C1899 He Fell into the Trap

Youyu was compelled by the source embodying the Will of Everlands to enter the Origin Gate once again, leaving everyone with an ominous feeling.

The source, once akin to a tombstone and solid like a crystal, unexpectedly transformed into a soul-like entity.

At that moment, his slender frame, meticulously sculpted in the Land of Terror and repeatedly forged in the extraterrestrial Star River, glowed with a ghostly white radiance.

Shadow energy continued to flow within him, yet his soul was gone.

"Watch out for Han Qi!" Wagner cautioned in a grave tone.

Matina, who had ascended from an enchantress to a God of Ghosts, appeared youthful. As Youyu approached the Origin Gate, her green eyes narrowed, and she spoke with a chilling voice, "Many ghosts have vanished without a trace. It's as if they were absorbed by something peculiar."

She had never ventured into the Mindscape or the Origin Realm, but her mark was hidden within the spirited bodies of some powerful ghosts loyal to her.

She was certain those ghosts would never defy her, so the widespread disappearance of her mark pointed to one possibility.

The ghosts had been taken to a place beyond her perception!

"There's another Origin Gate that leads directly to the Abyss."

Yu Yuan decisively recounted his experiences within in the most succinct terms.

"It seems that whatever is corrupting the Primal Soul of Everlands is also affecting Youyu," Matina surmised. The ancient God of Ghosts hesitated before the massive ancient tree, then suddenly, with a sardonic twist of her lips, declared, "I'm quite curious about the mysteries it holds!"

With a whoosh, she left her seductive form and, as a pure soul, followed Youyu through the Origin Gate.

"I'm in too!"

Wagner grinned, aware of the odd circumstances and suspecting that Youyu, now tainted by the alien presence, might turn into an adversary. Nonetheless, he boldly entered the Origin Gate.

His soul detached as well.

"If Youyu has forged a path, then... it's only right that I take a look," said Kaiya, a woman of imposing stature. She nonchalantly shrugged, and a purple devil soul burst forth from her brow, speeding towards the yawning Origin Gate.

The two Gods of Ghosts and Kaiya entered in succession.

Just a moment after returning, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, now a Ghost King, joined Wagner and the others in the Mindscape.

"Include me as well!"

In the ethereal Mindscape, Youyu, enveloped in a black and blue essence, raced among thousands of ghosts. He seemed irresistibly drawn toward a specific destination.

"I knew you'd show up," Matina, in her spirited body, stood at the Origin Gate. Once Wagner, Kaiya, and Yu Yuan entered, she scoffed, "Just as I thought—a scheme from the Abyss."

She stood within the surreal Mindscape, her body naturally emitting dark green Soul Power that surged tumultuously in every direction.

In no time at all, a vast expanse of the Mindscape, once under Youyu's control, had become her dominion.

"This Origin Gate connects to the Wraithlands; we cannot afford to lose it," Matina declared, her expression resolute. "My power now shrouds this place. Neither the Evil God of the Abyss, Han Qi's forces, nor Han Qi himself shall lay a finger on this gate!"

Upon her arrival, she claimed the Origin Gate linked to the Wraithlands and the surrounding territory.

And as for the Mindscape and the Origin Realm tainted by it, this was merely her first encounter.

"Come, let's head to the other gate."

Matina led the way, and the ghosts she passed were frozen in place, unable to move.

The ghosts, uncertain of their allegiance to her, Wagner, Han Qi, or masterless, had been howling madly towards the same location. Yet, once she passed, their frenzy ceased.

Yu Yuan, trailing behind, observed closely and noticed that these ghosts from the Wraithlands bore a greenish mark deep within their souls.

The mark twinkled like a distant star, exuding Matina's distinct essence, lulling the myriad ghosts into a deep sleep.

"Maw of Oblivion!"

From a great distance, Kaiya, in her dark purple phantom form, had already spotted the anomaly at another Origin Gate.

The Origin Gate had transformed into the Maw of Oblivion, voraciously consuming all forms of power from the dissolving Mindscape.

Yin Qi from the Wraithlands, the intrinsic power of the Mindscape, and every ghost that had intruded were all being drawn into the gate!

