Above Frostbite Hell, the sky—which was once streaked in red, yellow, and black, occasionally split by black lightning—had changed. Now, everything was awash in pink.
Within this pink haze, graceful and alluring beauties appeared in the sky, some sitting, some reclining. The pink expanse grew, spreading over Frostbite Hell and toward the Styx Gate.
I was caught within the pink mist. Only a sliver of my Ghost Soul remained, nearly gone. In this world, the only one who could save me was that guy in the Yin-Yang Realm—the Curse Ghost.
Hell descended into chaos. The wardens who watched over the underworld looked utterly entranced, stunned by the dazzling scene above. They gazed up, lost in awe.
Within minutes, I reached the Styx Gate. Here, every soul, every ghost warden, even the judge on duty, stared upward, intoxicated by the spectacle in the sky.
Pink clouds descended, and beside each ghost warden and judge, a beautiful woman appeared, gently taking their shoulders and smiling softly.
None of the ghosts noticed me. I slipped past the Styx Gate quickly. Just then, I sensed a surge of powerful ghostly energy rushing toward me.
Gradually, I realized—it was the Night Warden. He was coming.
"Ethan Zhang, you won't escape."
A furious roar echoed. Instantly, my path was blocked by the Night Warden. His white eyes locked onto me—he'd found my location.
With a loud thud, I crashed onto the ground. The noise immediately drew the attention of the little ghosts nearby. They began to swarm toward me, screeching and mumbling unintelligibly. One bold ghost approached, picked up my head, and opened its mouth full of black, jagged fangs, ready to bite down.
Suddenly, the little ghost froze, terror flashing in its eyes as it looked around. The other ghosts retreated, leaving only the piles of lonely, strange stones and the sun hanging in the sky. The sunlight wasn’t blinding, but it scorched my head, making me feel utterly miserable.
A gentle breeze swept by. Slowly, a woman walked toward me, her long hair fluttering, and her crimson eyes marked with two curse symbols. She was a Curse Ghost. She came before me, cradled my head in her hands, and lifted it up.
"You finally came. I’m about to die—think of something."
"Imprint. Death curse..."
Suddenly, the Curse Ghost raised her hand, a bright green curse symbol glowing on her palm. With a sharp slap to my forehead, I felt my remaining Ghost Soul begin to fade away—yet just as it was about to vanish, the process stopped.
"Zhang Qingyuan, you did it. I’ll take you somewhere."
The Curse Ghost spoke, grabbed my head, took the beauty from my mouth, slung it over her back, and carried me toward the place where day and night intertwined.
"This place, for hundreds of years, hasn’t just trapped human souls—sometimes animal souls end up here too. Do you know? We call this the Land of Curses. Anyone rejected by both realms, human or ghost, will be sent here, scorched by day and night, unable to reincarnate. Only after getting used to the pain and everything here do they become what you see now."
I understood—the Curse Ghost was talking about these little ghosts. I’d seen how they became like this.
After reaching the boundary between day and night, the Curse Ghost slowly stopped at the dividing line.
"As long as your will remains, you can recover—in the Pool of Curse Slaughter."
As the Curse Ghost spoke, she waved her hand. I looked down in astonishment as a round opening split open at the junction of day and night, shaking the entire Yin-Yang Realm.
Streams of black water emerged, gradually forming a black pool over ten meters wide in the fissure below. A nauseating, repulsive aura seeped into my mind.
Just as I was overcome by disgust, everything in the pool suddenly changed—countless black, writhing maggots appeared, releasing waves of stench. I swallowed hard as the Curse Ghost let go of me.
Eyes wide, I plunged straight into the pit filled with black maggots.
In an instant, I screamed—the black maggots burrowed into my ears, nose, mouth, and brain. A bone-chilling itch tore through my mind as I kept shrieking.
My consciousness went blank, the only sound in my ears a constant rustling. I was on the verge of madness, screaming helplessly as waves of stench traveled from my nostrils straight to my brain.
I sank deeper among the black maggots, unable to see anything—only the strange sensations in my mind. Pain swept through my brain in an instant.
The maggots crawled into my brain, gnawing away at my remaining Ghost Soul. I felt myself vanishing, my mind overwhelmed by the fear of death.
I was about to disappear from this world. Willpower—didn’t I still have it? Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide, and everything around me vanished in an instant.
I coughed violently. I was in water—black water. This was curse power, unlike any other ghostly force. Its murderous intent, chill, and venom were even stronger.
This power was deeply rooted. Once tainted, escape was impossible—it would keep devouring everything you had.
I fought desperately against it. I didn’t want to vanish, not yet—there was so much left unfinished. I’d found hope, the hope of seeing Lan Ruoxi again.
Bubbling sounds echoed as bubbles rose from beneath my head. I floated upward, following them bit by bit.
With a splash, I surfaced. Gasping for breath, I still felt wretched, as if I’d eaten too much sickly-sweet food and couldn’t stop swallowing.
Everything felt heavy—my mind weighed down. I looked up at the Curse Ghost, unsure what she planned to do.
"What do I have to do? How can my Ghost Soul recover?"
I shouted. The Curse Ghost slowly descended, pointing at me with a single finger.
"Isn’t it already recovering? Your willpower is strong—you can withstand the curse slaughter, and your consciousness won’t collapse."
I waited quietly. Gradually, I felt my hand—there was a splash, and I stared in surprise at my raised hand: black, pitch-dark, right before my eyes. Then I sensed my feet, and the pounding of my heart.
I was shocked. My ghostly aura was steadily returning, my remaining Ghost Soul growing larger. Slowly, I rose out of the Pool of Curse Slaughter.
I looked at my pitch-black body and the cracks running along it, faint red light shining from within.
Suddenly, something came to mind. I raised my hand and swung it at a nearby stone. With a crunch, the stone fractured bit by bit, then shattered, turning to ash and drifting away.
"So this is curse power?"
I stared at the Curse Ghost. She nodded, and I smiled, looking at her intently.
"Want to come in? There’s still room for another half a soul in my body."
I glanced back at the Pool of Curse Slaughter, grateful for everything I’d endured in the Forest of Desire—it had given me a willpower stronger than ever.
"Someday in the future, I’ll need you to return here and end the chain of curses."
I nodded. Black ghost threads crept slowly toward the Curse Ghost.
Gradually, the Curse Ghost began to change. Her originally dark face shifted, taking on my features—but as a woman. Unlike the Yin Ghost or Desire Ghost, her expression was cold and handsome, her eyes always hidden behind the two curse symbols.
"Seventh Ghost Soul... Unleashed..."
Ghostly energy within me surged instantly. The Curse Ghost vanished before me as I roared. With a whoosh, the molted skin cloak returned to my body, and unstable black mist poured out from all around me.