Performing the Soul Searching Profound Handle on a Monarch—even one in the initial stages—would still be extremely difficult. However, Duke Huai was severely injured, burned by the Little Demon Empress's Golden Crow flames, and his mind and soul had descended into complete chaos, leaving him fully suppressed by her. Neither his body nor his soul had any power to resist. Moreover, Yun He, Yun Jiang, and Yun Xie assaulted him with their [Profound Handle], and it penetrated Duke Huai's soul in a single attempt.
The pain and fierce expression on Duke Huai's face gradually disappeared, giving way to a loose and dazed appearance. His eyes also became weak and lifeless, like two empty holes.
"Little Demon Empress, Duke Huai has already been subjected to the Soul Searching Profound Handle. If you have any questions, please ask them. He will reveal everything he knows without the ability to lie." As Yun He spoke, he bowed slightly and unconsciously moderated his breathing. Being just a few steps away from the Little Demon Empress, that extremely oppressive aura made him feel as if all the blood in his body had stopped flowing. Initially, when he encountered the Little Demon Empress—or even met with the previous emperor—he had never felt this kind of sensation.
As Yun He finished, he cautiously stepped away. The hundred thousand people gathered in the Demon Imperial Hall fell completely silent, and all eyes focused on the Little Demon Empress. Before she opened her mouth, no one dared utter a single sound.
She had already been the Little Demon Empress for a hundred years, and her status should have elevated her to the ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm, but today was the first time she truly became its master. Gender, age, qualifications—none of that mattered anymore. Whether she was the final descendant of the Demon Emperor or not mattered even less. Because at this moment, she possessed absolute strength!
Besides Ren Zu, she was obviously the strongest person in that place!
She had basically killed several monarchs casually!
Regardless of the world, only someone who held absolute strength could become an absolute ruler, and only then could that person become a true emperor. This principle was something she had understood clearly since she was young. The hundred years she had ruled as the Little Demon Empress also confirmed the truth of this principle for her, again and again.
The Little Demon Empress did not approach Duke Huai. Instead, she turned around and said in an apathetic voice: "Ren Zu, come and perform the interrogation."
"Ok!" Ren Zu seemed to have guessed that the Little Demon Empress would do this, so he responded without the least bit of surprise.
He walked toward Duke Huai who, two hours ago, had been making the world tremble as he was about to ascend to the Demon Emperor's throne. But now, he knelt there like a dog, his entire body covered in blood, his eyes lifeless and weak. Even an unarmed and defenseless citizen would feel pity for the current Duke Huai.
Many of the pinnacle powers and enormous forces that his Duke Huai Palace had bribed were still in the vicinity, but not a single person came forward to save him. In fact, not a single person even came forward to speak a word in his favor... Because anyone who dared to do such a thing had already died terribly.
The focus of all those gazes shifted to Ren Zu as he walked forward.
The eyes of thousands fixed on him at the same time, and inevitably, comparisons arose.
His countenance, molded as if by a divine craftsman, united the unattainable coldness of eternal night with the scorching light of the flames he commanded. Every feature, from the black hair that seemed to absorb light to the abyssal pupils that devoured the soul, radiated a beauty that did not belong to mortals. He seemed less like a cultivator and more like an immortal who had descended to the world.
And yet, he was just a young man.
The shock was so great that even the Patriarchs and Dukes present—men who carried centuries of experience and power—felt suffocated not by his strength, but by the overwhelming emotion of that impossible appearance.
Unwittingly, many shifted their gaze to the Little Demon Empress, who watched the scene with her black eyes. The Number One of the Illusory Demon Realm, the woman considered unattainable, perfect in her beauty and dignity, stood side by side with that young man.
"The two really... form a perfect couple." This thought echoed in the hearts of practically everyone present.
But soon came another, more silent, more bitter thought, hidden in the depths of the minds of the men and women who looked at Ren Zu:
"He... he is infinitely more beautiful than her. If we're talking about dignity... is the Little Demon Empress really worthy of him?"
No one would dare say such words out loud, but the seed of that doubt had already taken root. Even the proudest and most untouchable of flowers seemed to lose its shine before him.