The once desolate Origin Realm had blossomed into a vibrant tapestry of color. Yet, paradoxically, the newly formed Maw of Oblivion possessed an insatiable appetite, devouring everything without limit. Many ghosts and spirits had vanished into its depths, which Matina sensed as the mysterious disappearance of her subordinates, bound to her by soul ties.

"The sudden transformation of the Origin Gate into the Maw of Oblivion suggests that Jihui, who fights as he retreats, and those Evil Gods who hastily departed, had a premeditated plan," Wagner remarked with a cold snort. He noticed Youyu, enveloped in an Origin, hurtling toward the Maw of Oblivion and declared, "I will intercept him!"

The Shura, a God of Ghosts, expelled a murky river from his mouth. The river, akin to his tongue, exuded the Wraithlands' rule that ensnared all wandering souls. As it flowed, the ghosts in its path, bound for the Maw of Oblivion, found themselves ensnared.

With a splat, the viscous, tongue-like river adhered to the dark Origin encasing Youyu, and thick smoke immediately billowed forth. Wagner's river, tainted with the rot of corrupted souls, elicited his anguished cries. The ensnared ghosts, influenced by his power, surged toward the smoky black Origin, dissolving into it one after another.

Yet, Wagner's turbid river had halted Youyu and the Origin, preventing their immediate advance toward the Maw of Oblivion.

"Yu Yuan, you know him well. Try to awaken him!" Kaiya urged, her voice steady with resolve. "This is Youyu, who forged the Path into Shadow via the Lunar Meridian in the Everlands. He's simply been caught off guard. Once his spiritual wisdom is restored, and he realizes his true identity and that the Will of Everlands is not to be trusted, he will cease his advance!"

"He might even sever his bond with the Origin, just as I have stripped mine away!"

Beneath the ancient tree, Yu Yuan observed the lifeless forms of the three Gods of Ghosts and Kaiya, who had departed with the devil soul. A sense of foreboding washed over him. He detected an anomaly in the flow of shadow energy and sensed the convergence of a Ghost King in the distance. Moreover, a familiar vitality, once feeble, was now surging with strength.

A conspiracy was undoubtedly afoot.

Whoosh!

Han Qi, with his unremarkable appearance, soared through the distant Shadow Mountain. Each time he emerged, he was a step closer to the Origin Gate.

A smile plastered across his face, Han Qi's fervent gaze drifted over the forms of Youyu, Wagner, and Matina.

"Three Gods of Ghosts, and two hail from the native Wraithlands."

As he uttered these words, Han Qi, who had once crossed paths with Yu Yuan in the Annihilation Nebula, materialized before him.

Seeming to be on high alert, Han Qi did not immediately descend onto the grey-white land but instead eyed the ancient tree with caution.

The Origin Gate, once rooted in Shadow Mountain, was now shattered. The debris lay scattered across the grey-white land where the Origin Gate still stood.

The hidden foundation of the Origin Gate within his domain had been supplanted by this grey-white expanse.

"Lord Taiyin, you should not have ventured into the Wraithlands."

Hovering in the void, Han Qi finally looked down at Yu Yuan. "You ought to have heeded our sect master's advice, allowing the Solar Spirit that guards the Abyssal Gate to retreat to the deep recesses of the Everlands. If you've chosen to seal away those past memories, wouldn't it be easier to simply forget them?"

"Perhaps it will aid you in the Everlands, elevating your dominant soul to a primordial spirit."

"In the process of your revival, it might erase parts of your memory, retaining only the allegiance to it. You could remain the Taiyin who commands the Star River, the famed dragon slayer."

Regret tinged Han Qi's expression, as if chastising Yu Yuan for his ingratitude and defiance of the Will of Everlands.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seven Ghost Kings, among them Shadowkin, Voidweavers, Moonlit Wanderers, and Stoneborn, materialized one by one behind Han Qi.

These seven Ghost Kings, subdued by Han Qi in the Wraithlands, regarded him as their sovereign.

"I intend to dissolve their Shadow-Forms, ensuring that even if they manage to return, they will be without bodies to inhabit."

Han Qi said with a light laugh, "Ideally, those God of Ghosts will plummet into the Abyss, leaving me to untangle the rules of the Wraithlands and ascend as the sole God of Ghosts."

...