In a room on the Thirty-First Floor, Song Xinxue clutched the Jade Plaque and huddled in a corner. A more powerful presence stood guard outside the door—no, not guarding it. Blocking it.
The man stood in the doorway, holding up a black banner. Blood-red Runes writhed across its surface in the darkness, as though alive.
The aura around him was wrong. It belonged neither to a living person nor to a Soul Entity, but to something between the two—something twisted, torn apart, and occupied by another presence. He had been possessed.
The creator of the Soul-Gathering Banner had lacked the cultivation to control such immense power and suffered a backlash. What now occupied his body was something born within the Soul-Gathering Banner—a Ghost King.
Chen Hao withdrew his divine sense and turned to face the two girls.
After gathering himself for a moment, Chen Hao suddenly channeled his energy into his dantian and let out a thunderous shout. His voice crashed through layer after layer of black mist, ringing throughout the building. "What demon dares to lurk here and prey upon mortal lives? Surrender at once!"
His furious shout carried a faint cadence from the Primordial Era. It sent ripples through the surrounding yin energy and reached the room on the thirty-first floor with perfect clarity.
Song Xinxue, who had been curled up trembling in the corner, jerked her head up. Hope instantly lit her eyes. Thinking a police officer or security guard on patrol had arrived, she mustered every ounce of strength and shouted toward the door, "Is anyone there? Help! I'm on the thirty-first floor! Please save me!"
Her voice passed through the door and reached Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing clearly on the twenty-ninth floor. It was not because her voice carried that far, but because Chen