Chapter 761: Master and Disciple

"Don't fall for his tricks, Fellow Daoist Li! He's trying to divide and conquer us! Right now, the entire city is in lockdown, so even if you can get away now, you'll be captured again sooner or later. The only way out right now is to rescue our patriarch and escape under his protection," Fox 3 hurriedly said.

Han Li took a glance at Fox 3, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"You think I'm trying to trick you? I'm sure you're all aware of what the current state of Asura City is like. I don't have the time or resources to spare to hunt you down, and in my eyes, letting a couple of Golden Immortals escape is hardly of any significance.

“If you're still apprehensive, I can even grant you an infernal badge," Yin Chengquan said, and he swept a sleeve through the air as he spoke, releasing a black metal badge that descended in front of Weeping Soul.

Liu Qi's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

"Master, the restrictions littered throughout the entirety of Asura City are all connected to a super array, and infernal badges are treasures refined from that super array. There are only five such badges in total in the entire Infernal Tribe, and it'll allow you to open the majority of restrictions in Asura City," Weeping Soul said to Han Li through voice transmission as she caught the badge.

"I also played a part in destroying the seal on the Kun Hou, and you were intent on killing me just a moment ago, so why has your attitude suddenly changed so drastically?" Han Li asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Under normal circumstances, I would make absolute certain that none of you leave this place alive. However, right now, my only goal is to restrain Liu Qi, and you were able to withstand an attack of mine just now, so it's clear that I won't be able to kill you while you're under Liu Qi's protection. Hence, I'm choosing to let you go to eliminate some volatile factors," Yin Chengquan explained in a cold voice.

"That's a very candid and sincere explanation, but I've already agreed to help Senior Liu Qi, so I'm afraid I must turn down your proposal," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

Fox 3 and Liu Qi were both very relieved to hear this, but the complete opposite was true for Weeping Soul.

"If you insist on opposing me, then I'll strike you down where you stand! You saw what just happened, Luo'er. I extended an olive branch to him, but he turned it down, so he leaves me no choice," Yin Chengquan said in a cold voice as he made a hand seal, and the giant array on the ground suddenly lit up, following which a burst of white light erupted forth before enveloping Weeping Soul and carrying her away.

Weeping Soul was saying something with an urgent expression, but the white light around her was too powerful, and whatever she was saying was inaudible through it.

However, right at this moment, one of Liu Qi's tails wrapped itself around Weeping Soul like lightning.

Yin Chengquan's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he immediately flew over to Liu Qi before throwing a punch straight at his head.

A burst of radiant gray light erupted out of his fist, and a sinister ghostly head the size of a house appeared within it, screeching and cackling incessantly.

The sounds were extremely sharp and penetrated straight into one's soul while giving off an intense aura of death, as if they were coming straight from the pits of hell.

Han Li, Fox 3, and Shi Chuankong immediately felt their heads ringing violently upon hearing this sound, and they felt as if their souls were about to fall apart.

On the ground below, Liu Qi swept both of his front paws through the air to release numerous streaks of gray light, which instantly formed a gray light barrier that encompassed Han Li's group and the four lightning ponds.

As soon as the light barrier took shape, the harrowing sounds were instantly shut out, and at the same time, the projection of the middle-aged man appeared above the light barrier in a flash, standing in Yin Chengquan's way.

"You'll have to get through me first if you want to get to them," the middle-aged man chuckled as he made a hand seal, and a burst of gray light surged out of his body, then transformed into a thick staff projection that was over a hundred feet in length.

Two serpentine projections were wrapped around either end of the staff projection, giving off incredibly formidable soul power fluctuations as it sped toward Yin Chengquan's fist.

The two clashed violently in mid-air, resulting in a blinding explosion of light that sent spiritual sense fluctuations erupting in all directions, causing the nearby space to warp and fracture like the surface of a mirror.

The gray light barrier also began to tremble violently, but it was extremely resilient and quickly managed to stabilize itself.

Following that clash, both the middle-aged man and Yin Chengquan were sent flying back.

The string of clashes had taken place in the blink of an eye, and only now did the bodies of Han Li's trio manage to react, upon which all of them threw up mouthfuls of blood before exchanging astonished looks with one another.

"Liu Qi! Do you not feel ashamed going after a junior like this?" Yin Chengquan yelled in a furious voice.

