A rumbling echoed through the air as every house on the ground began to rise from the earth. Evan Zhao was nowhere to be found. At that moment, Isabelle Frost took me higher into the sky. All the houses in Fallen Hollow seemed to come alive—their doors and windows like monstrous mouths, slowly ascending toward the sky.
John Chou wore a wicked smile at the corner of his mouth, looking utterly calm. He raised his Mountain Cleaver, and with a thunderous boom, a house suddenly shot toward him. Its front door swung open, and a powerful suction instantly locked onto John Chou. Just as he was about to be pulled inside, he transformed into countless blood-red particles and reappeared atop the roof, his Mountain Cleaver already plunged into the tiles.
With a mournful wail, the entire house began to crumble and collapse. Instantly, John Chou darted away, narrowly avoiding another house whose doors stood wide open, ready to swallow him. Green light flickered at the doors and windows of every house, while John Chou leapt nimbly from rooftop to rooftop.
"Sister, instead of just watching, why not lend a hand? Your power is much faster, isn't it?"
As John Chou spoke, he suddenly dashed into a house. With two loud bangs, the doors slammed together. I was a bit surprised—why did he go in himself?
One house after another whooshed and crashed into the one John Chou had entered. With a series of booming impacts, in just seconds, the houses were pressed tightly together, completely enveloping the one John Chou had gone into.
"Is he going to be alright?"
I asked, but Isabelle Frost remained motionless.
"He can handle his own problems. Don't expect me to step in."
Gradually, the noise faded away. Before my eyes, a massive cluster of houses floated in the air, spinning quietly. I could sense a powerful ghostly energy flowing through them.
Earlier, I thought I might be able to defeat Evan Zhao, the Green Wraith, with my own strength. But looking at things now, I was clearly overconfident.
"John Chou, are you alright?"
I shouted, and a burst of laughter drifted out from the cluster of houses.
"Not bad in here. Are you really not going to help, sister?"
John Chou asked, while Isabelle Frost stared silently at the mass of houses before us.
"Right, we need to break the curse."
As I spoke, I looked at Isabelle Frost. Since Evan Zhao is a curse-type Green Wraith, if we break the curse he cast, we'll naturally be able to find his true form.
"Rachel Lan, if you're willing, you can give it a try."
Isabelle Frost said, but I immediately shook my head and continued to watch quietly. I had no idea what John Chou was doing in there, but what I did know was that despite the powerful ghostly aura, it still seemed unlikely to defeat John Chou. After all, he'd regained his strength and apparently gained some new insight.
And as for the power of the Mountain Cleaver in John Chou's hands, I knew it well. When Emperor Yan gave it to me before, he said this blade could not only draw strength from its wielder but also absorb power from the outside world. As long as you precisely control the type and degree of power, this weapon is truly formidable.
Judging by John Chou's current state, he might be scheming something. It's been nearly ten minutes since he was swallowed up, and there's still no sign of him.
"Hurry up, John Chou. Aren't you all unable to stay in there for too long?"
Still, there was no response from John Chou. As I wondered, a sudden surge of powerful ghostly energy erupted nearby. My eyes widened, and with a swift movement, Isabelle Frost landed atop the cluster of houses. Instantly, the houses seemed to sense a different ghostly aura and began to scatter.
A whistling sound rang out as red Specter Webs spilled from beneath Isabelle Frost's feet, instantly wrapping around all the houses before us.
With a crack and the sound of shattering, each house began to split apart, sliced open by the red Specter Webs like knives. With a loud bang, the houses broke into fragments and scattered below.
"John Chou, you bastard!"
Isabelle Frost cursed. I stared in shock at the house John Chou had entered—it was shattered, but he was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished.
Chunks of collapsed stone crashed to the ground, sending up clouds of dust. I glanced around, no longer sensing any ghostly energy. I slowly moved toward Isabelle Frost.
"John Chou must have slipped out on his own."
