A chill runs down my spine as Wraithshade silently stares at me. His earlier words were loaded with meaning—he was probing me.
Heh, you’re overthinking things, Wraithshade. If I really had that kind of power, I’d never let you keep me locked up in here.
Now Wraithshade sits right in front of me, clearly not planning to leave.
Aren’t you going back to deal with your messes? Wasn’t that so-called Stalker’s death completely out of nowhere?
Wraithshade’s eyes glimmer with amusement. He closes his eyes and says nothing.
A wave of anxiety rises inside me. For now, it seems I can’t use the powers of this realm.
Wraithshade looks as if he’s fallen asleep, hands clasped, head bowed, breathing evenly. I call out to him.
Hey, you sitting here like this makes me uncomfortable. If you want to sleep, go sleep somewhere else.
At that moment, Wraithshade opens his eyes.
Earthly Soul, will you tell me? If you’re willing, maybe we can negotiate—let you leave this big jar, stop staring at the same scenery every day, stop looking at my face you despise.
I let out a cold laugh.
Suit yourself.
But for three days in a row, Wraithshade didn’t budge an inch, just sat in front of me like this. When awake, he stared at me intently, occasionally said a few words, but it was always the same—trying to get me to trade away my power.
On the fourth day, I finally couldn’t sit still and started cursing, but Wraithshade didn’t say a single word.
By the fifth day, I felt my previously calm state of mind begin to grow restless.
"Be honest, how long do you plan to keep watching me?"
I asked, and Wraithshade showed a faint smile, shaking his head.
"That depends on when you decide to tell me. Ten years from now, or even twenty years from now, it doesn’t matter. Time stands still—I have plenty of it."
I stared at Wraithshade in disbelief. Instantly, anger flared up inside me. My voice was cold and sharp, and for a moment my eyes widened. I actually saw through the eyes of the Replicator, who was raising his hand in confusion, gazing at a power suddenly seeping out—Endbringer’s Force.
Suddenly, Wraithshade opened his eyes, full of amusement.
"So the quality of the darkness around you has changed. I sense Earthly Soul—what kind of power is it, really? I’m very interested. That power called ‘Realm’—do you know why I suggested at the meeting that the Immortality Society isn’t our real enemy, but those Ghostlords are?"
I glared at Wraithshade, saying nothing, my hatred barely contained as I forced down the fire in my heart. I gave a cold, mocking laugh.
"I don’t really know what you’re talking about, Wraithshade. Stop wasting your time on pointless things."
As I spoke, I dragged myself by the back of my head and leaned lazily against the big jar, stretching out my legs.
"The Immortality Society may lack innate power, but they possess Realm. Realm is something similar to an innate ability, but fundamentally different. It can complement innate abilities, or exist independently."
Although I pretended not to care, Wraithshade’s words had successfully piqued my interest.
"Curious? If you want to know, I think we should be honest."
I snorted coldly.
"Say whatever you want, I’m going to close my eyes and rest for a bit."
"Fine, I’ll tell you. The reason we haven’t moved against the Immortality Society quickly is just this: Realm leans more toward humanity. Although there are awakened Realm-users among the Ghostlords, as far as I know, only Vengeance Hall has one. The rest I don’t know. For a ghost to awaken Realm is extremely difficult, but Vengeance Hall managed it. Impressive, right?"
I started laughing.
"Vengeance Hall’s strength—you and I both know it, no need to mention it."
"But what you don’t know is, the reason he could awaken Realm is because of that little cat from Nairaku. His current strength may even surpass mine. As far as I know, he’s the first among humans to awaken both Realm and innate ability. The others in the Immortality Society can only awaken their own Realm because, first, they’re human, and second, because of that cat."
I felt a strange sense inside, and at that moment, Wraithshade’s smile grew even brighter, radiating a kind of exuberant energy.
"So let’s put it this way, Earthly Soul—you’re interested now, aren’t you? Since you’re curious about something you’ve never even heard of, it proves your Realm has already awakened. Isn’t that right?"
I burst out laughing.
"If my Realm is awakened, then why am I still trapped here?"
