Just as Luo Yunji was intently studying the inscriptions on the Heavenly Book Volume Five beneath his feet, a watery shimmer suddenly lit up on the Altar behind him. The Ghost King, whom Luo Yunji had placed beside the Altar, suddenly began to twitch. His eyelids fluttered faster and faster. Then the watery light on the Altar shot down in an instant and sank into the Ghost King's brow. His whole body began convulsing on the ground.
Luo Yunji seemed to hear something. He spun around and looked toward the sound, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The Ghost King, meanwhile, was lying quietly in the distance as before, looking as peaceful as if he were fast asleep. Yet behind the Altar, which obscured his face, a faint shimmer passed over the skin that had already peeled away from the flesh—and it slowly began to recover.
At last, beneath a wash of gray light, it was completely restored.
When the glow around the Ghost King faded, everything seemed as though it had never happened.
After giving the fifth volume of the Heavenly Book carved into the platform a cursory look, Luo Yunji rose and headed for the Altar. He failed to notice the eyes of the nearby statues, each four times his height, suddenly glowing a deep scarlet, like blood-red gems gleaming in the dark.
Luo Yunji braced one hand against the Altar and looked down at the Ghost King lying on the ground. The thought of having to carry him back made him feel exhausted already.
Just as he was brooding over it, a Boundary Rift slowly split open behind him, at the far edge of the stone platform. Like an eye opening, it revealed half a face.
The face was evil and hideous, beyond the power of