He picked up the crystal ball from the sacrificial altar, feeling the unique sensation of the crystal ball. Especially after closing his eyes, he couldn't feel the presence of the crystal ball, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Then, with a solemn expression, he slowly turned the crystal ball, peering into each of its sixty-four facets.

Finally, he got a sentence from it.

"See the dragon in the field, carry the banner to buy water."

He put away the crystal ball, unsurprised, as he didn't understand what it meant at all.

Having absorbed the knowledge of the Black Shadow Man, it's even fair to say he essentially became the Black Shadow Man now.

Yet, he still didn't understand what it meant.

The vast and intricate memories of the Black Shadow Man were still being gradually received, and he focused on absorbing knowledge about crystal ball divination.

He learned from the Black Shadow Man's lessons; a seemingly auspicious divination might actually mean great misfortune.

He packed up the magic platform, cleared away the remaining traces here, and with light steps, wandered within the Abyss.

Looking at the desolate scene, all barren, he took a light breath, somewhat lamenting.

"The once world has turned into this ghostly state, seems the subsequent wars were particularly fierce.

The human race's strong back then was truly dazzling, even the gods had to be blinded.

Sadly, I died early, and those few strongest Divine Kings were too arrogant, unwilling to heed my advice to avoid the sharp edge.

To preserve the honor of the Deities, yet ultimately preserved nothing because of it, what an irony.

Taking a step back, is it so hard to take ten steps back?

Because they were unwilling to retreat, it instead solidified those people's determination to fight to the end.

I have figured it out, but have they figured it out?"

The Black Shadow Man slowly wandered through the Abyss, but unfortunately could no longer see any trace of the past.

Mountains and rivers were no longer the same as back then.

Trapped in the Mud Sea of the Muddied World, instead leaving a sliver of life, not completely annihilated.

After wandering the Abyss for over a dozen days, having seen the path leading to the deeper Abyss, the Black Shadow Man lost interest in further exploration.

He turned around toward the Abyss Rift Valley, and upon sensing the large number of hungry ghosts there, he frowned slightly, feeling an intense sense of oppression and unease. The converged ominous aura almost suffocated him.

He recalled for a moment, changed directions again, and left the Abyss through a concealed small Abyssal Rift, returning to the present world.

Crossing the boundary, he felt a thunderbolt explode in the sky, but that was all.

He was already the Black Shadow Man, even though he hadn't received everything completely, he was no longer his former self.

The Heavenly Tribulation faded away before it even emerged.

The Black Shadow Man took a deep breath, the dense Spiritual Energy coursed through his lungs and was expelled once more.

The power within him seemed to gain a thread of vitality, becoming lively at once.

He greedily sniffed everything, the scent of grass and trees in the wilderness, the sweet snowmelt after the ice and snow atop the high mountains.

After wandering for several days, he lay on the grass, closing his eyes to rest.

"They are truly strong, to have opened up a new world in the end.

Luckily, I died early back then, and jumped into the Mud Sea of the Muddied World in time.

Otherwise, I would've certainly been gifted eternal death by those humans.

Also luckily, they had all been obliterated by time.

Time is forever my best partner."

The Black Shadow Man did not, like other fools upon resurrection, have foolish thoughts of destroying humanity, destroying the world, or controlling everything.

He was different from those arrogant and foolish ones, he had not fallen into the Mud of the Muddied World.

He had plunged into oblivion himself to avoid those harsh individuals back then.

At that time, the Mud Sea of the Muddied World was not even called that, it was called the Fallen Abyss.

Even Deities falling into it would sink into oblivion.

The Black Shadow Man concealed all his power, wandered through human cities, trying everything himself, as if making up for the time wasted in oblivion over the years.

He especially cherished being alive now.

Of course, he was now aware of the hungry ghosts, and understood why that bridge had been blown open with a gap.

Ever since he emerged, he never glanced at those little black ones, nor released them even once.

He always felt those foolish little black ones would ruin his plans, bring him danger.

He truly did not want to return to the Fallen Abyss, for in that ghostly place, just merely relying on sleep to maintain self-awareness had already been an all-out effort.

The effect was that in a small town, he found a smelly food smelled especially good to him, fragrant even.

In those years, it was absolutely impossible.

...

"Sir, there's something I need to tell you."

Yuan Chou found Yu Ziqing, with a hint of doubt, a bit of confusion in his expression.

"What is it?"

"I heard the Black Shadow Man's roar at the time of death, that was his final shout."

"Hmm?"

"Dead?" Yu Ziqing was a bit astonished: "Are you sure?"

"I don't know, but that's how I feel, he encountered the most desperate death trap, so he wanted to spread the news of his fall, I also don't know why."

Yuan Chou was filled with complexity, knowing that the Black Shadow Man certainly did not know he could recover from the state of being an Evil.

That dying shout was not specifically for him.

Moreover, given the Black Shadow Man's pride, even if he knew Yuan Chou had recovered, he would definitely not feign death in this manner.

The Black Shadow Man would only come to kill him once more, to utterly finish him off.