In front of me stood a brand-new remote loudspeaker. Spirit Snake simply watched in silence. The person inside—the voice—sounded familiar. I concentrated, trying to recall.
It was Wei Chengwu’s voice. I couldn’t be mistaken. My hearing has improved tremendously, thanks to Spirit Snake.
Spirit Snake watched the loudspeaker without a word, then smiled.
“Long time no see, Ethan Zhang. Let’s see how much you’ve grown.”
They couldn’t recognize me now, not with Spirit Snake’s involvement and my refined control over power. My six ghost souls, once released, each became an Ethan Zhang in their own right.
Luckily, I hadn’t sent the Yin Ghost or the Desire Ghost over. Both were feminine versions of myself—one looked like a girl of eleven or twelve.
Spirit Snake picked up the loudspeaker and crushed it in one hand, then walked out. I sensed Spirit Snake searching for something. With a series of bangs, small black Deathbane Aura Snakes leapt around, destroying hidden cameras all around us—tiny pinhole cameras, and there were many.
Whether inside the mine or outside, cameras were everywhere. Spirit Snake kept smashing them until we reached a large boulder. Raising a fist, Spirit Snake struck the stone, splitting it open. Inside was a much larger camera, built from unusually sturdy material.
Spirit Snake picked up the big camera, smiled at it, and spoke in a shrill voice.
“Too bad, you won’t see anything now. This was the last one, wasn’t it?”
With a bang, Spirit Snake smashed the lens and tossed the camera away.
I couldn’t help but be amazed. With so many cameras, how did Spirit Snake find them all? If it were me, I doubt I could’ve uncovered every single one.
Then I noticed Spirit Snake’s eyes had turned golden-red—red at the center, gold around the edges. He truly resembled a snake now, his body gradually elongating until he transformed into a serpent.
Spirit Snake slithered around, flicking his tongue, searching for something. After a while, he reverted to human form and smiled.
“Three different formations: confusion, attack, and defense. Looks tough to break through.”
I swallowed hard. I really didn’t know much about formations. Just then, Grandpa Cat shimmered with pale blue light, entered my instinct space, and watched the scene.
“Oh, a clever switching attack formation—illusion within reality, reality within illusion, both offense and defense.”
I looked on in confusion.
“Ethan, in the world of techniques, there are generally three major types of formations. Their variations number in the tens of thousands—you can’t memorize them all at once.”
I swallowed again. At that moment, the scene froze, and Spirit Snake appeared beside me.
“Don’t think that just because you’ve developed something of your own, you can act recklessly. I can sense it, Ethan Zhang—the wild joy inside you after defeating Gregory Wu. This is only the beginning. Building power, you’ve only just stepped through the door.”
Spirit Snake seemed like a different person. Usually lazy and casual, now he was strict, like a stern teacher.
“Watch closely, Ethan. These three formations can be transformed—and they’re manipulated by people.”
I responded with a sound. The scene resumed. Spirit Snake whooshed toward the mine entrance. Instantly, a mass of intertwined snakes surged from his chest, pouring toward the entrance.
With a bang, the Deathbane Aura Snakes crashed and turned to sludge. Spirit Snake’s attack was blocked by an invisible wall. Suddenly, golden light flared—the rays stabbed out like thousands of tiny needles, all aiming at Spirit Snake.
Spirit Snake began dodging frantically in place, not taking a single step. I saw beams of light pass through his body, while small explosions erupted around his forehead—bangs and booms, sand and stones flying everywhere.
But after the wave of stabbing light passed, the cave entrance vanished. Now, it appeared behind Spirit Snake. I stared in shock.
“Do you understand now, Ethan?”
I let out a sound of surprise. The scene froze again.
“As I just said, formations manipulated by people—these three types can be freely combined and changed. It’s impressive. In other words, when you try to break through, the operator instantly switches to a defensive formation. If you fail to succeed in one go, it shifts to attack. Then, they’ll use confusion. Even if you block the attack, everything around you might change.”
