The righteous sect's female cultivator, who had been brought in under heavy restraint, instantly glared up at Su Meier on the high platform, her eyes blazing with undisguised hatred and fury.
Though bound tightly, unable to move an inch, her aura of righteous integrity had not diminished in the slightest.
"You heinous demoness, guilty of countless crimes!" the female cultivator's voice was crisp but filled with unyielding resolve. "Even if I die today, I will never let the likes of you succeed! We of the righteous path will one day flatten this devil's den and rid the world of your evil!"
Instead of anger, Su Meier was amused.
Propping her chin lazily with one hand, she leaned forward with interest, studying the girl before her as if she were nothing more than a kitten baring its fangs for the first time.
"Little sister, you must have only just left your sect to temper yourself in the world, hmm? Not a shred of experience to your name." Su Meier chuckled, her eyes filled with teasing amusement. "Go on then, tell me—what makes me so 'heinous'?"
"Hmph! You demoness slaughter lives without number, your hands drenched in blood. Of course you are a fiend!" the woman snapped back without hesitation.
"Oh? Slaughter without number?" Su Meier's smile only grew more enchanting. She shifted into a more comfortable pose, speaking unhurriedly: "Then let me ask you this—if our roles were reversed, and I had fallen into your hands, what would you do to me?"
"That's obvious!" the righteous girl answered at once, her voice sharp. "I would execute you with my sword in the name of heaven, to eliminate future calamity!"
"There, you see?" Su Meier spread her hands, her smile pure and innocent. "If I kill, I'm evil. But if you kill, it's justice. Aren't you also a killer then? What right do you have to call me one?"
"Nonsense!" the young woman's cheeks flushed crimson, clearly shaken. "You are of the demonic path, fit only for extermination! We slay demons as our righteous duty. How could that possibly be the same as your indiscriminate butchery?"
"Not the same?" Su Meier let out a silvery laugh, covering her lips with her hand as her body trembled with mirth, her full chest heaving enticingly with each chuckle.
Only after a while did she calm herself, fixing her foxlike eyes on the young cultivator. Her voice was soft, yet cutting:"In that case, the demonic cultivators I've slain within my sect alone already number more than you could ever hope to kill. By your logic, doesn't that make me even more righteous than you?"
"You—!" The girl froze, her mind struck blank as if hammered by a great blow.
The notion was so absurd that she found herself momentarily speechless.
Seeing her tongue-tied, Su Meier's smile grew even brighter. Her voice was velvet-smooth as she pressed further:"Here in my Mysterious Yin Gate, ten out of ten disciples have blood on their hands—every one of them worthy of hell. By killing them, I lose no virtue. On the contrary, I gain merit. Tell me then—doesn't that make me the one acting on heaven's behalf?"
The female cultivator's eyes clouded with confusion, her lifelong convictions beginning to crack apart piece by piece.
She fought to think, to find some flaw in Su Meier's twisted reasoning.
At last, a spark lit her gaze, and she cried out, "No! That's wrong!"
"Oh? What part is wrong?" Su Meier tilted her head with curiosity.
"If things were truly as you say, then the demonic sects would earn merit just by butchering each other. How could killing them increase your virtue?" the woman's voice shook, but she spoke with desperate conviction.
To her shock, Su Meier actually nodded approvingly.
"Not bad. At least you showed a little wit this time." She admitted freely. "Indeed, some who slaughter enough evildoers actually do accumulate merit. If I mistakenly killed such a one, I'd suffer a loss of virtue. And yes… that loss does sting."
"But it's hardly a problem." She leaned back lazily, as if the matter were trivial. "If my virtue decreases, I simply visit the Three Talents Market, spend a few spirit stones, and purchase a few heinous criminals to kill. My virtue will be restored in no time."
The girl stood as if struck by lightning.
Her mind reeled.
Merit… could be bought and traded like that?
Could this demoness truly have more virtue than her?
No—it had to be wrong!
And yet, no matter how she strained, no rebuttal would come. Her face burned, but her mouth stayed shut.
Su Meier exhaled contentedly. What she loved most was to toy with these fledgling cultivators, whose Dao hearts were still frail and unsteady.
If she faced a Foundation Establishment cultivator instead, they would pierce her arguments with ease, never allowing themselves to be shaken like this poor girl.
Satisfied, Su Meier turned and smiled at Liu Meng."Well? Can you see now what my sect's task really is?"
Liu Meng thought quietly for a moment, then said evenly:"I suspect the task is to obtain something from this female cultivator. But what exactly that is, I cannot tell."
Su Meier gave her disciple a look of approval before turning back to the dazed young woman."You hear that? Even my beloved disciple believes you carry something of value. Why don't you tell me what it is yourself?"
But the girl remained vacant, lost in the fog of her shattered faith.
Su Meier didn't mind. She only smiled faintly."Very well. Soon enough, you'll beg to tell me everything."
And then the torment began.
The Mysterious Yin Art relied on dual cultivation and "harvesting" techniques to advance. Inevitably, it contained countless unspeakable methods of subjugation.
Soon, the hall rang with strange cries. Even Liu Meng—accustomed as she was to modern information—could barely bear to watch Su Meier's cruel play.
The righteous girl's will had already been near collapse; under such torment, she broke almost instantly, pleading desperately for it to end.
But Su Meier only prolonged the game until her captive teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, finally letting go with a languid sigh."As I thought—women are far more entertaining…"
It didn't take long before the girl spilled everything like beans from a split sack.
Her name was Lin Qingwan, a disciple of the righteous sect Lishi Pavilion, one of the Seven Great Gates.
She had recently perfected the third layer of Qi Refinement and, by her master's order, descended the mountain to seek opportunities for breakthrough.
During her journey, she stumbled across an ancient secret realm left behind by cultivators of ages past. That realm was shielded by a powerful restriction—it admitted only mortals. Any cultivator who carried spiritual power would be instantly repelled, unable to take even half a step inside.
It was for this information that the demonic sect had captured her, to have Su Meier extract the location of the secret realm.
Under threats and temptation alike, Lin Qingwan dared not conceal anything. She revealed every detail.
"Only mortals may enter?" Su Meier's eyes flashed with a trace of regret. "What a pity. It seems none of us here will have any share in that fortune."
She swept her gaze across Liu Meng and the gathered attendants, as if commiserating with them.
But then her tone shifted, languid and sly:"Still, even if we could, it is not ours to claim. After all, interrogating this girl was a mission entrusted to me by the sect. Whatever I uncover must be handed over in full—no private hoarding allowed."