We were perched atop a cliff, where water surged out from a massive cavern below. Beneath us, a vast waterfall plunged into depths unseen, its white torrents roaring endlessly. Seated quietly in the Crescent Boat conjured by Black Moon, we watched in silence.
Far off to the east was the river’s outlet—the place we’d just arrived at. Yet in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves at the source. It seemed this waterfall, like a ribbon, wound around the entire island, so the river never ceased its flow.
We peered inside. Though the cavern was immense, after walking barely ten meters, we encountered a stone wall. The water seemed to flow straight out from within the transparent stone.
Black Moon maneuvered the Crescent Boat, steering us toward the stone wall. With a rush, I was stunned—it was the eastern outlet of the island.
“Well, looks like there’s nothing we can do. Heh, this island is truly bizarre.”
Black Moon said helplessly. Once again, we returned to the westernmost peak, the one with the cavern. Standing at the edge where the water poured out, we sat down. From this highest point of the island, we could overlook everything below.
“Look over there—those pale purple flowers. What do they remind you of?”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal spoke, stretching out a hand and pointing. Although the climate here stripped us ghosts of most of our powers, our vision remained intact. Even in this sky, bathed in unnaturally eerie violet light, we could see clearly.
Ghost Painting Book Immortal began sketching on a blank page of his yellow book. Gradually, we saw the form of a knife emerge.
“It’s hard to imagine this was formed by nature.”
“I’ll take a walk through the forest and look around. Kane, help me out—let’s scout together. The rest of you, stay here and wait. This might be the safest spot; those beasts can’t climb these sheer cliffs, and I haven’t seen any flying ones here.”
Once the plan was set, I manifested wings from my curse energy and headed south, while Kane dove north into the forest. Hovering ten meters above the treetops, I slowed down, gliding quietly.
This forest showed no signs of civilization at all—except for one place that caught my eye. To the south, near the edge, was a vast empty patch.
Gradually, I drew closer and saw what looked like a village—circular buildings, most of them damaged. There were about a hundred wooden domes, huts made from branches and vines, surrounded by fences, though most were broken. The fence directly opposite me had collapsed in a wide section. But what stunned me even more was a massive hoofprint, three or four meters across, left by some beast.
Inside the village, I spotted plenty of weapons—ones I recognized as belonging to the Wraith Enforcers. Clearly, they’d once settled here, but had been forced to move to the lowest layer by the beasts. The creatures here were stronger than those on the first island. I didn’t land, because I saw a beast lurking in the woods.
It was three or four meters long, striped like a tiger, but its head resembled a water buffalo, crowned with three horns. It prowled near the village.
There were a few more villages further east. Thinking it over, the combined population of Wraith Enforcers here far surpassed that of the first island. The idea stuck with me—survival of the fittest.
As for the true strength of the Wraith Enforcers, it was still a mystery to me. I’d seen Kane summon the Nightshade Dominion, but I hadn’t witnessed their full power. Before the male Wraith Enforcers journeyed to the Underworld, they lived on the fifth island. The higher up you go, the stronger the monsters become—almost absurdly so.
The strength of today’s monster fish was already extraordinary. I’d seen Duan Wentian’s mirror reflection in action. The first time I used the Phoenix Altar, I couldn’t even scratch him when facing the mirror.
Those monster fish could easily shatter the mirror’s surface. My curse energy constructs, though limited by the environment, were of high quality. Yet the monster fish could snap my spikes with ease.
I landed on the roof of a circular hut, quietly observing the area. There were several massive hoofprints around, but no beasts that size in sight. The only explanation was the King of the Isle.
Suddenly, a figure darted through the woods. My heart jumped—I couldn’t see it clearly, but I caught a flash of green. I flew after it. Something was weaving swiftly through the forest, fast enough that even the beast I’d seen started chasing it, but their speeds weren’t even close.
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I beat my wings hard, my eyes blazing gold and red, vision blurring as I chased the tiny figure weaving through the trees.
Gradually, I saw a flowerbed with knife-like petals ahead. The figure darted toward the purple sea of flowers. Suddenly, with a sharp whistle, a spear shot from a hole at the edge of the flowerbed, whistling through the air and stopping right in front of me.
I caught it with one hand and turned my head aside, but the force slammed me backward. With a thud, I crashed into a tree, then bounced off two more before finally stopping.
I swallowed hard. It didn’t hurt, but I was shaken. Slowly, I got to my feet, wings fading from my back. With a swift motion, I drew Beauty, but just then, I heard something behind me.
It was that buffalo-headed beast. I stared in shock as it lunged, jaws full of jagged white teeth snapping at me. I raised my ghost blade—clang! The beast bit down on the blade and pinned me to the ground.
Gripping Beauty with both hands, I braced myself as its massive claws swiped at me. I twisted aside—boom! The ground shook. I swallowed again and tried to form curse energy spikes, but my power couldn’t pierce its hide.
Panic surged in me. With a whistle, a spear flew past—the beast roared and dodged, but blood splattered as the spear sliced its shoulder. It howled and leapt over my head. I turned, stunned—a female Wraith Enforcer stood nearby, a child at her side. Both held spears, facing the beast. The woman began her counterattack.
"Run! Get into the cave!"
The woman shouted, but the child still swung a spear taller than himself, stabbing at the beast pinning his mother down. I scrambled up, raising my hands in a gesture of support, arms flat against my chest.
A sniper rifle materialized in my hands. I steadied my breathing.
Bang! The shot rang out, followed by a whimper. The hardest bullet my ghostly allies could forge pierced the beast’s skull. Its huge body collapsed instantly. I flew over, grabbed the woman’s hand, and dragged her out from under the beast.
The child stared at me, wide-eyed and speechless.
"Mom, is this guy a new species?"
I blinked and gave an awkward smile.
"I mean no harm—I just wandered in here by accident. Can you tell me what's going on here?"
The female Wraith Enforcer stood up, her emerald eyes fixed on me. The child shrank behind her.
"My name is Lin, and this is my son, Ju."
I nodded, glancing at the cave by the flowerbed. Suddenly, both mother and child started coughing. I caught a sharp, pungent scent—probably from the flowers. They tugged me and hurried into the underground tunnel.
"The flowers above release toxic gas at regular intervals. If you breathe too much, you’ll die. Even the beasts—and the King of the Isle—don’t dare come close. We survived the last disaster by digging this tunnel and making it our shelter."
I nodded again, watching them cough violently, their faces pale. Up close, I realized how thin they were—their bodies tough but necks mottled with pale purple spots.