Tiny specks of light, like white snowflakes, drifted down from the sky. I stood silently in midair as the fallen lights instantly burrowed into the soil. White, tender sprouts began to emerge one after another, and in the blink of an eye, they had transformed into small white saplings, growing vigorously.
I no longer intend to keep playing games with the Wraithlord. One tree after another burst into wild growth, and soon, white trees several meters tall had already appeared.
More and more white trees spread rapidly across the entire world. The grown trees released gentle white specks of light, drifting with the wind in all directions.
The trees grew as if possessed, and the first white trees to sprout were already almost at my feet.
The walls of the giant bottomless pit before me were entwined with white roots. I quietly surveyed everything around me, knowing the Wraithlord would surely appear.
These trees were frantically absorbing the power of the Land of Desire, then growing wildly and multiplying. No matter where the Wraithlord tries to escape, it’s useless. I must deal with this huge problem first.
Gradually, the whole world was filled with trees—even the distant rocky mountains were covered. I kept searching for the Wraithlord’s shadow. He cannot leave this world of desire; its power is never enough for these endlessly growing trees to absorb. In just a short time, the world will shrink, and once it shrinks to a certain range, the Wraithlord will naturally reveal himself.
“You can’t run, Wraithlord.”
I shouted loudly, but the Wraithlord did not appear. At this moment, I saw Earthly Soul sitting beside a large tree below, staring in disbelief at everything before him. Yet his eyes held helplessness and sadness. For now, I must seal the Wraithlord, and then properly question Earthly Soul about what the Wraithlord said.
Words can be vicious things; sometimes they pierce the heart. Such words can have a tremendous impact on a person, and perhaps Earthly Soul’s situation is just like that—he has already accepted certain established facts, facts that the Wraithlord made him see, further fueled by verbal provocation. The psychological effects of these words may be eternal.
“Wraithlord, get out here!”
I kept shouting, and by now, the trees of the entire world had grown so tall they nearly pierced the sky. The world of desire had already shrunk considerably.
I continued to wait in silence. At this moment, Earthly Soul flew over toward me.
“Go back, Heavenly Soul. Are you just here to flaunt your power in front of me?”
Seeing the anger in Earthly Soul’s eyes, I shook my head.
“If I wanted to show off my power, I wouldn’t have waited until now. What exactly did the Wraithlord say to you?”
I glared at Earthly Soul, irritated. Suddenly, I sensed something behind me. Instantly, I dodged aside as a black hand shot out from the trunk of a tree. I spun around, grabbed the black hand, and angrily glanced back at Earthly Soul. Branches surged over in an instant, pinning Earthly Soul tightly to a tree.
“Don’t think you can use the same trick on me twice, Wraithlord.”
With a thunderous crash, I slammed the Wraithlord against the trunk of a giant tree. The Wraithlord’s eyes widened in fury as his body began to break apart piece by piece. His strength was already far less than at the beginning.
I don’t like using overly complicated methods, because I can't wait any longer. The Wraithlord has many tricks and could keep playing games with me, so I struck at the root of his power in this world—using my own strength to turn the power of desire into nourishment for the trees. As long as the Wraithlord draws his power from this world of desire, his strength will only grow weaker.
By now, the entire world had shrunk to just one percent of its original size—a tiny range. All that remained were the white World Trees I had conjured with my power, and the struggling Wraithlord.
“Even if I hadn’t said anything to Earthly Soul, you can’t make him return to the past. Only moving forward offers a future, and the path he’s chosen—whatever it is—no longer has anything to do with you or Ethan Zhang.”
The Wraithlord kept sneering as his body began to break down. I knew exactly what to do next—let the trees absorb his body, consciousness, and power. He would be sealed away, unable to make a sound or have a single thought.
Gradually, the Wraithlord’s body began to blur. I stared at him coldly.
“Heavenly Soul, do you really think you can change anything? The heart isn’t so easily changed. Heh, I’ll just wait and see.”
The Wraithlord kept laughing until his body faded away. The last trace of black vanished in my palm. I quietly turned and gazed at Earthly Soul.
