Since Ye Fan had tampered with the grand formation, it was clearly a premeditated act.
"It's actually very simple," Ye Fan said with a friendly smile. "Although you disguised yourself well later, I sensed killing intent in your spiritual power when we were in the Evil Flame Remnants."
"And by chance, I'm a very timid person, so I couldn't help but overthink things a bit."
"How could someone who wants to kill me genuinely cooperate with me?"
"You just happened to collect all the materials I needed to break the formation. It's hard for me not to be suspicious."
"Fortunately, I know a little about formations, so I took the liberty of preparing this little surprise for you."
After Ye Fan finished speaking, the big boss fell into complete silence.
He never imagined that after calculating so much, he would still be defeated in the end…
And defeated by someone he had never truly considered an opponent…
"Now, can you answer my previous question?" Ye Fan asked again with a chuckle. "How much do you actually know about everything here?"
"If I tell you… can you let me go?" the big boss gritted out. "As you can see, even if I survive now, I have no ability to harm you…"
In just this short while, the red marks on the big boss's body had completely cracked open!
His skin seemed to be melting, looking incredibly disgusting!
Beneath the exposed flesh, faint white bones could be seen!
And the originally hard bones now appeared to have softened.
With such severe injuries, even if he lived, he would likely be crippled!
Let alone killing indiscriminately like before, it was uncertain if he could even take care of himself in the future…
"Of course, no problem," Ye Fan readily agreed. "Don't worry, I always keep my word!"
The big boss steeled himself and slowly began to recount.
It wasn't that he truly believed Ye Fan, but he had no other choice now.
"I actually don't know that much…"
It turned out that the big boss had found a fragmented ancient record in his sect, which documented a legend.
The specific time was lost to history.
All that was known was that a mighty cultivator had left behind a terrifying magical artifact after ascending.
Although the book's description of the artifact was vague, some information could be inferred.
That artifact could easily kill grand cultivators in the Tribulation-Passing stage!
And it had almost no requirements for the user's cultivation!
This was incredibly frightening!
With such an item, one could absolutely dominate the cultivation world!
Later, he spent over a thousand years, following various clues, until he finally found Ge Shan City.
He then spent several hundred more years finally locating the artifact's resting place – the secret realm they were currently in.
At that time, his strength was not yet this formidable.
He was repeatedly blocked by the dangers within during his explorations.
Eventually, after countless wasted efforts, he finally reached the final grand hall.
But he was then blocked by this grand formation…
During this time, he tried every possible method and means to break the formation.
Once, he had almost succeeded!
He had found a very powerful formation master then, and they had nearly broken the grand formation.
The reason he had collected the materials for breaking the formation before was learned from that encounter.
However, at the critical moment, the old man guarding the gate burst forth and killed the formation master!!!
Thousands of years of effort were ruined, and he exploded with rage!
He fought the old gatekeeper for over ten days, but ultimately had to give up in despair.
Because he realized that further fighting would yield no results; neither could overcome the other…
No!
To be precise, he was weaker than the other party!
If the other party hadn't spared his life, he might not have lasted that long!
From then on, the old gatekeeper warned him not to enter this secret realm again.
Otherwise, he would truly kill him!
He didn't dare to enter again after that and lay low in Ge Shan City.
But he never gave up on the idea, constantly seeking talented individuals and methods to break through.
As for controlling Ge Shan City, that was merely a side effect of this process.
From beginning to end, he had only used the people from those top forces as cannon fodder for exploration. Regardless of whether those people reached the final step, the outcome would not change.
Because he was determined to obtain that artifact, and he would not share it with anyone else!
Later, through a fortunate coincidence, his strength experienced a terrifying leap.
Unfortunately, there had been no significant progress in breaking the formation.
"The rest is what happened after you arrived. Please, spare me…"
By this time, the big boss was extremely weak.
His skin had completely melted away, and his entire right hand was reduced to bone!
The red and white bone had also completely softened, drooping powerlessly like noodles…
Ye Fan frowned as he listened.
If it was just a magical artifact, it wouldn't be of much use to him…
Furthermore, this place looked like a laboratory for evil cultivators, which didn't seem to align with an artifact capable of casually defeating cultivators in the Tribulation-Passing stage.
Now, there seemed to be several possibilities.
First, the big boss's information was incorrect, and the artifact didn't exist.
Second, the original owner of this place had no knowledge of it and was still conducting these low-level experiments.
Third, the original owner might have discovered it later and fled with the item.
…
"Please…" the big boss was almost in tears.
Ye Fan remained silent, which made him seem like he was about to go back on his word…
But he didn't want to die.
He had painstakingly cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage; he was unwilling to give up…
"Don't worry, I always keep my word!" Ye Fan quickly replied. "Alright, you can go now."
The big boss was immediately relieved.
Even if it was uncertain whether he could recover his cultivation after leaving, as long as he was alive, there was always hope.
However, when he realized Ye Fan had no further actions, he felt terrible…
What?
You said you would let me go?
What do you mean by not deactivating the grand formation?
"Don't look at me like that," Ye Fan shrugged innocently. "If you want to leave, then leave. I'm not stopping you, am I?"
Ye Fan felt he was being perfectly reasonable.
From start to finish, he hadn't harmed the big boss, had he?
Let alone harm, he hadn't even touched him!
The one hurting him was the grand formation. What did it have to do with Ye Fan?
Although as a kind person he would certainly offer help in such a situation, he truly lacked the ability to break this grand formation.
"You… despicable!"
"Pfft—!"
Realizing he had been tricked, the big boss immediately spat out a mouthful of blood!
Ye Fan was unfazed.
He even offered a word of thanks.
"Thank you, everyone likes to praise me that way. I feel quite embarrassed."
Unfortunately, the big boss no longer had the chance to retort or curse.
Because he had completely melted away…