I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

This was common knowledge. After all, the Mortal Realm had already posted public notices clearly stating they were recruiting Alchemy Masters, but they just hadn’t found anyone yet. It was rare for an Alchemy Master to be a Loose Cultivator; they were almost always attached to some faction, and the ones in these regions had long since pledged their allegiance.

Unless they betrayed their original faction and joined the Mortal Realm.

But the repercussions of such an act were complex.

Setting aside the fact that betraying your faction meant offending them—and whether the Mortal Realm could even protect you—could you truly gain the Mortal Realm’s trust after such a betrayal? Once the Mortal Realm eventually found an Alchemy Master with a clean background, wouldn’t you just be pushed to the fringes, or even cast out?

...

Meanwhile, inside a room in Mortal City.

Chen Fan frowned, looking at Qi Yue. "What did you mean by that? I’ve always known the final step of your revenge was to kill yourself, but I thought you meant it metaphorically—that you wanted to kill the cowardly person you used to be, to make a clean break with your wretched past."

"To start a new life from then on."

"But now you’re telling me you’re going to *literally* kill yourself?"

"Suicide?"

"Mm."

Standing his ground, Qi Yue gazed out the window and spoke in a low voice. "Part of the reason my Cultivation progressed so quickly is that I became a Demon Cultivator, but there are other reasons too. I learned a special Mental Method. With this method, all my negative emotions accelerate my Cultivation Speed."

"Before, I was completely focused on revenge."

"So my Cultivation Speed was naturally extremely fast."

"But there’s a downside."

"When enough negative emotions accumulate, they will form another me, possessing my full strength. Only one of us can survive. If I win, this Mental Method will be without flaws from that day forward."

"If I lose, there will be no more Qi Yue in this world, only the Jiangbei Old Demon."

"Right now, the negative emotions have built up to a critical point."

"In twenty days."

"That is the appointed day."

"I will travel to the West of Jiangbei to kill the person I must kill, and then I will fight the other me to the death. I don’t know if I can win, so I want to entrust someone to your care once more. I hope that after my death, you, Domain Lord, can... look after the Sheep Race."

"Gongyang Yue has been sheltered her whole life. She’s naive. I worry about her."

...

After a long, frowning silence, Chen Fan spoke softly, "You don’t need to worry about that; I’ll certainly agree. The real question is how to ensure you win. What if I give you an extra Exotic Treasure? Or have you take some Elixirs that can temporarily boost your combat strength?"

"Useless. Whatever I have, he will have."

"What about the turrets?"

"You can fight him under my turrets. If he dares show himself, I’ll blast him with cannon fire."

"That won’t work either. During the fight, he is immune to all external attacks. It can only be one-on-one."

"Then summon him when you’re heavily injured. The moment he appears, jump into the altar to quickly heal your wounds."

"He would also be healed."

...

Chen Fan was losing his patience. This sounded completely hopeless. "So you only have a fifty percent chance of survival?"

"No."

Qi Yue shook his head and said softly, "Zero."

"Our strength may be identical, and external forces are the same."

"But he is, after all, a Heart Demon formed from negative emotions. He doesn’t fear death, but I do. I have things I can’t let go of—I can’t stop worrying about Gongyang Yue, and I can’t let go of my unavenged hatreds."

"So—"

"I must resolve all my emotions."

"Only after killing everyone I need to kill and ensuring Gongyang Yue is settled can I let go of all my concerns and, like him, possess a will to die. Only then will I have a fifty percent chance of survival."

After speaking, Qi Yue paused and gave a bitter smile.

"Domain Lord."

"Gongyang Yue can feel my pain. When the time comes, you must stop her. If she suddenly runs over while I’m dueling, that single moment of distraction could get me killed."

"Don’t worry."

Chen Fan replied softly, his expression calm, "When the time comes, I’ll confine her within the Mortal Realm. I guarantee she won’t be able to go anywhere."

Qi Yue nodded, relieved, and continued to gaze out the window.

’Now, all I have to do is resolve all my hatred.’

’Then the life-or-death battle can begin.’

’It’s just...’

