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Chapter 478 To be a good person, you have to be ruthless!

The blood pool was still bubbling and churning, condensing into a layer of blood-red mist that hovered on the surface for a long time.

The two "eyeballs" formed from congealed blood suddenly rotated, their scarlet gazes piercing through the mist and locking onto the figure that had suddenly appeared on the altar.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

The blood rippled slightly, and the sound that came out was hoarse and strained, as if something was stuck in the throat.

At the same time, Xuanzhen's consciousness quickly swept across the surroundings of the cave.

The ground was littered with the corpses of villagers, their bodies bearing no signs of fighting, yet all of them were lifeless.

It was clear that it suffered a huge backlash during the blood sacrifice ritual just now, which led to its current state.

Beside the altar, the man wearing black-rimmed glasses was looking down at the eerie human face reflected in the pool of blood.

"Even if you don't recognize my face, you should recognize my scent, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanzhen stared at him in confusion for a long while before blurting out:

"You are... Ye Zhiren?! You're still alive!"

The face formed from pooled blood displayed an incredibly complex expression, a mixture of shock, disbelief, and inexplicable panic.

Professor Ye Zhiren, whose real name had been revealed, revealed a hint of mockery on his refined face.

"Thanks to you, after seventeen years, I, this 'traitor,' am still alive and well."

"How could you possibly have found this place?!"

Xuanzhen's voice suddenly rose in pitch, and the faces on the surface of the blood pool trembled violently, creating ripples.

He was deeply shaken and could hardly accept the reality before him.

It should be noted that the location of this "Mother Gu Pool of Ten Thousand Souls" has never been revealed to outsiders.

Even among the core members of the ideal world, only a handful know its general location, let alone its exact spatial coordinates.

This was his last trump card to save his life!
Within the organization, Xuanzhen has never been known for his direct combat skills.

He is more adept at using all sorts of underhanded tricks to remotely manipulate consciousness, play with people's hearts, appear and disappear without a trace, making the enemy tremble with fear and see enemies everywhere.

The reason he was able to act so recklessly, disregarding even powerful families and special investigation teams, and committing so many serious crimes, yet still escaping justice, is that...

It was this "Mother Gu Pool of Ten Thousand Souls" that they relied on.

Over the past hundred years, Xuanzhen has encountered countless formidable enemies and has been crushed and defeated many times.

Yet he was able to escape danger time and again, and even when his physical body was destroyed, he was able to make a comeback soon afterward.

Therefore, he earned the terrifying title of "Undying Blood Demon" in the community of supernatural beings, and his fearsome reputation even surpassed that of several leaders of the organization.

Now, this most secret trump card has been seen through.

Xuanzhen was as if he had been stripped naked and exposed to the hunter's gun.

The suffocating fear made it almost impossible for him to think.

Ye Zhiren did not answer his question, but coldly stared at the distorted human face in the pool of blood.

Xuanzhen stared at Ye Zhiren for a long time, and the look of surprise and doubt in his bloodshot eyes gradually subsided, and he regained some composure.

He snorted coldly, feigning composure:

"It seems your strength has improved quite a bit in the past ten years."

Ye Zhiren said calmly:

"Yes, so many years have passed. Even a pig should have improved in terms of both strength and mentality."

"Ha ha……"

Xuanzhen let out a dry laugh:

"You had plastic surgery, presumably because you didn't want the organization and the government to investigate your identity anymore."

"If that's the case, why bother traveling thousands of miles to this desolate place, getting involved in this mess, and stirring up trouble we shouldn't be getting into..."

“Xuanzhen.”

Ye Zhiren suddenly interrupted him and asked in return:

"Do you remember something you said to me seventeen years ago?"

Xuanzhen was taken aback by what he heard, not understanding what it meant.

Ye Zhiren then slowly began to speak:
"You said that to be a good person, you have to be ruthless. If you're not ruthless, others won't be afraid of you. If you're ruthless enough, even the biggest troubles will avoid you on their own."

His voice was eerily calm, as if he were recounting a past event that had nothing to do with him.

After pausing for a few seconds, he looked up, his gaze behind his glasses flashing with a sharp edge, and a slight smile played at the corners of his lips.

"I'm here now to prove to you that I've learned how to be a person."

Xuanzhen's blood-red pupils suddenly contracted:
"You still want to take revenge on us for what happened seventeen years ago?"

"You guessed right."

Ye Zhiren's answer was concise and firm.

"Just you?"

Xuanzhen scoffed upon hearing this, his expression full of contempt:

"Back then, you were just a greenhorn running errands for me. So what if you've grown stronger over the years and reached S-rank?"

"Our ideal world gathers the world's top superhuman experts. The mere S-rank is unattainable in the eyes of outsiders, but here they don't even rank!"

"You think you can challenge the entire organization all by yourself? That's just wishful thinking, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"

He mocked relentlessly, his voice gradually taking on a sinister tinge:
"Also, you've witnessed that person's strength before."

"Do you really think that kind of near-divine power is something a nobody like you could possibly defeat?"

"I am indeed no match for that lord."

