"Aren't you the Nine Nether Generals of Yuna Ji?"
I blurted out immediately. Ethan Zhang had told me stories about Yuna Ji before. The woman in front of me pulled off her veil, revealing a sharp yet beautiful face with a mischievous smile. She stuck out her tongue at me, then tossed her waterfall-like hair. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she looked at me, while the man behind her, Paul Zhao—just a bit shorter than me—also removed his veil, his resolute features tinged with helplessness.
"Why are you here?"
I asked in shock. All I knew was that Ethan Zhang had told me the nine had already left Yuna Ji. Even though he wanted to stop them, he couldn't. Now, the Nine Nether Generals under Yuna Ji had lost their self-awareness and were nothing but skeletons.
"Let me put it this way, Roxie. The nine of us were once bound by Yuna Ji's War Absolute. War Absolute itself once fell into delusion and died in Yuna Ji's place, so we were finally freed. As for why we're standing before you now—I can't say."
Paul Zhao immediately slapped Lucille Xing on the forehead. She clutched her head and cried out, stumbling back a few steps.
"Repaying Ethan Zhang's kindness—what kind of reason is that?"
I swallowed hard. Luoyu stared blankly at the two of them. From that brief contact just now, I knew they were strong. And there were nine of them. Relief washed over me, and I smiled.
Afterward, Paul Zhao told me that they had actually died long ago, but their obsession kept them from letting go of Yuna Ji. After death, the nine of them were imprisoned by the Wraiths, just like Jiang Tianci. When Yuna Ji set foot in the Nether Hell and gained power, they followed Yin Choujian to Ghost Mound and attacked it, bringing disaster to the whole sect. Only then were the nine finally freed.
Yet Yuna Ji fused them into corpses, which was another form of imprisonment. Influenced by War Absolute, their personalities became severely twisted. All their past grief fueled their actions, and their vow to protect Yuna Ji remained. But their consciousness faded day by day—it was actually their souls dissipating, still trapped nonetheless.
If Ethan Zhang hadn't done what he did, the nine of them would still be imprisoned inside skeletons, with no consciousness of their own. But then, they were freed. None of them expected to awaken in this world again. Now, the nine skeletons under Yuna Ji's command are merely manifestations of her power—a way of channeling her innate strength, but ultimately, just high-quality vessels.
"Yuna is just our friend. That will never change, no matter the time. She's not our ruler. If we were to continue existing, Yuna's path would never have an end. Maybe Ethan Zhang understood that, and that's why he let us go."
I glanced at Paul Zhao in confusion. Lucille Xing nodded and spoke.
"Yuna has already contracted Soul Mourning Syndrome. If this goes on, she'll turn to stone. She's exhausted. When the nine of us were still here, even though our consciousness was trapped, Yuna had to bear all the pain of the past to keep us from fading away—including ours. All of it tormented her mind until she began to petrify. Even a Ghost Sovereign isn't immune."
I immediately recalled what John Chou once told me—the pact between them and the Underworld Judges. Yuna Ji never asked for anything, as if nothing mattered anymore. The Yuna Ji I met before was the same—so very tired.
"When the Nine Nether Generals were imprisoned by Wraithshade, we never obeyed his orders. Our obsessions were far stronger than ordinary ghosts. Because of Wraithshade's experiments, we died long ago. After Yuna brought us back, she sealed us within our remains, letting us survive in that form. But the truth is, we were already dead."
I swallowed hard. At that moment, Lucille Xing glanced back toward the corridor.
"So slow?"
I couldn't tell what they were doing. Luoyu seemed to notice and spoke.
"Did you take care of all the Yin People who were chasing us?"
Lucille Xing nodded with a smile.
"Those Yin People officers are completely unruly. How could James Grant, that blockhead, ever control them? In the past, aside from his face, no one paid much attention to him. Sure, he's strong, but everyone just stares at his impossibly handsome face and treats him like a decorative pillow."
