The black-armored Wei general's pupils constricted. This being before him was shrouded in a black hooded robe, with a mask obscuring its features.

Only a pair of crimson eyes were visible.

This person was a full half-body taller than him.

He was nearly six feet tall, but the one before him was at least seven feet.

The one who arrived was precisely Tu Shanjun.

Black mist had materialized into the black hooded robe and the mask on his face.

With a single palm strike, he shattered the head of the black-armored Wei general, pulling out his living soul and concealing it within his cloak. Tu Shanjun then slightly tilted his head.

Beneath the mask, a single ghostly eye, emitting a faint crimson glow, was revealed.

The Annan Marquis's body trembled. "Sanhu?"

In his impression, only Sanhu possessed such a towering physique.

Perhaps due to overwhelming longing, the Annan Marquis had mistaken Tu Shanjun for Sanhu.

It wasn't until he saw that sidelong glance from the eye that the Annan Marquis realized his mistake. He had recognized the wrong person and at the same time, was unsure who this person before him was, or why he had saved him.

Unfortunately, that crimson eye was truly terrifying, revealing not a hint of emotion, only an aura of fear.

Tu Shanjun, never one for many words, certainly wouldn't explain anything to the Annan Marquis. He simply picked up the Annan Marquis, wrapped him in his cloak and slung him onto his back.

"Sixth Uncle!"

A wounded young soldier shouted, rushing forward, intending to shield his Sixth Uncle from an attack.

However, someone was faster than him. A massive figure appeared before the numerous soldiers. The dark-green ghostly hands, though wrapped in the black robe, did not diminish Tu Shanjun’s combat prowess in the slightest.

Dozens of soldiers were actually pierced through by a single punch.

The old Song family soldiers saw Tu Shanjun, who was carrying the Annan Marquis and without a close look at his figure, immediately roared, "Young Master has come!"

"Young Master Sanhu has arrived!"

Morale surged, and the hundred-plus soldiers' fighting spirit soared.

A long spear pierced through the throat of an enemy.

Blood-stained, the red spear-tassel fluttered and danced.

"Young Master is a match for ten thousand men!"

"Invincible!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Tu Shanjun’s massive body was like a tank on the battlefield, crushing everything in its path.

Even if these thousand foot soldiers were bound together, they probably couldn't withstand a single blow from Tu Shanjun.

His fists were like heavy artillery and with each punch, dozens of people died beneath Tu Shanjun’s fists.

This was still because Tu Shanjun hadn't used his spiritual power, and because the Northern Wei soldiers weren't concentrated.

In just ten breaths, the thousand soldiers were slaughtered by Tu Shanjun, with no one left standing before him.

Amidst the bloodbath, the malevolent energy around him once again intensified.

“Tiger(San)! Tiger(San)! Tiger(San)!”

“Hoo, hoo, hoo!”

The old Song family soldiers roared, raising their weapons and long spears high.

They seemed to have returned to the days of charging into battle with Sanhu.

Listening to the war cries of those around him, the Annan Marquis's expression was complex, because the person before him was not his son Sanhu at all.

Tu Shanjun didn't stop. He raised an arm, signaling the hundred-plus soldiers to follow him.

With Tu Shanjun joining the battlefield, it was as if tanks and armored vehicles had appeared on a flat battlefield of infantry lines. No one was a match for him in a single bout.

Tu Shanjun slowed down, rescuing the Annan Marquis and the remaining remnant troops within half an hour.

However, after a few hundred meters, Tu Shanjun quickened his pace, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The remnant soldiers behind him hadn't even reacted before Tu Shanjun's figure was nowhere to be found.

But they knew Tu Shanjun and the Marquis must have gone ahead, so they quickly followed.

Returning to the Immortal Master battlefield from earlier.

Tu Shanjun placed Song Hao down.

The Annan Marquis was currently just barely holding on, not yet collapsing, though he was still conscious. He looked at Tu Shanjun with confusion; he was very certain that the person before him was not his son.

Because this person was too strong.

So strong that it made him feel as if all the fierce generals in the world were merely ordinary, and even the apprehension and fear that had originally arisen within him were dispelled.

However, the Annan Marquis was even more puzzled: why would such a powerful being save him?

Not only did he save him, but he also rescued his remaining shattered forces.

Tu Shanjun dug away the accumulated fresh earth, uncovering the stone wall.

