Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 527 Dragged into Endless Darkness!
"Oh no!" Lin Feng shouted, "It's hiding inside the corpse puppet!"

"Lin Feng, Zhao Xue, prepare for battle!" Luo Wen said in a deep voice. "Don't be soft-hearted. These people are already dead; all we can do is let them rest in peace!"

"Understood!" the two replied in unison.

The corpse puppets surged in like a tidal wave.

Rowan stood at the forefront, wielding his longsword, each strike carrying a dazzling light. Those corpse puppets struck by the sword light immediately fell, their bodies turning to ashes, their souls finding release.

Lin Feng and Zhao Xue stood guard behind Luo Wen, working in perfect harmony to deal with the remaining corpse puppets. Although there were many corpse puppets, they were ultimately just controlled puppets with limited combat power. With Lin Feng and Zhao Xue's current strength, dealing with them was more than enough.

"Brother Luo, where is that black mist hiding?" Lin Feng asked while fighting.

“I’m looking,” Rowan said. “It has dispersed itself among these corpse puppets, trying to wear me down with sheer numbers. But it’s all in vain—”

He suddenly turned around and thrust his sword to the left.

“Found it!”

The sword struck a corpse puppet squarely in the chest, but strangely, instead of turning to ashes like the other corpse puppets, it let out a scream and its body began to swell violently.

"Damn it! You found out!"

The corpse puppet exploded, and a cloud of black mist rushed out and fled into the distance.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!"

Rowan flashed and gave chase. He was faster than the black mist, catching up with it in a few breaths and slashing down with his sword.

"puff!"

The sword light pierced through the black mist, splitting it in two.

But the black mist did not dissipate; the two halves each condensed into a new black mist and continued to flee in different directions.

"Splitting?" Rowan frowned.

This evil spirit was more troublesome than he had imagined. Not only could it devour living people, it could also split its own body. Even if it was cut into pieces, as long as a small part survived, it could regenerate.

"We must find its true form," Rowan thought to himself. "Only by destroying its true form can we truly kill it."

He closed his eyes and used his mental power to scan the entire square.

Those two wisps of black mist that split off were fake; the real entity...

"There it is!"

Rowan opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on a spot in the center of the square.

There was a dry well there, its opening covered by a stone slab. From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Rowan's spiritual power sensed an extremely powerful demonic aura at the bottom of the well—that was the true form of the black mist.

“So that’s how it is,” Rowan sneered. “You hid at the bottom of the well, feigning death, and sent your clone out to mislead me. Too bad, you’ve run into me.”

He ignored the corpse puppets and rushed straight towards the dry well.

"Not good!" The black mist seemed to realize that Rowan had discovered its true form, and the two wisps of black mist that had split off immediately merged together and blocked Rowan's way.

"You think this will stop me?" Rowan said coldly.

The light emanating from his body suddenly intensified, transforming into a dazzling pillar of light that directly shattered the black mist in front of him. Then, he arrived at the dry well and cleaved the stone slab covering the well opening with a single sword stroke.

Come out!

A terrified scream came from the bottom of the well, and then a cloud of black mist, several times larger than before, rushed out of the well.

This is the true form of the black mist.

Its size was enormous, almost covering half the square. The eyes and mouths in the black mist were countless times more numerous than before, densely covering its entire body, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" the black mist roared madly, "I finally managed to accumulate so much power, and I was about to break through to the sixth level of the upper realm, but you came to ruin it! I will kill you! I will devour you!"

It opened its countless mouths, let out a deafening roar, and then pounced on Rowan.

At that moment, the entire square was shrouded in black mist.

"Brother Luo!" Lin Feng called out anxiously.

"Mr. Luo!" Zhao Xue exclaimed in surprise.

But from within the black fog, Rowan's voice rang out calmly and firmly.

"Too weak."

A dazzling light burst forth from the center of the black mist, as radiant as the sun, instantly illuminating the entire plaza.

The black mist let out a shrill scream, its body beginning to tremble, twist, and dissolve violently. One by one, its eyes and mouths vanished, turning into nothingness.

"No! No! This is impossible!" the black mist howled in despair. "I am a high-level, fifth-tier evil spirit. I have devoured the life essence of tens of thousands of people. How could I possibly lose to a human!"

