"Ethan, I'm counting on you to look after Claire."
In a daze, I snapped back to consciousness. Ghosts don't dream. I had severed my own awareness, plunging myself into a state of unconsciousness—like sleep, but not sleep, like a dream, yet not quite.
The Ghost Burial Squad trainees have gone missing, and there's still no sign of them. Boss Zhang's daughter, Claire Zhang, is one of them. I stared at my hands—failure after failure. Even now, if I really intervened, it would trigger a massive chain reaction.
My cousin is far more clear-headed than I am. The torments inflicted on him by Brother Owen are no less than what I've endured.
"Did you dream of anything, Mr. Zhang?"
Only now did I notice someone outside. The Brahma Tower where I was confined was the same place where Yuna Ji had been imprisoned for over a century. Now, I was the one locked inside. The wards set up around me severed all contact with the outside world, and my power was slowly fading away.
"Master Richard Ming."
I walked to the iron-barred window and saw Master Richard Ming sitting cross-legged on the stone slabs outside, still wearing that gentle, kind smile.
"I am not one to disregard right and wrong," he said, "but I remember the teachings of the Immortal Master: even the gravest sinner, if they truly devote themselves to Buddha and abandon their past, will find the door of compassion opened to them."
"I can't understand."
I spoke each word deliberately. I don't blame Master Richard Ming; he has his faith, and I have mine. Our beliefs are different, and neither of us can truly understand the other.
"Mr. Zhang, your temperament is growing more violent. I fear one day you may fall into darkness, so I have a proposal."
I nodded. I really have changed a lot lately. The moment I learned that child was Brother Owen reincarnated, I was consumed by the urge to kill him—reckless, desperate. The human part of me is fading, and the cold, dark part is taking over.
"How about you spend fifty years quietly here at Universal Temple? I’ll come every day to drink tea and talk with you, share some stories—so you won’t be bored."
I was startled, staring blankly at Master Richard Ming, and shook my head.
"It's too long. There's still so much I need to do. Please let me go, Master Richard Ming."
A look of sorrow flickered in Master Ming’s eyes. He kept shaking his head and closed his eyes, as if lost in thought.
After a long while, Master Ming stood up and said it was late, told me to rest, and left. He said nothing more, but I saw the pain in his eyes.
I bowed deeply. Faced with such a steadfast old monk, I couldn't blame him. He wanted to untangle the knots in my heart, but I couldn’t accept his help. I slumped to the floor.
I couldn’t help but think back to my first time at Universal Temple, when Master Ming offered to take me as his disciple, to join the Jian generation—making me my cousin’s uncle in the sect. But I refused, and even let Yuna Ji go.
If I’d chosen to become a monk here back then, maybe things wouldn’t be like this. Roxie might still be working at some company, handling supernatural cases with the Ghost Burial Squad, and spending her free time drinking with friends.
A scene played out in my mind: Ouyang Meng, Mao Xiaoyu, Yu Mingxuan, Fang Datong, and Roxie, gathered around a small table, drinking and chatting. Yu Mingxuan and Fang Datong would sometimes argue over Roxie. They were happy together, but I wasn’t at that table.
Even after Ouyang Meng’s memory was wiped, the earlier memory tampering had almost destroyed her mind. I once thought about having the Celestial Hound devour her memories of Roxie, but I didn’t. Those memories are her soul. Now, under Hu Tianshuo’s strict care, her mental state is better, but the pain in her memories still torments her every day.
Mao Xiaoyu’s whereabouts are still unknown. He just wanted a peaceful job and an easy life in the city, but his Maoshan skills are barely passable.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Fang Datong is still a monster, transformed by Thousand Hands. His last bit of consciousness was lost during our fight. Now he’s locked in Red Hair’s ghost domain, with no hope of recovery. Even the Nine Sons of Taoism came to see him, but they couldn’t do anything.
As for Yu Mingxuan, I still don’t know where he is. Suyuan may have retrieved his soul, but there’s still no sign of him.
Thinking about it, all these people got dragged into trouble because of me. The real culprit is the Immortality Society.
Suddenly, I clenched my fist and smashed it against the ground. The floor nearly shattered, cracks spreading out in every direction.