As light poured in, Wen Yue slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Tu Shanjun’s figure, he immediately said, "Teacher."

Tu Shanjun began to check Wen Yue’s condition.

With the ghost tear as a pivot, the malevolent energy within his body had stabilized, and the Soul Banner was still helping Wen Yue to dissipate the malevolent energy.

Tu Shanjun looked at the mountain ape spirit within the Soul Banner. That entity possessed a layer of blood ape phantom, and a trace of the true intent of the Demon Ape Focus Fist had actually merged into the mountain ape spirit.

Fist intent was not energy; it was merely an insight or consciousness, so it did not enhance the mountain ape spirit's power.

Tu Shanjun pondered whether he could comprehend that trace of the Demon Ape Focus Fist's true intent if he consumed the blood ape phantom.

However, even if he had the idea, he would have to consider it later. Currently, Wen Yue needed the Demon Ape Focus Fist to suppress the malevolent energy; without this true intent, something might go wrong.

Without further thought, Tu Shanjun immediately returned to the Soul Banner.

Wen Yue was already able to move. After getting up, he pulled out the Soul Banner that had been supporting his body behind him.

Walking to the Annan Marquis, Wen Yue dropped to his knees with a thud.

The originally joyful expression on the Annan Marquis’s face instantly changed to shock, then his eyes widened, pupils constricted, and he asked with a trembling voice, “Son-in-law, what is the meaning of this?”

“Father-in-law, Sanhu… is gone.”

Wen Yue wept bitterly, carefully holding up Sanhu’s head, which was wrapped in a cloak.

The Annan Marquis’s eyes became bloodshot, and he stumbled back two steps, his face flushed.

Pfft.

He spat out a mouthful of rebellious blood, his body unstable as he directly fell to the ground, staring fixedly at the round shape wrapped in the cloak.

The Annan Marquis quickly reached out to open the bundle, but his hands trembled uncontrollably, failing several times.

“Sanhu.”

The Annan Marquis finally gritted his teeth and opened the bundle, revealing Sanhu’s head.

He cradled the head, wailing, “It was father who harmed you, Sanhu.”

“Father should have died half a month ago.”

As he wailed, the remaining remnant forces had already arrived.

Hearing the Annan Marquis's heartbreaking cries, they were astonished. Then, looking at that head, it was clearly Young Master Sanhu.

Everyone was shocked, unable to believe it.

Several among them even shed tears along with him.

“Young Master Sanhu just saved us; how could he be dead?”

“Impossible.”

“It’s fake; I just saw Young Master Sanhu.”

Their voices ceased abruptly, and a thought emerged in all their minds: “A ghost?”

That figure was clearly real; how could it be fake?

But Young Master Sanhu had already died, so who had saved them? It could only be a ghost.

It was Young Master Sanhu’s battle spirit that refused to dissipate, and after his death, he could still kill his way into the valley and rescue them.

No wonder he wore a black robe.

And no wonder only a pair of crimson eyes were visible.

Tu Shanjun was indeed a ghost. It was just a pity that while their reasoning was correct, the actual process was not.

He hadn't found Sanhu's living soul either; Sanhu's living soul had vanished with the disappearance of his headless body.

“Marquis, the Northern Wei central army will arrive any moment. Now is not the time for sorrow. We must break out and avenge Young Master!”

“Young Master, we should go.”

The surviving personal guards of the Wen family gathered around Wen Yue.

Collecting the remaining troops, the original three thousand men plus the four thousand reinforcements now numbered only a thousand.

Most of the losses were not from battle deaths, but from being trampled to death due to the overcrowded Jiangyun Valley.

A large portion were also deserters who had fled the battlefield.

Those who truly remained to fight to the death were either trapped and had no other choice but to fight, or they were Wen Yue's own loyal followers.

Wen Yue’s situation was dire, but Yuwen Xing wasn’t doing much better. Of his thirty thousand men, twenty-two thousand had been lost, leaving only eight thousand in the central army.

“Raise the general’s banner!”

Wen Yue gave the order.

The Annan Marquis had fainted.

Having eaten little for many days, and then engaging in battle, his emotions were now agitated on top of that, causing him to directly pass out.

Wen Yue tied two cloaks together, carrying the Annan Marquis on his back. “Break out!”

(Chapter End)