Before us stretched a vast, endless swamp. As soon as 001 and I set foot here, Lan Yin's presence vanished completely.
This thick, black swamp exuded an aura of dread—curse power. The place itself was formed by curse power. I took out a small gourd, the one Samuel Young had asked me to use to find curse power. Sure enough, there was plenty here. The little gourd began to react. I crouched beside the swamp as wisps of black curse power streamed into the gourd. After a while, it seemed satisfied and stopped absorbing the black energy. I capped it and gazed quietly at the swamp.
Lan Yin probably knows everything about this world. When the Living World was being devoured by curse power, the last one standing before us was Lan Yin. The giant he controlled back then must have been crafted from the corpses of gods.
"Lan Yin, are you there?"
I shouted loudly. 001 sat nearby, looking exhausted. Seeing she was still alive, I knew the Living World hadn't yet completely fallen to the Wraithlord. As long as 001 survived, there was hope.
"Take your time looking. I'm going to sleep."
To avoid harming her true self, the Forsaken rarely share any memories with their original bodies. This is the best approach—problems here won't affect the Forsaken's true self.
001 raised her hands, and soon some trees changed form, materializing into a small cabin at the edge of the swamp. She went inside, lay down on the bed, and closed her eyes.
I sat cross-legged beside the swamp, waiting quietly. Since Black Moon said Lan Yin had already come back to life, he should be somewhere in this world. But his true self in the Living World probably can't awaken anymore.
"Lan Yin, if you're here, show yourself."
I kept shouting, but still received no response.
Time ticked by as I waited. Gradually, I saw black mist rising from the distant swamp. Soon, I spotted a mud-covered figure emerging from the mire, heading toward me. The black curse power on him slowly peeled away. Delighted, I stood up.
"So you really have come back to life."
Lan Yin stared at me expressionlessly. After a long pause, he finally asked slowly.
"Were you calling me?"
Surprised, I asked him a question.
"You don't remember anything?"
Lan Yin shook his head.
"Who are you, really?"
I was confused. If Lan Yin had truly been resurrected, his memories should have returned with him. Yet now, he remembered nothing. I didn't know what to say. But judging by his appearance, he was definitely a Forsaken.
"Do you remember how you came to this world?"
This time, Lan Yin nodded.
"I remember. There was no hope left, so I came to this world."
I was surprised, but I still spoke.
"First, your name is Lan Yin. As for the rest, I'll explain it all to you when I get the chance."
As I spoke, I glanced around at everything. Lan Yin walked over to me, then slowly headed toward the cabin. I noticed a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Eliminate what's inside. She is my enemy."
My eyes widened. Instantly, I used the power of Origin to block Lan Yin's attack. Black flames scattered—a force from Hell.
Even though Lan Yin had been resurrected and remembered nothing, the enmity between Forsaken was still deeply ingrained.
"Why are you stopping me?"
"Let me help you recover your memories, slowly."
With that, I walked to the edge of the swamp. White tendrils extended into the mire, quickly spreading over a large area. Lan Yin watched in disbelief. I stretched out a hand, and a stream of white energy entered Lan Yin's body. He didn't resist; instead, he crouched down.
Gradually, through Lan Yin's aura, I sensed that the swamp contained fragments of his memories.
Colorful shards kept surfacing from the swamp. Lan Yin stared in shock as the fragments merged into his body. He gripped his head, clearly in pain.
Using Origin's power, I easily found most of Lan Yin's memories. Suddenly, Lan Yin seemed to remember something and clutched his head, crying out in pain. I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he gradually calmed down. His previously blank, cold face twisted in anguish and helplessness.
"Heaven Soul!"
Lan Yin uttered two words. I continued searching for all his memory fragments. It seemed Hell had resurrected Lan Yin so hastily that even his shattered memories were simply dumped here. Something major must have happened in Hell.
Seeing Lan Yin's growing agony, I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Stay strong. The past is behind you now, Lan Yin."
After a long while, Lan Yin finally remembered everything. I saw tears streaming down his face. On his left cheek, a black number zero appeared.
I came to find Lan Yin first because he was the first Forsaken to fuse his power directly with his original self. After gaining immense strength, he sought out the Lanworths, hoping to break their tragic fate. In the end, he failed.
Lan Yin still looked lost, haunted by the past. I crouched down beside him.
"Stop dwelling on it. We need your help now, Lan Yin."
As I spoke, Lan Yin glanced at me. I nodded and began explaining our current situation. His expression grew grim. Over the next hour, I told him everything I knew—including what happened in Hell.
"You mean Qingyuan is Hell's will?"
I nodded. Lan Yin still looked doubtful, but I couldn't help but smile.
"That may be true, but now Qingyuan has regained control. He should be dealing with the Wraithlord in the Living World right now."
"Then we need to hurry back and help them."
Lan Yin spoke, then stood up urgently. I shook my head and continued, sharing everything I'd discovered in this world—including the Emperor God and the vast, shadowy conspiracy of the Dark Banquet.
"Even if we go back now, it won't change anything. The war has been raging for a long time. As long as 001 is alive, the Living World still exists. My plan is to contact all the Forsaken in the realm and stop the Emperor God's scheme."
Lan Yin looked at me and nodded seriously.
"There's one more thing: how can you bring the power of this world into the Living World?"
"Let me take you somewhere."
I agreed, though I was still worried about 001 behind us. Lan Yin smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry. Since this is 001's world, nothing here can harm her."
I agreed and followed Lan Yin as we floated up. We flew toward the far end of the endless swamp. After a while, I saw a black island standing in the middle of the mire, covered with strange black rocks and completely deserted. Lan Yin landed directly on it.
"This is Oath Island."
I stared at Lan Yin in astonishment. He smiled faintly and spoke.
"When I woke up, I was on this island."
"Is this island connected to how you can use power from here in the Living World?"
Lan Yin nodded and led me around the island. I couldn't sense anything unusual, but one thing stood out—the island's tangible reality was startling, a physical place completely out of sync with anything in the Yang Realm.
"It took me many years to finally channel power into the Living World."
Lan Yin led me to a cave at the center of the island. Inside, an enigmatic aura lingered.
"I channel my power into the stones within this cave, then release it into the Living World. That way, the power of this world can be transmitted. Once the energy is depleted, the stones revert to their original state."
I understood.
"It's a medium."
Lan Yin made a sound of agreement.
"I spent years preparing here, gathering enough power as a Forsaken to greatly strengthen my original self. Unfortunately, I still failed—Lanworths are too strong."
I agreed, but didn't enter the cave for now. I had found a way, yet I wondered why this island could exist here.
"I was puzzled at first too—why would Oath Island be here? But I once met Lan Miu."
"It's some kind of experiment by those Dark Banquet people!"
Lan Yin nodded.
"Lan Miu didn't tell me much, but this Oath Island is a replica of the original—created through the Dark Mirror."
I glanced around, finally noticing the clues. It really was a replica—though the island seemed whole, many things were off, just like the reflection in a mirror. The irregular parts of the stones matched the projections in the mirror.
"First, use your instincts to locate the worlds where other Forsaken reside. We need to integrate these worlds—only then can we uncover what the Emperor God and the Dark Banquet are truly doing here."
I nodded. Lan Yin's thinking was clear, and his mood seemed completely calm now.
"Where will your original body in the Living World be?"
Lan Yin tilted his head back and laughed.
"It should revive in the Lan Family cemetery. After each generation of Lan Family members passes away, their bodies are placed in the graveyard."