Black winds howled around me, swirling with fury. The Yin Ghost instantly transformed into massive blades of black wind, slicing outward in every direction.
"I'm counting on you all. I need this move to finish off the Ghostworms."
I shouted, struggling to stand, then pressed both hands to the ground. My ghost soul was already badly damaged, my body felt hollow and empty, and the production of ghost energy had slowed to a crawl.
All around me, countless Specter Webs kept retracting, like capillaries. The black Specter Webs began to gather in my hands, rumbling and twisting together, growing thicker and thicker as they stabbed into the ground.
In that instant, I felt it—a vast power surging beneath the Shadow Realm. This power belonged to ghosts. Over countless years, Brother Owen had used Buddhist rituals to slowly purify the ghosts here. The process was slow, but with time, the negative energy from these ghosts accumulated beneath his Shadow Realm, forming a massive foundation.
Previously, the gate connecting to the Graveyard Desert likely didn’t exist. I’ve seen the sandstorms there—their power is immense. There’s no way the gate at the center of the Graveyard Desert could have remained untouched by the storms.
When I first entered the Jialan Lotus Seat, I saw those tiny black beads on the gate. Thinking back now, they were formed when wind-blown black sludge from the ground splattered and gradually took shape—so their forms were extremely irregular.
In other words, Brother Owen couldn’t have dumped all the negative energy stripped from the ghosts into the Graveyard Desert. Instead, it accumulated beneath his own Shadow Realm, a festering mass of malevolent force.
Above is yang, below is yin. My mind was crystal clear—I’d felt it ever since these worms appeared. The things below, belonging to ghosts, could serve as food for his worms, letting them grow day by day. Now, I could absorb ghost power directly from this oppressive foundation.
"Instinct—coexistence..."
I roared, driving my Specter Web deep into the lower reaches of Brother Owen’s Shadow Realm. Just then, a Vermilion Bird’s cry echoed from the sky—it was Zhu Tang, who had transformed into a massive Vermilion Bird wreathed in black flames.
In an instant, bursts of black fire shot outward, spreading in all directions. Explosions sounded one after another as distant worms were burned to ash in the sea of flames. But there were too many—their numbers uncountable—as they kept crawling from cracks in the ground.
A current of black water surged into the distance—these were Grudge Ghosts, and atop them stood Tong Ghost. Any worm that touched this black flow instantly dissolved.
In the sky, worms swooped down to attack Tong Ghost. Suddenly, Tong Ghost’s mouth gaped wide, swallowing a worm whole. His body changed—wings sprouted, his form twisted, and he transformed into the very same venomous moth that had attacked him, fanged and monstrous.
With a tearing sound, two flying worms tore into the airborne Tong Ghost, ripping him to shreds.
Desire Ghost and Spirit Snake were nowhere to be seen, but I could sense them. It was Desire Ghost—her power over desire could envelop anything intangible, cloaking both people and ghosts so completely that no one could detect them.
The priority now was to find Brother Owen’s true body—where was he hiding?
These worms were likely the work of Brother Owen’s eight disciples. With his current strength, he couldn’t have done it alone. If I could defeat his eight disciples—even without finding Brother Owen—everything would be resolved, and he’d have to show himself.
My biggest worry was that my cousin’s hiding place would be discovered. I had to act fast. Power surged through my Specter Web and into my body. I gritted my teeth, enduring the corrosion of this negative energy.
Instinct was still at work, dulling the pain to a bearable degree.
"It's still not enough."
I roared, my ghost soul swelling ever larger as I frantically absorbed the power. I had to break through my limits to unleash my strongest move.
The worms in the sky kept swarming toward Zhu Tang, who cried out, scattering black feathers that ignited any worm they struck.
But the sheer number of worms blotted out the sky—time was running out. Suddenly, before the massive black centipede towering to the heavens, a swelling black mass appeared. With a roar, Spirit Snake transformed into a giant black python, as large as the centipede itself.
