A gust of wind, carrying sand and a hint of desolate chill, swept across the barren land. The Old Ghost's eyelids twitched, then slowly opened. The glaring sunlight made him squint instinctively. In his focused vision, a tall, upright figure stood facing him. He recognized him at once: it was Qin Tian.In that instant, the Old Ghost's muscles tensed abruptly, and his soul power instinctively tried to surge. But before he could make any move to resist, a strong sense of submission, originating from the depths of his soul, suddenly washed over him like a tide. A strange tingling sensation spread through his limbs and bones, and even his fingertips couldn't move.“What—what's happening to me?”The Old Ghost's pupils suddenly constricted. His soul power instinctively probed inward, and he was horrified to discover that in the center of his Sea of Souls, an dark-gold Soul Imprint floated. The oppressive aura emanating from its swirling patterns firmly locked down his ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) soul's origin.As a sixth-rank Soul Master, he knew better than anyone what this meant: he had become someone's soul servant.“Mas—Master!”The Old Ghost scrambled to his feet. The wound on his chest had already healed, but it still throbbed faintly with the movement. He looked at the figure, his voice hoarse as if abraded by sandpaper, a complex, inexpressible mix of emotions in his tone.Qin Tian slowly turned around, his gaze calmly assessing him. From the fragmented memories left by Yan Song, he had already pieced together the Old Ghost's past and the twisted entanglement between him and Yan Song.The Old Ghost's real name was Zong Xiangu. He came from an ordinary family. After reaching adulthood, his bloodline suddenly awakened, and he embarked on the path of cultivation.Due to his unique bloodline, he didn't choose the common paths of martial artists or mages. Instead, he became a one-in-a-million Soul Master, capable of directly manipulating soul power in combat.Relying on this heaven-bestowed bloodline and arduous cultivation far exceeding that of ordinary people, the Old Ghost eventually advanced to the sixth rank, becoming a formidable powerhouse.However, he was reclusive by nature. He never married, had no children, and was unwilling to pledge allegiance to any force, always traveling alone across various planets.He was a lone wanderer.As for why he worked for Yan Song, it was entirely due to Yan Song's despicable schemes.Yan Song had accidentally learned of the existence of this sixth-rank Soul Master. Seeing that he traveled alone and had no dependents, he developed a desire to subdue him.He used his family's intelligence network to uncover the Old Ghost's background in detail. This seemingly unattached Soul Master's only soft spot was a close friend from his early years.Thus, Yan Song devised a malicious plot, secretly framing and ruining his friend's family, leaving only a five-year-old child whose whereabouts were unknown.When Zong Xiangu received the news, he was frantic. Just as he didn't know how to find the child, Yan Song "happened" to appear, offering with a "kind" expression to use all of the Yan Family's resources to help him find the surviving child, without asking for any payment or conditions.When the child was found, it was discovered that he had contracted a strange illness. His internal organs were failing, and he had to rely on a special elixir for long-term survival.And such an elixir was impossible for even a sixth-rank powerhouse to obtain easily.Only then did Yan Song reveal his fangs. He agreed to cover all of the child's treatment expenses and even personally invited the family physician to care for him. The condition, however, was that the Old Ghost must become his subordinate and serve him for five years.To preserve his friend's last remaining bloodline, the Old Ghost gritted his teeth and agreed.But from then on, although Yan Song regularly provided the medicine to sustain the child's life, he kept the child well hidden. Not to mention meeting him, he wouldn't even disclose the child's whereabouts, though he would occasionally allow the Old Ghost to video call the child to confirm his safety.“That child, Junjia, is on Tianyu Star right now,” Qin Tian's voice was calm and unruffled, yet it struck the Old Ghost's heart like a massive stone. “His illness was cured long ago; Yan Song has been hiding it from you. I dug this out of Yan Song's memories; it's not fake.”The Old Ghost trembled violently, as if an invisible hand had squeezed his heart. The next moment, his taut spine suddenly collapsed, and his eyes uncontrollably grew warm. The enormous weight that had hung over his heart for years finally crashed down. The guilt and worry that had suffocated him now transformed into a bittersweet warmth that surged through his limbs.How could he not see through Yan Song's tricks?His friend's family's misfortune, from beginning to end, was caused by him.But that child was his friend's only bloodline. Even knowing it was a trap, he could only work under Yan Song like an ox led by the nose.For years, he had endured his immense hatred for Yan Song, simply to secure a chance of survival for that child.Now, knowing the child was safe and even fully recovered, Yan Song's death suddenly felt incredibly satisfying. The years of pent-up frustration surged up his throat, turning into an almost inaudible choke.“Tha—thank you, Master.” The Old Ghost lowered his head, his voice still trembling. This time, the address “Master” sounded much more natural, with less humiliation and more genuine willingness.“Mm.”Qin Tian responded noncommittally, his gaze falling on the Old Ghost's slightly bowed head. He knew in his heart that this sixth-rank Soul Master's current obedience was mostly out of helplessness under the suppression of the Soul Imprint. For a lone powerhouse to suddenly become someone else's subordinate, this disparity in status would not be easy to digest in a short time.But Qin Tian was not in a hurry. As time passed, once the Old Ghost witnessed the opportunities he could provide, he would naturally understand that this upheaval of identity today was not the beginning of a lock, but the most fortunate turning point of his life.When Qin Tian and the Old Ghost returned to the Crimson Gold Battle Group with Yan Song's corpse, the atmosphere of the entire battle group became exceptionally strange.“Young Master.”Yan Song's personal guards were the first to surround them. Upon seeing the mutilated, bloody corpse, the leading guard's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees with a thud, his face pale. The other guards also had red eyes. They had followed Yan Song for many years. Although they knew the Young Master's temperament was perverse, they had also received his favors. Now that their backbone had suddenly collapsed, they were momentarily lost and helpless.Feng Xiaotian and the other captains looked on with complex emotions. Yan Song had not treated them badly on a daily basis, and he was willing to share credit with them during battles. Anyone with eyes could see that this was a means of winning people over, but to actually see this once-spirited genius of the golden bloodline reduced to a mangled corpse, their chests still felt a dull ache.After all, they had been comrades, even if it was a superficial relationship. Now, that connection had turned into an inexplicable sense of melancholy.But a different scene was more prevalent in the battle group. The grassroots soldiers who had climbed up from the bottom, though they dared not cheer openly, could not hide the long-suppressed satisfaction in their eyes.Who hadn't suffered Yan Song's abuse?This young master only cared about the captains who also came from bloodline aristocratic families, and he was particularly harsh on soldiers from common, civilian backgrounds. Stealing credit and shifting blame were commonplace for him.He had indeed led them to some military achievements, but how much of their comrades' blood was soaked into those achievements?Compared to the small favors he offered, the humiliation and harm inflicted upon everyone had long since entwined their hearts like a poisonous vine.Now, this poisonous vine was finally broken. Even if the future was uncertain, at least at this moment, even the wind carried a sense of relief.Of course, some people also noticed that Yan Song's corpse was bloody and mangled, and his treasures were also missing, especially the ruby ring on his finger.Did the ring fall off and get lost during the demon's tearing, or was it taken by someone?Their gazes swept over Qin Tian and the Old Ghost. Qin Tian and the Old Ghost, one was Yan Song's subordinate, and the other was Yan Song's adversary. They certainly wouldn't collude.The two had been together the entire time. If someone truly wanted to secretly take the ring, the other would never have stood by idly.In that case, there seemed to be only one answer: the ruby ring, which contained the Burning Heaven Purgatory, would likely disappear from the world again, not to reappear for who knew how many years.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.