The sinister edge of the Demonic Rainbow Sword sent a shiver through Little Black's entire body, jolting it awake. He opened his eyes.
Seeing the scene of devastation around it and Hongmao's icy gaze, it was instantly scared out of its wits and hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Hero Hongmao, please spare this humble one's life! It was all Shui Dingdang's fault! She coerced and bribed me, forced me to call a stag a horse, to slander you, all to build her reputation as the Phoenix Heroine! Please see clearly, Hero Hongmao! I... I was wronged!"
Little Black cried and begged, its performance quite moving.
For it, spouting lies and talking nonsense was already second nature.
It didn't even blush.
"You! You despicable, shameless villain! How dare you frame my daughter!" Shui Lingling, seeing its rogue-like demeanor, was furious.
She felt her daughter must have been blind to believe the nonsense of such a slippery, thick-skinned scoundrel.
"Hmph, who's framing whom? Hero Hongmao will judge. Right, Hero Hongmao? You know my character, I'm just a bit mischievous, I wouldn't commit great evils... Wait, Hero Hongmao, what are you doing?!"
Little Black puffed out its chest, about to continue its defense, but found its body quietly lifted by a surge of demonic energy.
Spread-eagled, exposed under the stormy black sky!
Whoosh!
A flash of lightning, accompanied by a deafening roar.
Hongmao's face, half cold, half cruel, looked exceptionally sinister by the sudden flash of lightning.
"Don't worry, it won't be very painful. Compared to what you did to us, it's just a trivial physical punishment."
As he spoke, the demonic energy on the Demonic Rainbow Sword surged violently, flying towards Little Black.
Squelch.
Amidst the shaking black energy, Hongmao stripped Little Black of all its fur and shattered its eggshell, leaving only its ugly, twisted flesh shivering in the cold wind.
"Hero... Hero Hongmao... think twice! Don't mistakenly kill a good... AAAAAHHH!!!"
Seeing Hongmao like this, a chill ran down Little Black's spine, its tongue tied.
It tried to force an obsequious smile, wanting to say something, but was abruptly cut off by an extreme pain that shattered its ability to think.
Pain.
Pain beyond imagination.
It traveled from the outermost layer of its skin, through flesh and muscle, past bones and sinews, seeped into its internal organs, flowed in its blood.
Every cell in its body screamed in agony!
"Stripping your skin is to reduce the hindrance of fur to the demonic energy."
"Spreading you out is to let the demonic energy better penetrate your body, to let you experience this feeling properly."
A cold, grim curve lifted the corner of Hongmao's lips as he spoke softly.
"Ten years ago, the Demonic Sect, which ran rampant across the world, used this method to interrogate nine hundred and seventy-two experts, each one a hardcore death warrior."
"Among them, some lasted one minute, just feeling the demonic energy gnawing their skin clean before they couldn't bear the pain, revealed information, and committed suicide."
"Some were tougher, lasting three minutes. They felt the demonic energy corroding and dissolving their skin, turning their flesh into pus, scraping their bones layer by layer into powder before breaking down, going insane, and being killed by the Demonic Sect."
With every sentence Hongmao spoke, Little Black's trembling intensified.
It could feel it.
Every word this sinister-looking man said was true!
"Of course, there were even more formidable people who lasted a full ten minutes!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, that miserable state... even the Demonic Sect's members who tortured people daily would vomit incessantly. Even a peerless overlord like Heixin Hu would slightly frown."
Hongmao laughed loudly, the demonic energy on his body growing denser.
"His physical body turned into a puddle of sticky fluid mixed with blood, bone, marrow, and various disgusting substances. But, pieced together by the demonic energy, this mass of fluid was astonishingly stitched back together, weakly maintaining his vitality."
"His internal organs... his heart connected to his large intestine, what filled his heart wasn't blood, but feces, his liver connected to his spinal cord, the toxins discharged directly damaged his nerve center, making him unable to control his own body; his spleen, lungs, and kidneys were kneaded into an ugly ball of flesh, constantly swelling, expanding, swelling again under the demonic energy's infusion, until finally..."
Hongmao spread his hands open, revealing a sick smile.
"...with a 'bang', it exploded into a disgusting firework."
