The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

The night passed in silence.

As dawn broke on the second day, orange light streamed through the windows and fell on the floor of the training room, tinting the intricate magic array patterns with a warm hue.

Wu You slowly stopped what he was doing. The tip of the eight-colored crystal longsword gently retracted from the final movement, and the pure black light on the sword disappeared, revealing the eight colors flowing beneath.

He glanced at the Sword Manual panel.

【Seven Tribulations Sword Chapter】(Chapter 1 Pivotal Tribulation) (525,000/1,000,000)

There are still over 400,000 experience points needed to fully master the Pivot Sword, which is no small number.

He sheathed his sword, stretched his wrists, and heard a slight cracking sound from his bones. Having cultivated all night, he felt no fatigue, but rather exhilarated. The ultimate destructive intent of the Pivot Sword replayed in his mind again and again, each replay deepening his understanding of the sword technique.

Looking at his watch, Wu You changed out of his loose loungewear and into a new black trench coat, pinning on his epaulets.

Then he picked up the eight-colored crystal longsword leaning against the wall, casually grabbed the black kitten curled up beside him, and stuffed it into the pocket of his trench coat.

After checking that nothing was missing, Wu You pushed open the gate to the courtyard.

Summer had arrived, and even the rising sun carried a hint of warmth. The sunlight fell on his white hair, shimmering with tiny sparkles.

A few torchbearers were already walking around the streets, most of them in a hurry.

"Chief, over here!"

Xia Wan's voice came from ahead.

She stood at the intersection, her short hair neat and her eyes smiling as she waved to him. Huang Shaolin stood beside her, still looking as unkempt as ever, his hair even more disheveled than yesterday, as if he had just broken free of the bed's seal. Lu Chenzhou stood silently at the back, his gold epaulets neatly fastened on his shoulders.

"Wait, wait—"

A voice came from behind.

Wang Qi jogged over, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

After the five people met up, they walked along the street in the same direction.

Xia Wan walked at the front, her steps light and quick, turning back to talk to everyone as she went.

"Did you guys try out the training room last night?" she asked, her tone brimming with excitement. "Even though I came in third, the concentration in my training room was set to the highest level, making it more than twice as fast as when I normally absorb energy stones."

Huang Shaolin yawned and lazily replied, "I tried it. I first tried setting it to level six, and the energy concentration was even higher than the level six energy stones I usually use. I cultivated for one night and feel like I've made considerable progress."

He spoke in a calm tone, but his eyes held a rare seriousness.

"Set it to level six first?" Xia Wan's eyes widened. "Do you have even higher settings?"

Huang Shaolin yawned again: "There's still a seventh gear."

Xia Wan waved her hand: "Alright, being second is definitely different."

Wang Qi took the cigarette off his ear and twirled it between his fingers: "Although my highest level is only five, I feel that level five is already pretty good."

Wu You listened to their conversation without interrupting.

The energy concentration in his training room could be adjusted to level eight, but for him, the magic array seemed to have no other effect than making the kitten sleep better.

The five people walked along the main road for a few minutes. The surrounding buildings gradually became sparse, replaced by open spaces and intricate patterns.

Wu You noticed that some lines were beginning to appear on the ground beneath his feet, thin lines that looked like they were inlaid in stone slabs with some kind of luminous material.

They arrived at the first street of the first district as indicated on the notice.

Rather than calling this a street, it's more accurate to describe it as the central part of the Jiuli base.

Any street in any district eventually leads here.

Its overall shape is ring-shaped, spreading outwards in concentric circles, like a giant bullseye.

The ground was covered with intricate patterns, straight lines and curves, overlapping and intersecting densely, making it dazzling to look at.

A faint light seemed to flow within those patterns, the color of which was very pale. The largest circle, with a diameter of several kilometers, was so long that one could hardly see the other end from one end.

The most eye-catching feature is the very center of the ring-shaped magic circle: a huge gate of light.

The gate was about tens of meters high and more than ten meters wide, with a frame made of some kind of black stone that was as smooth as a mirror.

Above the door was a thick, slowly swirling black mist, so dense it was like liquid. It churned and swirld within the door frame, with tiny black specks of light occasionally drifting out of the mist, flashing in the air before dissipating.

The entire portal exuded a profound and mysterious aura.

Beside the light gate, a figure that Wu You recognized very well was standing there.

Hu Lie.

He was wearing a black trench coat with two gold epaulets on his shoulders. His gaze swept over the arriving crowd and finally landed on Wu You, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.

"You're here." His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the empty square.

Wu You nodded and walked over to stand next to him.

Xia Wan, Huang Shaolin, Lu Chenzhou, and Wang Qi also followed, lining up behind him.

Before long, the torchbearers who participated in the preliminary training arrived one after another.

More than a thousand people stood in the circular square, a dark mass, but no one spoke; only the wind blew from afar, gently ruffling the hems of their clothes.

