As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

Forbidden Treasure: Ring of Wall-Breaking

Description: In legend, ’it’ crafted 96 rings from a single strand of hair, distributing them across the world to expedite its growth.

Function: Any Ghost Lord who uses this ring can ignore instance invitation rules and extend unlimited invitations.

Ring of Wall-Breaking!

This is already the second Ring of Wall-Breaking Alexander has acquired.

The first was entrusted by him to Edward, who gifted it to a Prince-level evil ghost in Undead Street. As a result, a new death instance was born there: the Snow Mountain Ghost Tale instance.

This instance opens once a day, randomly selecting fifty people to enter. Among these fifty, three evil spirits are intermingled, and four one-time ghost-eliminating tools are randomly gifted to chosen ones.

Neither the evil spirits know who has the ghost-eliminating tools, nor do the chosen ones know who the evil spirits are. The objective of both parties is to annihilate the other.

If all evil spirits are killed, the chosen ones complete the mission. If the ghost-eliminating tools run out and even one evil spirit remains, the selected participants are doomed to die.

The instance has been activated over twenty times, resulting in more than one thousand deaths. Only twice have the selected chosen ones been lucky enough to clear the instance. But even those who manage to survive are mired in sheer panic as they enter this instance daily.

Alexander doesn’t relish killing, so he had the instance shut down eventually. While he conceded that it did accumulate some ghostly energy, he found the process too cruel.

After all, the chosen ones were humans living on Earth, just like him. He didn’t want them to be sacrificed innocently.

Therefore, this Ring of Wall-Breaking has become somewhat of a burden in his hands; a reward that is, for Alexander, quite dispensable.

"The treasure lies dormant, awaiting the breaking of its seal!"

Just as he was contemplating this, Sofia’s voice suddenly resonated in his ear. "Try using the power of the forbidden!"

Surprised, Alexander looked at Sofia and immediately understood. No wonder it’s called a ’forbidden treasure’; it can only be activated by the power of the forbidden. Ghostly energy gushed out from his palm like a tide, directly flowing into the Ring of Wall-Breaking.

The forbidden power within him was bestowed by a substandard Ghost Pill left behind by the previous owner of the Ghost Apartment. It was just a meager force, a thin veneer over his ghostly energy.

The moment Alexander’s ghostly energy entered the ring, a dazzling brilliance exploded from his hand like vibrant ribbons of light, a sky full of rainbow luminescence revolving around the ring as if it were a ripple on water.

The sealed treasure was instantly unsealed, revealing a luminous, ever-changing ring in the palm of Alexander’s hand, its attributes evolving once more.

Forbidden: Origin Ring

Description: Hades, the founding god, created 99 Origin Rings using the primal force of the world, commanding the entire realm. Hades became the ley lines of the Horror World, hiding the Origin Rings within.

When the Mist Instance arrived, guardians sought to seize world dominion and suppressed the Ring of Wall-Breaking’s primal force. Only owners of the forbidden have the right to regain control of the Origin Ring.

Attributes:

Wall-Breaking: Utilize the Origin Ring to exercise Wall-Breaking capabilities, breaking world barriers to move freely between the Horror and Real Worlds.

Forbidden: Possessing nine Origin Rings will transform oneself, bestowing forbidden powers.

Granting: With thirty-six Origin rings, one can grant others forbidden powers. Can only be used once a day.

Source: Possessing eighty-one Origin rings allows one to mobilize the primal force. Exceeding the limit may cause the ring to suffer damage.

Control: With ninety-six Origin rings, integrating them into oneself grants control over the primal force and world dominion.

So this is the true Origin Ring! Only such attributes are worthy of its name. No wonder Hades could tear the heavens apart with eighty-one Origin Rings; this is the power of the world’s very origin.

Alas, it’s a pity. Even though Hades tore the sky asunder to create the Horror System as a countermeasure against the encroaching mist, he couldn’t amass ninety-six Forbidden Rings to control the world’s primal force.

As a result, in the act of tearing the sky, all eighty-one Origin Rings were destroyed, leaving no one able to control the world’s primal power.

It’s hard to fault Hades for this. After all, even if we set aside the question of whether ninety-six Origin Rings could be assembled in the first place, the guardians could always secretly keep one and make the collection of all the rings an impossible endeavor.

