The evil spirit on my back roared in fury, its desire to devour everything I had echoing clearly in my mind. Yet now, my Seven Ghost Souls had it firmly suppressed, rendering it completely immobile. The primal ghostly impulse that had just surged within me slowly faded away.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. All my power had been channeled into the Spirit Snake, who gripped the serpent-shaped dagger and slowly flew toward the distant Serpent King. A streak of ghostly green—then, in the Serpent King's hand appeared a trident, each prong formed by a writhing black snake. Their sharp, red tongues flickered, and the entire trident shimmered green.
“Is this your Wraith Armament?”
The Serpent King said nothing. The two figures drew closer—Spirit Snake raised the dagger, just half the length of his forearm, and stared intently at the Serpent King across from him.
Everything was silent, but I knew the real battle was about to begin. I noticed the patterns on the ground, formed by ghost threads, had already faded away—just like the drifting black ghost threads near the surrounding pillar-like structures, extending outward into the distance.
“What exactly is that thing?”
I asked.
“We’re inside the Serpent King’s ghost domain. After all, this duel can’t be exposed to the outside world—otherwise, it could cause trouble.”
“When exactly did we enter his ghost domain?”
I stared in disbelief at everything around me.
"You really are slow, Ethan Zhang. You must've seen plenty of ghosts fleeing just now, right? When the two eyes atop Serpent City flashed green, we were brought into his ghost domain."
"How did he manage to do that?"
"Don’t you know how to drag an enemy into your own ghost domain? The simplest way is to forcibly pull them in, or use tricks to lure them. That blinding green light just now was one such trick. In fact, we were already caught by the ghost energy, but you didn’t realize it—your attention was all on the light."
As we spoke, Spirit Snake and the Serpent King sprang into action. In an instant, the two collided—I could only catch glimpses of their attacks. The moment they clashed, countless blows were exchanged.
Yet the fight surprised me—there was no surge of force sweeping toward us. It was as if the battle was silent; I couldn’t even hear the slightest clash of weapons. It was strangely unsettling.
Now all I could see were two streaks of green light, trailing long tails as they collided and intertwined.
"I see... Ethan Zhang, who do you think will win?"
"Spirit Snake."
Tabby Cat King smiled, then said:
"I think so too."
I looked at Tabby Cat King in surprise. He spoke:
"At first, the power and moves your Ghost Soul snake used were almost identical to the Serpent King's, but it was at a disadvantage. That kind of gap in strength can't be changed. But now, things are different—Spirit Snake's techniques have started to change."
I blinked, unable to see the change Tabby Cat King was talking about. He grabbed one of my ears with his furry paw.
"Useless. Now I have to lend you my eyes."
With that, Tabby Cat King actually plucked out his own eyeball. I gasped—he gripped the black-green orb in one hand, then, with a squelch, pressed it to my forehead. Instantly, my vision changed completely.
It wasn’t the first time I’d felt this. Spirit Snake and Serpent King were still fighting, but now Spirit Snake was the aggressor. The Serpent King could only defend, raising his trident to block Spirit Snake’s rapid, precise dagger strikes.
For a moment, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand. Tabby Cat King had said Spirit Snake was changing, but I still couldn’t grasp what that change was.
Suddenly, as Spirit Snake slashed with the dagger several times, his feet transformed into serpents and wrapped around the Serpent King’s waist. The dagger kept stabbing relentlessly. Now, I began to hear the clash of weapons—but though the Serpent King was restrained, he still blocked Spirit Snake’s attacks with uncanny precision. Both their eyes had turned golden-red.
The attacks grew faster. With a boom, I snapped back to myself—Spirit Snake and Serpent King broke apart, and my vision returned to normal. Tabby Cat King stood beside me, smiling, weighing the eyeball he’d just pressed to my forehead.
"Do you know what that battle just was?"
I shook my head.
It’s a Realm Duel—this is a high-level ghost combat technique. Some powerful saints and ghosts use it, fighting their opponents within the realm. If successful, you can easily locate the enemy’s ghost soul. Now, Spirit Snake has won.
