Looking at the determined Shard of Alexander, Bai Shi promised her earnestly: “Don’t worry. You don’t have to feel so hopeless about the path ahead.” “I will resolve everything, and I will bring you back to the real Lands Between.” On his honor as a disciple of Fengling Yueying, Bai Shi would never lose! Although Shard of Alexander still didn’t believe Bai Shi could do it, she nodded happily. This was the person she had waited for through two lifetimes. At the very least, she could now travel alongside him. Bai Shi turned his gaze to the towering black steeple beside them. The tower was dark and lusterless, soaring straight into the sky. If that was the case, then this must be the true Helphen's Steeple, the one that guides the dead within the Spirit World. Bai Shi approached Helphen's Steeple and looked up at the magnificent structure from below. Shard of Alexander came to his side and said: “This is Helphen's Steeple.” “I’ve been to others like it before, trying to find a way to leave.” “But unfortunately, I couldn’t defeat the powerful monsters guarding them. It was all I could do to escape with my life.” “Later, I came to accept that my physical body was already dead, so there was no point in going back. I never tried exploring one again.” Bai Shi carefully examined the tower before him. It had no doors to allow entry. Forget doors, there wasn’t even a single window. The entire structure looked less like a tower and more like a landmark. “This tower doesn’t seem to have a door. How do you get in?” Shard of Alexander smiled and took two steps forward. “It’s actually quite simple.” She walked forward and placed her palm against the wall of Helphen's Steeple. A ghostly light immediately flared from each of the steeple’s several branches. The next moment, Shard of Alexander vanished from sight, clearly now inside the tower. Bai Shi, looking thoughtful, followed her example and successfully entered Helphen's Steeple as well. Upon entering, Bai Shi was immediately enveloped by a profound darkness. The entire interior of the tower was pitch black. Nothing was visible, and even Shard of Alexander, who had just entered, was nowhere to be seen. Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander had entered from the same spot, one after the other. It would be trouble if they were transported to different locations. Bai Shi ignited a flame in his hand, trying to illuminate his surroundings. However, under the current circumstances, although he could feel the flame burning in his palm, he couldn’t see the slightest bit of light. It was as if all light was being devoured by the darkness. Bai Shi frowned. What was going on? Just then, Shard of Alexander’s laughter came from beside him. “Haha, surprising, isn’t it?” “There isn’t a single speck of light in here. I was shocked the first time I came in, too.” “Back then, I ran straight back out the way I came. I only went back after finding a fire starter.” Shard of Alexander's voice came from very close by; their positions were indeed where they had first entered. A faint white light flickered in the pitch-black darkness, then grew a little brighter. It was the glow of a white spirit flame. Shard of Alexander turned, took Bai Shi's hand, and led him forward. As she walked, she explained: “This is a little trick that uses collected spirit flame embers to burn a portion of humanity, making them produce light.” “If you burn a complete soul with spirit flame, you’ll create a vengeful spirit.” “But if you only burn some humanity, you won’t have that consequence. You can use it without worry.” “Though it feels a bit wasteful to burn humanity , light is essential for exploring these Helphen's Steeples.” “Without it, we probably wouldn’t be able to take a single step.” Bai Shi looked at the faint light, which could only illuminate a two-to-three-meter radius around them, and felt a bit helpless. “It’s still going to be pretty difficult to explore . Can you make it any brighter?” Shard of Alexander shook her head, looking troubled. “I know it feels uncomfortable... but we have no choice.” “The humanity from those monsters you killed earlier was already used for healing.” “As for me, while I still have some humanity stored up, considering we’ll need to explore a large area for a long time, and I have to save some for potential healing...” “Taking all that into account, we have to conserve our humanity and not waste it.” “And we can’t explore too slowly under these conditions, either.” Bai Shi nodded, understanding her concerns. He had only just arrived and hadn't accumulated much humanity; nearly all of it had been used up in his recent healing. So for now, they could only rely on the humanity Shard of Alexander had gathered bit by bit for their exploration. It seemed she didn't have much stockpiled either. If they ran out of humanity, they would have to explore in the dark. At that point, forget exploring—it was uncertain if they could even get out. Who would have thought that after coming to the Spirit World, he'd be freeloading again? Speaking of which, he had to rely on Ashmi for combat. Now he was a double freeloader. Because the light was so faint, the two had to stay very close to explore. During this time, Shard of Alexander held tightly onto Bai Shi's hand, worried he might suddenly disappear into the darkness. Inside Helphen's Steeple, there was only a single straight stone path forward, flanked on both sides by an abyss that the light could not penetrate. With the dim light, the two soon arrived at the center of the tower. It was a circular platform. Due to the limited visibility, Bai Shi couldn't tell how large it was. But judging from the curve of the edge, it had to be a very large platform. The two continued forward, and suddenly a hand appeared on the ground in