Ye Xiu looked at the figure before him, whose face was indistinct, as purple flames ignited in his hands. "General Han, what are you saying? Aren't I your subordinate general?"

"Hmph!" Han Xin withdrew his long sword and strode a few steps in front of Ye Xiu. He suddenly whipped his sword around in a sharp thrust. "Could an ordinary subordinate general withstand my black flames?"

Having already experienced Han Xin's might on the riverbank, Ye Xiu knew Han Xin's body was brimming with Su Hun (Speed Soul). His Jade Ring’s other soul energies were currently running low. In response, he swept up his scythe with the flat of the blade, firmly deflecting Han Xin's attack. "General Han, what is the meaning of this? You yourself said we are allies, so why engage in mutual slaughter?"

Han Xin shook his head, extending his free hand engulfed in black flames toward Ye Xiu. "It is precisely because I sense something similar within you that I must kill you!"

"Ah!" Ye Xiu struggled to push back Han Xin's long sword. Seeing the black flames approach his neck, he flipped backward, landing hard on the open ground. "Must we fight to the death?"

"Die!" Han Xin was beyond listening to Ye Xiu's words. He flashed swiftly to Ye Xiu's side, the glow of his long sword illuminating the wilderness as he drove it down, aiming for Ye Xiu's life. "There can only be one Pluto."

"Wait a moment!" Just then, Ji Jiang waved her crimson sleeve, intercepting Han Xin's long sword. She approached Ye Xiu and asked, "You too carry the Pluto's Heart Blood within your body? Yet, I don't recall granting the Pluto's Heart Blood to someone like you. Do you know me?"

Ye Xiu slowly rose to his feet, gazing at Ji Jiang’s impassive expression. "I know nothing of the Pluto's Heart Blood. I know that I recognize you. You are Mo Xi!"

"Mo Xi? Heh heh." Ji Jiang chuckled but offered no reply. After a moment of thought, she turned to Han Xin. "I know he also possesses the Pluto's power within him. Killing him will make your power even stronger."

Han Xin had been waiting for this moment. He strode forward, raising his long sword high. "Since we are all borrowing the Pluto's power, why not let me inherit it all alone."

"Damn it!" Before Han Xin could finish speaking, Ye Xiu unleashed a violent blast of purple flames from both hands, directly propelling himself toward Han Xin. He leaped high, intending to use the might of his scythe to deliver a crushing blow.

Han Xin hadn't anticipated Ye Xiu's aggressive move. He stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the heavy strike. Unfortunately, the residual Li Hun (Force Soul) residing in Ye Xiu’s Death God Scythe still held reserves. That single blow struck the ground, unleashing a surge powerful enough to resemble a thousand-layer ocean wave, sending him tumbling over.

Ye Xiu raised his scythe, preparing to repeat his tactic for another strike. To his surprise, a sharp pain pierced his back. By the time he turned, Han Xin's long sword, shimmering with black light, was already rotating behind him.

"How is this speed?" Han Xin rose confidently from the ground. He had already channeled all his soul energy into the long sword. It proved his strategy was successful; he had wounded Ye Xiu while the latter was executing his attack.

Ye Xiu looked at the sword lodged behind him, then at Han Xin, who was raising his black flames head-on, realizing he was caught between a pincer attack. At this moment, the remaining Li Hun on the Death God Scythe could not be much left.

"Kill!" Han Xin flicked his hand, sending a mass of black flame toward Ye Xiu, while his long sword vanished into the air in an instant.

Ye Xiu barely managed to hold the black flame back with his twin streams of purple flame. However, the moment he blocked the flames, the black long sword descended from above with fierce momentum. He tried to parry with the scythe, but the sword was too fast. By the time his scythe was raised, the blade was already deeply embedded in his arm, causing him to writhe in agony and roll away.

"How can this be?" Ji Jiang fell into confusion once more. "No soul energy emanates from the wound. How is it possible for someone possessing the Pluto's Heart Blood to have no cultivation of the soul? What exactly is going on?"

"Let me deliver the final blow myself," Han Xin declared, flashing forward to grip the long sword. The other end remained firmly embedded in Ye Xiu's arm. "Next, I shall sever your head."

Ye Xiu looked up at the faceless Han Xin. He had never defeated Han Xin on the riverbank, and now he was at a distinct disadvantage. In that moment, he couldn't help but silently curse the Jade Ring, wondering why it wasn't manifesting its power now.

"Die!" Han Xin decisively yanked the long sword from Ye Xiu’s arm. Instantly, black blood sprayed across the entire space. Just as he was about to plunge it into Ye Xiu’s neck, two sharp sounds ripped through the air: "Swoosh, swoosh!"

Ye Xiu used the purple flame to violently thrust his body upward. However, instead of retreating elsewhere, he deliberately slammed his back against Han Xin’s long sword.

"This is..." Han Xin was stunned by this self-destructive attack pattern, as Ye Xiu’s body had pinned down his sword, rendering him completely immobile.

At that instant, Ye Xiu, suppressing immense pain, snatched the Death God Scythe and swept it horizontally with lightning speed. Han Xin tried to recoil backward, but his unwillingness to abandon his long sword slowed his entire body's movement. As a result, the scythe sliced across his chest, splashing black blood everywhere.

"Good opportunity, Su Su!" Ye Xiu knew the reason Su Su hadn't used her ability was the lack of ambient soul energy in this space. But now that he had wounded Han Xin with the scythe, Han Xin's kinetic Su Neng (Speed Energy) had dispersed, floating everywhere.

Su Su, who had been hidden for a long time, understood Ye Xiu's maneuver. At that moment, the Jade Ring emitted a swirling vortex of purple smoke. The surrounding Su Hun in the air were drawn in. Of course, its power was not limited to that; the suction was so intense that the Su Hun within Han Xin’s very wounds were violently pulled out.

"You!" Han Xin roared in fury. He knew his power was draining rapidly, but he refused to let go. He wanted to finish Ye Xiu with his long sword. "No matter what ability you possess, killing you will make me stronger."

"Han Xin, let go quickly!" Ji Jiang watched the two locked in stalemate within the purple light. She tried to approach but was forcefully repelled by the surrounding soul power. "It is absorbing the soul energy from your body. If you don't let go, you will die."

"Die!" Han Xin naturally refused to believe such words. Yet, amidst the torrent of swirling purple light, he felt his hands growing weaker. He had intended to pull the sword from Ye Xiu's wrist and strike again, but he found himself utterly devoid of strength.

"This... this is..." Not only Han Xin, but Ye Xiu himself was utterly exhausted by the violent flow of purple light. The ground beneath them began to shake violently; chunks of trees and stones flew in all directions. He had never experienced such potent soul energy, and this accumulated power crashed into the Jade Ring before being transmitted into his body.

"Han Xin!" Ji Jiang attempted to call out to him again, but the situation had escalated beyond whether Han Xin would let go. He was simply unable to escape the vortex of soul energy. As seconds ticked by, not only was his internal energy being drained, but his entire body was being sucked bit by bit into Ye Xiu's Jade Ring.

"Aaaah..." Ye Xiu let out a heaven-shaking roar, and with that cry, all the light in the world extinguished.