A stream of water flowed out from a small opening, gradually gathering at the original site of the Naihe Bridge, forming a clean and clear little pond.
After I approached, Isabelle Frost seemed to have finished all the arrangements. The Blue Wraiths began to gradually depart. I could sense a pulling force beneath the floating island—many ghosts hovered there, holding tools and constructing something at the bottom.
"Things have changed a lot."
Isabelle Frost said as soon as she saw me. I nodded.
"Once I finish dealing with things in Hell, I should be able to divert the Weak Water here."
Isabelle Frost nodded. Right now, preparations must be made before building the new reincarnation system, so that the souls can be reborn.
"I've already prepared Rachel Lan for you."
As Isabelle Frost spoke, she took out a transparent little sphere. Instantly, I saw a swirl of smoke inside, followed by a flicker of red flame, gently dancing and burning—the sphere contained Hellfire.
"Hurry, Rachel Lan. First find the Lust Wraith, then figure out how to locate the Grief Wraith."
Black Moon urged, most of his consciousness elsewhere, apparently dealing with something extremely troublesome.
I nodded. It would only take a short while to reach the Forest of Desire, and I planned to go there myself. Holding the small sphere in my hand, I rose into the air and began to exert pressure on it. The sphere slowly cracked, and instantly, the tiny flame inside erupted fiercely.
In an instant, a dazzling, multicolored passage appeared before my eyes. I dove straight into it, and as soon as I entered, I felt waves of power pressing against my body—the power of desire. I started to gradually release the force of coexistence, and the pressure grew weaker.
Gradually, I saw a bright white light. The glow intensified, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself standing by a river, facing a forest. Although Ethan Zhang had described everything here before, seeing it now felt strange—everything about this place was peculiar.
Now I could clearly see all my desires, and in this forest, those desires would be gradually drawn out.
I struggled to restrain my own desires and began to cross the small river.
"Desire Ghost, are you here?"
I called out, and before long, just as I spotted the incredible stone table Ethan Zhang had mentioned, a swirl of rainbow-colored energy drifted toward me.
A colorful humanoid figure appeared before me, looking like a little girl.
"Huh? Rachel Lan, what are you doing here?"
I crouched beside the Desire Ghost and smiled as I spoke.
"I need your help."
The Desire Ghost looked at me with some confusion. I placed my hand on her head.
"Of course, it's because I'm in trouble and need your help."
The Desire Ghost nodded. I continued to ask.
"Do you know where the Tong Ghost is?"
I asked, and the Desire Ghost immediately nodded.
"He's right here."
I looked at the Desire Ghost in surprise, and quickly asked her to take me to the Tong Ghost. I followed the Desire Ghost, floating above the forest. She explained that the Tong Ghost hadn't returned to his original place because there was nothing there, so he came straight to the Forest of Desire with her.
At that moment, the Desire Ghost began to accept my Coexistence Instinct. Gradually, her appearance changed, becoming the younger version of myself. I looked at the adorable little girl before me with delight.
"Was I really this cute as a child?"
I muttered to myself. The Desire Ghost turned and looked at me with a cheerful smile. Gradually, I sensed a faint presence—feedback from the ghost souls within me. It was indeed the Tong Ghost.
A black lake appeared before me. I went straight to its edge, where a mass of black sludge suddenly emerged from the water, forming a humanoid figure with golden-red eyes.
With a swoosh, the Resentful Ghost flew out from my body and slapped the Tong Ghost across the face.
"What are you doing here?"
The Resentful Ghost glared angrily at the Tong Ghost, who rubbed the back of his head.
"It's boring down there alone, so of course I came here."
I nodded and walked straight over, releasing the power of coexistence. The Tong Ghost grasped this force, and his body began to slowly take on my appearance. Suddenly, I slapped him—the Tong Ghost now looked chubby, with a face much rounder than mine, but it was definitely my likeness.
"What are you doing, Rachel Lan?"
"Is this really me?"
