Chapter 2288: Truth

Zu'an was startled, never expecting such a gain.

He had originally thought the skill system could only be used on inanimate objects, but now it seemed living beings were also susceptible. However, similar things hadn't happened when he was intimate with his female confidantes. Thinking about the difference, it must be that the enemy was completely powerless to resist and had fallen under his control.

Zu'an examined it carefully and found that learning "Bluster" required consuming 500,000 Rage points. He was stunned. The Myriad Transformation Art had only cost 1,000,000 Rage points, although that was largely due to his proficiency in painting and having prerequisite skills like "Thousand Faces," which significantly reduced the cost. Still, the thought that a single skill would cost half of the Myriad Transformation Art felt a bit painful.

But with such a high cost, it should be a very powerful skill, right? Considering he still had over 2,000,000 Rage points, he hesitated for a moment before clicking "Learn." Soon, 500,000 Rage points were deducted, leaving him with 1,554,470 points.

He felt a stream of information enter his mind; he had learned "Bluster."

"Allow your aura to ascend to its peak, giving enemies the illusion that you are about to fight to the death, thereby increasing your chances of escape."

After reading the skill description, Zu'an was utterly confused. "I spent 500,000 Rage points for this? What's the point of this useless skill? It feels like it couldn't be more worthless!"

The True Demon Envoy had actually used this skill just now, but still couldn't escape his pursuit. Of course, that was an accident. If the will of this world hadn't been integrated with his own to some extent, he might have been deceived by the other party. Even so, this skill was still quite useless, merely for escape, and not even guaranteed to work. The thought of losing 500,000 Rage points left Zu'an in a very foul mood.

He increased the pressure in his hand, and the True Demon Envoy's body crackled with flashing lights as all his protective artifacts completely failed. Zu'an said coldly, "I thought you truly had a thousand protective artifacts, but it's only a little over a hundred." The True Demon Envoy opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Aren't over a hundred powerful protective artifacts impressive enough?" But everything had been easily shattered by his opponent, and his lifetime of cultivation had been completely drained. At this moment, he was utterly disheartened.

Seeing the True Demon Envoy clutched in Zu'an's hand like a dead dog, the heads of the Rong and Wu families completely relaxed. It seemed their decision to abandon the darkness and embrace the light had indeed been timely. The head of the Yun family, on the other hand, completely slumped, then began trembling violently. He could only hope that Yun Yuqing would help him out of consideration for their familial ties.

"Who exactly are you?" Zu'an asked.

"Do as you please, kill or dismember me. How could I ever grovel before a lowly native like you!" the True Demon Envoy cursed, holding his head high.

"How dare you! How dare you be disrespectful to the Regent!" the heads of the Yun and Wu families reprimanded him in unison.

The True Demon Envoy was almost fuming with rage. These two old bastards had once fawned and flattered him endlessly, but now they showed such faces. Unfortunately, with his cultivation completely crippled, he had no strength to retort.

"I think I've heard similar words before," Zu'an chuckled. "No matter, you'll speak soon enough." With that, he snapped the man's neck with a crisp crack.

The three heads of the Demon clans felt a chill in their hearts, thinking, "This Regent seems gentle, but his actions are truly ruthless. We wonder if we'll meet the same fate." Even Jiang Luofu frowned slightly, not because she thought the True Demon Envoy shouldn't be killed, but because he shouldn't have been killed so soon. They should have interrogated him for enough information first.

The True Demon Envoy's face was also filled with astonishment. He never imagined the other party would just kill him like that! However, he soon realized he was still conscious and could clearly see his body below, while he himself had transformed into a transparent phantom. A joyous thought crossed his mind: it seemed the contingency plan the Demon Lord had left in him was working. He would soon be able to return to his original world, and then he would seek revenge on this guy.

"Huh, wait, why is he smiling at me? He can see me? How is that possible!"

Unfortunately, the opponent's next action immediately shattered his illusion. The opponent merely waved a sleeve, and he was instantly severed from his home world, instead being drawn into a strange space. Then he witnessed a scene he would never forget in ten lifetimes. As a demon, he had caused countless lives to perish over the years. Yet, seeing the various torments in the Eighteen Levels of Hell, he couldn't help but swallow. These methods were simply too extreme.

"My patience is limited," Zu'an's voice echoed throughout the space. "Confess now, or experience the torment of the Eighteen Levels of Hell first and then confess. Choose."

The True Demon Envoy's heart immediately shattered. He had heard Zu'an speak before, but why did his voice now fill him with such terror? It was as if the other party was the deity of this realm, and his entire fate lay in their single thought. It was the natural fear of a predator! No one explained, but he suddenly understood the other party's identity as the Underworld Emperor. He almost burst into tears. What sin had he committed in his previous life to become an enemy of such a being?

"I'll confess, I'll confess right now!" the True Demon Envoy quickly said.

"No, it's too late," Zu'an said indifferently, then directly cast him into Avici Hell.

The True Demon Envoy: "???"

"Why aren't you playing by the rules?"

Inside, he screamed incessantly. He had never imagined such agony existed in the world.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Zu'an pulled him out of Avici Hell. Upon learning that only an incense stick's worth of time had passed, the True Demon Envoy completely broke down. He had felt as if he had endured countless years of torment inside; if that was only a short while, how truly miserable would countless years of torture be?

Seeing him utterly terrified, Zu'an knew he wouldn't dare to lie anymore and continued to ask: "Your identity."

"My name is Donal, and I am the young master of the True Demon clan," the True Demon Envoy quickly replied, fearing to displease the other party and be sent back to that terrifying place.

"What exactly is the relationship between the True Demons and the demons of this world?" Zu'an had previously interrogated several other demons and learned that the True Demon clan was a top-tier power in the entire demon world; even the Demon Lord treated them with great respect.

"We True Demons are a higher form of demons. The demons of this world are the descendants of some True Demons who were left here countless years ago. However, due to the long passage of time, their bloodline has become diluted, making them much weaker than us. I did not lie about this to the major families before, which is why I was able to enlighten and awaken their ancient bloodlines," the True Demon Envoy answered.

Zu'an frowned slightly. The True Demon clan was indeed the ancestors of the demons, yet he had a faint feeling that something was amiss. Now that he was integrated with the world's will, he clearly sensed many differences between the demons and the fiends. However, he couldn't explain the various coincidences and could only temporarily suppress the doubts in his mind.

"What was your mission in coming to this world?" he then asked.

"To establish a spatial teleportation array that would allow beings from the demon world to enter this world," the True Demon Envoy quickly replied.

"Are the Four Symbols Stones key to the teleportation array?" Zu'an asked. He was also skilled in array formations and knew that such a teleportation array, spanning an unknown cosmic distance, required first, a sophisticated and profound formation, second, immense energy, and often, some extremely special materials.

"Yes, the True Demon clan's ancient texts record the Four Symbols Stones of this world. They seem to have been left here by our ancestors and can open a starry sky teleportation passage," the True Demon Envoy replied.

"Why does your demon world persistently target ours? With this much effort, you could easily go to other worlds," Zu'an felt something was still off. He had thwarted the demons' plans several times, and now the world barrier was completely activated, making invasion seemingly impossible. Yet, they had still gone to great lengths to send this True Demon Envoy, which felt abnormal.

The True Demon Envoy sighed upon hearing this. "We have no choice, because our world is on the verge of destruction."