"Although I don’t know exactly what Realm is, and I’ve never seen it, everything I’ve said is what Xu Fu told me. As for reliability, probably not much. Some of what he said, I don’t believe at all."
"You people really are strange. In this darkness, you don’t need to do anything, yet you still exhaust yourselves over souls and spirits. What’s the point?"
I sighed, "The Nightfall group is incredibly powerful, absolutely on par with the Ghostlords and the Immortality Society, as well as the top figures in the occult world. But their methods are so detestable—never direct, always scheming behind the scenes. That’s what I can’t stand about them."
"But what’s the point, really? What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg. We can only survive in this narrow world because we can’t enter the territories of the Yanhuang Emperors. Who would want to spend their life in a stinking ditch, right, Earthly Soul?"
"So you want to create artificial souls that can carry your essence, and then enter the world of the living, right?"
Wraithshade smiled and nodded slightly.
"That’s just a tiny part of this grand plan. It’s easy enough to guess. All right, I’ve said enough. Isn’t it your turn now?"
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I chose silence. I didn’t want to reveal even the slightest thing to Wraithshade. By now, Vengeance Hall should be working on a way to break free from the shackles Nightfall placed on us.
A whole week passed. I didn’t say a word to Wraithshade, still thinking about Realm. But I learned nothing. During that time, I tried using this power while Wraithshade slept, and once again saw through the Replicator’s eyes—he was still wandering the streets.
His goal was obvious: the Replicator was loitering near Vengeance Hall’s territory, and went there twice during that period. They wanted to seize Yixue Han’s innate power, but Vengeance Hall would never allow that to happen.
I couldn’t help but sneer. It seems Vengeance Hall holds enough sway over Nightfall’s people—no one would expect their core focus to vanish overnight.
Just a simple move, and all three cooperating sides fell into distrust and now even turned into rivals.
Nightfall’s three forces have completely split apart. That was my most direct impression from the meeting. Relations with the Immortality Society have grown even more hostile, while the Ghostlords’ influence—Zhang Qingyuan and the others—seems less threatening to Nightfall.
I started to wonder what Vengeance Hall would do next. That’s an important point. When I left their place, I could tell they had something in mind, but either there was no time to tell me, or they just wouldn’t.
"Sigh, that guy just loves to pretend he’s got so much going on. Doesn’t he get tired?"
I grumbled. Wraithshade opened his eyes and gave a cold laugh.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Vengeance Hall. Don’t you think if someone’s mind is stuffed with that much, they’d get exhausted?"
Wraithshade shook his head.
"The more you can bear, the more you can hold. That’s a saying handed down in our clan ages ago. Vengeance Hall isn’t in my consideration. Honestly, I can still talk with him."
"Doesn’t it hurt to see the Ghost Domain you built destroyed by him, even if the main reason was Yuna Ji?"
At the mention of Yuna Ji, I saw Wraithshade’s brows furrow. Looks like there’s deep hatred between Yuna Ji and Wraithshade.
"If I said it didn’t hurt, that’d be a lie. After all, we’re only human."
Wraithshade nodded and continued.
"But one thing needs to be clarified: the Ghost Domain hasn’t been wiped out. It’s still here, though many have died. My disciple, Poison Star, restored everything in just two or three hundred years, and it’s even more prosperous now. The ghosts are stronger, and she’s better at keeping calm—much more suited to teaching the next generation."
"And your good disciple? Didn’t she get a soul implanted and forget the past?"
Wraithshade said nothing, skipping over the topic.
"Let’s not talk about that. And as for Yuna Ji, don’t mention her again. That wretch..."
"Are you afraid of her?"
I said coldly. Finally, I saw it—anger. Yuna Ji seemed to be a thorn in Wraithshade’s eyes, the knot in his heart.
"That’s not true. I’m not the same as before. Yuna Ji is just a tiny grain of sand in the vast expanse of my life."
"Then tell me, why is every stain left on your grand life all given by Yuna Ji?"
With a stomp, Wraithshade stood up, furious, walking to the front of the jar. His mouth was pursed under the black cloth, his eyes blazing with anger, looking almost ferocious.