I stared quietly into the darkness before me. In just a little while, night would fall. My palms were already slick with sweat—I was actually starting to feel nervous.
Vincent Swallow once said that no one knew what might happen next. He'd tried using all sorts of spiritual techniques, sending them into that darkness, but they were all devoured by the black rock. That darkness, when touched, was as hard as a wall.
Mr. Blackmask tried striking it with all his might, but it didn’t budge an inch. The worst outcome would be for us to disappear along with this world. Another possibility: we’d be crushed like meat patties the instant this world vanished.
“What’s the matter? Are you scared?” the Vermilion Bird asked. I shook my head.
“The waiting is what really unsettles people. Who knows when the Desire Fiend will show itself?”
“Let’s sit for a bit. There’s still about half an hour until dark.”
“How do you know?”
The Vermilion Bird burst out laughing, and I didn’t press the question. I plopped down on the ground.
“You said before that this place is formed from the accumulation of human desires.”
“That’s right. I just heard the other three talk about it a long time ago—this place is entirely built from the desires of the living, layer by layer, gradually taking shape. But I’ve always felt its existence isn’t just about overcoming your own desires.”
The Vermilion Bird muttered something, and as it spoke, I could feel it too.
"It’s true—no matter how much you suppress or adapt, human desire keeps bubbling up. It’s not just people; ghosts are the same. Over these days, I’ve slowly realized it’s not really about conquering your desires at all!"
“Oh, your mind’s getting sharper, huh? Haha, that’s right. What you need here isn’t to defeat your desires, but to face them, accept them, and acknowledge them.”
The Vermilion Bird continued, and I nodded. Then I stood up, looking alert and ready, staring into the darkness ahead.
"It’s about time. Get ready. The moment those things show up, take them out."
As soon as the Vermilion Bird finished, its head shrank back into my body. Crimson flames ignited, and I clenched my fists, watching in silence.
Time ticked by, second after second. Nothing stirred in the darkness. The whole world was eerily silent—I could clearly hear my own heart pounding.
“Strange. It should be night by now,” the Vermilion Bird muttered.
My tension grew. The flames in my hand burned, ready to strike the Desire Fiend the moment it appeared.
An hour passed. Then two. Still, nothing moved in the darkness. I didn’t let my guard down, but I sat for a moment—after so long on edge, I was starting to feel exhausted.
"By the way, you said you felt like these things were being controlled by someone. Why?"
"This world suddenly vanishing—it just doesn’t make sense. I’d heard before that anyone who came here would get lost in their own desires and never make it back, becoming part of this world. But the crucial point is: do you think human desire ever truly disappears?"
I chuckled.
"Even at the end of the world, I doubt it would."
The whole night passed. Just as I was about to collapse from exhaustion, the Vermilion Bird told me it was morning.
"Go get some sleep, Ethan," it said.
A voice sounded behind me—it was Oddball Moe, standing in midair. I nodded, spread my wings, and flew toward the camp.
Back at camp, everyone looked exhausted. Vincent Swallow’s face was ashen.
"What happened?"
"If this keeps up, we’ll be worn down eventually—just waiting for some unknown enemy to suddenly appear."
Oddball Moe looked especially pale.
"You should get some rest, Oddball Moe. We’re counting on you. When you wake up, I’ll try to lighten your load. I still have some talisman paper left—let me set up a few arrays to ease your burden a bit."
Vincent Swallow said this, and Oddball Moe didn’t object. Soon, we all went to sleep.
A sudden commotion woke me. I saw Vincent Swallow busy at work, taking each prayer bead from his necklace and laying them out. He grabbed some yellow talisman paper and a pen, dipped it in his own blood, and began writing Sanskrit. Then he pressed each prayer bead onto the talisman paper.
A strong smell of alcohol wafted over. Everyone held their noses, and I hurried to do the same. The blood from Vincent Swallow’s injured finger reeked of liquor.
I watched as Vincent Swallow finished preparing twenty-four talismans, each pressed with a black prayer bead. He arranged the talismans and then sat down in the center.
"Oh, it’s the Blood Bead Array. It really is effective."
