Chapter 2054: Traitor

Zu An’s expression immediately became respectful. He said, "You seniors willingly sacrificed yourselves for a prophecy that might not have come to fruition, and let your souls be trapped within ice and snow for thousands of years. It truly is admirable.”

The general soul waved his hand as if he was a bit embarrassed, saying, “It was merely our duty.”

Zu An couldn't help but ask curiously, “Just which great master managed to foresee this distant future through a prophecy?”

“That would be the Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate, so no one doubted him,” the general said in a serious voice.

Zu An was surprised. There was only a single Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate, and that was Imperial Gate Bei Qing. He had been the strongest Yin Yang Master in the Fiend races' history, and he was rumored to have even been able to communicate with supernatural beings. There were still many legends related to him among the Fiend races. The Fiend races’ youth had all grown up on his stories.

“May I dare ask general’s esteemed surname?” Zu An asked with a bow. The prophecy and arrangements of Imperial Gate Bei Qing were extremely formidable, but these soldiers’ sacrifices were even more deserving of respect.

The general only raised his head toward the sky, saying, “What was my name... It has been so long that I no longer remember...”

The other souls were also at a loss.

Zu An became silent. It seemed the passage of time really left these souls with irreversible damage. After some time passed, he asked, “By the way, what kind of divine artifact was left here in the past?”

The general waved his hand, and the sword that looked a bit damaged and dull appeared in his hand. He said, “It was none other than this Skycloud Sword.”

Zu An was stunned. This sword did look a bit special, but it still looked far inferior to the Tai’e Sword, Sun Slaying Bow, and Human Emperor Seal. It didn’t carry the terrifying pressure the other divine weapons had at all. He asked suspiciously, “Just this sword alone is enough to defeat those monsters?”

“This sword alone is naturally not enough,” the general said as he gently caressed the sword, seemingly reminiscing about many things from the past. “Three divine weapons need to be combined together in order to seal off the monsters again. Apart from this Skycloud Sword, there is also the Soulhook Jade and the Ninefoot Mirror. In the past, as a preparation against the unexpected, the Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate separately arranged these three divine weapons in three different locations. The three artifacts could only be gathered again by following the clues left behind with the Fiend races’ descendants.”

Zu An was surprised. These three divine weapons had been placed in three different locations, and the Fiend races’ upper echelons just happened to have decided on three locations after gathering and sharing their information. It seemed those were the locations of the three divine weapons.

“May I ask senior just how we can seal those monsters? The seal has already been damaged quite badly, and many powerful monsters have already escaped the seal," he said worriedly.

The general’s expression was serious as he replied, “This is also precisely the reason why we old fellows stayed behind here. You can leave those monsters to us. As for the destroyed seal, once you gather the three divine weapons, you will naturally figure out how to fix the seal once more.”

“Then what if I bring away this sword? Will you be affected?” Zu An asked worriedly.

He could sense that these souls seemed to have a certain deep connection with the sword. After all, a formation couldn't be made out of thin air. There needed to be something like a formation core. Something that could keep the souls of so many powerful creatures here would naturally need to be extremely powerful. Here, it seemed to be none other than the Skycloud Sword.

“It doesn’t matter. This is already our home,” the general said before continuing, “Just take this sword with you. When you need to, use this sword to call us, and we will be summoned to you and help you fight against the monsters.”

After saying that, he once again gently caressed the Skycloud Sword, as if he was a bit reluctant. Howevver, in the end, he still tossed it to Zu An and said, “Take good care of it.”

Zu An was stunned. He reflexively caught the sword and was about to say something, when he suddenly clutched his head and groaned in pain.

“Hahaha! He believed us? He actually believed us?”

The ghost soldiers' blank expressions faded, replaced with cruel and strange smiles. Their faces looked especially twisted.

The general who seemed to have had a righteous and noble air had a strange smile on his face too. His hands opened up, and he floated into the air. He closed his eyes and revealed a look of enjoyment, as if he was welcoming the feeling of freedom. He exclaimed, “Just how long has it been? We finally have a chance to leave.”

As he spoke, endless darkness appeared from the Skycloud Sword. Every single shadow was a fiend soldier's soul, but all of their expressions were really warped. They rushed at Zu An, as if they wanted to drag him down into hell with them.

Suddenly, Zu An remarked with a sigh, “This is the plan you’ve thought of after thousands of years?”

The general was stunned. A look of disbelief appeared on his face as he exclaimed, “How is that possible?! Even though you're strong, there's no way you could endure the attacks of over ten thousand souls all at once!”

