Chapter 606: Shadow Cloning
She violently coughed up a mouthful of thick black blood.
The blood splattered across the stone floor, releasing an unpleasant smell before slowly evaporating into wisps of dark mist.
The woman’s eyes abruptly snapped open. Her cold gaze slowly shifted toward the entrance of the cave.
"So, a powerful cultivator has finally arrived."
A sinister smile appeared on her lips. "It seems the deadlock is finally about to break."
She slowly raised her hand. Snap. The crisp sound echoed throughout the cave.
The next moment, hundreds of black dolls hidden throughout the cave suddenly stood upright. Their tiny heads slowly turned toward her simultaneously.
The scene looked horrifying. The woman calmly looked at them. "Go. Follow those two."
She pointed toward the outside world.
"I don’t care whether it’s the girl or the man. As long as you manage to curse one of them, I’ll eventually gain control over them."
The dolls nodded in eerie synchronization. They almost looked alive. Without making a sound, they silently walked out of the cave one after another.
The woman slowly closed her eyes once again. A faint smile remained on her lips. "Interesting, it’s finally becoming entertaining."
.............
Meanwhile, Lana subconsciously turned around. She noticed that the dolls lying in the street had already become piles of black ash.
She frowned. "When did those burn?"
Axel smiled calmly. "Don’t worry. I already dealt with them."
Lana nodded. She didn’t ask anything further. The topic of black magic quietly came to an end.
..........
Not long afterward, they reached the second location where Lana had sensed an overwhelming concentration of negative energy.
A church. Lana stood still for several seconds. She stared at the old stone building before her. Its walls were weathered by time.
The stained-glass windows had long since cracked. Yet what truly shocked her wasn’t the church’s appearance.
It was the terrifying sea of black aura engulfing the entire building.
From her Third Eye’s perspective, countless streams of negative energy were pouring into the church from every direction like rivers flowing into an endless abyss.
The sight completely contradicted everything she knew. She turned toward Axel.
"Uncle, I don’t understand. Aren’t churches and temples supposed to be holy places? Shouldn’t they naturally repel negative energy? Why is this place overflowing with it instead?"
Axel smiled faintly. "You probably already know part of the answer."
He looked quietly at the ancient church.
"Places like churches, temples, shrines, they aren’t holy simply because of the buildings themselves. They become holy because of the faith people place in them."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"When people sincerely believe that their gods are listening, those places gradually accumulate hope, gratitude, faith, and positive spiritual energy."
His expression slowly became solemn.
"But, when those same people suffer endlessly, when their prayers receive no answers, when tragedy strikes again and again, they begin questioning those gods. Then resentment replaces hope."
"The very place that once overflowed with positive energy gradually becomes saturated with despair, hatred, regret, and hopelessness."
He looked directly into Lana’s eyes.
"And those emotions are exactly what ghosts love the most. They become perfect hiding places for evil spirits. And sometimes, even perfect nests for humans who practice forbidden arts or secretly cooperate with ghosts."
Lana nodded before stepping inside with a grim expression.
At that moment, Myra emerged from her spiritual space and cautiously looked around. Her usually cheerful face had become unusually tense as her sharp eyes carefully scanned every dark corner.
"Master... there seems to be a very strange soul here."
Lana immediately turned toward her. "What kind of soul?"
Myra closed her eyes for a brief moment as if sensing the surrounding energy more carefully before opening them again.
"Someone very powerful. My instincts say it’s slightly weaker than you, but it still possesses terrifying strength. Judging from its aura, it should have at least a thousand years of cultivation."
Lana shifted her gaze toward Axel. Axel simply nodded.
"If that’s the case, then I’ll leave everything here to you while you train."
Lana nodded once more. She had come here precisely for training, so she accepted his decision without objection.
"Please keep watch outside."
Axel gave her a reassuring nod. "I’ll make sure nothing interferes."
Satisfied, Lana slowly began observing the church.
Surprisingly, the interior was in relatively good condition.
The wooden benches remained mostly intact despite their age, though they were covered by a thin layer of gray dust.
Cracks ran across several stone pillars, while the high ceiling had partially collapsed in one corner.
Through that opening, a single beam of sunlight streamed inside, cutting through countless floating dust particles and illuminating the otherwise gloomy church with a haunting glow.
Lana, however, disliked this setting immensely.
’This is exactly the kind of atmosphere predators create before attacking.’
She had encountered enough supernatural entities to recognize the signs. Such deceptive peace usually existed only when the hunter wanted its prey to lower its guard.
Slowly, her sharp eyes swept across every corner. Soon, she froze.
To be more precise, her instincts screamed that someone was staring directly at her from the far end of the church.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lana condensed a Mystic Ball in her palm.
Whoosh! The Mystic Ball shot across the church like a comet.
The very next second... Rustle! Something rapidly scuffled across the darkness.
Then, a strange laugh echoed throughout the church. "Hehehe..."
The voice sounded neither male nor female. It echoed unnaturally from every direction, making it impossible to determine its source.
Most people would have panicked.
Lana expression remained perfectly calm as she continuously condensed one Mystic Ball after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed throughout the abandoned church as pieces of broken wood and stone flew through the air.
However, after consuming nearly half of her Mystic Energy... Lana suddenly stopped.
She frowned. Something was wrong. Myra narrowed her eyes before speaking. "Master... I think that creature is playing with you."
Lana looked toward her. "What do you mean?"
"The mystic balls you’ve been throwing haven’t been hitting its real body. They’ve only been destroying its shadows. I think this ghost possesses some kind of shadow-cloning ability."