We've been stuck on this black platform for a while now and still can't think of a solution. Just now, when Heavenly Soul went down, he was nearly dragged away by that multicolored hand reaching out from the vortex. Luckily, Earthly Soul sensed it in time and severed the hand with Endbringer, saving Heavenly Soul from disaster.
"Either way, it's best not to go down and provoke that thing. This place is slowly disappearing. When I first arrived, the town was as usual, but ever since the vortex appeared, the people, buildings, and everything else have gradually vanished. In just seven days, it's all become like this—everything here is fading away, one by one."
Black Moon said this while I kept my head down, staring at the vortex. The reason we can't get out is because Quentin Kue's formation is interfering. Unless we unleash enough power to destroy everything nearby in an instant, there's no way out. Earthly Soul could do it, but the time force on the ground would erase that power completely. We can't do anything.
"Honestly, why did we even come here? It was your terrible idea."
Earthly Soul looked at Heavenly Soul with some annoyance. I smiled helplessly. My past has become so chaotic, and the only thing I can think of is that all this is closely tied to when I went back to search for the origin of Ruofei Huangfu.
"Sorry about that."
I said, and Earthly Soul sighed, slowly floating upward.
"What are you planning to do?"
I asked, but Earthly Soul said nothing. After descending some distance, he stopped about twenty meters from the vortex, gripping Endbringer and silently staring at it.
"It's pointless. If you're trying to find the endpoint, it's futile."
"Don't talk."
Earthly Soul continued quietly probing something. The biggest change in him was his physical form; it no longer felt like it was made of Deathbane Aura, but was becoming increasingly solid. I couldn't sense any Deathbane Aura from him now.
Gradually, I saw wisps of black energy emerging from Earthly Soul's body. I couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't Endbringer's Power.
"What exactly is that?"
I asked, and Heavenly Soul shook his head.
"I don't know either, but it's probably some kind of power from his current realm."
I swallowed, glancing at Heavenly Soul and then at Earthly Soul. We were once one and the same, but now we're completely separated, and I'm the weakest. My strength is even less than before; after becoming a ghost, things have only gotten harder. I have to constantly suppress the primal instincts of the Evil Ghost within me.
"No, no matter how hard I search, I can't find the endpoint."
Earthly Soul put away Endbringer and returned to the black platform, sitting cross-legged. Black Moon came over.
"There's nothing fun to do anyway. Why don't we play Specter Tiles?"
Black Moon said, and I sighed.
"Forget it."
"For the past two years, I've just played chess with my left and right hands to pass the time."
I looked at Black Moon in surprise, and he burst out laughing.
"By the way, doesn't the Celestial Hound have any solutions?"
Black Moon shook his head.
"No, he refuses to help me. It's been that way for a long time. Our relationship is purely cooperative now. He won't help me as a human—or maybe he's started to hate humans altogether."
"Why?"
Black Moon waved his hand helplessly, indicating he didn't know either. This made me think of Black Dog King, the ghostly aspect split from the Dog Zodiac spirit. In the Animal Realm, he and the Celestial Hound—who is the Zodiac's sacred spirit—were originally one. Both of them share a mutual dislike for humans.
"Go down one more time and see. Whatever's inside seems to fear your power. This time, I'll watch your back."
Earthly Soul spoke, and Heavenly Soul nodded. I stood up as well.
"You should sit this one out, Ethan Zhang."
I replied with an awkward sound, feeling embarrassed as I watched the two of them float down. Honestly, my current strength would only get in their way.
This time, Heavenly Soul crouched mid-air about thirty meters from the vortex, raising a hand and releasing root-like white threads that spread in all directions. Earthly Soul hovered below him, gripping Endbringer and focusing intently on the vortex.
At this moment, the vortex began to stir, spinning rapidly. Heavenly Soul closed his eyes, preparing to unleash the Origin of Instinct.
Suddenly, a multicolored giant hand appeared beside Heavenly Soul, about to grab him. Earthly Soul instantly moved to his side—a flash of black lightning burst forth, shattering the hand into fragments of colored light that scattered in all directions.
"Heh, not a chance."
Earthly Soul spoke, his body instantly reappearing below Heavenly Soul. He punched a suddenly appearing hand, the crackling sound of black forked lightning shattering it into pieces. Now, multicolored hands appeared all around Heavenly Soul, trying to grab him, but Earthly Soul's repeated afterimages smashed each one to bits. None of the hands managed to catch Heavenly Soul.
"Out of options now, huh?"
I watched anxiously from above, ready to help if Earthly Soul slipped up. Earthly Soul laughed excitedly.
"So that's it. If you want to drag Heavenly Soul down, you have to manifest physically—only a real body can pull him down. But with me here, you can't do it. I'm nothing like I used to be."
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, white trees grew all around in the sky; Heavenly Soul, eyes still closed, had successfully unleashed the Origin of Instinct.
(Irrelevant passage about chapter continuation. Skipping translation as it does not pertain to the novel content.)
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Suddenly, Heavenly Soul, eyes closed, asked sharply.
"What have you done to completely change Ethan Zhang's past? Why did you do all this?"
Heavenly Soul kept asking. None of us knew who he was talking to, but one thing was certain: Heavenly Soul had found something.
"What do you mean?"
Heavenly Soul asked in a confused tone, his brows furrowed as if he'd just heard something shocking. His expression grew more and more grave.
"Impossible. We will never allow something like that to happen."