"Found it."
I quietly stared at the entrance to the mountain before me. All the presences had already withdrawn, and a group of guards armed with long spears stood watch at the entrance to this massive mountain.
The entrance was about ten meters wide, blocked by a thick iron gate. Over a hundred soldiers stood outside, and there were many sentry posts on the slope, each manned by soldiers.
Behind me lay the dazzling ring-shaped city. After more than three days, I finally found this place. I had stayed motionless for three hours, unable to find a way in.
As soon as I arrived, I received word from John Chou, parted ways with Ethan Zhang and the others, and had no idea what had become of John Chou since.
At the time, John Chou was in bad shape, injured and apparently hiding from someone. He only told me to follow the piles of rubble and try to find The Dreadhold, where many things I’ve long dreamed of are kept.
Thinking about it, what I’ve always longed for is the growth of power. Yet I hate being led by the nose. There’s no need to wait for the Dark Banquet to begin—less than ten days left. I can’t wait that long, so I decided to take the initiative from the start.
The eyes of the powers here should mostly be fixed on Ethan Zhang and the six Ghost Sovereigns, the two Blue Wraiths, and the Immortality Society, along with various figures from the arts. That makes this my best chance, if I want to get something.
"John Chou makes it sound easy, but these people don’t look like weaklings. They won’t be hard to deal with, but breaking through looks tough."
I muttered to myself, still waiting for an opportunity. In just three hours, I’d seen two shift changes—the gate would open, and guards from inside would come out to replace those outside.
The shift was less than a minute. Even if I moved fast, I’d be caught. I started wondering how John Chou managed to blend in. In the world of the living, Ethan Zhang once hinted to me that John Chou had already infiltrated some part of The Dark Banquet, and even called someone captain.
I considered sneaking up the slope, grabbing a uniform from a sentry, and slipping inside. But I immediately dismissed the idea.
Even from a distance, I noticed something—the armor covering these men seemed to grow directly from their bodies, fitting perfectly with no gaps.
I tried circling around. Beneath the mountain were plenty of piles of rocks to hide behind, and only one road led up. The mountain itself felt mysterious, sprawling deep and far—clearly not ordinary.
This might be the very heart of The Dark Banquet. I moved forward a little, careful not to make a sound, keeping my presence completely hidden.
Suddenly, a horn sounded. I stared as a truck loaded with goods rumbled up from below. Instantly, I ducked down, and as the truck passed, I leapt inside.
My eyes widened—I hadn’t thought about it. The truck was full of corpses, shocking me to my core. But I quickly burrowed beneath the bodies.
I wondered what had happened. The bodies weren’t cold, meaning most had just died. Soon I sensed their dual souls—still inside, not departed. Their condition baffled me.
No trace of presence. Or maybe, the dual souls had died along with the bodies.
With a creak, the truck stopped. I heard the gate sliding open on both sides—loud and clear. The truck jolted, starting to rise.
I had no idea where I was. I wanted to release my Specter Web to check, but thought better of it. This wasn’t the time—I had to stay calm.
After a while, the truck started moving again, this time smoothly, no turns. Finally, it stopped. I heard footsteps approaching.
"Looks like a lot of people were invited to this banquet, but just as many died. It’s going to be busy—there are less than a thousand left."
"The quality isn’t very high, I guess."
The two men’s conversation was clear in my ears. The truck’s back door opened. I felt someone unloading corpses, tossing them into liquid with a splash. Deathbane Aura began to circulate slowly inside me. I changed my appearance, widened my eyes in feigned agony, and stayed motionless like a corpse. I even made my body heavier—this way, I wouldn’t be exposed for now.
My turn came. I could just make out my surroundings now—a huge cave, with many black, tubular pools ahead. I was thrown in, landing in a stream of viscous black water.
Instantly, I felt it—the power of darkness, slowly corroding my body. The density was high, but for my body, saturated with Deathbane Aura, it posed no threat. I waited for the footsteps to fade.
After a long while, all sounds ceased. With a rush, I floated up from the black water and landed in a crouch, scanning my surroundings.
It was a vast, narrow cave. I was on the left, with black, tubular pools on both sides. I walked around, used my Specter Web for a quick scan, and discovered the bodies thrown into the pools had already been devoured by the darkness—broken down and absorbed.
I headed toward the lit passageways ahead. The pools lined both sides, one after another. I still didn’t understand why the truck was brought all the way down here to dump the bodies, even though each pool was numbered. I couldn’t figure it out.
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At first, I thought maybe it was the concentration of dark power, but I couldn’t tell for sure.
I kept walking until I reached the pool numbered 1. There, I finally saw six large doors, each leading to a different place. The doors slid shut, with no markings—just solid black, tightly sealed.
"I must have come in from here just now."
I glanced at the door on the left. I definitely felt the truck turning earlier, heading right.
Just then, I sensed something strange. I turned my head, scanning all around.
"Was it just my imagination?"
The moment I finished speaking, a chill ran down my spine. Instantly, I rolled forward and floated up. As I turned, Deathbane Aura surged out, rushing around me.
"Nice reflexes. Sneaking in, huh? You’re not one of us, are you? A guest, maybe? If you go back quietly, I’ll pretend nothing happened. If you don’t, you’ll die here."
The man before me had a long face, a wicked smile, and held two bizarre scythes—almost fused with his arms. His limbs were unusually long.
"What if I say no?"
With a rush, the man appeared before me, his twin scythes swinging for my neck.
With a clang, I quickly drew my twin Deathbane swords to block his weapon. He leapt back, hovering in the air, staring at me with a cold sneer.
"Are you human?"
I looked at him strangely. The moment we clashed, I realized he was human—but humans don’t float like ghosts. To do that, you’d need some kind of artifact or medium; otherwise, it’s usually impossible.
"You seem odd. I’m called The Reaper, manager of Test Site 63. I absolutely won’t allow outsiders to cause trouble in my domain—my seat would be affected."
I gave a cold smile, staring at The Reaper. His eyes brimmed with icy, merciless intent.
"One last chance, guest. Go back quietly."
With a rush, I flew at The Reaper, my twin Deathbane swords slashing. Deathbane Aura surged around him, already encircling him.
With several swishes, I instantly turned into black mist and landed on the ground. Blood gushed from my shoulder—my Deathbane Aura was effortlessly shattered by him. The Reaper, laughing wildly, charged at me. Suddenly, his twin scythes flew from his hands straight toward me.
The spinning scythes whistled through the air. I rolled to one side, emerging from the black mist. With two clangs, the scythes struck the hard ground, then rebounded toward me.
Those scythes were deadly—I couldn’t afford another hit. My wound wasn’t healing, blood still flowing. The scythes followed me like ghosts. When I looked up, The Reaper had vanished.
"Where are you looking? Over here."
A voice sounded from the left. As I was about to react, The Reaper's blade swept in from behind. I ducked, but with two swishes, I didn’t even see it—two deep gashes opened in my chest, and I was sent flying, crashing to the ground.
Black blood flowed from my chest. I heard footsteps, then sat up, staring blankly at The Reaper.
"You’re out of chances now. Next time, I’ll cut off your head."
With a rush, the twin scythes crossed, slicing for my neck. He knew exactly where my Ghost Soul was.