A rush of heartbeat—violent, brimming with vitality. I silently watched everything around me.
The apartment building. But now it flickered like shifting shadows and light. Before my eyes, the apartment building wavered—this was where everything began for me.
Everything now felt strange, almost unreal. I had left Howard Zhang’s inner space, and should have awakened upon losing consciousness. Yet here I was, standing before this trembling apartment building.
I entered the apartment building, watching the surroundings ripple like water—everything swayed. I reached out to touch it, but, as expected, I couldn’t make contact.
“What’s going on?”
I muttered. A strange gaze pressed on me—I immediately looked up. At the top of the apartment building, something was there. Instantly, I floated upward, arriving at the rooftop in a flash.
“Who are you?”
I stared quietly at the thing before me—a black humanoid, with eyes. But those white eyes glared with ferocity, like a beast crouched on the ground, silently watching me.
“Return to the darkness. The darkness needs you back—it has already begun to move.”
“What do you mean?”
I immediately asked, but the black humanoid said nothing. Its body slowly sank into the ground, those eyes sending chills down my spine.
“Wait...!”
Eyes wide, I raised a hand—and saw Howard Zhang, fully recovered, with Earthly Soul sitting nearby.
“You were dreaming, Ethan Zhang.”
I stared at my fingers. It felt like a dream, but not quite. As I tried to rise, I realized my body was in terrible shape—completely drained of strength. Howard Zhang reached out and pulled me up, then helped me lean against the wall outside a ruined house.
“Thank you, cousin. If not for you...”
“Enough, Howard. As long as you’re safe. How long was I out?”
“Just a few minutes. Did you see something, Ethan Zhang?”
Earthly Soul asked. I nodded and told them what I’d seen in the dream.
“We don’t have time to worry about anything extra right now.”
With that, Earthly Soul stood up and looked toward the city.
“Maybe we went too far.”
Earthly Soul said, but Howard Zhang just shook his head.
“Thank you, Earthly Soul. If not for you, my cousin couldn’t have rescued me from there.”
Earthly Soul sighed.
“You’re lucky, Zhang Hao. Once Karmic Affliction erupts, suppressing it is nearly impossible. Back at Luoyin Temple, Monk Fuyuan mentioned your two masters—both seem in even worse shape.”
I looked over—Mingde and Jianyun sat with eyes closed, meditating. They’d completely succumbed to The Stilled.
“We’ll just have to take it one step at a time.”
After some discussion, we decided to head back to the city—the closest place to the Dark Banquet.
I left Deathbane Ghost and Spirit Snake to care for Jianyun and Mingde. Howard Zhang helped me walk, my strength slowly returning. Using the gray Deathbane Aura had truly been too much.
Earthly Soul didn’t rush ahead, but quietly floated beside us.
“I can’t take this for another day.”
Earthly Soul said, clenching his fists in anger.
I kept thinking about that dreamlike encounter—the call to return to darkness. What did it mean? Things were getting stranger. Those black humanoids came from the Unreal, and maybe Earthly Soul, Heavenly Soul, and I were truly born from this darkness.
Gradually, the city appeared before us like a giant pit. Aside from the Grand Pillar, there was nothing else to see.
After hours of walking, we reached the base of the Grand Pillar. Earthly Soul kicked it in anger.
“You bastards—if you’ve got the guts, come out!”
After a round of cursing, Earthly Soul calmed down. Howard Zhang and I leaned against the Grand Pillar.
“Zhang Hao, you’d better not use the Buddha Statue of Visions recklessly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—you’re not strong enough to handle its power yet.”
“I know my own limits, but thanks, Earthly Soul.”
After a brief silence, Earthly Soul stood, looked around, then floated up toward the top of the Grand Pillar.
We had no idea what the Dark Banquet was doing. Now, they were like frightened birds—moving the whole ring-shaped city, refusing us entry, and cutting off all contact.
All we could do was wait. Howard Zhang clutched his stomach, hungry, but there was nothing to eat here.
Earthly Soul kept searching among the Grand Pillars, trying to find a clue—a way into the Dark Banquet. He repeated his attempts at every pillar.
“Qingyuan, when I locked them up, I overheard something—they’re planning a large-scale experiment.”
I thought carefully, then looked up in confusion. With a rush, Earthly Soul suddenly landed in front of us.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier, Zhang Hao?”
“What difference does it make—early or late?”
Howard Zhang muttered, while Earthly Soul floated up with a cold laugh.
“Let’s go—to the Unreal Covenant.”