Xu Tianhao maintained the indifference and majesty expected of Sleep Nightmare Douluo.
Those deep eyes stared coldly at Furious Fiend, who was kneeling and trembling before him.
After the illusion of Nana finished speaking, the sinister pressure radiating from his body made Furious Fiend instantly feel as if Mount Tai were pressing down upon him.
Xu Tianhao's tone was bone-chillingly cold, and he asked in a deep, emotionless voice, "What exactly is the situation? Where is Blood River?"
Seeing Sleep Nightmare Douluo suddenly appear was, in Furious Fiend's heart, undoubtedly like seeing the blue sky—he had found the most solid backing.
The panic and unease from being severely injured by a mysterious powerhouse just moments ago dissipated by more than half, leaving only absolute awe for Sleep Nightmare Douluo.
Daring not to hide anything, he immediately kowtowed once and recounted the entire process of the mysterious person's sudden appearance and ambush.
Furious Fiend dared not hold anything back, fearing that omitting any detail would anger the high-ranking Eighth Elder before him.
Listening to Furious Fiend's incoherent and incessant rambling, Xu Tianhao's expression grew increasingly impatient. Before he could finish, Xu Tianhao suddenly barked a rebuke:
"Trash! It was merely a small matter, yet you handled it in a complete mess. Not only did you fail to resolve the trouble, but you also attracted a strong enemy, ruined my carefully laid plans, and even delayed the Holy Spirit Cult's grand scheme! What crime do you deserve for this?"
After finishing his words, Xu Tianhao directly raised his hand and made a crushing motion in the air; the illusion of Black Fiend, who was kneeling alongside Furious Fiend, was instantly crushed to bits.
Furious Fiend shuddered instantly. He hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly, defending himself urgently, "Eighth Elder, please calm your anger! Eighth Elder, please calm your anger!"
"My subordinates and I have truly been extremely careful, cautious at every step, and have never dared to be even slightly negligent."
"Furthermore, the matters you previously entrusted us with have already been perfectly completed. We would never dare to make even the slightest error!"
As he kowtowed, he desperately explained, fearing that the capricious Eighth Elder before him might kill him in a fit of rage.
At this moment, Furious Fiend was already scared out of his wits by the Sleep Nightmare Douluo that Xu Tianhao was impersonating.
Just moments ago, he had watched as the illusion of Black Fiend beside him had his body crushed by an invisible force without any warning, turning into a puddle of blood without even a chance to scream.
That tragic scene was deeply branded into his heart, causing him to completely lose any courage to resist.
The Eighth Elder before him was violent by nature and ruthless in his actions; if he could not provide a satisfactory answer, his fate would only be even more miserable than Black Fiend's.
To save his life, he dared not hesitate in the slightest and hurriedly poured out all the details of the mission's completion, explaining desperately.
He only prayed that he could appease the high-and-mighty Eighth Elder before him and spare his life.
"Eighth Elder! This subordinate dares not hide anything. The blood sacrifice altars that you previously ordered Lord Blood River to lead us in setting up in the hidden areas around Xinyue City have now all been completed, without a single one missing!"
Furious Fiend lay on the ground with his forehead pressed tightly against the floor, his voice trembling slightly due to extreme fear.
Yet, he tried hard to remain clear-headed, reporting the critical information word by word.
"Those altars are all constructed from the unique, sinister materials of the Holy Spirit Cult, hidden within the mountains and dense forests, and concealed by spirit power barriers. Even if ordinary Spirit Masters or people from the Inspection Team were to pass by, they would absolutely not be able to detect any clues."
"As long as you arrive in person and activate the core of the altars, the tens of thousands of ordinary civilians around Xinyue City can be completely refined in an instant, turning into the purest source of blood essence for the Holy Spirit Cult to absorb and cultivate with!"
Speaking to this point, Furious Fiend was still worried that the Eighth Elder would think he hadn't done his job well, so he hurriedly added:
"Eighth Elder, Xinyue City is a key border town of the Sun Moon Empire, with a regular Spirit Master legion stationed inside, and its defensive fortifications are extremely tight."
"Our strength is limited, and we truly had no opportunity to sneak into the city to set up the altars."
"I ask that the Elder grant us some more time. As long as you give us enough opportunities, this subordinate will definitely be able to set up the altars inside Xinyue City, and the blood essence refined then will be even more abundant!"
He kept babbling on, full of pleading and obsequiousness, but before his words had completely faded, the void before him suddenly rippled.
The Sleep Nightmare Douluo that Xu Tianhao was impersonating flickered, instantly appearing before him like a ghost.
The speed was so fast that Furious Fiend could not see any movement at all; he only felt a dark shadow flash before his eyes, and that suffocating pressure was already right in front of him.
Before Furious Fiend could react, a cold and powerful hand had already been raised, gripping his neck tightly.
The cold fingers tightened, lifting him into the air like an iron pincer, causing him to be unable to breathe instantly, his face turning bright red.
Xu Tianhao looked down at the struggling Furious Fiend, his tone bone-chillingly cold, carrying a hint of mockery and killing intent:
"Just now, this is how you treated my darling, isn't it?"
Now that he had grasped the blood sacrifice plan of Sleep Nightmare Douluo around Xinyue City and learned the location of the altars and the conspiracy of the Holy Spirit Cult, Furious Fiend no longer had any value to be exploited.
Keeping him was merely a liability. Since all intelligence had been squeezed out of him, there was naturally no need to let him live any longer.
Meanwhile, Furious Fiend, whose neck was being gripped, was already scared out of his wits, his liver and gallbladder split with terror.
In his eyes, the one gripping him was one of the eight great Elders of the Holy Spirit Cult.
That was a terrifying existence standing at the pinnacle of the Holy Spirit Cult's power, with unfathomable strength, capable of turning him into dust with a wave of his hand.
"My Lord, spare me! This subordinate knows he was wrong! This subordinate will never dare to do it again! I beg the Eighth Elder to show mercy!"
Furious Fiend kicked his legs desperately, his hands futilely prying at the palm on his neck, his mouth emitting intermittent pleas for mercy, his eyes filled with despair and fear.
Under Xu Tianhao's Titled Douluo pressure, Furious Fiend could not summon the slightest thought of resistance from the bottom of his heart.
The gap in cultivation level was like a chasm; a six-ring Spirit Emperor was no different from an ant in front of a Titled Douluo.
He clearly knew that even if he exhausted all his spirit power to counterattack, it would be nothing but throwing an egg against a rock in front of Sleep Nightmare Douluo, and he would only die faster.
This was the ultimate deterrence brought by absolute strength, sufficient to crush all of Furious Fiend's will to resist.
This left him with only the instinct to be submissive and beg for mercy on his knees.
Yet he would never know that this Eighth Elder, whom he revered to the extreme, had an actual cultivation level of only a level 44 Spirit Ancestor, with an unreachable gap from a Titled Douluo.
Even though Xu Tianhao was not afraid of Furious Fiend thanks to his exquisite Spirit Ability and mental force techniques, it would still take some effort to kill a six-ring Evil Soul Emperor.
But at this moment, under the shroud of the moon reading space illusion, Furious Fiend had long been completely deceived by the false image Xu Tianhao had created, wholeheartedly regarding him as a Sleep Nightmare Douluo with heaven-reaching strength.
At this moment, Furious Fiend was convinced from the depths of his soul that he had absolutely no chance of winning, not daring to even raise a single thought of resistance, and could only allow himself to be manipulated.