Chapter 70: The Coastal Heist (1)

“Get off my back!”
The impostor screamed in agony as it was scorched by the karmic fire, leaping backward again and again, slamming Wu Zui’s back hard against the pitch-black ground. Each impact made Wu Zui’s internal organs bleed, and with every mouthful of blood he spat onto the impostor, the karmic fire flared even more fiercely.
In truth, Wu Zui had realized as early as their second clash that the karmic fire wielded by the impostor was only on par with the level he could produce by converting magnetic energy—it was far inferior to the karmic fire within his own blood!
“Let’s see how much blood you have left to spit!”
The impostor’s shrieks grew more frantic, and it slammed itself against him with increasing ferocity. Meanwhile, the black substance from the shadow realm around them began to converge, enveloping both of them before seeping into the impostor’s body.
As the black substance ceaselessly repaired its form, the karmic fire burned relentlessly, and the stalemate began anew.
Wu Zui’s massive blood loss left him dizzy, and his vision blurred with overlapping images. He knew these were the signs of hemorrhagic shock. He couldn’t say what would happen to the impostor if this struggle continued, but he was fairly certain he himself wouldn’t survive much longer.
But it was already too late to stop—the impostor, driven mad by the burning, had lost all reason.
With each impact, Wu Zui’s chest collapsed further, and the only reason he hadn’t let go was because his muscles had stiffened beyond his control—he simply couldn’t move anymore!
Gradually, Wu Zui slipped into unconsciousness from massive blood loss…
Once Wu Zui lost consciousness, the karmic fire within him erupted completely due to the hemorrhage.
This time, the Sword of Self-Reflection did not suppress the flames with all its might, but allowed them to surge forth. The karmic fire spewing from Wu Zui’s body threatened to ignite the entire shadow realm; the space, once shrouded in darkness, was now ablaze with karmic flames.
The fire this time was potent enough to scorch not only flesh but souls as well. Under the protection of the Sword of Self-Reflection, Wu Zui suffered only superficial burns.
But for the impostor, the shadow wraith, the black substance’s repairs could no longer keep pace with the destruction wrought by the fire. The flames reached a level that utterly consumed the impostor’s illusory body, constructed from resentment energy. Its demise was visible to the naked eye.
“I hate! I hate it!”
The shadow wraith roared in fury. If it hadn’t coveted Wu Zui’s crimson flames and if Wu Zui hadn’t walked into its trap, it would never have possessed him, let alone died to this sudden outburst of karmic fire.
Like the mirror wraith before it, this greedy specter perished by its own avarice.
As the karmic fire spread, it began to consume the entire shadow realm, burning away all traces of the black substance. At that same moment, flames erupted from Wu Zui’s shadow on the ground outside.
The surrounding spirit investigators quickly scattered; uncertain of what had happened, they chose caution above all else!
Boom—
Soon, the entire shadow exploded, a blinding flash sweeping the area and forcing everyone to squint. When the light faded, Wu Zui lay naked on the ground, his heaving chest showing he was still alive!
“Medic! Medic!”
The military commander urgently called for medical aid, while nearby spirit investigators carefully used magnetic energy to check whether Wu Zui was possessed by a wraith. After all, the recent chaos and attacks from the convoy of off-road vehicles had clearly been aimed at him!

