Exposure

12/15/2025

The rain was pouring. I stood quietly on a road piled high with mud and gravel. Not far away, I could see lit construction sheds, with heavy machinery parked along the roadside. Raindrops the size of beans kept striking the mud, bubbling and splattering everywhere.

The village ahead had been completely buried by the mudslide. I stood at the entrance to Gourd Village. If I wanted to find Yue Que, I had to start here. I wasn’t in a rush to go to the Netherworld; instead, I planned to look around Gourd Village first.

Rainwater passed through my body and fell to the ground. At this moment, I had already undergone my transformation. I was well aware that the power given to me by the Wraithlord was like a double-edged sword—if I wasn’t careful, my body wouldn’t be able to withstand it. I had already drawn all that power inside myself, and my body had shifted into another space.

I slowly floated upward. The village below revealed only rooftops; most were buried by the relentless sand and earth, impossible to locate. I could only drift into the air. Once I confirmed the bottom of Gourd Village, I floated straight over. I could still sense a faint corpse aura—my perception was now completely different from before.

At that moment, I was pondering one thing: Rachel Lan no longer trusted me. It was only natural—because I had changed. I gave a bitter smile, tilting my head back as rainwater kept streaming down my cheeks.

What I still couldn’t figure out was why I agreed to the Wraithlord in the first place. But now there was no way out—no way to change everything. My mindset was no longer as steady as before. My power had grown rapidly thanks to overwhelming desire, and even without instinct, I was stronger than I used to be.

"Gravel and the world, huh? Heh."

I shook my head and raised a finger. Instantly, the mud below began to part to either side. I slowly descended, revealing the buried houses. Standing at the bottom of Gourd Village, I quietly stared at the cave entrance—this was the path into the Corpse Realm. Sure enough, after clearing away the mud, I sensed waves of corpse aura.

At the bottom of the cave entrance, I released the power holding back the mud outside. Instantly, the mud flooded the bottom of Gourd Village again. I quietly studied the stone wall; corpse aura was seeping out from here, and the Corpse Realm lay just beyond this wall connecting to its space.

I raised a hand and pressed it against the stone wall. Black miasma surged out, rumbling loudly. With a bang, I burst into the Corpse Realm with flying shards of stone, while the fractured space behind me slowly healed, splattering some mud inside.

The land was as desolate as ever. Except for the distant mountain with its long staircase, all around was a vast expanse of black earth. Yet I couldn’t sense a single revenant here.

I slowly floated upward, stopping when I saw many revenants buried beneath the black earth. Some were nearly fused with the ground. I raised my hand, and one by one, the revenants embedded in the mud broke free. Upon inspection, I found none of them had a Golden Soulstone; most of their bodies had already turned to earth, and when I set them down, they crumbled to dust.

Everything was gone. I closed my eyes, sending miasma out as countless black spheres shooting in all directions. My senses expanded infinitely, but there was nothing left. Even at the edge of the Corpse Realm, I felt nothing.

Now, only the corpse mountain before me remained. I floated over and realized this mountain was made of piled corpses. Landing at the top of the staircase, I looked at the empty pavilions—there was nothing inside. Suddenly, I shifted to a corner of the mountaintop platform. The moonlight tree was gone, and the moonlight flowers that once covered the mountain had vanished. It seemed Luna Quay wasn’t here.

"What did you come here to do?"

A cold voice came from behind me. I turned with a smile to face a beautiful, icy female revenant in a vivid red dress, staring at me coldly—Mona Cloud, one of the Nine Feathers.

"I’m looking for Luna Quay, Miss Mona. Could you tell me where she is?"

I asked, but Mona Cloud shook her head.

"Our clan split from Chief Scarlet and the others long ago. There’s no way the Blood Clan will ever stand with them again."

I looked at Mona Cloud in confusion as she slowly floated closer.

"All the revenants were killed by Chief Scarlet, and the chief devoured their Golden Soulstones."

I understood immediately. It seemed Scarlet had prepared for a battle with the Wraithlord. I didn’t know how strong Scarlet truly was—I’d never seen him lose, but I’d also never seen him reveal his real power. The Wraithlord seemed wary of Scarlet.

"Miss Mona, are you here alone?"

