy from Liang Ze's sword ignited the remains.
"AAAARRRGHHH—!"
Yan Bohai's final scream vanished within the white flames. In mere seconds, the body of the former Elder of the Yan Clan—the key witness to Yan Kesh's crimes—was reduced to pure ash upon the stone floor.
Yan Kesh, sprawled in the corner, exhaled slowly.
Evidence: Destroyed.
Executioner: The law itself.
He had successfully manipulated justice to conceal his own violation of justice.
Liang Ze sheathed his sword. Standing amidst the ashes, his breathing slightly uneven, he looked down at Yan Kesh, who still trembled on the ground.
"He has been erased," Liang Ze said coldly. "Now… tell me the real version. And don't even think about deceiving me with illusions again."