Chasing the Wind, Chasing the Dao, and Chasing the Heart; Refining Heaven, Refining Earth, and Refining People

A majestic and domineering voice erupted abruptly from Xue Mingqing's mouth.

The sound resonated throughout the entire Frozen Forest, carrying not only authority and majesty but also a faint, lingering trace of evil.

The Evil Soul Master's eyes narrowed, and his hand, which was gripping Xue Mingqing's throat, trembled instinctively.

He was somewhat unable to grasp the current situation.

And what of Xue Mingqing?

He was still being held suspended in mid-air by the Evil Soul Master.

However, the agony of having his soul stripped away was gone from his face.

In its place was a look of utter indifference and coldness.

Glancing at the Evil Soul Master, a flicker of disdain and mockery flashed through Xue Mingqing's eyes, which had shifted from black to a vibrant cyan-green.

"Heh... trash, let go."

Hearing Xue Mingqing's extremely arrogant and dismissive tone, the Evil Soul Master did not release him; instead, he tightened his grip!

His brows furrowed tightly, as if he were trying to discern the anomaly in Xue Mingqing.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

"You are not that brat! How is this possible? How can one body contain two souls?!"

With a sneer of contempt curling his lips, Xue Mingqing suddenly raised his hand and slashed!

The moment his hand swept through the air, a wind blade manifested from pure, cyan-green breeze instantly sliced across the Evil Soul Master's chest!

"Cough?!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the Evil Soul Master recoiled in pain, releasing Xue Mingqing's neck. He clutched the gash on his chest and stumbled back several steps.

His expression was one of profound terror; although the injury was not severe, anyone would be shaken by such a turn of events.

"What on earth are you?!"

With a cold snort, Xue Mingqing let the cyan-green wind blade dissipate. He brushed the fallen snow off his clothes, showing no regard for the Evil Soul Master whatsoever.

"You are not worthy of knowing this old man's name..."

"Heh... just know this..."

Xue Mingqing raised his hand, and an indescribable, terrifying gravitational force erupted from his palm, pulling toward the Evil Soul Master.

Feeling that all-too-familiar pull, the Evil Soul Master's pupils constricted violently!

"No, no, you cannot strip my soul! You cannot do that!"

Roaring, the Evil Soul Master waved his Ten Thousand Soul Banner. In an instant, three soul rings—white, yellow, and purple—lit up beneath his feet!

Streaks of black mist, accompanied by mournful, agonizing shrieks, surged toward Xue Mingqing from all directions!

He had unleashed his soul skill, intending to command the vengeful spirits within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to kill Xue Mingqing first!

To this, Xue Mingqing merely let out a cold snort.

"Tricks that aren't worth a glance. What if I just let you attack?"

Having said that, Xue Mingqing stood rooted to the spot, neither dodging nor parrying, maintaining his soul-snatching posture without the slightest tremor!

Seeing Xue Mingqing treat him with such contempt, a flash of frantic viciousness crossed the Evil Soul Master's eyes. He channeled all his soul power to stabilize his own soul, roaring incessantly!

"Go! Devour his organs, tear his soul to shreds!"

Receiving the Evil Soul Master's command, the vengeful spirits let out even more shrill and savage shrieks!

They transformed into thin, hair-like wisps of black smoke and drilled into Xue Mingqing's body through his seven orifices!

Seeing this, the Evil Soul Master laughed maniacally.

"Ke-ke-ke! Soon you will suffer the agony of ten thousand souls devouring your heart and die a miserable death. If you stop now, this seat might grant you a quick end!"

"Noisy..."

With a cold snort, Xue Mingqing did not stop; instead, the soul-snatching power erupting from his hand grew even stronger!

"Urgh, ahhh!"

As the pain of his soul being pulled tore through him, the Evil Soul Master let out an instinctive scream. Realizing that Xue Mingqing had no intention of letting him live, he gritted his teeth.

If you won't let me live, don't expect to have it easy either!

With a ruthless heart, the Evil Soul Master tremblingly raised his hand and formed a seal.

"Soul Explosion Technique, explode...!"

As the words fell, the soul explosion the Evil Soul Master had anticipated—where Xue Mingqing's soul would be shattered and he would be reduced to an imbecile—did not occur.

After a moment of silence, the Evil Soul Master instinctively sensed the state of those vengeful spirits, only to discover in horror that they had vanished without a trace, as if they were clay oxen entering the sea!

Noticing this, his pupils shrank to pinpricks as he let out a roar bordering on madness!

"How is this possible?! What did you do to my heroic spirit? You—ahhh—"

This time, Xue Mingqing did not give him the chance to finish his words.

