Yan Shouyi, held in the palm of the inner demon, was like an ant.
At such close proximity, Yan Shouyi could clearly see the pores on the inner demon's face—large enough to fit a banana.
The inner demon sneered, and the exaggerated gust of air from its nostrils forced Yan Shouyi's eyes shut.
It licked its lips, and an overwhelming pressure washed over him, making Yan Shouyi feel as if he were suffocating.
Yan Shouyi had never faced such a powerful enemy. Although he knew he was within Miaohui Shitao's illusionary space, an inability to overcome was an inability to overcome, regardless of reality or illusion.
"You... must be... delicious."
The inner demon opened its cavernous mouth, revealing double rows of sharp, shark-like teeth. Fragments of limbs and remains still clung to its fangs. Its tongue, like a giant python's, split into hundreds of tentacles at the end, each tentacle tipped with a mouth filled with sharp teeth!
Such a terrifying sight could only be found in hell!
Fear surged, and Yan Shouyi's facial muscles twitched violently.
Miaohui Shitao's inner demon was exceedingly ugly!
Was this the true form of an Asura?!
Was he about to be swallowed by such a creature?!
Yan Shouyi closed his eyes, his face etched with unwillingness.
I cannot die here. I must leave this place, leave Mount Emei!
That brat is waiting for me to return, and my father hopes for a reunion. I can't abandon the Folk Studies Society!
Hell... Asura... This is the inner demon's domain, so naturally, it is incredibly powerful... But if I could drag it into my domain, the situation would surely be different!
My domain... my domain... my... domain...
Suddenly, Yan Shouyi stopped struggling, and the expression on his face calmed.
He was no longer afraid, no longer terrified, no longer felt powerless.
Instead, a sense of calm washed over him, an anticipation of a worthy opponent.
The inner demon failed to notice the details of the ant in its hand. Happily, it opened its mouth and brought Yan Shouyi towards it.
But just then, a vast amount of black energy surged from Yan Shouyi's body!
This black energy seeped through the gaps in the inner demon's fingers and quickly coalesced behind Yan Shouyi, forming a massive hand in the blink of an eye—even larger than the inner demon itself!
The Yama's attendants were terrified, their ghostly forms in disarray, falling into the oil pot—even the inner demon itself was startled, knocking over the oil pot!
The boiling oil splashed onto the ground, revealing countless scorched souls, and even the Yama's attendants could not escape.
Upon seeing this enormous black hand, the inner demon was as shocked as Yan Shouyi had been upon seeing the inner demon.
Just the hand is as big as me, how terrifying must its master be?!
As the inner demon panicked, the hand grabbed it, just as the inner demon had grabbed Yan Shouyi!
The black energy instantly enveloped the inner demon, and Yan Shouyi was also enclosed within it.
"Hmph..."
Yan Shouyi exhaled sharply. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself no longer in that dark, sunless hell.
He looked around and saw an ancient city behind him. The city was ablaze with raging fires, its walls riddled with holes and covered in arrows.
Beneath the city walls, corpses were piled high, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Yan Shouyi stood amidst the smoke and dust. He looked down and saw that his mount was the fine steed "Treading Snow."
"Treading Snow? What are you doing here?"
He was stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing.
This was no longer Miaohui Shitao's illusionary world, but mine... or rather, General Qing Jiang's illusionary world!
This was an ancient battlefield. The city behind him was the one General Qing Jiang had once defended, and the mountains of corpses surrounding him were all killed by Qing Jiang!
At this moment, Yan Shouyi, clad in fine scale armor, wielding the national sword of the Qing Jiang kingdom, riding the fine steed Treading Snow, was bathed in blood and smoke!
"I... I am the God of Slaughter!!" he gritted out the words through his teeth.
Just now in hell, the malevolent energy within him had surged out, forcefully bringing him to this ancient battlefield that belonged to him.
And within this ancient battlefield, Yan Shouyi was the master; he was the God of Slaughter, Qing Jiang!!
"Since I have arrived, Miaohui Shitao's inner demon must have also arrived, right?"
No sooner had Yan Shouyi spoken than the inner demon descended from the sky.
The inner demon was enormous, falling like a meteor onto the ancient battlefield with a thunderous crash, crushing countless corpses beneath its feet.
"Where... is this..."
The inner demon looked around in shock, its voice like a sound from the abyss, tinged with anger.
Even now, Yan Shouyi appeared insignificant before the inner demon, but he no longer felt fear.
Drawing his sword and mounted on his horse, Yan Shouyi stood on higher ground, looking "eye to eye" with the inner demon.
"This is my domain."
The inner demon sneered, "A mere ant... dares to possess a domain?"
Yan Shouyi replied, "In hell, I was no match for you, but here, it's not certain who is stronger!"
"Arrogant!"
The inner demon clapped its hands again, intending to swat Yan Shouyi away like a fly.
Yan Shouyi stood unyielding and instead spurred his horse forward, "Giddy up!"
Treading Snow reared its front hooves, letting out a whinny. Then, its four hooves burst into flames, galloping across the ancient battlefield, leaving a trail of fire in its wake!
"Kill!!!!!"
Yan Shouyi transformed into the God of Slaughter, raising the national sword of the Qing Jiang kingdom high. His roar echoed across the ancient battlefield, as if he were a true general!
For some reason, the fine scale armor on his body also ignited.
The flames burned away the armor, burned away Yan Shouyi's skin, but like a lizard shedding its skin, they allowed Yan Shouyi to shed his mortal flesh!
His body rapidly grew, his skin turning a dark, bluish-black. No blood vessels were visible on his surface, only intricate, mysterious runes that accentuated the explosive power of his muscles.
His hair vanished in the flames, replaced by a mass of fiery red locks, their tips pointing skyward, swaying with his killing intent!
Treading Snow's body was also consumed by flames, transforming into a hellish warhorse. Its once lustrous mane was replaced by thick, skeletal white bone, and its eyes were replaced by a pale blue, deathly glow!
After galloping only a few dozen meters, Yan Shouyi's size was now equal to that of the inner demon. And mounted on Treading Snow, he was high above, his aura completely crushing the inner demon!!
This was the true form of the God of Slaughter!!!
The inner demon's expression changed drastically upon witnessing Yan Shouyi's transformation.
The Asura from hell was even inferior to the God of Slaughter from the mortal realm!
But after a brief moment of shock, it was replaced by the inner demon's intense jealousy and bloodlust, which were also characteristic of an Asura.
"Hah!"
The inner demon spewed blue flames from its mouth. Dragging its obese, cumbersome body, it swung a fist towards Treading Snow, which was galloping towards it!
Treading Snow's speed did not diminish. Its forehead was covered by a layer of armor with a sharp, single horn, capable of easily piercing the belly of an enemy cavalryman on the battlefield!
Now, it intended to pierce the inner demon's belly!