Evan Yang stared at Melody Wood for a while, then withdrew his Divine Sense and muttered, "What's going on?"
"What's wrong?" Lynn Lin asked, watching Evan Yang as he opened his eyes. Evan shared what he'd observed with Lynn and Ember Yang. Lynn explained, "She does this a lot—just sits inside, staring off into space, then wanders around and finally settles somewhere, looking lost."
"Is something wrong with Sister Melody?" Ember Yang, hearing Lynn's explanation, felt uneasy—Melody never used to act like this.
Lynn Lin looked uncertain. "At first I thought something was wrong, but after a few times she seemed fine again. I figured maybe she was just moody sometimes."
"She's already reached the Divine Spirit realm—she shouldn't be zoning out for no reason. I need to take a closer look and see what's really going on." Evan Yang's brow furrowed.
"Okay." Lynn Lin and Ember Yang nodded. Evan then entered the Sky-Piercing Tower, approaching Melody Wood.
He looked at Melody and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay, just a little tired. Sometimes it feels like my soul is drifting—like I don't even know what I'm doing." Melody sounded more herself as she described her feelings.
"Don't worry, let me check what's going on." Evan said gently to Melody.
Melody nodded. Evan sat across from her, then extended his soul. His spirit entered Melody's body, searching the depths of her soul.
In the depths of Melody Wood's mind, Evan Yang saw two hazy, indistinct Melody souls and immediately frowned. "What's going on here?"
"She's fake," one soul said. The other tried to speak, but found itself unable to make a sound.
"Fake?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"That's right, she's the Wood Family God. I don't know how she got in—she wants to take over my body. My will was strong enough not to be fooled, but please, catch her and save me. I'm really suffering." The soul pleaded, inching closer to Evan.
Something about the speaking soul felt off to Evan—Melody never spoke to him in that tone. But with two souls present, maybe that was why she'd been acting strangely.
Wanting to figure it out, Evan went to the silent soul and asked, "Are you really the Wood Family God?"
That soul shook its head. Just as Evan was about to ask more, the silent soul suddenly stepped behind him. Evan was shocked; when he turned around, he saw the silent soul block an attack for him—the attack came from the previously speaking soul.
It was obvious—the silent soul was the real Melody. Alarmed, Evan quickly pulled the injured soul back and fixed a glare on the one who'd been acting pitiful. "You're the fake!" he snapped.
"Haha, that's right, kid, you finally came in. I thought you'd forgotten this girl and was just wondering how to lure your soul inside." The Wood Family God laughed.
Evan Yang asked, "Are you the Wood Family God?"
"That's right, it's me. When you sealed my cultivation, did you really think I'd die on the way? How naive. Luckily, I had backup methods. And you actually thought you'd erased all the power and memory I left in her? Too innocent." She sneered.
"I was wondering how you got inside. So you've been here all along, just in a strange way," Evan Yang said coldly.
"Exactly. When I returned to the Wood Family, I transferred my soul over and started fighting her for control of her body. My original body was useless, so using hers is just as good. But I didn't expect her to be so stubborn—she survived until now. If you hadn't come in suddenly, I was about to finish her off and then lure you in to kill you," she explained.
After hearing her explanation, Evan Yang replied, "This time, you won't escape. I'll destroy you here."
"Kid, are you joking? If you really destroy me, she'll die too. But if you don't, I'll slowly devour her. It's that simple. And let me tell you, I've sealed her awareness space—you can come in, but you can't leave. In here, I'm the king. Everything follows my rules." She laughed wildly.
Evan Yang checked and found, sure enough, the path back from the awareness space was gone. Melody Wood's soul was weak, her eyes closed, but she managed to say, "Kill me; if you destroy me, she'll die too. That's the only way. Hurry."
"Kill you?" Evan Yang froze. For him, that was impossible—he could never hurt his friend just to escape. So he smiled, "Don't worry. If I could come in, I can find a way out."
Hearing Melody urge Evan to destroy her soul, the Wood Family God grew anxious, but hearing Evan's words, she burst out laughing: "Looks like you can't bear to do it—that's your weakness. You'll never beat me."
"Is that so? I destroyed your physical body before, and I can destroy your soul now." Evan Yang smiled. As he spoke, a strange power appeared in his hand—one the Wood Family God had never seen before.
"What is this power?" Seeing Evan gather such terrifying force with just his soul, the Wood Family God was shocked.
