Wang Qihuo's soul was utterly terrified. He never expected that another consciousness was hidden within Yan Shouyi's body!
No matter how powerful Wang Qihuo was, this was ultimately Yan Shouyi's body, and he was merely an intruder.
If another consciousness was familiar with Yan Shouyi's body and wasn't even repelled by it, then Wang Qihuo's soul would be in grave danger!
Despite his fear, Wang Qihuo had to maintain a façade of dominance, sneering,
"Who are you? Show yourself and accept your doom! This body now belongs to me, Wang Qihuo!"
The other party, upon hearing this, let out a disdainful scoff and then ignored Wang Qihuo.
This, however, made Wang Qihuo's heart falter, and he couldn't help but roar,
"Stop playing games and come out!"
The other party remained silent.
Wang Qihuo's mental defenses gradually crumbled, and he began to dart around within Yan Shouyi's sea of consciousness.
"Come out! Come out for me!!"
"Don't think I'm afraid of you!"
"Yan Shouyi's body belongs to me, Wang Qihuo!"
Just as Wang Qihuo was blindly thrashing about, countless black mists surged from beneath his feet!
This thoroughly terrified Wang Qihuo!
"This is... malevolent energy?"
"This malevolent energy is terrifyingly dense. I wonder how many people one would have to kill to reach this level. How can it be accumulating within Yan Shouyi's body?!"
"This is impossible... Yan Shouyi is so young. Even if he started from the womb and killed one person a day, he couldn't possibly accumulate such terrifying malevolent energy!"
Wang Qihuo was in a panic. However, he had willingly entered Yan Shouyi's sea of consciousness, and now there was no escape!
Soon, accompanied by weak and fearful wails, Wang Qihuo was engulfed by the dense malevolent energy!
The next second, Wang Qihuo's eyes snapped open, and he found himself standing in a bamboo forest.
He gasped for air, even collapsing to his knees on the ground, as the fear he had just experienced left him unable to recover for a long time.
After an unknown period, Wang Qihuo's soul finally regained some strength, and he looked around in astonishment.
Why was there a bamboo forest within Yan Shouyi's consciousness?
In the bamboo forest, there was a fence, a vegetable garden, and even a small cottage...
The door of the cottage was ajar, and it seemed someone was inside.
Wang Qihuo immediately felt a surge of anger. He assumed it was the person inside who had been playing coy earlier!
Without a word, he used his sword art, intending to destroy the cottage!
However, before Wang Qihuo could make a move, the person inside actually came out on their own!
The person raised a hand and grabbed Wang Qihuo's neck from a distance. Wang Qihuo was instantly lifted into the air, utterly powerless to resist!
"You think you can possess this body?" General Qing Jiang sneered.
Wang Qihuo was petrified. He had never encountered such immense power. Before this person, he was like an infant!
General Qing Jiang casually tossed Wang Qihuo into the bamboo forest, leaving him disoriented.
Wang Qihuo scrambled to his feet in a pathetic state, no longer daring to act against General Qing Jiang. He turned to flee.
But once inside this space, without General Qing Jiang's permission, even Yan Shouyi couldn't find his way back, let alone this intruder Wang Qihuo!
General Qing Jiang watched Wang Qihuo calmly as the man darted around the bamboo forest like a headless fly.
Then, he picked up the long sword leaning against the wall outside the small cottage, alongside the broom, and swung it horizontally!
The bamboo forest in front of Wang Qihuo instantly split, the cut as smooth as a mirror!
Wang Qihuo was dumbfounded and dared not move an inch.
He was the sect leader of the Heshan Sect, with over sixty years of cultivation, especially skilled in swordsmanship.
He could tell that the mysterious person behind him, even with this casual sword strike, was far more proficient than him!
"We can talk, we can talk nicely!" Wang Qihuo quickly said.
General Qing Jiang placed the sword back in the corner, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked indifferently, "The brat outside couldn't defeat you?"
Wang Qihuo didn't know the relationship between General Qing Jiang and Yan Shouyi, so he dared not answer rashly, stammering for a long time, unsure what to say.
"Speak!"
As Wang Qihuo was momentarily stunned, General Qing Jiang had already appeared beside him.
In close proximity to this powerful figure, Wang Qihuo suddenly realized that his long-held aura of authority was utterly useless in front of this man.
This man was truly in a position of supreme authority, exuding an extraordinary aura, possessing an imperial presence.
Who exactly was he!!
Wang Qihuo was going mad.
"I'll give you one last chance. I won't ask a third time," General Qing Jiang said coldly.
Wang Qihuo quickly replied, "He, he couldn't defeat me, but he wanted to take me down with him. My physical body couldn't withstand it, so I used a secret technique to try and possess his body..."
"Hmm?" General Qing Jiang's expression darkened.
Wang Qihuo, startled, immediately changed his tune:
"But if I had known this was already your territory, even if I were given ten thousand times the courage, I would never dare to usurp your position! I will leave now and return this place to you, sir!"
General Qing Jiang's expression softened slightly.
Wang Qihuo analyzed the situation internally and suddenly felt that perhaps this man's presence here was also because he wanted to possess Yan Shouyi's body!
So, he tentatively said, "Sir, would you like me to help you possess this body?"
General Qing Jiang actually seemed interested: "Oh? How?"
"It's very simple... Allow me to leave, and I will destroy Yan Shouyi's sea of consciousness for you, scattering his soul to the winds. Then, this body will become masterless. With your abilities, wouldn't it be easy to seize it?"
General Qing Jiang remained silent after hearing this.
