Die, Replay, Repeat

Frustration boiling over, Yang Ming shoved the Ferryman in a fit of anger.

To everyone's shock, the terrifying figure that had exuded such menace moments ago crumbled instantly. The skeletal Ferryman collapsed into a brittle pile of bones, scattering across the boat's deck.

With the Ferryman gone, the boat abruptly stopped moving.

Yang Ming stared in disbelief. "What the... That's it? That scary-looking Ferryman fell apart like some cheap Halloween prop?"

Shaking off his surprise, he grabbed the oar, determined to take matters into his own hands. Planting his feet firmly, he paddled with all his might, but no matter how hard he rowed, the boat didn't move an inch.

Xiao Chuxia's eyes lit up with a desperate idea. "Xiu, you can fly! Why don't you just fly us out of here?"

Fang Xiu's expression remained calm. He shook his head. "That won't work. Haven't you noticed? The moment we boarded this boat, we were bound to it. None of us can leave."

"Bound?" Xiao Chuxia frowned, unwilling to believe him. Stretching her arm toward the edge of the boat, she tried to reach beyond it.

The moment her hand crossed the edge, an invisible force shoved it back with overwhelming pressure, as though the very air itself refused to let her go further.

Fang Xiu's tone was steady, almost indifferent. "It's simple. Just wait for death."

"Xiu!" Xiao Chuxia's voice cracked with panic. "Now is not the time for jokes! What do we do?"

Yang Ming, meanwhile, sighed dramatically and plopped onto the wet deck. "Well, if Xiu says to wait for death, might as well relax. No use fighting destiny. Let me take a drag first."

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and leaned back, blowing smoke into the damp air as though he didn't have a care in the world.

The others, seeing his nonchalance, began to settle in as well.

Xiong Tianguang crossed his arms and leaned against the boat's edge, while Li Xiaoru stared thoughtfully at the rising water, calm and unbothered.

Xiao Chuxia, however, was incredulous. "What's wrong with all of you?! Why are you just giving up?"

Yang Ming smirked, puffing on his cigarette. "Oh, Big Black, you've forgotten already? Xiu's seen the future. Sure, this place is dangerous, but we'll survive. If he says to wait, it's because he knows what's coming. Maybe the way out is actually at the bottom of the lake."

"What doesn't kill us will make us stronger,'" Li Xiaoru added, finishing his thought with a faint smile.

Xiao Chuxia looked at their composed expressions and felt like she was losing her mind.

She couldn't believe that they trusted Fang Xiu so blindly—After all, she was the only one who knew his supposed ability to see the future was a complete fabrication.

As the water continued to rise, now soaking their knees, its chilling suppression of their Spiritual Energy became more pronounced.

They could feel their powers waning, slipping further and further out of reach. It was clear that once the boat completely submerged, they'd be left no better than ordinary people, vulnerable and powerless.

Despite this, the group remained calm, their faith in Fang Xiu unwavering. To them, his stillness wasn't inaction but a calculated step in some larger, unseen plan.

But what they couldn't have known was that Fang Xiu truly was waiting to die.

This time, it wasn't out of recklessness or a death wish, but by design. He intended to die in the Corpse Lake on purpose. Then, Pain Manifestation would allow him to summon a projection of the lake after experiencing its horrors firsthand.

The Corpse Lake's unique property of suppressing Spiritual Energy was a fearsome power. If successfully manifested, it could suppress even fourth-tier psychics at their peak, and perhaps even harm fifth-tier psychics.

For Fang Xiu, this wasn't a matter of surviving—it was about seizing a chance to grow stronger. The others might have been thinking about escaping, but in his mind, this was an opportunity too rare to pass up.

Fang Xiu's options for combating fifth-tier psychics were limited, and none of them offered perfect solutions.

Summoning "wife" could deal significant damage, but her power was too localized and situational to rely on in every battle.

Calling on the Specter Gods was undeniably potent, but the price was astronomical. Every time he summoned them, it felt like strapping a small horse to pull a heavy cart—an extraordinary effort for results that rarely met expectations.

These limitations made Fang Xiu narrow his focus on the Corpse Lake.

Its unique ability to suppress Spiritual Energy made it an unparalleled weapon. If he could integrate its essence, he'd gain a versatile and devastating tool to combat fifth-tier opponents—one that didn't come with the drawbacks of his other methods.

PLOP!

The water had risen to Yang Ming's waist, yet he remained unbothered. Instead, he lit an entire row of cigarettes, stuffing his mouth with them until he looked like a chimney, puffing smoke in all directions.

"Yang Ming, are you insane?" Li Xiaoru scolded, incredulous. "Even with enhanced lungs, you can't smoke like that. Are you trying to finish a lifetime's supply in one go?"

"Mmph... can't waste," Yang Ming mumbled through the cigarettes dangling from his lips. "Water'll... ruin my last pack..."

Two cigarettes fell from his mouth as he spoke, and his expression turned mournful, as if he'd lost a precious treasure.

The boat, meanwhile, continued to sink at an alarming rate. Within moments, the waterline reached its limit, and the vessel was fully submerged.

The group plunged into the icy lake.

"Ahhh! Nooo!" Yang Ming screamed. "My smokes—damn it, that was my last pack!"

But before he could finish his lament, his body slipped beneath the surface, his voice turning into muffled gurgles.

Swimming wasn't the problem. The real terror came the moment they hit the water.

The countless corpses floating in the lake suddenly came to life.

Bloated, pale bodies surged toward them, their decayed hands clawing and dragging with relentless force. The group struggled desperately, but without Spiritual Energy, they were defenseless.

One by one, they were dragged under.

Underwater, chaos erupted.

Li Xiaoru fought back with everything she had, but the corpses overwhelmed her. She screamed as her scalp was ripped clean off, her limbs torn from her body, and her intestines pulled out in a grotesque display.

Luo Qingxin and Xiao Chuxia fared no better. Their bodies were shredded, their heads scalped, and their flesh torn apart as blood painted the lake in crimson clouds. Their screams echoed briefly before fading into silence.

The deaths were brutal, a macabre reminder of the lake's horrific power.

Only two people remained: Fang Xiu and Yang Ming.

Fang Xiu survived because his body, enhanced by the energy of countless Specters, far exceeded human limits. Even without Spiritual Energy, his physical resilience allowed him to resist the corpses' grasp.

But Fang Xiu didn't fight them off. Instead, he allowed the hands to drag him deeper, their combined strength pulling him toward the lake's depths.

He wasn't interested in survival. He sought the source of the Corpse Lake's power. If he was going to die, it would be at the very bottom, where the core of its energy lay.

Only then could he ensure that the Corpse Lake Projection he later manifested would be complete.

Yang Ming's survival, however, was an entirely different matter.

It wasn't skill, strength, or strategy that kept him alive—it was God's Plan.

Whenever Yang Ming faced mortal danger, God's Plan would activate, warping reality itself to protect him.

As the undead hands reached for him, his Specter Gadgets—the Corpse Bead and the Corpse Water Jar—activated in tandem.

The Corpse Bead emitted an aura that subdued the surrounding corpses. The moment their hands came close, they disintegrated into streams of Specter energy, which the bead absorbed effortlessly.

At the same time, the Corpse Water Jar began pulling in the lake water.