A gap suddenly opened behind Evan Yang. With a flash, he darted out, the Ghost Lords right on his heels. Naturally, their speed far outstripped his.
Clutching the fruit, Evan flew as he called out, "You'd better not push me, or I'll destroy this thing!"
"Then what do you want?" one of the Ghost Lords demanded.
"Simple. Once I'm out of the Death Realm, I'll hand this back to you. I don't care about it—I'm just here for the fun." Evan grinned.
"For fun?" The souls were furious, but there was nothing they could do except helplessly watch Evan fly ahead, forced to keep up behind him.
Along the way, every soul they passed saw a human leading a pack of Ghost Lords and a vast army of wandering spirits—a bizarre and spectacular sight.
At this moment, all the Ghost Lords were seething with anger. If not for their concern about that thing, they would have annihilated Evan Yang countless times over by now.
Evan ignored them and kept going. Right now, all he wanted was to use this opportunity to leave the Death Realm and return to the Immortal Realm.
So as Evan flew along, more and more souls took notice. He gradually became the center of attention for all the spirits.
"Just keep following me," Evan chuckled to himself, then continued flying. After several days, he finally returned to the place where he'd descended to the lower layer.
The souls were stunned to see such a massive entourage trailing behind Evan Yang. Even after he left the upper layer and descended to the lower one, the spirits kept chasing relentlessly.
The sudden appearance of so many souls in the lower layer sparked suspicion across every corner of the Death Realm.
Evan hadn't expected that he'd end up offending almost all the Ghost Lords in the Death Realm at once.
He kept flying, ignoring them. If they discovered he'd absorbed the fruit, they'd kill him without hesitation.
So Evan didn't dare pause for a second. He rushed straight to the spot where he'd entered, quickly ducking into the passage.
"Don't let him escape!" a Ghost Lord shouted. The others unleashed their power, determined to keep Evan from leaving the Death Realm, fruit or no fruit.
A surge of overwhelming force slammed into Evan from behind. Even as he entered the tunnel, he was struck by their attacks.
Blood spurted from Evan's mouth as he collapsed on the spot, unconscious.
He had no idea how long he'd been out.
Meanwhile, outside, things changed. The enraged Ghost Lords roared and ordered their followers to investigate where the tunnel led.
But the result was that the tunnel had no discernible direction—no one could tell where it led. Furious, the Ghost Lords put Evan Yang’s portrait on a wanted list across the entire Death Realm.
From then on, the Death Realm had a new blacklist figure: Evan Yang, infamous for enraging the Ghost Lords.
Evan stayed unconscious for several days before slowly waking. When he checked the fruit in his hand, he found it had become a dried husk—all its essence devoured.
Seeing this, Evan could only stow it away and start heading toward the exit. It took him several months to reach the end and walk out.
To Evan, the whole trip—from entering to leaving—felt like just a few months. But outside, over ten years had passed without his knowledge.
At this moment, Evan walked through the mist until he exited at the spot where he'd originally entered, only to find the entrance sealed shut.
"Looks like I'll have to wait for the next opening," Evan sighed. He found a spot, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the passage to open.
Meanwhile, the residual power from the fruit in Evan’s body steadily pushed his cultivation from fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal all the way to eighth-tier.
Evan hadn’t expected even the leftover fruit power to have such an effect—let alone the energy absorbed by the Heaven-Cold Seed.
He had no idea that the Heaven-Cold Seed had already absorbed and stored all that energy.
So Evan spent those days studying his own body. One day, the passage finally opened, and he watched as newcomers entered. He joined them to view the mural again.
The newcomers had no idea Evan had been inside for over a decade. They assumed he was just one of them, until the passage opened again and Evan left with the group. He noticed a roll call, but discreetly slipped away.
Evan paid no attention to the roll call and quietly made his exit.
In one of Fire God Palace’s sparsely populated branches, an old man was still sweeping as always. But inwardly, he kept sighing, "Did he die...?"
Evan’s disappearance for over ten years was a heavy blow to the old man. That place was unknown; if someone went in and didn’t return for a long time, it usually meant sacrifice.
So in the elder’s heart, Evan was already half a martyr.
Just as the old man was still thinking about Evan, a familiar figure suddenly appeared. "You... you came back?" the elder exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, Senior," Evan replied.