"I don't think I've ever heard such righteous words coming out of your mouth, Regional Monarch Yin. The two of us have been going at each other for countless years, do you really think I still haven't seen through your intentions?" Liu Qi chuckled coldly as he exerted more force through his tail, and the white light barrier around Weeping Soul was instantly shattered, following which she was carried back to his side.

Weeping Soul was struggling with all her might, but her struggles slowly ceased upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that?" Yin Chengquan asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

A hint of mockery flashed through Liu Qi's eyes, following which he turned to Weeping Soul as he asked, "You're a Xing Beast, right? I'm guessing that after Yin Chengquan took you under his wing, he did everything in his power to nurture you, even going as far as to capture beings from different tribes and killing them so that you can devour their souls, is that correct?"

"That's right, I am greatly indebted to my master," Weeping Soul replied.

"Do you know why your master was willing to do so much for you? I'm sure you're aware of what kind of person he is, are you not?" Liu Qi asked.

Weeping Soul's complexion paled slightly upon hearing this, and she opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

This was a question that she had asked herself on many past occasions. However, she didn't want to suspect Yin Chengquan's kindness, so whenever the question arose in her mind, she would immediately avoid it, but now that it was being directly posed to her, she was forced to finally confront it.

Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.

Prior to coming here, he had heard that Yin Chengquan was a very bloodthirsty man who was renowned for using all types of sly and underhanded tactics to force smaller regions to bow to the Infernal Region. Hence, even his subordinates were extremely fearful of him, and he certainly didn't seem like the type of person who would accept an outsider as a disciple, much less nurture them so diligently.

However, given the constant peril that he had been in, he had never had a chance to ponder this topic, but it seemed that all was about to be revealed.

"I'm sure all of you are aware of the ability of Infernal beings to control others using Infernal Soul Bugs. Even I have to admit that this is an extremely powerful ability. Not only is the Infernal Soul Bug able to control a puppet, it can also establish a connection between puppet and master.

“If the law powers mastered by master and puppet are similar, then it can allow them to very easily integrate their law powers, and that's an important reason behind why the Infernal Tribe has always stood as one of the most powerful tribes of the Gray Realm," Liu Qi continued.

"What does this have to do with Weeping Soul, Senior Liu Qi?" Han Li asked.

"Due to some mishaps, I sustained severe injuries many years ago and fell to the Gray Realm, where I was captured by Yin Chengquan. He didn't kill me because the heavenly illusion laws that I had mastered were appealing to him.

“He cultivates the laws of ghostly enchantment, and if could successfully refine me into a puppet, then our law powers would be able to complement one another to great effect, meaning that he would have no equal in the entire Gray Realm," Liu Qi explained with a cold sneer.

A thought seemed to have occurred to Weeping Soul here, and her complexion paled slightly.

"However, in order to control a Dao Ancestor like myself, Yin Chengquan requires an Infernal Soul Bug of an extremely high caliber, one that can't be refined using normal souls. That's why he's gone to such great lengths to nurture you.

“Xing Beasts are extremely advanced soul entities capable of devouring ghosts and spirits, making them ideal for refining premium Infernal Soul Bugs. However, your cultivation base is still quite lackluster right now, and I presume he wanted to set his plan into motion only after raising you to the Great Encompassment Stage," Liu Qi said.

Weeping Soul's complexion paled even further upon hearing this.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh upon seeing this. He had also suffered betrayal from someone that he had respected in the past, and even though it had already been many years, those events had still had a huge impact on his entire cultivation journey.

"Is he telling the truth, Master?" Weeping Soul asked as she turned to Yin Chengquan.

"It's been fun putting on the guise of a kind and benevolent master, and I originally planned to keep this act up for a while longer, but seeing as everything has already been revealed, I suppose I have no choice but to put a premature end to things," Yin Chengquan replied with a cold sneer, and the final hint of color faded from Weeping Soul's cheeks with this confirmation.

A cold gleam flashed through Han Li's eyes as he glowered at Yin Chengquan.

"Liu Qi, didn't you just say that you can see through all of my intentions? In that case, do you know why I allowed you to reveal all of that without doing anything to try and stop you?" Yin Chengquan asked as he turned to Liu Qi.

Liu Qi faltered slightly upon hearing this, following which a hint of realization appeared in his eyes as he hurriedly turned his gaze to Weeping Soul.