Stepping into this darkness again feels like something from a long time ago. As soon as I enter, a familiar sensation washes over me—the lights of the ring-shaped city still shine brightly, and Tan Tian is right beside me.
"Where are John Chou and his people?"
Tan Tian asked, and I shook my head.
"It might take another month before we can meet again. But if a month passes, we won't be able to go back."
With a whoosh, Tan Tian shot into the air. I immediately followed, trailing him to the base of the Celestial Pillar. I don't know what he's planning, but at least we can eliminate this huge potential threat—for us, that's a good thing. He already promised me he wouldn't be our enemy anymore, not in this darkness.
In my experience, Tan Tian is someone who keeps his word. What he hates most is breaking a promise. Earlier, when Yuna Ji was in the Corpse Realm, it was because she broke her word that Tan Tian wanted to kill her.
"Did something happen?"
Tan Tian spoke, drifting slowly toward the top of the Celestial Pillar, then suddenly dropped back down.
At that moment, I sensed two people approaching—Howard Zhang and Earthly Soul. With a rush, Earthly Soul landed right behind me.
"Zhang Qingyuan, why did you bring Tan Tian back?"
Earthly Soul looked at Tan Tian with hostility. Tan Tian turned his head, expressionless.
"There's no need to be so hostile. I've already reached an agreement with Ethan Zhang."
Earthly Soul's expression softened a little, but then he spoke, dazed. I had been gone for about five or six days, and during that time something major happened. The Death Curse came, and told Earthly Soul and Howard Zhang everything that happened at the Dark Banquet.
"What happened?"
"Nightfall and the Immortality Society conspired together and took away something extremely important—the core. Now they've vanished. The Dark Banquet is in total chaos; East Cemetery and Duskfall are blaming each other."
With two sharp whooshes, The Undertaker and The Artisan appeared in front of Tan Tian. Their eyes burned with anger toward each other.
"Hmph, Artisan, what exactly are you planning?"
"That's what I should be asking you, Undertaker. Didn't Nightfall give you any hints? For example, if they excluded us, then..."
The Undertaker immediately glared, his face twisted in anger.
"You're full of crap, Artisan. That's exactly what I wanted to ask you."
"Enough. Arguing is pointless. Since I'm back, just tell me what happened."
After a while, we arrived at my shop. I started grilling food, planning to eat something and have a drink. The atmosphere inside was tense.
Tan Tian stared coldly at The Artisan and The Undertaker.
I couldn't help but recall what I saw in the Asura Realm that day—the Sleeper and Wraithshade. I started talking about it.
"Just as I thought. That old bastard and Wraithshade were plotting together all along."
The Artisan cursed under her breath.
"Mr. Tan Tian, what do you plan to do?"
The Undertaker asked, but Tan Tian just kept thinking, silent.
"What exactly did they take?"
"The Dark Mirror."
Tan Tian replied. Instantly, The Undertaker and The Artisan looked at him suspiciously. Tan Tian quickly explained.
"I've already told Ethan Zhang what you need to do."
"Mr. Tan Tian..."
The Undertaker called out anxiously, but Tan Tian didn't explain. In the end, both The Artisan and The Undertaker could only sigh helplessly.
The so-called Dark Mirror is the result of thousands of years of experiments by the Dark Banquet. It can mirror and transfer everything from the Living World into this darkness.
It reminded me of the technique I used when I still had my shadow—swapping places with it. It's a bit like Victor Duan's reflection, but not quite the same.
This is the most essential, core thing. Just three days ago, all the members of the Immortality Society were suddenly freed. They caused chaos in East Cemetery and Duskfall. To be safe, the thirteen members were split up and held by the three factions of the Dark Banquet.
Only Nightfall remained untouched. Yet when Nightfall went to help, something went wrong—they and the Immortality Society broke into East Cemetery and Duskfall's core labs, took the Dark Mirror and related items, and vanished into the darkness with Nightfall.
"What about the Blood Jade?"
Tan Tian immediately asked.
"One piece has probably already fallen into the hands of the Immortality Society. The one held by The Sleeper is in their possession, but the two pieces on our side are still here."
So the Immortality Society's aim is clearly the Soul of the Ghost Ancestor. As for Nightfall's true purpose, that's still unknown.
The Undertaker continued, "To accomplish the mirrored transfer of everything between the living and the dead, the Dark Mirror is the key. But much more preparation is needed. Right now, Nightfall doesn't have that capability."
