The three people from the Nightshield sect, two men and one woman, trembled slightly under Liang Chen's chilly gaze. But they had been trained by the Nightshield sect, so they knew what standard procedure was to do in a situation like this, make the enemy understand your connections so that you could establish more room for negotiation. So the sole woman among the three quickly followed the teachings of her master and spoke up.
"We are from the Nightshield sect and our Master is Shen Young, you will not manage to survive for too long if you interrogate us in an excessively forc...!"
The woman's words were cut off by a sickening crunch as the sole of Liang Chen's foot smashed into her face and crushed the back of her head into the wall behind her. The back of her skull cracked, but Liang Chen controlled his strength enough to not kill her, glaring at all three of them and giving them a single warning.
"My patience ran out long ago, so just shut up. And I never said I was going to interrogate you."
Liang Chen stretched out his arm and tapped the foreheads of the three people, a nearly invisible stream of poison entering their minds and souls. Liang Chen had already gotten quite proficient at using this mind-controlling poison, so it didn't take long for the eyes of the three people to turn blurry and unfocused, their jaws sacking. Liang Chen pulled back his arm, casting a quick glance over his shoulder and making sure that none of the Qing clan elders were being stupid and moving as he asked his questions.
"My questions are very simple, who had a hand in capturing my sister, what role did the people in this room play in it, who had a hand in the destruction of the Storm Wolf sect, where are the surviving disciples kept, are Yan Ying and Yan Wuhan among the captives, who else has allied with the Sealing God Empyrean, and do you know why they want to kill me?"
Liang Chen knew that the Storm Wolf sect was reduced to only about 100 people remaining in captivity, but he didn't actually know if Yan Ling's family members were among the survivors. He hoped that they were, the last thing he wanted was for Yan Ling to feel the same pain that he was feeling right now. They were both the same, they had already lost enough in their lives, especially Liang Chen, Yan Ling and their two young companions were the last things he had left. Under the compulsion of Liang Chen's poison, the three people were left with no other choice but to answer, all three of them talking at the same time.
"Your sister was captured by the Nightshield sect and the Moon Dragon sect, they captured here in the hidden realm where Qing Lan Yong had tucked her away for safety. The ones to actually catch her were Li Song from the Nightshield sect and Yatya Meng from the Moon Dragon sect, the people in this room were only responsible for both keeping an eye on her and squeezing information out of her through any means necessary. The Storm Wolf sect was destroyed by the disciples of the Sealing God Empyrean, the Nightshield sect, and the Moon Dragon sect, but all the disciples are being held captive in the Nightshield sect dungeon. Yan Ying is among the surviving captives, but Yan Wuhan sacrificed his life to wound the attackers and buy the disciples enough time to escape. Other than the Moon Dragon sect and the Nightshield sect, the Dawn's Blade Alliance has also allied with the Sealing God Empyrean, but we don't know why they are trying so hard to kill you."
The voices of the three people overlapped with each other, but Liang Chen was still able to understand what they were saying. They didn't have the exact same answers, probably due to the difference in status the three of them had within the sect. Liang Chen was temporarily caught off-guard by the fact that Qing Lan Yong had apparently tried to keep his sister safe, but those thoughts were immediately blown away when he heard about Yan Wuhan's fate, his expression distorting slightly.
So it was as he feared, Yan Ling's family weren't able to escape harm, her father had actually died already. Liang Chen's fingers drummed against his thigh for a bit, his expression somewhat grim as his mind raced to figure out what to do next. After spending nearly half a minute in silence, he decided on what he would do next. He had already lost practically everything that he could lose, he would not allow the same to happen to Yan Ling.
"The Nightshield sect, how many elders and high-ranking disciples are currently present in it and which one of them is guarding the dungeon? Also, what's the strength of the ones guarding the dungeon."
His plan was to save Yan Ying, but he had to know about the strength of the Nightshield sect before he could make a more detailed plan of action. Luckily, even in these dark times, it seemed like there was still some luck that remained on his side, the leader of the three people answering his question.
"The Dawn's Blade Alliance wanted to make sure that the allied sects actually stayed true to their words so they made them send all the elders and most of the high-ranking disciples over to the Dawn's Blade Alliance headquarters to serve as hostages. They are still able to stay in contact with us, but the ones currently ruling the Nightshield sect are Senior Sister Chinyu and Senior Brother Lim, who've both reached the late stage of the Primordial Immortal realm."
The corners of Liang Chen's mouth curved upwards into the faintest of curves when he received the answer. If that was all the strength that the Nightshield sect currently had available, then it would be much easier to put together a plan. Liang Chen didn't ask them another question right away, turning his head to look at the 12 elders from the Qing clan. From what he had just been told, these people were responsible for squeezing information out of Qing Chun, no matter what they had to do. Thus, their fates were already set in stone.
The poison Liang Chen spread earlier received its order and performed its duty, invading the bodies of the elders. 11 of them quickly started to cough and retch, dropping to their knees and clawing at their throats as his poison caused their throats to swell up and block their breathing. Liang Chen looked on impassively as the 11 elders choked to death, his gaze never once leaving them before the 11th elder drew his final breath.
Only when the last elder died did Liang Chen turn his head to look at the 12th elder, Qing Xiang, the best friend of his father. Qing Xiang hadn't tried to flee when he saw the other elders choke to death, he knew that he didn't stand a chance even if he were to be given a head-start of several minutes. Liang Chen moved his gaze away from Qing Xiang, dismissively pointing at the doorway to the room.
"You were a good friend to my father, so I can't kill you here, leave."
Liang Chen had no idea what to do with Qing Xiang, but it didn't feel right to kill him just because he was unable to save Liang Chen's parents or sister, so for now he decided to let him go. But if he learned that Qing Xiang had, in fact, played a part in the death of Qing Chun, or even taken part in squeezing information out of her, then he would probably end up killing him.
Qing Xiang wore a somewhat difficult expression as he looked at Liang Chen, observing what had become of the young child he once doted on as he would his own son, observing how the world had twisted and bent him. In the end, he could only let out a wistful sigh and leave, wondering about what Liang Chen might have become if it was someone else that was chosen as scapegoats.
Liang Chen watched as Qing Xiang left, waving his hand and creating a gust of wind that picked up the fragments of the door, once again blocking the entrance to the room. Once he was certain that there was no one else in the room, Liang Chen turned his gaze back onto the three people that were still sitting on the ground against the wall. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out the Heaven Altering Mask, putting it on and changing his appearance so that it was a perfect match for the leader of the three.
"Now then, how about you tell me everything I need to know to be you?"