We flew a long distance before the sounds faded somewhat, but the end of this forest was still nowhere in sight. Below us, a pale purple shadow was sprinting rapidly—it was Sly.
Earlier, I was worried she hadn’t kept up. Lord Shenyan’s expression was grave.
“What exactly was that just now?”
“Probably a ghost that hasn’t fully died yet.”
Lord Shenyan muttered something. We stopped here, and the thing before us seemed to appear out of nowhere—another stone sphere, almost identical to the last, suddenly materialized before our eyes.
The phenomenon of cracking began again.
“We don’t have time to fight this thing. Follow me.”
I gave a quick reply, and the white flames ignited once more.
“Lord Shenyan, you really shouldn’t use that power too much. Otherwise, one day it will consume you.”
Quentin Kue’s voice sounded again, but Lord Shenyan ignored him. I followed closely behind Lord Shenyan, charging ahead. As the sphere cracked open, Lord Shenyan had already broken through the Stone Wraith in front.
With a thunderous crash, another Stone Golem appeared before us, identical to the last. Lord Shenyan extended a finger, poking the Stone Golem. With a crisp crack, it shattered before our eyes.
We passed through the sphere, which began to collapse behind us. The Stone Golem let out a series of mournful wails. I glanced at Lord Shenyan in confusion. Though I couldn’t see clearly, at the instant Lord Shenyan’s finger touched the Golem’s chest, some of those white flames entered it, and it started to crack from within.
With a wet splatter, Lord Shenyan stopped. The rumbling echoed behind us. He dropped to the ground, half-crouched, clutching his chest, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
“You should take some time to recover.”
A rough voice—it was Quentin Kue. I looked over and saw him smiling as he stood up.
“Let’s keep moving, Ethan Zhang.”
Behind us, footsteps sounded as Sly ran over. But suddenly, as if she’d seen a ghost, she scrambled up a tree, hiding among the leaves and letting out a series of mournful cries.
Quentin Kue burst into hearty laughter. At that moment, I noticed the surrounding trees moving, flattening themselves in our path.
Everything here was afraid of Quentin Kue.
“Lord Shenyan, I trust you’ve kept my Duskblade safe.”
Quentin Kue muttered something, noticing my puzzled look, then spoke.
“That’s my treasured sword—a blade made for slaying evil ghosts.”
I gave a brief reply and followed Quentin Kue. Sly only dared to trail behind us cautiously. The surrounding trees seemed to part for us, all fearful of Quentin Kue.
I’d never seen anything like this before. I released a thread of ghostly energy, and suddenly, darkness flashed through my mind. In that darkness, a pair of soul-piercing, chilling eyes appeared. Instinctively, I took a few steps back. Quentin Kue turned his head and smiled.
“I’ve killed too many ghosts, so my aura is heavy. Even ghosts fear me.”
After walking a while longer, we encountered another giant stone. But this time, to my shock, the Stone Wraiths forming the boulder parted on their own, rolling toward the river on the left, not blocking our way.
“If I’d known earlier, we wouldn’t have wasted so much effort. Let’s fly over.”
Quentin Kue glanced back at me, then gave a helpless, bitter smile.
“I’m out of ghost energy now, and I can’t control Lord Shenyan’s power. So right now, I’m just a ghost with nothing left.”
I gave a brief reply and we continued walking for a while. Only then did Sly dare to come a little closer, but she always kept her distance from Quentin Kue.
“Mr. Kue, don’t you want to return to the Underworld?”
I asked. Back at the Gate of Ghosts, if Quentin Kue had caused trouble, Wei Zheng would’ve known immediately. We probably wouldn’t have escaped so easily.
“If you boast, you have to follow through, hehe. Also, just call me Old Kue.”
I gave a quick reply. Quentin Kue continued speaking to himself.
“Back then, I went to the Abyssal Hell for inspection. I thought sending those seven to Abyssal Hell was a bit much. They weren’t truly evil spirits—just victims of circumstance. There’s never been a clear line between black and white in the living and dead realms. If they’d been reincarnated instead, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess, with the Underworld unable to clean things up.”
Quentin Kue had petitioned the Fifth Yama long ago, hoping to change the sentence. He’d personally visited Abyssal Hell many times to see the Seven Wraith Lords, even chatting with them occasionally.
