“Telling you won’t matter anyway. People call me Sun Tu.”

“Never heard of you.”

“…” Sun Tu’s face twisted as he squeezed He Qing’s neck harder. “Your body would have been more suitable, but unfortunately, you practice Buddhism. However, this body isn’t bad either.”

He Qing gradually felt it harder to breathe, struggling to squeeze out a sentence, “I believe the General won’t let you consume him.”

“Who do you think is controlling this body now? Prepare to die!” Sun Tu roared as he raised the massive Juque sword. But then, his expression suddenly changed, and he rolled onto the ground.

“A mere mortal dares to resist me!” Sun Tu slapped the ground, causing a crack to split open.

“General!” He Qing quickly summoned his staff, casting several golden rings that flew out, binding Duan Chenhui’s limbs and neck.

“Soul-locking rings?” Sun Tu roared in fury, turning to glare at He Qing. “Do you think I won’t drag this mortal down with me?”

“If you can.” He Qing lowered his eyes, staring coldly at Sun Tu, then closed his eyes and began silently chanting the Heart Sutra, tightening the binding on Sun Tu’s soul.

Sun Tu gritted his teeth, shakily standing up, glaring at He Qing with a ferocious expression. “A mere Buddhist cultivator, daring to threaten me?”

He Qing opened his eyes. “Return the General’s body, and I’ll spare you.”

Sun Tu spat blood onto the ground, wiping his mouth. “Pah! You think just because you practice Buddhism, I’ll believe you? Even if I don’t come out, there’s nothing you can do to me!”

He Qing silently stared at him. It was true that if the General’s soul was still present, the golden rings would bind him as well.

He Qing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he lowered his head and put on a string of prayer beads. His voice suddenly became incredibly calm. “Then let’s go.” He turned and walked away, staff in hand.

Sun Tu was stunned. “You—” He found his limbs automatically following He Qing’s movements. He tugged violently at the golden rings. “Damn it! What did you do to me?!”

He Qing turned back, his brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes glimmered with mental energy. “The General wouldn’t say such vulgar things. It’s unpleasant.”

As long as one’s spiritual power is strong enough, they can control another’s actions and words. He Qing raised his hand, suddenly realizing how convenient mental energy could be.

Sun Tu clutched his aching head. “Is this the power of this world? You’ve merged with the abilities of this place?” He laughed mockingly. “You’re just like me, a body-snatcher! What right do you have to lecture me?”

“Amitabha, I’m not like you.” He Qing pressed his hands together, then pushed open the door and stepped out. After walking a few steps, he cast a spell to make the golden rings invisible.

Sun Tu gritted his teeth and glared at him, but his body remained completely out of his control.

He Qing entered another room filled with formations. Sun Tu realized what he was trying to do. “You’re going to destroy this place? Are you insane? We’ll never be able to return to the cultivation world! And you won’t be able to advance in this broken world either! I had to go through so much trouble to find this place!”

He Qing ignored him, placing his staff at the center of the formation. “If I’m not mistaken, you killed the cultivators who came here with you and used them for a blood sacrifice. Then you utilized the formation to lure surrounding beasts, using the blood pool to assist in your cultivation. But your physical body eventually failed, so you sealed your Nascent Soul, waiting for a suitable body to possess.”

Sun Tu sneered. “So what? In the cultivation world, it’s kill or be killed.”

“True. Every debt has its owner.” He Qing turned around, his green eyes piercing as he looked at him. “But you shouldn’t have tried to possess the General.” With that, he forcefully plunged his staff into the ground and began chanting incantations with his eyes closed.

Golden runes filled the air.

Sun Tu looked up at the swirling incantations and suddenly laughed. “Are you really just an ordinary Buddhist cultivator?” The power of virtue emanating from He Qing looked like that of a thousand-year-old monster! Probably even older than him! Damn, what bad luck for Sun Tu!

He Qing didn’t respond. A powerful golden light erupted around him, and moments later, the entire formation crumbled to dust. A golden shockwave shot out with a “whoosh,” quickly sweeping through the entire small secret realm, purifying all the demonic creatures.