Spirit Snake lunged, jaws wide, biting into the black centipede’s body. Instantly, a tremendous howl echoed out.
A fierce wind blew toward me. Yin Ghost was all around, hacking down any worm that came close. Piles of worm corpses were quickly devoured by their own kind as soon as they hit the ground.
"Let’s see how long you last, Ethan Zhang. Heh—I’ve already found Howard Zhang’s location."
Just then, Brother Owen’s chilling laughter drifted on the wind.
My heart clenched. Suddenly, the ground beside me bulged upward. With a crash, a huge black worm burst out, its jagged fangs bared, lunging for me.
With a wet squelch, the black worm before me was instantly pulped—flesh and juices splattered everywhere. In the gust of black wind, Yin Ghost poked her head out, grinning with sick delight.
"If you want to hurt Ethan Zhang, I won’t allow it."
With a wet squelch, any worm that got close suffered the same fate. In the distance, Spirit Snake had coiled around a black centipede, squeezing tighter and tighter as the centipede whimpered and screamed.
Gradually, I sat down cross-legged. I had to finish off Brother Owen in an instant. Things atop the Jialan Lotus Seat were dire—the vast sandstorm was shrinking fast. Allen Zhang was nearly at his limit. I had to hurry.
The power within me had reached the absolute limit my ghost soul could bear. Instinct kicked in as I slowly closed my eyes.
I entered my Instinctive Space. Darkness surrounded me as I lifted my head.
"So you’ve decided, Ethan Zhang? Once you use this, there’s no turning back."
"Yeah, I’ve decided. Just like we agreed before—give me the power. Coexistence."
I raised a hand. At that moment, a crack opened in the darkness above. I floated inside, and the long black shapes around me began to shift, forming a passage.
I walked slowly forward, as waves of furious roars echoed around me.
"You still can’t suppress this overwhelming power."
"I can't worry about that anymore."
As I spoke, I gradually arrived at a place where black chains tightly bound a figure identical to me, yet somehow different. This was my instinct—my Evil Ghost.
The essence of evil and darkness was born within me the moment I became a ghost. This power could drive me to madness, fully transforming me into an Evil Ghost—the darkest part of my soul. I slowly approached.
With a roar, the chained version of myself bellowed at me. Two sharp horns protruded from his head, his eyes fierce, mouth sporting two white fangs, and his skin resembled old tree bark.
Once again, the Evil Ghost before me roared. I sent a gust to push him back, and immediately a long black shape wrapped around me and pulled me away.
This thing represented all my negative emotions—sadness and anger intertwined. It was born the moment Lan Ruoxi left me, filled with a desire to destroy everything. I had no control over it.
Even after two and a half years of training in the Forest of Desire, I still couldn't control this overwhelming power. These chains were forged from my willpower, synchronized with my instinct—chains of suppression.
I walked slowly forward, looking at the Evil Ghost version of myself, Ethan Zhang, and smiled. I slowly reached out and placed my hand on its forehead.
With a roar, anger and sadness—two extreme emotions—rushed into me. My mind was awash in blood-red, filled with surging murderous intent, pouring out from my body.
My mind was consumed by murderous intent, almost uncontrollable. The urge to destroy everything stirred deep within my soul.
My mind kept replaying the moment Lan Ruoxi said goodbye to me. I clenched my fists, bit my lips, and drops of black blood kept falling.
The stronger the power, the greater the restraint needed. You can't control it now. I am your instinct, and I am willing to fight for you...
This is me—my extremes, the two ends of the spiral, spear and shield, instinct and coexistence...
Two white fangs protruded from my mouth, my body began to change, and two red horns grew from the top of my head.
With a crack, the black chains loosened. I threw back my head and roared. The Evil Ghost vanished. I looked at my body, laughing wildly as a surge of excitement filled me. I laughed with rebellious abandon.