The increasingly violent roar thundered behind me. I closed my eyes, sensing intently, and gradually began to feel something different. Just as Tan Tian had said, the path I took to get here was almost found.
The Asura King, furious beyond measure, kept attacking. Tan Tian had completely turned into a mass of mud, blocking the Asura King's onslaught. The island beneath my feet was almost entirely shattered, leaving me only a small spot to stand. I had to find a way quickly.
Now that I know the Dark Banquet's true purpose, I must hurry back.
The shockwaves began to reach my side, immense power tearing at me endlessly. I wrapped my feet around the only stone left with my baleful energy, rumbling sounds echoing. At that moment, I saw hordes of Asuras emerging from the shattered mountains all around, flying toward me.
"Hmph, Tan Tian, don't even think about leaving. I will never let you go."
The Asura King roared, his fury unabated. But then I realized those Asuras were coming straight for me.
Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared beside me—a familiar aura.
"Zane Zhuang."
My eyes widened in shock. It was Zane Zhuang—he had already transformed into an Asura, standing next to me with his fist raised.
With a deafening roar, the Asuras that had reached us were instantly crushed beneath enormous, transparent fists that appeared out of nowhere.
"Zane Zhuang, what are you trying to do?"
With a thunderous crash, the Asura King charged forward, instantly breaking through Tan Tian's mud form and appearing behind me. A force that could crush me came straight at me, but Zane Zhuang immediately stepped in front of me.
"Did the young master send you here, Qingyuan? Please tell him, I may not be able to return for some time."
With a bang, the six fists of both men collided, a buzzing sound filling the air. For a moment, a massive crack split the world.
"Ethan Zhang, have you found it yet?"
Tan Tian shouted, the clash of power still raging. Zane Zhuang's knees bent bit by bit under the strain.
"Zane Zhuang, let's go together."
I've found it—the path I took to get here. Zane Zhuang shook his head, looking utterly miserable, but smiled and shook his head again.
"Sorry, Qingyuan, I can't leave for now. You need to go quickly."
With a squelch, a mass of mud flew over and instantly wrapped around me. With a bang, I felt a strange shift—Asura King had broken through Zane Zhuang, his fist swinging at me, but there was only a faint tremor; all the force was absorbed by Tan Tian's mud.
"Zane Zhuang..."
I kept shouting, but Zane Zhuang was already falling below. The Asuras that had been crushed surged at us again. Tan Tian moved with me, seemingly now certain of the path I had originally taken.
"Heavenly Phenomenon..."
With a hum, Tan Tian appeared before me, a brownish-yellow light spreading outward and pushing the Asura King away. He grabbed my shoulder and dragged me backward, and in an instant, we landed on a gray-black road.
Everything behind us vanished. The road behind us kept collapsing, and Tan Tian held me tightly, racing forward along the gray-black path.
We were moving incredibly fast. Tan Tian dragged me along the road. I worried about Zane Zhuang, but then remembered—as the representative of the Asura Path in the living world, the Asura King probably wouldn't harm him.
"Don't think about anything, Ethan Zhang. We'll be there soon."
As Tan Tian spoke, he picked up speed again. In a flash, I saw the forest around us, filled with lingering souls that hadn't fully died, all sobbing. Tan Tian ignored them.
When my vision cleared again, Tan Tian had already brought me to a grove surrounded on all sides by souls of the dead.
"We got here so quickly?"
I muttered something. Tan Tian shook his head, then waved his hand, sending a shockwave rippling outward. Instantly, the souls of the dead turned to ash.
"Keep searching for the path. Only when we find the route to the Three Crossings will I have the power to open the Corpse Road and return to the Dark Banquet. Take the Jiuchen Stone with you!"
"How do you know?"
I asked, but Tan Tian strode on without a word. I looked around—now I had no choice but to follow him, or I'd never make it back to the Dark Banquet. It seemed this was all within Yin Choujian's calculations.
Tan Tian hurried forward, looking anxious. I had no idea what was wrong. The souls of the dead kept following us, but suddenly Tan Tian stopped and looked around.
