"Fenix Greenwood Keane?"
The infant Fenix Greenwood Keane crouched low behind a great mountain, sneaking peeks at the others, waiting for the Grand Buddha to descend. He fumed inwardly: "That three-headed freak dares talk behind my back? I’ll tear off all his limbs one by one when I get the chance."
He looked just like a cat about to pounce, nervously rubbing his hands and feet together, ready to ambush the Grand Buddha the moment he came down.
But Great Brahma King Buddha didn’t descend. He said, “Thank you for the warning, Your Majesty Crimson Emperor. This old monk apologizes, but I won’t be going down. May I ask, Brother Heaven Duke, Your Majesty Crimson Emperor, what brings you both here?”
Heaven Duke’s ray-avatar sighed, “It’s a long story. Best not to bring it up again.”
The old Buddha glanced at them, understanding without asking further. Instead, he said, “What’s with the subtle shift in the cosmic Dao? It feels like something happened right here.”
Crimson Emperor replied, “It’s something that Keane’s boy stirred up. He’s resurrecting Lady Umbral.”
“Is all this commotion caused by Quinn Shepherd, or by his brother?” the old Buddha asked.
“The naughty little brother did it!”
Hiding behind the mountain, Fenix Greenwood Keane couldn’t help but call back, “Are you coming down or not?”
"Not coming down."
The old Buddha replied confidently, "If I come down, I'll be trapped here too. Fenix Greenwood Keane, you can't do anything to me. Did you forget that last time you tried to eat me, I suppressed you?"
Heaven Duke’s ray-avatar said, "He won’t eat us anymore, but he’ll tear off our arms and legs for fun. You’ll suffer if you come down."
The old Buddha laughed, "Innocent cruelty is the greatest evil."
Heaven Duke’s ray-avatar sighed, "But it’s not as terrifying as true evil. Crimson Emperor and I once helped his brother Quinn Shepherd steal all his cultivation. As a result, his brother became evil, which was the real horror, truly lawless! If I hadn’t been clever and thought of a countermeasure ahead of time, now I fear…"
The old Buddha shuddered. "You two really dare to play, really know how to play. If Quinn Shepherd turns evil, what then? It seems his brother has caused earth-shaking trouble more than once. In the past few centuries, the changes in the cosmic Dao have grown more frequent, with Everpeace’s reforms leading from reform to transformation. The Dao’s self-change in these centuries exceeds that of the previous twenty thousand years. No wonder the Heavenly Court is nervous about Everpeace, afraid it might become another Heavenly Court."
Heaven Duke said, "The cosmic Dao’s changes weren’t so great a few years ago, but since Keane’s boy emerged, the frequency has increased. For us ancient gods, every change weakens us. Once we emerge, we can’t flow with the Dao; the Dao changes but we don’t, so every reform and transformation is a weakening for us."
The old Buddha asked, "Lady Umbral’s soul shattered into the tiniest black sand. How can he resurrect her?"
Heaven Duke said, "His divine arts span too many systems: the Youdu system, Nether City’s spells, Profound Capital’s divine arts, creation arts, god-dao, demon-dao, Buddhist dharma, Dao Gate—all mixed together. Hard to explain. He has many wild ideas, but whether he can truly resurrect Lady Umbral is still unknown."
The old Buddha wanted to see Quinn Shepherd casting his spell, but if he left, Fenix Greenwood Keane might break the seal. So he could only endure and stay.
Outside, husk-ghosts kept pouring out of Lady Umbral’s body, turning into plumes of black smoke as they left. Most had already been expelled; only a few remained.
Lady Umbral quieted down, no longer attacking Quinn Shepherd or the Pioneer Divine.
The Pioneer Divine still held the Book of Life and Death to Lady Umbral’s face, tense and refusing to relax. As Quinn Shepherd summoned fragments of her soul, her withered features slowly regained clarity and fullness.
Finally, Quinn Shepherd summoned all the soul particles of Lady Umbral, and the husk-ghosts were fully expelled. The goddess stood motionless, holding a pagoda in her hand, with the Pioneer Divine on its top and Quinn Shepherd at its tip, the inverted Gate of Bearing Heaven behind them.
Quinn Shepherd continued to chant, each word like a pearl, his voice thunderous. Light poured from the Gate of Bearing Heaven, illuminating Lady Umbral’s face.
He stole Heaven Duke’s power, using its creative might to reshape Lady Umbral’s heaven-soul.
Inside Lady Umbral, countless grains of black sand kept reorganizing, gradually forming her heaven-soul.
Quinn Shepherd’s face turned pale; suddenly, blood welled up in his throat.
Although he was using Heaven Duke’s power to cast the spell, his own mana was still being greatly consumed. Not only his mana, but his spirit and body were also being drained intensely, almost beyond endurance.
Suddenly, his body shuddered, revealing three heads and six arms; his Primordial Spirit also transformed at the same time.
Quinn Shepherd steadied his breath. After a long while, he finally succeeded in reshaping Lady Umbral’s heaven-soul.
Suddenly, the Gate of Bearing Heaven behind him rang with a metallic clang, and the world shifted again. It reverted to its normal form, and black energy surged out—Netherworld demonic qi—rushing into Lady Umbral’s body, targeting her tailbone to reshape her earth-soul.
This time, Quinn Shepherd was stealing Tu Bo’s power, using it to reshape Lady Umbral’s earth-soul.
“Waaah—”
All three of Quinn Shepherd’s heads spewed blood at once. He forcibly suppressed his crumbling spirit and kept casting his divine art, turning the Gate of Bearing Heaven sideways and stealing both Heaven Duke’s and Tu Bo’s power. Darkness and white light surged out together, piercing Lady Umbral’s navel.