"Good, good! Quick, tell me what happened inside." The old man was overjoyed, thrilled to see Evan alive and eager to learn what was in that place and why Evan was gone so long.
Evan told the elder everything about what he’d seen inside, including meeting the ancestor and how the artifact ended up in his hands.
When Evan finished his story, the old man exclaimed, "So that place connects to the Death Realm!"
"Does no one know about it?" Evan was curious how the passage formed, especially since people from the Death Realm couldn't enter here.
"No one knows. It's been there for ages," the old man replied.
"Then why did the ancestor go there?" Evan asked, intrigued.
"I have no idea. But since you met the ancestor, why didn't you ask him?" the elder wondered.
"Things were urgent at the time, so I left quickly. And the artifact ended up with me—Senior, let me give it back to you. After all, it's a Fire God Palace treasure," Evan said.
"No need. The ancestor passed it to you, so it's yours now. Honestly, I think you're the right person for it. From here on, your future is in your own hands," the old man smiled.
"But, Senior..." Evan felt it was all too sudden. Holding a sect's treasure still felt improper.
"No buts. It's yours from now on," the old man said.
Seeing the elder insist, Evan could only put the artifact away.
"You disappeared for over ten years—I was worried sick." After hearing Evan’s story, the elder finally relaxed. And knowing the ancestor would return in a few thousand years made him even more excited.
"Ten years? Wasn't it just a few months?" Evan asked, surprised.
"A few months? Oh, I see now—the Death Realm’s time is different from ours in the Immortal Realm. Their time flows ten times slower. So a month there equals ten months here," the elder explained suddenly.
Evan was stunned. He hadn’t expected such a time ratio in the Death Realm.
"So, what about your insight into that place?" the elder asked.
"The mural?" Evan clarified.
"Yes, exactly," the elder replied.
Evan nodded. "I saw something... It looked like a final surge of flame destroying all the planets in the space."
"Impossible! You really saw that?" the elder exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Evan asked, seeing the elder’s shocked expression.
"Excellent, excellent. If you really saw that, you’re the first person in history to witness such a scene." The elder smiled. "Does it mean anything?" Evan asked, curious.
"Of course it does. Here in Fire God Palace, the mural’s meaning is tied to the Ninety-Ninefold Purefire. The broader your insight, the higher your realm," the elder explained.
Evan hadn’t expected the mural to have such a definition. Still, he’d truly seen the potential for space-destroying flames.
"Is there really a flame that can destroy space?" Evan asked, astonished.
"If you saw it, then it’s possible," the elder replied.
Evan understood. If that was true, it would take unimaginable power to sustain such a flame.
The elder smiled. "Alright, I won’t say any more. If you need anything, come find me. You’re free to go wherever you need—unless there’s something else, you can head to your next destination."
"My next destination?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"You’ve already comprehended it. From here on, it’s up to you—and with that artifact, your fire arts will be formidable," the elder said with a smile.
Evan smiled. "Thank you, Senior."
"Go on, then. Time to do what you need to do," the elder said with a smile.
Evan nodded. He truly needed time for enlightenment and to comprehend the Ninety-Ninefold Purefire.
So Evan asked the elder for a place to cultivate.
The site was a volcano. Though not a natural flame, it was beneficial for cultivation. Evan accepted the elder’s suggestion, entered a cave at the volcano’s rim, and sat down.
He sat for years, his body covered in volcanic ash. From afar, he looked like a stone statue; up close, like a person cloaked in dust.
The volcano had many caves and cultivators, but everyone kept to their own space. Evan wasn’t disturbed, nor did he disturb others.
One day, Evan’s flame surged, causing the temperature to spike. Nearby cultivators thought the volcano was erupting and evacuated, only to realize the disturbance came from a cave. Furious, they went to confront the culprit.
Hearing the commotion outside, Evan got up and shook the ash off his body.
When Evan stepped out, the others sized him up. One asked, "What are you doing? Does cultivation really need to be so noisy?"
Evan was helpless. The flame had suddenly surged because he’d absorbed the fire from the artifact. After years, he’d absorbed so much that even he couldn’t always control it.
He apologized awkwardly. "Sorry, I lost control during cultivation." "Seriously? If you can't control it, don't let it happen again—or next time, we won't be so polite." The speaker realized anyone who could cause such a disturbance must be powerful, so he gave Evan a warning.