Ren Zu maintained his indifferent expression while inspecting his surroundings and boldly staring at all those gazes. After that, his eyebrows sank slightly, and he declared in a loud voice, "All those who are present here today must know that the Soul Searching Profound Handle of my Yun Family will make the mind of the person subjected to it wander, so the person will definitely not be in control of themselves! Any words he says will come from his own memory and will definitely not be false..."
"I know that you must still have your doubts even though you saw the Memory Jade that I showed you before. But compared to my family's Profound Handle, which you have known for centuries how it works, it is still an unreliable technology!"
The Memory Jade that he had revealed before, containing records of what occurred four months ago, really showed scenes impossible to falsify with common techniques. However, the people gathered there were not mere naive spectators. If it were easy to deceive most of them, then they simply were not worthy of the positions they held in the Illusory Demon Realm.
It was natural that there were doubts.
It was exactly for this reason that, when he mentioned the Yun Family's Profound Handle, everyone held their breath.
This unique technique of the Yun Family was known throughout the Illusory Demon Realm for its unique characteristic: when applied, the victim's consciousness was forced to wander through their own mind, without filters, without deceptions. There was no way to invent or manipulate responses; what emerged were pure, unaltered memories.
Unlike the Memory Jade, which could be contested as something external, the Profound Handle could bring pure truth, and everyone knew that.
After a pause to see everyone's reaction, he continued calmly: "Good, as you already must know, all of you need to listen carefully to what this Duke Huai will say... and see what kind of trash this person that you almost made the new sovereign of the Illusory Demon Realm really is, this person for whom countless people were willing to abandon the Little Demon Empress and fought tooth and nail to serve him!!"
Ren Zu turned his body and looked at Duke Huai, while exclaiming coldly, "Duke Huai, let me ask you! At that time, how exactly did those people from the Profound Sky Continent suddenly manage to invade our Illusory Demon Realm?!"
The gathered crowd originally thought that Ren Zu would ask if he tried to harm the Little Demon Empress in order to establish his villainy. But who would have thought that he actually asked a question that everyone knew the answer to. Because of that, the audience's faces immediately filled with astonishment.
Duke Huai opened his lips and slowly uttered a response, "It was my real father... with a dimensional transmission art... he informed the Profound Sky Continent... that the Samsara Mirror belonging to the Demon Emperor Clan hid the secrets to advancing to the Divine Profound Realm... and with that, he managed to seduce them to come..."
Because he could not consciously control it, Duke Huai's voice was a bit hoarse, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear what he was saying. Every word he said was like a profound lightning bolt that quickly passed through a clear sky; they were so shocking that it made everyone's faces lose color from extreme horror.
"This... this... this... this is not possible!" An old man staggered to his feet, his face full of alarm, and no matter what, he could not bring himself to believe the words he had just heard. The "real father" that Duke Huai spoke of was naturally none other than Duke Ming, who disappeared over a hundred years ago and was only seen in Ren Zu's Memory Jade. That Duke Ming who had an extremely high profound cultivation and an extremely good reputation, who was always smiling...
"What's happening..."
"The invasion of the Profound Sky Continent was actually... this... what exactly..."
The Demon Imperial Hall immediately flew into an uproar, and the expression of every person present underwent a huge change. Especially the Guardian Families and the various Duke Palaces, they were all so shocked that their eyes widened and their mouths gaped open, while their souls began to tremble... Each one of them began to detect that something was not normal.
This was the Yun Family's Soul Searching Profound Handle, so anything said by Duke Huai could not be false!
Perhaps, his crime was not as simple as merely attempting to commit regicide against the Little Demon Empress. In the shadows of the Duke Huai Palace... there was perhaps an even more terrifying scheme that was still hidden.
The reactions of everyone present were naturally more than normal for Ren Zu. He stared directly at Duke Huai and continued, "I will ask something else. The fact that the invaders from the Profound Sky Continent knew our Demon Imperial City like the back of their hands and were able to come and go as they pleased, was this due to the secret support of your Duke Huai Palace?"