That’s where the life-soul resides.
Of the three souls, the heaven-soul and earth-soul could be restored by stealing Heaven Duke’s and Tu Bo’s power, but the life-soul belonged to living beings. Quinn Shepherd hadn’t studied this much.
In this area, he was far less accomplished than Granny Sue.
Still, with the Gate of Bearing Heaven—heaven above, earth below, and the mortal world at the center—he reasoned that the mortal world was the dwelling place of living beings. So he planned to try using both Heaven Duke’s and Tu Bo’s power together to see if he could help Lady Umbral recast her life-soul.
Quinn Shepherd was reaching his limit—body, Primordial Spirit, mana, and spirit all stretched to the utmost. Still, he was gratified to see that where Heaven Duke’s and Tu Bo’s powers converged, Lady Umbral’s life-soul was slowly gathering.
He kept going, fighting through the haze in his mind. After all, he wasn’t a god; performing this miracle to defy fate for a heaven-born goddess was risking his own life!
Time ticked by, little by little.
At last, Lady Umbral’s life-soul was fully re-forged. Quinn Shepherd summoned his last reserves of strength, about to rebuild her seven mortal souls, when suddenly his vision went black. He lost control of his body and tumbled from the top of the tower.
"Grand Archmage, you have recast my three souls. I am eternally grateful."
A melodious voice reached Quinn Shepherd’s ears, but he was so drained he could neither see nor feel anything.
Lady Umbral extended her palm, catching him and cradling him gently. "Thank you for saving my life, Grand Archmage. I was born of heaven and earth, and have no seven mortal souls."
The Pioneer Divine stood atop the pagoda, still shining the Book of Life and Death at her. Lady Umbral smiled, "No need for that now, my friend. Thank you."
The Pioneer Divine quickly put away the Book, pulled out pen and paper, and scribbled a message. Lady Umbral leaned in to read, then smiled, "I have no true body, only a skin, so I’m not truly resurrected."
The Pioneer Divine switched to a new sheet and wrote another message. Lady Umbral replied, "He’s fine—just drained of energy and spirit. I’ll use Umbral water and qi to keep him alive; don’t worry."
The Pioneer Divine scribbled yet another note and held it high.
Lady Umbral said, "How do you solve the problem of having no true body? I have no solution. I was born of heaven and earth, so perhaps I can use Umbral soil and water to rebuild my own flesh. But you’ve lost your blood and flesh—there’s nothing I can do. I can help you shape a shell, but I can’t restore your divine organs."
The Pioneer Divine’s expression grew bleak.
Lady Umbral cradled the pagoda and strode toward the shore. In a few steps she reached the sea, gently laying Quinn Shepherd down to float on the water.
She raised her hand, gathering wind and clouds, refining a thread of Umbral qi. She released it, and the strand shot into Quinn Shepherd’s brow, spreading rapidly throughout his body.
Lady Umbral scooped up seawater, letting it fall from her palm until only a crystal-clear drop remained.
She carefully placed the droplet at Quinn Shepherd’s lips; it seeped into his mouth and quickly dissolved, making his whole body glow as if wrapped in auspicious clouds.
Lady Umbral smiled, "Grand Archmage, wake up."
Quinn Shepherd felt utterly refreshed as he woke, opening his eyes to see himself lying on the sea’s surface, Lady Umbral’s face nearly covering half the sky.
He hurried to his feet, amazed to find his fatigue completely vanished, vitality restored, spirit renewed, and his body brimming with strength. Overjoyed, he bowed to Lady Umbral, saying solemnly, "I am but a humble Keane scion, Quinn Shepherd. Greetings, Lady Umbral."
"Grand Archmage, you’re too kind."
Lady Umbral bent down, letting him jump into her palm. She smiled, "Grand Archmage, you’ve reunited my three souls and given me new life. I am deeply grateful. Prince Umbral turned this place upside down, but once I restore my body, I’ll set things right."
Seawater surged into her body, earth flowed to rebuild her bones, and Lady Umbral’s flesh grew ever more real, her power rising wildly. "Grand Archmage, what do you desire?"
Quinn Shepherd blushed. "Please don’t call me Grand Archmage, Lady. I’m not even a god, just doing my best. I don’t deserve that title. My research into the three souls isn’t as deep as Granny Sue’s…"
"You do deserve it."
Lady Umbral smiled, "Greatness is second only to heaven itself, just one stroke less than heaven. Your divine arts and Dao are beyond even Heaven Duke’s. How could you not deserve the title?"
Quinn Shepherd was deeply embarrassed. After a moment, he said, "I come from Everpeace in the outside world. May I ask if Everpeace can form an alliance with you, Lady?"
Lady Umbral smiled, "Of course."
Quinn Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief. "Nether City has a base here, controlling the black sand and disturbing the mortal world. Can you control the flow of black sand, Lady?"
Lady Umbral shook her head. "I’ve just been revived and can’t control all of Yin Heaven yet. Right now, I have no power over the soul-black sand here."
Her gaze grew cold. "Ghosts are ground into the tiniest particles, becoming black sand, but black sand is still ghost—its essence hasn’t changed. Do you know what that means?"
Quinn Shepherd’s eye twitched. Countless ghosts had been crushed and mingled together, forming an unimaginably vast soul-body!
The whole Umbral World was shrouded in darkness—in other words, the Umbral World itself was a colossal husk-ghost!
"We’re all inside its belly."
Lady Umbral said, "This is Prince Umbral’s doing. Now that I’ve returned, he’ll soon learn of it. This gigantic husk-ghost will awaken and attack me, trying to kill me again. But this time, he won’t succeed. I’ll fight him once more and show him that the Yin of Heaven is not his to trample!"