My body was hoisted into the air by chains, completely immobilized. That ghost was utterly subdued by the agents of the Ghost Syndicate, unable to move an inch.
"Heh, the Deathstone is gone, isn't it? Now you're just a nameless, powerless stray spirit. Still dreaming of turning the tables?"
The speaker was the Hooded Ritualist, perched atop his staff, his voice dripping with mockery.
Yet the restrained ghost began to laugh. His body, battered and broken, was being devoured bit by bit by three unleashed spirits.
"I've already recovered the Deathstone!"
Suddenly, the whole scene fell silent. The three hooded figures stared in disbelief at the ghost.
"Impossible. The Prison Gate, Blood Gate, Blade Gate—on the Threefold Path, you cannot rise again."
As one of them finished speaking, the ghost was reduced to just a head, half a face, being burned away little by little by the Infernal Shade—those ghostly green flames enveloping him.
"Is it here?" the ghost murmured, closing his eyes.
My consciousness grew blurry, my body turning translucent.
The 'thud thud thud' grew louder and clearer, echoing from within my body lying on the ground.
This strange sound caught everyone's attention; all eyes turned toward me.
All was deathly silent, except for that rhythmic pounding—like someone beating a drum. The 'thud thud thud' grew louder and faster, the oppressive atmosphere thickening.
"Good thing you chose a place of utmost darkness for this ritual."
As the ghost spoke, a boom sounded—dust flew everywhere, and the ground began to change, twisting and rising like the roots of an ancient tree, as if something was moving beneath the earth.
These twisted, gnarled protrusions slowly extended toward my body. I stared in horror as, with a crack, I fell back to the ground—the chains around me somehow snapping apart.
Accompanied by a sickening creak, the limbs Lily Wu had twisted off me began to turn and move on their own.
"How can there be such overwhelming earth energy here?"
One of the hooded figures muttered. Suddenly, I saw my own body crawl upright. I jumped in shock and rushed toward it, but I couldn't get back in.
My body lay prone on the ground, mouth agape, expelling a cloud of brown vapor. The three hooded men lunged at it fiercely.
Panic surged through me.
"Now the real show begins!" the ghost laughed abruptly.
A wild wind howled, clouds covered the moon, and suddenly, except for the eerie green glow from the Soul-Binding Altar, everything was plunged into darkness.
My body slowly rose to its feet.
I stared in shock at my own body—empty eye sockets like black holes, an expressionless face, and a gaping wound in my chest. Brown vapor was pouring furiously into me.
The three men in black had already reached me, raising their hands and tracing symbols in the air.
Just then, a hand landed on my shoulder.
"Brother, you should get far away first."
It was the ghost. He grabbed me and, in an instant, pulled me thirty or forty meters away.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Didn't I have you eat that thing earlier today?"
I remembered—it was that handful of black liquid.
After a long, low exhale, my body started to move again.
"General's Gate, Dragon Gate, Moon Crossing!" the three chanted in unison. Immediately, a series of unsettling sounds rang out again.
Bands of yellow-green light flared around my body as the three kept gesturing near me. My body seemed to be under immense pressure, slowly bending and collapsing toward the ground.
Just then, my body slowly curled its fingers into a fist.
With a thunderous crash, my body slammed its clenched fist into the ground. Instantly, the earth shook, sand and dust exploded outward from the three men in black, blasting them away.
"What did you make me eat? You lied to me!"
The ghost burst out laughing, delighted.
"Of course I lied. That thing was my Deathstone—otherwise, how would I survive the night?"
I glared fiercely at that ghost.
My clothes had already turned to dust, and my skin felt as if it was being crushed by some immense pressure, splitting open bit by bit. Brownish vapor kept seeping out from the cracks in my flesh.
"Fourth Brother, this guy's become an Earth Revenant. Cut off his earth energy first."
A voice shouted out through the swirling dust.
Suddenly, a man in black leaped out from the flying sand, dropping to one knee with his hands pressed together.
"Golden Earth Radiance, churn rivers and seas, earth turns to steel, Fivefold Shield, rise—Corpse-Binding Pillar!"
With a thunderous boom behind me, a pillar burst from the ground. At its top was a dead man's head, sprouting a pair of horns.
The moment the pillar rose, the shriveled corpse head opened its mouth. Bloody tendrils shot out like ropes, binding my body tightly to the pillar.
"Fourth Brother, hurry! If anyone from the Nether Syndicate or the Underworld Path shows up, we’ll be in real trouble."