I blinked in surprise at Isabelle Frost's angry face, not daring to ask anything. At that moment, petals of Red Spider Lilies began to drift through the air. As they landed, Red Spider Lilies bloomed across the ground, gradually covering everything in a sea of red. I watched in awe—Isabelle Frost seemed intent on using her power to fill this Shadow Realm and force Evan Zhao to show himself.
But within a few minutes, I was stunned—the Red Spider Lilies below began to wither and fall, turning gray and scattering in the wind.
"Even your power is useless, Miss Yi?"
I swallowed hard. Isabelle Frost stared quietly at the scene below, and soon the swirling Red Spider Lily petals returned to her body.
"This is Evan Zhao's Sorrowbane Power—the power of sorrow. For now, there's no way to break it."
Isabelle Frost gazed silently around. The collapsed houses began to turn to sludge, and suddenly gray spears rose from the ground, ghostly energy spreading everywhere.
There was a whistling sound, and I cried out in alarm. Isabelle Frost stepped in front of me, raising both hands. Red Spider Lilies bloomed in great numbers as she blocked every gray spear shooting up from the ground. The earth looked like a gray quagmire, the sludge-like substance slowly writhing.
With two thunderous booms, two gray mud dragons burst from the mire, intertwining as they surged toward us. Isabelle Frost's eyes turned golden-red.
A Red Spider Lily appeared in Isabelle Frost's hand. She instantly teleported above the two mud dragons, gently patting them. With a loud crash, the mud dragons fell apart and slammed back into the mire.
"Evan Zhao, what exactly are you trying to do?"
I called out again, but no one responded. The sludge gradually faded away, and I watched in astonishment as everything below returned to its usual town-like appearance. Isabelle Frost remained quietly watching, making no move.
Suddenly, I felt a wave of chilling cold. I turned, and Evan Zhao gripped my neck, dragging me toward the gray space behind him.
I couldn't make a sound, completely subdued by Evan Zhao. Meanwhile, Isabelle Frost was still fighting off hordes of bizarre ghost spirits rising from below. Inch by inch, I was dragged away, over the shifting petals beneath me.
"Evan Zhao, even if you've lost yourself, your mind is still sharp. Unfortunately, this is exactly what I've been waiting for."
My eyes widened as a blood-red particle appeared before me. Instantly, John Chou materialized, his hand stabbing into Evan Zhao's chest. With a squelch, Isabelle Frost pulled me back. A rumbling shook the Shadow Realm—the ghost spirits below flickered and dissolved into wisps of green smoke, and the houses began to collapse.
In less than a minute, the entire Shadow Realm was in ruins. John Chou pinned Evan Zhao down, transforming into a streak of red light that crashed into the rubble-strewn street. Evan Zhao looked utterly defeated, gazing at us with a face full of sorrow. Isabelle Frost and I descended after them.
On the ground, Evan Zhao struggled desperately, but his power was in complete chaos—this was John Chou's Bloodbane Power.
"What do we do now?"
I asked, as Isabelle Frost glared angrily at John Chou.
"Sorry, my foolish sister. Since you said we needed to end this quickly, I had to take this approach. The result is what you see—Evan Zhao is subdued. Next, we just need Rachel Lan to connect with Evan Zhao's consciousness, find his true self, and awaken him."
I blinked.
"You make it sound so easy."
"There's risk in this. If something goes wrong, Rachel Lan might not make it back."
Isabelle Frost said. I shot a sidelong glance at John Chou, who just smiled and shook his head.
"You have to try, no matter what. For you right now, it's necessary. This Coexistence Instinct works that way—if you don't try, you'll never understand it, Rachel Lan. If you can't understand it, Coexistence will stop drawing strength from you, and eventually fade away into nothingness."
I nodded and sat down cross-legged. There's no time to worry about anything else now. As John Chou said, the power of Coexistence Instinct that Zhang Qingyuan left me is starting to weaken—not as strong as when I first received it. I have to understand this instinct. I originally came out with John Chou to witness things along the way and practice.