I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

Rock Island.

The edge of the island rose more than ten meters above the sea, forming near-vertical cliffs. Waves crashed against the rock face, sending up bursts of spray as the sky gradually darkened.

The entire deserted island sat upon the great sea as if it had been abandoned.

There are two moments in the world that are the loneliest.

Waking up from an afternoon nap at six or seven in the evening to an empty house, with only the faint, chaotic sounds of the street drifting in.

And nightfall, deep in the heart of the sea.

Humans are social creatures.

Especially when facing danger. Even having a useless piece of trash by your side can bring a great sense of peace.

...

Shao Qiu had been nearly motionless for a long time, clinging to a protrusion on the cliff face, half-submerged in the seawater.

He had come here alone.

This place was far from the mainland; no one else could make it.

Night was falling, and he waited patiently for the opportune moment.

Since joining the Mortal Realm, he had learned many hidden secrets.

For instance...

The Ghost Tide that would make landfall in four years.

When that time came, this island would be the first to fall. Normally, the island was a natural fortress, so secure that it didn’t even need a City Wall. But once the Undersea Ghost Tide arrived, this location would be completely isolated and helpless—the very front line.

Even if he did nothing.

This bunch wouldn’t live for more than a few years anyway.

But how could he not act?

Shao Qiu switched hands, tightening his grip on the rock. A flicker of excitement glinted in his eyes. Just thinking about what he was going to do tonight sent an uncontrollable tremor through his body. The thrill of a sudden adrenaline rush was better than any woman.

Someone once told him that achieving fame at a young age wasn’t a good thing.

Perhaps that person was right.

He had become famous at seventeen, only to suffer a major setback at the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land and be imprisoned for seven years. Now, having joined the Mortal Realm and with his soul returned, he could finally make his mark again. He didn’t care about wealth or longevity; all he sought in this life was fame.

Whether a person lives for forty years or eighty...

...it makes no real difference.

All that remains is a single stroke in the annals of history. Some strokes are thick, some are thin. He wanted to be a thick one.

Everyone in this world has something they’re good at, even the most inconspicuous commoner. And everyone has something they love to do, something they dream of.

What is a genius?

When the thing you’re good at is also the thing you love, and it’s also your dream.

That is genius.

That was why he never shied away from calling himself a genius. He truly was one.

The sky... went dark.

The eternal night rushed in from the edge of the heavens like a falling curtain, enveloping the entire sea in the blink of an eye.

...

Shao Qiu tilted his head and gazed toward the edge of the sky. ’One day, I have to go there and see where the eternal night truly comes from.’ His body, however, didn’t hesitate for a second. Using his hands and feet, he scrambled out of the sea and flattened himself against the cliff face, seven or eight meters up.

This height would allow him to avoid most of the Ghost Objects in the sea.

It would also keep him from being spotted by the people on the island.

He was waiting for them to fall into a deep sleep.

...

「Four hours later.」

The entire island had fallen silent, utterly still save for the faint sound of snoring. No one in this world had the habit of staying up late; after all, once the eternal night arrived, there was nothing to do.

Pressed flat against the cliff, Shao Qiu released his right hand, drew a dagger, and quickly carved a special pattern into his left arm. He then placed his index finger on the pattern and murmured.

"Concealed Heaven!"

The next moment—

His entire body seemed to merge completely with the rock face, becoming almost impossible to detect.

He began to climb rapidly.

There was no sound of breathing, no sound of climbing.

He scaled the cliff like a ghost.

At seventeen, when he went to the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, he had used this Martial Art to evade all their detection methods. In the end, he was only discovered by an Exotic Beast. Using this Martial Art required a sacrifice of his lifespan.

That time, he had sacrificed fifty years.

The Wind and Rain Tower was nowhere near the level of the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, so he wouldn’t need to sacrifice so many years.

A sacrifice of one year of his life would be more than enough.

This was a Yellow Level Martial Art.

The level alone was an indicator of the Martial Art’s power. Furthermore, it was an exclusive Martial Art for "Living Dead" Cultivators, making it a perfect fit for him. And among all Martial Arts, those that sacrificed lifespan were always the strongest.

These three factors combined meant his current stealth capabilities completely overwhelmed anything the Wind and Rain Tower had.

...

Shao Qiu was now on the island. The entire place was one large, Natural Ghost Fire Zone. He strode toward the island’s interior without any disguise, walking straight into its depths. Yet, a glance in his direction would reveal nothing; he had practically merged with the eternal night behind him.

There was no City Wall on the island.

But there were several cannon turrets.

However, he walked past one turret with a calm expression, and it didn’t react at all, completely ignoring him. He slowly pushed open the door to a house. Inside, six burly men were asleep.

Perhaps it had been peaceful for too long.

There were no sentries, hidden or otherwise, anywhere on the island.

It made sense.

A faction that didn’t even bother building a City Wall must have been extremely confident in their geographical location and natural defenses. Why would they need to post guards for the night?

He crept forward silently.

Like a shadow, he materialized beside a bunk in the deepest part of the room. He held his dagger in a reverse grip. The blood grooves on both sides of the blade were specially designed to minimize the sound of spraying blood upon cutting.

’Their alertness is terrible,’ Shao Qiu mused internally. ’They’re sleeping like the dead.’

His left hand, light as a feather, gently covered the man’s mouth and nose. At the same instant, his right hand drove the dagger upward from a brutally precise angle, piercing the point where the jaw met the neck.