"Besides, isn't the key to the Oath of Delusion in your hands?"
The Undertaker said, glancing at Earthly Soul.
"Yes, it's in my hands."
"It's too late for words now. They'll show up again, as long as you still have the Blood Jade."
As Tan Tian spoke, The Artisan stared at her suspiciously.
"Mr. Tan Tian, forgive my bluntness, but did you conspire with them?"
Tan Tian shook his head.
"My relationship with them is the same as with both of you. I don't like beating around the bush—it's pointless. I prefer to be straightforward."
The room fell silent. I finished grilling some food and brought it to the table, where Howard Zhang, Earthly Soul, and I began to eat.
Now, The Undertaker and The Artisan seemed trapped, with no way out. It felt as if their fate was already sealed.
"Mr. Tan Tian, time is running out. But now our plan is completely stalled. What should we do?"
The Undertaker looked utterly dejected, a far cry from his previous assertiveness.
Time ticked by, and the three of us grew tipsy. Meanwhile, the three others remained silent—The Undertaker and The Artisan looked pale, and Tan Tian was still expressionless, because he felt nothing.
Suddenly, all of us widened our eyes and looked toward the shop entrance. It was already late at night, the street deserted, but now all the Ghost Lords were standing at the door. I quickly got up and opened it—John Chou stepped inside.
"Finally decided to show yourself, John Chou?"
The Undertaker immediately stood up as John Chou sat down at our table.
"Ethan Zhang, bring some food. Ber Cumin brought Dawn Dew wine."
Red-Hair spoke, and I quickly got up. Howard Zhang happily came over to help. Yuna Ji saw Tan Tian and playfully stuck out her tongue.
"Still holding a grudge, Tan Tian? It's been so long."
Tan Tian said nothing and turned away. Jing Le and Yuna Ji came over to help, while Howard Zhang and I stoked the fire, planning to grill everything in the shop.
"Looks like you all have run into some serious trouble."
John Chou took a sip of wine, looking at Tan Tian and the others with a half-smile.
"John Chou, did you foresee this situation from the start? Is that why you excluded me, and deliberately gave The Sleeper and Xu Fu the chance to choke the other two factions? Is this what you wanted? If we don't cooperate, we're doomed."
John Chou burst out laughing and shook his head.
"Impossible. You're overthinking it, Tan Tian."
I immediately thought of Zhuang Bo and hurriedly spoke to John Chou.
"Zhuang Bo asked me to tell you, John Chou, he might not be able to return for a while."
John Chou nodded, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
After The Undertaker explained everything to the Ghost Lords, I also told John Chou and the others the conditions Tan Tian had promised me.
"Heh, Tan Tian, you may have said you wouldn't be our enemy, but now you can't help it. Finally, we can negotiate as equals. You never expected that, did you? That in this darkness, there could be someone who matches you—or could even kill you."
My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately thought of Qi. Ouyang Meng burst out laughing.
"You're really easy to fool, Ethan Zhang."
Tan Tian stared at John Chou, expressionless.
"That's true. I don't want to fight that girl. If it starts, it'll get out of hand."
"Now that we're on equal footing, can you remove the artificial souls implanted in our bodies first?"
The Undertaker and The Artisan exchanged glances, as if plotting something.
"Or do you refuse to cooperate? If that's the case, we'll find our own way. Let's pretend none of this happened—do as you please, but we won't accompany you any further."
John Chou raised his wine glass, then let go. As it was about to hit the ground, every Ghost Lord's expression changed—they looked ready to fight.
A hand reached up from the floor—it was Tan Tian, who caught the glass.
"Alright, John Chou. I'll trust you this once."
Tan Tian spoke, then glanced at The Undertaker and The Artisan. Both nodded.
"Once this negotiation is over, we'll remove the artificial souls from your bodies."
John Chou nodded.
"Alright, the key now is to find the Daoist sect members. Does anyone know where they are?"
In this darkness, only Xiaoyaozi and Taomuzi from the Daoist sect are present—finding them is crucial. As for the Buddhist sect, Mingde and Master Jianyun are here.
"They should be somewhere in this city, just hiding their presence. I'll send people to look for them now."
The Undertaker spoke, standing up, but John Chou raised a hand.
"Let's finish our discussion first—there's still time to search. Tan Tian, now you know what it means to be riding a tiger and unable to dismount."
John Chou laughed, and Tan Tian snapped his head around to glare at him.
"Provided this tiger isn't just made of paper."