"Let me die!" Yu Feng roared in despair.
"No hurry. Our spiritual energy is enough to sustain you for a few days. We'll decide what to do after you tell us the truth."
The Grand Elder said.
"Damn it..."
Yu Feng was furious and was about to curse, when the Third Elder's spiritual energy transfusion to him suddenly became intermittent, causing Yu Feng to scream and beg for mercy.
"Fine, I admit it! It was my father! My father incited me! He's been stuck at the Qi Refining stage for thirty years! So he wanted to hoard the ancestor's treasure, that's why he took me to find Chen Jie. Are you satisfied? Can I die now?" Yu Feng finally couldn't bear it and confessed.
However, he cleverly absolved himself of blame.
Since his father hadn't appeared, it meant his father was truly dead. He believed that if his father were alive, he would want him to do this to suffer less pain.
"Mm!"
The Grand Elder nodded unhurriedly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "How strong is Chen Jie? Has he cultivated immortality?"
"Chen Jie is very strong, but he hasn't cultivated immortality! Because when he fought my father, he didn't use any immortal cultivation abilities at all! I suspect his potential for immortal cultivation is very limited, which is why he didn't use any spiritual energy throughout the entire process!"
"As for his martial arts strength, he almost crushed my father! I estimate that only those at the Foundation Establishment stage would be his match!"
"His immortal cultivation strength isn't strong, which makes sense. His immortal cultivation strength indeed shouldn't be strong. After all, our sect only has a few Foundation Establishment masters. How could a rogue cultivator like him be so powerful?"
The Grand Elder murmured, "The world considers his martial arts strength comparable to Foundation Establishment, a monstrous martial arts prodigy!"
"Grand Elder, you've learned enough about Chen Jie's strength. Can I die now?" Yu Feng cried.
The Grand Elder smiled and said, "No hurry, I have one more question for you."
"Grand Elder, hurry up and ask!" Yu Feng couldn't take it anymore. This feeling of being on the verge of collapse from pain but not being able to die was something only cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy could truly understand.
No! He felt that kidney stones and chemotherapy were mere trifles compared to his suffering. This was pain that pierced his very soul.
The Grand Elder exchanged glances with the others and asked, "Yu Feng, by rights, your father's soul lamp effigy should represent your father's consciousness returning, which requires a vast amount of resources to maintain. As a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining, how were you able to separate your consciousness from your body? And how were you able to return it to your father's soul lamp effigy?"
"You... I'm about to die, why are you bothering with this! Fine! I'll tell you! My father cared too much about me. He was afraid that something would happen to me after I went down the mountain to train, so he lent me his soul lamp effigy! In case I encountered enemies, he wouldn't know who they were! Over the years, my father did acquire many sect resources for my cultivation! As for why my father's consciousness didn't return, I don't know either!"
After Yu Feng's consciousness left his body, he wasn't fully lucid, merely following the summoning instinct and flying here.
In reality, he knew nothing of what happened at Peaceful Villa after his death.
"Grand Elder, are your questions finished? May I die now?"
Yu Feng said impatiently.
"Finished."
The Grand Elder replied.
Yu Feng was overjoyed.
"Quick, stop sending me spiritual energy! Let my soul scatter! I can't wait any longer!"
The Grand Elder said expressionlessly, "I'm afraid I can't make that decision!"
"What? You can't even decide whether I die?" Yu Feng shrieked.
"Correct! Because you violated the Ancestor's will, your life and death should be decided by the Ancestor! We will now maintain your consciousness, allowing the Ancestor to punish you!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Feng finally broke.
He couldn't endure this horrific pain for another moment.
He immediately launched into a torrent of curses.
All sorts of unpleasant obscenities poured out of his mouth.
However, the elders remained unfazed.
For Yu Feng, even worse consequences awaited.
The Grand Elder continued, "Furthermore, because your father violated the sect rules by secretly using resources to support you, we will punish your father!"
"However, since your father is dead, you will bear the punishment in his stead!"
"Damn it, I'll fuck your ancestors, you old bastard! Kill me if you have the guts! I..." Yu Feng regretted it. He regretted following his father down the mountain to train, and he regretted offending Chen Jie.
"Yu Zhongfu, if it weren't for you sticking this soul lamp effigy on me, would I be suffering so much? Go to hell! If you were here, I'd curse you so hard your ancestors' graves would smoke!"
The broken Yu Feng didn't spare his own father, and even cursed his mother, whom he had never met.
This showed how much pain he was in.
Now, not only were his dreams of going down the mountain to chase girls shattered, but he also had to endure torment that reached his soul, the end of which was unknown.
The Grand Elder looked at the other elders and said, "Elders, you will take turns infusing Yu Feng with spiritual energy. While ensuring his consciousness doesn't dissipate, maintain a pattern of three shallow pulses followed by one deep pulse, intermittently stimulating him to ensure he suffers a hundred times more pain before meeting the Ancestor. Once we find the Ancestor, we will hand him over for disposal!"
"Yes, Grand Elder!"
"I'm leaving!"
The Grand Elder slowly departed with his hands behind his back.
The elders couldn't help but whisper among themselves, "The Grand Elder truly lives by the rules and acts with integrity! Even Yu Zhongfu, who made a mistake, is punished! Admirable!"
"It's just that Yu Feng is rather pathetic. With his talent, he might have had a chance to marry our sect leader's daughter in the future. Now, he can't have women, and he has to endure hellish torture."
"I was fortunate enough to experience this kind of suffering in the past. I still remember it vividly. I'm fortunate that it's not me suffering now."
"Alas, I truly pity him." Although an elder said he pitied him, his hands were merciless, causing Yu Feng's screams to become even more mournful.
"By the way, I heard that our Ancestor Zhou Yu's famous artifact is something called a Soul Summoning Banner. The so-called Soul Summoning Banner is made from human souls, its principle being to make the soul suffer inhumane torment, generating immense resentment to enhance the banner's power. Perhaps Yu Feng will be captured by the Soul Summoning Banner and endure even more ferocious torture?"
"Highly likely! The thought of it sends shivers down my spine."
"That kind of pain should be a hundred, even a thousand times more intense than what Yu Feng is enduring now! Only then will a soul, with its profound resentment, remain in this world."
Yu Feng was numb.
But soon, he let out a piercing scream.
As he screamed, he regretted not having chosen to die sooner.