"Yes." Duke Huai opened his mouth and slowly uttered a word. That simple and short word was undoubtedly a bomb thrown into the Demon Imperial Hall.
Ren Zu ignored the cries of shock that entered his ears and continued with an expressionless face, "Now, honestly and sincerely tell everyone this, the previous Demon Emperor... how did he die?!"
When Ren Zu suddenly asked this question, it made everyone immediately hold their breath. The previous Demon Emperor had personally pursued the invaders from the Profound Sky Continent and, in his anger, he impulsively rushed into the teleportation formation to the Profound Sky Continent. After that, all communication was lost... that was the "truth" that the people of the Illusory Demon Realm all knew. But Ren Zu's question implied certain things, united with Duke Huai's previous answers, both of these things caused a sensation of dread that covered the hearts and souls of everyone present.
The answer to this question was a secret that Duke Huai could never reveal to anyone. But under the compulsion of the Soul Searching Profound Handle, he could only obey blindly, "It was my real father... he took advantage of the Demon Emperor's lack of precaution toward him... and struck him into the profound teleportation formation that would send him to the Profound Sky Continent... making him travel directly to the other side of the spatial tunnel... to the Heavenly Power Soul Suppressing Formation, which was already waiting for him..."
Clamor~
The entire great hall immediately exploded into chaos. Shock, fury, sadness, and incredulity filled every corner and nook, and even the people from the Duke Huai Palace had expressions that were completely stupefied, for they did not dare to believe any of the words they had just heard... and the forces that swore loyalty to Duke Huai began to tremble; there was a considerable number of people who directly fainted to the ground, their entire bodies bathed in cold sweat.
"Abomination... abomination!!" Mu Feiyan's fists were clenched so tightly that every joint in his hand turned white.
It had been over a hundred years since the previous Demon Emperor encountered the calamity, and the truth that everyone knew was that he was injured by the people of the Profound Sky Continent... but no one, not even in the wildest dreams, imagined that the true perpetrator behind the previous Demon Emperor's death was actually the Duke Huai Palace! Moreover, it was clearly a scheme that was meticulously incubated and premeditated!
"My grandfather took along ten martyrs from the Yun Family to advance to the Profound Sky Continent, but when they had just arrived, they were immediately imprisoned in the Heavenly Power Soul Suppressing Formation that was awaiting them... Was this also a perverse action caused by your Duke Huai Palace?!" Ren Zu asked coldly.
"Yes... it was my real father... who told those from the Profound Sky Continent... when and where the Demon King would make his entry..." Duke Huai murmured.
Bang!!
Dozens of seats, along with large areas of land, were instantly destroyed where the Yun Family was located. The three Great Elders of the Yun Family, along with the various Elders who followed Yun Canghai at that time, all stood there, gnashing their teeth, while their faces flushed with blood, they could barely hold themselves back from running and tearing Duke Huai to pieces with their bare hands.
"And the Little Demon Emperor, who killed him? How did he die?!" Ren Zu pressed relentlessly.
"On the wedding night of the Little Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Empress... he went alone to pay respects to the previous Demon Emperor... and he was killed by my real father... and before he died, my real father used a soul invasion technique to steal all the memories of the Little Demon Emperor... after that, he threw the Little Demon Emperor's body... into the spatial profound formation... and also sent him to the Profound Sky Continent..."
"Although everyone here already knows what happened four months ago, doubts still remain. I will ask a simple question.... Four months ago, in the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, who was it that tried to kill the Little Demon Empress and me?!"
"It was my real father... and me..."
"What was your true purpose in seducing the people of the Profound Sky Continent to invade the Illusory Demon Realm?!"
"We wanted to use the people of the Profound Sky Continent... to plunge the Demon Imperial City into chaos... so that we could assassinate both the Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Emperor, and then also pin all the crimes on them..."
"You are dukes of the Illusory Demon Royal Family! Why did you do such heinous things to the Demon Emperor's residence?!"
"My father was not content to serve... so he wanted to stand above them instead..."
