"Then I'll choose to kill you both—with the Collapse Fist and Dark Tendrils."
Lance Quinn smiled quietly, staring intently at Mason Payne.
"So that's how it is! Looks like you think you have a guaranteed win against me, Cao Wanzhi."
A rustling sound followed. Mason Payne's eyeballs bulged completely, covered in vein-like black strands that wrapped around his eyes like Dark Tendrils.
"Even the Eye of Observation may not be able to find my Golden Soulstone. Still, it's the first time I've seen someone use the Eye of Observation."
Lance Quinn raised both hands. Razor-sharp black nails grew from his fingers, his eyes turned black, and his face began to take on a purple hue, Dark Tendrils writhing beneath his skin.
Three humanoid figures watched the fight in silence, saying nothing.
With two swift moves, Mason Payne dodged Lance Quinn's claws, then lifted his foot and kicked Lance hard in the chest. With a crack, Lance was sent flying, landing in a half-crouch on the ground.
"Is your foot alright? That was a powerful kick, John Chou."
Mason withdrew his foot and glanced at it, then looked toward Providence City.
"The bone is already broken. So that's how it is?" Mason muttered, watching Dark Tendrils shift beneath the skin.
Suddenly, several streams of mud erupted around Mason, crashing toward him as Lance Quinn lunged again.
With several splattering sounds, mud flew everywhere. Mason easily shattered the mud streams with a few punches. Lance Quinn raised his claws, slashing with deadly force, each strike cutting through the air.
But he still couldn't touch Mason, not even slightly.
At this moment, it seemed Mason had the upper hand. Despite Lance Quinn's rapid, relentless attacks, Mason's eyes showed no trace of panic.
Suddenly, after dodging Lance Quinn's attack, Mason threw a punch. Lance's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. A Ghostworm wriggled on the ground nearby.
"The impact of a strike depends on the method—there's surface and there's depth."
With a boom, Lance Quinn stopped abruptly, staring in disbelief as Mason's fist embedded itself in his body.
"You bastard..." John Chou spat.
A cracking sound echoed. Lance Quinn's body split open, then shattered into fragments that scattered across the ground. With a thud, Mason Payne stomped Lance's head to pieces.
In the distance, Lance Quinn appeared once more, his brow furrowed as if deep in thought.
"Personally, I don't like being underestimated. Looks like it's time to show what I'm really capable of."
After standing up, Lance Quinn twisted his neck, producing a sharp crack.
In an instant, Mason Payne was right in front of Lance Quinn, fists swinging. Lance gave him a contemptuous glance, and just then, Mason's fists froze mid-air. He stared at Lance in astonishment.
"What did you do?"
"That guy's shoulders—just got eaten, you know."
The gray humanoid spoke. Mason looked at his own shoulders, and it was as if they'd vanished in an instant, leaving a clean cross-section. Only now did the blood begin to spurt out.
"How does it feel?"
Lance Quinn pressed both hands onto Mason Payne's head. Just as Mason tried to lift his foot, the same thing happened—his legs disappeared halfway, and his raised foot dropped limply.
"Last thing left is your head. Allow me..."
A rustling sound broke out. Lance Quinn immediately let go of Mason's body as black Dark Tendrils pierced out from Mason's heart, wrapping around his body and squirming violently.
Within seconds, the tendrils fully retracted, and Mason's body was restored.
"You're no monster—you're something beyond human now."
Mason Payne shook his head.
"At my core, I'm still human."
Suddenly, Mason raised a hand and grabbed the top of his own head. With a smack, a large mass of white fluid splattered out. Strands of white Ghostworms tumbled down from the air, landing with wet plops.
"If you'd aimed for my head from the start, I might not have noticed. Maybe I'd be the one lying here now. Here’s a piece of advice: the ones who die miserably are always those who think too highly of themselves."
Lance Quinn's expression grew grave. Mason Payne suddenly lashed out in all directions with his fists; instantly, white fluid exploded everywhere, and he vanished from sight.
"That's enough."
Mason was now standing upside down above Lance Quinn’s head, fist raised.
"Collapse Fist... pierce..."
With a thunderous crash, Lance Quinn gritted his teeth as Mason Payne struck the top of his head. Lance's form began to unravel, yet he stubbornly held on.
Mason Payne landed on the ground, resting his chin on one hand.
"Still trying to hold on?"
Lance Quinn was unable to speak. Suddenly, he collapsed onto the ground, pressing one hand to the earth. With a deafening boom, a surge of power warped the ground in front of him—jagged stones rose, the earth caved in, and the entire forest, all the way to the nearby hill, sank into the depths.
"Got it, Mr. Quinn."
