Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3199: Shades And Hollows

From that moment on, Lin Mu focused entirely on comparing what they had seen before with what they were now facing.

Using Elyon’s memories of the battles with the dark specters, Lin Mu was able to replay the scenes within the ring’s with the help of a recording formation, analyzing how the creatures moved, how their auras pulsed, and how they reacted to being attacked.

He even studied the residue they left behind after being destroyed, fragments of inky black smoke that dispersed into the air like smoke from a censer.

After nearly two weeks of nonstop research, Lin Mu finally found what he was looking for. Deep within a collection of jade slips from a ruined Immortal Academy, he found records of beings known as Shades.

The next morning, he gathered everyone around. The soft morning light filtered through the sparse clouds as they sat near the village square, listening.

”I finally found it,” Lin Mu began, holding up a glowing jade slip. ”These entities we’ve been facing are not simple ghosts or random malevolent spirits. They are something far more specific. They are called Shades.”

Daoist Chu’s brows furrowed. ”Shades... I remember that term. I once read about them in the Immortal Court archives. We studied many kinds of malevolent spirits, but the Shades were mentioned only briefly. They were said to be incredibly rare.”

Monk Hushu nodded, folding his arms. ”I remember that as well. The monks in my temple spoke of them as remnants of suffering. But no one ever said they could be created. I thought they appeared only naturally.”

Lin Mu nodded gravely. ”That’s correct. Normally, Shades are not created. They are born when a person dies with overwhelming regret or hatred. When their soul departs, a fragment tears away, holding only that negative emotion.

That fragment becomes unstable, gaining will but not consciousness. It kills everything it encounters. Over time, the stronger ones can even draw in more fragments from others’ deaths, becoming more potent.”

Meng Bai’s eyes widened slightly. ”Then how are these ones different? And how do they connect to the Ephemera Sect?”

”That is where things become interesting,” Lin Mu replied, his tone darkening. ”The hollows we fought in the Shadow Whisper Valley were similar but not the same. Hollows were formed from many fragments of different souls... pieces of unanchored will that fused together through corruption.

In essence, a hollow is a conglomeration of countless resentments molded into a single being. But a Shade is pure. It is the product of one person’s emotions alone.”

Daoist Chu frowned. ”So the hollows are collective while Shades are individual?”

”The hollows are haphazard patchworks, a recycled product even, but the Shades are a proper ’product’” Meng Bai compared.

”Exactly,” Lin Mu confirmed. ”But that’s also what makes Shades terrifying. Because they come from a single person’s emotional core, they have a certain stability. They do not lose their purpose easily. The hollows might scatter or merge randomly, but Shades persist. And if someone has found a way to artificially create or gather them...”

Elyon’s voice was low and grim. ”Then it means they can weaponize human suffering.”

The words hung heavily in the cold air. Cattaleya’s expression turned rigid. ”And those masses we found buried underground... they are probably containers. The energy felt condensed, like it was restraining something.”

Lin Mu nodded slowly. ”Yes. I believe those masses are cores that form when large numbers of Shades are gathered or condensed. The malevolent Qi acts as their shell, keeping them bound until released. That explains why destroying them causes a burst of dark specters to appear... they were trapped inside.”

Monk Hushu exhaled, his prayer beads rattling softly. ”If this is true, then the Ephemera Sect has gone far beyond anything we have known. They are not merely performing sacrifices; they are refining souls into Shades.”

Daoist Chu added, ”And the blizzards, the cold energy, perhaps those were the by-products or even the catalyst of the binding process. After all, such rituals often require suppression to control the rage within the souls.”

Lin Mu stared into the distance, his gaze narrowing. ”That would explain why the snow persisted even after the victims disappeared. It was the side effect of the ritual itself, not a natural weather phenomenon.”

Meng Bai shifted uneasily. ”But why go to such trouble? What could they possibly gain from creating these things?”

”That,” Lin Mu said quietly, ”is what we still need to find out. But one thing is clear. Whatever the Ephemera Sect is preparing, it is not something small. If they can use these Shades to strengthen themselves or fuel a large-scale ritual, it might involve tens of thousands of lives.”

The silence that followed was heavy with unease. Even the wind that rustled through the melted snow seemed to carry a sense of dread.

The more Lin Mu thought about it, the more concerned he felt about all this. From what he had seen and experienced so far, the Hollows needed a specific kind of environment to form and exist. Remove that and they would basically dissipate on their own over time.

But the Shades seemed to be able to exist in normal conditions too, even in sunlight. this meant that while the Hollows could not be properly weaponised, the shades could very well be unleashed as a weapon of mass destruction.

Not to mention, there was the potential of the Shades being able to make even more shades by causing deaths of the innocent. It could turn into a self feeding cycle that could lead to more and more shades being born, with death being the only winner.

Lin Mu closed the jade slip, his expression firm. ”We have our answer to what these things are. Now we must discover how they are being made and stop whoever is behind it before it grows beyond control.”

The others nodded in grim agreement. They knew the next step would not be easy, but they finally had direction. The search for truth had shifted from scattered investigation to deliberate pursuit. The path ahead was uncertain, yet none of them hesitated.