With a thunderous crash, the massive body of Tammy Blade* plunged into the Black Sea. Lord Shenyan returned to the Phantom Boat. I looked around; the instant I struck, I immediately sensed where Tammy Blade’s ghostly soul was, so I slashed down without hesitation. The feeling was truly uncanny.
*Tammy Blade (饕餮): A legendary gluttonous beast from Chinese mythology, recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Its insatiable hunger and monstrous form symbolize chaos and greed.
"Hurry back, Ethan Zhang! Lady Meng is speeding up—we must return to the Sanzu River!"
In an instant, I landed back on the Phantom Boat. Now, aside from Mona Ouyang, myself, and John Chou, the other Ghost Sovereigns looked shocked. How could a beast from myth appear here? The Classic of Mountains and Seas records Tammy Blade*, but such monsters don’t exist in the real world.
*Tammy Blade (饕餮): A legendary gluttonous beast from Chinese mythology.
"What exactly did the Emperor God do?"
As Lady Meng spoke, the Phantom Boat began to drift upward, but suddenly—boom!—just over ten meters above the Black Sea, an immense force dragged the vessel back down.
"You’d best not get reckless, Lady Meng. This force is dangerous. The waters of the Black Sea are the filth accumulated from countless dead souls. No matter how strong you are, you can’t overcome what’s been gathering for tens of thousands of years. This stuff is practically nature itself."
Redmond spoke, and Lady Meng stopped. The once raging Black Sea grew calm. I walked to the edge of the Phantom Boat, staring out at the Black Sea—the vessel was no longer moving.
"We’re trapped here now. This is exactly what they wanted, isn’t it?"
Basil Bertram pressed his hand to the side of the Phantom Boat, and tendrils of black roots quickly spread, crawling over the hull.
"Make it sturdy—I don’t want to fight in the Black Sea. The water here is filthy."
Mona Ouyang spoke as she drew the Wailing Spirit Bell from her arms.
"Don't use that yet. Put it away."
Lady Meng immediately reminded her, but Mona Ouyang scoffed coldly in response.
"With such a powerful item in hand, wouldn't it be a waste not to use it?"
The Wailing Spirit Bell is used to control the souls of ghosts. Even intermediate Green Wraiths can't withstand its power. Just now, the ghost aura from that gluttonous beast was about the same as an intermediate Green Wraith. But now, the utter stillness surrounding us feels unnervingly wrong.
"If they're coming, they should hurry up! Keeping us trapped here—what's the point of that?"
Yuna Ji shouted angrily. With a creaking sound, patches of white bone appeared on her body, and she gripped a malachite-green spear tightly in her hand.
"Let me pierce through this space and open a way out."
As Yuna Ji spoke, Lord Shenyan immediately pressed down on the spear she raised.
"Don't be rash. If they've gone to such lengths to trap us, they've surely planned ahead. If we act recklessly and fall into their trap, things will only get worse. Besides, aside from us, only the Infernal Judges in the Underworld Court know Redmond's true power. So who told Emperor God and his people about it?"