But without the support of a physical body, the soul could only rely on the King of Hell's special energy to maintain its consciousness and avoid becoming a wandering spirit.
One body, one soul. Splitting a soul in two was an act against heaven and earth.
The energy required was immense.
Even for the mighty King of Hell, it was not easy to continuously provide energy to sustain a soul.
Over five hundred years, one could only imagine the amount of energy that had to be supplied.
"How about playing another hundred years of chess with this old man?" the King of Hell turned to Xu Feng, a smile on his face.
Xu Feng shook his head, a faint smile on his lips, resigned. "I've been living neither as a human nor a ghost for over five hundred years. This is my last life. I've done what I needed to do. There's no meaning in living any longer. I'm tired!"
Hearing this, the King of Hell understood his intentions and nodded. "Very well. The King of Hell's subordinates never hold anyone back. Farewell."
Xu Feng was silent for a moment, then inquired, "Can the human world withstand this great tribulation?"
Upon hearing this, the King of Hell burst into laughter. "Hahaha, what kind of storms has this King of Hell not seen? I haven't seen the human world or the underworld in chaos yet."
Seeing the King of Hell's response, Xu Feng also nodded with relief and smiled, "Time has come. I should be on my way."
The King of Hell fell silent, merely nodding slightly. "Bon voyage."
Xu Feng's already transparent body turned into specks of light and gradually disappeared, floating towards the sky.
Watching the specks of light float towards the sky, the King of Hell's face showed a hint of bitterness. "With you gone, there will be no one left in this world to play chess with me."
Just as the specks of light completely vanished, a shooting star streaked across the night sky.
Thump!
Yu Daohan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he looked up at the night sky.
He saw a shooting star pass overhead.
Watching the shooting star gradually disappear, Yu Daohan frowned.
Why did it feel like something had returned to his body?
This feeling was very strange, he couldn't even explain it himself.
At this moment, no one knew that the mythical Xu Feng from five hundred years ago had completely perished, or rather, had returned to where he belonged.
Finding a random inn, Yu Daohan paid the fee and went up to the second floor. He sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the wooden box to study it.
After observing it for a long time, Yu Daohan couldn't guess what was inside.
He wanted to open it to see what was inside, but remembering the King of Hell's instructions, he dismissed the thought.
Then there was the cleaver that Shi Bingzhi had given him.
It also looked rusty and showed no sign of lethality.
Putting everything back into his backpack, Yu Daohan fell asleep.
Morning~
The first ray of morning sunlight shone into the room.
Yu Daohan had already finished washing up, packed his things, and set off.
Leaving the small town, Yu Daohan walked directly towards the back mountain.
On the way, Yu Daohan's heart was as calm as water, without any fear or apprehension.
Even he himself didn't know what his mood was at the moment.
Tense? Excited? Fearful? Scared? Happy?
Perhaps none of these.
But he understood one thing: no matter the mood, he had to save that person!
The sound of cicadas buzzed in his ears. Despite the sunlight, it felt exceptionally quiet.
As if it were a reflection of his inner state.
After an unknown amount of time, which was not important.
Yu Daohan arrived in front of a stone wall. He formed hand seals with unfamiliar hands, muttering incantations.
As the incantation ended, a vortex appeared on the stone wall.
Yu Daohan took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and stepped into the vortex.
Entering the cave, it was no different from before.
Yu Daohan looked at the painting hanging on the wall at the very back and walked towards it.
Over a year ago, when he had come here, the terrifying pressure had made it difficult for him to breathe.
But now, that sense of pressure was completely gone.
No, it was because he had become stronger!
Inside the painting.
Liu Feng, covered in wounds, looked at the two gods opposite him and laughed, "I say, you two, it's been a year. Aren't you tired? How about we sit down and play a round of Dou Dizhu?"
One of the gods opposite him stared at Liu Feng with a somber expression, his voice icy. "Liu Feng, for over a year, you've only run and fled. Shouldn't you admit defeat?"
For over a year, Liu Feng had not fought head-on, but had been constantly escaping.
Relying on the fact that this was his home ground within the painting, he had managed to entangle with these two gods until now.
But these were two genuine gods. Even though Liu Feng had an advantage, he couldn't help but get injured.
Liu Feng ignored all of this and shamelessly said, "I pulled you in here precisely because I intended to stall you. If you have the ability, come and kill me."
"You."
That god clenched his fist and was about to move, but was stopped by his companion. "This painting is his home ground. It's not difficult to kill him, but the problem is that he keeps running and refusing to fight, which is completely useless."
Hearing this, the god snorted, "I don't believe you can keep us trapped here forever."
Although this painting was his home ground, there would eventually be a chance to catch this brat.
Wasting time with gods was utterly ridiculous.
Liu Feng shrugged indifferently, "In any case, you won't get out before I die."
Just then, all three looked in one direction.
They could feel a powerful aura outside the painting.
Liu Feng also felt this powerful aura, and his expression changed drastically.
"Oh no, could it be another god outside the painting?"
Liu Feng then looked at the two gods opposite him.
"Did these two bring reinforcements?"
This didn't make sense.
This Thousand Miles River and Mountain Scroll was supposed to completely isolate contact with the outside world.
How could they have called for help?
And it didn't add up. If they could call for help, why would they wait until now?
However, seeing their equally bewildered expressions, Liu Feng also realized.
This was not their reinforcements.
But who could it be?
As all three were bewildered, a voice came from outside.
"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me?"
"How do I get into this painting?"
"Moshi moshi?"
Liu Feng was all too familiar with this voice. It was his voice.
"Why is he here?"
"He absolutely cannot come in!"
The two gods also recognized whose voice it was.
"It's Fairy, it's Fairy's voice!"
One of the gods was extremely excited, as if he hadn't seen a woman in twenty years.
No, it should be fifty years.
And it was a beautiful woman wearing black stockings, with a large bust and a shapely behind.
One of the gods shouted, "Just touch the painting!"
Liu Feng also anxiously shouted, "Don't come in, absolutely don't come in!"
One person and two gods shouted like this for a long time, then they all realized.
The painting could hear or see the movements outside, but the sounds from inside could not be heard.
Seeing no movement from outside, Liu Feng looked at the two gods, a smug smile on his face. "Oh my, he misses me, so he came specifically to see me."
The two gods opposite him stared at Liu Feng with icy eyes. One of them said coldly, "This is your last chance to live. Open the painting!"