In the boundless darkness before me, that glowing, human-shaped figure slowly drifted closer, inch by inch, until it was right in front of me. Gradually, the glow grew brighter and brighter.
"Are you... Grace Hu?"
I stared in surprise at the woman within the glow. But it was just a cluster of light, unable to speak. Through the Specter Web, I sensed nothing at all—what stood before me was merely a faint impression, not even a basic spirit.
I gazed blankly at Grace Hu. Her eyes stayed fixed on me, with a look of unwavering seriousness.
"What are you trying to say?"
Grace Hu kept looking at me. Then she raised her hand and pointed all around. I glanced about, confused, as Grace Hu continued to gesture at the surrounding darkness, her left hand pointing and her right hand moving through the air.
"What does this mean?"
I was still puzzled, looking at her, then thinking hard, but nothing made sense. Then I noticed Grace Hu's hand kept moving, as if she were writing something. I watched her repeat the motion, and gradually, I understood.
"Cao Wanzhi?"
I said the name, and Grace Hu nodded. Then she pointed again at the pitch-black surroundings, her eyes urgent and pleading as she looked at me.
"Blackness, darkness? Cao Wanzhi, darkness?"
I asked, and Grace Hu nodded again. In that instant, I seemed to understand. He Tongjun from the Immortality Society once said: darkness exists in everyone's heart. The Immortality Society's methods—I had witnessed them—could completely unleash the darkness within others.
"How am I supposed to help Cao Wanzhi?" I asked immediately. Mr. Brown had told me that Cao Wanzhi lost his heart, so he can't remember anything about Grace Hu. But now, I was confused. Just then, Grace Hu raised her hand, and a faint photo floated toward me.
I took the photo and looked at it. It was the only one, out of hundreds Cao Wanzhi had taken, where Grace Hu was smiling.
In the picture, Grace Hu wore a pale green floral qipao, sitting happily in the photo studio's portrait room. I glanced at Grace Hu again, and she gave me the exact same smile as in the photo.
"Ah, I get it. I'll figure something out. I'll knock some sense into that bastard Cao Wanzhi."
Then, holding the photo, I watched as the glowing figure of Grace Hu slowly dissolved into tiny points of light, fading away before me.
At that moment, I began to rise slowly. The darkness seemed to reject me, but now I understood clearly why I could see these memories in the darkness—it was because of Grace Hu. She existed within this blackness.
Next, I had to face Cao Wanzhi, who wanted to kill me and take me back to the Immortality Society.
Gradually, I felt myself reaching the edge of the ground.
"Damn it, Ethan Zhang! Where the hell did you go? Get out here!"
A furious roar came from above my head—it was Cao Wanzhi. I checked my own body; my Deathbane Aura was nearly depleted. I had to give it everything I had, find a way to suppress Cao Wanzhi first.
With a sudden whoosh, I appeared on the ground. Deathbane Aura surged from my body as I spread my wings, raised my Deathbane Aura Blade, and charged straight at Cao Wanzhi above.
"Finally showed yourself, huh? Ethan Zhang, your shadow is already trapped inside a photo. Don't think about playing any tricks. Why are you coming at me head-on like this?"
Cao Wanzhi spoke, brandishing the Sword Camera, his ghost weapon. With a crisp click, the shutter snapped. But I just laughed, refusing to back down. At that moment, a voice inside me urged: keep moving forward, don't stop.
Cao Wanzhi stared in shock as my Deathbane Aura Blade pierced right in front of him. Instantly, he used the Sword Camera to deflect my blade. With a loud bang, after a brief clash, I gave him no chance—I was focused solely on defeating him.
The moment my Deathbane Aura Blade was knocked aside, I reacted instantly. Black Deathbane Aura erupted from my chest, forming a claw that suddenly grabbed Cao Wanzhi. Then I dissolved the blade in my right hand, and a broken Deathbane Blade appeared in my left. I slashed precisely at Cao Wanzhi's neck.
"Don't get cocky, Ethan Zhang!"
Cao Wanzhi suddenly roared, his whole body flaring with green light. Then, brandishing the Sword Camera, he lunged at me with incredible speed. I saw only a blur of sword shadows as my body was pierced with countless holes. But my Deathbane Blade struck true at his neck—in a flash, his entire head flew off.
