The last thing Wraithshade said to me felt like it was hiding something. He spoke hastily and vanished, while Emperor God kept watching me with suspicion in his eyes.
"All right, everyone. This corpse has now reached its critical threshold: it possesses the intangible resilience of ghosts—able to recover even after being destroyed—and the hardness of a zombie. This is our key to the future."
Phantom Sage's words were ambiguous, which, as expected, aroused Xu Fu's suspicion.
"If such a thing truly exists in this world, making it move would be impossible, wouldn't it?"
Emperor God smiled and looked at me.
"That's why cooperating with Ethan Zhang is absolutely necessary."
This was their true goal. The method Wraithshade taught them had indeed worked, but now this creature was just a lifeless thing, unable to move. Corpse and ghost are fundamentally different: one has a body but no emotion, the other has emotion but no body.
Two completely contradictory existences like this cannot be set in motion.
"Just cooperate, Ethan Zhang. Help them finish everything here and you'll gain unimaginable power. Our Dark Banquet will support you unconditionally—it's a good deal. The living world is already in turmoil, and no one can stop the coming disaster between humans and ghosts. Only the power you hold can be trusted. If you connect this world with the living world, the power these three have built will be yours to use. Think about it—how thrilling that would be."
Shade shouted from the side, but I ignored him and kept my eyes on Emperor God.
"What if I refuse to cooperate? What happens then?"
All the members of Blackfang behind me went on alert, while Emperor God stared at me with a blank expression.
"Nothing will happen. Do as you wish, Ethan Zhang. The day you decide to work with us is the day you can leave this place."
"So that's how it's going to be, huh?"
Ray Lin chuckled at Emperor God. We can't fight, we can't run—this is just how things are for us in this world.
"Everything in this world is built on constant sacrifice. For humans to survive, something else must be given up. What we've worked so hard to create over countless years is necessary, just like people themselves. Besides, Ethan Zhang, if you agree and work with us seriously, you'll become the core of this plan, and we'll naturally serve you."
I shook my head.
"There's no point in continuing this conversation."
There was no anger in Emperor God's eyes—he simply let me be.
I sneered, looking at Emperor God, then spoke.
"Please send us down, and revoke the access privileges for Felix Zhou and James Grant."
Emperor God said nothing, but did everything I asked. Once we returned to the living world, I immediately opened my ghost domain. Everyone entered, and we began to move.
Everyone's face was somber. At that moment, the ghosts that had entered my body before flew out one by one, drifting in my ghost domain as if relieved.
"Thank you, young man."
I grunted in response. Things were tricky now—we couldn't leave this world. Just as Lance Quinn said, a month or two, even a year or two, might be bearable, but decades? And then there's Rachel Lan's situation.
"Looks like we're in serious trouble this time."
Victor Duan leaned against a tree trunk, gazing at the falling cherry blossoms, but his face looked strangely relaxed.
"We'll just have to figure something out, slowly."
Ghost Painting Book Immortal's tone had lost its earlier lightness and grown heavier. The change was most obvious in Felix Zhou, who crouched on the ground, looking dejected.
"Do you know anything?"
At that moment, Isabelle Frost looked up at the ghost floating above our heads.
"Little girl, we do know something, but we don't know where it is exactly."
A burst of wild laughter rang out, and we all turned to look. It was Xu Fu.
"Since Wraithshade could get in and then leave, there must be places in this world we don't know about. If you know something, speak up."
"Contradiction Spiral."
The ghost above said those four words, then shook his head and continued.
"We are all Wraithshade's ghosts. He fed us to that corpse, and I fought with all my strength, resisting every day until the coffin finally opened. So, young ones, true despair isn't something that happens all the time. Real despair is when you give up hope."
I smiled, then looked at the ghost.
"Sir, can you tell us what the Contradiction Spiral really is?"
"I've only heard Mr. Wraithshade mention it once. It seems to be a strange place in this world that can connect to the Underworld Court."
I looked at James Grant in astonishment, but he just shook his head.
"I've been here for so many years, and I've never heard of such a place."
We had a clue, but now it was lost again.
Just then, Cao Wanzhi moved over, grinning slyly at us.