"It's gone. It shouldn't be here."
I noticed we were in a circular clearing surrounded by forest. The souls of the dead were closing in.
"Nothing here can truly be killed, because these are only phantoms. The real ones aren't dead, but these phantoms can still harm ghosts or humans."
As Tan Tian spoke, he raised a hand. With a rumble, brownish-yellow pillars shot up, instantly isolating the souls outside. Tan Tian kept searching for something.
"What exactly are you looking for?"
"We're searching for the entrance to the Sanzu. This place used to connect to it, but the passage has vanished. Someone must have tampered with it."
"Can't you use the Blood Path?"
Tan Tian shook his head.
"Remember, Ethan Zhang, the Blood Path isn't omnipotent. It can access many worlds, but in places where the boundaries between realms are blurred, it can't be used. This is a place of chaos and nothingness."
Tan Tian sat quietly on the ground. After a while, he stood up and silently observed the souls around us.
"There's not a trace of a passage left. Who could possibly have the power to close off the entrance to the Sanzu here?"
Tan Tian fell into deep thought as he spoke. I walked over to one of the brown pillars and quietly watched the souls trying to get in. For some reason, I felt something was off.
Just then, Tan Tian seemed to have an idea. Suddenly, he waved his hand and retracted the pillars, grabbed my shoulder, and lifted me into the air.
"You don't need to hold onto me. I'm not going to run. This is my second time here—you're still more familiar with this place than I am."
Tan Tian shook his head.
"It's not that I'm afraid you'll run—someone wants to snatch you away. I want to see who it is."
Below us, countless souls clustered together, reaching out and sobbing, trying to grab us. Some leaped up, but hit an invisible barrier as if they'd run into a wall.
"Who could it be?"
I asked, but Tan Tian just shook his head.
"There are only three in this world with that kind of power."
Tan Tian kept searching for any clue. Just then, I heard something from far away, and felt a reaction inside me—it was the kasaya, the Buddhist robe Master Mingde gave me.
Suddenly, a swastika appeared on my chest. I whimpered in pain as it sizzled; in an instant, Tan Tian's hand was burned away. He stared, wide-eyed.
"Kṣitigarbha King, if you've got the guts, come out. No need to skulk in the shadows."
My body couldn't move, completely pinned by the swastika on my chest. Yet Tan Tian didn't let go. Invisible walls surrounded me.
A buzzing sound filled the air. The souls below us fell silent, frozen, their sobs fading away. I was suffering—since most of my body was made of ghost energy, this Buddhist power was purifying me. Tan Tian kept observing.
Suddenly, a burst of golden light erupted behind me. A giant hand, shining with golden radiance, reached for me with a creak. Sure enough, there was an invisible wall around me, blocking its way.
With a bang, Tan Tian rushed behind me and threw a punch.
The hand gripping me vanished. Tan Tian immediately grew alert, white energy drifting from his body and gradually forming into wild beasts.
A buzzing filled the air. This time I clearly heard chanting from the sky. A giant hand descended, Tan Tian's eyes widened, and the swastika on my chest suddenly expanded, sizzling as blue smoke rose from my body. Tan Tian turned to me in alarm.
"Not a chance, Saint of the Underworld. You won't take Ethan Zhang away."
Tan Tian pressed a hand to my chest. White beasts soared skyward, and the descending giant hand instantly dissipated. Golden orbs—massive Buddhist prayer beads—appeared all around us, spinning slowly at our sides.
"Amitabha..."
A high, gentle voice drifted from above. With a whoosh, Tan Tian shot upward and vanished, as if slipping into another realm.
"Found you, Saint of the Underworld."
A great shout rang out. In a flash, I saw Tan Tian fly past me, dragging a streak of golden light.
"Buddhas have many faces. What you see is only one aspect of me—just as you can see an elephant. Amitabha, forgive me, Benefactor Ethan Zhang."
I stared wide-eyed. Everything around me had vanished, and before me stood a young monk in a gray-blue robe, gentle and kind. I had arrived at the Sanzu, and the burning pain in my chest gradually eased.