Those who remained in the competition began reorganizing themselves, while the various factions continued their hunt for the true culprit behind Terry Yang's murder. But no matter how hard they searched, the killer never showed, and none of the major powers found any real clues.
Every time investigators came to the Yang Clan to look into things, Terry Yang would curse them out a few times.
"That brat's dead, so let him stay dead. Elder Lu and Yvonne Darkmoon are really something, wasting so much manpower just to chase down the beast that killed him," Nangong Palace Lord said.
"Exactly. At least we know Terry Yang meant a lot to them. Looks like we made the right decision," Terry Yang replied.
"You two planned everything perfectly this time. I truly admire you," Elder Simon Spring said with a smile, now that his wishes were clear.
"So, Elder Spring, what are your plans next?" Nangong Palace Lord asked.
"Plans? Not much, really. I'm preparing to go into hiding. Otherwise, if the Blue Robe Sect finds out, they'll hunt me everywhere," Elder Simon Spring laughed.
"Why? Did you do something?" Nangong Palace Lord asked curiously.
"Yeah, I did a few things. But now that the brat's dead, it doesn't matter anymore," Elder Simon Spring replied.
"You don't have to leave at all, Elder Spring. With your skills, why not join our Yang Clan? I might even arrange a position for you," Terry Yang said with a grin.
Elder Simon Spring's eyes lit up and he smiled, "Young Lord Yang, you'd really recommend me?"
"Mm-hmm," Terry Yang replied.
"That's wonderful," Elder Simon Spring said with a smile. In his heart, he thought about the pills—if he could get into the Yang Clan, maybe he'd find other medicines from the Heaven-Battling Clan to extend his own life.
"Once we leave, I'll let you know. For now, you'd better stick with Nangong Palace Lord," Terry Yang said.
"Alright," Elder Simon Spring replied, smiling. Then the three had drinks prepared and held a celebration.
Meanwhile, Yvonne Darkmoon sat in her castle, lost in thought about everything that had happened. It all felt so sudden, almost impossible to accept. "Sigh... How could such a good person just die like that?"
As for Terry Yang, he had no idea what was happening here. After Grandpa Sleepy tossed Terry Yang down, he was certain Terry was dead. Through that void, one could enter directly into the tomb beneath the Sky-Piercing Tower.
In a dark and silent place, a soul was slowly gathering. At first, it was scattered, but eventually the fragments clustered together, gradually forming the outline of a human body.
When that soul opened its eyes and recalled everything that had happened before death, it wondered, "Where am I?"
The speaker was none other than Terry Yang's soul. His soul had reformed, though even he had no idea how it happened.
Terry Yang's soul was weak, so he could only manage simple thoughts and couldn't control his surroundings yet. Soon, he realized the place seemed familiar.
“This place?” Terry Yang wondered, then saw a door ahead and walked out. When he stepped outside, he was stunned.
He wasn’t in some unfamiliar place, but inside the Strange Spiral Shell—the artifact that once served as the key to the Shadowhand Guild’s forbidden ground and was revered as a sacred treasure.
Inside the Strange Spiral Shell, there were three doors: one for storing items, another for cultivating divine sense, and a third that Terry Yang had never entered. Now, as he stepped out, he realized he had emerged from the third door.
“What’s going on?” Terry Yang wondered, and with his weakened soul, he walked back inside.
He found it easy, as if passing through a thin membrane—completely different from his previous attempts to enter.
“What’s going on? Is the third door meant for souls?” The more Terry Yang thought about it, the more confused he became. He went back and forth several times, finally confirming that his soul could freely move inside.
Wanting to understand what was happening, Terry Yang began pacing back and forth through the door, studying it carefully. After a while, he realized that inside, his soul recovered faster than outside.
So Terry Yang stayed inside the door—the place where his soul had just reformed. There, his soul grew stronger and stronger.
When Terry Yang’s soul was fully restored, he got up and began to study the space inside the third door.
“I have to control this Strange Spiral Shell and figure out what’s going on.” Terry Yang thought, so he tried to connect with the shell.
After a while, the Strange Spiral Shell transmitted all its information into Terry Yang’s mind.
Terry Yang analyzed the situation: after his soul dispersed, it hadn’t completely vanished. Instead, the Strange Spiral Shell absorbed and preserved it, slowly gathering and repairing his soul.
Realizing how miraculous the third door of the shell was, Terry Yang was overjoyed. It meant he was basically immortal—no matter who destroyed his soul, it could be gathered here and revived.
Thinking about all this, Terry Yang felt a surge of excitement and disbelief.
“This shell is incredible—who could have invented it?” Terry Yang couldn’t help but admire its power. The first door was for storing items, nothing special; the second was for cultivating divine sense, a great place for that; but the third door was for soul recovery.
After sorting things out, Terry Yang considered the Sky-Piercing Tower an invincible artifact, but the shell was even stronger. The tower needed him to control it, while the shell could actively collect its master’s soul.
“Why didn’t the souls of the shell’s previous owners gather here?” Terry Yang wondered, curious why those who used the shell in the past hadn’t survived.
Just as Terry Yang finished his question, a stream of information entered his mind. The shell seemed more human-like now—whenever Terry Yang wanted to know something, it would send him the answer.
After reading the information, Terry Yang’s face showed surprise again and again. When he finished, he said, “So that’s it! No wonder none of them survived. Turns out, the soul gathered here can only last ten days—after that, it dissipates.”