"This is your fate, Little Black. Really, it's not excessive at all. Besides this method, I truly can't think of any other way to judge your actions."
Hongmao looked coldly at Little Black, a smirk on his lips.
This judgment method was recorded in the core inheritance of the Heavenly Demon's Wild Dance Divine Art…
Named 'Yama's Judgment'.
It meant that once this move was used, it was as if the King of Hell had passed sentence.
Even with a thousand methods, ten thousand trump cards, one would be tortured to a living death, ultimately dying a miserable end on the spot.
"Hong... You... I... Aaaahhh... Devil!! You're a devil!! A demon god more evil than the Demonic Sect!!!"
In the last clear moment of its consciousness, Little Black, teeth chattering, used the last bit of strength in its body to let out a loud, miserable howl.
The piercing sound echoed in the sky over Phoenix Island, unable to disperse for a long time.
And all of this, to the current Hongmao, was like turning a deaf ear.
"Little Black, guilty of heinous crimes, deserves cruel punishment."
"You two, although you intended to harm me, can be spared the torture. Death is enough."
Hongmao raised the Demonic Rainbow Sword, pointing at Gui Jiujiu and Shui Lingling before him.
Somehow, looking at Little Black nearby, entangled in demonic energy, his flesh slowly turning into thick fluid, their originally sorrowful hearts actually felt a trace of relief.
It seemed that being able to die cleanly at Hongmao's hands was instead a kind of luck.
"Do it." The two raised their heads, as if accepting their fate, and closed their eyes.
"In your next life, remember to discipline your daughter properly." Hongmao said coldly.
Swish…
Two sword flashes gleamed. Shui Lingling and Gui Jiujiu fell, blood staining the ground.
At the moment of death, their faces were calm, as if sinking into sleep.
The unwillingness and resentment in their hearts had vanished without a trace.
Perhaps, ending up like this was indeed their own fault.
That great hero, who once saved all living beings and common people, had the qualification, the reason, and the strength to give them such an outcome.
"Just one left." Hongmao looked at the two corpses on the ground, murmuring softly.
He stepped into the courtyard.
Shui Dingdang had long been knocked unconscious by the earlier fight's shockwaves.
Before passing out, she had been constantly muttering one phrase,
The corners of her eyes damp with tears.
"I'm sorry, Hongmao, I didn't mean it... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
'I'm sorry.'
'Heh.'
Hongmao snorted disdainfully.
Pale, powerless words couldn't wash away the crimes actually committed.
He raised the Changhong Sword in his hand over his head and brought it down heavily.
Swish…
A sword flash gleamed, blood flew through the air.
This Shui Dingdang, full of fervor and chivalrous intent, with myriad ambitions, wanting to break the shackles that daughters of Phoenix Island couldn't practice martial arts, to make a name for herself under heaven… has died.
Cruel?
Perhaps.
But as human beings, no one has the responsibility to bear the consequences of another's 'unintentional mistake' alone.
Her fate had been decided from the moment she became arrogantly overconfident, recklessly believed Little Black's slander, and turned a blind eye to Hongmao's explanations.
He sheathed his sword. The storm was at its peak.
Amidst the thunder and lightning, Hongmao's face flickered between light and dark, like a demon god of the dark night, utterly intimidating.
Behind him, he left a long trail of blood.
The entire family of the Phoenix School Master… annihilated!
The prime culprit, Little Black, turned into black, thick fluid, died after suffering infinite torture.
Only that lonely figure remained, one man, one sword, slowly proceeding towards the place he must go.
[Ding! Hongmao's darkening progress has reached 30%. Reward: All medical knowledge.]
In the parallel world, a system prompt suddenly sounded in Hattori's mind.
'So fast?!'
He sat up from the sofa in surprise, looking at the group chat page.
'He was only at 10% a couple of days ago, now it's 30%?'
'Could he have suffered some new stimulation?'
Meanwhile, in the group chat interface:
[Master of the Changhong Sword: @Dark Group Owner, Group Owner, my benefactor, Hongmao has a request. If you can resolve my doubt, henceforth, even if it means climbing mountains of swords or diving into seas of fire, Hongmao will go through fire and water without hesitation.]
[Master of the Changhong Sword: Where is Lantu now?!]