On the outskirts of Haven City, a green wall of light began to appear, completely encasing the city. Countless ghosts, sensing my ghostly aura, were frantically fleeing.
I could already see the Ghost Burial Squad arriving at Dragon Plaza. The remaining people in the plaza were starting to evacuate, and with the help of many police officers, the entire Dragon Plaza would soon be cleared.
A fleet of engineering vehicles rushed toward Dragon Plaza, moving swiftly. The trucks were loaded with makeshift barriers, nearly five meters high, as if everything had been prepared in advance. I smiled knowingly—Hugh Thompson clearly intended to use Dragon Plaza to gather the ghosts.
When large numbers of ghosts gather, certain changes are inevitable. But inside Dragon Plaza, such changes won't occur, because Dragon Plaza is the site of the Nine-Dragon Chains Ritual. Any ghostly aura that appears will be quickly absorbed, drawn underground into the earth's energy, and then effectively transformed. By daytime, the aura will be dissolved by the sun of the living world.
During the previous meeting with the Taoist sect, I sensed it—even though all seven Ghost Lords, including Yin Choujian, had gathered there, nothing unusual happened in Dragon Plaza.
I was still driving away the ghosts one by one. Some had already reached the edge of the city, but in front of the barrier constructed from my own domain, they could only stop and wait in terror.
By now, Dragon Plaza was empty of civilians. Some members of the supernatural community had arrived—I saw monks, Taoists, and others with some skill. They were likely from various families. More and more people were gathering at Dragon Plaza, and I even saw members of the Ghost Syndicate.
Suddenly, I understood. Previously, with the departure of the Four Fiends, the Poison Star had been managing the Ghost Syndicate alone. But now everything had changed—the Ghost Syndicate was leaderless. Some had stopped their harmful dealings and started legitimate businesses, others remained the same, and a few had completely gone into hiding. The Ghost Syndicate had truly fractured.
I saw some Ghost Syndicate members negotiating with the Ghost Burial Squad. I quickly realized Hugh Thompson must have reached an agreement with some of the Ghost Syndicate, which is why they were here to help.
Many from the Hades Circle also began setting things up around the perimeter of Dragon Plaza. Some souls they had captured were tied up with ropes and placed in a designated area. Soon, zones were established—clearly, Hugh Thompson had prepared thoroughly from the start.
I was still waiting for them to finish the construction. Dawn was still far off—it was just past 10 p.m. One engineering vehicle after another arrived with barricades, and a large number of workers began setting them up. This was to prevent ordinary people from seeing what was happening.
All I needed to do was wait until they were halfway done with the installation, then start driving the ghosts from the city toward that area. Afterward, I planned to negotiate directly with the Underworld Court. It had to be done—there was no way the living world could bear so many ghosts and souls; the Underworld Court would have to take on some of the responsibility.
Gradually, at 11 p.m., I began to speak.
"Report to Dragon Plaza, or I'll destroy you."
My words were relayed to the nearby ghosts through the unconscious ghost fragments I'd split off. Immediately, I sensed a mass movement of ghostly aura—ghosts obediently made their way toward Dragon Plaza in the city center.
As soon as they arrived, I saw many members of the Arcane Society begin their work—attaching talismans to the ghosts, or placing restrictions on them. The ghosts obediently followed the practitioners' instructions and entered Dragon Plaza.
Some workers in the construction team looked confused, but they kept working quickly. I noticed that some of the workers were already possessed by ghosts—and most of those ghosts were employees from the Ghost Cab Company in the living world.
Those who remained conscious and sensed the strangeness would forget everything by the next day. More and more ghosts gathered in Dragon Plaza. In no time, the plaza was divided by ghost rank, packed with tens of thousands. The plaza could accommodate 150,000 to 200,000 ghosts. Some of the more powerful ghosts were temporarily sealed by the Arcane Society in ritual implements or jars.
For those ghosts who refused to listen, I showed no mercy—disciplining them until they obediently went to report at Dragon Plaza.
Time ticked by, second by second. I had been at this for five hours. It was now 3 a.m., and Dragon Plaza was packed with ghosts—at least over a hundred thousand.
Most of the ghosts looked ready to escape at any moment, but the Arcane Society had already set up barriers on the perimeter—there was no way out. Now, all that was left was to quickly install some devices above their heads to block out sunlight, so the lower-ranked ghosts wouldn't be harmed.
Once the sorting was complete, some low-level ghosts—Hearts and White Robes—were released, as they wouldn't disrupt ordinary life. All ghosts above the Yellow Pages rank were gathered together.
Most of the powerful ghosts had been sealed. I began to withdraw my Specter Web—the necessary tasks were done. I planned to head directly to Hell now and negotiate with the Infernal Judges. That was the first priority.
"You've been watching for a while, Lan Miu. Can you come out now?"
I muttered, and behind me, a familiar power appeared—the power of darkness, like a curtain falling. An old man with a cheerful smile stood behind me.
"The Watcher."
Lan Miu, who had been silent behind me, finally spoke. He was the only one I hadn't seen at the Dark Banquet, and the second-generation patriarch of the Lanworths.
"What exactly are you doing, hiding in the living world?"
"Recovering the seeds of darkness. As for what they are, if you have time, you can ask the Eternal One. I won't say more—I only want..."
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest of the story!
I smiled faintly. Now my awareness was sharp enough to clearly sense the other's thoughts.
"Is it about Lan Yin?"
Lan Miu sighed and nodded.
"He's still alive—on Oath Island. I hope you can bring him back. Hades Circle is in complete chaos now. Although Rachel Lan is the heir to the Lanworths, things have devolved into all-out conflict. When Lan Yin was here, he kept Hades Circle stable. Now, the Circle needs him."
I smiled bitterly and stood up, turning to face Lan Miu.
"That guy from Hades Circle said himself that Lan Yin is dead."
Lan Miu shook his head.
"What he called death isn't true death. For us in the Hades Circle, real death is when we lose our Hades Power."
I smiled wryly.
"The people of Hades Circle must have realized it by now—the Underworld Court is deceiving them."