"Because you've encountered someone who isn't an ordinary human." Rowan's voice came from the light.

The next moment, a sword light shot out from the light, accurately piercing the core of the black mist—a pitch-black crystal.

That was the demonic core of the black mist, its very lifeblood.

"No--"

The black mist let out a final scream before exploding into countless black fragments that dissipated into the air.

As the black mist dissipated, the corpse puppets collapsed and ceased moving. Their bodies began to rot rapidly, turning into dust and leaving only piles of white bones.

Only Rowan remained standing in the square.

He held the jet-black crystal in his hand, his face expressionless.

"Brother Luo!" Lin Feng rushed over. "Are you alright?"

“It’s nothing,” Rowan said.

Zhao Xue also ran over, her eyes filled with a complicated expression.

“Mr. Luo, you… are really strong,” she said.

Rowan did not answer, but simply put the crystal into his pocket.

This demon core contains powerful energy, which can be used to refine various elixirs or magical artifacts. But more importantly, it can serve as evidence that this evil spirit has been eliminated.

“Let’s go,” Rowan said. “There’s nothing left here.”

The three left the square and headed out of the city.

Behind them, Qingyun Town was deathly silent.

A town of 20,000 people is now nothing but ruins and bones scattered everywhere. Those people had their own lives, their own dreams, their own attachments, but now they are all gone.

Lin Feng looked back, his eyes slightly red.

"Brother Luo, are there really no way to save any of those people?" he asked.

“They can’t be saved,” Rowan said. “Their life force has been completely drained; their bodies are just empty shells. Even if the evil spirits don’t control them, they won’t survive.”

"Then what's the point of what we're doing?" Lin Feng's voice trembled slightly.

Luo Wen stopped and turned around to look at Lin Feng.

“The significance is that we prevented even more deaths,” he said. “If that evil spirit hadn’t been destroyed, it would have continued to expand, devouring more villages, more cities, and more people. By killing it today, we have saved countless people who might have been killed by it.”

He paused, his tone softening slightly.

“I know you’re hurting. Anyone would be hurt to see so many people die. But you must remember, this is the reason the Mysterious Bureau exists—we can’t save everyone, but we can stop more people from dying.”

Lin Feng was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“I understand,” he said, his voice still a little hoarse, but his eyes became firm.

Zhao Xue walked to Lin Feng's side and gently patted his shoulder. "Lin Feng, Mr. Luo is right," she said, "We can't save everyone, but we can do our best. That's enough."

Lin Feng glanced at her and forced a smile.

"Thanks, Zhao Xue."

The three continued walking forward, leaving the dead town.

Behind them, the sun gradually rose, and golden sunlight shone on the ruins.

The skeletons lay silently in the sunlight, as if recounting the tragedy that had once occurred here.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy on the way back.

Lin Feng remained silent the entire way, walking with his head down. Zhao Xue also didn't speak, only occasionally glancing at Lin Feng with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Rowan walked at the front, his expression calm and composed.

He had witnessed too much death and was long accustomed to such scenes. But he also knew that for Lin Feng and Zhao Xue, the impact of this mission was immense. Twenty thousand deaths—it wasn't just a number, but twenty thousand vibrant lives.

After walking for about an hour, the three of them came to a stream.

Rowan stopped and said, "Let's take a break."

Lin Feng and Zhao Xue nodded and found a rock to sit down.

The stream was crystal clear, flowing gurgling and making a pleasant sound. The banks were covered with green grass and wildflowers, and butterflies fluttered among the blossoms, creating a vibrant scene.

Luo Wen took out a water pouch from his pocket, filled it with water from the stream, and then handed it to Lin Feng.

"Drink some water."

Lin Feng took the water pouch, drank a few sips, and felt a little better.

“Brother Luo,” he suddenly spoke, “that evil spirit said it came from somewhere? Why did it appear in Qingyun Town?”

Rowan remained silent for a moment.

“I’m not sure,” he said, “but I suspect it may have escaped from the Dragon Vein Mountains.”

"Dragon Vein Mountain Range?" Lin Feng asked doubtfully, "Isn't that where the Netherworld Valley is located?"

“Yes,” Rowan nodded, “deep within the Dragon Vein Mountains lies a place called Demon-Suppressing Abyss. Sealed there are…some very dangerous things.”

