Darkness.

A familiar darkness.

Upon activating his title skill, Feng Bujue instantly arrived in a black space.

Time and space… both were frozen in that moment.

Something called “nothingness,” an invisible entity, quietly seeped into Jue-ge’s bone marrow, attempting to shatter his consciousness.

But Feng Bujue was not affected at all…

“You… have finally come.” After an unknown period, a cold voice entered Jue-ge’s ears.

The instant the words rang out, light… appeared.

It was black light.

Black light appearing in the darkness was an indescribable and bizarre sight.

The interweaving of black and darkness created a strange spectacle that ordinary people could not clearly distinguish.

However, Jue-ge activated his data perspective… and could see it clearly.

At this moment, he saw a black human-shaped outline slowly walking towards him, and in the blink of an eye… it was already in front of him.

“How did you get in here?” The next second, Jue-ge asked a very strange question.

This question was, of course, very odd. Normally, he should have asked, “How did I get in here?” But his way of asking the question made it seem as if the other party was the “visitor.”

“What?” Dou Mo, shrouded in black light, immediately stopped and replied, “Can you still recognize where this is?”

“Heh…” Feng Bujue chuckled and replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “Even if you’ve dyed this place black, this is still my Mind Palace, after all. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to sense it, right?”

“Hmm…” Dou Mo said after hearing this, pondering, “Not bad…” It was unclear which aspect he was commenting on, “You’re very good…”

“Likewise,” Jue-ge replied, “You are also quite impressive… Even after losing nearly half of your ‘power,’ you still possess such might.”

“I don’t need your praise,” Dou Mo replied. “I want you to fulfill your promise.”

Now, Dou Mo’s tone of speaking was much more normal. In the time since leaving the Gate of Nothingness, he had (under the system’s subtle influence) gotten rid of words like "I, the great one."

“Hehe… rest assured,” Feng Bujue said. “It’s no coincidence that you and I have met here.”

“I know,” Dou Mo replied. “You used that so-called [Dou Mo Descent] again, didn’t you?”

His words revealed a very important piece of information…

“Oh?” Jue-ge’s tone immediately changed. “It seems… you have a relatively deep understanding of us ‘travelers from another world.’”

“It’s not a deep understanding,” Dou Mo said. “In ‘our universe,’ the ones who understand you the most are undoubtedly those fellows called ‘Derivatives.’” He paused. “And everything I know… I learned from Zhuanjiezun and Dianhe Wang.”

“Hmm?” Feng Bujue’s expression became serious. “You…”

“Hmph… you can rest assured,” Dou Mo said in a very relaxed tone. “I didn’t kill them.” As if seeing through Jue-ge’s thoughts, he continued, “Destruction is just a means, not the end… If your two accomplices were dead, I would also be very troubled.”

“Accomplices, huh…” Jue-ge muttered. “Heh… let’s just say that’s the case.” He smiled and changed the topic. “Alright, not much more to chat about, I still have things to do.” As he said this, he reached out and grabbed the black gem, [Nan Zhi Ru Yin] (Difficult to Know Like Yin), which suddenly appeared in his palm. “As agreed… this is for you.”

Dou Mo truly was a demon among demons.

When such a life-or-death object was placed before one’s eyes, it would be difficult for anyone to remain calm. Even if they didn’t immediately snatch it away, their expression would still change slightly.

Yet, Dou Mo… remained unmoved.

He calmly looked at the gem, his own third eye, and then slowly said, “Aren’t you afraid… that the moment I get this, I’ll immediately kill you?”

“I’m not afraid,” Feng Bujue said. “You know very well that I’m just a projection. Killing me would be a futile act.”

“What if I told you… that I could bring you ‘permanent loss’?” Dou Mo’s next words undoubtedly put Jue-ge in check.

“Ha! Hahahaha…” Jue-ge burst out laughing upon hearing this. While laughing, he grabbed one of Dou Mo’s hands and placed the gem into the latter’s palm. “You’re not bad either… not bad at all.”

Having said that, Feng Bujue took two steps back and opened his arms, adopting a pose of “do whatever you want to me.”

Dou Mo hesitated for a moment upon seeing this, and then…

“Sigh…” He had to admit that in this round of mutual probing, he had not gained the upper hand in the slightest. “Perhaps… the times really have changed.” He stared intently into Jue-ge’s eyes. “Feng Bujue, in this new era… there are many ‘interesting fellows’ like you. You have shown me, beyond pure ‘chaos’ and ‘order’… infinite possibilities.”

“Then… you, the strongest demon from the ancient era…” Feng Bujue asked, following the other party’s words, “which ‘possibility’ will you choose?”

“I am also searching for that answer,” Dou Mo replied. “I still need…” As he said these words, he raised his hand… and embedded [Nan Zhi Ru Yin] into his forehead, “…time.”

In that instant, Jue-ge thought that some earth-shattering change would occur.

But… nothing happened.

The scene of Dou Mo inserting his eye… was just like someone putting a golf ball into their mouth. The people standing behind him might not even know what happened.

“You… that’s it? You just put the eye back in?” Feng Bujue asked doubtfully.

“Yes,” Dou Mo replied.

“I thought you would suddenly become stronger or something…” Feng Bujue muttered.

“It won’t,” Dou Mo explained. “Putting the eye back is like plugging a hole in a dam, nothing more.”

“Oh…” Jue-ge nodded. “So, from this moment on, you still need to spend time slowly ‘accumulating water’?”

“You could say that,” Dou Mo replied.

“Then where did those powers you lost before go?” Jue-ge continued to ask. “Where did they all go?”

“They’re all over the main universe…” Dou Mo replied. “Most of the demonic energy is concentrated in the Chaos Scorched Earth, and other places… have also been affected to varying degrees.”

“Affected?” Upon hearing this, Feng Bujue had already sensed something. “What kind of impact?”

“You can go see for yourself in the future.” Constantly answering questions quickly made Dou Mo lose his patience. “For now…” As he spoke, the third eye on his head suddenly flashed, “Take my power and go busy yourself with your ‘things.’”

Having said that, without allowing Jue-ge to explain, a black light shot out from the eye on Dou Mo’s forehead, directly striking the former’s heart.

The experience of the first "demonization" was replayed once again…

That pain, like hellfire refining the soul, far exceeding the system’s limitations, once again completely engulfed Feng Bujue.

He consciously and clearly felt every trace of that soul-devouring pain; the process was fleeting, yet it felt like an eternity…