All around me, the world had turned pitch black. Death Energy surged ceaselessly toward my body, trying to consume me, to turn me into one of The Undying here. I crouched on the ground, gritting my teeth, fighting desperately to resist. My plan to destroy the formation had failed.
I understood perfectly what was happening—backlash. The immense power I unleashed hadn’t disrupted the formation; instead, the surrounding Death Energy instantly devoured my life force and converted it into more Death Energy.
Now the density of Death Energy was growing, trying to completely erode my body. I kept resisting. For some reason, Uncle Lee’s words just now lingered in my mind, holding something indescribable, but they refused to tell me anything. The Undying had already left.
What am I supposed to do?!
I muttered, unable to endure the atmosphere any longer. Fatigue crept in, darkness clouded my vision, and soon I collapsed to the ground.
Gradually, I regained consciousness. My head felt fuzzy, and my vision swam. I saw Uncle Lee sitting right in front of me.
"Young man, are you awake?"
I nodded, feeling strange. I was still in Uncle Lee’s house, still lying on that musty, moldy bed. Suddenly, I sensed something odd—touching my cheek, I felt nothing. No sensation of hot or cold, and I couldn’t smell anything either.
What’s happening to me?
I cried out, rushing outside. After much effort, I found a basin of water and looked at my reflection. Sure enough, I’d become just like The Undying here—patches of bone showing through my cheeks, my skin shriveled, and the same decay marked my hands, feet, and everywhere else on my body.
"You'll get used to it after a while, young man. I told you before—don't do anything. No matter what you try, you can't leave this place. Once you've entered, there's no escaping. Others and other things have come in before, but none could ever leave."
"What about the people who came in before?"
After a brief panic, I calmed down. This wasn’t much compared to what I’d faced before—I’d survived far worse situations.
I checked my body’s condition. My connection to primal instinct hadn’t been severed, but the moment I tried to use my power, the energy within me instantly fused with the Death Energy wrapping my body. Soon, the balance between my life force and the Death Energy was restored, just like the structure of this island now.
"Uncle Lee, can you tell me? What is this place, really?"
I asked again, looking sincerely at Uncle Lee, but he just shook his head and patted my shoulder.
"Young man, forget it. Whatever you do now is meaningless."
"Where is John Chou’s corpse?"
I asked again, but Uncle Lee just shook his head.
"We don’t know either. We haven’t seen John Chou’s body in over two thousand years. The last person who came to the island sank his body into The Pool. If you didn’t find it there, it’s probably gone by now!"
At that thought, I ran up the mountain. Now, I couldn’t feel hot or cold, hunger, or even smell anything. In this state, I should be able to endure The Pool. I planned to dive to the bottom and search carefully.
Finding John Chou’s body was my only hope of leaving this place. Soon, I reached the mountaintop. Given my new form, I didn’t need to worry about fatigue—my mind was perfectly clear.
At the edge of The Pool atop the mountain, I swallowed hard and jumped in. As expected, I felt nothing, smelled nothing. I dove down to the muddy bottom, just as I’d found before—there wasn’t even a single stone. I searched the bottom methodically, from one side to the other, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find anything solid.
After more than an hour, I emerged from The Pool, my clothes drenched. I sighed—thankfully, I couldn’t smell anything, or I’d have thrown up. Where was John Chou’s body?
I looked around, wondering what else I could do to find John Chou’s corpse.
"Follow me, young man, if you truly want to find John Chou's body!"
My eyes widened—Uncle Lee had come up. I watched him quietly.
"Tell me, Uncle Lee—what really happened here?"
I’d lost count of how many times I’d asked. They seemed to be hiding something, but not out of malice. The Undying I’d burned with fire just now had already revived.
I followed Uncle Lee north. After a long walk, he led me to the Crescent Tip—the northernmost point of Crescent Isle.
"Go on in if you really want to find it. Start from the cave down there, young man! I'll wait for you here."
I stared for a while before realizing that there was a cave at the edge of the cliff by the sea. I swallowed hard.
"Is John Chou's corpse inside?"
I asked, and Uncle Lee shook his head.
"I saw it once before. John Chou came out from inside, then went back in. No one knows why. This is all we really know. Honestly, we vaguely sense that what caused all this wasn't John Chou, but ourselves."
"What do you mean?"
I asked, and Uncle Lee shook his head, then said:
"Go in and see for yourself, young man. I'll wait for you here."
I looked back at Uncle Lee in confusion, then jumped into the sea and swam toward the cave. Soon I realized the cave submerged in seawater was enormous. I floated at the top, swimming deeper inside.
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"Young man, what are you looking for here?"
Soon, I swam to a stone platform. In front of me was a cave over two meters high and more than a meter wide. I climbed out of the sea and walked right in.
The cave was straight and growing wider. In my current form, I could see in the dark—a huge advantage.
Suddenly, I stopped. My eyes widened—a vast hall appeared before me. Its walls were studded with bright crystals, gleaming under the moonlight. What shocked me even more was the piles of gold and silver treasures in the hall. I swallowed and rushed forward.
Compared to what I'd seen outside, the treasures here were overwhelming. Broken chests spilled gold and silver jewelry, huge pearls, jade, and gemstones. I picked up a few, tried them on, and grinned.
"Uncle Lee was definitely hiding something."
"People used to call me the Born Evil Ghost. Young man, why did you come here?"
"Young man, what are you looking for here?"
Suddenly, I heard a deep, magnetic voice. As I turned, I saw a man sitting in the moonlight, dressed in a white suit with a rose on his chest. He looked about thirty, handsome and sharp, with tousled hair and a wicked smile.
"Who are you?"
I couldn't tell if this man was human or ghost, but under the moonlight, he cast no shadow.
"Are you a ghost?"
I asked, and the man nodded.
"People used to call me the Born Evil Ghost. Young man, why did you come here?"
I looked around. This guy was anything but simple—his eyes could mesmerize women, his face was striking and masculine, exuding steadiness. But I could feel the immense Death Energy radiating from him.
With a swoosh, the man vanished. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a shadow. When I turned, he was holding a red Specter Web—John Chou's.
"So that's it. Did John Chou send you in? He can't come in himself, so he sent you instead?"
"Who are you, really?"
I've waited long enough, John Chou. How much longer do you expect me to wait—and you send in this young man?
"Are you Ronan Wu?"
I asked, growing wary. This evil ghost radiated a chilling aura.
"Looks like you know about me. Who are you?"
"Roxie Lane."