The nine brothers then split up to search for Evan Yang. Once anyone found his exact location, they would alert the others, and together, they would wipe him out in one stroke.
At this moment, Evan Yang had no idea he was already being targeted, but he remained vigilant against Old Eight, since that bizarre sound attack was truly terrifying.
"What exactly is that Sleep God? What kind of monster is it, and why does it look so strange?" Evan muttered to himself.
Evan wanted to find a way to counter that sound, so he tried to head somewhere lively, but everywhere was eerily quiet. No matter where he went, it was silent, and whenever he asked about the Sleep God, people avoided the topic completely.
"Are these people all bewitched or something?" Evan muttered under his breath.
Feeling helpless, Evan decided to approach the problem from another angle—tackling the sound itself. He found a deserted spot and started communicating with Melody Wood inside the Strange Spiral Shell.
When the others inside the shell heard Evan mention the Sleep God, they were all curious—was there really such a terrifying sound?
After listening to Evan’s description, Melody analyzed the situation and said, “Let me try using my zither music. But since I can’t go out there, I’ll have to teach you instead—you’ll have to play it yourself.”
Evan was reluctant to learn, but he had no choice—if he wanted to break that sound, he had to. So he let Melody teach him to play the zither. He practiced inside the Strange Spiral Shell for fifty days, though only a day passed outside.
After a hundred days of practice, Evan had basically mastered the technique. He emerged from the shell, but he still needed a zither, so he gathered materials and forged a sturdy instrument. Once it could make sound, he grinned and said, “Not bad, it makes noise—even if it’s a bit rough.”
With this new defense, Evan set out to confront the Sleep God. He left the town, headed into the void, and shouted loudly into the emptiness.
Evan believed that his shout would surely attract the so-called Sleep God. Sure enough, after a while, something long and serpentine emerged from the void—it looked similar to last time, but was clearly a different one.
"Wait, you’re not the one from last time, are you?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"Finally found you! We’ve searched high and low. I want to see for myself if you’re really as tough as my brothers say." The creature laughed.
"Hold on—before we fight, can you at least tell me what you actually are?" Evan asked with a smile.
"That’s none of your business. All you need to know is that you won’t live long enough to care." The beast sneered. Then, just like last time, it shot toward Evan at incredible speed.
But Evan drew the Soul-Devouring Divine Sword. With that sword in hand, the creature didn’t dare get close. Every time Evan swung it, the beast was affected—not enough to hurt it, but enough to keep it at bay.
"So that’s the strange sword? No matter—soon you’ll be sleeping soundly." The creature sneered, unleashing the same eerie sound as before.
The sound instantly made Evan feel drowsy. He quickly pulled out his newly made zither and began to play. The music spread out, overlaying and countering the beast’s sonic attack.
Evan stayed awake. Seeing its sound resisted by music, the beast was incredulous. "I don’t believe it. If I turn up the power, let’s see you handle that!"
With that, the beast went wild, ramping up its sound to several times its original strength. Evan’s pressure soared, but he was ready—he launched a fivefold performance, mimicking the effect of five zithers playing at once, instantly reversing the pressure.
"Damn it, just wait!" the beast snarled, then tried to flee. Evan wasn’t about to let it escape; he drew the Soul-Devouring Divine Sword and slashed down, landing a blow right on its tail.
Pain shot through both the creature’s body and soul. "Ah, you bastard!" it howled.
Evan grabbed the beast, swung it around a few times to disorient it, then sealed several key points so it couldn’t move or escape. With the sword at its throat, Evan smiled, "Alright, tell me—what kind of creature are you?"
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The beast cursed itself for not calling its brothers sooner—if it had, it wouldn’t be suffering like this now.
"We’re Sleep Spirit Beasts, but we’ve mutated," the creature admitted.
"First time I’ve heard of that. So, how many of you are there? And how did you know about me? Did another one tell you?" Evan fired off several questions.
"There are nine of us. We heard about your fight with Old Eight. Our big brother got an order from above: we’re to search everywhere for you, and when one of us finds you, alert the others and wipe you out together. That’s the command from our superiors," the beast explained.
"Old Eight? So which one are you?" Evan asked, surprised there were so many, and curious about who gave the order.
"I’m Old Second," the beast replied, clearly annoyed.
"I see. So, this order from above—does it come from the Nether Sky Realm?" Evan smiled.
"How do you know that?" Old Second exclaimed in shock.
"Of course I know," Evan said with a grin.
"It’s not my fault. Can’t you just let me go?" Old Second pleaded.
"Let you go? So you can warn your brothers and come after me again?" Evan sneered.
"I swear I won’t!" Old Second protested.
"That’s not up to you. Here’s the deal—call Old Eight over here." Evan figured he’d have to deal with them one at a time; if several came at once, it’d be dangerous.
"Huh?" Old Second was stunned.
"What, can’t do it?" Evan smiled.
"Fine, I’ll contact him—but you’ll have to let me move." Old Second complained, unable to budge at all.
"Don’t worry, you’ll be able to move in a moment." Evan loosened the restraints just enough for Old Second to contact Old Eight, but kept its power sealed. Old Second used a special method to send the message.
"Done contacting him?" Evan asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Old Second replied.
"Good, you’ve finished your task. But you’d better not call anyone else—if I see anyone besides Old Eight, you’re done for." Evan said with a grin.
Old Second could only hope Evan would let him go. He also hoped Old Eight wasn’t with any of the others—if they all showed up, things would get complicated.
But part of him wished the others would come, since Old Eight alone couldn’t defeat Evan. If they all came, maybe they’d stand a chance.
"Don’t worry, you’ll see him soon enough," Evan said with a smile.
Old Second could only wait. Soon, Old Eight arrived, shifting into human form and appearing before Evan. When he saw Evan, he was shocked. "Why are you here?"
"I called you here, so of course I’m waiting," Evan replied with a smile.
"You!" Old Eight was stunned to see Old Second subdued.
"Old Eight, help me!" Old Second called out.
"Don’t worry, Second Brother, I’m coming." Old Eight snorted, then opened his mouth and unleashed that strange sound again. But Evan was ready—his zither was already in hand.
The music drifted out, directly countering Old Eight’s sonic waves.
"Damn it! How is this possible?" Old Eight was shocked to see his sound had no effect on Evan.
"It’s useless, Old Eight. He’s not afraid of our hypnotic power," Old Second said.
"How can that be?" Old Eight exclaimed.
Evan smiled. "I’ve already figured out how to deal with you. I just didn’t expect there to be so many of you—that’s the real surprise."
"You’re not getting away!" Old Eight snarled. But instead of fighting, he vanished in a flash.
Old Second was stunned. Evan hadn’t expected him to flee mid-battle, and when he tried to catch him, Old Eight was already gone.
Helpless, Evan turned back. "Looks like Old Eight abandoned you. For now, I’ll just take you with me and move to a new spot. Who knows, maybe Old Eight’s gone to call the others."