The summit ended in waves of praises, alliances, and admiration. Yet while others celebrated newfound unity, Priyanshu Yadav's mind was elsewhere—already calculating his next steps in the shadows.
The system pinged in his mind:
[Quest Completed: Deceive 100 Righteous Cultivators.][Reward: Nightshade Invitation + Forbidden Technique: Shadow Crown Art][Side Reward: Title Gained — "Veiled Arbiter"]
He raised a brow. "Nightshade Invitation?"
The interface shimmered, revealing a dark purple scroll with silver embroidery. It pulsed with demonic qi—refined, elegant, and terrifying. The seal was shaped like a black lotus blooming under moonlight.
[Item Description]: Invitation to the secret gathering known as the Nightshade Banquet—a clandestine congregation of rogue cultivators, assassins, cursed bloodlines, and underground organizations. Attendees must conceal identity or risk eternal pursuit. Rewards for attendance are immense: legacy arts, forbidden knowledge, dark alliances.]
Priyanshu smirked.
"Looks like it's time to step into the dark openly—without revealing who I am."
That night, Priyanshu returned to the royal city using a disguised teleportation token. He changed into his dark persona—black robes, a silver bone mask, and an aura manipulated using the Shadow Crown Art.
This transformation didn't just hide his identity. It changed his spiritual signature completely.
From righteous prodigy… to unknown villain.
"System," he whispered. "Where is the banquet?"
[Location: Depths of the Obsidian Marshlands, beneath the Forgotten Temple.][Warning: Entry is restricted to those with soul contracts or bloodline ties to darkness. Host must pass a trial of corruption to qualify.]
"Trial of corruption, huh?" He laughed lightly. "Let's see if darkness can corrupt something born in it."
A day later, he reached the marshlands.
Thunder growled in the skies. Poisonous fog wrapped around crooked trees. Every step into the bog felt like walking deeper into a cursed dream.
Finally, a shattered temple loomed ahead—its gates guarded by twin statues of chained gods weeping blood.
He approached calmly. The scroll in his hand burned with black light and disintegrated.
The statues opened their eyes.
"State your intent."
He stepped forward. "I come not to pledge to darkness, nor to defeat it. I come to learn… and to control it."
The air vibrated.
The world around him turned pitch black.
[Initiating Corruption Trial – Part One: Face Your Inner Demon.]
He opened his eyes in a void, standing face to face with himself—an evil version cloaked in power, dripping in malice.
"You think you're in control?" the demon said. "You play righteous, you manipulate all—but in the end, you're no different from me."
Priyanshu smiled coldly.
"No… I'm worse."
And with that, the true trial began.