But it happened anyway—the Seven Wraith Lords conspired to escape from Abyssal Hell. Quentin Kue was the first to discover it; he sealed the exit, hoping to finish them off. But things didn’t go as planned. Though their power wasn’t mature, together they were formidable. The battle lasted over a century. As their strength grew, they wounded Quentin Kue severely and escaped.
“I slept for over twenty years before I finally woke up. By then, there was no trace of the Seven Wraith Lords in either realm. I promised I’d capture them myself, so I headed to Nether Hell.”
“Yuna Ji’s domain?”
Quentin Kue nodded.
“When I arrived, I realized Yuna Ji was no longer the same. I couldn’t handle her alone, and in her domain there were three powerful zombies. We battled for seven days and nights, with no winner. So I headed to the Living World to search for the other six.”
Quentin Kue’s voice sounded helpless.
“No matter how I searched, I couldn’t find any trace of them, even after decades. When I returned to the Underworld years later, I heard that seven fearsome evil ghosts had appeared in the Living World. Everyone in the ghost realm called them the Wraith Lords.”
Quentin Kue ignored everyone’s advice and left the Underworld without hesitation. He was determined to bury the seven evil ghosts himself. But after witnessing the vast ghost factions, he challenged them again and again, yet never managed to defeat any of the Wraith Lords.
“Since then, I’ve wandered the Living World, waiting for a chance to capture them.”
We stopped, reaching the edge of the woods—a fog-covered slope where nothing could be seen below. Quentin Kue paused, sniffing the air.
“Looks like we’re here. To go down, we’ll need Lord Shenyan’s Hellfire to clear away this fog. Otherwise, it’ll be dangerous to breathe it in.”
“What are these things?”
As I spoke, I prepared to release ghostly energy, but Quentin Kue stopped me immediately.
“This fog is formed from the lost emotions of the ghosts buried here. If you breathe it in, it could devour you.”
“Like the resentment on both sides of the Yellow Springs Road?”
Quentin Kue shook his head.
“Resentment usually comes from the timid and powerless. But here, it’s different—many suffered injustice, and even after revenge, they remain in pain. Their power is stronger. Only Hellfire can burn them away.”
We stopped, waiting for Lord Shenyan to recover. Sly crouched nearby, staring blankly at the fog below the mountain.
“Old Kue, haven’t you ever thought about fixing this place? Or the boundary between realms?”
“Every place has unseen corners, places you can’t reach.”
I gave a brief reply. These places and what’s produced here are the result of years of accumulation. Cleaning them up is nearly impossible.
I had no idea how long we waited. Quentin Kue was lying on the ground, eyes closed, completely still. I stood up, constantly checking behind us—no sign of anyone. Looks like the Underworld folks hadn’t found us.
“Let’s go, Ethan Zhang.”
Lord Shenyan opened his eyes and climbed up from the ground. I gave a brief reply as he moved to stand in front of me.
“Stay close to me.”
As he spoke, Lord Shenyan stepped onto the slope. Instantly, the surrounding fog began to burn. I stared in astonishment as flames of various colors erupted, the burning mist producing gases of every hue.
Gradually, I heard wailing—cries mixed with the sound of weapons. All sorts of emotions echoed within the flames, which continued to burn relentlessly. Sly hurried ahead of us.
The slope was uneven, littered with large stones and forks in the path. In the thick fog, it was impossible to see clearly.
But Sly seemed to know the way, leading us with practiced ease. Gradually, the fog faded, and we reached a plain.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The fog had filled my mind with oppressive thoughts.
“Which way now?”
Lord Shenyan asked. Sly sniffed the air. On this plain of dead grass, nothing was visible. Suddenly, Sly darted off toward our left front. Lord Shenyan and I floated after him, keeping up.
It seemed Sly was navigating by scent. Gradually, something appeared ahead—a mountain ridge covered in strange plants. In a hollow, Sly stopped, waving his arms and shouting excitedly.
“Got it. Wait for us here.”
Lord Shenyan landed and walked into the mountains. I followed.
“From here on, we’ll have to search ourselves, Ethan Zhang. The Heartfruit should be somewhere in these mountains. That guy doesn’t dare come in.”
I nodded and asked a question.
“What’s special about the fruit?”
“It’s a strange thing—you’ll know it when you see it.”
With that, Lord Shenyan floated up into the air.
“I’ll go left, you go right. If you find it, release a large amount of ghostly energy as a signal.”