The sword spirit landed before Ye Ling, its face a mask of lingering terror. It immediately knelt before Ye Ling, stammering, "Your Majesty... save me!"
Ye Ling quickly helped the sword spirit up and asked gently, "Don't panic. Take a deep breath, then tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"
"It, it was..."
The sword spirit took a couple of deep breaths as Ye Ling guided it, finally managing to stabilize its emotions. It then said to Ye Ling, "Your Majesty, the friend you asked me to find, he's dead!"
"Dead?"
Hearing the sword spirit's words, Ye Ling was taken aback, not quite comprehending.
Ye Ling had searched the sword spirit's soul and had some understanding of its friend in the Void organization.
His friend was named Dong Hua San Ren, with a cultivation at the early Saint stage. While not a top-tier powerhouse in the Three Realms, his combat strength was among the first echelon. Few in the Three Realms could take his life.
Such an existence would be revered by all immortals, even in the Immortal Realm. How could he die so easily?
The sword spirit nodded repeatedly, its voice trembling, "N-no... he's truly dead! And his death was incredibly tragic. His eyes were gouged out, his tongue was cut off, and even his limbs were severed. He was completely made into a human pig!"
"A human pig?" Ye Ling was also startled. "Even a dignified Saint could suffer such a fate?"
"Yes, yes, yes! The perpetrator's methods were utterly cruel, utterly devoid of humanity!" The sword spirit was filled with fear, still unable to shake off the horrifying images.
Even if he had to die, his friend's end was far too miserable!
Hearing the sword spirit's words, Ye Ling frowned, but he quickly regained his composure and said to the sword spirit, "However, even if your friend was subjected to extreme torture, what does that have to do with me?"
"I don't think I have any obligation to get involved in your affairs."
With the events in the Desolate Land now concluded, Ye Ling and the sword spirit had no further vested interests. If the sword spirit was coming to him now, there was no need for him to wade into this murky water.
Seeing that Ye Ling was reluctant to get involved, the sword spirit panicked and quickly clung to Ye Ling's leg, crying, "Don't say that, Your Majesty! I went to find my friend precisely for you! Now that something has happened, I'm in grave danger. You can't abandon me!"
The sword spirit tightly gripped Ye Ling's leg, wailing mournfully, looking utterly pitiful!
"Let go!"
Ye Ling flicked the sword spirit away with a look of disgust. However, the sword spirit was like a stubborn stain, immediately reattaching itself as soon as it was shaken off.
Looking at the sword spirit's current state, Ye Ling couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He scoffed, "Look at you now, do you have any semblance of a Saint? A mere human pig has scared you this much?"
The human pig was a torture invented by Empress Lü of the Human Realm. This sword spirit was at least tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years old and possessed Saint cultivation. Yet, it was now terrified by a mortal torture. Ye Ling was speechless.
The sword spirit, with snot and tears streaming down its face, clung to Ye Ling's leg and wailed, "Your Majesty, you weren't there, you don't know! The scene was simply too terrifying!"
Ye Ling sighed slightly and pushed the sword spirit away again. "Alright, take me there first. Where is your friend's body?"
Although Ye Ling wasn't particularly inclined to care about the sword spirit's fate at the moment, he was genuinely curious. What kind of entity could scare a Saint into such a state?
The sword spirit trembled and said, "My friend's body... is in... in the capital of Huaguo in the Human Realm..."
"The capital?"
Hearing the sword spirit's words, Ye Ling looked at it with disbelief, surprised, "How could it be there?"
From the sword spirit's memories, Ye Ling knew that although Dong Hua San Ren wasn't an ultimate powerhouse, he was a Saint with a name and reputation in the Immortal Realm. He had his own blessed land in the Immortal Realm. How could he have gone to the Human Realm and died in the capital of Huaguo?
Even more coincidentally, after dealing with matters in the Underworld, Ye Ling had planned to visit the capital to handle the matter of the Shadow Hall's newly established branch in the Human Realm. Now, a Saint had fallen in the capital and been made into a human pig...
Ye Ling's brow furrowed slightly, forcing him to consider these two events together.
In this world, only the Void and the Shadow Hall had the capability to treat Saints as playthings.
With these thoughts, Ye Ling began to take the matter seriously. He said to the sword spirit, "Lead the way. After I assess the situation, we'll discuss further."
Seeing that Ye Ling had agreed to help, the sword spirit was overwhelmed with gratitude. It repeatedly kowtowed to Ye Ling, exclaiming excitedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life! I will never forget this!"
"Enough! Stop the nonsense and lead the way!"
Ye Ling tore open space and kicked the sword spirit into it, then followed himself, leaving the Hundred Thousand Nether Mountains...
...
Huaguo, Capital City, a wealthy villa district.
Ye Ling, now dressed in a suit, stood at the entrance of the villa district, looking at the sword spirit beside him with a bewildered expression. He asked, "I recall your friend, Dong Hua San Xian, was a Saint who sought nothing and desired nothing, right?"
The sword spirit nodded repeatedly, "Y-yes... My friend has always been indifferent to the affairs of the Three Realms, living a solitary life. Apart from occasionally helping the Void organization search for the Bronze Gate, he mostly cultivated in his own blessed land."
Ye Ling then asked, "Then why did your friend come to this place? Was he bored?"
If he wanted to experience the mortal world, Dong Hua San Ren could have easily transformed into a commoner, wandered the world, and savored the joys and sorrows of life, the warmth and coldness of human relationships...
But this villa district was a renowned affluent neighborhood in the capital. It was inhabited by wealthy families and top stars with assets in the hundreds of millions. Even the air in this community was permeated with the scent of decadent wealth...
This place neither cultivated the mind nor facilitated cultivation... Ye Ling truly couldn't understand why a dignified Saint would choose to live in such a place.
The sword spirit also scratched its head with a wry smile and said, "This... I also can't figure out why. Dong Hua San Ren has always been pure and abstemious, and he couldn't adapt to this life of extravagance. Yet, he used the alias Gao Feng and lived here, even owning several companies..."
"Strange..."
Ye Ling muttered to himself and didn't linger at the entrance. He strode towards the main gate of the community.
The security guards at the entrance acted as if they hadn't seen Ye Ling and the sword spirit at all, continuing with their own tasks, completely oblivious to outsiders infiltrating the area.
Ye Ling and the sword spirit walked leisurely through the community. The people they encountered were either top stars with millions of fans or wealthy individuals who frequently appeared on television.
Anyone within this community, if they were to show their face publicly, could likely cause a significant stir in society.
Yet... in this place filled with influential figures and under extremely strict security, no one paid any attention to the dilapidated house at the end of the community, which was emitting a foul odor.
Ye Ling stopped in front of the dilapidated house. An extremely strong scent of blood wafted towards him.
Even without the sword spirit saying anything, Ye Ling knew...
This was his destination.