"There's a way. We still have hope."
All eyes turned to him, and at that moment, Isabelle Frost looked shocked.
"There's still a way. Look."
Cao Wanzhi said, taking out a photo. We stared at it in surprise—it showed the two Hell Registrars we'd caught when we visited the Underworld Court before. Now they sat motionless in the photo.
Ghost Painting Book Immortal burst out laughing, came over, and patted me on the shoulder.
"Ah, Qingyuan, there really is such a thing as good karma in this world."
"What's going on?"
I looked at the others in confusion, but they all smiled. Felix Zhou immediately stood up and looked at Deathcurse.
"Hurry up and tell us, it's already come to this."
Deathcurse patted Felix Zhou on the shoulder.
"Relax. Those two Hell Registrars have Underworld Tokens."
Felix Zhou looked at Deathcurse in confusion.
"These Underworld Tokens can only be issued by the King of Hell, and there are several levels. The highest is the King's token, and the lowest is the one held by these errand-running Hell Registrars. With a token, you're protected by the power of the Underworld Court, free to move up and down. But the main purpose is to protect Hell Registrars from being eaten by evil ghosts."
Deathcurse said, walking toward me.
Long ago, being a Hell Registrar was dangerous. Some souls, unable to reincarnate and resentful of the Underworld Court, would vent their anger by devouring Hell Registrars. At first, the Underworld Court ignored it, but after many deaths, the Ten Judges came together and devised a solution.
They created something—the Underworld Token. With it, a ghost officer could work in the living world, and even a weaker Blue Wraith couldn't easily harm a Hell Registrar. Everything along the way feared the power of the King of Hell and didn't dare approach.
Hearing this, I immediately understood. Back on the Yellow Springs Road, it was just like that—the powerful forces in the Wailing Woods couldn't approach the Hell Registrar because of the Underworld's power.
"You know, Ethan Zhang, for all these years, so many have hated the Underworld Court, but in the ghost world, apart from the ghost lords, most ghosts don't dare touch a Hell Registrar. That's because when a Hell Registrar dies, all his final messages can be sent back to the Underworld Court. Then the Underworld will send someone to catch the evil ghost and throw it into the Abyssal Hell."
I grunted and immediately asked.
"So that's how Yin Choujian and his lot ended up in Abyssal Hell."
"I know all about that. Back then, Yin Choujian killed many Hell Registrars and kept running from the Underworld's pursuit. He was finally caught and thrown into Abyssal Hell."
Ray Lin said with a laugh, and I nodded.
"So, Ethan Zhang, the Underworld Token has another use: it guides Hell Registrars. No matter how far away, they can find the right location of the Underworld Court—basically, the exact spot of the Gates of Ghosts and the Yellow Springs Road. So, Ethan Zhang, it's up to you. If you can coexist with this power, you should be able to follow the token's aura and find the Underworld's location. If the Contradiction Spiral really exists, maybe we'll have a way to get back."
I nodded immediately, looking happily at the photo. Cao Wanzhi waved his hand.
"Exposure."
With a whoosh, a green light flashed, and instantly, two cries of "Ouch!"—the two Hell Registrars trapped in the photo appeared before us, terrified.
"Spare us..."
"Get up. No one's going to kill you. Hand over your Underworld Tokens."
I spoke, and the two ghost officers looked at each other. Then they quickly threw out their blue tokens. Cao Wanzhi immediately sealed them back into the photo. There were two tokens, and I saw a number seven on them.
"Be careful, Ethan Zhang. Looks like your luck isn't so great. If you want to coexist with this power, remember—this power belongs to Lord Tai Shan of the Seventh Tribunal."
Ray Lin spoke, and I nodded. I'd had a grudge with Lord Tai Shan before, especially that time when he had the Eternal Life Society seal Yin Choujian, and I forced my way through the seal.
"I'll give it a try. Once I move the ghost domain somewhere hidden, I'll start."
After moving the ghost domain underground, I stopped. Now it would be much harder for Emperor God to find us. I quietly stared at the two tokens, swallowed, and everyone gathered around me.
"It's about to begin."
Black ghost threads began to unfurl. The moment they touched the Underworld Token, a red light shot out.