The Shadow Realm kept moving, its speed entirely under my control, maintaining a steady pace. This way, we could avoid being detected by Emperor God and his followers, at least for a while.
After meeting with the Fifth Tribunal Yama, I understood even more clearly just how formidable those people were—utterly unbeatable. My mind was in turmoil. The fate of every member of Blackfang, the word 'burial,' kept echoing in my head.
Someone once said that to save something, you must be willing to sacrifice something. I clutched the purple crystal pendant at my chest. The situation no longer allowed for hesitation.
"Ethan, your mind is troubled. What's wrong?"
James Grant asked, but I didn't answer—just shook my head.
For several days, I hadn't spoken a word. Our group fell silent. Everyone could see I was carrying something heavy inside, but no one asked.
"Ethan, do you feel we're getting closer?"
At that moment, Ray Lin asked. I nodded.
"I can feel it now. This world may be infinite, but the places where people dwell are limited. We're almost past the edge of inhabited land."
The power of the Underworld Court was guiding me, leading me step by step toward the Spiral of Paradox. As long as we reached it and found the way out, we'd have an escape route. Then, I could finally carry out the mission entrusted to me by the Fifth Tribunal Yama.
A vague unease lingered in my heart. What was Xu Fu really after? That was the question tormenting me. Why was he so calm, so collected, even though he'd been sealed away? No matter how powerful someone is, they should be anxious in his situation.
Something about this was deeply wrong.
"Ethan, if there's something bothering you, it's better to tell us. Even if you can't say it all, at least let us know what the problem is."
Ghost Painting Book Immortal—an eccentric and wise supernatural figure—finally couldn't hold back and spoke up. I gave a bitter smile.
Outside was nothing but desert, barren and empty. We were far from anywhere people lived, but we still hadn't reached our destination—the Spiral of Paradox.
The killing aura in the Yin energy here was even more chaotic than in inhabited places. I finally felt a little at ease and started moving at full speed.
Suddenly, I stopped. Everyone stood up and looked at me.
"We've arrived."
I said it, but outside, things remained unchanged. Yet inside me, the power of the Underworld was stirring, as if telling me the Spiral of Paradox was here.
I began to extend the Specter Web out from the Shadow Realm to investigate. Faintly, I sensed something very unusual—Yang energy.
This thing shouldn't exist in this world. I stood up at once, opened the Shadow Realm, and we all drifted outside.
The desert stretched endlessly, sandstorms raging. I followed the Specter Web to a small mound of white sand and stared at it.
"It's Yang energy."
Deathcurse broke into a happy grin.
"Looks like that old ghost didn't lie to us. Sensing Yang energy in this world is extremely rare."
As Deathcurse spoke, he raised his hand, sending waves of black curse power toward the sand mound. Sizzling noises erupted, and suddenly his power was bounced back by an invisible barrier. Instantly, we all scattered, and with a bang, Deathcurse's curse power exploded.
The black energy was quickly swallowed up by the wind and sand. At that moment, Isabelle Frost came to my side.
"Why do you want to do this alone?"
I looked at Isabelle Frost in surprise. Her eyes were cold, fixed on me.
We began to experiment, but no matter what kind of power we used, the invisible barrier around the sand mound always bounced it back.
"Let me go take a look."
I floated to the edge of the sand dune, reached out my hand, and suddenly, a sizzling heat—my entire hand was instantly reduced to ashes.
This invisible barrier was defending the mound. I sat down on the sand and extended strands of the Specter Web toward it.
Immediately, all my Specter Webs were burned away. Nothing could get close—this was the result every time. Even at such close range, I couldn't sense anything but Yin energy and killing intent.
"Ethan, can you do it or not?"
Felix Zhou muttered behind me. I gave a faint smile.
"If Coexistence Instinct doesn't work, I have another instinct."
As soon as I said that, everyone looked at me in shock.
"Can you use it now? The other instinct."
Isabelle Frost asked. I nodded.