"What kind of treasure do you think it is? Why would so many Ghost Lords be so envious of it?" a soul asked curiously.
"How would I know? Anyway, those Ghost Lords have already sent a ton of Generals down here—some even dispatched their own personal Generals," another soul replied.
"Now I'm really curious. I want to know what kind of treasure it actually is," another soul muttered.
Evan Yang listened to these souls' conversations with interest. He wondered—besides the Ember Core, could there be some other artifact in the Death Abyss that's got all these Ghost Lords so eager to claim it?
Just then, the sound of fighting came from outside. All the souls rushed out, and Evan, curious, followed. In the distance, two figures were battling in the sky—their fight was so fierce it could destroy whole neighborhoods with a single move, even flatten a mountain.
"Look, those two Ghost Lords are fighting!" a soul exclaimed in shock.
"Those two are Ghost Lords?" Evan muttered as he looked at the two black-shrouded figures in the sky, their faces completely hidden.
The two Ghost Lords fought again and again. Finally, a swirl of black wind swept them away to continue their battle elsewhere—unfortunately, many souls below who got caught in the crossfire were scattered and destroyed.
"Who's stronger, a Ghost Lord or an Immortal Sovereign?" Evan wondered to himself.
But Evan had never seen an Immortal Sovereign, so he had no idea how powerful they really were. Still, what he'd just witnessed was shocking—those Ghost Lords could wipe someone out with a casual wave of their hand.
"I think it's about time we left too. The Death Abyss Forbidden Ground opens the day after tomorrow—if you don't get in within a quarter hour, you'll have to wait until next month," one soul said, remembering something important.
"Yeah, with so many Ghost Lords showing up this time, there must be even more Generals lurking in the shadows. We should hurry up and act," another soul replied.
A group of souls left, then another group followed. Soon, there were fewer and fewer souls left here. Evan Yang figured it was about time—he'd never been to the Death Abyss, so he decided to tag along and check out the situation.
Evan followed a group of souls out, flying for quite a while before arriving at a canyon. The canyon was already packed with souls, and their colors were all high-grade, showing just how powerful they were.
Evan also saw some souls of other colors; from their tone, he could tell most of them were Generals.
Evan finally understood how soul colors worked: when blue or green souls grow strong enough, their color shifts. Once they reach the next color, they're considered Generals, and there are several grades. If they get even stronger, they become Ghost Lords.
"So in the Death Realm, strength is divided by how powerful your soul gets," Evan thought to himself, keeping an eye on his surroundings.
At this moment, Evan gained a much deeper understanding of the Death Realm.
Looking around, all he saw were souls, and since the opening time was so short, everyone was trying to stake out a good spot.
Evan didn't know what treasure everyone was here for, so he curiously asked a nearby soul, "Brother, I got separated from my team, but my Ghost Lord master gave strict orders—if I don't get the item, my soul will be destroyed. Do you know what exactly we're after?"
That soul happened to be a kind-hearted blue soul, so he quietly told Evan, "I'll tell you, but don't let anyone else know. If the others find out I told someone, they'll destroy me for sure."
"I won't, don't worry," Evan promised.
"Actually, it's a fruit—not a treasure. This fruit is packed with incredible energy. They say it only appears once every few hundred million years, and it's born in the Death Abyss. But there's a catch: only Ghost Lords can eat it. If a weaker soul tries, they'll be instantly destroyed," the soul explained.
Evan was stunned—there was a fruit in the Death Realm with such immense power? He asked curiously, "What does the fruit look like?"
"How do I put it? The Ghost Lords say it's about the size of a palm, covered in hair, and on top there are two sharp points," the soul replied.
Evan nodded, "I see. Thanks for the info."
"No problem. Strange—your alliance's Ghost Lord is interested in this fruit too?" the soul asked, curious.
"Uh, yeah, but it's a secret—can't tell anyone else," Evan replied, unsure why the soul brought it up but certain it was related to him.
"I see. So even the most neutral, selfless alliance Ghost Lord is interested in this," the soul sighed.
Evan didn't care about any alliance Ghost Lord—it wasn't his problem. But looking around, he realized his soul color was the most unusual, so people kept misunderstanding him.
Evan figured, let them misunderstand—no big deal.
So Evan waited there with the other souls, still wondering what that fruit really was.
Time ticked by. More and more souls gathered, but the canyon was only so big—and flying was forbidden here, apparently restricted.
When the opening time finally arrived, a booming sound echoed from the front of the canyon. A door gradually appeared, and a chilling yin wind blew out from inside.
It felt eerie and gloomy, but Evan's body was already inside his tower, so he wasn't worried. Chaos erupted as countless souls began to rush in.
Evan hurried forward, quickly reaching the door and charging inside. Once inside, everything was dark gray. Evan used his night vision to see around, while the other souls relied on their senses and faint glows to feel the presence of nearby souls.
"This place is huge," Evan exclaimed, realizing his divine sense couldn't reach the edges.
If this was just a space, it shouldn't be so vast—what kind of power would it take to create something this enormous?
Meanwhile, the door behind quickly shut, leaving any souls who didn't make it in stuck outside.
But as the door closed, Evan sensed a sudden surge of powerful auras crossing through, then vanishing swiftly behind the crowd of souls.
Some soul shouted, "Everyone, start searching!"
The crowd scattered, each group forming its own faction. Evan noticed at least dozens of factions here—meaning there were subordinates from dozens of Ghost Lords.
Evan wondered if he should join in, but nearby a fight had already broken out. Curious, he went over and saw a group of blue souls battling a group of red souls.
"You killed so many of our souls—we won't let you get away with it!" a red soul shouted.
"You started it," a blue soul retorted.
Seeing their infighting, Evan could only sigh helplessly.
Evan decided not to watch them and instead focused on searching for the Ember Core.
The Ember Core was said to be sealed in the Death Abyss—the name alone was shocking, but here everything was gray and empty. Faced with this, Evan could only search slowly.
After a day or two, he saw fewer and fewer souls—everyone had split up.
"Ember Core, Ember Core, where could you be?" Evan muttered in frustration. Just then, he heard something off in the distance.
Evan activated his Thousand-Mile Hearing and listened to the souls talking, expanding his divine sense.
A team of souls were discussing, "Should we look for the Ember Core or go after that fruit?" one asked curiously.
"Of course the Ember Core, idiot! If we go for the fruit, so many people are fighting for it—we'd just be throwing our lives away. But the Ember Core, heh, if we get it, it's a treasure that can even destroy a Ghost Lord," said a soul who seemed to be the leader.
"But I heard Ghost Lords can't use the Ember Core. How would you use it?" another soul asked, curious.
"That was before. I heard the Ember Core was powerful because of its master. Now its master has been sealed here for years, his strength is greatly weakened. Without the master's power, the Ember Core isn't as strong," the soul replied naively.
The other souls thought that made sense—without a master's support, a treasure loses its power. So they all looked at the leader, asking how to get it.
"I'll tell you: I know where the man and the treasure were sealed. We'll go there soon and see what happens, got it?" the soul said.
"Yeah, got it," the others replied.
So the leader took his group of a dozen souls and vanished from their hiding spot. Evan was secretly delighted—he hadn't expected souls to scheme for the treasure, so now was the perfect time to check it out.
Those souls had no idea someone was watching them from behind—and that soul was Evan.