"Then, when did your real father, Duke Ming, harbor such ambition?!" Ren Zu narrowed his eyes slightly.
Duke Huai opened his mouth, but nothing came from it... it was clear that it was something even he did not know.
Ren Zu's questions and Duke Huai's answers, each one of them shook the souls and shocked the hearts of those present. Every word was like a huge hammer pounding on their hearts and souls. Gradually, after their fury and shock reached its zenith, what was born was an astonishingly cold dread...
For the past hundred years, all the people of the Illusory Demon Realm thought that it was those from the Profound Sky Continent who caused the deaths of the previous Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Emperor. It was the inhabitants of the Profound Sky Continent who left the Demon Emperor Clan bereft of an heir and made the Yun Family fall into decline. It was the evil villains of the Profound Sky Continent who caused the greatest calamity in the Illusory Demon Realm since its formation ten thousand years ago... With that, all living beings in the Illusory Demon Realm became filled with hatred and resentment toward the Profound Sky Continent. It was to the point that the first thing most newborn children learned was that the residents of the Profound Sky Continent were the eternally detested enemies of the Illusory Demon Realm!
And it was only now that they discovered, to their shock and horror, that everything they held as truth was in reality a lie... The entire Illusory Demon Realm and all those present had been dancing in the palms of the true villain all this time!
And the demon who caused the deaths of the previous Demon Emperor, the Little Demon Emperor, and the Demon King, and caused great suffering to the entire Illusory Demon Realm... was none other than the person they had worshiped in this divine and sacred Demon Imperial Hall. They had even planned to make this person... the new emperor!
If it weren't for the return of the Little Demon Empress and Ren Zu... besides the Yun and Mu Families, who were prepared to enter a life-or-death struggle, all those present would become the most tragic objects of ridicule in the history of the Illusory Demon Realm.
Shock, horror, and fury filled the hearts and minds of every person, while sweat soaked their backs. It was as if they had been imprisoned in a nightmare that lasted a hundred years, and it was only today that someone finally rescued them from it...
"Your Duke Huai Palace has done so many scandalous things that enraged both Gods and men. But those families that should remain loyal to the Demon Emperor's house and still went to your side, they are indeed numerous." Ren Zu said with an expressionless face: "Duke Huai, I will trouble you to recite the names of every influence and family that joined you... Say them one by one and do not leave a single faction out!"
Ren Zu's words made many of those present tremble in shock and alarm. But Duke Huai had already begun to recite sincerely and fervently, "Duke Zhong Palace... Helian Family... Chiyang Family... Jiufang Family... Duke Zi Palace... Great General Zheng Bei... Bai Family..."
Thud!!
Helian Kuang practically crawled on all fours and knelt in front of the Little Demon Empress, while his entire body trembled and sounded as if he were on the verge of tears. "Little Demon Empress... I was deceived and misled by the cunning scoundrel Duke Huai... If I really knew that he did such abominable things, even if I died tens of thousands of times, I still would not join him... I... I... I really was kept in the dark... I beg the Little Demon Empress to realize this clearly... I beg the Little Demon Empress to show me mercy..."
"My Helian Clan has been a Guardian Family for ten thousand years... I, Helian Kuang, will swear eternal loyalty to the Little Demon Empress only, from this day forward... If I dare go back on my words... may I receive the scourge of the heavens... may I be struck by lightning... Please believe me, Little Demon Empress... those things done by the Duke Huai Palace... I truly knew nothing about them..."
Helian Kuang's voice grew hoarser, and he began to erupt into complete incoherence. The Helian Patriarch, who looked down on everyone under the heavens, was clearly reduced to a whimpering mess by the oppressive power of the Little Demon Empress and the crimes of the Duke Huai Palace. The crimes that Duke Huai confessed, any one of them was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Any one of them was enough to earn the eternal enmity of the Illusory Demon Realm, and even the complete extermination of a clan to the ninth degree would not be enough to atone for the sins of those crimes! In addition, the powers and families that stood by Duke Huai would also be painted with the same broad brush; their names would be a repugnant odor for ten thousand years, and they would never be able to free themselves from that guilt.
_________________
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