Chapter 327 - General of Soul

“Who is it? Who dares to disturb this General’s eternal rest?”

Suddenly, a dignified voice emerged from the pitch-black darkness. It came as unexpectedly as a sudden clap of thunder, causing everyone’s hearts to jump and their attacks to slow a fair deal. They all turned to look in the direction of the voice.

“Ta… ta… ta…”

The sound of hooves emerged from the boundless darkness, gradually creeping closer and getting louder. It almost felt as if the ground was quaking alongside it. Everyone was instantly on guard when they sensed a wave of Devil Qi surging forth.

Out of the blue, they saw a tall specter stepping out of the darkness. The specter was almost seven meters tall and had orbs of light for eyes that were particularly striking at night. He wore a red armor with rolling dark Qi seeping out of the crevices. In his hand was a crescent saber that was nearly ten meters long. He rode a black demonic horse, making him look mighty and impressive. The thousands of Corpse Demons nearby began to prostrate themselves to show their respect to him.

The formidable aura made the group feel suffocated. This person was likely some ancient general who died on the battlefield and became reborn thanks to the Negative Qi in this place. Then, the invasion of Devil Qi nearly turned him into a devil or demon.

“People? No human has approached this place in nearly a thousand years. Who are you all? State your names immediately!” the devilish general suddenly yelled.

His voice caused the group to shudder. They turned to look at each other in dismay. This man appeared sane still; how should they answer him?

“You’re not going to speak? Invaders of my tomb, die!”

Out of the blue, the devil-like general swung his saber at them and aimed a ray of black light more than thirty-meter long at them. The group immediately leaped but even though they dodged the attack, the remaining force still sent their Qi and blood surging. Those of them with lower cultivation, like Qingyu and Zhou Li, couldn’t withstand such a violent power at all. They crashed to the ground with blood spouting from their mouths.

Yu Yifeng swiftly ran up to them and poured True Energy into their bodies. He then looked at the devilish general. They were no match for devilish spirits like this man, he knew, so he urged, “Let’s go!”

Even the general’s single saber radiance was difficult for them to withstand. Naturally, they knew this opponent wouldn’t be easy to defeat. But just as they wanted to turn around, they heard the general giving his order. Three devilish lieutenants appeared behind them to block their way.

“I’m right here! What makes you think you can come and go as you please?!”

Following the general’s order, the three devilish lieutenants immediately attacked the group. Each lieutenant possessed the strength of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Instantly, everyone was left desperately defending themselves.

“To defeat your enemies, you must first catch their leader!” Ling Fei yelled. He swiftly cast spells and the Immortal’s Sword hovering before him immediately expanded by more than five times. It looked brilliant and dazzling. “Go!” he cried. The sword transformed into a blinding white light of about 25 meters and charged at the devilish general.

It was evident from the fierceness of the sword that it was no ordinary weapon. Still, the general scoffed and swung his saber sideways. Clanging sounds rang out as the sword shattered into seven or eight pieces. The remnant force swept the group, sending a dozen or so flying.

Ling Fei crashed to the ground with a scream and coughed up blood. His Immortal’s Sword was ruined and it was obvious that his injuries were severe. However, that wasn’t the end of the battle. The devilish general swung his saber yet again, this time launching an overwhelming black saber radiance of more than thirty-meter long.

Everyone turned pale with fright. Bai Yushu hastily cast a spell to teleport Ling Fei some sixty meters away. Then, a massive explosion resounded and the spot Ling Fei previously stood in became a bottomless gorge in an instant.

This startled everyone but before they could react, the general was about to attack again. Xiaoyue recited a mnemonic chant before swiftly crying, “Autumn Water Sword! Unsheathe!”

“Swish!” The Autumn Water Sword left its scabbard and emitted countless rays of light, illuminating the place so brightly that it looked like daylight. The rest could barely open their eyes. Following Xiaoyue’s spell incantation, the sword charged at the devilish general like the brightest meteor at night.

The astounding might of Immortals was all-powerful. The white rays of light rained down like a meteor shower, causing countless Corpse Demons under its range to scream endlessly as they sought cover underground. The devilish general scoffed and pointed his crescent saber upward. With a clanging sound, he hit the Autumn Water Sword and sent it flying back to its owner.

This sent a deep shock down Xiaoyue’s mind. She took a step backward as blood sprayed from her mouth.

“How dare the mere light of a firefly covets the splendor of the luminous moon! Without me, there’s no heaven; Devil Devours Three Thousand!”

