Bubbles kept rising from the water's surface, dying the entire pool a bright red. I felt a chill in the air—it looked like boiling water, but in reality, John Chou had injected his ghostly energy and added other special powers, causing the ground to rumble and the whole space to tremble.
"John, if you keep going like this, you might destroy this place."
Vincent Swallow shouted anxiously. After a moment, John Chou stood up. By now, the pool looked like blood plasma—brilliantly red and sticky. Then, blood-red human shapes slowly crawled up from the surface, sending chills down my spine.
These blood figures began to walk, heading into the grand hall above. In no time, dozens had entered.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
I asked in confusion, and Vincent Swallow quickly replied.
"Miss Roxie, John used his own blood mixed with water to form these human shapes. The main purpose is to attract something. Water itself can be either dark or pure, and he borrowed the sanctified water from this pool."
I understood: he polluted the original power here with his own, hoping something would emerge. But after more than ten minutes, nothing changed.
"Looks like your method failed."
Isabelle Frost said, as crackling sounds echoed. One by one, the blood figures exploded, their red vapor drifting out of the water and back into John Chou's body. The lake returned to its original state. I was amazed—he could even reclaim the power he'd released.
Just that alone stunned me. I’d never seen anyone capable of such a feat. At this moment, Isabelle Frost floated upward, and we hurried after her, returning to the grand hall at the top. It was still empty, except for the spot where the underground entrance had been shattered by power—nothing else in the hall had changed.
Isabelle Frost released strands of Specter Web, covering the surrounding ground. They looked like red threads, completely different from John Chou’s, and soon spread across the entire hall. Then they climbed up the murals, eventually covering the whole space—even blocking the doors tightly.
"What’s she doing?"
Just as I asked, I immediately heard rumbling, shaking, and the sound of things breaking—huge stones splashing into the water.
Before I could speak, Isabelle Frost grabbed my arm. The red Specter Web vanished instantly. I stared wide-eyed—only rubble remained below. The entire tower, the surrounding pools, and the Buddha statues in the water were all destroyed.
"Was this really necessary!"
Old Eccentric sighed.
"Yeah, why destroy this place completely?"
I said, while Vincent Swallow looked at John Chou in confusion.
"John, it seems it takes tremendous power to destroy this place. That’s why you signaled us to follow, had Ms. Yi use her own power to shield us, and then destroyed the tower and hall yourself."
John Chou nodded.
"It's a shame. For a place designed so intricately, if it's destroyed like this and nothing unusual happens, it just feels too empty."
I looked at the piles of stone crushed by supernatural force, scattered all around, and thought of the rubble field in Sky Burial Valley.
"Did the Immortality Society do the same thing before?"
I asked.
Isabelle Frost nodded.
"Only the Golden Mask Man from the Immortality Society could crush such a powerful place. But after they did, what happened? If nothing appeared, why leave landmark-like carvings, and even hide a Deathbane Ghost in a specially sealed jar?"
I swallowed nervously, but after half an hour, still nothing unusual happened.
Isabelle Frost held me in the air with a bed of Red Spider Lilies, and I felt a bit uneasy.
Just then, the rubble on the ground suddenly vanished, and a grassland appeared below. I stared in shock, eyes wide.
We landed on the grass, surrounded by endless prairie. The sky had a faint greenish hue. I couldn't sense anything, except for the occasional cold wind. The whole phenomenon was deeply uncanny.
"Please leave, everyone. There is nothing here that you seek."
A peaceful voice drifted in on the wind—we all heard it.
"May I ask, who are you?"
Vincent Swallow called out, but then a faint wall appeared before us, through which we could see the rubble outside.
"Since we’ve come this far, there’s no reason to leave empty-handed. Either you hand it over, or—"
John Chou said coldly. I looked around, but couldn't sense the source of the voice—there was nothing here except what we could see.
By now, we were completely disoriented—no sense of direction, only the wavering wall before us, the only way back to the living world.
Vincent Swallow kept shouting, while John Chou and Isabelle Frost tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. I sat down hard on the grass.
Suddenly, a group of horses galloped toward us in the distance. I jumped to my feet—everyone was instantly on alert. A rider approached, wearing a round hat and a Tibetan robe, with delicate features. He seemed far away, but in a daze, he was suddenly right in front of us.
Amidst the sound of horses neighing.
"This is the Null Sanctuary. I ask that you all return—what you seek, the so-called secret of immortality and reincarnation, does not exist. Years ago, another group came and refused to leave. I had no choice but to tell them certain things. They still didn’t believe me, so I let them go. Of those who entered the underground palace, only one returned; the rest—hundreds—were buried within."
The young man before us looked about twenty, but I’d never heard of this Null Sanctuary he mentioned.
"Please, all of you, go back."
The young man continued to plead, while John Chou smiled and walked over slowly.
"What exactly is this place?"
After a moment, the young man began to explain.
Long ago, this land was overrun by ghosts—many were evil spirits from the Central Plains, causing chaos. They took over tribes and enjoyed unlimited power, since nothing here could stop them.
But then Sage King, born with immense power, witnessed the turmoil and gradually unified the land. He subdued and expelled the evil spirits, and ultimately sealed them in the Null Sanctuary he created after his death.
"May I ask, who are you?"
Vincent Swallow asked again.
"I am merely an unknown gravekeeper. This is Sage King's burial ground, built by Zhuoma and her people in those days to suppress the evil spirits. Our only power is to consume these spirits—we have no other means, so we could only seal them here."
"Take me down to see, then."
John Chou sneered. The young man before us sighed.
"I'm afraid that if you go down, you’ll never return."
I shot a sideways glance at John Chou.
"Are you really here for the secret of reincarnation and immortality?"
But John Chou just laughed.
"Of course. You could say it’s a happy accident. Since there are powerful evil spirits here, I’m naturally interested in taking a look."
"Since you all insist on going down, I will grant your wish."
As he spoke, everything spun in an instant. When I could see clearly again, we were back in the underground chamber with four doors. I swallowed nervously, feeling waves of chilling energy swirling all around.
"You three stay here."
John Chou said, then went straight into the Fire Door. Isabelle Frost entered the Water Door. Soon, both of them disappeared completely.
"So she didn’t come here to die—only this place could truly suppress the evil spirit inside her."
Old Eccentric sighed. I was still wondering if the person who appeared earlier had tricked us, but then I remembered—it was John Chou’s idea to come down here, insisting on it. It really does seem this place is just for imprisoning evil spirits.
An hour later, I felt sleepy and took out my sleeping bag. After inflating it, I lay down and closed my eyes in comfort. Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric also decided to rest.
But in this eerie place, I couldn’t sleep at all. Soon, though, drowsiness overcame me, and I drifted off.
When I opened my eyes again and checked the time, eight hours had passed. Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric took turns keeping watch and resting, but John Chou and Isabelle Frost never returned.
We ate something and kept waiting. But after a whole day, the two still hadn’t come back, and there wasn’t a sound from any of the four doors.
Suddenly, I heard a cracking sound. Old Eccentric and Vincent Swallow immediately looked toward the stairs—it was the young man from before. He sighed.
"You three should go back. Don’t keep going. The two ghosts who entered—I'm afraid they’ll never come out."
"What do you mean?"
I asked, and the young man replied helplessly.
"I said before, this is the Null Sanctuary—literally. Our way of sealing evil spirits is different from yours; we don’t rely on force to suppress them."