The bone Scarlet Howe held in her hand was utterly ordinary; nothing she said could be trusted.
"Fine. I was going to explain, but it seems you won't believe me unless you see it for yourself. Follow me."
Scarlet Howe spoke, drifting along the riverbank, quickly flying east. I immediately followed, and in a flash, she began to accelerate.
After a long stretch, Scarlet Howe's speed remained unchanged. I grew puzzled about where she was taking me. Just then, I saw, far off to the east, a vast expanse of black mountains—an unbroken range, clearly visible even from here.
Scarlet Howe stopped. At the edge of the Styx River, I saw a tall black pole, apparently some kind of marker.
"This is roughly the midpoint of the boundary. Keep heading east and you'll reach the Blackmount Range. Beyond Blackmount is the Blazing Fields. Do you want to go and see for yourself?"
Scarlet Howe explained as she spoke. I shook my head.
"Why did you bring me here? What do you want to show me?"
Scarlet Howe smiled mysteriously, curled her finger, and flew straight north along the black pole. After drifting a distance, we stopped. Before us lay a massive pit—the kind that could resurrect dead skeletons.
"It should be easier to explain here. You've seen this before, right? Dead skeletons can come back to life in these pits—and they keep all their memories."
I grunted in response, watching as the pit brimmed with pale bones. Scarlet Howe waved her hand, sending a ribbon of green Ghost Aura into the pit, which instantly split into strands, wrapping around skeletons and hauling them up.
Those green strands, coiling around the bones, assembled them with mechanical precision. In moments, a human skeleton was pieced together.
"What are you planning to do?"
I asked again, but Scarlet Howe ignored me, producing a green pouch and flashing a wicked smile.
"Inside is a soul I captured—killed in the war."
As she spoke, Scarlet Howe opened the pouch. A stream of gray-white mist spilled out, and within it I glimpsed a human figure. Scarlet Howe waved her hand again, and the mist flowed into the skeleton.
I stared at the skeleton. Sure enough, it began to move. The rebel soldiers had previously assembled these skeletons by piecing them together at the water's edge, letting the souls enter and revive them automatically.
"Where is this place?"
The skeleton spoke. Instantly, I roared in anger.
"What are you doing?"
With a crack, the entire skeleton dissolved into dust in a flash of green light, scattering in the wind.
"I wanted you to see the evidence—whether or not bone and soul can be separated."
I was deeply displeased by Scarlet Howe's methods. She pointed into the pit.
"The closer you are, the faster the resurrection."
I watched the pit in silence. It began—in the center, bones shifted, and soon a skeleton emerged, sitting upright. It was the one that had just died, staring in disbelief at its own hands.
"You..."
Again, Scarlet Howe waved her hand, sending a stream of green Ghost Aura into the pit. Instantly, the skeleton shattered, but in that moment of destruction, the bones began to move again—the skeleton revived once more.
"Who are you? Why—"
With a rush, Scarlet Howe used Ghost Aura to snare the skeleton and haul it up. Its mouth gaped wide in terror, its body shaking uncontrollably.
"Just stay quiet."
Scarlet Howe spoke, smiling at me.
"Try it yourself. See if you can drag the soul out of the skeleton I just infused. Aren't your instincts powerful, Zhang Qingyuan?"
I closed my eyes and released my Specter Web, threading it into the skeleton before me. Instantly, my eyes snapped open. The skeleton felt as seamless as flesh and blood—one entity. I could sense the ghostly soul inside, but as soon as my own Specter Web entwined with it, I realized they were fused as one.
"Do you understand now, Zhang Qingyuan?"
As Scarlet Howe spoke, she waved her hand. With a hiss, the skeleton before me whimpered and died again. Scarlet Howe yanked its soul straight out.
The skeleton revived once more in the pit. The moment it came back, it screamed and bolted, scrambling out and sprinting across the plain.
"A soul has a peculiar trait—it needs a medium. That's why, in the world of the living, ghosts that are strong don't fear the sun and can roam freely, but most are weak. Many ghosts cling to their urns or objects and can't stray far from them. The Specter of Azure is different, because it has a physical body. Normally, a ghost will always try to burrow into a suitable medium. Do you know why?"
