The rain began to ease, but thunderous roars echoed through the surrounding forest. Waves of overwhelming ghostly energy swept in, while Zachary Justice knelt silently beside Master Boundless, unmoving, as if turned to stone.
"Old neighbor, if you have anything left to say, you'd better do it quickly. The Dao Gate people are likely already on their way here."
Lord Shenyan spoke, and Master Boundless, his breath weak, nodded slightly and closed his eyes.
"Zachary, the Brilliant Star Core I entrusted to you—keep it safe. If the Dao Gate people arrive, decide for yourself whether to hand it over. In this life, we are not fated to be more than friends, so let this be my final trust in you. Remember, Zachary, if you ever encounter those golden-faced ones, run."
Zachary Justice’s face was ashen, his head bowed, hands trembling uncontrollably. He didn’t know what to say or do, but he remembered every word Master Boundless spoke.
With a whoosh, a burly, bearded Blue Wraith drifted over.
"Lord Shenyan, those three were clearly prepared. We didn’t catch them, but we did get this."
"I see, Qiu Ran-ke. Notify Madam Jian and Yvette Chao—they’ll stay. The rest can go back."
The Blue Wraith called Qiu Ran-ke sighed helplessly, glancing at Master Boundless.
"Taoist, we warned you before—hand it over and let the Nine Dao Gate Elders help protect that damned thing you’re so desperate to guard. You wouldn’t listen. With your abilities, you can’t keep it safe. If we truly wanted what you have, just three or four Blue Wraiths would be enough to overwhelm you. Now look, you’ve lost everything—your life, and Boundless Sanctuary is destroyed. Redmond was watching you from the start."
Lord Shenyan turned, glaring at Barrett Beard.
"Hurry back, or when the Dao Gate people arrive, it’ll just cause unnecessary trouble."
Once Qiu Ran-ke left, two streaks of green light approached—a beautiful woman in sheer pink robes, slightly older, and Madam Jian, authoritative and elegant; beside her, Yvette Chao, a spirited young woman in her twenties dressed in green silk. One wielded twin swords, the other gripped a short blade about two feet long.
Now, Lord Shenyan crouched before Master Boundless.
"Speak. What is it you want to say?"
"The Immortality Society—those people, as humans, we are powerless against them. Only you ghosts can deal with them. Tell me, who are they really?"
Master Boundless, with only a shattered arm left, placed his hand on Lord Shenyan’s shoulder, the limb still crumbling away.
"All we know is that this group operates with extreme secrecy, hiding among humans and waiting for opportunities to act. They’ve done plenty already. They are people who seek immortality...people."
With a sharp crack, Zachary Justice lifted his head. Master Boundless’s body shattered like porcelain, scattering motes of light across the ground and into the surrounding darkness.
Now Zachary Justice saw Lord Shenyan holding a stone inscribed with a red Taoist symbol—Zachary recognized it instantly as the 'Formation' character from the Dao Gate’s True Words. He sprang to his feet, and Yvette Chao spoke up beside him.
"The three of them used some kind of formation to transfer directly. As for why... I’m afraid..."
Lord Shenyan raised a hand, then looked at Zachary Justice.
"Brother Zachary, what do you plan to do next?"
Zachary Justice shook his head, glancing back at the rubble that was once Boundless Sanctuary.
"I just want to stay here quietly for a few days before deciding."
Crystalline motes of light still drifted across the ruined ground of Boundless Sanctuary. Zachary Justice walked slowly to where the Hall of Three Pure Ones once stood, looking at the shattered statues of the Three Pure Ones. With a thud, he knelt and began chanting—a Requiem Prayer of the Dao Gate.
"Brother Zachary, I’ll wait for you at Swordheart Pavilion."
Lord Shenyan clasped his fists, then left swiftly with the two Blue Wraiths.
Silence returned, broken only by the faint sound of rain. Zachary Justice’s heart was desolate. Though Master Boundless did not blame him, it was because of Zachary that the exact location of Boundless Sanctuary on Mount Immeasurable was exposed. Those people had set a trap—he realized they’d been watching him ever since he met with Redmond.
Lately, the Seven Ghost Sovereigns have all been investigating the masked ones—even the Underworld Court is involved. This massive organization, now exposed, is made up entirely of humans. When Zachary Justice finished chanting, he turned and picked up the stone Lord Shenyan had left.
"There’s a traitor in the Dao Gate. Who is it?"
Zachary Justice gripped the stone tightly, unable to calm his mind. The rain had stopped, and a rainbow appeared on the horizon. On the ground, the white motes of light shone even brighter in the sunlight, radiating a pure, luminous energy.
