Chapter 340: Interrogation

Han Li ignored the man's expression of shock and anger. Extending a finger, he tapped the small bell, which was encased in a blue light, with a "ding."

With a thud, Qu Hun, who was trying to seize the opportunity to escape, immediately fell to the ground.

"Natal magic tool! You're holding this body's natal magic tool!" Qu Hun exclaimed, fear showing on his face.

"You know it well! If you don't want to suffer, explain your origins properly. I'm very curious, how could you occupy this body? Don't cultivators generally not seize the bodies of mortals?" Han Li asked calmly, his voice so even that it sounded as if he were chatting with a friend.

However, Qu Hun shuddered upon hearing this. Seizing another's body was a practice despised by cultivators in the cultivation world. While it didn't always lead to immediate execution, those who practiced it were never given a good reception. Han Li's unusually calm demeanor made Qu Hun's heart pound, and he couldn't help but desperately scheme for a way to escape.

"Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. I was once a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but my physical body was destroyed in a conflict with an enemy, so I had no choice but to occupy this body," the man explained, standing up and forcing a smile, without directly answering Han Li's question.

"Is that so?" Han Li said indifferently.

In truth, Han Li was slightly surprised to hear that the other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, Qu Hun couldn't discern Han Li's thoughts. Seeing Han Li's indifferent expression, he felt a prickle of unease and quickly added,

"Although my cultivation has dropped to the low-level Qi Condensation stage, I still possess some magic tools and spirit stones. As long as you don't pursue this matter, I'm willing to offer them to you!" He said this in a somewhat subservient tone, clearly understanding the proverb: "When under another's roof, one has no choice but to bow one's head."

However, Han Li ignored the enticing offer. After a moment of thought, he suddenly asked,

"Are you a cultivator from one of the Seven Sects?"

Han Li asked this seemingly casually. As far as he knew, Foundation Establishment cultivators were rare outside of the Seven Sects, though some large cultivating families, like the Yan family, certainly had many.

"The Seven Sects... oh, yes, I am a cultivator from the Spirit Beast Mountain. Is Your Excellency also a cultivator from the Seven Sects?" Qu Hun's face remained normal as he spoke, but Han Li caught a flicker of panic in his eyes, which greatly increased Han Li's suspicion.

"So, you are a fellow Daoist from Spirit Beast Mountain! I wonder how Miss Han Yunzhi of your esteemed mountain is doing?" Han Li asked slowly, with a faint smile.

"Han Yunzhi... I'm truly sorry. Because I've been in secluded cultivation for many years, I really don't have much impression of younger disciples." Qu Hun paused briefly after Han Li's question, then let out a few dry laughs, speaking somewhat insincerely.

"You don't know her? Then who do you know? You can tell me about a few disciples. I know many fellow Daoists from Spirit Beast Mountain; perhaps I might know them!" Han Li continued to press, without changing his expression.

"This..." Qu Hun's face showed some panic. His eyes darted around, looking quite shifty.

Watching the man stammer, Han Li's face turned cold, his expression chilling.

"Fellow Daoist, you truly disappoint me! It seems you prefer a penalty to a toast." Han Li said bluntly. Then he swayed forward, and instantly reappeared in his original spot.

Qu Hun stood motionless, a "Spirit-Calming Talisman" affixed to his chest. He hadn't even had a chance to react. This made his face change dramatically, and he cried out anxiously,

"Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of this! We can discuss this properly..."

While the Spirit-Calming Talisman could completely stiffen a mortal's body, even preventing them from speaking, its effect was less pronounced on cultivators with some spiritual power. Though it could still immobilize lower-level cultivators, their speech and facial expressions remained unaffected.

Han Li completely ignored the man's shouts. Instead, he pulled out a black, ink-like alms bowl from his storage bag.

As the bowl appeared, a chilling aura permeated the air, causing the surrounding temperature to drop by several degrees. Then, wails of ghosts and wolves emanated from the bowl, and eerie black mist swirled around it, making the magic tool appear even more sinister. This was the "Soul Gathering Bowl" that Han Li had recently acquired.

Han Li held the magic tool in one hand, cast a cold gaze at the man, then approached Qu Hun expressionlessly.

The man stared at the unusual phenomenon of the bowl, his face initially showing surprise and suspicion. But then, as if remembering something, his expression suddenly tensed, and he spoke somewhat unnaturally,

"What are you going to do? Are you going to use the Soul Refining Art?"

When he uttered the words "Soul Refining Art," extreme fear appeared in his eyes.