Yeh Chih-jen readily admitted it, then immediately changed the subject:
"But I still have some confidence in dealing with a soul like you who has lost its physical body and is just barely clinging to life."

"Haha, do you think my strength will be greatly reduced just because I don't have a physical body?"

Xuanzhen felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, and the blood pool churned uncontrollably.

"I am a psychic! My methods and secret techniques do not require a physical body at all!"

"Believe it or not, I can annihilate you right now, leaving you no chance to be reincarnated..."

He roared, his voice growing increasingly shrill, though his words betrayed his inner weakness.

"Of course I know."

Ye Zhiren interrupted him again, his glasses reflecting the eerie red light of the blood pool, his tone completely calm:
“I know many of your secrets. I know that you have killed countless people with this ‘Mother Gu Pool of Ten Thousand Souls’, constantly absorbing their life force to repair your remnant souls, nourish your secret realm, and even retain the Soul Devouring Domain.”

"I also know that after your resurrection, you plan to participate in the Utopia operation and prepare to do something earth-shattering."

Xuanzhen's face, congealed with blood, froze instantly, his blood-red eyes narrowing slightly:
"So, you still want to go against us? Are you crazy?!"

His words revealed a deeper sense of doubt and unease.

“You should know that ever since we swore allegiance to that lord, our consciousness has been marked by him and we have established a spiritual connection with him.”

"Once I die, the murderer will also be marked. Heh, then, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, the organization will hunt you down to death!"

Despite uttering harsh words, Xuanzhen's soul couldn't help but feel an indescribable chill upon seeing the other party's calm and composed expression.

The other party was too composed, so composed that it seemed they had him cornered.

Ye Zhiren slowly took off his black-rimmed glasses, wiped the lenses, and spoke in an emotionless tone:

"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little too excited."

When he raised his head again, the peace in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by an incomparably sharp killing intent.

Do you know why I'm only coming to find you now?

Ye Zhiren slowly squatted down, his eyes fixed on the distorted human face in the pool of blood, his voice low and cold:

"Because I have made full preparations and developed various contingency plans."

"For years, I've been hiding in the shadows, observing you, tracking you, waiting for your moment of weakness, and then crushing you with my own hands..."

"you dare--"

Xuanzhen grew increasingly terrified as he listened, and suddenly screamed, causing the blood pool to erupt with terrifying fluctuations.

Countless drops of blood coalesced into sharp blood spears, shooting towards Ye Zhiren in a massive, overwhelming barrage.

At the same time, the huge bloody face suddenly rose from the pool, transforming into a ferocious giant mouth that viciously bit down on Ye Zhiren's head.

However, the anticipated successful sneak attack did not occur.

boom!
An invisible mental shockwave, like a raging tsunami, erupted from Ye Zhiren's body in an instant.

The blood spears that shot towards them solidified in mid-air before shattering into countless blood mists.

The gaping maw that lunged at him was directly hit by the shockwave, exploding into a shower of blood.

"This...this is impossible!"

Xuanzhen's horrified voice rang out.

He could clearly sense that the intensity of this spiritual power far exceeded his expectations.

This is not the strength that an ordinary S-class superhuman should have.

"Uh-"

Before he could think it through, something even more terrifying happened. Ye Zhiren stretched out his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread, and aimed it at the painfully distorted human face in the pool of blood.

An even larger and purer spiritual force suddenly appeared, like an invisible giant hand, and slammed down on the remnant soul that Xuanzhen had condensed.

"town!"

Ye Zhiren gave a soft shout, his words like thunder in spring.

Rumbling--

The entire blood pool instantly boiled.

Countless streams of blood surged and churned wildly, trying to break free from Ye Zhiren's suppression.

But that force was like a mountain, pressing down on Xuanzhen's remnant soul, rendering him unable to move.

Xuanzhen's face struggled violently in the pool of blood, his features twisted to the extreme, emitting a shrill scream.

"No...impossible! How could your mental strength be so powerful?!"

"You're clearly just a Grade A piece of trash! What have you been doing all these years? What have you been doing?"

Ye Zhiren did not answer.

He simply squatted quietly by the blood pool, his eyes flashing with an extremely cold light.

His spiritual power was like a giant net, firmly binding Xuanzhen's remnant soul. No matter how the other struggled, he could not break free even a little.

Seventeen years of forbearance.

Seventeen years of planning.

Seventeen years of waiting.

This is the moment we've been waiting for.

“Xuanzhen”.

Ye Zhiren spoke slowly, his voice calm yet seemingly concealing a long-suppressed volcano:

"You're wrong, I'm not here to oppose you."

He paused, a deep-seated hatred flashing in his dark eyes.

"I'm here to kill you all one by one... to avenge the brothers who died back then."

At this moment, his expression revealed a hint of ferocity, like an avenger returning from hell.

He was no longer the gentle and refined professor he used to be.

Looking at the face struggling desperately and powerless in the blood pool, Ye Zhiren shook his head slightly and withdrew his spiritual power:

"I thought it would be a fierce battle, but the way you are now is really disappointing."

Xuanzhen was breathing heavily, his voice filled with resentment:

"If I hadn't encountered a formidable enemy just now, and my soul hadn't been severely injured, you wouldn't have had a chance to defeat me!"

