Night fell over the clandestine market street of black stones and white tiles, a place where no living being normally tread. Near a bench on the street, a man sat quietly until a white silhouette emerged from the shadows along the wall.  0

She called softly, “Husband, sorry to keep you waiting.”0

Li Yuan looked up and smiled. “I wasn’t waiting long,” he replied, his eyes settling on his wife—a woman in a flowing black robe, her skin a deathly pale, yet free of decay, exuding a mysterious kind of beauty.0

Li Yuan spoke at length, “Cui Huayin told me she suspects the Emperor and the Four Lotuses share the same goal, which is why they’ve joined forces.  0

“They aim to expand the ghost domains, thereby improving the quality of the meat fields and acquiring more resources to cultivate higher rank martial experts. 0

“The Four Lotuses believe that once they have powerful martial artists, they can suppress the ghost domains. The Emperor believes that having such fighters will allow him...0