"Ethan, be careful."
I nodded. Dawn was breaking. I stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the dense white mist below—every ounce of Deathbane Aura in this world gathered here.
I had no idea what the Deathbane Ghost truly wanted. His talk about absorbing others' Deathbane Aura left me puzzled—I had no clue how that was supposed to work.
I glanced at Lord Shenyan beside me and thanked him. He shook his head. Before dawn, he had been patiently teaching me various things. Though much of it was beyond my grasp, his swordsmanship was exquisite—he struck me several times without using any power, even as I tried to fight back with force.
"Remember this, Master Ethan: keep your heart true, and only then will you find what you seek."
"Cousin, be careful. Those things down there feel very wrong."
My older cousin muttered. I looked at him, puzzled—his expression didn't look good.
"Did you sense something, cousin?"
I asked. He nodded, then pointed toward the thick mist.
"Be careful, cousin. The aura below is bad. When we first arrived, we noticed something, but now the feeling from below truly scares me."
I let out a quiet "oh" and leapt down, plunging through the dense mist. There was no bottom. I kept falling. It had only been a dozen meters when I climbed up, but now, descending, I had no idea how far I would go.
It felt like ages, and I still couldn't see the ground. But the presence—the kind that makes your skin crawl—was already rushing up to greet me. Maybe this was all connected to the Deathbane Fiend. What had it done here?
At last, I saw the mountain floor below, blanketed with gray-white gravel. With a rush of wind, I halted midair, hovering. Once through the fog, my powers were no longer restricted.
Ahead was the Shadow Falls, surging upstream. When I came here days ago, it hadn't felt like this, but now the murderous intent within the Deathbane Aura was unmistakable—cold as a vast ocean. I didn't approach recklessly. Instead, I searched for the caves near the waterfall.
Those Evil Thought Forms, brimming with killing intent—they were sent here, stripped from those who'd fallen into the Tri-Evil Path. I drifted left, remembering the Earthly Soul had once visited a cave on this side. There were dozens of people inside. I'll check there first.
I'd only floated a short way when the surface of the Shadow Falls bulged. With a gust, a mass of Deathbane Aura shot out, morphing into a creature with two huge pincers—like a crab, but its body was centipede-like. It swam straight toward me.
It was fast—before I could blink, it was right in front of me. The pincers snapped at my sides. I didn't strike immediately. My mind replayed Lord Shenyan's lesson from last night: don't make unnecessary moves. Extra actions only expose your weaknesses. If you can't overpower, stay still and wait—watch, then act.
The giant pincers closed in from both sides. My Specter Web was fully unleashed. In an instant, my right hand gripped a strand of Deathbane Aura. The moment the Deathbane Energy Blade formed, I thrust it into the Deathbane Fiend's head, just below its crown, piercing deep.
I roared, channeling a surge of Deathbane Aura through the blade into the fiend's body—its weakest point. The Deathbane Fiend shrieked, then dissolved into drifting black particles, vanishing in an instant. I let out a breath and continued upward.
If I'd fought like I used to—wild and reckless—I could have finished it, but it would have cost me ten times the strength.