Ye Zhiren ignored his explanation and expressionlessly unzipped the canvas bag he had brought.

The bag contained no weapons or magical artifacts, but rather bags of grayish-white powder.

That's industrial quicklime.

"You...what are you going to do?!"

Upon seeing this, Xuanzhen's voice betrayed a hint of panic.

Ye Zhiren remained silent. He picked up a bag of quicklime, tore it open, and quickly poured it out.

"Sizzle—"

A piercing sound suddenly rang out in the cave.

That wasn't an explosion; it sounded like a million branding irons simultaneously scalding flesh.

When quicklime comes into contact with blood, a violent exothermic reaction occurs.

In just one second, the entire "Mother Gu Pool of Ten Thousand Souls" suddenly boiled as if it had been doused with boiling oil.

The highly alkaline substances are rapidly eroding the organic matter in the blood.

The temperature quickly soared to over 100 degrees Celsius.

A pungent white steam, mixed with the smell of blood and lime, shot into the sky with a "whoosh".

"Ahhhh-"

Xuanzhen's face twisted wildly in the boiling, churning blood, emitting a shrill, inhuman scream, clearly the result of torture.

The originally viscous and flowing blood rapidly deteriorates and coagulates under the combined effects of high temperature and strong alkali.

The proteins in the blood plasma coagulate into lumps at high temperatures, and the bright red color gradually turns charred black and grayish white.

The entire pool of blood was being boiled alive into a pool of "blood tofu".

"No! Ye Zhiren! You can't kill me!"

Xuanzhen finally broke down completely, and he roared with all his might:

"I know the whereabouts of all the traitors; I can tell you where they are hiding!"

"I also know about the secret base of the Ideal Land, and I know the true identity of that person!"

"Please, please, spare me. What happened back then was all ordered by that lord. I was forced into it..."

"Also, I can redeem myself by helping you deal with the organization, as long as you let me go..."

Ye Zhiren completely ignored him.

He simply stared calmly at the pool of blood, using his mental power to suppress his target and prevent his enemy from escaping.

Then, bag after bag of quicklime was poured in.

His expression and demeanor were as if he were adding seasonings and carefully preparing a delicious dish.

With each bag poured out, the blood pool boiled more violently, and Xuanzhen's screams became increasingly shrill.

"Ye Zhiren, I curse you—I curse you to go to hell after you die—"

Xuanzhen's last words changed from pleading for mercy to vicious curses.

But soon, even the cursing stopped.

The mother Gu that his soul relied on was boiled alive under the dual attack of physical and mental forces, and was finally completely destroyed.

Ye Zhiren poured out the last bag of lime with a blank expression.

The entire blood pool had completely solidified into a pool of grayish-brown "tofu," and not a sound could be heard anymore.

He stood up, brushed the powder off his hands, and said calmly:
"The first debt from seventeen years ago has finally been paid off."

He then turned around and stepped down from the altar.

Li Dingjian had already installed all the explosives around the altar. When he saw him coming, he gave him an OK sign.

Ye Zhiren nodded, and the two quickly walked to a safe location at the entrance of the cave.

Li Dingjian then took out a remote detonator from his pocket, glanced at the altar of bones, and pressed the button without hesitation.

Boom——

A sudden burst of flames erupted, followed by a deafening explosion that echoed through the cave.

The power of the high-energy explosives completely overturned the entire bone altar, along with the solidified blood pool, blasting it into countless fragments.

Even the top of the cave was affected, with rocks falling like raindrops, almost burying the bodies of the villagers who died in the blood sacrifice.

As the lingering smoke and dust dissipated, the two looked closely.

The original location of the altar has been razed to the ground, leaving only a charred ruin.

"It's finally over. My brother-in-law's revenge has finally been partially avenged..."

Li Dingjian wiped the dust off his face and murmured with satisfaction.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I turned around and saw Ye Zhiren squatting on the ground, staring blankly at the villagers' corpses.

His eyes flickered, as if he were searching for some trace.

"Professor, what's wrong?"

Li Dingjian quickly asked, "Are you afraid that Xuanzhen will resurrect those controlled villagers?"

Ye Zhiren adjusted his glasses and shook his head slightly:
"Even if he can use the seed worm he planted earlier to possess another body, he will only be a remnant soul. At most, he can only affect the host's consciousness. He is not much stronger than an ordinary person and cannot cause any trouble."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the corpses scattered on the ground, his brow furrowing slightly:

"What I'm worried about is whether that man will show up prematurely because of Xuanzhen's death."

"You mean... the leader of Utopia?"

Li Dingjian's expression changed drastically, and his hand unconsciously reached for the gun at his waist:

"If that guy really comes, with our limited abilities..."

Ye Zhiren didn't reply, but looked into the depths of the cave, his voice deepening:
“There are other possibilities. Xuanzhen’s spiritual realm was not destroyed by a powerful enemy, so his remnant soul did not dissipate and went to the Chen family in Cuicheng…”

"Or perhaps, that man's mark landed on Chen Hongye's body, which is why it appeared there..."

Upon hearing this, Li Dingjian was dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)