As Yi Yun was single-mindedly absorbing the energy from the Great Empress's relic’s explosion, Shentu Nantian was approaching the gates of Hell.In this world, few people were not afraid of death, and Shentu Nantian was apparently not one of them."Matriarch Lin!"Beads of sweat began oozing out of Shentu Nantian's forehead. They were forced out by Matriarch Lin's killing intent."I can tell you all the secrets of the Great Empress mystic realm, including the experience gained from sacrificing so many Shentu family clan experts. But, I plead that you let the people from my Shentu family clan leave."Shentu Nantian intended to sign another soul contract with Matriarch Lin."Let you go?" Matriarch Lin sneered, "You schemed to harm Xintong with evil intentions, and now, you want old me to let you off? If old me did not guess wrongly, if Xintong had swallowed that Great Empress relic, the evil energy would greatly shorten her lifespan! By the time my Lin family knew the truth, your family would have gained all sorts of benefits, and it would have been too late!""And all these benefits would all be yours, Shentu Nantian, alone. How can I let you go!?""You are using the Great Empress mystic realm as a chip, so how would I know if the 'Great Empress mystic realm' was really left the behind by the ancient Great Empress? Maybe, it was just a mystic realm left behind by an ancient Desolate Heaven Master. There would be no way of finding a method to join Xintong's terminated meridians up!"Matriarch Lin expounded pressure. After all, she was a grandmaster in the Desolate Heaven technique. Although she had been tricked by the Great Empress relic, she could roughly guess the Great Empress relic’s trap.An elixir like the Great Empress relic made of extremely pure Yang energy was definitely useful for Lin Xintong's natural Yin Meridians. however, the dangerous potential was not easily detected.However, as the Red-eyed Wolf was too weak, and with it swallowing the evil energy and not the beneficial portion of the relic, as such it was suppressed by the evil energy, leading it to rapidly age.Shentu Nantian knew that Matriarch Lin would definitely not let him off today. He was distraught, for in this situation, the news about the Great Empress mystic realm was the only card he had that was keeping him alive."Matriarch Lin! This junior can swear on my life that the Great Empress mystic realm is truly extraordinary. It is definitely closely related to the Great Empress. This point can be written in the soul contract. It is just that my Shentu family clan does not have the ability to fully open and explore the Great Empress mystic realm! Amongst all of the Shentu family members present, only Thousand Hand Granny and I know everything about the Great Empress mystic realm!"Shentu Nantian began to speak factually. What he said immediately shocked everyone present.The Great Empress mystic realm had not been fully explored by the Shentu family clan!?Even the Shentu family clan did not have the ability to fully open the Great Empress mystic realm, so what was inside the areas that were not fully opened?There was no doubt that the more inaccessible the place was, the more extraordinary it was. The parts explored had produced the ancient Desolate Heaven Master heritage that made many people envious. There was also the extraordinary Great Empress ancient recipe that had been proven to be defective.The places that had not been opened in the mystic realm definitely had amazing opportunities!People were tempted. Other than the upper echelons of the Lin family, even the upper echelons of the family clans that had allied with the Shentu family clan were envious.The Shentu family clan may not be able to enter those areas, but they might be able to do so?Although it was unlikely, it was not entirely impossible!That ancient Great Empress was not someone that someone like the Shentu Patriarch could compare with. There was even the possibility that she had long surpassed the usual definitions of the Great Emperor realm, and she had reached a higher realm that they did not understand nor have a name to.Matriarch Lin narrowed her eyes. If there was an area in the mystic realm that had not been opened up, that would be an opportunity for the Lin family. Furthermore, what Matriarch Lin was most concerned with was finding a method to join up Lin Xintong's terminated meridians within those areas.The situation had progressed into a dilemma.Matriarch Lin may be having a powerful stance now, but she too did not know how to handle it.On one hand, she did not wish to let Shentu Nantian off; and on the other hand, she wanted to obtain the the Great Empress mystic realm."Since we have made enemies with the Shentu family clan, it will only lead to endless adverse consequences if Shentu Nantian was let off..."Matriarch Lin knew that despite Shentu Nantian’s poor character, he was extremely talented. Even now, Shentu Nantian's talent far exceeded anyone in the Lin family's younger generation.As for Lin Xintong, she may possess great talent, but she had the critical problem of her naturally Yin terminated meridians.Matriarch Lin sighed and suddenly, she turned her head towards Yi Yun, "Little Friend Yun, how do you think this matter should be dealt with?"Matriarch Lin's sudden words made everyone present surprised. Even Yi Yun, who was focused on absorbing the pure Yang energy, was stunned.It was shocking to consult a junior on such a huge matter.There was no doubt that with Yi Yun's performance over the past few days, and having revealed the Shentu family clan's evil scheme, Matriarch Lin no longer looked at Yi Yun in an ordinary manner. She had completely distinguished Yi Yun from the other juniors, and she had treated him as one of the members that could discuss in their family matters."This..." Yi Yun smiled bitterly. He scratched his head and shirked, "This is a matter that the upper echelons of the Lin family needs to decide. It might