I nodded, watching intently. I finally understood the power of these formations—just a glimpse, but enough. Spirit Snake tried to break through, but his strength wasn’t enough and he was repelled. Then the attack formation activated. Spirit Snake dodged, but everything around us changed.
“Confusion-type formations have a unique trait, Ethan. You must remember this—they were developed specifically to counter the Ghost Thread of the Phantom Ghost. In these formations, your Ghost Thread becomes passive, and may even harm you. An inexperienced Phantom Ghost could easily die in these illusions.”
“So you can only rely on your eyes and senses?”
I asked. Grandpa Cat nodded.
The scene started moving again. Spirit Snake floated up, waved his hand, and four small snakes flew out in four directions. Suddenly, those little snakes destroyed the descending golden stabs from the sky.
“Oh, looks like the opponent doesn’t want Spirit Snake to get his bearings.”
I had no idea what Grandpa Cat was talking about. Spirit Snake began splitting apart—more and more snakes poured from his body, until he turned into dozens of small snakes, each as thick as a finger.
In an instant, the surroundings shifted again—a descending path appeared, and the cave entrance returned to its former place.
With a thunderous roar, flames erupted. Grandpa Cat tensed up, watching as swathes of small snakes disappeared into the fire. Spirit Snake stood in the center, panting heavily.
“Ethan, did you know? Formations have ten directions. Usually, if someone can manage five, they’re already considered formidable. This guy’s just average—he managed five: east, west, south, north, and the death position.”
Hearing all this, I was completely lost—staring at Grandpa Cat in confusion.
“Just giving you a basic idea, Ethan. After all, the Immortality Society has plenty of Taoist practitioners. Someday you might encounter people from Brahma Sound, the Broken Precepts Sect, or the Maoshan Sect—or even our own Nether Syndicate.”
I made a sound, looking at Grandpa Cat, deeply grateful.
“Isn’t this a bit much? You’re the founder of the Nether Syndicate, yet you’re teaching a ghost like me?”
“If you were truly evil-hearted, I’d never teach you these things, Xiao Yuan. Even when you meet people, you don’t kill them—you solve things your own way. Haven’t you always done that?”
“Thank you, Grandpa Cat.”
Grandpa Cat continued, giving me a basic concept of formations. He explained that in the world of techniques, the strongest ways to deal with ghosts are formations and spiritual tools. He didn’t elaborate further, but said formations have ten directions: heaven, earth, east, west, south, north, life gate, death position, past, and future.
I listened, still bewildered. Grandpa Cat smiled kindly.
“Of these ten directions, the west is special. In the world of techniques, it’s the one ghosts fear most. Ordinary formations cover east, west, south, and north. Adding other directions is extremely difficult. Some formations use just two, like life gate and death position, but those are easily broken. You’ve heard the saying, right? People head east, Ghost Thread heads west.”
I stared at Grandpa Cat and nodded, a pang of sorrow in my heart. I first heard that phrase from Lan Ruoxi, when I met Li Susu at the hospital. I called Lan Ruoxi for help so Li Susu wouldn’t be killed by a vengeful ghost.
“Even those who can use all ten directions—whether targeting people or ghosts—east benefits people, west benefits ghosts. If you can find these two directions, you can escape or break the formation. It all depends on the person.”
“So Spirit Snake is searching for the west direction?”
Grandpa Cat nodded. I looked over—Ghost Road heads west. That’s the foundation of constructing techniques. I carefully recalled Grandpa Cat’s words.
“A bit off topic, Ethan, but Uncle Yin is actually a great teacher. I owe him a lot—he taught me many things. I became a master in the world of techniques in such a short time thanks to Uncle Yin.”
I made a sound, looking at Grandpa Cat, half believing, half doubting.
“I’m not nearly as good, Ethan. None of my disciples turned out to be anything special.”
“You’re lying.”
I didn’t believe Grandpa Cat at all. The Nether Syndicate has only existed for a few centuries, yet it’s become the strongest in the world of techniques. That’s no accident—it’s all thanks to Grandpa Cat.