My jaw dropped; I had no idea what Tabby Cat King was talking about. He weighed his eyeball in his hand, then, with a squelch, popped it back into his socket.
Are you a robot? Can you take off any part of your body?
I stared at Tabby Cat King in shock. Suddenly, he squinted and yanked off his own paw, then knocked it against my head a few times.
What are you doing?
Didn’t you say I was a robot?
At that moment, I noticed Spirit Snake and Serpent King weren’t moving at all—they seemed to be waiting for something. Spirit Snake’s gaze was cold but relaxed, while the Serpent King’s eyes were filled with gravity.
I’ve won. You have to help us.
Not necessarily.
Suddenly, the Serpent King thrust his trident forward. In an instant, thousands of multicolored snakes filled the sky, flying toward Spirit Snake and blotting out the sun.
You have another trick? Too bad—I already know where your ghost soul is.
Spirit Snake hunched forward, dagger raised, and in an instant became a streak of green light, plunging into the swarm of snakes—his figure was instantly swallowed up.
The Serpent King vanished too. Thousands of snakes swarmed before us, blotting out the sky—their numbers kept growing. Then I noticed the snakes in the sky had started biting each other, and chaos reigned.
With a whoosh, the snakes in the sky vanished. I stared in shock—Spirit Snake stood behind the Serpent King, dagger pressed to his throat. The Serpent King let go, his trident dropped and turned into green light, disappearing.
Why do you know my exact location?
No reason. I’ve changed, just like I told you before. Whether human or ghost, in the end, coexistence is the only path. You can’t hide the truth forever. Even if King Kṣitigarbha makes the greatest sacrifice, all he can do is keep the volcano suppressed a little longer. In such a tangled situation, even the Six Paths will get caught up in it.
King Kṣitigarbha really is admirable. He’s never backed down from the oath he made all those years ago. I respect him for that.
Tabby Cat King muttered beside me as Spirit Snake and Serpent King approached us.
Looks like your fight is finally over. Can we talk business now?
The Serpent King looked reluctant, but finally nodded.
That’s right. The loser has to listen to the winner.
Spirit Snake said nothing and returned to my body. I felt much better.
Answer me, Ethan Zhang—what are humans and ghosts, in your eyes?
Are humans white and ghosts black? For me, whether human or ghost, they’re all gray.
The Serpent King didn’t ask any more questions, and instead burst out laughing.
Are you saying you can fix all this chaos?
I’m powerless—at least for now.
Enough with the nonsense. No matter what you all do, I’m more interested in what John Chou said.
The Serpent King glared at Tabby Cat King.
You’ve stirred up trouble in the Animal Realm for years. Things are chaotic enough—do you really want to make it worse?
Tabby Cat King yawned and burst out laughing.
I’m going to eat that rat until he shows up. Otherwise, I’ll never let the Animal Realm know peace.
Is it just because you didn’t become one of the Zodiac?
Tabby Cat King looked at the Serpent King with utter boredom.
Doesn’t matter. The Zodiac has nothing to do with me. I just hated what he did back then, so I hold a grudge. After all, I’m a ghost—leave these things to the others to discuss.
The Serpent King said nothing more and landed on the ground, his limbs vanishing as he turned into a snake.
It’s hard to enter Bullhorn King’s ghost domain. Earlier, Wild Boar King told us John Chou had arrived in the Animal Realm, so we were fully prepared. We planned to act only after John Chou’s influence spread, but he saw through our plan and teamed up with you.
Tabby Cat King stretched out his paw, plucked the whiskers stuck to my head one by one, then put them back on his mouth and groomed them with his paw. He meowed happily.
I didn’t really want to help you, but his intent reached me. I still don’t want to understand him, but maybe he’s right—these things can’t be held back anymore.
How long has it been since there was reincarnation in the Animal Realm?
Tabby Cat King asked.
It’s been over a thousand years.
I stared in shock, finding it hard to believe.