Clusters of blue-green foxfire swept past my eyes. I dodged them with ease, but my body began to darken all over. Gasping for breath, I stopped. I’d been fighting the Nine-Tailed Fox for an hour now, but still couldn’t break through her defenses. Her skills were exceptional—far superior even to Blueflame Warden and Eugenia.
These past few days, I’ve sparred idly with the three of them. I can feel myself gradually understanding the power within my body. Suddenly, a fierce, fire-red fox lunged at me. I instantly raised a hand.
"Wait."
Flames burst in an instant. When the fire faded, the Nine-Tailed Fox revealed a seductive, foxy smile.
"You’re still too green, Ethan Zhang."
Panting, I managed a smile and soon arrived at the floating island, in the yard before an apartment building. Blueflame Warden and Eugenia followed me down.
"What’s for dinner today?"
As soon as we landed, Eugenia came over, grinning and licking his lips. I sat down.
"Let me rest for a bit."
I haven’t spoken much to Mother Goddess Nuwa these days. She’s still dissolving the Heaven-Mending Stone. A few days ago, I could clearly see part of the stone had already melted away—just a tiny bit. Nuwa kept extracting impurities from within.
"I don’t think this thing can kill the Wraithlord."
The Nine-Tailed Fox muttered this. I looked at her in confusion. Over the past few days, I’d told them some things about the Wraithlord. His three souls and seven spirits still couldn’t be reunited, but he remained a massive threat to the world. Mother Goddess Nuwa hoped I could resolve this problem once and for all.
"Maybe."
I’d felt uneasy these days, too. The Wraithlord couldn’t be killed so easily. Not to mention combat, even in terms of power, there was a vast gulf between us. Lately, I kept recalling the face of the woman I’d once saved—Rachel Lan, my wife. Xu Fu had made that clear.
Maybe even without Xu Fu’s words, I’d have known. Why was it? The moment I saw her, I felt I already knew her. Today, I planned to return to the Golden Howler’s territory for a look. The Immortality Society probably wouldn’t discover the Blood Jade was fake, but they’d likely keep coming for me.
Because I still had value to them—I knew that well. A few days ago, Blueflame Warden ran an errand for me. Members of the Immortality Society had come, but they couldn’t leave the spot marked by that black formation.
"No hesitation—let’s just go. I saw plenty of strange animals in that forest. I’ll catch something there and cook for you all!"
Eugenia pouted in annoyance, but obediently called Zephyr down. The four of us sat on Zephyr’s back. In a flash of blue light, I felt a tangle of crisscrossing timelines sweep past my eyes, each space appearing vividly in my mind.
Colorful light flashed before my eyes, then a wave of heat hit me. I was back in the burning forest. Flames wrapped around the trees, but the ground showed no trace. The whole vast woods blazed, fierce winds howling and fueling the fire. I looked all around and soon spotted the black formation amid the burning trees.
I descended slowly. With a thought, black-and-white power surged from my body in all directions, instantly putting out the flames nearby. I watched as the formation lit up with black and red light—sure enough, it was sentient. I could feel it. As I landed, the entity on the other side sensed my arrival.
"Long time no see, Ethan Zhang. I’ve been waiting for you for days. Why did you move the temple?"
I said nothing, just quietly watched Xu Fu.
"I’m here to tell you something important, Ethan Zhang. Your wife, Rachel Lan, refused our help. That’s our response for you giving us the Blood Jade. We’re helpless."
"You came just to tell me that?"
I stared quietly at Xu Fu, sensing the aura in his body. He wasn’t lying.
"You’re still so cautious, Ethan Zhang. You’re not cute at all now. If we’re enemies again, it’ll be a real problem. I have no reason to lie to you."
I nodded, then quietly observed Xu Fu, recalling the last time I saw Rachel Lan. Her health was indeed worsening. I used a bit of Buddhist power, channeling it into her body. As long as her condition kept deteriorating, that power would take effect—at least it would keep her body from self-destructing for now.
"So what did you come to me for?"
