Quinn Shepherd stood in the darkness, scanning all around. He saw that there were still husk‑ghosts drifting about, but their numbers had dwindled—only a few scattered figures flickered through the shadows within his line of sight.
Of course, these husk‑ghosts were still extremely dangerous. Their speed was terrifying—if an ordinary person entered the darkness, they'd be gnawed to death, not even leaving a whole corpse behind.
The darkness remained, but the number of husk‑ghosts had dropped. This meant Lady Umbral's battle with Prince Umbral was over, and Prince Umbral had failed to break into the Umbral World and slay her.
His control over the Umbral World had weakened, leading to the decrease in husk‑ghost numbers.
The rest of the husk‑ghosts, he assumed, had been suppressed by Lady Umbral within the Umbral World.
Quinn Shepherd felt his spirits lift. "Wait here for me," he said. "I'll go back into the Umbral World and check the situation."
"Alright."
Ivy He was about to say something, but Crystal Blaze cut in, "Just be careful."
Quinn leaped into the air, heading for the fissure that led to the Umbral World. Ivy He whispered, "Why did Crystal let him go alone into such a dangerous place? You're a god—wouldn't it be safer if you went with him?"
Crystal Blaze shook her head. "He's incredibly skilled—if things get dangerous, he can escape. If we followed him, we'd only distract him. Besides, if he really faces Prince Umbral, even as a god, I wouldn't be any help."
Ivy He fell into thought, giving Crystal Blaze a deep look.
Quinn shot through the mountain fissure at high speed. After a long while, he reached the Umbral World Stele, circled around it, and looked out. He saw a towering pagoda suspended in midair, distorting the space of the Umbral World like an iron ball sagging a taut bedsheet.
Beneath the pagoda, there were no husk‑ghosts left; countless husk‑ghosts had been driven to the horizon, shivering in fear. The once-dim sky had cleared considerably, though it was still far from bright.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and hurried on. At last, he found Lady Umbral again, sitting by the sea, looking troubled.
Lady Umbral sat there, chin propped in her hands, staring listlessly at the sea. Her feet dangled in the water, just covered by the surf.
She wore no clothes in the traditional sense—only bands of divine light wrapped around her body, radiating an ancient god's wildness and freedom.
Quinn walked over and sat on the beach, mimicking her by sticking his feet into the sea. A huge wave crashed in, drenching him from head to toe.
Lady Umbral burst out laughing. "You're way too small. Just now, when I fought Prince Umbral, it made the waves in the sea huge."
Quinn smiled sheepishly. "Are you worried about the husk‑ghosts and the darkness, Lady Umbral?"
Lady Umbral let her arms fall back, bracing herself behind her, and gazed up at the sky. "I don't want to be left all alone. I wish my realm could be as lively as Profound Capital. Profound Capital is bustling—gods and demons build houses on Heaven Duke, countless beings live on the continents of his body, the weather is perfect, everyone is happy. Even Tu Bo, his horn is home to countless ghosts. But here, my world is turning into a place of husk‑ghosts and darkness. Husk‑ghosts are just stupid—they only know how to eat."
Quinn thought for a moment. Another big wave crashed in, but this time he quickly shielded himself with his yuanqi and avoided getting soaked. "Lady Umbral, I think to solve the crisis in the Umbral World, we might need Heaven Duke's help."
He explained his stopgap solutions, but Lady Umbral shook her head. "If you steal a sun and hang it here, the Umbral World just becomes part of Profound Capital. My realm would cease to exist—how could I stand as Heaven Duke's equal then? Wouldn't I just become his little maid? And if you punched a hole in his foot, he wouldn't be happy, and neither would I. His stinky, bloody foot-qi would drip right down here."
Quinn couldn't help laughing. "I have a copy of the Book of Life and Death. Maybe you could study Prince Umbral's divine arts from it, Lady Umbral."
"Prince Umbral's arts are just another stopgap—they won't solve things either."
Lady Umbral shook her head. "I want my Umbral World to have real, living beings. Prince Umbral's skills are impressive, but he can't solve the husk‑ghost problem either."
Quinn racked his brain until it hurt, then suddenly smiled. "No one is wise alone. Lady Umbral, wait here a bit—I'll go invite a few truly brilliant minds. Maybe together we can find a way to fix the husk‑ghost and soul‑black‑sand crisis."
Lady Umbral looked surprised. "There are people in this world smarter than you?"
Quinn grew very solemn. "Lady Umbral, you're joking. Of course there are people smarter than me. I'm naturally slow-witted—how could I claim to be number one? There are one, two... hmm, four or five people brighter than me!"
Lady Umbral looked down at his serious face and burst out laughing. "Alright, go find them. I want to see who these four or five geniuses are."
Quinn grinned. "They're the backbone of the Reform in Yankang, plus the King of Nether City. You'll be amazed, Lady Umbral."
He was about to send out his Primordial Spirit when he suddenly remembered something. He stepped back a few paces before activating the Three-Yuan Spirit Convergence Technique.
Lady Umbral watched him curiously. She saw Quinn's Primordial Spirit leave his body and exit the Umbral World.
"He's so trusting? Isn't he afraid the husk‑ghosts will eat his body?" Lady Umbral dispersed the husk‑ghosts drawn by the scent, thinking to herself.
At the Imperial Academy, in the Grand Hall, many Primordial Spirits gathered at Quinn's invitation, appearing in the great chamber.
"What is it this time, Cult Master?" Si Yunxiang asked.
"I need to find the National Preceptor, the Woodcutter Sage, Xu Shenghua, and the First Ancestor."
Quinn spoke quickly: "Please, everyone, help find them and ask them to set out immediately for the cliff at the source of the Yong River—it's urgent! Also, when passing through Nether City, please ask Lord Hades to bring several soul arts experts along."
"Don't worry, Cult Master. We'll find them soon."
Everyone withdrew their Primordial Spirits. Not long after, Quinn's Primordial Spirit returned to his body, only to find Lady Umbral staring at him with wide, curious eyes.
"You've already reached them?" Lady Umbral was surprised to see him awaken so quickly.
Quinn smiled. "Don't worry, Lady Umbral. They'll be here in a few days. In the meantime, I'll be outside forging sword pills. I'll come back in a few days."
Lady Umbral nodded, and Quinn immediately took his leave.
At the foot of the cliff, Ivy He led the women of the He family in repairing the road, while Crystal Blaze helped Quinn control the Profound Capital Heavenly Fire, smelting Buddhist Red Chromium and Umbral Gold.
Buddhist Red Chromium contains strong Buddhist power; treasures forged from it radiate Buddhist light and are mostly wielded by monks. Umbral Gold is used to forge soul weapons—it can contain souls and is highly compatible with Primordial Spirits, but weapons made from it tend to carry ghostly energy.
To forge the pagoda, Lady Umbral needed to steal Heaven Duke's heavenly fire to burn away the dense ghostly aura.
But Quinn used the Buddhist light of Red Chromium to neutralize the ghostly aura of Umbral Gold, so the forged weapons wouldn't turn their wielders into monks or fill the air with chilling winds.
He and Crystal Blaze experimented with the ratios of the two divine metals, seeking not only to balance their properties but also to achieve the best strength and flexibility.
After hundreds of trials, Quinn finally found the perfect blend and began smelting and forging his sword pill.
Crystal Blaze watched as he forged sword after sword, finding the process complicated. She couldn't help but ask, "Cowherd Brother, I've seen you forge swords so fluid they change at will. If that's the case, why make them one by one? Wouldn't it be easier to forge all eight thousand swords at once, straight to the flowing-water stage?"