The Wraithlord stood silently, gazing at everything around him. The entire space now resembled a labyrinth, filled with countless red and white intersecting pathways. Some areas were impassable, and escape from here was impossible. But I could not destroy the Wraithlord's ghostly vessel—if I did, his Three Souls and Seven Spirits would simply merge into another new vessel outside. What I needed to do was consume him, to devour the Wraithlord's Three Souls and Seven Spirits, and take him directly back to Hell.
This was my last resort. The Wraithlord seemed unaware, thinking I still intended to use conventional methods to kill him. At this moment, he did not attack immediately.
The Wraithlord and I stood in an enormous, circular plaza, surrounded by countless red and black pathways. I had trapped the Wraithlord within the Hell Imprint. Previously, the Hell Imprint branded the Seven Spirits of the Wraithlord, and now it was working as intended. Although his Three Souls and the body crafted by Mother Goddess Nuwa had lost the effects of the Hell Imprint, the Seven Spirits still bore its mark. Thus, I succeeded in dragging the Wraithlord into the Hell Imprint using the power of Hell.
The same was true above and below—there were countless pathways, but no matter which one you took, you could never leave this Hell Imprint. The Wraithlord seemed well aware of this.
"There's no point in continuing, Ethan Zhang. You should know, even with the power of Hell, you are no match for me."
I nodded without speaking. The ghostly consciousness within me was already surging up from the depths of my heart. The essence of the ghost kept stabbing at my soul, and my bloodthirsty impulses and desires grew ever stronger. All I wanted was to devour the Wraithlord. My mind began to feel heavy—once I unleashed the ghost's power, my personality would change drastically. But unless I went this far, I could not truly become a ghost and consume the Wraithlord.
"How ironic. In the end, you abandoned your humanity and chose the power of the ghost. Ethan Zhang, everything you believed in has already shattered."
I smiled faintly, my body curling inward as ghostly energy exploded within me. This place was a perfect natural setting for me—abandoning everything human and transforming into a ghost was the only way to truly defeat the Wraithlord.
"It's time to begin."
Black fingernails grew out, my eyes turned crimson, and my consciousness began to blur. The roaring within me grew louder and louder, everything before my eyes was now a haze, but I could still clearly sense every trace of the Wraithlord's presence.
With a thunderous crash, I lashed out at the Wraithlord with my claws. He met my strike with his fist, and instantly, two powerful waves of ghostly energy collided.
"The evil ghosts of Ancient Hell were the first to be born after I became a ghost. They did not arise from the dead, but were pure ghosts from the very beginning."
The grinding sound echoed as our ghostly energies fiercely clashed. I could still feel my strength was inferior to the Wraithlord's. With a bang, I was sent flying backward, and a black, tattered cloak appeared on my body like shattered fragments.
"You've reached a certain level. If you keep going, you may be completely consumed by this ghostly consciousness. At that point, you will truly cease to exist."
With a whoosh, I turned into a mass of black mist and surged at the Wraithlord. Instantly, he yanked me out of the mist, gripping my neck tightly. I opened my mouth wide and bit into his arm, tearing off a chunk of flesh.
With a loud bang, a gaping hole appeared in my body and I was instantly torn apart. But, surrounded by abundant ghostly energy, I quickly reformed myself.
The Wraithlord looked at his arm in confusion. Though there was no blood, a piece of flesh was indeed missing. He seemed to realize something, and suddenly I felt a powerful pressure beside me.
Instinctively, I used ghostly energy to defend myself and lunged at the Wraithlord again. But this time, he didn't meet me head-on; instead, he suddenly swapped places with his own instinct.
Facing the Wraithlord's instinct, I reached out to clamp down, but the moment I touched its hands, mine began to dissolve. I crashed into his instinct, and with a bang, I turned into a cloud of black mist, instantly dispersing in the air.
With another bang, as I attacked the Wraithlord again, he landed a punch on my cheek, shattering two fangs. I was sent flying, and his instinct appeared behind me, locking me in place as I struggled violently.
"Don't think you can escape from the embrace of The World, Ethan Zhang. I'll simply wait for time to run out."
