The gate to Emperor Huang's Domain before me was only slightly ajar. I followed The Undertaker, lowered my altitude, and flew straight inside.
As soon as I entered, I stared in surprise at the two high platforms ahead, both shrouded in a layer of black gauze.
"We've temporarily suppressed the attacks from these two weapons. Now you need to go open the gate and let us in."
"Everything inside is unknown. If you just go in like this, what if..."
The Undertaker chuckled and shook his head.
"Don't worry, we've made complete preparations."
As I passed the two platforms, I noticed their surfaces were covered with alternating recessed and raised horizontal stripes, like a circuit board—very peculiar.
"We've studied them carefully. These two weapons can convert Dark Power into various forms of energy, attacking through the spheres above—and their speed is terrifying."
When we reached the gate, a crowd of Dark Banquet members had gathered there. As we approached, each of them stepped aside respectfully to let us pass.
The gate was about 30 meters high and over 50 meters wide. Two red doors were tightly locked, their panels covered with clusters of black squares—each about ten centimeters apart, densely packed and bizarre in appearance.
"The Watcher..."
The Artisan had just called out when I shook my head.
"Just call me Ethan Zhang."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Ethan Zhang. Open the gate."
The Sleeper spoke as I walked over to the entrance. Now, all the Dark Banquet members spread out, raising one hand each. Streams of black energy drifted out, quickly forming a curtain that extended toward the city walls.
Soon, the massive black curtain covered nearly three kilometers of the city wall. I stepped up to the gate, reached out, and as soon as I touched one of the doors, an image of a key flashed in my mind.
With a creak, the gate slowly began to move backward the moment I willed it. The gate opened, and behind me, The Undertaker watched with a grave expression.
A gust of wind blew out. I stared wide-eyed—just beyond the door was a black dragon, its mouth closed, eyes glowing red.
A strange noise, like something grinding violently, echoed out. The endless black dragon parted its jaws slightly, and in an instant I sensed a vast surge of Dark Power, frantically sucked in through the small black holes exposed by its open scales.
"No! Close the gate, Ethan Zhang!"
The Undertaker immediately shouted. I stepped back, and under my will, the gate slowly closed. Inside, the black dragon's mouth had opened slightly, and Dark Power was still frantically gathering.
With a bang, the gate shut tight. All of us exchanged glances.
The moment the gate closed, all the frenzied Dark Power vanished.
"If that weapon ever erupts, this darkness will be lost in an instant."
The Sleeper opened his eyes, his gaze grave.
"There's no solution for now. Sorry to trouble you, Ethan Zhang."
The Undertaker spoke, and I nodded, my head full of fear. The things in Emperor Huang's Domain were indeed dangerous.
"Are you planning to deal with these weapons?"
I asked, and The Sleeper shook his head.
"It's impossible. These weapons have their own consciousness and were developed for war. In fact, long ago we noticed the Founding Emperors. When they entered this darkness, they began to fight, waging endless war. At first, we thought it was pointless to intervene. Only when one side fell could we step in."
"So when you discovered these dangerous things, was it already too late?"
I asked. The Sleeper nodded, and The Artisan began to speak.
"Back then, we were in the early stages of soul research, searching for remnants of human souls in the dual worlds of Yin and Yang. We brought them into this darkness to study. After the Founding Emperors fell silent, we built that ring-shaped city. Many years passed before we accidentally discovered the two gates standing on the east and west sides. We tried to open them, but couldn't. All we knew was that the will of darkness feared what lay beyond those gates."
"So that's why you started planning to open the two gates, preparing for so long—because you didn't dare touch the Founding Emperors or their domains, fearing their creations like a bomb ready to explode. But now they've lost their will to fight and only want to sleep in this darkness. What remains, though, are weapons of pure battle instinct."
All three nodded.
"That's about right, Ethan Zhang. Now we have to find a way to deal with all these weapons. The best method is to cast them directly into The Unreal. That's why we've repeatedly had Wraithshade throw artificial souls into The Unreal for experiments. But we still don't know where the Unreal Covenant is. Can you tell us?"
After thinking for a while, I nodded and quietly observed the three of them.
"No need for more words. Everything is in the dark. If we lied to you, you'd know immediately."
I nodded.
"Let's go. I'll take you three to the Unreal Covenant—but only the three of you."
As I spoke, I flew up into the air.
"Thank you, Ethan Zhang."
The Undertaker replied. I led the three of them swiftly out of Emperor Huang's Domain, heading south. Using Dark Power to move in this darkness, my speed was far greater than when using ghost aura—at least five times faster.
Soon, we crossed the Shadowwood. Before leaving the Unreal Covenant, I left behind my own Specter Web as a marker, so I knew exactly where it was.
"What exactly do you intend to do?"
I asked, and behind me The Undertaker spoke.
"Find a way to open The Unreal within the Founding Emperors' domain, and let it devour everything inside."
I nodded and kept moving quickly. Now I understood why they staged that act in front of the Immortality Society and us—if not for that, Wraithshade and the Immortality Society would never cooperate.
"Clever tactics, you people."
I said, smiling faintly.
"I wouldn't call it clever, Ethan Zhang. We know people well—humans always chase after something, and those who pursue grand goals are more likely to join forces, each getting what they need. To get intel on the Wraithlord, we paid dearly, letting Xu Fu return from the shadow world and preserving his heart. All of this was just to protect this darkness. You should understand now, Ethan Zhang, what darkness truly is."
I let out a sound of surprise—we were getting close to the Unreal Covenant. I slowed down. In the Shadowwood, we soon saw a place with round houses.
"So this is the Unreal Covenant?"
The Artisan walked up to one of the houses in awe, touching its surface.
"It's completely different from the darkness of this world. Everything here is made of absolute dark. Pure dark and absolute dark are not the same. As they say, extremes breed reversals—so the third layer of darkness is the safest, able to contain everything and simply exist. But absolute dark is different, like a monster that devours and crushes everything."
I walked up to the long pole, pointed at it, and then took a key from my pocket.
"This is the key to open the Unreal Covenant."
As I spoke, the three of them gathered around. I handed the key to The Artisan, who took it. I briefly explained what had happened here before.
"It doesn't look easy to open. Now that Wraithshade is dead, no one knows how he got the key to open the Unreal."
The Undertaker stood quietly in front of the long pole, observing carefully.