Following the devilish general’s bellow, he pointed his saber upward and his surroundings seemed to have turned into an expanse of primal chaos in an instant. Everyone’s expressions changed when they realized they couldn’t move even a single inch.

Such a formidable force made it difficult for them to even breathe. They felt like they were plunged into a despairing and never-ending nightmare. Facing such a powerful Devilish Spirit, they had lost even the strength to resist.

“I’ve fought on horseback my entire life and my hands were tainted with too much blood. Your crime for intruding upon this forbidden land ought to be punishable by death, but I’ll consider the fact that this is your first offense. You may leave after you destroy your cultivation!”

The group turned an alarming shade of white when they heard the instruction to destroy their cultivation. If a cultivator were to destroy his cultivation, he might as well die.

Ling Fei tried to struggle but how could he when he was subject to such mighty force? The devilish general’s gaze turned cold. “What are you waiting for? Must I destroy your cultivation myself?”

He swung his saber as soon as he spoke. This time, no one could dodge his attack and the death of mind and soul was inevitable. Just as the saber was about to befall their heads, a dazzling multicolored light enveloped them.

It was Xiao Chen breaking the general’s restriction and whipping out the Fuxi Zither at the eleventh hour. The zither was now fixed with three strings, making it look more corporal than ever.

Mustering all his strength, he pulled all three strings to their limit. When the tyrannical saber finally fell, it stopped just a few meters away from the top of his head. What happened next was even more stupefying.

“This general greets you, Your Highness!”

The group watched as the general retrieved his crescent saber and got off his horse to swiftly walk up to kowtow in front of Xiao Chen.

Everyone looked at each other. One minute ago, they were standing on the verge of death. What was going on now? Xiao Chen was as surprised as any of them but he soon realized that it was the work of the Fuxi Zither! The general must have recognized the zither. His master must have once possessed a similar zither and that led to him misunderstanding Xiao Chen as his master.

The restriction placed on the group was now gone, but no one dared to move or speak still. Xiao Chen was silent for some time as he processed the sight of such a big monster kneeling to him. He then tested the waters, asking, “Who are you?”

“I’m Guifeng.”

“Um… You may rise, General Guifeng.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

Guifeng stood up and all six or seven meters of him towered over everyone like a giant. Xiao Chen turned around to check on everyone and saw their grim expressions. Xiaoyue shook her head at him, indicating that they should take this opportunity to leave lest the Devilish Spirit would go mad and hurt them.

Xiao Chen signaled them to be quiet before turning around and addressing Guifeng. “General Guifeng, do you know what is this place?”

“I perished here all those years ago along with my army of 8,000,000. Please name your punishment, Your Highness!”

Too much time must have passed, Xiao Chen thought, that this Devilish Spirit appeared somewhat delirious. He said, “You bear no guilt, General. How did you reawaken? What caused the Devil Qi on you?”

That was what he was most concerned about. Such a bizarre Negative Qi or such strong Devil Qi wouldn’t appear in this place without rhyme or reason.

Gui Feng replied, “More than a hundred years ago, a strong Negative Qi began invading this place. Then came the Devil Qi. I have no idea about the rest.”

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. Finally, they had gathered some useful information. The Negative and Devil Qi here was, as expected, not from the human world and neither was this place the Valley of God and Devil, the crevice of six realms. But more than a hundred years ago…? The Soul-consuming Evil Flower seemed to have made its first appearance some one hundred years ago.

“I see. Thank you for the information, General.”

Guifeng cupped his hands in obeisance. “Being a criminal, I dare not seek recognition. Now that I’m given the chance to once again revive the friendship between a ruler and his subordinate in this life, I wish to once again serve you, Your Highness. If you ever need my help, all you need to do is mention my name.” With that said, he gradually disappeared in front of everyone along with his black horse.

Zhiluan collapsed on the ground, paralyzed. He could finally take a breath in relief. “That’s just how strange and wonderful life is sometimes. Just a moment ago, he was ready to cut off your head but wanted to serve you in the next. Kid, a ghost will be haunting you from now on. That’s pretty scary to think about, ugh.” He scrunched ups his neck and made a strange movement.

Bai Yushu walked up to Xiao Chen with a gentle smile. “Congratulations, Brother Xiao. That spectral general here must be the ‘General of Soul’ that I read about in books. Once a General of Soul signs a contract with his master, he’ll pledge his life to serve his master for his whole life. There are people in this world who cultivate this specifically and rely on their General of Soul to become a hegemon. Now that you’ve obtained such a powerful General of Soul today, you’re akin to a tiger that has grown wings.”