Lucille Xing giggled. Paul Zhao also laughed. Just then, I saw a refined-looking man approaching from the distance, looking every bit the scholar.
"That's Joseph Qiao, isn't it!"
I muttered, and the man in front of us nodded as he walked over.
"Miss Roxie, don't worry. All those Yin People officers who wanted you dead have been taken care of."
Luo Yu nodded and said.
"If they had really come for us, the two of us wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Thank you, all of you."
I bowed to them, then quickly asked:
"Didn't James Grant recognize you?"
Lucille Xing clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.
"How could that idiot ever recognize us? He's always been so clueless. He didn't even know Yuna liked him until the very end—what good did that do? Everyone was already dead. If they'd confessed earlier, maybe they could've had a child together."
"Xing, don't just blurt out things like that."
Joseph Qiao protested. Lucille Xing immediately stepped aside. Joseph Qiao crouched down and pulled out a map.
"How did you get this map?"
Luo Yu stared in surprise at the map in Joseph Qiao's hand. The map showed a large circle, with many buildings inside—apparently the arena at the center of the tower.
"Old habits, I guess. We used to lead troops in battle. In a place this unfamiliar, you have to learn about the rulers and their layouts first."
The map had three diamond-shaped areas arranged in a triangle.
"These three areas are extremely dangerous. They're killing arrays set by the Emperor Gods. From what we've learned, the three rulers never let their consciousness enter these places—because this is where day and night swap places. If they enter, their power will disrupt the Critical Convergence Ritual that governs the energy flow."
I looked at Joseph Qiao in surprise. He glanced back at me.
"Looks like you know about the Critical Convergence Ritual."
I nodded. Joseph Qiao continued.
"It took us a long time to figure it out—this is the Critical Convergence Ritual. I've never seen anything like it before. Back then, Wraithshade was researching his own ritual, but Yuna Ji and John Chou attacked Ghost Mound and destroyed all his work. In the end, he had no choice but to attend the Dark Banquet and try to continue his research there."
Joseph Qiao stood up, glanced behind him, and said, "Let's go over there. James Grant is coming; we don't want to run into him."
Paul Zhao darted to the wall. A passage appeared, and we slipped inside. The wall sealed shut behind us.
"According to our investigation, this Critical Convergence Ritual was only recently completed, jointly by the three Emperor Gods. It works by making the Yin People feel happiness and joy. As their bodies generate power, the excess is siphoned off and stored. We've looked into Yin People from the past—they used to capture anomalies, but when they returned, their bodies weren't weakened. That's how we know this ritual is new. Now, the whole world of shadows is a massive source of power, and the Emperor Gods can wage war without restraint."
"How do you know all this?"
Luo Yu asked in confusion. I was wondering the same—how could they know so much about the wars in the world of the living?
"We can't reveal that. Please understand."
I grunted in response. Joseph Qiao continued speaking.
"Breaking the Critical Convergence Ritual and throwing the energy out of balance is much harder than you think. The power it holds is unimaginable. The only way to destroy it is with an even stronger ritual."
I gasped. Luo Yu's expression grew grave, his brow furrowed.
"Hell Imprint."
Joseph Qiao spoke immediately. I stared in shock, eyes wide.
"How do you know about that?"
"We can't tell you, Rachel Lan, but please trust us. There are reasons we know."
I couldn't figure it out, but I didn't ask further. I trusted these people completely.
"Hell Imprint itself is an incredibly powerful Critical Convergence Ritual. Unfortunately, you can't see its entirety—it's infinite. You remember how to draw the Hell Imprint, don't you?"
I nodded. Lucille Xing smiled, walked over, and suddenly hugged me, rubbing her cheek against mine.
I blinked. Lucille Xing spoke.
"It feels like it's been ages since I've seen you, Rachel Lan."
I looked at Lucille Xing, puzzled. Paul Zhao quickly pulled her aside and tapped her forehead. Joseph Qiao pointed at the map again, just as James Grant's voice echoed from outside.
"I don't know who you are, but if possible, I'd like to meet you."