Flames in the bronze basin scorched one black-and-white posthumous photo after another. The faces melted from the middle, their skin dripping away.
A hoarse voice mingled with the firelight. Amid a fit of coughing, a man draped in a black robe turned around.
"Lu Zang."
Compared with their last meeting, Lu Zang had aged considerably. His hair had turned gray, and ugly characters surfaced across his wrinkled skin. An unhealable wound stretched from his chest to his lower abdomen, barely stitched shut with Rune Threads.
"We meet again, Gao Ming." Lu Zang gazed at the brazier. As the figures in the black-and-white posthumous photos burned, wisps of black smoke rose and curled around him. "I know you hate me. Your suffering originated with me, but I was also the one who changed your fate. Fate Usurpation comes at a price. For every step you take forward, someone must sacrifice their life. That's fair. Without even that much resolve, you could never stand against the fate giant tree."
Gao Ming drew the Afterlife Butcher's Knife, unwilling to say anything. Lu Zang's words sounded reasonable, but the problem was that the person Lu Zang had chosen wasn't Gao Ming. It was Situ An.
Neither the Blood City Lord of the deep world nor the forces from the Endless Mortal Worlds, including Lu Zang, had chosen Gao Ming. The only one betting on him was Doctor Gao, who wanted to replace him.
Seeing that Gao Ming had no intention of retreating, Lu Zang shook his head slightly. "You can't kill me. I've already become one with this mortal world. Fate deliberately lured you here, hoping to find your true name through Situ An and me."
"You know my true name?" There wasn't a flicker of emotion in Gao Ming's eyes, but the aura