11 I Have Always Appreciated the Fearless

After celebrating, Zhang Dongyun stood up, waved, and disappeared.

What Hui Tianyu had discovered were scouts who had entered deep into the primeval forest and approached the White Cloud Abyss.

It would still take a long time before the main army would find the way and enter.

There was no need for him to be anxious. He would simply do his own things and wait patiently for the other party to come and find him.

Zhang Dongyun practiced his fist moves for a while and then headed over to see the people being detained inside the fortress.

Only Hui Tianyu and a Mountain Tiger Hall disciple had regained their freedom and were released from the fortress.

Everyone else remained confined.

Some of them were merely trapped, but others were still suffering from the pain caused by the blood river eroding their bones.

Among them, one of them had a special identity.

It was the man surnamed Cao of the Cold Mountain Sect.

His name was Cao Feng, and he was an outstanding disciple of the younger generation of the Cold Mountain Sect. He was accustomed to doing whatever he pleased, and this was causing him to experience hardship, unlike before during this capture.

He had not eaten or drank for many days but still had to suffer from the punishment of the blood river. This vigorous man was currently extremely weak and fragile.

The ferocious aura he once had was entirely gone.

"Such a tough nut to crack." Zhang Dongyun, who appeared as the old man in black, looked at him calmly.

"How can a man… yield the moment he is beaten up?" Cao Feng said with great difficulty.

He already knew that he was facing someone stronger.

However, as fellow Cold Mountain Sect disciples and the people of the Mountain Tiger Hall were still around, he would never admit defeat, as he wished to keep his dignity intact.

He would immediately submit once he was given an out.

Zhang Dongyun sized Cao Feng up and nodded. "Very good. I have always appreciated the fearless."

Then he waved his hand.

Cao Feng was instantly released from the torment of the blood river.

With a flick of Zhang Dongyun's finger, the Impenetrable Fortress's spiritual energy fused with healing energy, transformed into a pill, and flew into Cao Feng's mouth.

"Thank you, Senior!" Cao Feng was delighted.

After consuming the pill, the injuries on the lower half of his body that he had suffered from the blood water swiftly healed.

Cao Feng's gaze swept the rest in pride.

Look at all you cowards.

Wasn't I freed as well despite not submitting?

As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw the mist before him churning, and many beautiful ladies appeared inside the mist.

The ladies' expressions and postures were extremely alluring, and Cao Feng could not tear his gaze away.

Does such a good thing actually exist?

Is this the legendary honey trap?

Cao Feng was astounded.

The rest were so envious that their eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.

"Earlier, Bloody Shadow was too fast and did not manage to give you a strong sense of excitement. I prefer it to be slower," drawled Zhang Dongyun, who had transformed into the old man in black.

A small blade suddenly appeared in between his fingers, and he placed it vertically on top of a certain body part of Cao Feng.

"Young people are indeed very energetic and can rise very fast. But it's best that you try to control yourself as much as possible."

The old man in black stood straight with hands behind his back as he enjoyed the scene he created with the illusion with Cao Feng.

Cao Feng's eyes were bloodshot. He could only watch as his little brother erected itself and shortened the gap between itself and the blade.

The blade pierced through the flesh…

… Slowly, deeper and deeper.

Just as what the old man in black said, this gradual fall into an abyss mixed with pleasure and pain caused greater psychological pressure to Cao Feng than the severe injuries he sustained in the blood river.

"Senior, Senior…" He was already at the edge of despair and could no longer take it. "I will speak! I will speak!"

The old man in black looked dissatisfied. "So fast?"

"I will speak! I will speak… Stop! Quickly stop!" Cao Feng shouted until his voice was hoarse.

Zhang Dongyun silently nodded in satisfaction.

The methods in the novels that he had read on the Blue Planet were quite effective.

Their effectiveness was not only applicable to Cao Feng, but also for the people nearby. Watching this scene fanned their desire as well, but they felt a chill spreading in their nether regions when they saw Cao Feng's situation.

Zhang Dongyun removed the illusion of the blade and the beauties. Then he used black mist to envelop himself and Cao Feng before quietly listening to the latter narrate.

He listened expressionlessly.

But then he started to pay attention.

Cao Feng mentioned that he had followed a senior to visit the Forgotten Truth Temple a few years ago.

Coincidentally, the Forgotten Truth Temple wanted to send people to explore a treasure land. In the end, a few of them, including Cao Feng, from the Cold Mountain Sect were brought along.