Wang Qihuo, however, felt delighted. As long as he could leave here, he would be willing to abandon everything and let his soul escape.
Where there's life, there's hope!
As for Yan Shouyi's body and this unknown mysterious person, Wang Qihuo no longer cared!
At this moment, General Qing Jiang spoke, "Actually, I am merely a consciousness, even a residual consciousness. I cannot control Yan Shouyi's body, and if he were to be utterly annihilated, I would also cease to exist."
Wang Qihuo was stunned: "What do you mean by that?"
"Therefore, I will do you a favor and eliminate you. Afterward, I will have Yan Shouyi do some things for me."
Wang Qihuo's face instantly changed drastically.
The situation had reached this point, and it was impossible to make General Qing Jiang change his mind. Wang Qihuo could only exert all his might to escape this space.
However, General Qing Jiang moved even faster. He directly grabbed Wang Qihuo by the neck and snapped it with one hand!
Wang Qihuo's eyes widened, his pupils trembling with unwillingness.
To kill Yan Shouyi today, he had made every preparation, even willing to abandon himself to possess Yan Shouyi.
But he never could have imagined that such a powerful being existed within Yan Shouyi's body!!
"Die."
General Qing Jiang easily annihilated Wang Qihuo.
Even though Wang Qihuo harbored countless grievances and resentments, they could only dissipate into spirit essence at this moment.
But that was not all.
General Qing Jiang waved his hand, collecting Wang Qihuo's spirit essence to fill in the previously cut bamboo stalks.
These bamboo stalks were not real; they were created by General Qing Jiang's own will. Wang Qihuo's spirit essence was just what was needed to replenish the expenditure.
After the bamboo forest returned to its original state, General Qing Jiang still held a golden light particle, the size of a grain of rice, in his hand.
He closed his eyes and sensed it, murmuring to himself, "So, it's this old fellow's sword intent that he cultivated diligently for sixty years. Interesting... Today, Yan Shouyi inadvertently sent me a great gift, so I shall return him a present!"
With that, General Qing Jiang quickly returned to the small cottage, boiled water, and made tea.
When Yan Shouyi opened his eyes again, he was already pulled into the cottage by General Qing Jiang and seated opposite him at the tea table.
He asked in surprise, "General? How did I... get here?"
"An old fellow barged in just now, wanting to possess your body. I dealt with him casually," General Qing Jiang replied with a smile.
Yan Shouyi suddenly understood, "Wang Qihuo? General, you saved my life again."
"I was very weak before, making it difficult to communicate with you. This time, by chance, by devouring that old fellow's soul, I've become much stronger. Perhaps I can communicate with you more in the future."
Hearing General Qing Jiang's words, Yan Shouyi understood much more. He realized that the reason he hadn't been able to speak with the general again was not because he wasn't sleeping deeply enough, but because the general himself was too weak.
"I have many questions I'd like to ask you," Yan Shouyi said.
General Qing Jiang poured Yan Shouyi a cup of tea, "Ask away."
"Last time we met, I encountered Jiang Wusheng. When I killed Jiang Wusheng, he mentioned a name – Princess Wenyan."
Upon hearing this name, General Qing Jiang's movements became noticeably slower.
Observing his reaction, Yan Shouyi knew that this Princess Wenyan was also a very important person to the general.
However, whether it was from the general or from Lian He's records, Princess Wenyan was never mentioned.
"What else did Jiang Wusheng say?" the general asked.
"He said that you betrayed Princess Wenyan and the entire Qing Jiang Kingdom. I also seemed to feel... that Jiang Wusheng had very deep feelings for Princess Wenyan. The reason he persisted for so long in wanting to kill me was solely to prove that he was better than me... or rather, better than you," Yan Shouyi chose his words very carefully, worried he might say something he shouldn't and anger the general.
Fortunately, although General Qing Jiang was a ruthless killer, his state of mind had been honed like a clear mirror over the years.
He sighed softly and said,
"Wenyan was the princess of the Qing Jiang Kingdom. We were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since we were young."
Yan Shouyi showed a look of understanding. In his heart, he had already made this guess.
"Wenyan liked me since she was little, and I knew about it, but I simply couldn't feel love for Wenyan. My heart was entirely with her... When Wenyan learned that I had feelings for someone else, she was heartbroken. After I abducted the princess of the Yu Shu Kingdom, the Emperor of Qing Jiang, to appease the fury of the great northern kingdom and ally with them against the Yu Shu Kingdom, decided to marry Wenyan off to the great northern kingdom. The disheartened Wenyan also agreed..."
"On her journey to the great northern kingdom, escorted by envoys, the great northern kingdom had already dispatched troops to attack the Yu Shu Kingdom. Seeing that the situation was beyond hope, Wenyan jumped off a cliff outside the borders of the great northern kingdom! With her own life, she balanced the kingdom and her family, and also made me taste the bitterness of a broken heart."
"I have spent my life on the battlefield, conquering all directions, always with a clear conscience. Only regarding Wenyan do I feel regret and remorse, wishing I could abandon everything, kill my way back to the Qing Jiang Kingdom, and then to the great northern kingdom!! To make tens of millions accompany her in death!!"
"But the one who truly should have gone with her was not the incompetent emperor of the Qing Jiang Kingdom, nor the soldiers of the great northern kingdom—it should have been me!!"
"If it weren't for me, Wenyan wouldn't have had to marry into the north under duress, nor would she have jumped off a cliff halfway..."
At this point, this dignified man, a general who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, a butcher, actually had tears in his eyes, weeping profusely!