Old Eccentric remarked. Suddenly, Vincent Swallow opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and I saw blood drip from his bitten thumb.
All at once, Vincent Swallow leapt up, his body glowing red. The twenty-four talismans shot out in all directions.
"Central Invocation—Blood Bead Array…"
Strips of talisman paper trailing red light flew out from the camp in every direction.
Then I took off, flying to my assigned position.
When I reached the spot I’d guarded the night before, I saw talisman paper shimmering with a faint red glow, floating in the air. The black prayer beads hovered above the talismans.
According to Vincent Swallow, the larger the array’s range, the weaker its power. But for small Desire Fiends, you don’t need much power anyway—and its effective range is about ten meters.
I moved a bit farther from the talisman and prayer beads, keeping watch.
Night fell. Tonight was just like last night—nothing unusual happened. By the second half of the night, I was already feeling mentally exhausted.
This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!
But just then, I saw a red light flickering in the distance, followed by a loud rumbling that echoed clearly.
I clenched my fists, wanting to rush over and see what was happening. I was on the east side, but the red light was in the north. I watched anxiously, my heart pounding.
"Stay at your post. Don’t let the commotion distract you." Oddball Moe’s voice sounded behind me. I turned, but he was already gone.
By morning, when I returned to camp, I learned that last night, the northern array had been triggered by a Desire Fiend—only six or seven of them appeared.
"This is so damn boring. Shit." Taotie cursed loudly. Everyone’s face showed exhaustion. It was only the second day, and I already felt mentally drained.
"I don’t know what the enemy’s real intention is, but it’s obvious now—they want to wear us down, break us slowly. When we finally let our guard down, I fear they’ll launch a massive assault all at once."
Vincent Swallow spoke, and Old Eccentric stood up.
"Sigh, let’s sleep. Rest is all we can get, even though we’re starving."
Mr. Blackmask silently shook his head.
"Is that all the willpower you’ve got? Heh." Oddball Moe chuckled, and everyone laughed.
"Yeah, whatever. When the soldiers come, we’ll fight them; when the flood comes, we’ll block it."
Vincent Swallow grinned, but I noticed his lips were tinged with purple, as if he’d been biting them constantly—clear teeth marks showed.
Mr. Blackmask walked over to Vincent Swallow and patted him on the back.
"Just hold out a few more days. I can see you’re close to snapping, but right now, we have no choice."
Vincent Swallow forced a smile.
"My greatest desire might just be this drink. It’s fine, really." Vincent Swallow said, heading into the tent. Watching his retreating back, I couldn’t help but worry.
The second day, the third, the fourth—time crawled by. Each night, two or three Desire Fiends would occasionally emerge from the darkness, only to be swiftly destroyed. But our condition grew worse by the day.
Oddball Moe looked especially pale. I once asked the Vermilion Bird if there was any way to help everyone—maybe by eating a few more Vermilion Feathers. But the Vermilion Bird quickly told me that would make their bodies burn with pain like fire, and they wouldn’t be able to keep up the defenses for these days.
I felt utterly helpless. Now, we all understood—the darkness was deliberate, conscious, orchestrated.
I had no idea what was manipulating this darkness from behind the scenes, but its intentions were clear: it wanted to break us down with these relentless, draining attacks, to shatter our spirits.
There were seven days left until the time agreed with Lord Shenyang. On the seventh day, after eating the Vermilion Feathers, everyone headed for their assigned posts.
During this period, we barely spoke to each other. Back at camp, we’d just collapse into sleep, the unease in our hearts making everyone restless.
We’d completely lost any way to deal with the darkness. No matter what power we tried, nothing worked against it.
"Be careful, Ethan Zhang. The enemy might make a move soon. You’re all close to your limits now."
The Vermilion Bird spoke. I nodded, staring into the darkness ahead. These past few days, we’d had to endure hunger and thirst, while Vincent Swallow still suffered from his craving for alcohol.
I’d seen it several times now—Vincent Swallow’s hands were covered with fresh scratch marks. I could sense he was close to breaking. The wine gourd had long since run dry.
Suddenly, a soft, eerie woman’s laughter drifted from the darkness. Instantly, I tensed, flames flaring up around me.