not be suitable for me to give my opinion..."Matriarch Lin shook her head, "This is not only a matter for the Lin family, it is also a matter for you. This matter is closely related to you. There is no way of reconciling your relationship with the Shentu family clan, especially Shentu Nantian. If I were to let him off today, aren't you afraid he will seek revenge in the future?"Matriarch Lin had asked because she wanted to respect Yi Yun's wishes. By letting Shentu Nantian off, the harm to the Lin family could be far off into the future, but the harm to Yi Yun would be immediate. Once Yi Yun lost the protection of the Lin family, he would suffer the vengeful attacks of the Shentu family clan."About this..." Yi Yun stroked his chin. He was already far from reconciliation with Shentu Nantian a long time ago. Just as the saying goes, one isn't afraid of being bitten by lice once there were too many, so one matter more or less did not really mean much. "Actually, since Matriarch Lin has asked me, you already have the answer in your heart. This junior feels that healing Miss Lin of her naturally terminated Yin meridians is more important."Yi Yun knew that Matriarch Lin was not willing to miss the opportunity to heal Lin Xintong, despite the threat of Shentu Nantian's future revenge if he was let off. Matriarch Lin was just taking into account Yi Yun's feelings.Seeing Yi Yun so considerate for Lin Xintong, Matriarch Lin was touched, "Little Friend Yun, as long as old me still has a breath left in me, and as long as Xintong still holds a spot in the Lin family, the Lin family will definitely not let you down!"Once Matriarch Lin finished speaking, Yi Yun said, "Matriarch Lin, this junior did not say that Young Master Nantian should be let off!""Oh?" Matriarch Lin's eyebrows raised as she was slightly surprised."It's this. The soul contract's curse will take a few days, right?"Yi Yun knew that the ghost head in the soul contract was actually a curse. Once the contract was signed, and until the contract was nullified, the ghost head would slowly eat into the signee's soul, till they died a painful death.Only by fulfilling the contract would the ghost head disappear. This process varied depending on the person. Those with high cultivation levels could last for 70-80 days, while those with low cultivation levels could only last slightly more than ten days.Matriarch Lin gently nodded."Right… Young Master Nantian's strength is good, and he can definitely endure it for a long time." Yi Yun smiled gently as he praised Shentu Nantian. However, this "praise" made Shentu Nantian's heart freeze.As he looked at Yi Yun's cold mask and the two red blood lines where the eyes should be, a sense of foreboding was felt by Shentu Nantian. What was this kid going to do?"It's this. This junior has heard that the Shentu family clan has a form of torture, called the "Dismembering the Heart" punishment. In a period of 36 days, a red-hot blade would be slashed on the criminal 36,000 times. After each day’s slashing, a heart dismembering worm’s egg would be placed in the wounds. The eggs would then slowly hatch and eat at the flesh and blood. Finally, when the 36,000 slashes were completed, the heart dismembering worms would follow the blood vessels and meridians all the way to the heart. There, tens of thousands of worms would bite at the heart, eventually leading to one’s death...The Dismembering the Heart punishment was what Shentu Nantian had told Yi Yun a few months ago.Back then, Shentu Nantian wanted to use "Dismembering the Heart" as a way to deal with Yi Yun, to force the Shepherd Boy to save him.However, now, it had switched to Yi Yun talking about the "Dismembering the Heart".Shentu Nantian's face immediately turned as white as paper!As a member of the Shentu family clan, he had witnessed with his own eyes how the "Dismembering the Heart" punishment was carried out by the Shentu family clan. The slashes were nothing much, but once the heart dismembering worm's eggs were placed in one's body, the feeling of the larvae crawling inside one's body was a pain that was worse than death!Back then as a spectator, Shentu Nantian felt some pleasure seeing people suffer this punishment. However, if it was him suffering it, he could not imagine it!"Torture?" Matriarch Lin asked. She was surprised that Yi Yun was so vicious in his methods, even though he was so young!"To get truths out of torture, that would be the best.""If it is useless, we can release news that the sentencing will happen in ten days later to allow the Shentu family clan to come and redeem him. Of course, the price of redeeming him is the information of the Great Empress mystic realm. The Shentu family clan would probably not give up on Shentu Nantian, right? ...After all, the Great Empress mystic realm cannot be opened by the Shentu family clan. So things they cannot obtained can't be more important than the future successor of the Shentu family clan."Shentu Nantian was extremely important for the Shentu family clan. His importance far exceeded the importance of Lin Xintong in the Lin family.Matriarch Lin would not give up on Lin Xintong.Then, the Shentu family clan's Shentu Patriarch would also not give up on Shentu Nantian. He was the most favorite and beloved junior."This..." Matriarch Lin felt suspicious, "Then, wouldn't Shentu Nantian be let off, what's the difference?""The difference is, we can use these ten days to 'take care' of Young Master Nantian well. After all, Young Master Nantian's injuries are quite severe. If we can 'treat' his wounds such as feeding him some poisonous items that might affect his future cultivation, then..."When Yi Yun said this, Matriarch Lin's eyes twitched. This little rascal sure wasn't any goody two shoes.Seeing Matriarch Lin look at him with disbelieving eyes, Yi Yun scratched his head sheepishly, "This junior is just letting him have a taste of his own medicine."Yi Yun had said that with his Yuan Qi.