Feitian's voice heralded the appearance of yet another figure, one whose body seemed to bridge ocean and sky. The lower half of its body was a long serpent's tail. A large ring of silver appeared behind his back. His black palms were so humongous they were half his height, and they sucked in the light around them.

Luo Hou lowered his head and bowed. "Master!"

Vemacitrin's nine heads all smiled at the same time. "Fuzhang, you're finally back. Have your wounds recovered?"

"The injuries I sustained on clashing with the king of the death spirits? Largely."

Vemacitrin smiled again. "To be able to take a palm strike from a crazy bastard like the king of the death spirits and still recover so quickly—even...