CHAPTER 882 THE PREPARATION (PART ONE)

As Darren and the man in black armor looked at each other, silence hung in the air, and as time wore

on, the man in black armor felt a sense of dread wash over him. Perhaps he shouldn't have told Darren

the truth about his companions. He worried that the day he was to be freed would be postponed or that

all of the efforts would result in failure.

"You can't save them, not with your current strength," he said, trying to reel Darren back from making a

bold decision.

"You don't understand. I owe it to them to try. If I run away now, they will surely die," Darren argued,

staring grimly at the ground.

At hearing Darren's desperation and seeing his defeated posture while he thought of his friends' safety,

the black-armored man sighed. "All right. Now I can see that I have made the right choice teaming up

with you. You are brave and loyal to your friends. That must mean that you wouldn't lie to me either.

Even though it will be difficult for me, I will do my best to help you save them. May we form a good plan

that can get us out of this accursed place!" he said.

Feeling a renewed sense of hope, the black-armored man stopped speaking. All through his body he

felt that the Misty Emperor was summoning him. So in haste, he took his leave and flew away.

Once again, Darren was left alone with his thoughts.

Feeling troubled, Darren stared at his feet with a frown on his face. It seemed to him that the nature of

the black-armored man was not bad at all, but there was a lot riding on this plan and how it would

unfold.

Despite feeling sorry for deceiving him, Darren couldn't bear the thought of irritating both the Misty

Emperor and the black-armored man and leaving all of his companions in danger.

"It doesn't matter now. Worrying won't help anything. The important thing is to not make any rash

decisions. I need to keep everyone from being in danger," Darren reminded himself.

Sighing, he continued to cultivate in silence.

After three months, Darren was jolted awake from his meditation. A strong feeling that the Misty

Emperor was going to pay him a visit had entered his mind and pushed every other thought out of it.

He summoned his strength to attack himself, making himself look as if he had been tormented all the

time since the Misty Emperor left. The smallest amount of revealing could ruin everything, so he had to

be smart.

After two days of waiting in anticipation, the Misty Emperor appeared before him.

A wicked smile was present on his face when he saw the results of Darren's torment. He felt extremely

confident that he would be able to pry the information about the crystals from him.

"Boy, I doubt I have to even ask but I will. Where are the crystals?" he asked in a low, commanding

voice. After he had finished speaking, a contemptuous smile filled his face. In a sadistic way, he was

enjoying every second of this.

Darren looked up and his eyes were vacant, like a gaze of an idiot.

It looked like his mind had been plucked out of his skull.

"This can't be! Have you become a fool?" Panic flashed in his eyes. Darren was the only person who

knew where the crystals were. If he had become a fool under his torment, where could he get his

answers?

In haste, the Misty Emperor released some of his soul repair force and transferred them into Darren's

head.

After a while, forcefully, Darren added expressions to his face once more.

"I'll tell you what I know."

A look of shock overcame the Misty Emperor's face.

"Ha-ha-ha..." The fact that Darren had become obedient in his hands pleased him greatly. "Just like I

expected. No one is strong enough to withstand the soul attack, only a dead man," he added.

Practically tapping his fingers together with excitement, he waited for Darren to reveal the location of

the crystals.

"I have divided your crystals into ten parts. As a precaution, I hid them, and then I erased my memory,"

Darren answered. Slowly, the Misty Emperor's facial expression fell from excitement to disappointment.

"What?" the Misty Emperor yelled. For a while, no other words came out of his mouth. Instead, his eyes

glared at Darren, hard and calculating.

After some deep thought, he determined that Darren could not tell a lie. He was far too weak. Plus, it

made sense that he would have hidden his treasures and erased his memory to protect them just like

anyone else would have done in his position.

But someone who had done that would not be so foolish to forget its whereabouts entirely. There must

be a clue.

"Where is the clue?" the Misty Emperor asked directly once his anger had tapered off.

"How- how do you know that I have a clue..." Darren stammered, looking very pale and surprised.

"Stop blabbering and tell me now! Or you'll be tortured for another three months!" Like a flame, the Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Misty Emperor's aura flared up again.

"No, please don't do that! I'll tell you everything I know," Darren pleaded. "After I separated the crystals

and put them in the ten respective places, I imprinted a clue map of each location in the soul of my ten

friends and the elders. In order to remember the place, they must all gather together alongside me."

Internally, Darren was impressed with himself at how easily he had come up with the story.

"Damn it!" The Misty Emperor lifted his foot and kicked the ground, and as he did so, the earth shook

and chasms appeared.

"Boy, what were you thinking? This complicates everything! It seems like you want to die." The black-

armored man, who had been standing beside the Misty Emperor, flew over and made eye contact

briefly with Darren. In his heart, he knew what Darren was up to.

Stepping forward, he lifted his halberd and directed it at Darren. He clenched his jaw and narrowed his

eyes in feigned anger. He figured that if he acted like he was really angered by Darren's reply and was

trying to vent, the Misty Emperor would be fooled.