With a harsh tearing sound, Mason Payne plunged a hand into Lance Quinn's body, then withdrew a crystalline, silvery stone and held it up.
"Quite beautiful, heh."
Gasping for breath, Lance Quinn stared at Mason Payne, then glanced at the three humanoids.
"Thanks. Next time I run into you all, I'll treat you to dinner."
In an instant, Lance Quinn sank into the ground. Mason Payne's eyes widened; with a bang, the Golden Soulstone in his hand shattered into dust, revealing a thumb-sized fragment already damaged.
"Master Payne, that guy ran off."
Mason Payne looked at the three humanoids.
"The bodies you need require this Golden Soulstone. Why did you tell him the direction of the ley lines?"
The black humanoid grinned widely.
"Didn't you already get it?"
Mason Payne stared at the Golden Soulstone in his hand. Just now, Lance Quinn had sliced off part of his own Soulstone, then used his power to create a complete one—tricking Mason.
"Forget it, doesn't matter. This much should be enough for one body."
Mason handed the fragment of Golden Soulstone to Ethan Zhang, then strode away.
The three humanoids gathered around Ethan Zhang. Ethan's eyes shone with excitement as he gazed at the Golden Soulstone.
"Getting such a fine Golden Soulstone is all thanks to Master Payne. Now that you're human, you must serve the Immortality Society well."
"Hurry up."
The white humanoid urged them on. Ethan Zhang led them to another spot, cleared a patch of ground, and asked Wei Chengwu to bring over a large, flat stone. The Golden Soulstone was wrapped in a silver talisman.
"How do you make a body out of this thing?"
The gray humanoid hovered atop the stone, staring at the Golden Soulstone wrapped in the silver talisman. Ethan Zhang slowly unwrapped it and placed it on the stone.
Then, something incredible happened. Black sludge began to ooze from the surface of the Golden Soulstone, growing thicker and more abundant. Ethan Zhang flicked his horsetail whisk and began chanting. The silver talisman instantly expanded, enveloping the ever-growing mass of sludge. From it, Ethan extracted a small handful of gray mud and placed it in his palm.
"Try it—see if you can enter this thing."
"Of course we can."
With a whoosh, the black humanoid transformed into a wisp of smoke and gradually entered the lump of mud in Ethan Zhang's hand.
Ethan Zhang began to knead the mud, gradually shaping it into a palm-sized figure. The little black figure suddenly moved; its head started to swell.
"Don't rush, I'll help you open a mouth."
As he spoke, Ethan Zhang took out a small knife and gently sliced the cheek of the black clay figure.
"So this is what it feels like to be human?"
The black humanoid spoke.
"Daoist, the plan worked!"
Wei Chengwu shouted excitedly, but Ethan Zhang just shook his head.
The black clay figure, which had been jumping around, suddenly froze. Its body stiffened, cracking sounds rang out, and fissures appeared. With a bang, it shattered into black fragments.
With a rush of black air, the black humanoid reappeared.
"The similarity between zombies and these creatures is that they must constantly rely on the forces of nature. Especially this Moonlight Clan of zombies—they need to absorb these things even more. The Golden Soulstone is their core, the refined product. Its purpose is to condense the absorbed natural energy into a body. A zombie that doesn't dissolve into bone is just like these creatures, so we quickly thought of this solution and sent someone to negotiate with the Corpse Realm. They agreed to send people, since using Yin Choujian as bait is quite tempting."
As Ethan Zhang spoke, Wei Chengwu nodded and grinned.
"Once the Golden Soulstone leaves its core, this anthropomorphic sludge can only last for a very short time."
"We've expended so much power—even risked turning the Corpse Realm into an enemy over this. Is it worth it? Do these three really hold that much value?"
Ethan Zhang laughed, looking at the questioning Cao Wanzhi, then replied.
"If you want to know whether they're worth it, ask the twelve Golden Masked Ones of the Immortality Society. They all agreed this plan would work."
Wei Chengwu and Zhu Zigui both looked shocked.
"Alright, I need to head back and bring these things to Thousand Hands. He should have a way to craft a human body using the Golden Soulstone."
"Thousand Hands—can that Soulcatcher Ghost really be trusted?"
Wei Chengwu couldn't help but look puzzled.
"Trustworthy or not, we're all in the same boat now. He should do his part."
Back in Providence City, the three humanoids hurried toward Yin Choujian as instructed. They were required to report the situation to him every day.
Just as the sun rose, the three humanoids arrived at Yin Choujian's location.
"Hey, you're back, brothers. Heh."
Yin Choujian, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, opened them. Beside him now sat another figure, yawning and grinning fiercely.