I asked, glancing around. Mona Cloud nodded, then slowly turned and walked away. I hurried after her.

"The Corpse Realm no longer exists."

Mona Cloud spoke coldly, walking to a small pavilion and sitting down. I stood by the pillar, watching this peculiar female revenant. She seemed to be nostalgic for the Corpse Realm—perhaps that’s why she hadn’t left.

"Do you miss the old Corpse Realm, Miss Mona?"

I asked, and Mona Cloud nodded.

"I’ll stay here. If you want to find Luna Quay, you’d better go straight to Chief Scarlet."

I turned and floated up with a smile. Just then, I sensed something behind me—a sudden movement. A fragment of red Golden Soulstone was thrown over. I caught the small piece in my hand.

"Take it. It will lead you to Luna Quay."

(Irrelevant system message skipped.)

I gave a quiet acknowledgment, instantly shifting to the entrance of the Corpse Realm. Glancing back at the dying realm, I looked at the incomplete red Golden Soulstone in my hand and smiled.

"Everything will end soon!"

I returned to the sky above Gourd Village; the rain had stopped. I planned to visit the Netherworld first, then resume my search for Luna Quay. The Wraithlord had already told me: I must find Scarlet’s Golden Soulstone before he would start his war on the world.

Yet a doubt lingered in my heart. Everything seemed to be going too smoothly. I couldn’t understand why these emotionless revenants, who revered strength after their split, would turn on each other.

I raced back to Haven City. Even as I returned to the Living World, I sensed the heavy presence of ghostly energy. Now I saw clearly—there were no living people left. Those moving around were all possessed by ghosts. I knew this already; the Wraithlord had warned me before I came.

Now both the Netherworld and the Living World were in chaos. The Emperor Gods’ plan had succeeded; soon, the boundaries between worlds would collapse. But the Wraithlord said this was a double-edged sword—while they wielded power, the laws of both realms kept shrinking. If this continued, they might never enter the worlds again, because their actions had severely disrupted everything.

I couldn’t comprehend the so-called will of the world the Wraithlord spoke of. I’d never felt it. I remembered how Zhang Qingyuan often conversed with voices neither I nor the Heavenly Soul could hear, and I smiled helplessly.

The lights at Nine Dragon Plaza in the city center were still on. I moved nearby and watched the busy practitioners of the Arcane Society—they looked utterly exhausted. And there were the people of the Immortality Society too.

"No matter what you do, it’s meaningless. Once the Wraithlord emerges, everything will end—no one can stop him!"

I sat on the edge of a rooftop, gazing at the pitch-black sky in the distance. The rain began to fall again. With Zhang Qingyuan’s situation, this world was beyond saving. I clenched my fist—even if the Arcane Society still had hope in Buddhist and Taoist power, all of it was powerless before the Wraithlord.

I turned and flew toward the slowly flowing ghostly energy. On a hillside, I saw a tall city wall—mud-like and covered with human faces. They were frantically devouring the ghost energy. I drifted over and instantly passed through the wall.

When I reappeared, I was standing at the entrance of a cave. Only then did the ghost soldiers behind me notice my presence. Several ghost generals, their eyes glowing red, landed beside me and surrounded me.

"Don’t panic. I’m here to help the Netherworld."

I said, glancing back. At that moment, a junior judge approached with a smile, handed me a token, and told me to follow its guidance.

It was clear the ghost soldiers stationed here were struggling. Many were of fierce ghost rank or higher, but even they suffered in the face of such overwhelming ghostly energy.

I entered the cave, holding the token. I came to the front of six caves and, following the token’s guidance, walked into the second cave on the right.

There was no path ahead, and the token in my hand dissolved into a trace of red light and vanished. I smiled coldly—the path behind me had disappeared too.

"What does this mean?"

A streak of crimson light flared across the wall before me—the King of Reincarnation hovered there, his gaze icy and unyielding.

"Why have you come here, Earth Soul of the Wraithlord?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

I shot back, meeting his eyes.

"There's the Wraithlord's aura all over you. Tell me—what does he want from you?"

His words caught me off guard, but I quickly shook my head.

"All I got from the Wraithlord was power. As for why I'm here—simple. I wanted to see just how far that power could take me."

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