With a forceful pull of his hand, the Evil Soul Master's soul was ripped out, screaming!

As his soul was extracted, the Evil Soul Master's eyes instantly turned hollow.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner martial soul in his hand and the three soul rings at his feet also turned to dust the moment his soul was pulled out, dissipating with the wind.

With a soft thud, his body swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground, his life extinguished.

Lowering his gaze, Xue Mingqing looked at the painful, resentful soul in his hand and couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.

"You wanted to know this old man's name, didn't you? Very well, I shall let you die with clarity. Listen well."

Clearing his throat, two lines of domineering, wicked poetry were recited from Xue Mingqing's lips.

"Chasing the wind, chasing the Dao, and chasing the heart; refining the heavens, refining the earth, and refining men—I am Feng Qingyang!"

Having said this, Xue Mingqing exerted force, and the Evil Soul Master's soul was instantly refined amidst its shrieks!

It transformed into pure spiritual power, flowing into Xue Mingqing's sea of consciousness.

Having refined the Evil Soul Master's soul, the wild and uninhibited expression on Xue Mingqing's face suddenly receded, leaving behind only...

The vicissitudes of time and the exhaustion of one just awakened from a long dream.

Rubbing the space between his brows, Xue Mingqing—or rather, Feng Qingyang, who was currently controlling the body—raised his hand.

The Evil Soul Master's storage soul tool flew into Feng Qingyang's grasp.

Weighing the storage tool in his hand, a relaxed and gentle smile appeared on Feng Qingyang's face.

"Kid, we didn't lose out on this one."

At this moment, within Xue Mingqing's body, inside the sea of consciousness, the displaced Xue Mingqing was filled with horror.

When Feng Qingyang took over, Xue Mingqing still possessed self-awareness; he could see and feel everything that was happening.

But the more he saw, the more shocked he became.

The moment Feng Qingyang's soul had awakened, he had been overjoyed, thinking he would likely survive and perhaps even kill the Evil Soul Master to avenge his village.

The facts proved he wasn't wrong, but he hadn't expected Feng Qingyang's methods to be so sinister!

Devouring vengeful spirits, seizing souls, and refining them for absorption—how could these methods be those of a good person?

Compared to a traditional "golden finger" grandfather, this guy was more like a leader of the Evil Soul Masters!

If he hadn't read the original Douluo Dalu II and known that the leaders of the Evil Soul Masters were Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao of the Sun Moon Empire's Holy Spirit Cult, he would have truly mistaken him for their boss.

At this moment, he began to fear the soul that had lived with him and slept within him for six years.

He hoped he hadn't just escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair.

If Feng Qingyang were to directly possess his body, he wouldn't even have a place to cry!

Seeming to sense Xue Mingqing's anxiety, Feng Qingyang chuckled softly.

"I would like to possess you, but—"

"Rest assured, I cannot."

Hearing this, Xue Mingqing was stunned. Once he processed the words, his brows furrowed instinctively.

"Why?"

It wasn't that he wanted to be possessed, but this concerned his very life; he had to ask for the reason.

Placing the storage soul tool into his robes, Feng Qingyang controlled Xue Mingqing's body and lay down on the snow-covered grass.

"You are the master of this body. If I were to possess you, this body would soon wither away. This old man has no desire to commit suicide..."

After hearing Feng Qingyang's explanation, Xue Mingqing felt a bit more at ease, and instinctively, he wanted to ask more.

However.

Before Xue Mingqing could speak, Feng Qingyang's voice sounded once more.

"My soul has expended too much energy; I am about to fall into a deep slumber."

Hearing Feng Qingyang's words, Xue Mingqing froze. Recalling how Feng Qingyang's soul had remained motionless in his sea of consciousness for six years, his expression turned peculiar.

"Then, this time, how long will you be sleeping?"

"Hahaha..."

Feng Qingyang laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, it won't be too long this time—a month at the shortest, half a year at the longest."

Hearing this, Xue Mingqing nodded. He didn't want his hard-earned golden finger to go back to sleep before leaving him anything.

Relieved, he tentatively asked.

"Then... Elder Feng, when you wake up next time, ahem... could you give me a little something?"

Feng Qingyang was taken aback, then laughed and scolded.

"You rascal, fine... next time you wake up, I'll give you something as rent for staying in your sea of consciousness for six years..."

"As for now..."

Feng Qingyang glanced toward the distant horizon.

There, an incomparably sharp streak of ice-blue light was hurtling toward them...

"Someone is coming..."