I truly didn't know what Scarlet Howe was talking about.
"I'm all ears."
"The existence of a ghost is insubstantial, hollow. That emptiness comes from lacking a physical body. Some ghosts adapt, but those who can't—or those tortured in Hell for centuries or millennia until their minds dissolve—are eventually cleansed and sent into reincarnation, flowing through the River of Forgetfulness into the Six Paths. If, at that moment, a physical medium is placed before them, what do you think those ghosts will do?"
Scarlet Howe spoke, and I nodded.
"Since I've made myself clear, Zhang Qingyuan, I only hope you'll honor our agreement from that day. Without me, you'd never have known about the path through the Cursed Tomb Desert to the Jialan Lotus Seat."
Conflicted, I recalled that day vividly. If I couldn't reach the Jialan Lotus Seat, I'd never be able to rescue my cousin.
"Go ahead."
I looked at Scarlet Howe seriously.
"In all these years here, we've made no major moves, nor threatened Ji Yuna. But now, the situation is dire, so our master decided the only solution is to destroy and rebuild order here."
In an instant, I drew Belle and pointed it at Scarlet Howe.
"If you try anything against my friends, I won't work with you. That's my bottom line."
Scarlet Howe nodded and smiled.
"Ji Yuna must be exhausted, always forced to deal with this place. If she ignores it, things worsen. But if she intervenes, it only makes matters more chaotic."
Scarlet Howe flashed a seductive smile, leaned close, and whispered in my ear.
"All we need to do is destroy every faction here. Ji Yuna will be freed from this place's restraints and can return to the world of the living. We'll take over management here. Isn't that ideal?"
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
I asked, and Scarlet Howe shook her head.
"All I need is for you to take the Netherstone away from here, Zhang Qingyuan. The rest isn't your concern. When everything here is destroyed, Ji Yuna will finally be free."
Scarlet Howe's proposal didn't sound bad, but deep down I felt uneasy. She pointed toward the Styx River and continued.
"Countless monsters slumber in the Styx River, beyond anyone's control. We've tampered a bit, letting some escape to attack the rebel army or Ji Yuna's forces. It's still experimental—they can't roam far from the river yet. But if we can send them anywhere in the boundary, all you need to do is take the Netherstone, and order here will collapse instantly. Against overwhelming power, Ji Yuna will be liberated, no longer burdened by this place. Not a bad plan, right?"
Thinking of Ji Yuna's words—the phantom of war—these people have no purpose, only endless fighting.
"There's plenty of time, Zhang Qingyuan. You don't need to answer right away. Take your time."
Scarlet Howe rose into the air, smiling and waving at me before transforming into a streak of green light that vanished across the distant sky.
I stood quietly, gazing at the pit filled with bones, surrounded by a desolate landscape that seemed eternally unchanged.
Unease crept into my heart. These people were powerful and deeply hidden—only now, after centuries, had they come into view. Scarlet Howe had once said she arrived in Jialan City even before Brother Owen.
War...
It was the only explanation I could think of—the endless armies of the undead. According to the First Hall King Yama, there were hundreds of millions here. If they waged war against the Underworld, it would only be a matter of time, a war without end. Time meant nothing to these beings.
I drifted westward, moving quickly. I planned to report everything I'd discovered to Ji Yuna and Zhuang Bo, but my heart ached—Ji Yuna was deeply sorrowful. She had created all this, but now it was beyond her control.
Suddenly, I stopped, hesitating. No one could endure eternal war.
With a sigh, I floated off into the distance. Far ahead, I could see the Netherhell Citadel, still a long way off. I followed the riverbank, flying onward.
After a while, I found the marker pole and continued north. I had to reach the Crimson Plume Fortress—I had no idea what was happening there.
Just then, I stopped and landed. A crowd of rebel skeletons came rushing toward me in panic.
"What's going on?"
"It's monsters! General Frostbite has fallen."