“Oh, are you talking about this sword? I didn’t touch it,” Zu An said, raising the sword in his hand. Only then did the general notice the black energy at the center of Zu An palm. There was a small gap between the palm and the sword. If one didn’t look carefully, one wouldn’t notice that he hadn’t actually caught the sword.

The black souls quickly rushed at Zu An's body. However, he harrumphed and a streak of white light suddenly flickered around him. The vengeful spirits were like leftover snow meeting the blistering sun, white smoke coming out of their bodies as they dissipated into nothingness.

“How did you know that I was scheming against you?” the general exclaimed, glowering at him.

Just now, Zu An had clearly lookedincredibly moved after listening to the general’s story. Also, judging from Zu An’s reply, it definitely sounded as if he believed it. That was why the general had planned to use the moment when Zu An’s hands made contact with the Skycloud Sword to send ten thousand vengeful spirits straight into his sea of consciousness. No matter how strong he was, there was no way he could react in time, and he would only be forced to let his mind be destroyed by countless vengeful spirits.

Zu An looked at him and said with a sigh, “I already suspected you when I first found out that you were trapped here for ten thousand years.”

“Why? Could it be that there was something wrong with our behavior?” the general asked with a frown.

“No, your performance was quite perfect,” Zu An said, shaking his head. “Unfortunately, it was just too perfect.”

“What do you mean?” the general asked; he and the other soldiers looked confused.

“Since you still retained your previous consciousness, you would likely have still retained your emotions," Zu An said as he looked at them. “When I thought about how I would feel if I were in your situation, even if I had been willing to stay here in the distant past... After all this time passed and I was trapped here all this time with only wind and snow to accompany me, without any Fiend race descendants making any offerings, I would probably be full of resentment. I might even have been driven mad by the endless passage of time. There would be no way I could still keep the same intentions I had at first.”

“That’s all?” the general replied. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry right now. “Since we were willing to make the sacrifice for the Fiend races, we would naturally have resolute wills and be fully committed. How could we possibly end up like that?”

Zu An chuckled. He didn’t feel like arguing about that, and continued, “Of course, that wasn’t all. I asked you for your name, but you said you'd already forgotten.”

“Too much time has already passed. It’s natural for me to have forgotten my name,” the general said, remaining expressionless.

“And yet you still remembered Imperial Gate Bei Qing’s name,” Zu An said as he looked into the general's eyes. “Someone who already forgot their own name, still remembering someone else’s name? That would either mean it was an enemy they hated bitterly, or that they were deliberately hiding their own name for fear that the other side would be on guard if they found out. Either way, there was clearly an issue.”

The general’s expression gradually became a bit distorted as he exclaimed, “It was just because of these groundless accusations that you doubted me?”

“Of course, that wasn’t all,” Zu An said as his gaze shifted to the endless tombs below. “You might not have known that I just happen to be quite proficient in formations, and recognized that this was the extremely treacherous Soul Capturing Formation. If you really were heroes devoted to the Fiend races, how could Imperial Gate Bei Qing use such a vicious method to keep your souls here?”

“So you already suspected us from the very start. Then why did you still converse with us pleasantly like that, as if you were really moved?” the general asked, grinding his teeth. Just a moment before, he had been laughing in ridicule, thinking that this guy was completely fooled, and yet he was the real clown all along.

You have successfully trolled Shi Bingxiu for +999 +999 +999...

Zu An was startled.

So it was him.

Shi Bingxiu was a famous traitor of the Fiend races. In the past, during the great war against the monsters, he had been a coward who led his troops in abandoning their commander-in-chief, creating an opening in the army’s flank. The army had almost been completely wiped out. Fortunately, the exceptional genius Imperial Gate Bei Qing had appeared with his extraordinary abilities and barely reversed the situation, managing to avert a tragic end for the Fiend races. After the matter, Shi Bingxiu’s troops had been brought to justice and executed by martial law. He was the Fiend races’ most famous traitor. Even young children knew of his story, so it was no wonder he wasn’t willing to mention his own name.

“I just wanted to obtain some intelligence from you as quickly as possible. If I hadn’t fooled you, how could you have shared some pieces of the truth with me?” Zu An replied with a chuckle. Since Shi Bingxiu had wanted to fool him so badly, he would naturally have decided to tell mostly the truth with some lies mixed in. As long as Zu An figured out which parts were lies, the rest would be all truth.

Shi Bingxiu finally couldn't handle it anymore, exclaiming, “Then just use force against us! Even though your ability restrains us, how can you defeat an entire army all by yourself?!”

As soon as he said that, countless weapons rose into the air.

Shi Bingxiu hissed through gritted teeth, “Kill him!”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

You have successfully trolled Shi Bingxiu’s army for +999 +999 +999...

Then, the weapons all rushed at Zu An.