"Back then, my body was in a coma and my soul was on the verge of collapse. A senior sent me into a special realm to save me. There, I learned to cultivate as a pure soul. Even without a body, my soul can unleash tremendous power—something you've never experienced. Today, you'll taste my long-unused Chaos Soul-Power," Evan Yang said coldly.
Chaos Soul-Power, which Evan Yang learned in the Soul-World, is a force that lets the soul fight powerfully even without a body. For the Wood Family God, it was a devastating threat.
After several exchanges, the Wood Family God's soul was overwhelmed. She never imagined Evan's soul could be so powerful.
"You—you actually know the Soul Fortification Method!" The Wood Family God wasn't stupid; after a few rounds, she realized it.
"Oh? You know the Soul Fortification Method too? Looks like you understand Chaos Soul-Power as well. Then your death is well-deserved," Evan Yang smiled.
"Damn it, you've been to the Soul-World? I won't admit defeat!" The Wood Family God raged, fighting Evan for several more rounds, but was still seriously injured.
Just as Evan Yang was about to finish her off with Chaos Soul-Power, she sneered, "Just wait. I'll be back."
With that, she vanished. The awareness space cleared, and the severely injured Melody Wood regained control of her body. With her body back, she began to recover. Evan wanted to track the Wood Family God, but had no clue where to start, so he exited for now.
After leaving Melody Wood's awareness space, Evan Yang's soul returned to his body. He opened his eyes, and Melody slowly woke up too. She looked at Evan and said, "Thank you."
Evan Yang smiled, "I'm just glad you're alright."
"It feels like I've been asleep forever. My head hurts," Melody Wood said helplessly.
Seeing Melody like this, Evan Yang asked curiously, "How did she get inside you?"
"I don't know. Ever since I entered this place, things felt strange. Then, somehow, she appeared in my mind and kept trying to control my body. I've been resisting her ever since," Melody explained.
"That Wood Family God is truly tricky. Looks like I'll have to visit the Wood Family when we get back," Evan Yang said.
"You're going back?" Melody felt as if she was waking up for the first time, and asked curiously.
Seeing Melody's face no longer blank or confused, Lynn Lin and Ember Yang were overjoyed and quickly asked what happened. When they learned it was the Wood Family God's doing, both were shocked—it was incredible that she could use a soul-transfer technique from so far away. They wondered just how that technique worked.
Seeing Melody's face no longer blank or confused, Lin Yue and Evan's son, Evan Fire, were overjoyed and quickly asked what happened. When they learned it was the Wood Family God's doing, both were shocked—it was incredible that she could use a soul-transfer technique from so far away. They wondered just how that technique worked.
"Dad, I think we should go to the Wood Family first. My issue isn't urgent, but if the Wood Family God traps Melody again, it'll be trouble," Ember Yang said quickly.
"Dad, I think we should go to the Wood Family first. My issue isn't urgent, but if the Wood Family God traps Melody again, it'll be trouble," Evan Fire said quickly.
Evan Yang agreed, "Then we'll go to the Wood Family first."
"Thank you." Melody Wood was grateful to see so many people concerned about her.
Soon, everyone began chatting happily. Meanwhile, at the Wood Family, the Wood Family God's soul returned. She opened her eyes, glaring fiercely ahead and cursing, "Damn it, that kid is a real freak—he's even been to the Soul-World and has Chaos Soul-Power. What else can he do?"
After discovering Evan Yang's Chaos Soul-Power, the Wood Family God realized that using soul-transfer techniques was dangerous—one mistake could mean true soul annihilation.
She got up, left the secret chamber, and found the clan chief in the Wood Immortal Hall. When the chief saw her, he quickly asked, "What is it?"
"The Wood Family may be facing a crisis. Prepare to activate the guardian beast at any moment to prevent outside invasion," Wood Family God said.
"What crisis?" The clan chief was shocked—never before had the Wood Family God spoken like this.
"Don't ask so much. Just do your job," Wood Family God said, then left the Wood Immortal Hall to gather some divine friends.
Soon, in the Wood Family's VIP hall, the Wood Family God met with five powerful divine beings.
"Wood Family God, what did you summon us for?" asked a bald, middle-aged man holding a wooden staff.
The others looked at her curiously. Wood Family God said, "I need your help with something. If it succeeds, I'll give you that thing."