At this moment, I felt as if I were standing atop the surface of a vast ocean. Beneath my feet, the ley lines appeared deceptively calm, yet contained boundless power. Faced with this force of nature, I was utterly powerless, watching as the ochre hue at my feet slowly faded away.
The initial sensation of crashing into an immovable mountain, unable to budge it, had faded. Now, everything felt incredibly gentle. I focused my mind, letting myself become as tranquil and slow as the ley lines beneath me. My entire body relaxed completely—I closed my eyes and lay down on the ground.
I was already fully immersed in the immense power hidden within the ley lines beneath me. At this moment, my Specter Web began to gather, condensing bit by bit, thickening like a large pipe. But even now, it wasn’t enough—I kept releasing more Specter Web.
To embed the Specter Web fully into the ley lines, I had to let the power within the ley lines flow into my body. Only then could I disrupt the flow of the ley lines.
The sensation was growing clearer. Beneath my feet, there were nine ley lines, each coming from a different direction, all converging at the center of the village. Once they merged, the ley lines’ power surged up from the ground, overflowing into everything around us.
I was beginning to grasp the meaning of the Ninefold Abyss and Ten Blessings. The Ninefold Abyss likely referred to these nine ley lines, while the Ten Blessings were variables—perhaps tied to the Five Elements and the way the village was laid out.
"Are you trying to die? That’s enough."
Just then, my shadow suddenly turned into a mass of black mist, emerging from my chest. I opened my eyes to find a pool of black mist beneath me. In the earth below, my Specter Web had condensed into three thick strands, like pillars, merging into the center of the ley lines.
"Now’s the time. I’ll count to three—if you don’t show yourself, I won’t be so polite."
I kept shouting, but the only response was a cold, mocking laugh—completely dismissive of me.
"Three..."
I roared, skipping straight to three instead of counting up. Anger surged outward uncontrollably.
In that instant, I used my will to begin absorbing the power from the ley lines beneath me.
Letting out a cry, I threw my head back and screamed. The power was far greater than I’d imagined—my body felt like it was about to explode, my skin splitting open as streams of transformed Deathbane Aura burst forth.
"Hurry up!" my shadow shouted. I immediately raised my right hand.
In an instant, the Specter Web in the sky twisted like the tangled roots of ancient trees, or like lightning splitting the night.
Suddenly, at the tips of the Specter Web, countless black arrows formed from Deathbane Aura appeared, shooting up into the clear night sky.
In an instant, a barrage of arrows filled the sky—black rain blotting out the moon and stars, plunging everything into darkness. The Specter Web scattered across the heavens, spawning more black arrows with unstoppable speed, all aimed at the sky.
My goal now was to drain the ley lines’ power. If the ley lines couldn’t merge with the Five Elements above, the ley lines and the Five Elements here would be in serious trouble.
"It’s useless, Ethan Zhang. Even if you turn this earth energy into Deathbane Aura, it won’t matter—this is power accumulated over centuries. You think you can destroy it so easily?"
"It's not over yet!"
I shouted, relentlessly drawing earth energy from the ley lines and turning it into Deathbane Aura. Just as that guy said, I’d underestimated the difficulty—it was far beyond my imagination, and the process of transforming earth energy into Deathbane Aura was pure agony.
Even as I desperately drained the immense power from the ley lines beneath me, my body kept splitting apart. I looked down to see dust rising from my skin—my flesh turning to ash, drifting away.
Half-kneeling on the ground, my body couldn't withstand the impact of such immense power. It felt like a torrent flooding into me, only to burst out through every pore.
I couldn’t go on. No matter how much I consumed, the ley lines’ power didn’t diminish at all. Underground, the ley lines kept flowing slowly, and the power they generated kept the Five Elements here running actively.
"I need more." Mouth agape, eyes wide, I was completely submerged in Deathbane Aura. I started to merge the three thick strands of Specter Web I'd injected into the ley lines beneath me.
"Don't get careless, Ethan Zhang. Even your Second Ghost Soul, even your own soul, could be damaged."
A voice echoed inside my mind.
I’d had enough. Faced with overwhelming power, time and again I was helpless. That feeling of powerlessness kept returning, but now, something new surged up inside me—a determination I’d never felt before, a will to fight back, no matter how great the force.
I’d never felt this before. Suddenly, the image of John Chou came to mind—his fearless stance before Judge Bao and the other underworld judges, never flinching, always ready to defy anything. I remembered his eyes in Judge Bao’s hall, facing the descent into the endless hell, yet showing not a hint of fear.
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With a roar, I unleashed a torrent of Specter Web, thickening the strands that connected to the ley lines beneath me. Finer threads kept layering over the thicker ones, growing ever more robust.
The power of the ley lines surged through my body, lifting me slowly into the air. My arms and legs flailed uncontrollably, as if about to snap—my whole body floating on its back in midair.
Black Deathbane Aura raged around me like a storm. The immense power turned the sky pitch black as I kept releasing more energy.
I was nearly at my limit. My sense of self was fading, my mind on the verge of melting away—everything inside going blank.
Clenching my teeth, I struggled to hold onto consciousness. I’d never endured such torment before, yet the ley lines beneath me showed no sign of weakening.
"You should just go back, Ethan Zhang. You're a walking disaster—wherever you go, trouble follows. We really don't want you here, and I doubt you can last much longer."
"I... can still hold on."
I forced these words through clenched teeth. Suddenly, I felt my consciousness slipping into another world, everything before me swallowed by darkness.
"Great power is often born from emptiness. Because it is empty, it is formless; because of the Five Elements, it is immense. Ethan Zhang, if one isn’t enough, then let there be two."
When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of golden eyes standing before me. He reached out his hand.
"The time is finally right. It’ll hurt a bit—just bear with it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the golden-eyed version of me plunged his hand into my chest. I screamed in agony. I couldn’t even react—the pain was as if every kind of torment in existence had converged on me: stabbing, burning, aching, numbness, heaviness...
Every kind of pain gathered in my body all at once. Stunned, I watched as the golden-eyed me slowly pulled something from inside me, tearing it out bit by bit, like being flayed alive. A black, shapeless mass was peeled away from my body.
I stared in shock. Suddenly, I cried out—the thing was me, identical in every way. I looked at the golden-eyed me, who smiled.
"Now, you’re fully capable..."
As our consciousnesses merged, I snapped back to awareness. Gradually, I felt my strength returning—I could move my limbs again. I curled up, strong currents of Deathbane Aura surging through me.
"Second Ghost Soul—liberated."
Suddenly, the cracks in my body began to close up. Instantly, I felt much lighter. Countless Specter Webs shot out from my body in all directions, filling the sky above the village.
Beneath me, the thick Specter Webs grew even larger, nearly filling the ley lines’ central convergence point.
I laughed with joy, then burst into wild, raucous laughter. The ley lines’ flow was beginning to show signs of chaos.
At that moment, even though no one could see it, the entire village began to creak. The metal groaned as if twisted by some immense force, and the water in the pool started bubbling as if boiling.
"Shit, Ethan Zhang, you... stop it, now!"
His voice suddenly turned anxious, shouting desperately. But I felt completely at ease—the ley lines were truly being affected.