"Thought Root... implanting..."
A rustling noise echoed, making me uneasy. The Thought Ghost’s long hair detached from his scalp, each strand piercing into the ground, and the hair kept growing and multiplying.
"What are you doing?"
The Thought Ghost gave an evil grin, glared at me as if to say just watch and don’t ask. He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground. The black strands of hair kept burrowing into the earth, shimmering with a faint black light. A strange feeling welled up inside me.
Wanting to grow, feeling hungry and needing food, craving water, feeling tired and wanting to rest...
I held my head. All these thoughts—whether ghosts or plants—each had their own desires.
The process lasted half an hour. I couldn’t take it anymore, squatting on the ground and clutching my forehead, feeling as if my consciousness was no longer my own, as if something was invading it.
Endure it, Ethan Zhang. I’m using your instincts, hoping to probe for something.
My mind was going blank, like a mess of paste. I lay on the ground, curled up, fighting the pain, my head feeling like it was about to explode.
The Thought Ghost looked serious, as if searching for something extremely important. Even through the mist, I could see that the area near Evil Yin Mountain was shrouded in black.
The sky would likely turn into that black zone first, then the earth. There are no obvious signs yet, so I have to rely on this guy.
The sky gradually darkened. I found a tree root and leaned against it, almost collapsing. The Thought Ghost was using my strength, fueling his instincts and powers.
Finally, when stars appeared to the right of Exile Town in the distance, it was over. The Thought Ghost opened his eyes. The left half of the sky above Exile Town had turned completely black and was swallowed up.
"Did you find anything?"
The Thought Ghost shook his head.
Now the only way is to break the formation set up by Zhong Kui ahead of time. You have to go out, find Jiuchen, and return to your proper timeline. As for saving that girl, give it up, Ethan Zhang. If you keep going, you have no future.
I sprang up, staring seriously at the Thought Ghost.
Since you’ve become my Ghost Soul, come up with a proper solution. The amount of baleful energy used today was enormous, and now you want me to give up?
The Thought Ghost looked gloomy and shook his head.
There’s nothing I can do, Ethan Zhang. They’ll stop at nothing to erase you. The Tengu fang you brought is still collecting everything from Rufina Howard, but even if the collection is complete, Nuwa probably won’t help you. She wants to erase your existence.
"Figure something out for me. Since you’re already here, bastard."
With a bang, I slammed my fist angrily against the tree trunk.
"Why are you so stubborn? Clearly you’re a false being, neither human nor ghost. These things shouldn’t matter to you..."
"They matter a lot."
I tilted my head back, staring at the black sky. There wasn’t much time left for me. I took out the purple crystal pendant.
"If I can’t do this, Ruoxi will never come back. Even if she could, I wouldn’t be able to solve bigger problems in the future. So this time, I have to win."
A stream of white energy slowly flowed from my hand. I pressed it to the ground, and a white tree began to grow.
The Thought Ghost swallowed hard.
"Such a strange power, Ethan Zhang. But I’m afraid even the instinct of Origin won’t solve this."
"It can solve it..."
A gentle voice came from above us. Heavenly Soul Ethan Zhang sat on a thick branch, looking down at me with a smile.
"Another Ethan Zhang..."
The Thought Ghost looked at the Heavenly Soul in disbelief.
"Is there a way? Heavenly Soul."
"Everything has an origin, even time itself."
Heavenly Soul slowly floated down, standing before us.
"Find the origin of this moment in time. Get hold of the Origin, and then you can control everything within this time point."
I looked at the Heavenly Soul, not fully understanding.
"What exactly is the Origin?"
"Images are born of the heavens, numbers come from things, and words are made by people. Arranging images and numbers forms characters, which is the origin of writing. Everything, moving or still, has its origin. What I mean by the origin of this time point is that when everything here appeared, three conditions—people, events, and objects—had to be met, and that is the starting point of how things became what they are now."
Suddenly, the Thought Ghost seemed to understand something and burst out laughing.
"If that’s the case, things are much simpler. The flow of time has both linearity and layering. If we peel apart the layers of time here, we can reach the very origin."
"Whatever works, Heavenly Soul, hurry up. We’re running out of time."
I urged them on. It was becoming more obvious—the left side of the sky above Exile Town had already crossed the center, a black zone with no stars.