The raging ghostly energy had just surged from my body when it was instantly shattered by the World of Instinct enveloping me from behind, making it impossible to gather my power.
I roared at the Wraithlord in fury, my consciousness nearly halting from rage. My only desire was to devour him.
The Wraithlord was not far away, raising his arm and studying it closely. He seemed to understand everything, and with a cold smile, shook his head at me.
"So that's it. The Infernal Will gave you this advice, didn't it? Indeed, this method could likely destroy me, but once I see through it, it's meaningless."
I struggled violently, my strength rapidly fading. My body was completely restrained by The World and couldn't move at all.
"It's useless, Ethan Zhang. Once I realized this, I would never give you another chance."
The Wraithlord still seemed to be trying to restore the flesh on his arm. I was still struggling, but suddenly I could sense exactly what the World of Instinct behind me was—it was a trace of the Wraithlord's essence, the piece of his body I had just consumed.
It had begun to be digested within my ghost spirit. I could feel it producing a strange power, the very force the Wraithlord used to counter Infernal Hell. Though weak, it was enough to break free.
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But now I had to calm myself. My rage was almost impossible to suppress, the essence of the ghost kept stabbing at my soul, and I opened my mouth in agony. The Wraithlord sat down cross-legged, seemingly unaware. I absolutely could not act recklessly—I had to consume him piece by piece. If I did so, he would be unable to use the power of The World to restrain me. His ghostly vessel was no longer what it once was.
Even though the Wraithlord's power was still greater than mine, his ghostly vessel could no longer withstand a stronger force. Now, he was likely plotting how to escape from here. Death might be the best option, but it comes at a price.
I began to calm down, and my mind filled with more and more thoughts.
"What are you scheming now, Ethan Zhang? Have you managed to control it so quickly—the ghost's primal desire?"
I didn't answer the Wraithlord, only gasped for breath, green vapor pouring from my mouth. The Wraithlord laughed.
"What a pity..."
Suddenly, a stream of black energy burst from my spine, instantly destroying one arm of The World. The moment I broke free from The World's control, I was already beside the Wraithlord, transformed into black mist. He still managed to find me, and as he swung his fist, I clamped down on it with both hands, roaring in fury.
With a thunderous crash, I was struck by an attack powerful enough to destroy my form, but my mouth still opened wide, biting down on two of the Wraithlord's fingers. With a crunch, my body shattered, but I instantly reappeared, lunging at him again.
With a bang, I slammed into an invisible wall. I chewed up and swallowed the two fingers I'd bitten off the Wraithlord's left hand. I knew clearly that his World of Instinct could no longer control me. The Wraithlord glared at me, furious about his missing fingers. He couldn't kill me, and I couldn't inflict real harm on him, but I could bite off and consume parts of his body. Once digested, those parts ceased to exist.
The grinding sound echoed as I raised both hands and slowly tore at the invisible wall before me. Gradually, I ripped open a gap, but the Wraithlord's fist followed, shattering me once again.
Harnessing the surging ghostly energy, I reformed in an instant and lunged again. But this time, I began to split apart—just for a moment, three copies of myself emerged, only to crumble into dust. The Wraithlord started to distance himself from me. I charged at him desperately, my form collapsing again and again. I knew my time was running out.
Now the Wraithlord had fully regained his serious demeanor, constantly fending off my repeated assaults, never allowing me to get close. He knew exactly what I was trying to do and refused to give me any chance.
The Wraithlord kept his distance, using his instinct to block me again and again, shattering my form each time. I had no other means—it's always been this way, relying on sheer force to break through everything. Now, it's the same.
"I will deal with you."
I roared, crashing into the Wraithlord's instinct once more. By now, the two fingers from his left hand had been completely digested by me. The Wraithlord seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation—his expression was no longer as relaxed as before.
"Go ahead and try, Ethan Zhang. I won't give you any openings."
As the Wraithlord spoke, he moved closer to the entrance of the red-and-black labyrinth, still plotting something.
"Too bad, Ethan Zhang. I'll let The World play with you for a while."
With that, the Wraithlord stepped into the entrance of the labyrinth and vanished in the blink of an eye.