The secret realm shattered.

He Qing collapsed to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of foul blood.

Sun Tu, watching gleefully, sauntered over and squatted in front of him. “Are you dead yet?”

“Not yet.” He Qing raised his head, his lips stained with blood. When he saw Duan Chenhui’s face, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. “Give the General back to me.”

“…Ugh, you little bastard, don’t try to act pitiful with me.”

He Qing was silent for a moment, then stood up, straightened his clothes, and retrieved his staff. With a flick of his wrist, a small house appeared in his palm, and the scenery around them changed—they were back in the forest.

He Qing pocketed the small house. “This palace may be old, but it’s still usable.”

Sun Tu attempted to escape, but his legs refused to obey.

“General! Mr. He! We’re out!!”

“Thank goodness! We can go home!”

Sun Tu turned around and saw a group of modern people carrying a roasted lamb running toward them. Among them was an extremely beautiful person who rushed up, grabbing his hand excitedly. “General! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Sun Tu, unable to speak, glanced back at the other He Qing.

He Qing smiled brightly. “General, let’s go back.”

Sun Tu shivered and looked at the second He Qing again, now certain they were the same person, with only the General still clueless.

Qiao Yi walked over, glancing at them. “Glad you’re all okay. This place gives me the creeps. We shouldn’t stay here long.”

“Mm, let’s go.” Sun Tu, under He Qing’s control, repeated the words and led the group away.

Qiao Yi scratched his head, watching Duan Chenhui, who was being flanked by He Qing on both sides, feeling like there was something off. The General seemed… a bit different, somehow.

After walking a bit, He Qing pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the lingering pain from earlier. He needed to rest and recover.

Back on the ship, He Qing quickly swapped bodies with his alter ego, allowing the paper-thin He Lian to leave on his own, then locked himself in a room with Duan Chenhui, refusing to see anyone.

He Qing sat cross-legged on a cushion, tapping a wooden fish. Across from him, Sun Tu, also forced into a cross-legged position, sat and listened, separated by a small altar.

Sun Tu raised his head, staring at him. “It’s useless.”

He Qing ignored him.

“I never expected a Buddhist cultivator like you to marry a man. That’s more like a devil monk. We’re the same, you and I.”

“I left the monkhood,” He Qing finally replied.

Sun Tu narrowed his eyes, closing them as he retreated into the sea of consciousness. Deep in the sea of consciousness, he approached Duan Chenhui, who was trapped in a golden cage, laughing maniacally. “You might as well give up and let me devour you. Struggling is pointless.”

Duan Chenhui glared at him through the golden bars, his eyes sharp. “We’ll see who wins.”

Sun Tu gritted his teeth, scanning the surroundings warily. He didn’t dare get too close to Duan Chenhui. Though this was his sea of consciousness, it had already been infiltrated by the other’s mental power. The area was filled with strange white tendrils, making it impossible to see clearly.

The most frustrating thing was that this man, Duan Chenhui, was still just a mortal!

“Haha, this is getting interesting. I like your body even more now. Is He Qing your wife? I think I’ll go have some fun with him!”

Duan Chenhui, who had remained calm until now, finally showed a change in expression. He raised his hand, revealing a golden ring. “If you dare, I’ll make sure we both die together.”

“…Good! Very good! Hahaha!” Sun Tu laughed hysterically, enraged by this cursed couple’s threats. “Do you even know who He Qing really is? Aren’t you afraid he’ll betray you?!”

Duan Chenhui lowered his hand and turned to look at the cage. “Then let me see him one more time?”

“No. I’m going to break him first,” Sun Tu taunted, hoping to provoke a crack in Duan Chenhui’s mental defenses, giving him an opening.

Duan Chenhui clenched his fist behind his back. “Good luck with that.”

Sun Tu met his gaze for a moment before turning and leaving, his sleeve brushing the air. As he walked deeper into the sea of consciousness, he glanced down, noticing a blindingly bright white lotus blooming in the depths, an especially striking sight.