After Goldwing and Shadow arrived, Evan Lin immediately recalled them back into his body. Serena Frost then led Evan and Luna toward the Dream Spirit Sanctuary Forbidden Ground.
The three moved cautiously, sneaking through the sect to avoid being seen by other disciples. It took them over half an hour before they finally reached a gorge behind the mountain.
"This gorge is where the Dream Spirit Sanctuary Forbidden Ground begins. If you want to enter, you need to be extra careful. Evan, do you want to reconsider? Going in is a nine-deaths-one-life gamble, and with your current strength, even heavenly treasures wouldn't make much difference for you." Serena Frost said.
"Since we've come all this way, of course I'm going in—there's no reason to back out now. Why don't you two wait here for me? I can go in alone," Evan said.
"Don't even think about it. Wherever you go, we go. You want to leave us here to worry about you? Not happening," Luna said firmly.
Evan glanced at the gorge ahead. The trees inside were lush, and the Immortal Essence was thick, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He couldn't understand why this place was considered the Dream Spirit Sanctuary's forbidden ground—it looked perfectly safe on the surface.
"Let's go! Everyone stay alert. I want to see what kind of monster could make this place a one-way trip." Evan said.
The three of them entered the gorge. Nothing dangerous happened along the way, which made them all suspicious. "Serena, are you sure you got the right place? This is just a normal gorge—where's the so-called danger? Maybe Lingxiao tricked you!" Evan joked.
"No way. Lingxiao would never lie to me. It may look calm on the surface, but the real danger hasn't shown itself yet. Maybe we haven't reached the truly dangerous part. Did you notice there aren't any birds or insects in this gorge? Isn't that odd?" Serena Frost replied.
Evan realized she had a point and kept moving forward. But the deeper they went, the stranger things became—the Immortal Essence grew even thicker, yet the vegetation thinned out. At a certain moment, the three of them stopped in their tracks.
Standing before them was a massive stone wall, carved with three large characters: Death Valley.
Beneath the inscription was a warning: 'Those who trespass into Death Valley shall die!' Such domineering words were out of place here, but Evan was the type who feared nothing. The greater the danger, the more extraordinary the secret within—and the more determined he was to enter.
The three of them crossed the stone wall and walked about a hundred meters when a powerful force—like a teleportation gate—suddenly pulled them into an unfamiliar space.
"Where is this? It's pitch-black—can't see a thing. Everyone, be careful!" Evan called out immediately.
But there was no reply from Luna or Serena Frost. Evan's heart tightened with worry. "Could they be in danger?" That was his first thought. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a ball of fire to light up the surroundings.
There was no sign of either woman anywhere. Evan started to panic—this place really was too strange. If anything happened to Luna or Serena, he'd never forgive himself. It was his stubbornness that got them into this mess.
"Calm down! I have to stay calm!" Evan told himself, though sweat was already beading on his forehead from worrying about the two women's safety.
Evan slowly scanned the environment with his divine sense. Everything around him was pitch-black—even the soil beneath his feet. He had a hunch: was this a dark space? Or maybe this place held the Darkness Spirit Pearl.
"Luna! Serena!" Evan shouted at full strength, pouring Chaos Immortal Force into his voice, hoping for a response. After several calls with no answer, his panic only grew.
Meanwhile, Luna and Serena Frost had been teleported into a space filled with blinding white light. Everything here was pure white—even the rocks on the ground. The two women searched for Evan, but even after scanning thousands of miles with divine sense, they couldn't find a trace of him.
Luna glanced at Serena Frost and said, "Serena, I think we've entered a special domain. This should be the light domain Evan has been searching for. I always thought a domain like this only existed in the God Realm, but here it is. We need to help him obtain the Light Spirit Pearl."
"Luna, where do you think Evan is right now? I'm not worried about his safety, but not seeing us will definitely make him anxious. It really is frustrating," Serena Frost said.
"There's no point worrying. Evan's smart—he'll figure things out soon enough. This place may look peaceful, but I bet it's incredibly dangerous. Otherwise, why would no one ever come out? There could be terrifying experts lurking here, so we need to be careful," Luna replied.
Meanwhile, Evan was making his way through the dark space, extending his divine sense as he went. There was nothing unusual to be found—the space seemed enormous, and once inside, escape was nearly impossible. Its most notable feature: there was no Immortal Essence at all.
Once inside, your strength only weakens over time—unless you have enough Immortal Stones, you'll eventually run out of Immortal Essence and your Immortal Infant will wither and die. Evan realized that most who entered this place were likely trapped and perished here.
He called out Goldwing and Shadow, hoping that together they might find a way out. "Boss, why is everything so dark in here? This place feels awful," Shadow complained as soon as he appeared.
"Boss, what is this place? There's not a trace of Immortal Essence. How did you end up here?" Goldwing couldn't help but ask.
"This is the forbidden ground of Dream Spirit Sanctuary. I don't know why it's like this, but it feels like a dark space. I once heard Sean Xiao talk about dark and light domains—he even gave me two beads: one light-law bead and one dark-law bead," Evan explained.
As he mentioned the dark-law bead, Evan felt a sudden impulse and took it out of his storage ring. The moment he did, the surrounding space began to ripple slightly, and the bead in his hand vibrated as well. The discovery struck him as very odd.
Just then, a rumbling thunder sounded from somewhere on the ground not far away...