In other words, they were brought along to fulfill the role of scouts and cannon fodder.

The place was not in Qinzhou Prefecture nor Longbei County.

After traveling for a long time, they explored a cave.

In the end, they suffered heavy losses, and many died.

Cao Feng fell and became unconscious. When he woke up, he pretended to be dead, so he managed to stay alive with great difficulty.

At that time, he was so frightened that he almost wet his pants.

When he got up, he discovered that most of the people, including those of the Cold Mountain Sect and even the Dao Head of the Forgotten Truth Temple, had lost their lives.

As he was worried that he would be forced to lead the way back to the cave, he feigned ignorance after he escaped and encountered people of the Forgotten Truth Temple. He only said that he had fainted once he entered the cave.

A few years passed, and Cao Feng had intentionally chosen to forget this unpleasant memory.

However, he was captured and detained. The torture from the blood river made him feel like dying.

Thus, he could not care much about anything else anymore. He tightly clutched onto the straw offered to him.

Zhang Dongyun felt regretful about the ending they met inside the cave.

But he noticed something that Cao Feng had mentioned.

Wolf.

According to Cao Feng, what attacked them in the cave was a wolf.

It was a wolf with two pairs of wings and about the size of a small hill yet was able to move lightning fast.

It sounds like a heavenly wolf… Zhang Dongyun thought.

This news about the heavenly wolf alerted Zhang Dongyun.

Among the Twelve Tyrants, Yang Li, who ranked tenth, had transformed from a heavenly wolf of the Demon Dao.

He was also one of the traitors that Zhang Dongyun, or rather, Evil Emperor Ming Tonghui was certain of.

An immortal ruins fragment could be in his possession.

Of course, Yang Li was not the only one related to heavenly wolves.

It could be a real heavenly wolf.

Nonetheless, Zhang Dongyun, who was seeking the other immortal ruins fragments but did not have any clues to follow, could not help but be sensitive to such pieces of information.

"Regardless of whether you led the way or not, the Forgotten Truth Temple would have definitely sent someone there since people of the sect had died inside the cave."

Despite being very mindful of what he heard, the expression of the old man in black whom Zhang Dongyun transformed into did not change.

"They must have completely turned the whole cave inside out."

"No, no. You should still be able to gain something even if you head over now, Senior!" Cao Feng hastily said. "The Forgotten Truth Temple has already sealed that place, and it is currently under heavy surveillance. No one unrelated can go close to it. Most of the other sects are ignorant of the truth."

With eyes burning with hatred, he continued, "I pretended to know nothing but was still almost killed by them. Thankfully, my seniors protected me, so I survived."

"Hmmm?" The old man in black's eyebrow rose.

Cao Feng vowed. "Why would the people from the Forgotten Truth Temple view it so highly if there was nothing good or secretive inside?

"You should be able to gain some benefits if you head over, Senior."

The old man smiled and seemed unaffected. "We can talk about that later."

Then Cao Feng told him other information. The old man in black waved his hand dismissively. "His Majesty is very magnanimous. Since you admit your fault, you pass."

Cao Feng no longer had to enter the blood river, but he remained in confinement.

To Cao Feng, it was an extremely thankful matter not to suffer the torture of the blood river again.

After dealing with Cao Feng, Zhang Dongyun started interrogating the Thunderclap Sect disciple.

This was just for show, so Zhang Dongyun quickly released the disciple.

The Mountain Tiger Hall disciple had already successfully lured the Mountain Tiger Hall's army and the army under the Great Xuanwu General.

Hui Tianyu was the bait for the Cold Mountain Sect.

Hopefully, upon releasing the young Thunderclap Sect disciple, more people from the Thunderclap Sect would be lured over.

As for that cave…

The Cold Mountain Sect, the Forgotten Truth Temple, a heavenly wolf…

Is that really related to Yang Li?

Does he have an immortal ruins fragment in his possession?

If he knows that I, the Evil Emperor, am inside the White Cloud Abyss, will he come and find me, or will he go into hiding instead?

Zhang Dongyun pondered carefully inside the Great Ming Palace.

Outside the White Cloud Abyss, the scouts of the Tang Dynasty army guarded the area enveloped in white clouds and mist.

The main army gradually caught up to them.

Between the mountain ridge was a simple path constructed just so that the main army could barely fit through.

Following the order of the military officers, the scouts started entering the White Cloud Abyss.