"Who is she, really? Rufina Howard."
I asked, but Mother Goddess Nuwa beside me just shook her head.
"There's no need for you to know now, Ethan Zhang. Even if you knew everything, you could never return to the world of the living. I only wanted you to understand this history."
Emperor God Xiaoyan, Phantom Sage, and a third companion set out from the tribe, carefully avoiding many ghosts along the way, not intending to fight. By now, the world was shrouded in darkness—relentless rain, a pervasive stench.
Many places showed no signs of life. Their destination was a vast, floating black island—the domain of the Wraithlord.
No matter what the Wraithlord had done, the three still remembered everything about their father. They didn't want him to continue down this path and planned to persuade him seriously. The best solution now was to leave this world together with their father and the gods, to restore peace to the world.
After several months, in a desolate place where flames burned on the ground, the three finally saw the floating black island ahead.
"I don't think Father will give up so easily."
Phantom Sage spoke, but at that moment Emperor God smiled.
"We've come this far, and now you're afraid?"
Phantom Sage shook his head, while Xiaoyan's expression remained tense and silent as she stared at the island. She sensed countless ghosts there—not just humans, but animals too. The last time she was here was decades ago, and back then the air was not so thick with the stench of death. Now, the aura here was terrifying enough to chill the soul.
Even though Emperor God spoke bravely, he was afraid too. All three could feel that this place was no longer what it used to be.
The three hesitated for a long time, almost turning back. But then, a rainbow bridge extended toward them, spanning the sea of fire, as if inviting them halfway across.
At last, the three stepped onto the rainbow bridge and arrived at the massive floating island. As soon as they set foot on it, they saw the island overrun with slaughter—ghosts fighting each other in a desolate landscape.
The frenzied fighting made the three feel true terror. The ghosts noticed them and charged recklessly, intent on devouring them. Though the three were strong and destroyed many ghosts, they found these ghosts were far more powerful than before.
Even more powerful ghosts appeared, their bodies glowing green. The three had never seen such corporeal ghosts before—their strength was overwhelming. Just then, the Wraithlord appeared, and all the ghosts knelt and quickly withdrew to the sides.
"What do you think? These new ghosts can fully merge with their own corpses, unleashing even greater strength—even the instincts humans are born with, these green ghosts can obtain. Impressive, aren't they? Ghosts like these."
His words were calm, his expression and demeanor unchanged from before—even the smile on his face was the same. Emperor God looked at the Wraithlord, overcome with emotion.
"Father, what exactly are those ghosts glowing with green light?"
Faced with these strange ghosts, Emperor God was visibly excited. Even Phantom Sage was intrigued, happily standing beside the Wraithlord and chatting with him. Only Xiaoyan stared grimly at her father, her aura colder than ever.