"Ethan, a person's growth can't be rushed. When you're young, you go through storms; when you reach middle age, you begin to reflect, to study, and to create something of your own. That's exactly what you're experiencing now. And Uncle John has been teaching you this, step by step, hasn't he?"
I quietly watched Old Tom. Indeed, all of this is thanks to John Chou. My rapid growth to this point is all because of him.
"Let me stray a bit from the topic, Ethan. Actually, Lord Shenyan was the first to realize that the bullet you shot into the Blue-faced Man's heart was the Ghost Sovereign of Desire. After all, his power is fueled by desire, erupting like hellfire. But he still bet on your loss. He's a rather proud Ghost Sovereign, and John Chou gave him an easy out by letting you have the Iron of the Underworld."
I thought about it carefully. That really was the case. Lord Shenyan has helped me many times before.
As for Uncle John and Lord Shenyan, one day you might learn the truth. Over the centuries, Lord Shenyan has repeatedly helped John Chou, perhaps out of guilt, since he personally killed Uncle John when he was human.
I swallowed hard. I saw it clearly—it was Lord Shenyan who drove a sword into John Chou's chest and killed him.
"Alright, I'm drifting off topic. Ethan, this time, your battle was announced by Uncle John, so we all came rushing over."
"Damn it, why didn't John Chou teach me himself?"
"Heh, Ethan, Uncle John actually hates teaching. He gets bored after two or three days, so..."
I nodded. Old Tom looked at me with a kindly smile.
The topic shifted back to the matter of formations. Old Tom explained to me that, in general, the western direction is deliberately concealed by those in the arcane world when dealing with ghosts, because that direction greatly empowers them.
If ghosts find the western direction, the formation often loses its effect. A balanced orientation is needed to construct a formation. If ghosts disrupt the western position, they can see how the formation is arranged, exposing its entire structure.
At that point, the ghost either escapes or destroys the heart of the formation. Thinking back, I once saw Zhang Jizheng fight Lao Chongyuan—his formation was formidable, but Lao Chongyuan still managed to break it. I brought this up.
"The Eye of Observation of the Immortality Society is quite special. Back then, that guy must have identified the eastern position, then found the formation's core and destroyed it directly."
I nodded. Just as Old Tom said, Lao Chongyuan kept dodging the Two Poles Sword within Zhang Jizheng's formation. I always wondered what he was searching for. Now, it's clear—he was looking for the eastern direction.
At this moment, Spirit Snake began moving rapidly, its eyes scanning everything around, constantly evading the golden stingers falling from the sky.
Suddenly, a pool appeared on the ground. Spirit Snake was startled at first, then stepped right in without hesitation. It didn't sink, but kept running, its cloak billowing behind.
Spirit Snake kept searching for a breakthrough. Then, it abruptly stopped in front of a massive stone wall that appeared out of nowhere, turned and ran the other way. The person controlling the formation seemed to panic.
More and more golden orbs lit up, and stingers kept shooting at Spirit Snake. I watched as it ran for a while, then quickly turned, ran a few more steps, and leaped to the right. Standing on the ground, it began to laugh.
With a thunderous roar, a giant black-and-yellow python rose from the ground, its jaws wide open, biting at empty air in the sky. With a bang, a golden Eight Trigrams appeared in the sky, and the python swallowed it whole.
The places around where no paths could be seen gradually returned to normal. With a cracking sound, shimmering golden fragments dispersed in the air above the mine. Spirit Snake slowly floated upward, drifting toward the base of the mountain.
At that moment, I saw a Blue-Faced Man waiting below.
"Not bad, Ethan Zhang. You've grown so much."
It was Wei Chengwu. Spirit Snake slowly approached him, standing before Wei Chengwu with a wicked grin.
"So, Ethan Zhang, come with me. I'll take you to be a guest at the Immortality Society."
Suddenly, Spirit Snake darted to Wei Chengwu's side, raising its hand with a crackling sound. With a cry, a chubby Taoist had his neck gripped by Spirit Snake's hand.
"Too bad, I'm not Ethan Zhang."
Spirit Snake said, then released the Taoist. In a flash, it turned into a black serpent, twisting through the sky as fast as lightning, vanishing in an instant.
The memory ended there. I regained consciousness, and Old Tom smiled at me.
"I still don't understand, after all..."
"Alright, Ethan, I told you I just wanted to give you some basic images in your mind. You can only truly understand after you've experienced it yourself. When you have time, go ask that Blue Wraith—Lin Rui, right? That's his name."
I made a sound of surprise and looked over in confusion. Lin Rui was happily playing finger-guessing games with Zhao Yuyang.
Scenes of Lin Rui fighting immediately surfaced in my mind. He really did mention the Gate of Life, the Death Position, and other directional terms.
"That Blue Wraith has mastered the ten directions to perfection—he's incredible. You must have seen it yourself."
I nodded. Indeed, I'd seen Lin Rui easily take down two Blue-Faced Men and even block a powerful attack from Luke Ling.
"Alright, Ethan, I'll help you break the seal now. Slowly, you'll come to understand some things."
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Old Tom spoke, and I responded. He raised his Cat-Headed Cane and tapped me on the forehead.
With a buzzing sound, my mind grew hazy. Then, as I stared at Old Tom's smiling face, I blacked out.
Where am I? When I came to, I was standing on a beach. All around me was endless, dazzling white sand and a boundless blue sea—nothing else in sight.
My head was spinning and I felt uncomfortable. I remembered—wasn't Old Tom supposed to help me break the seal? How did I end up here? And this isn't my Instinctive Space.
"You're awake, Ethan Zhang."
I let out a startled sound. Spirit Snake's voice came from behind me. I looked at him and stood up.
"Where is this?"
"Only those born in the Year of the Snake can enter here. But your power isn't enough yet, so I had that little cat bring you in directly."
"Didn't you say you could just break the seal?"
Spirit Snake gave a strange smile.
"You still need to reach the place where the seal is. Take a look at your chest."
I looked down in surprise. There was a pale blue, disc-shaped object on my chest, engraved with the Twelve Earthly Branches and the Ten Heavenly Stems, glowing with blue light.
"The seal has already been marked. Once you reach the sealed place, you can break it. Then, your perception and dynamic power will improve greatly."