I stared wide-eyed at the Tong Ghost. Then I had the Desire Ghost open the road to the Spirit Realm, and in a moment, I returned there.
"All nine ghost souls have been gathered."
As soon as I returned to the Spirit Realm, I landed beside a lake formed by Soul Cleansing Water. At that moment, Black Moon grabbed me.
"Miss Yi, please open the passage to Hades. We're out of time. Once I'm in Hades, I'll teach you some methods for using Hell's Power."
I nodded. It was clear that Black Moon was extremely anxious. Our group headed straight toward the heart of Hell. Soon, we arrived at the center, where Isabelle Frost stood on the surface of the Lake of Truth, pressing her hand to the water.
At that moment, beams of red light shot out from all directions. I sensed it was the power of the Infernal Judge. There were ten pillars of light, each inscribed with countless symbols I couldn't decipher.
The entire lake began to spin. Black Moon and I stepped onto it, and gradually, an opening appeared at the center of the lake. Warm yellow energy streamed out of the gap, and Black Moon grabbed my hand and we plunged inside.
I felt myself falling, as if I had jumped into a bottomless pit.
"Once you reach Hades, that person will teach you some things. I need to go to the Heart of Hell to take care of something first."
I replied with a sound. Black Moon turned into a stream of black energy and vanished. I kept falling, and the deeper I went, the colder I felt—a wave of extremely unpleasant energy filled with countless negative emotions washed over me. My mind began to absorb it all.
Everything was dark and icy. I felt my consciousness fading away, growing more and more blurred. I saw myself as a child.
As a child, I was painfully shy. I never played with the neighborhood kids—only watched them from a distance, always too afraid to join.
Now, fragments of memory slowly surfaced. I remember, when I was little, the first time I played with other children was after I entered the Hades Circle. There, I found many people like me—people who could see ghosts and knew much about them. I was delighted at the time, but for some reason, after staying in the Hades Circle briefly, I returned.
"Take her away."
A memory came to me: there was a woman who played with me every day—it was my mother. Somehow, I had forgotten her, but now more and more memories were surfacing in my mind.
I remembered everything. Back in the Hades Circle, my mother always cared for me. Later, it was also my mother who asked me to take Wu Zuo away.
My parents always wanted me to escape the tragic fate of the Underworld Denizens, so they tried to shield me from certain things. But in the end, I returned to the Hades Circle and accepted my destiny. This time, as I journey to Hell, there’s one thing I must resolve: to break the curse of the Underworld Denizens’ suffering. Even now, the living world needs many Underworld Denizens to help collect souls, but facing endless partings, no normal person could bear it.
I plan to discuss this with Yi Xuehan when I return. It’s better to let Hell’s Registrars handle soul collection, and to create tools that make the process easier. Even if Underworld Denizens gain power, the price is always the same: collecting souls again and again. For strangers, perhaps it doesn’t matter, but when it’s family or friends, it becomes unbearable.
"Rachel Lan, wake up."
With a violent shake, I snapped awake. Warm yellow currents drifted around me, rising from the white, chaotic stone ground. The Hades Circle was right before me. In the distant white mist, I glimpsed a towering mountain, its peak lost in the clouds.
"There's no time to dwell on the past. Come with me."
I nodded and stood up, following Hades as it drifted forward. The pace gradually quickened, and I hurried to keep up. The mountain in the mist ahead filled me with surprise—clearly, speeding up should bring us closer, but after drifting for quite a while, we still weren't any nearer. Then, Hades stopped.
"We've arrived."
The moment I landed with Hades, I heard a deafening pounding—a massive double door, covered in orange locks. The thunderous sound came from the door being struck forcefully.
I saw the massive door bulge outward.
"The wardens have begun attacking Hell's gate—they want to come up from below. Time is short, Rachel Lan. Once you reach Hell, your only option is to suppress them, disguising yourself with Hell’s appearance to deceive them."
"Will it work?"
I asked. Hades smiled and shook its head.
"Whether it works or not, there's nothing more we can do."