Hu Lie glanced around at everyone and then spoke.

"My name is Hu Lie, and I am one of your mentors this time."

"I presume you are already aware of the existence of the Deep Dark Realm." Without wasting words, he cut straight to the point, pointing to the portal of light, "This is the entrance to the Deep Dark Realm."

His voice was steady and powerful, echoing across the empty square.

"In other places, you can use your own abilities to resonate and enter the Dark Realm at any time. But here, I don't recommend doing that."

His gaze swept over everyone, and he continued, "In other places, the areas you entered through resonance were all shallow dark realms, not very dangerous. But here..." He paused, not finishing his sentence, but instead changed the subject, "You can try resonating with them."

Someone in the crowd tried to activate their abilities, and after a moment, someone exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? I can't sense the presence of the Dark Domain anymore?"

Wu You also tried to gently circulate the cool air within his body.

Although he wasn't a power user, he could still sense the presence of the Dark Domain through the coolness emanating from his body.

Normally, when you activate the cool air, you can feel a thin film-like substance that you can easily pass through with a light touch.

But this time it was different: the thin film disappeared, or rather, it was blocked by something.

He looked at Hu Lie.

Hu Lie smiled and pointed to the patterns on the ground: "There are multiple layers of sealing devices here, so you can't enter the Dark Domain on your own. Of course, this is also to protect you."

"This area corresponds to a node in the Dark Domain, the boundary between the Dark Domains of two worlds. Entering the Dark Domain here will randomly place you somewhere in the deeper Dark Domain, full of uncertainty."

He paused, then pointed to the gate of light.

"But it's different if you go through this door. Its exit is fixed; it's our base in the deep dark realm."

Hu Lie looked around again, his gaze lingering on each person's face for a moment.

"Let's go. I'll show you the scenery of another world."

After saying that, he turned around and stepped into the portal first.

The black mist surged the moment he stepped in, then engulfed him and vanished.

Without hesitation, Wu You followed Hu Lie and stepped into the portal.

The moment Wu You stepped inside, he felt a chilling, almost liquid, thick black mist envelop him.

The fog was so thick it seemed tangible, as if something was flowing through it, or as if something was breathing inside it.

The cold seeped from the skin into the muscles, and from the muscles into the bones.

In that instant, Wu You felt as if he had been thrown into an endless deep sea, with no light, no sound, and no reference points around him.

Then, the field of vision was restored.

Wu You found himself in a very spacious square. The ground beneath his feet was some kind of bluish-black stone brick, flat and smooth, as if it had been polished by something.

Then he looked around and saw a group of buildings that combined primitive and modern elements.

Houses built of unknown bluish-black stones rise and fall in a staggered and orderly fashion.

The houses have a simple and rustic design, as if they were carved from a single block of stone. They have no superfluous decorations, only rough lines and a heavy texture.

But within this original architectural complex, streetlights shone brightly, their white light soft and steady, illuminating every road clearly.

The lampposts are made of metal and painted black, with a simple and modern design that creates a strange harmony with the surrounding stone houses.

In the square where Wu You and the others were located, there stood a huge screen.

It floated in mid-air, emitting a faint glow, with lines of white text scrolling across it.

Wu You stared intently at it.

"Today's tide forecast: 13:21-18:24. Please be aware of the duration of the dark fog tide and do not venture into areas with a danger level of B or higher during the tide period."

Dark Mist Tide, B-level danger level—he had never seen these terms on the investigation platform before.

Just as he was about to look away, he suddenly caught a glimpse of his pure white hair, which had somehow been stained with a dark red sheen.

wrong.

He suddenly raised his head.

A faint black mist floated in the sky.

Then, Wu You's gaze froze.

Right in the middle of the sky, a pitch-black sun stretched out horizontally!

It wasn't as dazzling as the normal sun; instead, it was somewhat dim, as if it had been polluted by something.

The dark red light emanated from that black sun.

Wu You stared at the dark sun and felt a slight chill for no apparent reason.

It wasn't just visual discomfort; it was an instinctive fear that surged from the depths of the body.

It wasn't just a black sun; it was more like a giant, black eyeball that blotted out the sky.

It hangs there, motionless, as if it has been watching over this land since time immemorial.

Its gaze was devoid of warmth, emotion, or even clear direction, yet Wu You could sense that something was looking down from that direction. Not at him, but at everything here.

At the same time, amidst the discomfort, a strange, faint longing crept into Wu You's heart.

Wu You frowned, suppressing the strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.

He took a deep breath, shifted his gaze from the dark sun, and glanced at Xia Wan, Huang Shaolin, Lu Chenzhou, Wang Qi, and the others around him. Their faces all wore the same expression: shock, vigilance, and a hint of inexplicable oppression.

Hu Lie stood at the very front, his back to the dark sun, facing the crowd. His expression was calm, as if he had long been accustomed to everything here.

Welcome to the Deep Dark Realm.