He glanced at Lin Feng and continued, "That evil spirit's abilities are different from ordinary evil spirits. It can devour the life essence of living people. This ability is usually only possessed by evil spirits that escape from the Demon-Suppressing Abyss."

"The Demon-Suppressing Abyss..." Lin Feng murmured, "What exactly is sealed there?"

“You don’t need to know,” Rowan said, “at least not now. Just remember, the purpose of the Mysterious Bureau is to prevent those things from escaping and harming humanity.”

Lin Feng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Zhao Xue had been listening quietly until now, when she finally spoke up: "Mr. Luo, that evil spirit said it's about to break through to the sixth level of the upper realm. What will happen if it really does?"

“If it breaks through,” Rowan said, “with its devouring ability, it will soon reach the peak of the upper realm, or even higher. At that time, the entire Eastern Continent will be plunged into disaster.”

Zhao Xue's expression changed slightly.

"So, we stopped it in time, right?"

“Yes,” Rowan nodded, “Although this mission failed to save the people of Qingyun Town, we prevented a much greater disaster. That’s the significance.”

Zhao Xue nodded thoughtfully.

After resting for a while, the three continued their journey.

As evening fell, they finally returned to Tianqi City.

Chen Yuan was already waiting at the entrance of the Mysterious Bureau headquarters.

"Rowan!" Seeing the three return safely, a look of relief appeared on his face. "The mission is complete?"

"It's done," Luo Wen said, taking out the jet-black crystal and handing it to Chen Yuan. "This is the demon core of an evil spirit, at the upper fifth level."

Chen Yuan took the demon core, examined it carefully, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"You dealt with a high-level, fifth-tier evil spirit all by yourself?"

“It wasn’t just one person,” Luo Wen glanced at Lin Feng and Zhao Xue, “it was the three of us together.”

Chen Yuan nodded, his expression becoming serious.

"How's the situation in Qingyun Town?"

Rowan was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"The entire town of 20,000 people perished."

Chen Yuan's body trembled slightly, and a trace of grief flashed across his face.

"Twenty thousand men..." he murmured, "Twenty thousand men again..."

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

“You should all go back and rest,” he said. “I will report this matter to my superiors. The merits and rewards will be delivered to you later.”

"Thank you, Deacon Chen," Luo Wen said, clasping his hands in thanks.

The three said their goodbyes and headed towards their respective residences.

Lin Feng and Zhao Xue accompanied Luo Wen to the entrance of Qingfeng Alley, and then stopped.

"Brother Luo, about what happened today..." Lin Feng hesitated, then stopped.

"No need to say anything," Rowan said. "Get some rest, and we'll continue training tomorrow."

Lin Feng nodded and turned to leave.

Zhao Xue also left, but after taking a few steps, she turned back to look at Luo Wen.

“Mr. Luo, thank you,” she said.

“Thank me for what?”

“Thank you for leading us on this mission,” Zhao Xue said. “Although the outcome was harsh, I learned a lot. I now understand the weight of our responsibilities as members of the Mysterious Bureau.”

Rowan looked at her and nodded slightly.

“You’ve matured,” he said.

Zhao Xue's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"That's because I have a good teacher."

She turned and left, her figure quickly disappearing into the twilight.

Luo Wen watched the direction she left in, stood there for a while, and then turned and walked into Qingfeng Lane.

As night deepened, the moon rose.

Luo Wen sat under the old locust tree in the courtyard, looking at the starry sky, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

Today's mission made him realize once again just how serious the threat posed by the ancient star beasts was. Although that evil spirit was only at the upper fifth level, its abilities were terrifying. If it were allowed to continue growing stronger, the consequences would be unimaginable.

And there may be many more such evil spirits.

They lurk in every corner of the blue planet, waiting for their chance, waiting for the awakening of the ancient star beasts. Once that great being truly awakens, these evil spirits will become its minions, dragging this land into endless darkness.

“I must speed things up,” Rowan thought to himself. “I need to learn more advanced sealing techniques to reinforce the seal on the Demon-Suppressing Abyss. Until reinforcements arrive, I must do everything possible to delay the awakening of the ancient star beasts.”

He closed his eyes and began to sense the situation in the distant Demon-Suppressing Abyss.

(End of this chapter)