"Cousin, I don't think their words can be trusted."
I quietly stared at the black vine on the table. This was our ticket into the Shadow of the Moon. In a few days, we would see John Chou and the others again.
The Undertaker's sudden visit was like throwing a boulder into still water, sending huge ripples through everything. The true purpose of the Dark Banquet was uncertain—untrustworthy.
"Maybe the Fourth Darkness is threatening their existence, but whether this world is destroyed or not, I don't think it matters to them. They don't care about any of this—they only think about themselves."
I spoke, and Howard Zhang nodded.
The key now is Xu Fu and Wraithshade. They want to obtain the Blood Jade sealed with the Soul Fragment of the Wraithlord. That's true. But the fact that there are three such Blood Jades in this darkness is beyond my imagination.
What I fear most is that once Howard Zhang and I enter the Shadow of the Moon, the Dark Banquet will notice how and when we did it. If John Chou and the others haven't recovered their strength, they'll be in danger—the Dark Banquet could capture them again, and that's something I can't accept.
"Don't overthink it, cousin. There's nothing left to discuss with them. We have to endure for now—wait for the Death Curse to arrive before we act."
After tidying up the shop, Howard Zhang and I went straight home. The Deathbane Ghost was still watching over Grandmaster Mingde and Master Jianyun. If anything happened, I could swap places with him instantly and rush over.
Back home, Howard Zhang went straight to sleep in the guest room on the second floor. As a human, he needed to rest every day. I went up to the third-floor bedroom and lay down.
Thinking about Qi, maybe she's already found Lan Ruoxi. A smile crept onto my face.
But the atmosphere now was so stifling I could barely breathe. It's about to begin—a massive battle. I could feel it. If we want to go back, we have to face the Dark Banquet head-on.
They would never let us go easily. To them, we're perfect test subjects for their experiments.
Daylight came. After Howard Zhang woke up, we headed to the shop and got busy. All we could do now was wait patiently.
Waiting quietly was hard. Howard Zhang and I stayed in the shop—I was marinating food, and he was washing dishes for me. We kept busy until noon, when I opened the door, and instantly felt something was off.
"What's going on, Howard? Not a single person today?"
I stared blankly at the street, checked the time—it was noon, 12 o'clock, no mistake. But there wasn't a soul outside. Howard Zhang and I rushed out of the shop, searching everywhere. The place was deserted.
I flew up and unleashed all my ghost souls, heading straight for the other districts. The result was the same—no one in the streets, no one in the houses. Except for the streetlights, the ring-shaped city was now a ghost town.
Back at the shop, Howard Zhang sat at the door. Only the Dark Banquet could pull off something like this—they'd made their move, reclaiming the test subjects.
[Meta: Pagination/reading prompt. Skipped for translation.]
Just as we were about to head back, I suddenly sensed several presences—members of the Dark Banquet. The air was filled with a whirring sound. I saw black-clad figures, armed, coming from the direction of the pillar. There were a lot of them, spreading out and landing all over the city.
"What the hell is going on?"
One of the black-clad figures landed right in front of me. I immediately sensed an unbelievable power—darkness. These were artificial beings made of solid darkness, controlled by the Dark Banquet.
I had no idea what was happening. I grabbed Howard Zhang and flew to the roof of a nearby six-story building. The black-clad figures seemed to be patrolling, moving slowly through every corner of the city.
Minute by minute, the city was almost completely taken over by these artificial beings.
"They seem to be on guard against something, Qingyuan. Looks like something serious has happened."
Howard Zhang spoke as I continued to send out ghost threads to investigate.
I had no idea how much time had passed. Suddenly, I sensed something on the street—my ghost threads trembled. Someone had grabbed hold of them. I looked over and my eyes widened as a transparent shield slowly faded away—it was Xu Fu and the thirteen members of the Immortality Society.
Ada opened his mouth wide, sucking in dark energy that kept pouring into him.
"We meet again, Zhang Qingyuan."
With a rush of wind, the black-clad figures instantly surrounded the thirteen Immortality Society members.
"They actually sent these grunts."
Wu said bitterly. With a flash, he drew his short blade. As the black-clad figures attacked, a transparent circular wave shot out at incredible speed.
