Right now, I am truly afraid of Zhuang Cheng, afraid of that inexplicable "fire ability user."

  I’ve never encountered a fire ability user like him. Just using his gaze to ignite an opponent is already enough to be considered cheating, but what kind of absurd skill is it to summon fire inside someone’s body? And how does he completely disregard both my physical and soul attacks? I never want to face him again.

  At this moment, parts of my flesh have already turned to charcoal, still emitting scalding heat, torturing me to the brink of madness. Mentally, I have become a frightened bird, trembling at the slightest sound.

  When that magical fluctuation appeared nearby, I was so startled that my soul seemed to leave my body. However, when I focused, I realized the newcomer was not Zhuang Cheng.

  It was a man, his head missing half, his body twisted, drenched in blood, wearing an orange construction jacket. He stood at a distance, his body appearing semi-transparent, allowing me to faintly see the scenery behind him through his form. His face was numb and vacant, his eyes devoid of any rational light, moving slowly toward me like an animal drawn by the scent of blood and flesh.

  This was a ghost... No, it should be called an evil spirit.

  It seems that this is the evil spirit rumored to haunt this abandoned construction site. It must have caught the scent of the Soul-Attracting Talisman on me. Although I had put the talisman away, I hadn’t resealed the paper, so it's only natural that such an instinct-driven evil spirit would be drawn here.

  Last time, I almost thought it didn’t exist at all. Why didn’t it appear when Zhuang Cheng and I were here together?

  But never mind that for now; I should deal with this troublesome evil spirit first.

  I walked over, raising my bde. It seemed to be startled by me and suddenly froze in pce, a look of terror appearing on its face. What use is it to be afraid now? If anything, it can only bme itself for foolishly getting too close.

  Just as I was about to strike, I saw its lips twitching, as if it were a mental patient muttering in fear: "It's coming... it's coming..."

  Upon hearing that, I stopped in my tracks, a sense of foreboding rising in my heart. "What’s coming? Tell me clearly, what’s coming?"

  Like some instinct-driven insects or animals, which can sometimes sense climate changes or predict the onset of earthquakes, tsunamis, or storms, these evil spirits, because of their weakness, are often more sensitive to spiritual matters than many demon hunters.

  At that moment, the evil spirit trembled all over, clutching its head, crouching on the ground, and its blood-soaked face showed an expression of despair.

  “He... he’s coming...” it screamed in immense fear. “He’s already looking over here... He’s watching! He sees it! Aaaahhh!!!”

  As soon as its words fell, the scene before me suddenly changed.

  Fmes erupted from all directions, instantly turning the floor into a sea of fire.

  Caught in the overwhelming firestorm, I quickly used my shadow power to shield my body. However, the intensity of the heat destroyed my shadow defense in an instant, and the distant evil spirit was evaporated on the spot, like a droplet of water falling into hot oil.

  At the center of the firestorm, a rge amount of fmes gathered and condensed, finally forming a huge fireball that floated in the air like the eye of a god.

  Although the fmes had destroyed my shadow defense and the evil spirit, they did not harm me.

  I was already overwhelmed with terror. The massive fireball slowly rotated in the air, then turned toward me.

  I immediately turned and ran, maniputing the nearby shadows to attempt another spatial transfer. But as soon as I moved my legs, the shadow forming my leg prosthetics exploded, causing me to fall to the ground. The shadow coming toward me was also scorched by the fmes, vanishing without a trace.

  The giant fireball contracted inward and transformed into a humanoid shape made of fire. The figure then shifted into a human dressed in casual clothes, nding on the ground.

  It was Zhuang Cheng.

  "Didn't expect you to come back here. Is there something here that would make you come back specifically?" He curiously looked around, seemingly unaware that there had been an evil spirit earlier, which he had incinerated with his fmes.

  Surrounded by the overwhelming sound of burning, I struggled to support my body, staring at him with an indescribable sense of terror, unsure if my dry voice could even reach him.

  "How... how do you know I'm here?"

  At the same time, after seeing the image of him forming amidst the sea of fmes, I finally understood the principle behind his immortality.

  Although the ability to manipute natural elements is powerful, when this ability reaches a level that transcends common human understanding, the usual knowledge of a demon hunter no longer applies.

  In the ancient world of demon hunters, there was a legendary state known as "Manifestation."