Even if the Horror World still contained ninety-six Origin Rings scattered across its breadth, Hades simply didn’t have the time to seek them out. At that moment, the Horror World was on the brink of collapse.

Had Hades not decisively ripped the sky to create the Horror Instances to counter the mist instance, the Horror World couldn’t have withstood the corrosive effects of the mist.

Setting aside the protection of the Horror System, if Hell Warriors were free to invade the Ghost City, how long could the Horror World hold on?

"Only one ring—it seems almost useless," Alexander mused, holding the Origin Ring in his hand.

After all, he is the Chosen One. Although he rarely visits the real world these days, Alexander could return to it at will. He had no need for this Ring of Wall-Breaking. The same went for the forbidden power; since Alexander already possessed it, he had no need for this ring’s capabilities. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Granting powers, however, could be quite useful to Alexander. Even though he had found a method for Forbidden Empowerment, he hadn’t yet truly mastered it. Sadly, with eighty-one of the Origin Rings already destroyed, only fifteen remained—insufficient even to activate the third ability.

"No, for you, it has an enormous purpose," Sofia suddenly walked up to him and said, "It can open a place not belonging to this world. There, you will truly have the means to confront them."

Sofia’s words were cryptic, but Alexander understood her meaning in an instant.

Originally, the former owner of the Ghost Apartment had nearly succeeded in crafting the Ghost Pill, only to invite the so-called Heavenly Punishment and White Guardians.

Now, Alexander too had discovered the method of crafting the Ghost Pill, a feat likely a thousand times easier than what the former owner had accomplished. Undoubtedly, the White Guardians would not let him off easily!

Unless, of course, he could find a place—an enigmatic sanctuary—that remained concealed even from the Guardians, the Mist System, and the Horror System. A place where all interferences could be nullified.

That cemetery where he had lived previously! From Sofia’s lips, he learned it was a place that didn’t belong to this world. Indeed, the cemetery was a hodgepodge of elements fundamentally incompatible with the known universe.

Initially, Alexander had assumed the entire cemetery community didn’t exist—that the people within had manipulated his perceptions somehow. Now it seemed the matter was far more complex. Perhaps the community had existed from the start, preparing for this very day.

In retrospect, given the rewards Alexander had acquired along the way, someone must be manipulating them behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could it be that just when he had given away a Ring, he immediately received another as a reward?

The pivotal question now was: was he a pawn or a player in this grand scheme?

Given that the cemetery community was clearly weaker than the Mist World, it seemed probable—based on what he now knew—that his sealed memories would at least grant him the status of one of the players.

But as far as Alexander was concerned, the amount of information he had was still lacking.

Pocketing the ring, Alexander cast a somewhat disgruntled look at Edward. Kassadin had already maxed out his Imperial favorability rating. Edward, however, a mere ghost king, was dilly-dallying over granting that last bit of favor.

What would it take to satisfy Edward’s vanity?

Showboating was not Alexander’s forte. He sighed and shook his head, turning to give new orders to Sam:

"Sam, send out invitations again to all the king-level and above ghosts in the city. Inform them that this time the auction will feature Imperial-level Ghost Food, with effects no less potent than Imperial-level ghost crystals!"

"Right away!" Sam nodded in acknowledgment.

"As for the rest of you, fully absorb the Ghost Food. In ten days, I want each of you to be at least a ghost king. Even more, I want to see at least two Imperials among you!

Asfur, Terrence! Deliver these Ghost Foods to the Fierce Ghost Association. Tell Tony to lift all restrictions and recruit as many as possible. With the Ghost God Spiritual Position and the Iron Coffin, in ten days, I expect to see at least five million soldier-level members!"

With that, Alexander lifted his hand. Piles of red and blue potions instantly materialized, forming two small hills. The spectacle left everyone in the room, except Edward and Sofia, in awe.

"How... how much is this?" Terence gulped audibly, his eyes wide. Others too looked on, dumbstruck.

"Not much," Alexander began, gesturing at the mounds of Ghost Food on the ground, his voice unwavering and authoritative. "This is three million doses, after setting aside what’s for auction and sale.