I shouted, both hands gripping the broken Deathbane Blade, hacking at Cao Wanzhi again and again. I kept slashing until his body was shredded. Only then did I stop, panting and putting some distance between us.
"How is that possible?"
As Cao Wanzhi spoke, another crisp click rang out, but I was completely unharmed—nothing changed at all. Gradually, I realized that this photo was part of the Shadow Realm itself, so the powers within it couldn't affect me.
I pulled out the photo from my clothes, gripping it tightly and holding it up.
"Cao Wanzhi, look closely—do you know what this is?"
I shouted, and at that moment, Cao Wanzhi, surrounded by green light, reformed himself.
"Ethan Zhang, what did you do?" Cao Wanzhi roared, but I noticed his eyes were fixed on me, not on the photo in my hand.
"Can't you see it? This photo?"
I asked again, but Cao Wanzhi just looked confused.
"What are you trying to do with your hand? Ethan Zhang, don't think you can beat me just because my Shadow Realm doesn't work on you. Those last few moves must've drained you, right? You're nearly spent, aren't you?"
Cao Wanzhi gave a sly smile, clutching his chest with his right hand, raising the Sword Camera high, his face full of smugness as he looked at me.
"Yeah, it's true. I've burned through almost everything. Cao Wanzhi, do you remember what Mr. Brown told you? You've already lost your heart."
I asked again, and Cao Wanzhi nodded with a smile.
"That's right. But I like things just the way they are. Who cares about hearts? What does it matter? Heh, prepare to die, Ethan Zhang. You've really pissed me off now."
In an instant, Cao Wanzhi was right in front of me.
"So fast."
Just as I spoke, I tried to move using the Specter Web, but my chest was already pierced by the Sword Camera. With a sickening sound, I spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Spirit Snake, are you ready yet?"
I shouted, feeling the flow of power in my body finally start to smooth out. My last hope was that Spirit Snake could absorb the massive surge of energy from my Second Phoenix Rebirth and help me.
"Who are you talking to, Ethan Zhang?"
With a loud crack, Cao Wanzhi's Sword Camera struck my chest, and I plummeted to the ground, smashing into it with a heavy thud.
"Forget it, Ethan Zhang. I'm too lazy to waste my strength on you. Let my two apprentices keep you company for a while."
As Cao Wanzhi spoke, he raised the Sword Camera and shouted loudly.
"Terry, David—if you two can defeat Ethan Zhang, I'll let you leave my Shadow Realm."
Suddenly, the ground before me rumbled and rose up. With a drawn-out bellow, a brown ox with blood-red eyes appeared.
Next came a croaking sound, and a black-brown toad, its back covered in pus-filled lumps, leapt out. These were his two apprentices. I stared at them in surprise.
"Heh, you've never seen these two before, have you? They were my apprentices over two hundred years ago..."
"Terry Chen and David Dong, right?"
I stood up and looked at the two of them. I hadn't expected that Cao Wanzhi had never let them go. From their eyes, I saw deep sorrow and immense pain.
With a roar, I looked over—it was Claire Zhang. She was still a tiger, but now locked in a cage, pacing restlessly and watching us.
"How do you know their names, Ethan Zhang? Tell me."
When Cao Wanzhi heard me call out his apprentices' names, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted. I just smiled.
"Of course I know. I know about Grace Hu and Huang Mingfa, too."
"Who are those two?"
Cao Wanzhi asked, and I was surprised. As expected, he couldn't even remember his own loved ones or enemies. He had truly lost his heart—he was completely hollow.
"Is this really okay? No pursuit, no purpose—just boredom and collaborating with the Immortality Society. Is this kind of life really meaningful?"
I roared at Cao Wanzhi.
"Meaningful? Heh, that's just how life is."
There was always a cold indifference in Cao Wanzhi's eyes, as if he were looking at us from another world. His gaze was like staring at a series of photographs—each one meant nothing to him, simply records of images, nothing more.
By now, I was exhausted, barely able to stand. Terry Chen lowered his head, his sharp horns aimed at me, charging forward. David Dong, with his wide mouth and sticky tongue, suddenly lunged at me as well.