  Throughout history, those who embarked on the path of cultivation often sought to combine themselves with the Way of Heaven and nature, known as "Heaven and Man in Unity." Those who controlled the spirit of water would emute water's nature of benefiting all things without contention; those who controlled the spirit of the earth would emute the earth's nature of bearing all with great virtue. The ultimate goal of this emution was to become one with the object of emution, or to merge with it.

  Those who reached the legendary "Manifestation" state in cultivation could abandon their physical bodies, freely transform their souls, and merge with the natural world, appearing in the human realm like gods when necessary.

  That is no longer the realm of mere mortals, but the domain of an immortal on nd.

  I couldn't believe that Zhuang Cheng was an immortal, but his ability to seemingly transform himself into natural elements clearly exhibited traits of the "Manifestation" state.

  What he dispyed was undoubtedly a technique that only appears in mythological tales. Even the most powerful beings, like the great and mighty ones at the pinnacle of Mount Luo, who could destroy an entire nation single-handedly as if gods descending from the heavens, might not be capable of doing the same thing.

  I didn't expect to get an answer to my question, but Zhuang Cheng really did respond.

  "Why? I should've told you already, there's a spiritual connection between me and the fmes I release, so of course, I can lock onto your location."

  "But the fmes on me have already disappeared..."

  "It seems I didn't expin it to you clearly. The fmes I release, along with the light and heat they produce, are essentially my spirit," he said, surprisingly patient and answering every question. "Even though the fmes are extinguished, the heat remains. This isn't acceptable."

  "What... no, that's not right!" I said, unable to accept it. "The Shadow World is a separate dimension from the real world, so even the connection to the heat should have been severed!"

  "Oh, you're talking about that..." He nodded. "Although the connection became unstable for a while, it wasn't completely severed. It's just that the scene on your side couldn't be seen clearly for a while. But whether I need to reignite the fmes or move into your Shadow World, it's all possible."

  "I had already made up my mind to come over, but you left first... it's fine, you can just help me open the portal ter."

  This didn't make sense. The Shadow World, just like the basement on the fifteenth floor, was another dimension. Since the tter could sever Zhuang Cheng's connection, there was no reason the former couldn't.

  Could it be that the basement on the fifteenth floor was truly that special?

  Or perhaps...

  Suddenly, I realized a more pusible possibility.

  "So... you're saying... you lied?"

  "Lied?" Zhuang Cheng paused in surprise.

  Yes, he must have lied.

  No wonder he could calmly talk to Zhu Shi and me about his experiences in the basement beneath. He already possessed the ability to freely travel through different spaces and times using fmes, so naturally, he had no fear.

  I had just seen it clearly. He could summon fmes from the heat on my body and could travel here through fire. Since his spiritual connection with the fmes was strong enough to penetrate the barriers between the real world and other spaces, there was no reason for him to have been trapped in the basement, forced to find the missing symbols of the ritual array to escape.

  Thinking carefully, he shouldn't have been able to use the so-called "missing symbols of the ritual array" to open the basement either. I had tried the same method myself, but failed. This meant that the method was a lie from the beginning.

  After a moment of confusion, Zhuang Cheng shook his head.

  "Although I don't know what you're talking about, this is not the pce for a conversation. I have more questions for you, so let's change the location. Once I get all the information I need, I'll hand you over to Zhu Shi."

  "Is that so? Sorry... but you're going to be disappointed!"

  I wouldn't just sit back and wait. Even if he didn't pn to kill me right away, I had no intention of letting him dispose of my life at will. I would fight to the death.

  I am no longer the person I was twenty years ago. The current me possesses strength, and with it, true courage.

  — Courage without strength is merely a fool's self-satisfaction. True courage is born from strength.

  With this in mind, I immediately activated my Substitute ability against Zhuang Cheng.

  Given the level of magic he dispyed, my ability couldn’t possibly turn him into a Substitute. But as long as I could dey him for even a second—no, even just a blink of an eye—I would find the opportunity to escape.

  Then, I would follow his advice and wait for the heat to dissipate in the shadow space, so he wouldn’t be able to track me anymore. Even if he attempted to enter the shadow world, without the necessary abilities, he wouldn't be able to survive there, let alone harm me.

  I will escape from here!

  Without any movement or light, just with a thought, my power instantly activated, heading toward Zhuang Cheng, attempting to erode him.

  However, the moment my ability touched his spirit, a sun filled with destructive waves suddenly appeared in my consciousness.

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