"What do we do? You have to help me!"
I was getting desperate. All I cared about was what would happen to my body.
"Just watch. You'll see soon enough."
The ghost beside me looked absolutely thrilled.
The man in black pulled out long spikes and began driving them into the ground around the pillar. My body could feel the pain and started to struggle.
The other two men in black had vanished completely. Only the one still stood, waving his hands in the air.
"Such overwhelming earth energy—how could the three of you hope to handle it?"
The ghost had somehow drifted to hover directly above the pillar.
"Let me give you a hand!"
The ghost floated above me, reached out, and shoved a ball of pitch-black substance into my mouth.
Instantly, my body began to swell, brown light shining through the cracks in my skin. It looked as if I might explode at any moment.
I charged forward.
"What exactly are you doing to my body?"
Suddenly, my body howled, breaking free of its restraints. My round, swollen form, with thick arms, grabbed the head of the man in black and slammed it into the ground.
With a crash, the ground around us caved in, and the man in black lay motionless.
"Fourth Brother!"
A frantic shout rang out as one of the men in black appeared. He charged at me, yanked out a spike, and drove it straight toward my face.
With a metallic clang, the spike snapped in two.
"Alright, enough playing around. It's time to go, brother."
Just as I stood there stunned, the ghost pressed against me from behind and shoved me toward my body. In a rush, I slipped right back into myself.
As soon as I opened my eyes, his hand reached into my mouth, and I felt something being pulled out of me.
My body deflated like a punctured balloon, slowly returning to normal. The two men on the ground were barely alive.
I started running, frantically checking myself—no wounds, no abnormalities.
"Don't think you can escape!"
A voice rang out behind me. I turned to see a yellow chain whip around the ghost, dragging him back.
"Brother, go now!"
Without thinking, I ran. The Soul-Binding Altar ahead began sinking slowly into the ground.
Just when I thought it was finally over, Lily Wu suddenly blocked my path.
"What do you want?"
Before I could finish my sentence, her hand reached out toward me.
"Ethan Zhang, don’t think you can walk away unscathed."
I screamed as her hand plunged into my body, slowly dragging my soul out, bit by bit.
"No, no—please!"
She pulled my entire soul out—it was one of my Threefold Soul fragments.
"Do you know what this means? Once it’s gone, you’ll never get it back."
Lily Wu gripped my soul and dragged me to the Soul-Binding Altar. My strength failed, and I collapsed to the ground, raising my hand and staring at her as she tossed my soul onto the altar.
"No... please!"
Lily Wu grinned wickedly, her whole face twisted. I screamed and crawled toward her.
The Soul-Binding Altar began sinking into the earth. As I crawled after it, it disappeared completely. I pounded the ground, flinging dirt everywhere, overwhelmed by grief and rage.
"Why?" I asked, my voice trembling. Lily Wu crouched beside me, her hand gripping my jaw.
"Ethan Zhang, who did this to me? Who was it?"
I stared blankly at the ground. Lily Wu was still smiling, but suddenly, someone grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up—it was the ghost.
"No..." Lily Wu whimpered in fear.
"Get lost." The ghost said, releasing her and crouching beside me.
"Brother."
I stared at him, my mind blank.
"So, still want to fight?"
I turned my head. The man in black, holding a long staff, stood behind us, radiating fury.
"Humph, vengeance... you—"
With a guttural cry, the man in black didn’t finish his sentence. A flash of light streaked by, and his head was severed from his body.
"Guang rong qing dai, xun die xi ran, golden water springs forth, nourishing the flowers of heaven."
A high, clear voice rang out, and silver lotuses bloomed around the ghost.
"Evil spirits and crooked ways, how dare you defile this place—die!"
The silver lotuses touched the ghost, and his body dissolved like flowing water, vanishing in an instant as steam rose from the ground.
Dazed, I stared at the person who had appeared before me. The mist cleared, moonlight shone down, and he stood there, cold and handsome, dressed in a blue robe and leather gloves, holding a small bamboo tube.
He crouched in front of me and pressed his hand to my head.
"No saving you now. Better to let you break free—otherwise, tomorrow, what waits for you will be even worse."
"Wait."
A woman’s voice called out. A white ribbon wrapped around the man’s hand, holding him back.
I turned in a daze. A cascade of glossy black hair streamed in the wind, bright eyes and delicate features shining in the moonlight—her beauty was almost unearthly.