There is no end above or below. I drift in this bottomless pit, and at the very instant I fell, something—a force unlike any other—surrounded me.
This must be some kind of spell. To break it, I need to understand the source of its power. The most troubling part is that the Heavenly Soul is nowhere to be found.
In an instant, my eyes widened. I searched my memory, wondering why this guy could so easily, without being detected, invade my Shadow Realm and even make such thorough preparations.
Those in the world of sorcery, if they want to destroy ghosts, the spells and formations they prepare in a short time are far weaker than those meticulously crafted and brewed over a long period.
Suddenly, I remembered something. When I pulled the Heavenly Soul out of the Celestial Hound, the Heavenly Soul once thanked me.
That guy would never thank me. And now, I can't sense the Heavenly Soul at all. Thinking it over, it must have been from that moment—a fake Heavenly Soul had already invaded my body, then tampered with my Shadow Realm.
Once I figured this out, I looked around. My powers were working normally, and all my ghost souls were still here.
What is their real purpose? It's not just to trap me in the Nether Pit, nor is it a mere test. John Chou once told me that knowing the enemy's goal is the most important thing in a fight.
If they only wanted to kill me, that Maya Yin up there could have detonated all those black rabbits inside me in an instant. Such overwhelming power unleashed within me would have left me anything but intact.
Suddenly, my eyes widened again. One, two, three—more and more of them were entering my Shadow Realm. Now, my domain was a complete mess. It seemed they were searching for something.
More and more people were entering my Shadow Realm—now, there were over a hundred. What exactly were they looking for? Was it the primal Slaughter left behind by John Chou?
But then I thought, if that were the case, they would have already captured Slaughter. Yet, Slaughter remained safe and sound in my Instinctive Space.
"It's John Chou."
I realized immediately—the only possibility was that John Chou had left something behind in my Shadow Realm. Their goal was to find whatever John Chou had left.
A murderous aura spilled from my body. I aimed at the black wall and charged forward, smashing into it with a thunderous blow. The wall cracked, and huge chunks of earth and stone broke loose and tumbled down.
I kept swinging my fists, gradually punching a large hole in the wall—seven or eight meters deep now. But it was still just black earth and stone, unchanged. I stopped.
Now, inside my own Shadow Realm, I could sense everything happening within it, yet I couldn't escape this bottomless pit.
I began to slowly float upward. Suddenly, I stopped. I'd faced something similar before—in Linland County, when Hugh Thompson and I searched for the water ghost's lair, we went to a place called Stagnant River, unable to find its source.
"It's the direction."
I understood at once—the strange feeling was because I couldn't determine my orientation here. But I could still sense everything near the apartment building.
Facing the apartment building was south. I quickly turned around, facing the hole I'd punched through the wall, and confirmed it was due south.
Deathbane Aura began gathering around me. I slowly raised Belle and let a smile slip onto my face.
"These people really know how to deceive."
With a boom, I instantly moved to the edge of the wall. Belle in my hand slashed at it, and a burst of Deathbane Aura shot out. The walls shattered like broken glass, and gradually, everything around me came into view—I was back in my Shadow Realm.
The directional-confusing spell was similar to the ghost-bewildering method Rachel Lan taught me, only much more advanced. Without enough power, it couldn't be broken.
"Much faster than expected, Ethan Zhang."
Everything in the apartment building was back to normal. There were many people—over a hundred—wandering through every corner. All the doors were open. Outside room 409, two middle-aged men stood, apparently talking.
In my home, room 410, an old man walked out, looking confused. Maya Yin stood on the rooftop. I also saw Granny Nina among them. I closed my eyes and instantly understood—there were 117 people in total, all top experts from the long history of the Nether Syndicate.
Judging by their behavior, they were definitely searching for something. With a swoosh, Maya Yin floated right in front of me. I glanced around—only one room, the one connected to the Lake of Deathbane, hadn't been opened. I saw someone pass by, but it was as if they couldn't even see that door. I swallowed hard.
"Are you trying to find something John Chou left behind?"
I asked, but Maya Yin didn't answer—she just nodded by default.
"Looks like you know, but I bet you don't know where it is either."
Just as Maya Yin said, I had no idea what exactly John Chou left behind. Only his own Instinct, Wraith Armament, Blood Jade, and the Sixfold Blossom in this apartment building.
What surprised me was that these people couldn't see the black Sixfold Blossom either. They kept searching—their goal was clearly not the Sixfold Blossom, that much was obvious.
In the Lake of Deathbane, the only possibility for what John Chou left behind was that it was hidden in that vast lake. Not even I knew what was inside—I'd never gone down there. Maybe it was related to John Chou's Deathstone.
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The ground began to rumble. Deathbane Aura floated up from the earth, and pairs of eyes turned to look at me.
"You don't stand a chance, Ethan Zhang. Just watch quietly—once we find what we came for, then we'll play with you."
I let out a cry, then shook my head.
"This is my Shadow Realm. Get out—all of you bastards."