The soul perishes; even if the body remains alive, it is nothing more than a living corpse.

Therefore, Ethan Woods was certain that Henry Sutton would not survive the night.

William Green was silent for a moment, then said, “Should we inform him of this?”

Ethan Woods shook his head slightly and said, “He can’t escape it anyway. Don’t let him add to his sorrow for nothing. Right now, he believes the disaster has passed and is happy—let him remain happy for now.”

As he spoke, Ethan Woods waved his hand, a hint of desolation in his gesture.

……

Night fell.

Henry Sutton, utterly exhausted, fell into a deep sleep.

But once he truly slept, he felt restless.

In his dreams, there was always a sense of hidden anxiety, leaving him agitated and uneasy.

He tossed and turned, unable to fall into a deep sleep, yet unable to fully wake up; even his eyelids felt too heavy to open.

Time passed like this for a long while.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder!

He felt everything shifting and changing, his own body rising and falling as if floating among the clouds—sometimes ascending, sometimes plummeting and crashing to the ground.

A heavy feeling weighed on his heart, filling him with unease.

“What’s going on?”

Henry Sutton grew increasingly uneasy, when suddenly, a wave of dread swept over him.

The scene before his eyes had already changed.

He found himself surrounded on all sides by a hazy mist, as if lost in fog, or as if the world had not yet formed, in the era before chaos was divided.

Henry Sutton had experienced such a scene before, and he understood in his heart that this was his own sea of consciousness, the place of his awareness. Last time… he had been drawn here by talisman water, which had triggered the inheritance hidden deep in his sea of consciousness by Master Clark.

Now, he had arrived here once again.

Could there be another inheritance?

Could it be an inheritance of cultivation techniques?

As Henry Sutton pondered this, the sense of dread in his heart grew even stronger.

“No, this kind of dread, this kind of unease, doesn’t feel like a good thing…”

He held his breath slightly, scanning his surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

He saw, before the hazy white mist ahead, a mass of black smoke and dust.

That black smoke gradually condensed and transformed, taking the shape of a black figure.

This figure was pitch black all over, featureless, yet exuded an aura of supreme authority—distant and unapproachable. In a trance, it seemed like a god gazing down upon the mortal world.

Henry Sutton took a deep breath, feeling that this presence… was not friendly!

“So, you cannot descend after all?”

The black figure spoke slowly, its voice old yet extremely deep and resonant: “I lent the Nine Divine Butterflies to Samuel Young, allowing him to comprehend the mysteries of the Yin Spirit. I once said, ‘If the person lives, the butterfly lives’… Now that the Nine Divine Butterflies have turned to ashes, leaving only half a wisp of my Yin Spirit, it means that Samuel Young has already perished.”

Although Henry Sutton did not fully understand, he could roughly tell that this Samuel Young was most likely that man in the black robe.

At this moment, the black figure seemed to fix its gaze on Henry Sutton.

“You are but a mere mortal, with no ability to kill Samuel Young. How did this half-wisp of Yin Spirit end up on you?”

The ancient voice carried a hint of doubt, but even so, it echoed in all directions, possessing a divine might that made one’s heart tremble.

Henry Sutton felt a surge of dread, but managed to calm himself with effort.

Samuel Young had been devoured by the Gu serpent, and the Gu serpent was destroyed by him using the power of the Five Elements Armor. But in the eyes of this black shadow, he was just an ordinary mortal, certainly not the killer.

That was just as well—perhaps it would spare him from a fatal disaster.

“I was merely passing by, and a speck of dust fell into my eye. I have no idea what happened.”

Henry Sutton was about to explain, but then stopped himself, realizing that saying too much could lead to mistakes. If he explained too clearly, the other party might catch on.

But even though he answered this way, the black shadow had no intention of letting him go.

“No matter what, since the Yin Spirit has fallen upon you, it is now your concern.”

The black shadow said in a low voice, “I will destroy your soul and seize your body. Consider it revenge for Samuel Young, and also a way to preserve this wisp of Yin Spirit.”

Upon hearing this, Henry Sutton retreated several steps.

The black shadow advanced slowly, closing in.

Henry Sutton kept retreating.

The black shadow kept advancing.

After retreating more than ten steps, Henry Sutton suddenly shuddered, as if he understood something, and then stopped.

The black shadow stopped as well, saying calmly, “You’re not going to struggle?”

Henry Sutton sighed and said, “Senior, do you truly intend to destroy my soul and scatter my spirit?”

The black shadow’s tone remained lofty and cold: “In my life, I have killed countless beings. Once I decide to kill, I never regret it.”

Henry Sutton sighed, “Then that is truly pitiful.”

The black shadow let out a chilling, cackling laugh and said, “You are not pitiful. I have always enjoyed tormenting and killing. Destroying your soul today is actually a mercy.”

Henry Sutton shook his head slightly and said, “I meant you are the pitiful one.”

The black shadow was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, “Have you gone mad with fear?”

Henry Sutton took a deep breath, suddenly revealing a ferocious grin, and then shouted angrily, “Old bastard, you dare invade my sea of consciousness and try to destroy my soul, but you’ve forgotten—this is your Grandpa Su’s territory!”

As he finished speaking, he stepped back, retreating into the mist. His figure instantly became hazy and indistinct.

“Trying to escape?”

The black shadow sneered and moved forward, about to plunge into the mist.