The magnetic scan confirmed he was clear.
The medic immediately began a physical examination…
“Commander, he’s in a coma from massive blood loss and has varying degrees of internal bleeding. We need to test his blood type, perform an immediate transfusion, and get him to surgery. The burns aren’t too severe, but they also require prompt treatment!”
After his assessment, the medic reported his conclusions to the commander.
Before the commander could respond, Wu Zui’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and he sat bolt upright like a corpse rising from the grave.
“No blood transfusions! Anyone who doesn’t want to kill… me, must not transfuse blood! Just give me some adrenaline—if I take it, I’ll be fine!”
With that, Wu Zui closed his eyes and collapsed backward once more.
“So this is what you call a coma? And he needs surgery?”
Suspicion flickered in the eyes of everyone as they looked at the medic.
The medic checked again, baffled, “This isn’t right! With this much blood loss, how is he still conscious and speaking? I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Unbelievable as it seemed, since Wu Zui insisted on adrenaline, they decided to try that first; if it didn’t work, they would proceed with a transfusion. After all, since Wu Zui could still speak, perhaps his condition wasn’t as dire as it appeared!
What they didn’t know was that it wasn’t Wu Zui speaking, but the Sword Spirit of the Sword of Self-Reflection. Upon hearing they were about to give Wu Zui a blood transfusion, it took control and spoke through his mouth. If Wu Zui wasn’t killed by the shadow wraith but died at the hands of his allies, it would be the height of irony!
As for Wu Zui himself, he had already fallen into deep sleep.
The final eruption of the karmic fire, while incinerating the shadow wraith, also burned Wu Zui. Though the Sword of Self-Reflection shielded him, the ordeal still took a significant toll.
Two soldiers carried Wu Zui away with the medic.
The remaining troops, under their commander’s direction, cleared out the off-road vehicles and military trucks from the area. The previously prepared burrowing charges were put to use, blasting open a new breach in the sealed space, allowing the crowds gathered at the distant assembly point to resume their evacuation.
No one realized that with the death of the shadow wraith, the confining space that had enveloped the entire city of Binhai was gradually dissipating. It would take a long time for all that dense resentment energy to disperse, but now, the breach opened by the burrowing charges would be wider and more lasting than before.
As the situation in the northern district of Binhai brightened, a fierce battle was unfolding over the southern sea. Most of the city’s four-star spirit investigators had been summoned there; they now flew in helicopters, intercepting the six-star whale abomination approaching Binhai.
This whale abomination, nearly a hundred meters long, was so darkly red it was almost black. From its back, palm-sized lesser abominations continuously dropped into the sea—its offspring, entirely subject to its will.
While six-star wraiths established ghost kingdoms and enslaved lesser ghosts, a six-star abomination only needed to devour flesh and blood to spawn its progeny—a single six-star abomination was an army unto itself.
The attack resumed: golden bombs and howitzer shells launched from the helicopters battered the whale abomination, leaving its back a mangled mess of flesh.
The investigators did their best to slaughter the offspring; these creatures were only as tough as ordinary three-star abominations.
However, if any of them consumed enough flesh and blood, they would return to the whale’s side. The whale abomination would swallow them whole, and the flesh they had ingested, along with their own bodies, became its power to advance—if necessary, it could rapidly heal its wounds.

With so many creatures in the ocean, so much flesh to consume, both the whale abomination and the spirit investigators could afford to draw out the battle.
But suddenly, for some unknown reason, the whale abomination quickened its pace, calling all its offspring back to guard it.
The helicopters immediately gained altitude, wary of getting too close. In the first round of attacks, one had already been caught and devoured when it flew too low and the whale leaped up.
“What is it doing?”
A spirit investigator asked through the communicator.
“Look behind you—the sealed space over Binhai is weakening!” shouted another, bringing up the rear.
From his vantage point, the once pitch-black barrier had grown faint and dim.
“The wraith working with it has been killed! If a five-star investigator intervenes, the sealed space will shatter instantly. It’s probably afraid the city’s people will all escape, so it’s picking up the pace!”
With this explanation, another round of golden artillery battered the whale abomination.
Clang—clang—
Suddenly, from the ghastly faces made of flesh on the whale’s body, an uncanny, eerie sound arose, and black smoke curled from their mouths.
Instantly, several nearby helicopters began to shudder—their instruments failed, rotors stopped spinning, and they plunged straight into the sea.
These special helicopters, crafted from magnetic stone alloyed with gold and other metals, were still no match for the whale abomination’s attack, crashing into the ocean below.
The whale swung its massive head, devouring the nearest downed helicopter as well as most of its nearby offspring. Evidently, this move cost it dearly. Breaking through the investigators’ encirclement, it surged toward Binhai.
The remaining helicopters could only fall back, harrying it at range with golden munitions to slow its advance. The stalemate lasted until nightfall; the helicopters had refueled several times, and their pilots were exhausted.
As the investigators doggedly pursued the whale over the southern sea, a tattered figure, resembling a beggar, raced toward Binhai with a massive bronze bell strapped to his back.
Each stride covered three or four meters, so swift it seemed the bell was made of foam.
Yet the bell, mottled with rust, bore witness to its long history. As the beggar ran, golden light began to shimmer down from the bell’s top ring, illuminating the Sanskrit characters inscribed upon it.
“I hope I make it in time,”
The beggar muttered anxiously, hurrying through the night.
It was now dawn, the first rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds that had hung over Binhai for days.
As the first light touched the city, the Binhai Bridge was smashed apart by the charging whale abomination. Its massive body surged onto the beach, sprouted limbs beneath it, and began striding up the sand.