A large group of black-clad figures was instantly sliced in half. Xu Fu burst out laughing.
"Spread out. This area is mine. The rest of you go elsewhere—wipe out their grunts and wait for the officers to show up. Finish it fast. Don't give them any chances."
As Xu Fu spoke, the other Immortality Society members looked up. I clenched my fists as the wind roared. In an instant, the thirteen split up. Xu Fu stayed put. The dead black-clad figures turned into wisps of black smoke and vanished.
"What are you trying to do?"
Xu Fu grinned wickedly. In a flash, as a black-clad figure closed in, Xu Fu dodged the man's broadsword and grabbed his throat.
With a buzz, I saw a violent wave of air—the black-clad figure exploded, turning into black smoke and disappearing.
[Meta: Pagination/reading prompt. Skipped for translation.]
"No matter how many grunts they send, it won't matter. We've only just regained our strength, and we're trying to find what they've hidden in the test subjects. Too bad they anticipated this. Still, if they don't keep those test subjects in this testing ground, they'll rot over time. Zhang Qingyuan, you should have Yin Choujian and the others help out—after all, our common goal is to return to the Living World. I've found out those three hid the light inside the test subjects. All we have to do is kill them one by one and tear them open. We'll find it eventually."
The air whirred as more black-clad figures closed in on Xu Fu. He clenched his fists, and with a series of loud cracks, he unleashed dozens of punches, smashing the black-clad figures like tofu.
Xu Fu flexed his fingers as more black-clad figures kept coming from the direction of the pillar. The entire ring-shaped city had become a battlefield, filled with thunderous noise. The other Immortality Society members were still fighting.
With a bang, Xu Fu grabbed a charging black-clad figure and slammed him to the ground—the earth caved in. Xu Fu leaped up, landing on a rooftop in an instant. I heard the violent thumping of his heart.
"If you can hear me, come out—officers."
Xu Fu laughed wildly, his hair whipping in the wind. He raised his hands, eyes blazing with excitement, and punched at the oncoming black-clad figures. Gusts of powerful air shattered them instantly.
The scene was utter chaos. I stood beside Howard Zhang. The black-clad figures didn't attack us—they only targeted the Immortality Society.
"Impressive, isn't it, Zhang Qingyuan? This power—here in the darkness, we've all made great progress. And we've found a way to break the darkness. If they use the power of darkness to suppress us, we can use it to destroy them too."
As Xu Fu spoke, a layer of dark energy surged over his body. My eyes widened in shock—he'd mastered the second layer of Dense Dark. I had no idea how he'd done it.
With a rush, a masked figure wielding a dagger appeared behind Xu Fu—a Dark Banquet officer. I remembered his name: The Concealer.
With two sharp swishes, Xu Fu flipped in midair and crashed to the ground. Two gashes opened on his back, blood seeping out. Xu Fu glared coldly upward, but The Concealer had already vanished.
"Your movement style is unique, but in front of these eyes, you can't hide."
With a bang, Xu Fu lunged to the right, grabbing at The Concealer, who appeared in midair, his eyes wide with terror.
"Die."
Xu Fu raised his fist, enveloped in darkness, and punched The Concealer in the chest. The Concealer flew back, crashed into a building, and shattered into black fragments, vanishing.
Then I noticed Xu Fu's eyes—his eyeballs were bulging, black tendrils writhing in his sockets.
The fighting across the city gradually died down. The number of black-clad figures dwindled. I sensed the other Immortality Society members battling something else.
With a bang, a shadow swept past me. Looking down, The Undertaker had landed on the ground. Xu Fu leaped up, crashed into the wall, then jumped over, his fist creaking, a black vortex forming at his elbow.
The Undertaker sneered.
"Xu Fu, do you really think regaining your strength means you can beat us?"
With a bang, my eyes widened in shock. Xu Fu struck with all his might, but The Undertaker caught his fist, stopping the attack. The black vortex vanished. The Undertaker sneered, lifting his left hand and making a pinching motion. With a creak, a wild stream of air appeared beside Xu Fu, but in an instant, it split into countless strands, its power fading away and disappearing.