John Chou slowly floated upward, heading toward the mountain wall where the various lingering afterimages left by the Emerald Shade Ghost remained. He stopped in front of the wall, raising one hand.
Suddenly, those green ghostly energies began to be drawn into John Chou's raised hand. In just moments, this vast ghostly aura vanished completely.
John Chou slowly approached the furnace, reaching out his hand. I moved a little closer. The Rage Blood inside the furnace had now turned gray-white. Surprised, I watched as John Chou began to infuse ghostly energy into the furnace. Gradually, the originally black-gray flames started to show a greenish tint.
"Make the fire stronger."
As John Chou spoke, the ghost wind began to blow. With bursts of chilling wind, the flames in the furnace surged higher and higher. I was astonished—the fire was already spilling out. The coldness in the air made me shiver, so I stepped back.
I had no idea how long the process lasted. I finished my water and felt hungry, dozing off several times before waking up again. Finally, John Chou lowered his hand and stepped back.
At that moment, I saw Rage Blood floating in midair. The previously broken half had been restored—a tapered sword with edges on both sides and three grooves along the center. Now, Rage Blood had changed color to gray-white.
The hilt was still the same as before, floating in the furnace flames.
"The first stage of restoration is basically complete. Satisfied?"
As John Chou spoke, Rage Blood began to tremble.
"It's passable, I suppose. You're no swordsmith. Sigh, too bad—I still need to find Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, the famed couple, to reforge the sword's core for me. Otherwise, it can't withstand your Bloodbane Power."
I stared at Rage Blood in surprise. Gan Jiang and Mo Ye—I felt like I'd heard those names before, but what mattered most to me was the Bloodbane Power.
"Has your power recovered?"
I asked, and John Chou smiled.
"Not yet, not at all. He just preserved a little Bloodbane Power before sealing his strength, that's all. Now it's completely gone. Such boasting."
Rage Blood spoke as I shot John Chou a glare, then quickly asked another question.
"Can you help Lao Chongyuan recover?"
"Heh, brother, that's not pure Bloodbane Power. It can only fool them for a while. Once time passes, those monsters' bodies will naturally rid themselves of my fake Bloodbane Power. They just don't know it yet."
I was immediately startled and hurriedly asked.
"How many days left?"