Before me stretched an endless forest of darkness. In my mind, I knew exactly where Wraithshade was—he was still within the Unreal Covenant, likely conducting experiments for the Dark Banquet.
This might be connected to the key he obtained to unlock the Unreal Covenant. He must know something, which is why Thought Ghost told me to seek him out as soon as I returned.
Suddenly, I sensed a violent surge—there was a battle raging near the Unreal Covenant. Two powerful forces, one yin and one yang, were clashing. One of them was Elder Peach.
With a whoosh, the Unreal Covenant was in sight. In the sky and throughout the forest, countless legless black ghosts drifted about. A streak of golden light flared within the Unreal Covenant. I closed my eyes—the darkness had become my vision. I saw Elder Peach, gasping for breath, clutching a Peachwood Blade covered in runes, trapped inside a golden barrier, battered and bruised. Wraithshade floated in the air, his long, loose hair swirling violently.
"Tell me, Wraithshade, what truths do you really know?"
With a wet splatter, Elder Peach coughed up blood. The air was thick with the sound of ghosts slamming against the golden barrier. Elder Peach clutched his chest in agony.
"It must be agony, Elder Peach. You keep seeking me out—each time is different. In my memory, you’ve come to me more than twenty times. At first, I thought it was an illusion, but the memories are real. Where do you come from—or rather, where does your true body reside?"
Elder Peach laughed hoarsely, raising the Peachwood Blade and swinging it.
The air crackled as purple lightning appeared on the golden barrier. Thunder roared; the ghosts whimpered and disintegrated into ash beneath this force. Wraithshade’s gaze grew ever more grave.
"Answer me, Wraithshade. What do you really know?"
"As expected, this is troublesome. It seems my ghosts are completely useless against you—your innate power absolutely counters them."
Wraithshade spoke as he withdrew the drifting ghosts.
Elder Peach continued to hold on, his expression twisted in mounting agony.
"You must be Elder Peach's Soul Avatar. From what I know, Taoists who cultivate a Soul Avatar gain immense power—but the risks are equally great. If either the avatar or the true body is damaged, the result is the same. You should return, Elder Peach. Otherwise, I won’t hold back with my next strike."
With a wet gasp, Elder Peach spat out blood. He dispelled the golden barrier and drew out a golden talisman.
Previously, Saint of the Underworld also told me to seek help from the Taoists. He must have sensed something—a crisis hidden in this darkness that threatens the very survival of Buddhism and Taoism.
"Since you refuse to leave, let me send you on your way."
I saw Wraithshade’s hands swiftly forming seals. Elder Peach’s eyes widened in terror as the golden talisman in his grip slowly turned black.
"Impossible! There’s no way you could know this spell."
"Of course, I couldn’t have known it—someone simply told me."
As Wraithshade spoke, he pressed a hand to Elder Peach’s forehead.
With a bang, Wraithshade’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sudden appearance of darkness—and Elder Peach’s disappearance. My hand gripped Elder Peach’s collar, and under my will, the power of darkness condensed into a barrier that blocked Wraithshade’s force.
"Heh, Ethan Zhang, what’s going on with you? When did you master the power of darkness?"
I shook my head and looked at Elder Peach.
"Master, tell me—what in the world is happening?"
Elder Peach swallowed hard.
"Both Buddhism and Taoism are in crisis, Ethan Zhang. You must find a way to pry open this guy’s mouth and get the truth from him. You have to..."
With a snap, Elder Peach dissolved into golden particles before me, quickly fading away. I slowly began to float. Wraithshade now gripped a long spike in both hands, staring at me in astonishment.
"Tell me, Wraithshade, what do you really know?"
With a rush, Wraithshade appeared before me, thrusting the long spike toward me.
"When did you become so defiant, Ethan Zhang? Know your place."
"You may not believe it, but I have nothing to say to you. Right now, you can’t harm me—because you lack the most vital thing a person can have: hope."
The spike halted just centimeters from my forehead, as if embedded in a wall, unable to move. Wraithshade let go; instantly, the spike creaked, twisted, and was crushed to pieces before me.
"What’s going on, Ethan Zhang? Everything about you is becoming incomprehensible to me."
"I'll say it again—tell me, Wraithshade, what do you really know?"