With a whoosh, the Thought Ghost dove into my body. I looked at the Heavenly Soul, who was fully focused, using his instincts. The white Origin Tree kept growing, almost surpassing the centuries-old trees in Evil Yin Mountain.
What was strange was that the instinct of Origin had no aura at all. If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t sense it.
"It’s basically clear now, Ethan Zhang. Next, you must go to the origin of this time point. Once you grasp the Origin and inject your power, you can make this world disappear."
I nodded. The Heavenly Soul crouched down. At that moment, I saw white roots bulging from the ground, splitting the earth open. Gradually, a fissure appeared, glowing with white light.
"I’ll guard this place for you. Just go ahead. The Thought Ghost should know exactly where the origin is."
I cried out and jumped into the glowing white hole. Instantly, all the scenes before my eyes began to rewind, influenced by Exile Town, retreating further and further back.
At first, it was hard to adapt, but gradually I became completely familiar.
But then, suddenly, everything in my mind and before my eyes froze. Time itself seemed to stop.
"Careful, Ethan Zhang! Something’s coming—move, quickly..."
Just as the Thought Ghost’s voice echoed in my mind, I heard a strange gurgling sound, like a hungry stomach. A faint red wall appeared in front of me and slammed into my body, sending me flying backward with immense force.
My eyes widened. It wasn’t a red wall—it was a giant worm-like creature. Its head looked like a cross between a dog and a bear, with fierce eyes but no pupils, just white. Its mouth was a semicircle, with two huge whiskers like a dragon’s on either side. The strange gurgling sound it made was maddening.
The white surroundings faded, turning black. I saw swirling black vortices, each dozens of meters wide, appearing one after another. I stood on the ground, far behind me was a white hole.
"It’s the Chaos Fiend, Ethan Zhang! Run!"
My heart leapt. Without thinking, I floated upward, flying toward the small white hole behind me. Suddenly, I stopped, swerving sharply to avoid a black vortex. I sensed I must not touch these vortices.
The monstrous screech sounded again behind me, getting closer. Just as I reached the white hole, a hand grabbed my neck and yanked me back.
With a bang, it was that monster called Chaos Fiend. It was over ten meters long and seven or eight meters wide, squirming like a giant worm, with no limbs. Its huge mouth was a black vortex—if I’d gone a few centimeters further, I’d have been its meal.
"Chaos Fiend, is it? Heh, long time no see. Not that you’d understand me anyway. Ethan, give me all your power."
It was the Spirit Snake that just saved my life. I nodded and quickly retreated. The white hole had vanished; I seemed to be trapped here, surrounded by those dozen-meter-wide black vortices.
"Be careful, Ethan. These black vortices are fragments of the Chaos Fiend’s devoured matter—don’t touch them. I’ll try to hold him off. You need to contact the Heavenly Soul, or you’ll never get back."
My heart skipped a beat. The Spirit Snake was already impatiently drawing power from my body.
"Instinct... coexistence..."
In an instant, a vision flashed in my mind. The Lake of Baleful Energy began spinning wildly. At once, black baleful energy started to seep from the Spirit Snake’s body, gradually enveloping it completely.
"I’m about to manifest, Ethan. Not enough—keep giving me more power! This isn’t enough for me to take form. Unleash all your strength!"
"Coexistence... evil spirit..."
With a roar, I floated upward, rising into the air. A translucent evil spirit appeared on my back. Suddenly, the Spirit Snake’s body began to stretch and take on color—a dark gold hue appeared before my eyes. A giant snake, nearly as large as the Chaos Fiend, materialized, its dark gold scales glinting.
What amazed me most was that this snake was flying in the air.
"Manifestation... Teng Snake..."
With a harsh cry, the Spirit Snake opened its mouth and spewed out white mist. Instantly, the Chaos Fiend let out a shrill scream. My eyes widened and I swallowed hard as the fiend’s skin began to rot. It writhed, shaking the whole space with a thunderous rumble. The black vortices started to move. I quickly flew higher, escaping to an area above without black vortices. The Spirit Snake’s back creaked, and a pair of dark gold wings sprouted. It darted away from several attacking vortices, weaving nimbly through the air.
The part of the fiend’s body that had just rotted away grew back. Furious, it dragged its heavy mass, writhing and opening its maw, suddenly spitting out blobs of black matter. Instantly, the Spirit Snake was struck. My chest tightened and I clutched it, coughing up a mouthful of black blood.