their line of sight. Shard of Alexander immediately stopped, looking a little tense. But after a few seconds, the owner of the hand made no move. Bai Shi had Ashmi ready for battle and told Shard of Alexander not to worry and to keep moving. Shard of Alexander nodded and walked forward. However, after she took another two steps, the full form of the hand was revealed. Seeing a gauntlet on the ground before her, Shard of Alexander let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just a gauntlet. You scared me.” Bai Shi looked at the gauntlet on the ground, feeling something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Bai Shi was about to study it more closely, but Shard of Alexander was already urging him on: “Alright, let’s get going.” Bai Shi nodded and let Shard of Alexander pull him along as they set off again. Over the next little while, they successively found the matching breastplate and a leg plate. The armor's design was quite ordinary, with no particularly special features or insignia to indicate which faction it belonged to. It looked like a normal suit of knight's armor, nothing unusual. Finally, at the far end of the platform, Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander found the helmet for this set of armor. The helmet was shattered and battered, stained with a dark, viscous liquid. Having already seen the other parts of the armor, Shard of Alexander was no longer surprised. She led Bai Shi past the helmet and saw a downward-sloping stone ramp behind it. Shard of Alexander sounded pleasantly surprised. “There’s a path we can take right away. That’s great.” “I just hope the path doesn’t break off somewhere below.” Bai Shi nodded and followed her. Just as the two were about to step onto the ramp, a faint sound came from behind them. The sound was extremely soft, and Shard of Alexander didn't notice it, but Bai Shi did. Bai Shi squeezed her hand. “Shard of Alexander, turn around.” Shard of Alexander turned back, puzzled, wanting to ask Bai Shi what was wrong. But she didn't need Bai Shi to tell her; she saw the anomaly for herself. Behind them, the helmet that had just been within the radius of their light had vanished. Shard of Alexander's expression turned grim. Both she and Bai Shi had checked the armor pieces, and they seemed fine. But clearly, it had deceived them. Ashmi materialized beside Shard of Alexander, blocking an attack that came from behind. Shard of Alexander turned to see a sword tip a hair's breadth from her and stumbled back, clearly startled. The light in her hand revealed her attacker’s true form. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱 It was a fully assembled suit of armor, the inside of its hollow helmet pitch black. By its design, it was the same armor that had been scattered on the ground moments ago. It held a battered greatsword in its hand, pressing down hard on Ashmi's blade. However, its strength was a fraction weaker than Ashmi's, so even though Ashmi had met the attack hastily, she was not at a disadvantage. Ashmi parried its greatsword and then formally engaged it in combat, their blades clashing again and again. Bai Shi, meanwhile, moved past Ashmi and reached for the suit of armor. If he could just get his hands on it, he could crush it by trading blows with his soul's power. But the opponent clearly had no intention of fighting to the death. Seeing Bai Shi make his move, it immediately began to back away, using the surrounding profound darkness to hide and wait for the right moment to strike again. In the darkness, the suit of armor made not a single sound. Bai Shi and Ashmi couldn't locate it by hearing. Ashmi did not give chase rashly. In that deep darkness, she too would be unable to fight at her full potential. When their strengths were comparable, the environmental factors could easily put her at a disadvantage. “Host, the opponent is not weak.” Ashmi said, her back to Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander. Bai Shi nodded. He had already seen that. This empty suit of armor, though unassuming and seemingly ordinary, had managed to deceive all three of them. But its strength was considerable, only slightly weaker than Ashmi's. Ashmi could overpower it with brute force, but it would be difficult to defeat it quickly. And with the opponent having the advantage of the dark environment, the situation was not in their favor. Bai Shi stood ready to act, prepared to take damage to his soul if it meant ending this quickly. If they dragged it out, their exploration would be greatly hindered. Seeing this, Shard of Alexander immediately burned the humanity in her hand fiercely, instantly expanding the illuminated area. But the armor's figure appeared for just a moment before it retreated back into the deeper darkness. Bai Shi shook his head and had Shard of Alexander return the light to its previous level. They had to somehow pin it down in the darkness for an instant to reveal its location. Bai Shi took out the long-unused Spirit Calling Bell from his spatial disc, along with the ashes of Lhutel the Headless, which he had just obtained from the Tombsward Catacombs. Among the spirit ashes he currently had, she was the most suitable for this situation. Because of their opposing allegiances, Bai Shi could only rely on the Spirit Calling Bell to temporarily force her to recognize him as her master, preventing her from using her full strength. A forced summon couldn't bring out her true power; she wouldn't even be as effective as the other spirit ashes that willingly followed Bai Shi. But right now, Bai Shi wasn't interested in her strength. Lhutel the Headless didn't rely on sight to begin with. The darkness couldn't affect her other senses; she just needed to provide support and locate the enemy. Bai Shi felt