The Blood-Sucking Revenant was already in front of me. My eyes were still closed, but I could sense him reaching out, ready to grab me. Yet, seeing my current state, he seemed hesitant. He didn't immediately seize me to feed, choosing instead to watch from the side, uncertain.
I could now fully perceive the core of the Deathbane Aura. The saying 'extremes meet' finally made sense to me. All I needed to do was strip the earth energy from the aura—once I did, the earth element suppressing my power would clash with the ley energy inside me and lose its effect entirely.
The earth element that was absorbing my Deathbane Aura was already slowing down. As I kept stripping away the yin energy, I could clearly feel the ghostly copy within me coming fully awake.
I finally understood how Lance Quinn managed to suppress my power, leaving me unable to resist in his presence. At that moment, I felt a chill—the yin energy I had stripped away was freezing cold, as if it could freeze a person solid.
The Blood-Sucking Revenant standing before me hesitated, but his thirst for blood seemed to outweigh his doubts. I felt helpless—he had already fed on me twice, and now he simply treated me as livestock, feeding whenever he pleased. That infuriated me.
Gradually, the ghostly part within me became distinct, and the suppression of my Deathbane Aura began to fade. But just then, the Blood-Sucking Revenant grabbed me. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, searching for a spot to bite. After a while, he found a place on my neck that was still intact and bit down.
In that instant, I opened my eyes. Two sharp fangs lunged for my neck, but with a whoosh, the revenant bit nothing but air—I had turned into mist and, in a flash, broke through the red membrane, soaring above the small hill.
As expected, the revenant moved fast. The moment I reformed, he grabbed my neck with one hand. This time, I could clearly feel the earth element from his grip—it was faint, but still managed to suppress me.
"Catching me won't be that easy. Your Golden Soulstone is mine."
I shouted, transforming into mist with a whoosh. I saw a flash of surprise in the revenant's eyes. In an instant, I reformed behind him, pressing both hands on his shoulders.
Deadly chill filled the air. Without the support of earth energy, my Deathbane Aura could no longer take shape—its balance was completely broken. Only a trace of ley energy remained, allowing me to barely use my aura.
With a thought, I flooded my Deathbane Aura with yin energy. A harsh creak sounded—the revenant twisted his head in surprise, but before he could react, ice began to form on his body. Black ice crackled, and in an instant, he was frozen solid.
With a snap, the ice shattered. I roared, and in my right hand, a black Deathbane Aura Blade formed—cold enough that even as a ghost, I could feel its chill. If I were still human, it would have frozen me instantly.
With a hiss, the blade in my hand pierced the revenant's chest. He howled, raising his claws to attack me.
A crack resounded as black ice flowers scattered through the air, like a hailstorm of darkness. I grew more adept—my entire body was now mist, and I could control the fist-sized hail that fell around me.
Under my control, the black hail pelted the revenant. He screamed, his eyes darting as he searched for my location.
Sharp cracks rang out as the revenant found me, smashing through a cluster of hail. In an instant, he was in front of me, dragging me out of the mist.
I didn't dare let my guard down. With a thought, I separated strands of Deathbane Aura from my body and wrapped them around the revenant's hands. Crackling sounds filled the air as his hands froze, but he still refused to let go. The balance of my aura began to return, but controlling it was now much harder.
I roared, opening my mouth wide. Suddenly, Deathbane Aura poured out, shooting toward the revenant's right eye. Under my control, the thin, ribbon-like aura condensed into an ice spike and stabbed into his eye.
With a hiss, blood spattered—red, white, yellow, and green, splashing across my face. The revenant screamed in agony, but his grip on my neck remained firm. At that moment, I felt myself being crushed by an invisible force, as if surrounded by walls of the Five Elements.
The revenant's crimson corpse hair bristled like needles, his strength surging. I roared, and the Deathbane Aura scattered around me condensed into black ice spikes, stabbing toward him.
With a series of bangs, the ice spikes shattered against the revenant's body. In an instant, I turned to mist, vanishing from his sight.
I realized the revenant had channeled his power to reinforce his body against my ice spike attack, which weakened his ability to suppress me.
I had to blind his other eye. After all, he was a zombie—and now I understood them much better. Their bodies are incredibly tough, their strength immense. But unlike ghosts, they lack ghost networks and can't sense things with their eyes closed. Zombies rely on their powerful eyes to hunt for enemies.
(Irrelevant system message skipped.)
I was now right behind the revenant, waiting for a chance to blind his other eye. Sure enough, he turned his head toward me and, in an instant, was right in front of me.
Just as I tried to slip away, I found myself unable to move, slamming into an invisible wall. The revenant's hand reached from behind, grabbing my neck and pulling me out of the mist. This time, my luck ran out—his right hand gripped my neck, and his left hand stabbed through my chest.
I was completely powerless, though I could still control the Deathbane Aura drifting around me. I kept forming it into ice spikes, using them to freeze the revenant's hands again.
Just then, the revenant's crimson claws that pierced my chest suddenly stretched like blades, curving as five razor-sharp nails stabbed into both my shoulders.
Instantly, my arms hung limp at my sides.
Gradually, I realized the ghostly part of my body was fading, while my physical form transformed back into a human. Behind me, the revenant roared in fury.
Panic surged within me. If he caught me again, regaining my strength and escaping would be even harder.
I kept pouring out Deathbane Aura, trying to freeze the revenant completely. But my aura was unstable—barely formed before it shattered. My power was being suppressed to the extreme.
Suddenly, just as I was almost fully human again, the revenant lunged at my head. I turned just in time and screamed.
With a cry, he tore off half my cheek. Blood gushed as pain threatened to knock me out.
"Still too naive, Ethan Zhang. Think carefully—what is your Second Ghost Soul really for?"
Just then, a voice inside me reminded me. Only now did I notice a small patch of mist in the distance, mixed with hail.
I also realized my Specter Web extended into that black mist. There were only a few strands, but I could see them clearly.
Suddenly, I understood. I shouted, clutching my mangled face, now standing opposite the revenant. Agony wracked my body.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Before my eyes, another version of myself twisted off the revenant's head, gleefully sucking up the spattered blood.
With a roar, I appeared before the revenant, clutching an ice spike, and stabbed his other eye. The version of me who had lost his head vanished into mist.
A howl erupted as I was struck by a massive force, like a hammer blow to the face. I struggled to control my body, but it wouldn't obey, and I plummeted straight to the ground, crashing hard.
But the moment I hit the ground, I started drifting toward the zombie. The revenant, now blind, raised his hands and howled. Everything within range was being drawn toward him.
Cracking sounds echoed as stones drawn toward the revenant were crushed by an invisible force. My Second Ghost Soul was damaged, my condition dire. If I hadn't swapped places with it just now, I would have already been caught.