The Wraithlord's eyes grew colder, as if carved from the void, radiating a suffocating malice. Jade May trembled, clutching my back with desperate strength, her fingers digging in as if trying to anchor herself to me—her only hope of escape. She kept pulling, always afraid that the darkness would swallow us both.
"Ethan Zhang, hurry!"
I shook my head. If we tried to run, The Wraithlord would slaughter Jade May without hesitation. My strength was spent—I could no longer stop him. All that remained was to wait, smothered by dread. If anything in this world was left to trust, it was my friends—their existence, my last flicker of faith.
In this Illusory Realm, though I had only lingered for a few months, I had already forged bonds with many supernatural beasts. I often visited their realms as a guest, teaching them how to cook. Life here, for a time, was almost comforting—a fragile peace in the shadow of oblivion. Through these friendships, I gained much, even as my memories of the past remained lost in darkness.
"It's a pity, Ethan Zhang. This is the path you chose."
I gave a low hum and forced a smile. Jade May shuddered uncontrollably—the force The Wraithlord unleashed just now was unbearable for her, a beast from the middle circle of Hell. His power radiated destruction, a suffocating terror that threatened to drown all hope.
"Perhaps your power is truly absolute, overwhelming. You are strong enough to need nothing and no one. But I am not like you. Again and again, I've crossed into this place—even if I can't remember, I know: without the help of those I love, I would never have survived. What happened before, or the meaning of my existence, no longer matters now."
I stared silently at The Wraithlord, feeling the cracks on my body slowly fade, as if the darkness itself recoiled. His face twisted, eyes wide with shock. I shot a glance at Jade May, the air between us thick with dread.
"Go over there."
In an instant, I became a blinding white meteor, sweeping Jade May into my arms and hurtling to Mother Goddess Nuwa's side. Eyes wide, I shoved Jade May toward her, desperate for sanctuary from the encroaching darkness.
"Please, Nuwa, protect her."
The moment I turned around, the world below was pitch black—the Ancestor Ghost's power had erupted in an instant. My eyes widened as human energy surged violently within me. My newly grown right hand was already gripping that strange sword, my whole body wrapped in white. I charged toward the encroaching darkness below.
With a thunderous crash, the sword in my hand pierced straight through the Ancestor Ghost's chest. He emerged from the black ocean, eyes wide in shock.
"What is this power, exactly!"
My eyes widened. At this moment, I no longer feared the Ancestor Ghost's power. The human energy I released this time could not be consumed by his ghostly aura, but could actually contend with his strength. My physical condition was still poor. In the distance, the purple monsters had disappeared, leaving only a solitary island floating in the air, with a single apartment building on it.
"I don't know either, but the only thing I do know is that now I must defeat you."
In an instant, I gripped the sword with both hands and pushed it down toward the Ancestor Ghost. With a boom, I pressed him down into the black ocean. He clutched the white sword embedded in his chest with all his strength.
My eyes widened, and in my heart there was only one thought—I must eliminate the Ancestor Ghost.
With a bang, the Ancestor Ghost landed on the ground, but didn't touch it—instead, he floated slowly in midair. I could no longer move forward at all.
"An interesting power, Zhang Qingyuan. Unfortunately, you are no longer human. Even though you retain a human heart, your body, your soul, your consciousness are no longer human—otherwise, the one who would have died might have been me."
The surrounding darkness gathered again, and the power in my body began to fade bit by bit. Gritting my teeth, I roared in anger. With a crack, the white sword piercing the Ancestor Ghost's chest snapped instantly, its fragments swallowed by the darkness. Black energy completely engulfed me, and the burst of power from my body was utterly spent.
"I'll tell your friends what you looked like before you died, Zhang Qingyuan. As a human, you were unique, a true human existence. But unfortunately, it's all over now."
I smiled faintly.
"Is it really over? I've already said, I have many friends, just as I did before. What about now?"
The Ancestor Ghost's eyes widened, but then he smiled.
"What can you give the exotic beasts in this illusion? Friendship?"
"If interactions between people are only about profit, then it can't be called friendship."
The Ancestor Ghost shook his head.
"In this world, there is only profit. If they truly cared, perhaps they would have acted long ago."
I shook my head.
"So slow, Yujiang. I'm about to die."
A breeze brushed past my ear and I smiled. In a daze, a cyan flame ignited beside me; soon, more and more cyan flames began to burn around me. As fox-shaped flames appeared, they instantly burned away the black energy surrounding me. I smiled.