’His negative emotions had almost reached their limit, so for the next twenty days, he had to avoid feeling any negative emotions at all. Otherwise, the confrontation would be triggered early. With his revenge incomplete and his heart still tied to this world, he wouldn’t be able to face the battle with a will to die.’

’The more he feared death, the faster it would come.’

...

Chen Fan walked out of the room and into the Jiangnan Marketplace, smiling and nodding to the people who greeted him. But inwardly, he was reflecting. ’Shao Qiu really can’t kill the person Qi Yue needs to kill.’

’Only Qi Yue can kill this person.’

’To think there’s such a strange Cultivation Technique in this world.’

’A Martial King with Tenfold Body Tempering is much stronger than other Martial Kings.’

’And when two Martial Kings with Tenfold Body Tempering fight, it’s truly hard to say who will win or lose.’

’Especially when the opponent has the exact same strength.’

’And the same combat experience.’

’It all comes down to who can remain calmer, who can force the other to reveal an opening first, or who can achieve a breakthrough mid-battle. The difficulty is extraordinarily high. Although I don’t want the Mortal Realm’s newest Martial King to fall just like that, this is Qi Yue’s own path. There’s nothing I can do to stop or help him.’

’All I can do is watch from a distance.’

’The moment Qi Yue wins, I’ll step in to heal him.’

’If he loses...’

’The cannons will roar to the heavens, a funeral dirge for Qi Yue.’

...

Soon, the sky began to grow dark.

The leaders of various factions, along with their core members, gathered on the Mortal City Market Street. The auction was being held right here. It was originally scheduled to be in a tavern, but too many people had shown up, so it was moved outdoors.

The auction, originally planned for the afternoon, had also been moved to the evening.

The eternal night was about to descend.

And the auction was about to begin.

Just then!

A young man in a white robe appeared on a Skeleton Horse, leading more than ten figures in black robes with hidden faces, all of them also mounted on Skeleton Horses. They strode grandly toward the city gate!

The sides of the Skeleton Horses were laden with bundles, large and small.

It was clear their harvest had been bountiful.

The white-robed man in the lead leaped off his mount. Carrying a blood-soaked bundle, he strode up to Chen Fan, who stood in the center of the Market Street, knelt on one knee, and announced in a hoarse voice:

"Domain Lord."

"Shao Qiu, Dark Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm Dark Pavilion, is here to report. The target has been eliminated. All seventy-eight core members of the Wind and Rain Tower have been slaughtered."

"These are the heads of the three Masters and the Young Master of the Tower from the Wind and Rain Tower."

"Here is the proof."

The bundle in Shao Qiu’s hand fell open, and four bloody heads, their eyes wide in death, rolled out, causing a wave of gasps.

Having said his piece, Shao Qiu fell silent, remaining on one knee with his head bowed. He emanated a cold, ruthless aura that warned others to keep their distance.

"You may go,"

Chen Fan said softly.

"Yes."

Shao Qiu acknowledged the order. Before everyone’s eyes, his body slowly dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. The crowd instinctively looked around, only to find that the dozen or so riders on Skeleton Horses had also disappeared at some unknown point.

Only a lonely troop of Skeleton Horses remained.

...

Chen Fan withdrew his gaze, his expression impassive, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

’The tavern wasn’t big enough.’

’But it was certainly large enough to hold the faction leaders. It’s not like they needed to bring so many people to an auction. Yet, using a Sound Transmission Talisman, Shao Qiu had pleaded with him, begging him to move the auction to the Mortal City Market Street.’

’Yes, he pleaded.’

’I’d never seen Shao Qiu plead like that, not even when Qi Yue had him pinned to the ground.’

’At first, I didn’t understand why.’

’Now I know.’

’This guy... ’

’He calls me "Domain Lord."’

’He called himself ’Shao Qiu, Dark Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm Dark Pavilion.’ That was practically a full self-introduction. A very detailed one at that...’

However, seeing the looks on everyone’s faces, Chen Fan couldn’t help but smile. "The auction is about to begin. Please wait just a moment longer, everyone."

The gazes of everyone around were fixed on the four heads on the ground.

It was utterly silent.

No one spoke. The only sounds in the air were ragged breaths and the horror reflected in their eyes.