the resistance from Lhutel's soul, but he forcibly summoned her anyway. As the Spirit Calling Bell took effect, her resistance gradually faded, leaving only silence. The next moment, Lhutel the Headless, holding a weathered greatshield and a lance, appeared before Bai Shi. For as long as the Spirit Calling Bell's forced summons was in effect, she was Bai Shi's marionette. She completely ignored the dark environment and locked onto the hidden enemy. Lhutel raised her lance and hurled it toward a point in the darkness. A gray, spectral spear was thrown from her hand—the phantom lance, a skill of the headless knights. A minuscule sound echoed from the darkness, proving she had hit her target. Lhutel launched a few more phantom lances, then charged forward under Bai Shi's command, chasing her quarry into the gloom. Bai Shi ordered Lhutel not to pursue too far, but to try and draw the opponent to the edge of the light to fight. Through the Spirit Calling Bell and his soul's connection, Bai Shi monitored Lhutel's condition, then looked to Shard of Alexander. “When we find its position, I’ll tell you to increase the brightness. The range needs to be as wide as possible.” Shard of Alexander nodded. This was not the time to be frugal. Bai Shi sensed that Lhutel was already engaged with the suit of armor and immediately gave the command: The light in Shard of Alexander's hand instantly extended, expanding by ten meters and illuminating both the battling armor and Lhutel. By now, Lhutel had been wounded by the armor, with visible marks on her form. Seeing the sudden burst of light, the armor immediately repelled Lhutel and tried to escape, but Ashmi and Bai Shi were already upon it. Ashmi thrust her sword toward its helmet, forcing it to block. And that single block cost it the chance to retreat back into the darkness. Bai Shi’s palm seized the armor’s head, and an unprecedented, intense burning sensation shot through his soul. Ignoring the damage to his soul, Bai Shi forcefully crushed its head. In the next instant, the weapon and armor all turned to ash, trickling through Bai Shi's fingers. Bai Shi dusted the ashes from his hand and shook his head. If the equipment had been left behind, Bai Shi would have planned to wear it. By equipping himself with such gear from the Spirit World, he would probably have a way to attack. Right now, what limited Bai Shi was his lack of offensive means, forcing him to rely on his soul, which was tightly bound to his physical body, for damage output. What a pity. The days of trading blows bare-handed were not over yet. Bai Shi recalled Lhutel. In the Lands Between, spirit ashes used mana to construct their bodies, but not here. Here, their souls were directly summoned to fight, so their injuries either needed Bai Shi’s help to recover or would heal slowly on their own. For the foreseeable future, she probably wouldn't be able to fight. Ashmi’s strength was great enough that she wasn’t seriously injured, but it was best not to have her fight constantly either. She was their side's highest damage dealer right now; he needed her to conserve some strength for a possible final battle. Shard of Alexander came over, intending to heal Bai Shi. Bai Shi assessed the situation. The amount of humanity gained from defeating the armor monster was much greater than that from the earlier skull, but if he used it to fully heal his soul, there wouldn't be much left. Bai Shi thought for a moment. The injury wasn't severe and had no major impact. The priority right now was to finish exploring. There was no need to fully repair his soul's damage; he could just farm some humanity for healing after they got out. Bai Shi gave the humanity to Shard of Alexander for safekeeping. “Just use a small portion for healing. The injury isn’t serious.” “Let’s use the rest for exploring.” Shard of Alexander nodded, took out a portion, and healed Bai Shi. This amount of humanity didn't completely mend the damage to Bai Shi's soul, but it was enough to prevent any problems. There was also a large, dark soul fragment. Bai Shi had Shard of Alexander purify it for him and then used it for strengthening himself. With a good deal more humanity on hand now, their subsequent exploration would be a little easier. Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander once again stood before the downward-sloping stone ramp and looked down. This time, Bai Shi didn't rush down. Instead, he had Shard of Alexander brighten the humanity again to illuminate their surroundings. He had noticed something earlier when the area was lit up. As they stood there, Shard of Alexander briefly made the humanity in her hand burn brighter, illuminating the area for several meters around and allowing them to see their environment. Bai Shi looked up, but there was nothing there. There was nothing above their heads, just a profound darkness that no light seemed able to penetrate. They had clearly entered a tower, so why was there no upward path, only a downward one? Bai Shi then looked down. With the area brightly lit, he could finally see what lay below. They were currently somewhere around the center of Helphen's Steeple, and the ramp spiraled outward, seemingly getting closer to the steeple’s wall at the bottom. After Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander walked down the ramp for some distance, Bai Shi looked up again and, to his surprise, saw a flight of stairs, step by step. What they had thought was a stone ramp was actually the underside of a staircase. And they were now on the back of that staircase, constantly walking downward. Bai Shi contemplated for a moment. ‘Is it an inverted design, like the Carian Study Hall?’ Bai Shi and Shard of Alexander continued down the ramp, their figures gradually disappearing into the darkness.