A person's memory is a chaotic and complex collection of everything they have experienced, read, and heard, like a vast library.

However, only the current thoughts floating on the surface of consciousness can be empathetically read, much like the brief notices posted at the entrance of a library.

To access other information, one must find a way to "retrieve" it.

This is the core technical problem that needs to be solved during a spiritual interrogation.

For people like them who grew up with no privacy and a "roommate" in their heads, hiding their thoughts was as common as eating and drinking. They were skilled at it, and if Xuan Ji was on guard, it would be very difficult to "access" his thoughts.

But if someone connected and resonated with him when he was completely unguarded, at that exact moment, whatever was floating in his mind would be impossible to hide even from a god.

Previously, in the Heavenly White Jade Palace, Sheng Lingyuan was caught off guard and suffered a loss.

Now, he was using the same tactics to get revenge on Xuan Ji. When Xuan Ji was most emotionally unstable, he brought up the mermaid's secret language, and Xuan Ji would instinctively be reminded of memories related to the secret language, revealing everything to Sheng Lingyuan.

However, immediately after, Sheng Lingyuan was stunned.

He had expected that the foolish and naive merfolk, being a type of large fish, would not have a written language like ordinary humans did. Since it was called the 'mermaid's secret language,' it was likely to be a chant or a mermaid song.

But he never expected that the thing would be like the "television" in Xuan Ji's living room, with vivid images inside... and the protagonist was himself!

Moreover, the image in the 'mermaid's secret language' was not from the 'oath of eternal love' episode, but rather a more eerie and creepy 'black magic' scene, which was as unsightly as the infamous Mountain Palace, known throughout the world for its 'debauchery.'

Xuan Ji looked at him strangely and laughed soundly, pushing away Sheng Lingyuan's hand.

His minor flesh wound had already healed quickly, leaving only a small trace of blood on his palm...

He licked it away bit by bit, sneering, "Sorry, this is exactly the 'mermaid's secret language'. Your Majesty, if you wanted to see it, you should have said so earlier. I can present it to you now."

The gentle atmosphere in the small tea room instantly turned icy. Xuan Ji had no intention of hiding anything, whatever was in his mind, he was willing to show it to anyone without reservation.

"The mermaid's secret language is the most beautiful, dirty, treacherous, and selfless secret technique I have ever seen. It has no words, cannot be read, and even its content is not fixed. Only those who truly move their hearts can 'unlock' the mermaid's secret language. What is revealed in the language depends on where the heart is moved to. Last time, I was thinking about how to keep you, so it gave me 'an oath of eternal love.' This time, I wonder... Who could have a heart that's so hard? I really want to see if the organs in your body are made of stone or if they have any warmth."

Sheng Lingyuan exclaimed, "You are outrageous!"

"Especially outrageous," Xuan Ji smirked. "Come on, punish me for the crime of my thoughts! Come and kill me with your strongest attacks. Then, the oath of eternal love on your body will naturally be lifted.

"I can only blame myself for not urging you to study when you were young, you haven't even learned how to speak properly - 'swearing an oath' means both parties agree, your one-sided wishful thinking can't be called the 'Mountain Vod and Sea Oath' technique." Sheng Lingyuan's mouth was sharp as a knife. "Are you worthy?"

"I am indeed one-sided in my thinking, Your Majesty. If you have the ability, then undo it."

"I've spoiled you!"

"That's right, Your Majesty has been too good to me. In order to deceive me into giving up the mermaid's secret language, you even personally used seduction. Even if I die from this, I wouldn't have lost out. How about this, to vent your anger - there's no need to execute my entire clan, we're like dinosaurs, already extinct. My household registration currently only has one single man and one rotten bone, I'll give them both to you. You can peel and debone them, steam or braise them, whatever you want..."

The black mist in Sheng Lingyuan's hand rolled towards him, as if to slap him in the face.

When it came to predicting what Sheng Lingyuan would do, Xuan Ji was always one step ahead.

However, he didn't dodge or avoid it. He stood tall and straight, with an air of fearlessness, ready to take any hit or blow.

He stubbornly finished his sentence, "Anyway, the Mountain Vow and Sea Oath were one-sided. Even if you tear me apart, it won't hurt you."

The black mist dissipated from his nose. Despite being less than an arm's length apart, there was a vast silence between them, as if separated by mountains and rivers.

Sheng Lingyuan was so angry that his three souls and seven spirits were jumping around. He slammed the table and stood up, swaying and holding onto it in upset.

As the mental resonance lingered, Xuan Ji took a deep breath of cool air and his anger dissipated by half. He instinctively reached out to help, but his hand fell halfway and the sneer on his face faded, and his entire person sagged.

After a while, when Sheng Lingyuan endured a wave of intense pain and took a deep breath, Xuan Ji spoke softly, "Lingyuan, as an emperor, you are used to making decisions on your own, and no one else's opinions matter to you. You have never cared about anyone else...not even me, right? To you, am I just a pet? Lingyuan, sometimes I wonder..."

Do we only have a past and no future?

Xuan Ji didn't finish his sentence when he suddenly sensed something through their mental connection and looked up abruptly, "What are you doing?"

"What did you just say? If I have the ability..." Sheng Lingyuan gasped for breath, his eyelashes flickering as he blocked the cold sweat that almost flowed into his eyes. "Then undo it?"

The demonic energy slowly gathered towards his heart, enveloping the still-healing heart and blood vessels - he had peeled them once before, so this time he knew what to do.

Sheng Lingyuan barely held onto the table, his face so pale it was almost transparent.

"At least my guess is not wrong. Your so-called 'oath of eternal love' is just... relying on the little bit of Vermilion Bird blood from the same source?"

In the forbidden technique of the oath of eternal love, the "line" that binds the two people together is drawn from Xuan Ji's heart, and it must be mediated by the same source of Vermilion Bird blood.

Without this same source, any unintentional demon could make an oath with anyone.

Xuan Ji felt a sense of horror as he realized that the thin threads entwined in Sheng Lingyuan's bones were being pulled out from the roots, along with the "foundation" below - this was not a bluff.

The old demon's "a gentleman's word is as good as his bond" was nonsense. He often spoke without keeping his word, but he never exaggerated to scare people.

Xuan Ji's face turned pale with fear, and his voice trembled: "Stop, stop!"

He reached out and grabbed at the air, and the invisible threads were exposed between his fingers, causing them to turn red from being squeezed too tightly.

This was the essence of the "oath of eternal love".

He tried in vain to tie it to Sheng Lingyuan's body where blood flowed, but as his heart and blood vessels were rejected by the owner, no matter how tightly Xuan Ji held on, it was like grabbing onto a piece of driftwood in a rushing river - useless.

After they no longer shared the same body, their mental connections were limited to shallow feelings such as how much weight the other was carrying or what they were feeling.

As for true pain, they could only indirectly receive information through the other's conscious reactions and could not personally experience it. Moreover, this brief moment of mental connection from a few drops of blood was quickly fading.

Xuan Ji had no idea how much pain he was in, he only saw Sheng Lingyuan's knee buckle as he leaned against the wall and knelt down on one knee, his expression not showing any signs of pain - just like when he jumped into the Chiyuan or burned himself with fire.

This madman was still laughing, and he repeated the words that Xuan Ji had just thrown at him: "If you have the ability, then... bind this oath on my body again."

Xuan Ji grabbed his chest and exclaimed, "Sheng Lingyuan, you bastard!"