"Fortunately, that little fish found you. Otherwise, we couldn't have arrived here so quickly."
I said thank you and smiled.
"It's over now."
With a swish, a brown lightning bolt flashed in front of the Ancestor Ghost. In an instant, his hand pressing on mine was severed. Taowu, his whole body crackling with brown lightning, stood beside me. I clutched my chest in pain as the surrounding black energy gradually faded, returning to the Ancestor Ghost's body. He crouched on the ground, looking at his severed right hand, and smiled.
"Are you really planning to interfere with all this? You are nothing but illusory beings, things that don't even exist in this world."
All around, exotic beasts kept bursting into Nuwa's illusion. I lay on Nan Feng's soft back, while Yujiang stared unhappily at the Nine-tailed Fox.
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"You were so confident just now, leading me through so many illusions, saying it would be easy to find, and yet you got lost. You idiot."
The Nine-tailed Fox glared unhappily at Yujiang. I smiled. At that moment, brilliant lights began to appear on the ground all around. I stood up, and the exotic beasts gathered at my side one by one.
"Ancestor Ghost, didn't I tell you before? I have friends, many friends. That's why I won't die, and I don't want to die. So I hope everyone can help me."
As I spoke, I looked around. With a few quick sounds, a giant rabbit carrying Hou Yi landed beside me. I saw three arrows embedded around the Ancestor Ghost, crackling as they burned away the ghostly energy on his body.
"Is this going to be a battle of attrition, or are we all going at once?"
The Ancestor Ghost clenched his fists, his face arrogant. Taowu slowly landed beside him. Strange roars filled the air around me as the exotic beasts agitatedly surrounded Nuwa, looking furious, but Nuwa remained cold and indifferent.
"Let me do it, then."
Taowu spoke, and with a boom, Hundun landed beside him.
"I don't think you're a match for him. Let me do it instead."
Suddenly, Taowu wrapped a tail around Hundun and threw him far away. With a swish, Taowu turned into a red lightning bolt, his claws lunging at the Ancestor Ghost. Hou Yi retrieved the three arrows embedded near the Ancestor Ghost, then jumped off the Jade Rabbit's back and came to my side.
"That Ancestor Ghost guy is really dangerous. You almost died. Clearly, you're no match for him. Do you know why?"
I nodded.
"Good that you know. I told you before about special training. You said you wanted to find the master of some illusion. If you had just let me help you with training, maybe things wouldn't have turned out so badly."
"This guy is just an idiot. If he'd put aside his pride and let us help earlier, he wouldn't have suffered so much."
Bai She’s massive head suddenly plunged down from the clouds. With a thought, I had Nan Feng carry me to Nuwa. At that moment, the Ancestor Ghost grabbed Taowu's claws and flung him away, then instantly appeared before him and punched Taowu, denting his body. With a thunderous crash, Taowu was dragged across the ground, leaving a long mark. But I knew such an impact meant nothing to Taowu.
Sure enough, as Taowu's body recovered, he turned into a jagged red lightning bolt, instantly leaving red marks around the Ancestor Ghost. The Ancestor Ghost took a defensive stance, but was still slashed with many wounds. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he laughed wildly.
"Everyone, stop."
I came to Nuwa's side, quietly gazing at her. Jiao Mei rushed over, crying, and I thanked her.
"Qingyuan, you almost, almost..."
"Ah, it's fine."
With a bang, I suddenly felt an unbearably scorching aura rising from the ground. I looked down, and Taowu, furious, turned and shouted at the Nine-tailed Fox.
"Are you trying to burn me alive too?"
A mass of cyan flame spread in all directions, with the Ancestor Ghost caught within it. His skin was continuously burned by the flames, and his ghostly energy was consumed rapidly.
"Didn't that guy say it would be a battle of attrition or all at once? Since he boasted so much, we don't need to show him any mercy, right!"
As soon as the Nine-tailed Fox finished speaking, the Ancestor Ghost, crouched on the ground, moved into the air. With a thunderous crash, the ground turned into a pool of lava. Hundun's hand suddenly enlarged and struck the ground. In the air, a brilliant bird shadow flashed by. The Ancestor Ghost curled up, and a series of clanging sounds rang out. He glared at me angrily and instantly flew toward me.
With a smack, before the Ancestor Ghost could reach me, Bai She opened its mouth wide and swallowed him whole.