Sparks crackled as golden light burst out all around me. Half-crouched on the ground, I watched as strings of Sanskrit characters appeared on the walls, ceiling, and windows.
A powerful force pressed in from all sides, and soon I couldn’t move. My body floated up, golden streams of energy wrapping around me. After a while, I crashed back down to the floor.
"If I resist, they'll catch me, won't they?"
I forced a bitter smile and got up. Moonlight shone in from outside, and I stood there quietly, watching.
This trip to the Four Saints Realm still leaves me uneasy. Suddenly, I remembered something and quickly took off the pendant from my neck. I couldn’t feel any presence within it. Panic surged through me, and Deathbane Aura spilled out again.
The Brahma Tower is gradually purifying the power within my body—the power of ghosts, cold and sinister. Rachel Lan, sealed in the pendant, is the same. In a panic, I wrapped the pendant in Deathbane Aura, and the surrounding energies reappeared.
(Irrelevant system message skipped)
"Let me out—let me out, now!"
I roared, sending waves of Deathbane Aura crashing against the walls, but each time it touched the golden light, it scattered and vanished. I used all my strength, but in the face of Brahma’s power, my Deathbane Aura was completely suppressed—useless.
"Rachel..."
I cried out in panic, clutching the pendant tightly. I couldn’t sense anything within it. I kept shouting, but no matter how much Deathbane Aura I used, it was useless.
"Shadow Realm..."
I reached out, and the space before me cracked. My only option was to hide in the Shadow Realm for now. But just as the entrance began to open, the space shattered with a loud snap. My eyes widened as golden ropes covered in Sanskrit shot toward me.
It was disappearing. I clutched the purple pendant, shouting in panic, my mind in chaos. With a roar, my Evil Ghost instinct took over, raising its hands to form a black membrane around me, blocking the golden chains outside.
Sparks crackled and blue smoke rose. I stared at the shrinking pendant in my hand, my mind blank—I couldn’t hold out much longer.
Suddenly, a speck of blood-red light appeared before my eyes. I stared, and a voice echoed in my mind.
"Don’t forget what John Chou told you at the beginning. Why are you always so forgetful, Ethan Zhang?"
My eyes widened. Outside the window, on the rooftop across the way, someone stood holding a strange, long sword shrouded in black mist, swirling with dark vortexes.
"Slaughter..."
I roared, and my instinct vanished. Golden ropes crashed down on me. Suddenly, a crimson glow flashed along my spine. A blood-red Evil Ghost appeared, raising its hands to block the chains. Instantly, blood streamed from my seven orifices, and my body felt completely emptied.
With a crack, the golden ropes stopped, gradually stained crimson. A chorus of shattering sounds followed—the frozen golden ropes exploded, and the Sanskrit on them split and fell to the floor.
Gradually, that crimson glow spread across the entire Brahma Tower, rapidly expanding. Cracks echoed as the Brahma Tower began to collapse, and the tolling of bells resounded.
Chants of Sanskrit echoed toward me. With a bang, a shadow burst into the Brahma Tower and landed before me, then slowly stood up.
"Let me take care of it for now."
Ethan Zhang, Earth Soul, snatched the fading purple pendant from my hand. Black mist poured from his fingers, and I watched as the pendant desperately absorbed the darkness—it was pure dark power. I stared in shock as Earth Soul Ethan Zhang grinned madly, slowly raising Endbringer.
"Why did you come here?"
"I don’t know either! It’s just... never mind, forget it. Just watch closely and learn how to use Bloodbane Aura."
My eyes widened. In the distance, a roar sounded, followed by dazzling golden light—Master Richard Ming rode atop the Golden Howler, landing with a crash on the rooftop across from me. Roof tiles shattered and flew. More than ten elderly monks in golden-red robes floated in the air, each with a glowing halo above their head.
Just then, I felt a faint tremor beneath my feet.
"The Brahma Tower is destroyed—it won’t last much longer. We have to repair it quickly."
One of the monks said. I was completely exhausted, coughing up black blood. This is the side effect of using Bloodbane Power—it destroys others’ power and my own as well. I couldn’t control it.
"All the Buddhist monks are here tonight—looks like there’s finally some fun to be had."