"I want to work with you again. I’ll just be blunt—I hope you..."
"Forget about cooperation."
I said it without hesitation, cutting Xu Fu off before he could finish.
"Alright, but at least I pay a price for coming here. Can you just let me finish?"
I sat cross-legged. A presence approached from behind—instantly, the Nine-Tailed Fox was at my side, eyes fixed on Xu Fu, smiling seductively, mouth slightly open.
Soon, Blueflame Warden and Eugenia arrived. Xu Fu looked surprised at the beasts around me.
"Impressive, Ethan Zhang. These beasts."
"Enough chatter—just tell me what’s going on."
Xu Fu sat down, continued eyeing the beasts around me, then spoke.
"Some things are quietly happening in the Living World now, all because of you. Your presence has awakened certain people’s desires. But let’s set that aside—it’s about the Wraithlord."
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I nodded, staring intently at Xu Fu.
"We have five Blood Jade fragments now. Another is in your former Earth Soul’s hands, and one is missing. After repeated study, we found something: the Wraithlord’s spirit sealed in the Blood Jade is slowly moving elsewhere. Where it’s headed, we still don’t know."
My eyes widened.
"What’s going on?"
Xu Fu had just finished speaking when I realized how serious things were.
"One warning: don’t try to resurrect the Wraithlord. If he comes back, it’ll be far beyond your imagination. You won’t be able to control him."
I spoke, and Xu Fu smiled and nodded.
"That may be true. But all we want is to glimpse the secret of human immortality from the Wraithlord. We don’t want to resurrect him. The ones who do are the Old Hell group. So it’s crucial we keep the Wraithlord’s spirit in our hands."
Xu Fu reached into his pocket and pulled out five Blood Jade fragments. My eyes widened. Except for the fake orange one I’d given him, the other four were real: one red, one blue, one purple, one black.
"We can’t let the Wraithlord’s spirit escape from the Blood Jade anymore. So I want to leave the Blood Jade with you. That’s what the cooperation was about. I don’t think you have any reason to refuse."
I grunted and stood, ready to go over, but Xu Fu glanced at the three beasts behind me.
"Can I ask you something, Ethan Zhang? Do you still have a chance to come back to life?"
I wasn’t sure what Xu Fu was getting at—he was probing. That was the feeling I got from his aura. I shook my head.
"I don’t know yet."
Xu Fu gave a wicked smile, tossed the five Blood Jade fragments over. I caught them—they were genuine. I couldn’t fathom why he’d really hand them to me, but from his look, he clearly had bigger plans.
"What are you really up to?"
Xu Fu shrugged helplessly.
"I’ve said it already. In the Living World, we can’t stop the Wraithlord’s spirit from leaving the Blood Jade. So we brought them here, into the Illusory Realm. The Wraithlord shouldn’t be able to do much. The Blood Jade has gone berserk dozens of times—we’re powerless."
Just as Xu Fu finished, I felt a chill from the blue Blood Jade in my hand. Thin ice crept over my body, and a presence appeared—a Wraithlord radiating ghostly blue light. Instantly, everything around froze. The Wraithlord glared at me in fury.
With a boom, a blast of blue-green flame struck the Wraithlord, instantly shattering the power about to erupt.
I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the Nine-Tailed Fox behind me. "Thanks," I said. Then I stacked the five Blood Jade fragments together. A blood-red swastika quickly passed through them, marking each with the symbol.
"I’ll leave it all to you, Ethan Zhang. That’s one problem solved."
Xu Fu’s form grew blurry and soon vanished before my eyes.
"What did that guy mean?"
I stared in surprise at the four genuine Blood Jade fragments—they were really in my hands. Except for the fake one I’d made myself, I put away the others. I couldn’t bring these four into Mother Goddess Nuwa’s Illusory Realm. If all five came together, they’d absorb the realm’s power.
"Just put one in my Illusory Realm."
Blueflame Warden said this. I nodded, but something still felt off. Xu Fu wasn’t that generous. Now that the Blood Jade was in my hands, I’d never give it back to Xu Fu.