Fate-Defying Demon Emperor-Chapter 287 - 274: The Soul Searching Technique
The Shadow Void Evasion Technique of Ying Liu was indeed powerful, but under the Holy Might of the Nine Palace Golden Pagoda, it was as futile as a fly trapped in amber, utterly unable to escape.
Now that Ying Liu was also dead, the only survivor of the Demon Slayer Sect's hunting squad was Cang Lang.
"A Holy Artifact! So it was you who killed Zi Qiong of the Zi Mansion Holy Land!" Cang Lang, his legs severed and escape impossible, exclaimed in shock as he stared at the Nine Palace Golden Pagoda.
Su Han ignored him. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Nine Palace Golden Pagoda into his Bronze Ring and also collected the corpses of Ying Liu, the hawk-nosed man, and the others.
This is no place to linger!
The commotion from the battle had been immense. Su Han could already sense several strong, unfamiliar auras approaching, clearly drawn by the fight.
He grabbed Cang Lang and immediately fled the area. Possessing the Character Technique of Motion and Lightning Fast, his speed was enhanced thirteenfold, making him unbelievably fast. Furthermore, aided by the Heaven-Deceiving Demon Bead which concealed his aura, he quickly vanished beyond the Imperial Capital.
By the time the attracted experts arrived at the scene, Su Han was long gone without a trace. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
In a small frontier town of the Tianqing Dynasty, Su Han disguised himself as an ordinary martial artist and went into hiding. He rented a courtyard and began interrogating Cang Lang.
My Thousand Changes and Transformations has never failed me, so why was I targeted this time? My decision to come to the Tianqing Dynasty was spontaneous; no outsider should have known. Yet, that hawk-nosed man and his four companions were clearly prepared. They knew I was in the Imperial Capital, which is why they could ambush me the moment I left. I have to figure out how they did it. Otherwise, there will be more assassination attempts like this. Worse, if Ye Chuanfeng and the Earth Fiend Demon Sovereign discover my location, I'll be forced to spend the rest of my life on the run.
"You'll never get any information out of me! I won't tell you a single word!"
Cang Lang was not one to fear death. As an assassin for the Demon Slayer Sect, he had long been mentally prepared to die at the hands of another. No matter how Su Han tortured him, he refused to utter a single word.
In that case, I have no choice but to try that one technique!
Unable to extract the information he wanted from Cang Lang's mouth, Su Han could only seek an alternative. However, he had never used this method before and was not confident it would work.
Well, it's a long shot, but it's the only option left.
Having made his decision, the Divine Sense Stellar in Su Han's sea of consciousness flared with brilliant light. His Divine Sense surged out and forcefully drilled into Cang Lang's sea of consciousness.
Soul Searching Technique!
This was a Secret Technique he had obtained from the memories of the Three-Eyed Demon God, capable of searching the memories within a soul. However, its success rate was only fifty percent, and it was hard to judge how much useful information could be retrieved. Most importantly, once the Soul Searching Technique was used, the target's soul would be torn asunder, leaving them to die without a burial place.
But at this moment, Su Han had no other choice but to try.
His Divine Sense transformed into an invisible hand, searching through the memories in Cang Lang's soul. The process was extremely long and difficult.
"AAAH! Kill me! Just kill me!"
Bloodcurdling screams ripped from Cang Lang's throat. The Soul Searching Technique inflicted unimaginable pain and torment—a spiritual agony that words could not describe. Fortunately, Su Han had set up a Formation; otherwise, the shrill cries would have eventually attracted unwanted attention. Even so, the sound made Su Han's scalp tingle and his hair stand on end.
Three hours later, Cang Lang lay dead on the ground, his eyes seeming to split at the corners and his mouth agape. His face was a mask of pure agony, as if he had suffered unimaginable torment—a pain that did not harm the body but struck the very soul.
Standing beside him, Su Han's eyes gleamed. He had used the Soul Searching Technique to find the information he sought.
This latest attempt by the Demon Slayer Sect was not a mission issued solely by Wang Tianqing; the Seven Stars Sect and the Heavenly Demon Cult had also issued tasks. The Demon Slayer Sect was an assassin organization spanning the entire Eastern Region. Its sheer number of experts, vast information network, and secretive channels were far beyond what local forces like the Seven Stars Sect and the Heavenly Demon Cult could match. After numerous failed attempts to capture Su Han, they chose to post a mission and involve the Demon Slayer Sect. The hawk-nosed man and his four companions were all bronze-ranked assassins from Qingmo Province. They had formed a hunting squad, accepted the mission, and come to hunt Su Han.
They were able to pinpoint Su Han's location because the Demon Slayer Sect had masters skilled in divination. Such martial artists cultivated the secrets of the Heavenly Dao, commanding spirits and ghosts to divine the unpredictable. The hawk-nosed man had paid a price of 100,000,000 Spirit Stones for a single divination.
However, the Divination Technique is extremely difficult to master. The divination the hawk-nosed man had purchased was performed by a master who was only at the Heavenly King Realm. Furthermore, because Su Han possessed a movement technique like Thousand Changes and Transformations, the result was not a precise location but only a general area.
But the hawk-nosed man and his team were veteran killers. They had lain in ambush near the Imperial Capital long in advance, ready to strike a fatal blow.
Su Han had grown somewhat careless, relying on his Thousand Changes and Transformations and the Heaven-Deceiving Demon Bead. When he was burying Wang Tianqing in the Cold Palace, the hawk-nosed man's team captured a wisp of his aura. They then laid in wait for him at the city gate, patiently waiting to spring their trap. Whether due to their veteran skills or Su Han letting his guard down, their patient ambush ultimately succeeded, leading to the assassination attempt that just occurred.
A Divination Master!
Su Han's heart sank. He had never encountered such a martial artist before, but he knew from the divine and demonic memories that they existed. They could divine all things and perceive crises. The most exceptional among them could even deduce the secrets of the Heavenly Dao and shield themselves from heavenly punishment—their abilities were truly profound and mysterious.
It seems that while my Thousand Changes and Transformations is extraordinary, it can't block the Divination Technique. I have to find a way to solve this, or I'll face endless trouble. If Cang Lang's team could find a Heavenly King Realm Divination Master, then Ye Chuanfeng and the Earth Fiend Demon Sovereign could surely find an even stronger one.
Su Han quickly searched the divine and demonic memories, hoping to find a method to shield himself from divination. There were many such methods, but they either required extremely precious materials or strength above the Heavenly King Realm, both of which were difficult for Su Han to achieve at present.
I have it! The Nine Palace Golden Pagoda!
Su Han's eyes lit up as he finally found a solution. The memories of the white-haired man indicated that powerful weapons could also conceal one's aura, making it impossible for others to perform deductions or divinations.
The best weapon I have is undoubtedly the Nine Palace Golden Pagoda. If I use its Holy Might to hide my aura, I won't have to worry about the Demon Slayer Sect's Divination Masters.
With this in mind, Su Han decided to enter seclusion for the time being. He would first eliminate the Divine Sense brand left by the Tian Lou Saint and then leave this place.
No sooner said than done. Su Han completely erased all traces of Cang Lang, destroying his body to leave nothing behind. He then took out the Nine Palace Golden Pagoda. His Divine Sense became a sharp blade, slicing into the artifact to battle the Tian Lou Saint's Divine Sense brand, slowly grinding it away.
And while Su Han was in seclusion, the outside world was thrown into turmoil by this very battle
