One step forward, and a sheer cliff awaits. Yet I still took that step. If I had stepped back, I would have noticed a winding path down the mountain. Those who do not understand when to advance or retreat have no right to victory.
I am alone in the room. Ray Lin just spoke to me and left. He lost completely. This time, Old Tom's spell—a Taoist magical technique—was disrupted by the forces of this world and failed.
According to Isabelle Frost, when Old Tom was about to vanish from this world, he used all his strength to preserve Ethan Zhang's consciousness, injecting it into the world below, into a body that had just died. In the lore of Chinese folklore, such soul transference is considered a forbidden supernatural act.
In my hand is a fragment interwoven with black and white—this is the last part of my body, a condensation of power and ghostly essence, like something fossilized. In traditional Chinese supernatural tales, such fragments often symbolize the lingering bond between the living and the spirit world.
From long ago, I never understood when to advance or retreat. Looking back, it wasn't this world that forced me to give up my instincts—I surrendered them willingly. Maybe there were other ways, but I never asked for anyone else's opinion. My decisions were silently accepted by them, and this is the result.
Perhaps everything was decided the moment I made my choice. Rachel Lan has been completely overtaken by darkness, and my instincts played a role in it.
With a creak, the door opened. James Grant entered, smiling, and sat down in front of me.
"The original purpose of founding Crimson Night was to shatter the balance and control of this world. Even now, we are still fighting against this false reality."
I raised my head and looked at James Grant.
"I am the first person created by those three. Yet I want to resist, because everything they've done is wrong. Since it's wrong, I naturally want to fight back. Assassination is the bare minimum trouble I can cause them. There are countless people here, but nurturing a leader takes a very long time. So I chose the simplest way—kill the leaders they've cultivated. On the surface, this world looks peaceful, but behind the scenes, everyone here was created for a purpose, as chosen sacrifices."
"Mr. Grant, what exactly are you trying to say?"
I can speak again. After Mo Yu used the power of the Yellow Springs, this body recovered from all previous injuries, as if reborn. Yet I still cannot do anything.
"Your subordinates did not engage Emperor God and the others directly. Instead, after your body perished, they left. Do you know why?"
I nodded, half-understanding.
"That's because you lack the awareness a leader should possess. So, in this incident, they became mere bystanders. Your decision gave them no reason to act."
James Grant stood up and pointed to the doorway. I looked outside—all the members of Blackfang were there. Throughout this journey, I knew deep down that without them, I could not face those powerful enemies alone.
I stood up and walked out slowly. At that moment, Isabelle Frost and her group, who were talking, stopped and looked at me.
"Sorry, everyone. This time, I've caused you trouble."
As I spoke, the Ghostly Script Immortal shook his head.
"No matter what, we're all a bunch of evil spirits, Qingyuan. Once you made your decision, we could no longer intervene in anything."
At that moment, Isabelle Frost raised a hand in front of the Ghostly Script Immortal, and he fell silent.
"Can you do it? This time, you have to solve it yourself. We'll help create the chance for you to handle it alone."
I stared seriously into Isabelle Frost's eyes. After a long moment, I nodded.
"You're not the only one here who can use instinct, Fang."
Blackmoon laughed harshly and walked over. I looked at him in surprise, while Isabelle Frost watched Blackmoon warily.
"Relax, Miss Isabelle. At least we're working together now, and at the very least, everyone needs to know what our combat strength really is. After all, if things go wrong, someone could die here."
I understood everything Blackmoon said. If we want to win this time, we must face the three rulers of Old Hell, whose strength is unknown.
"First, Miss Isabelle is one, then Old Book, and... Death Curse."
As soon as Blackmoon finished, aside from Isabelle Frost, both the Ghostly Script Immortal and Death Curse stared at Blackmoon in shock.
"Kid, how did you know we have instincts?"
Death Curse spoke first, but Blackmoon clapped his hands and burst out laughing.
"Looks like I was right. I know that those with instinct always have a missing piece in their memory."
Everyone looked at Blackmoon. He pointed at me, and Ray Lin stared at me seriously, saying:
"Blackmoon, that's a bit much."
"I'm not joking. Those with instinct can sense each other's instincts. Fang couldn't sense the three of yours because his instinct might not truly be instinct."
Blackmoon's words made everyone present shudder.
"We watched with our own eyes as Ethan Zhang's instinct entered that girl's body."
"Did you see my instinct enter Rachel Lan's body?"
Duan Wentian spoke up. The moment I lost my instinct, the seven who were my ghostly souls emerged from Rachel Lan's body. They followed my instinct and entered her body together.
"Normally, those with instinct throughout history have left their names in the river of humans and ghosts. When instinct is born, it allows the owner to use power beyond their limits. But I haven't seen that in Ethan Zhang's body."
"It's true. Whenever Ethan Zhang's power exceeds its limits, his body suffers backlash. But I don't—I'm able to use power several times beyond my body's limits, and my ghostly soul is never harmed."
The Ghostly Script Immortal spoke. Isabelle Frost glanced at me suspiciously, her hand to her mouth, brows tightly furrowed.
"So, instinct isn't complete."
"Correct."
Blackmoon said, stepping closer with each word.
"Even though the spell failed, Ethan Zhang still exists here. Do you think that's a coincidence? Luck? Divine favor? It's not. In Ethan Zhang's current memories, I can still see the missing part. That's proof of someone who possesses instinct. After all, I'm the inheritor of the Dog Zodiac, with the power of the Heavenly Dog—I can inspect anyone's memory at any time."
After glaring at Isabelle Frost, Blackmoon waved his hand and continued.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Miss Isabelle. If I tried to probe your memories, with your strength, you'd easily notice."
"So Ethan Zhang's instinct coexists, but isn't complete. After he gave half to that girl, they still can't use coexistence to connect this world to the realm of the living?"
Death Curse spoke, and Blackmoon pointed to the room. We looked over and saw James Grant making tea, inviting us in for a detailed discussion.
"Let me put it another way. Since Naraku appeared, there have been thirteen people with instinct. None of them were born with it—it was awakened through effort, reaching an extreme in some aspect. According to our research, there are three ways to awaken instinct."
"How do you know so much?"
Isabelle Frost asked coldly.
"It's not me who knows, but our sect's founder, Old Tom. All of this is the result of generations of research led by him."
Blackmoon continued: The first type of person to awaken instinct is born with it, like me. But how they acquire it remains a mystery.
The second type is someone whose mental state reaches an extreme, like Lin Yin. Back then, his power was weak, but his instinct awakened without him realizing.
The third method is what Blackmoon mentioned—someone who achieves an extreme in a certain field may awaken instinct. All thirteen in Naraku with instinct did so this way.
"From what I know, in the world of the living, Dao Sect has two, Precept Sect has one, Brahma Sound has four—all currently alive instinct users. As for Yellow Springs, only Lin Yin and Xie Wanyun, two people. In the Ghost Path, all seven Ghost Sovereigns have instinct. According to my investigation, the seven Ghost Sovereigns and you, Ethan Zhang, are born with it."
"How did you learn all this detail?"
Isabelle Frost looked at him in shock.
"Ever since I inherited the Dog Zodiac, I've been a spy, constantly gathering intelligence from the living world, the underworld, and the major sects. That's why I know so much. The real issue now is how to get Ethan Zhang to awaken the other half of his instinct."
This is the first time I've heard such a thing, but what Blackmoon says seems logical. Naraku's spell already failed, my ghostly soul perished instantly, and normally, when instinct leaves the body, unless a spell stops it, the body, soul, and consciousness are all destroyed. But my consciousness survived.
"After all that talk, all we can do is try."