The infamous "Soul Refining Art" was a dreaded and avoided spell in the cultivation world; even some cultivators would use it to swear oaths.

Generally, within every sect and large family, there were specialized individuals who practiced this art. It was the most severe punishment and deterrent for those who betrayed their sect or family, renowned in the cultivation world for its cruelty.

It was rumored that those who practiced this art could extract a person's primordial spirit and soul and torment them with specialized spells. It was said that the direct spiritual pain was something even the most strong-willed person could not endure for long. Furthermore, the stronger the cultivator's primordial spirit, the more intense the pain, making all cultivators pale at the mention of it.

Rumors about the Soul Refining Art were widespread in the cultivation world. The most common one was that cultivators who practiced it would always cultivate a "soul artifact" closely linked to their own primordial spirit. Only with this artifact could they perform the Soul Refining Art, making the victim's soul wish for death.

Few outsiders had ever seen the shape of this soul artifact, but most cultivators naturally described it as sinister and shrouded in ghostly aura, which closely matched the appearance of the "Soul Gathering Bowl" containing hundreds of cultivators' souls.

Therefore, the unusual phenomenon displayed by the bowl upon its appearance, combined with Han Li's earlier threatening words, led Qu Hun to mistakenly believe that Han Li possessed the terrifying "Soul Refining Art."

It was understandable that he would think this way. Anyone who thought of tormenting a person's primordial spirit and soul would first think of this spell, which naturally terrified him.

Han Li showed no expression on his face upon hearing Qu Hun's words, but he was somewhat surprised inwardly.

To be honest, when he took out this magic tool, he had no intention of using the "Soul Refining Art" to intimidate the other party. He merely wanted to use the chilling aura of the bowl to give the other party's primordial spirit a taste of suffering. But now that this person believed he knew the Soul Refining Art and was extremely fearful, it struck a chord with Han Li, and he decided to play along with the misunderstanding.

"I'll ask you one more time: What is your true origin, and why are you impersonating a Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator?" Han Li did not answer whether he would use the Soul Refining Art but asked coldly again.

Han Li's evasive answer further convinced the man, whose face turned pale. Yet, his lips moved a few times, but he still showed no sign of speaking.

Seeing this, Han Li stopped wasting words. He softly chanted a few incantations that he himself didn't fully understand, then unceremoniously held the "Soul Gathering Bowl" close to the man's face.

The chilling aura from the bowl was so potent that even Han Li, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, shivered upon contact. Now, for Qu Hun, whose cultivation had fallen to the Qi Condensation stage, it was naturally impossible to resist.

So, as soon as the bowl was placed in front of him, the man felt an intense cold permeate his entire body, as if his primordial spirit was about to freeze, and as if thousands of steel needles were simultaneously piercing the depths of his soul.

After only a moment, the man could no longer endure the pain. With a miserable scream, the muscles on his face twisted and contorted.

"Don't rush, I haven't officially cast the spell yet. The pain will be a hundred times worse then!" Han Li's ethereal voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"A hundred times worse!" The man nearly fainted from fear upon hearing Han Li's words.

He couldn't even endure the current pain for a moment. If it were a hundred times worse, wouldn't his primordial spirit dissipate from the agony? This was definitely the legendary "Soul Refining Art."

Having tasted suffering, Qu Hun no longer had any doubts. Therefore, seeing Han Li about to perform hand seals again, he didn't dare to hold out and quickly changed his tune:

"Fellow Daoist, please show mercy! I will tell you everything. Can you please put away your soul artifact first? Please, don't use the Soul Refining Art again!"

Due to the chilling invasion of the bowl, his voice was distorted from the cold. If not for some spiritual power protecting his body and the fact that Qu Hun's physique was far stronger than an ordinary person's, he would have been stiffened long ago.

"If you had been this sensible earlier, wouldn't you have avoided this suffering?" Han Li showed an expression that conveyed, "You brought this upon yourself," and then casually put away the alms bowl.

In truth, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if the man hadn't spoken, Han Li would have put away the "Soul Gathering Bowl" soon. The chilling nature of the magic tool made Han Li, who was directly touching it, feel quite overwhelmed and unable to hold it any longer.

Qu Hun let out a long breath, seeing that Han Li had indeed put away what he believed to be the soul artifact.

"It's best not to try to deceive me with lies. I can naturally use relevant spells to test the truth of your words. I don't think you would be foolish enough to risk your soul scattering and never reincarnating just for some secret." Han Li's voice was extremely cold.

This statement made Qu Hun, recalling the pain he had just endured, tremble all over, his face looking extremely grim.