Chapter 54: Ji Tianrui

Li Miao rattled on for quite a while, yet the woman showed not the slightest reaction.

Having fought with Li Miao for the span of an incense stick, even though Li Miao had deliberately held back, she was now reduced to a near-inhuman state—her left eye was a pitch-black socket, blood trickling from within. Her right arm was severed clean at the elbow, a large patch of flesh on her left abdomen was mangled and bloody, and her legs were covered in bloodstains and lacerations. Her clothes were torn to shreds, exposing a body covered in grim, grotesque scars.

Yet she did not utter a single sound.

Ever since she had revealed her true form, no matter how badly Li Miao injured her—even when he had quite literally ripped her right arm off—she had not let out so much as a whimper.

This was abnormal.

Martial arts struggles in the Great Dashuo were exceptionally brutal, and people of the jianghu were accustomed to entering battle with wounds, possessing a higher tolerance for pain. That was normal.

However, willpower was willpower, and instinct was instinct.

No matter how resilient one was, it merely meant one could continue fighting while injured; it did not mean one would have no physiological reaction. To be abruptly stripped of an arm without even a muffled groan was impossible.

Li Miao looked her up and down and frowned.

He had deliberately beaten the woman into a heavy state of injury before speaking precisely so that she would lose emotional control under severe trauma, allowing him to verify whether his deductions were correct.

At present, however, it had proven entirely useless.

Just as Li Miao was contemplating whether to simply kill her on the spot, the woman suddenly spoke.

"Lord Li, you need not harbor any thoughts of extracting information from my mouth."

"I have only three sentences to convey to you on behalf of the Cult Master."

"Once I have finished speaking, you may dispose of this life of mine however you please. Whether you wish to flense me, disembowel me, or sever my head and hang it from the city gates, do as your heart desires."

Li Miao arched an eyebrow, offering a cold sneer instead.

"You think you can withhold whatever you please simply because you don't wish to speak?"

So long as she wasn't mute, even if she were made of solid stone, he would still force her to open her mouth!

With that, he formed a claw with one hand and struck out through the air, grasping fiercely at the woman's skull!

After finishing her speech, the woman neither dodged nor evaded. She even dropped her stance, standing tranquilly in place as she watched Li Miao's fingers close upon her forehead.

"Hmm?"

Li Miao was taken aback, but his hand did not hesitate in the slightest. With a wet ripping sound, half of her scalp was torn straight off, only to be pressed right back down as he executed that miraculous art of "biological welding," seamlessly fusing the flesh back together.

This martial art was useful for healing wounds, but it was even more effective for torture. Even an old veteran of the jianghu like Liu Baiyun could not withstand it.

The injury inflicted upon the woman was in the area with the densest concentration of nerves, and blood streamed down her forehead, covering her entire face.

Yet she truly allowed Li Miao to do as he pleased.

The woman stood unperturbed in her original spot; her pupils did not constrict, nor did her fingers tremble, as though Li Miao had merely given her head a gentle stroke.

With a completely expressionless face, she said indifferently,

"Lord Li, so long as you do not kill me before I finish conveying the Cult Master's words, you are entirely free to test upon my body whether or not I am merely putting up a bold front."

"Following our recent clash, I am already certain that there is no possible way for me to escape your hands. That being the case, my sole remaining mission is to deliver those three sentences. After that, my life will be yours to take."

"I know you are a veteran of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, someone who has integrated three distinct paths, possessing an intimate understanding of the human body's meridians, bones, and true qi, alongside countless self-created bizarre arts. You have as many methods of torture as you could possibly desire. However, there is one thing you cannot torture: me."

"No matter what you do to me, it feels like absolute nothingness."

Li Miao furrowed his brow, rubbing his fingers together as he scrutinized the woman up and down for a long moment.

Then, sudden realization dawned upon him, followed by a long sigh.

"So that's how it is. No wonder those scars on your body looked so remarkably familiar."

"You are a 'cocoon maiden' who was rescued by someone."

During his expedition to the Tomb of the Miao King, Li Miao had witnessed such sacrificial handmaidens sitting on their knees before the Miao King's coffin. Subjected to all manner of torment, stripped of their five senses, they were tragic creations of ignorant faith who felt the inner gnawing of gu worms while despairingly awaiting the resurrection of the Miao King. The scars exposed by the torn garments of the woman before him after their battle bore a striking resemblance to those of a "cocoon maiden."

The woman nodded.

"You must have seen such 'things' as me within the Miao King's tomb."

"A gu worm crawled along my neck, burrowing into my skull and consuming a portion of my brain matter. Ever since that day, I have never been able to feel a shred of pain. And precisely because of that, I survived until the very end."