A buzzing sound filled my head. I clutched my forehead, my thoughts ringing—things were looking grim.
"Hurry, Ethan Zhang—your will is barely holding on."
I grunted in response. Wraithshade frantically formed seals, and red-and-blue arrays lit up around me. He charged at me—I stared wide-eyed.
"Tell me, Wraithshade."
I roared. A massive boom exploded in my mind; my consciousness felt like it was about to vanish. The arrays around me shattered one after another. Wraithshade stopped, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Pure darkness... Ethan Zhang, who are you really?"
The last traces before my eyes faded; Wraithshade’s voice drifted away from me.
When I came to, I was lying in the shop. Less than an hour had passed—exactly the time I’d spent visiting my own will from a year ago.
Slowly, I stood up. That’s when I noticed someone—the Sleeper—sitting right in front of me, sipping wine.
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"You’re awake, Ethan Zhang."
I grunted in response.
"You didn’t get anything out of him, did you?"
"You know it. He really didn’t say a word. Looks like next time I’ll have to use force—though I’m not sure I can overpower him."
The Sleeper took a sip of wine. I stood, walked over, and sat down.
"If you want to suppress him, you don’t need to use force. Just use the will of darkness to subdue him. Right now, the will of darkness favors you, Ethan Zhang."
I nodded. It felt as if I hadn’t been fighting at all—the darkness itself had fought, instantly destroying the array Wraithshade tried to use to suppress me.
"I’ve spent the most time around that guy, but I still can’t understand him. He’s always been a lone wolf, barely interacting with anyone except when working together for something. I think you should go see Venom Star and ask her how to get Wraithshade to talk."
I grunted and stood, planning to visit Venom Star tonight—or maybe just have Ghost Star notify her and ask her to come over.
"How are things on your end?"
I asked. The Sleeper shook his head.
"We haven’t figured out a solution yet. But the intel you provided—there may be changes happening in places within this darkness that we can’t reach, which could lead to disastrous consequences. We need to identify and eliminate the factors that could cause this chaos. We can’t let the darkness spiral further out of control."
After leaving the shop, I went straight to Ghost Star’s apartment in District 11.
"You startled me, Ethan Zhang—appearing out of nowhere like that."
Ghost Star was sitting in the room, playing video games. I walked over; the shelf to the left was stacked with game discs.
Just as I was about to speak, the voice of the Deathbane Ghost rang out.
"I’ve played through nearly half already, and I keep adding more. Nothing ever changes here. If I’m tired, I sleep; if I’m hungry, I eat. Heh."
I sighed helplessly.
"Please notify Venom Star tonight. Tell her to come over—it’s about Wraithshade."
"That might be tricky, since I have no idea where Aunt Venom is right now."
I looked at Ghost Star in confusion. He went back to his game. Truthfully, I had no idea where Venom Star was, either.
"If you see her, let her know right away. I’ll be waiting at the shop."
Back at the shop, the Sleeper had already left. I fixed myself something to eat and sat quietly, pondering what Elder Peach had said—what exactly had happened? It was something I desperately wanted to know.
"When’s the next time you’ll visit your will from a year ago?"
I asked, raising my glass and taking a sip.
"Not anytime soon. Sending you there once already pushed my limits. For a second trip, you’ll have to wait at least ten days—until I’ve recovered."
"Is there any way to..."
Just as I was about to speak, the voice of the Deathshade Ghost rang out.
"Qingyuan, no matter how anxious you are, you won’t learn anything in the short term."
Thought Ghost snorted in disappointment and said nothing more.
Previously, King Kṣitigarbha also told me to seek help from the Taoists. He must have sensed something—a crisis hidden in this darkness that threatens the very survival of Buddhism and Taoism.
"Wait—that old cat might know something!"
I stood up, but I had no idea where the old cat had gone.
By nightfall, Ghost Star showed up, but there was no sign of Venom Star.
"No luck—I can’t reach Aunt Venom."
Suddenly, I remembered—Venom Star once vanished for a while, just like Wraithshade. After sneaking around and doing something, both of them managed to evade the Dark Banquet’s investigations entirely.
"When you all came to this darkness, did you ever see Wraithshade?"
"I did, but only once. The rest of the time, Aunt Venom went to see the boss herself."