Additionally, there are thirty thousand at the General level, eleven thousand at the Prince level, a thousand at the King level, a hundred at the Imperial level, and six at the Emperor level. I will personally deliver them in a couple of days. There is but one demand..."

"In ten days, at the auction, I want the Fierce Ghost Association to single-handedly dominate the entire Dark Hell!"

"As you command!" The crowd roared in unison, their faces flushed with excitement.

From the moment they had aligned themselves with Alexander, they all understood that his rise to prominence was only a matter of time. While they had always anticipated this day would come, they never expected it to arrive so swiftly and powerfully.

After all, Alexander’s level was but that of a soldier. And it had only been two months since he had become the Chosen One, starting from his first instance at the Blood Moon School.

In these mere sixty days, he had ascended from an ordinary man to a Chosen One, and now, aimed to dominate the entire Dark Hell with the Fierce Ghost Association he had nurtured.

Alexander’s stature soared exponentially in everyone’s eyes. An imposing aura of authority emanated from him, unlike the aura of a strong individual. It was an air of domineering charisma, as if he were backed by an army of thousands, ready to conquer the world.

"Go forth and do as I’ve instructed," Alexander waved dismissively, ushering everyone out of the room, Su Rong and Annie included.

At this juncture, nothing was more important than increasing their power levels. This sense of urgency only escalated after learning that the White Guardian was Dolly.

There was something peculiar about the White Guardian’s dormant state in the real world.If the White Guardian could enter reality, what about the other Guardians or even the ghosts?

What about the Mist World? If even the real world, where ghosts couldn’t easily be dealt with, was susceptible to an invasion from the Mist, then resistance was futile.

While Alexander had no way of knowing when Dolly would truly awaken, he was acutely aware that she was already seventeen years old. Whether it was reaching adulthood or meeting some other mysterious conditions, given the current intricate situation in the Horror world, Dolly’s awakening couldn’t be far off.

On the rooftop, only Alexander, Edward, and Sofia remained after Su Rong and the others left with their share of Ghost Food.

Alexander glanced at the 99-point good will score hovering over Edward’s head and sighed inwardly.

Putting on airs while encouraging others to do the same was somewhat against his cautious and low-profile nature.

He could only say resignedly, "Edward, you should go too. Focus on increasing your strength as quickly as possible. I have some matters to attend to. Let Louis know that if he needs me for anything concerning the Endless Abyss, he should not hesitate to call.

Lord K has already united two ghost realms, and just the Endless Abyss alone boasts an army of millions at the soldier level. They won’t be easy to deal with."

"Understood! I’ll pass along the message," Edward nodded. A plethora of frost rapidly coalesced around him, swirling into a vortex-like snowstorm that lifted him skyward.

"Sofia..." As Edward’s figure vanished into the sky, Alexander turned towards Sofia. He had barely uttered her name when she nodded and said, "You’re planning on going to the graveyard now, aren’t you?But I can’t accompany you.

Do you remember the tombstone you saw when you first emerged? Use the Origin Ring there, and you’ll be able to return to the community where you previously lived."

"And what about you? Where are you right now? Would you like to move over here?" Alexander asked, nodding with a hint of expectation in his voice.

"The place where I am, you can’t go. Don’t worry, once all of this is over, we can truly be together forever. Alexander... you don’t have much time left. This time, we can only succeed; failure is not an option," Sofia said, her form gradually fading away, evidently exiting this world.

"Not much time left, huh? Indeed, I need to hurry," Alexander muttered to himself, choosing to return. The next moment, he found himself back in his villa.

Emerging from his home, he glanced subconsciously toward Dolly’s neighboring villa, a measure of worry gnawing at him. Thankfully, the villa’s doors were tightly locked; it seemed Dolly was not at home.

With a sense of urgency fueling his steps, Alexander hailed a taxi and went straight to the cemetery. He walked directly toward the tombstone in the southeastern corner, the one engraved with the name James.

Five years ago, Alexander had ’crossed over’ into this community, setting off a chain of events that followed.

When he ended the phone call with Lucy and discovered that the entire community was, in reality, a graveyard, he thought he’d never be able to return. Yet, here he was, not more than a month later.

In his hand, a ring adorned with scintillating, multicolored light—the Ring of Origin—appeared on his finger.