"So-called torture relies upon the mind and the physical vessel. I can no longer feel the pain of the flesh. As for the pain of the spirit... could it possibly hurt more than losing all five senses in that tomb, left only to despairingly await death? Therefore, you need not waste your energy on someone like me."

"Now, may I speak the three sentences the Cult Master wishes to impart to you?"

Li Miao found himself feeling rather helpless. All methods of torture were built upon two fundamental prerequisites—the capacity to feel pain, and the desire to live.

Yet this woman was clearly a pervert, and a dual pervert of both mind and body at that. She neither wished to live nor could she perceive pain, holding zero regard for her own physical form.

Of course, Li Miao could think of certain extreme methods that might possibly be effective.

Only, those methods firstly consumed too much time, and secondly crossed too many lines; even Li Miao himself found them repulsive, with not the slightest inclination to employ them.

Thus, there was truly nothing he could do against this woman.

Seeing that Li Miao remained silent, the woman slowly began to speak.

"In that case, I shall lay them out for Lord Li to hear."

"First: Lord Li, you and I are both practitioners of the 'heterodox path,' unwelcome to the 'righteous path.' What is the point of engaging in mutual slaughter?"

Li Miao offered a cold laugh.

"I am heterodox? Then pray tell, who constitutes the righteous path?"

"The imperial court."

The woman answered without the slightest hesitation.

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; true immortals have not manifested in the world for ages, and the root of it all lies within Dashuo, within the Zhu family. As your martial arts continue to advance with each passing day, there will inevitably come a day when you, too, will stand in the shoes of Ji Tianrui, the Teachings Cult, and the Cult Master, facing the might of the imperial court's weapons."

Li Miao let out another derisive chuckle.

"Do you have anything fresher to offer?"

To Li Miao, these words were all obsolete nonsense.

He had spent twenty years biding his time, concealing his strength and waiting until he possessed the power to protect himself before beginning to display his martial arts—did he do that out of sheer boredom?

On Mount Tai, knowing that the Eastern Depot already showed signs of emerging, the words he spoke to the Five Great Sword Sects—that he served the "Embroidered Uniform Guard" rather than the "imperial court"—were those spoken aimlessly?

Outside the Shaolin Temple, Zhu Zai had already made things abundantly clear: "Whether one is a rebel depends not on whether one wants to be, but on whether one can be." Be it in the Great Dashuo or his past life, so long as the primary subject of civilization remained humanity, the underlying logic of operation would forever be "fists" and "power," a truth Li Miao had perceived long ago.

For Ji Tianrui to come and preach such logic to him now made Li Miao feel only that the man must take him for some reckless brute who knew nothing beyond brawling.

The woman remained entirely unfazed and continued.

"Second: Of the four immortals who slew Ji Tianrui back then, within a year of Ji Tianrui's death, the five decays of heaven manifested successively, and they all perished. Zhu Zai escaped death solely due to his status as a member of the imperial clan, yet he was suppressed into the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, unable to advance a single inch for fifteen years."

"When Jia Jing dies, Zhu Zai shall die as well."

"Oh?" Li Miao arched an eyebrow, noncommittal.

This statement was actually useful. If things were truly as this Ji Tianrui 2.0 claimed, and the imperial court were to discover that he was the one who had killed him, he might well incur the same catastrophe as those immortals of old.

However, this matter would have to be verified in the future.

Seeing that Li Miao wore an attitude of utter indifference, the woman was unperturbed and slowly continued.

"Third: My heart has turned to ashes, and I shall leave the Great Dashuo before long. If Lord Li holds a grudge against the Cult, you are welcome to slaughter them as you please; I shall harbor not a shred of resentment."

"However, if Lord Li still wishes to spar with me once more, I shall gladly await you. I merely hope Lord Li will fulfill the appointment promptly and not delay my journey."

"Respectfully submitted, Ji Tianrui."

With those words, the woman raised her hand into a palm and struck fiercely against her own forehead.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, a spray of crimson and white scattered in all directions, and the woman's once-delicate features were completely obliterated. Her headless torso swayed in place for a few moments before crashing heavily to the ground.

Li Miao showed no intention of stopping her, standing quietly in place as he rubbed his fingers together.

"Interesting. Ji Tianrui should know full well what I did on Mount Tai and outside Shaolin."

"Knowing full well that I have integrated three paths and can simultaneously bring two of them to perfection, she still dares to invite me to find her?"

"Very well, so be it."

A trace of a smile surfaced on Li Miao's face.

Unlike his usual lazy and casual grins, this smile carried a hint of excitement.

"I've grown somewhat weary of beating up children anyway."