I long to return home!

Before he could fly for long, Zhang Lin was blocked by a barrier. He immediately realized that this was someone's doing and cursed inwardly. When he turned around, he saw Huai Zhen's figure rapidly approaching, leaving a bloody trail behind him.

"It's also a Blood Spirit Root?! Could it be that he also used the Forbidden Fruit?" Zhang Lin pondered for a moment, then reached out to touch his chest. Now that his flesh and blood had been reconstituted and he was unharmed, he gritted his teeth and his right arm was filled with bright red blood energy, until it transformed into a hand blade that rushed towards Huai Zhen.

Two blood-red streaks collided in the air.

"Qiang Qiang Qiang!"

The longsword "Life Soul" clashed with the blood blade formed from Zhang Lin's right arm, and the resulting shockwave cleaved the withered trees and grass beneath their feet into several pieces.

"Fake Core cultivator, your wisp of divine consciousness can't help you for long. I am now immortal. Once your remaining divine consciousness dissipates, killing you will be a piece of cake." Zhang Lin sneered a few times, raised his hand, and conjured a blood-red claw to strike down.

Huai Zhen remained expressionless, making a sword-finger gesture with one hand, condensing his blood energy into countless blood swords to meet the claw. The two attacks collided in mid-air, stirring up waves of bloody storms. The impact of the two canceling each other out forced Huai Zhen to dodge and retreat more than a hundred feet away.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Lin appeared in an instant and slashed down with his sword. Huai Zhen raised his sword to block, but the pressure from the latter's strike forced him to kneel on one knee.

"Zhang Lin, accept the seal, and I will spare your life."

"Ridiculous! I never expected that even after ten thousand years, the general would still be so fond of joking. Today, I will prove that I was innocent and did nothing wrong in what happened back then!" Zhang Lin retorted, raising his foot and striking Huai Zhen squarely in the side, sending him flying several meters away, spitting out blood.

Without wasting any opportunity, Zhang Lin approached again, and before Huai Zhen could get up, he used his blood energy to form a sword, which fell from above his head.

Huai Zhen dodged repeatedly, but was still slashed by the dense blood swords, and in no time his body was covered with scratches.

But to end it like this would be to underestimate a Nascent Soul cultivator. In a flash, he closed in again and punched the blade blocking his way. The powerful impact broke several of Huai Zhen's ribs, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Lin grabbed his throat with one hand, lifted him high, and said contemptuously with a slight upturn of his lips, "General, I have won. Obviously, I did not do anything wrong back then, and you should not blame me."

Huai Zhen coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his chest burning as if on fire. He didn't reply, but coldly glanced at Zhang Lin. His gaze was indescribable; if one had to describe it, it was the disdain of a monarch looking at a flamboyant clown.

Zhang Lin was also intimidated by the glare and dared not look directly at him. After pondering for a few moments, he let out a cold laugh. He thought for a moment, what was he repenting for? Now, the person in front of him was no longer the general of the past, and even if the other party had a wisp of the general's divine consciousness, he could still hold his life in his hands with one hand. Whether he lived or died was just a matter of a thought.

"Hmph, General, no one can predict the harm caused by consuming the forbidden fruit back then. I only killed a few enemy generals who knelt down and begged for mercy. I only killed the harm that must be eliminated for the sake of future generations."

“Wrong! You have killed the morale of my Yin Yue Empire’s army. Even if I were to die back then, I should not have allowed you to consume the forbidden fruit, slaughter your people, and become bloodthirsty. The forbidden fruit has already caused your Dao hearts to become divided.” Huai Zhen said, but every word he uttered was like a demonic sound piercing Zhang Lin’s ears. With every few words he spoke, Zhang Lin’s hands tightened their grip.

The intense pressure on Huai Zhen's throat rendered him unable to speak, but Zhang Lin unexpectedly burst out laughing. "If we're talking about killing, General, you've killed far more than any of us dozen or so army commanders on the battlefield. The title 'Blood King' is what the world has given you!"

Zhang Lin laughed a few more times, "It doesn't matter. History is written by the victors, so... I invite you to return to heaven, General. I'll send this brat to join you!"

Zhang Lin stretched out his palm, which transformed into a blood cone. Just as he was about to pierce Huai Zhen's heart and make his move, iron chains that had broken off from the deep pit flew over and forcibly bound Zhang Lin, pulling him back into the pit without any resistance.

Huai Zhen fell to the ground, touched his throat, and murmured, "Zhang Lin, even after ten thousand years, your murderous intent has not diminished. I have no choice but to truly eliminate you." Huai Zhen gripped the long sword, then looked at himself, chuckled, and said, "I never expected that this child would possess an item inherited from my father. Ten thousand years have passed, and the world has changed. I never imagined that the Yin Yue Empire would become more and more prosperous. No more monarchs will be corrupted by the Blood Spirit Root."

After saying this, Huai Zhen sighed softly, his expression changing, and finally said, "Child, from now on, you will have to bear the burden of the erosion of the blood spirit root in this world alone."

Huai Zhen's gaze sharpened, and he flew into the deep pit, where he saw Zhang Lin bound in the air by several iron chains, unable to break free no matter what he did.

"General, that's truly a brilliant move. You actually used millennia-old black iron to forge chains to seal me away!" Zhang Lin cried out unwillingly.

“Zhang Lin, I have given you many chances, this is the last. I will never forget the time you spent fighting alongside me, but a mistake is a mistake. I will not let you go out to harm living beings. You should be executed.” Huai Zhen said in a deep voice. Then, his pupils glowed red, and several golden characters surged upward from the bottom of the pit.

As Jin Wen pierced through Zhang Lin's body, he gradually drained Zhang Lin's spiritual power with his blood energy. Even though the screams were horrifying, Huai Zhen still showed no mercy.

"General, it is my greatest honor to fight alongside you. But I still believe I have done nothing wrong. I curse this fake dan brat once again that the most important person in his life will experience such utter despair."

"All soldiers, heed my command, awaken quickly, and slaughter all living beings in this world!"

Huai Zhen took a deep breath, as if to let go of something, raised his long sword and beheaded Zhang Lin. As his body turned into a faint spiritual light and dissipated, this soldier who had followed him for many years died completely.

After his body dissipated, two items fell from his body. One was a token, on which was engraved only the two characters "Zhang Lin". Huai Zhen picked up the token, pondered for a moment, and then stuffed it into his tattered robe.

There was another object, a fruit that was entirely blood-red, surrounded by a bloody aura, shaped like an apple, but with scale-like patterns.

Huai Zhen picked up the red fruit again, sighed softly, and slowly said, "Since you have the inheritance of your father, you do not need the Blood Spirit Fruit to refine into a Blood Spirit Root. If you can walk to the Imperial City alive, my inheritance will be opened for you. However, I hope you will not lose yourself in your fierce body."

After another soft sigh, Huai Zhen's eyes cleared. A few days ago, when he saw Zhang Lin, a divine voice came from the knife in his hand, wanting to briefly possess his body so that he could leave this place safely in the future.

Huai Zhen looked down at the bottom of the pit, and the stone door opened with a series of muffled sounds. According to the divine voice, as long as he went underground, he could not only find the entrance and exit, but also obtain a considerable amount of spiritual medicine.

Just then, a blood-red sword came flying and slashed Huai Zhen's wrist. As the red fruit fell, it was caught by a man.

Huai Zhen gritted his teeth and gripped his injured wrist, looking at the person walking out of the pit. He recognized this person; he was from the same Wuji Empire as him, and they had even fought before.

"Shangguan Tou..."