With a whoosh, I flew in front of Earthly Soul.
“What exactly did that guy show you, and what did he say?”
“None of this concerns you, Heavenly Soul.”
I grabbed Earthly Soul by the throat and pulled him in front of me.
“He’s trying to use you—don’t you see that?”
Earthly Soul turned his head, closed his eyes, and said nothing. I kept shoving him, but he refused to speak a single word to me.
“Not everyone is the same, Heavenly Soul. You have your own path, and I have mine. I’m not you, nor am I Ethan Zhang.”
At this moment, the anger in my heart was uncontrollable. I raised my fist and punched Earthly Soul in the face, sending him flying into a tree trunk with a crash. Instantly, Earthly Soul transformed into a streak of Shadow Lightning and appeared before me.
(Irrelevant system prompt: This chapter is not finished~.~, please click next page to continue reading!)
I stretched out a hand and caught Earthly Soul’s fist.
Anger, frustration, and unwillingness filled Earthly Soul’s face. His fist couldn’t touch me at all. I stared at him, shoved hard, and sent him crashing into the tree trunk again. He flew back at me once more.
Wild Shadow Lightning erupted around me. Again and again, I blocked Earthly Soul’s attacks as he struck from all directions. Gradually, his strength weakened.
With a bang, I caught his fist again. The Shadow Lightning crackled around him and finally faded away. He glared at me, panting heavily.
“You never thought about any of this, did you, Heavenly Soul?”
There was a trace of sadness in Earthly Soul’s voice. I let out a sigh and nodded.
"It’s true, I never thought about it. The three of us were born together in that lake. Maybe from the day we were born, we were already different. You liked staying in the dark depths, Ethan Zhang liked gazing at the bustling world below the mountain, and I watched the calm surface of the lake—and the two of you."
Earthly Soul smiled bitterly, raised his head, and shook it.
"There are many ways to become stronger in this world. You each found your own path, and now I’ve found mine. Think whatever you want—I did accept the Wraithlord’s guidance, and I do want to draw power from him. But everyone is different."
"You can’t do it, Earthly Soul."
I spoke harshly at once, but Earthly Soul just smiled.
"Whether I can or not depends on the person, Heavenly Soul."
With a whoosh, Earthly Soul drifted away from me and sat on a tree trunk a little farther back.
"Do you still remember how Ethan Zhang managed to do all that?"
I nodded. Earthly Soul tilted his head back, laughing again and again.
"Ethan Zhang reached the limit of what he could do, and you did the same, Heavenly Soul. As for me? Nothing. All these years, I never tried to push my limits. People say I’m just drifting through life, and maybe because of my nature, I even affected Ethan Zhang’s fate. It’s a pity..."
I slowly approached Earthly Soul and squatted down beside him.
"It’s not for you to decide whether you affected him. Ethan Zhang’s life doesn’t need anyone else’s commentary. He never blamed anyone, never hated anyone—he just kept moving forward. Earthly Soul, stop staying with the Wraithlord. There’s no future for you if you follow him."
"I don’t need a future anymore."
Hearing these words from Earthly Soul shocked me. I had no idea what he’d seen or experienced during this time, but I was certain his mindset had completely changed.
I stood up and slowly floated away. I planned to leave, because nothing I said would help; I knew this deep down, though some part of me was reluctant.
"The Wraithlord won’t be coming out to speak with you for now, Earthly Soul."
Behind me, Earthly Soul nodded blankly.
"I know."
"You can’t break this power of mine—unless the Wraithlord’s Heavenly Soul comes here. But the Wraithlord’s Heavenly Soul will never come."
Earthly Soul’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at me.
With a whoosh, I floated far away and stretched out a hand. Suddenly, a multicolored humanoid with golden-red eyes appeared before me—it was the Desire Ghost.
“As I thought, you’re all aspects born from the Wraithlord’s power.”
The Desire Ghost nodded.
“Can you watch over everything here for me?”
With a soft giggle, the Desire Ghost vanished from sight. I smiled faintly, then sighed. A dazzling, multicolored passage appeared before me. I glanced back at Earthly Soul one last time and plunged into the passage.