With a soft plop, Zachary Justice turned and stared in surprise at the cracked stone floor in the center of Boundless Sanctuary—a tender sprout had emerged. The glowing motes drifted toward it, quickly merging into the green shoot. Zachary knelt again, cupping the sprout in his hands, unsure what it was, but sensing its pure energy.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, Zachary Justice found himself drawn to the fragile sprout. He spent seven days in the ruins of Boundless Sanctuary, quietly watching it grow—within a week, it had reached an inch in height.
"Child, what are you doing here?"
A stern voice called out. Zachary Justice turned to see a white-haired Taoist standing before him. He recognized the man immediately—he’d once attended a Dao Gate assembly with him. The Taoist’s title was Master Jasper Jade.
"So it’s you—a wandering Taoist. Hmph."
Master Jasper Jade didn’t even glance at Zachary Justice. He scanned the ruins, saying nothing.
"I knew you would face this calamity, but I didn't expect you to fail to escape it. Boundless... how tragic."
Zachary Justice kept watching the sprout on the ground, ignoring Master Jasper Jade.
But soon, Mount Immeasurable bustled with activity as Dao Gate practitioners arrived one after another.
Eight of the Nine Dao Gate Elders showed up. Instantly, the ruins of Boundless Sanctuary filled with noisy arguments—no one knew what had happened, but all were debating the whereabouts of the Dao Gate’s greatest treasure. Zachary Justice swallowed, reaching into his robe to feel the warm Starshard Radiance. He disliked these Taoists—their only concern was the treasure, not the disaster that had just occurred.
"Hey, do you know what happened here?"
Before him stood Jade Quinn, a Daoist nun in her thirties, watching Zachary Justice with disdain. Others had already pointed fingers at him.
"I just arrived myself."
Zachary Justice sat on the ground while the Taoists searched the ruins, but still found nothing.
Then Zachary Justice saw Elder Arthur Young, the friend Master Boundless had spoken of, drinking from his gourd. He and Master Boundless were old friends, but now he was silent. Master Boundless had once suggested giving the Starshard Radiance to him, but Zachary gave up that idea.
"Brother Zachary, can you tell us what happened here?"
After a while, most of the Taoists left. Elder Arthur Young approached Zachary Justice and asked a question. Zachary just shook his head.
Elder Arthur Young sat cross-legged, gulped down some wine, and handed the gourd to Zachary Justice.
After drinking together for a while, both were a bit drunk. Zachary Justice gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Why won’t you leave?"
"I just want to know how my old friend died. As for everything else, let it be."
Suddenly, a burst of hearty laughter rang out. A handsome Taoist in white, hair slightly disheveled, strolled over, fanning himself.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Samuel Young, why haven’t you left yet?"
Samuel Young shook his head.
"I came here for the same reason as you. As for the Dao Gate treasure Master Boundless held, I’m not interested. In this world, only the Seven Ghost Sovereigns from the ghost realm could possibly kill Master Boundless—no one else comes to mind. As for the other sects, Dao Gate has always gotten along well with them, even the Renegade Monks. Nether Syndicate is currently the leading orthodox faction, and there’s only a trace of ghostly energy here. This supernatural upheaval was triggered by Master Boundless’s divine descent. Can you tell us, Brother Zachary?"
Zachary Justice stared quietly at the two, then finally spoke.
After a while, Elder Arthur Young and Samuel Young looked deeply troubled. With a whoosh, Samuel Young snapped open his fan and began fanning himself.
"According to what you said, these Immortality Society people are formidable. Even with Master Boundless’s powerful magic, he still died, and they escaped. But I didn’t expect the Infernal Ghostlord to show up."
Elder Arthur Young raised his wine gourd and drank deeply, clearly in a foul mood. He began counting on his fingers, calculating something.
"Maybe this really was Boundless’s fate—no one could stop it. I didn’t expect it to come so soon. Farewell to you both."
Elder Arthur Young seemed to recall something, stood, cupped his fists, and left, leaving only Samuel Young and Zachary Justice.
"Brother Zachary, back at the Dao Gate assembly, I saw your spirit platform glowing with immortal energy. I suppose your cultivation has fully matured now, hasn’t it?"
Zachary Justice nodded. He liked Samuel Young a bit—unlike the other Dao Gate members, Samuel wasn’t exclusionary or dismissive of wandering Taoists like him.
Now Zachary Justice got up. The sun was harsh; he looked around, found a scrap of cloth, and propped it up with branches to shield the sprout. Samuel Young watched with interest.
"Most people are blind to what’s right before them. No one noticed this little thing—ha."