"Don't resist, Ethan Zhang."
Luantian Xuekui's gentle voice echoed in my mind. Luna Quay had already retreated, and at this moment, Luna Quay was completely unrecognizable—like a wild beast, crouched on the ground, her entire body shrouded in blackness, a foul stench wafting over.
Drip, drip. The surface of Luna Quay's body was uneven, having transformed entirely into a rotting corpse. Where the flesh hadn't dried, black corpse fluid dripped down, sizzling as it hit the ground and evaporating instantly.
Red veins pierced into my body—these came from Luantian Xuekui.
"Ethan Zhang, find a way to destroy that corpse revenant. Their goal here is that body, perfected over centuries. I'll hold off all five of them."
I stared at Luantian Xuekui in shock. With a thought, my Ghost Souls returned to my body one after another.
Xu Fu seemed to realize something, a cryptic smile spreading across his face. If I rushed at Xu Fu now, he wouldn’t let me succeed. But at this moment, I was stronger than him. The key was the heart in his hand—I needed the power to destroy it in a single blow.
The black-and-white roots beneath my feet slowly retracted into my body. I had to wait for Luantian Xuekui to start fighting before I made my move—I needed to strike down the throbbing black heart in Xu Fu’s hand in one blow.
In an instant, Luna Quay attacked again. Red lines, like capillaries, appeared all around Luantian Xuekui’s body. She raised her hand, the back of it swinging toward Luna Quay.
With a bang, even standing more than ten meters behind her, I could still feel the oppressive force radiating from Luna Quay.
Suddenly, Luna Quay’s body turned into a black liquid, flowing like water right through Luantian Xuekui’s form. With a splat, Luantian Xuekui dissolved into a pool of blood. I watched in shock as Luna Quay, now like flowing water, slipped through as if passing through a sponge—just like that, Luantian Xuekui’s body was scattered.
The blood surged madly toward the crimson corpse jade. Luna Quay roared in fury, and in that instant, she twisted around and gripped the blood-red corpse jade tightly.
Suddenly, the red capillaries on the soulstone’s surface began to multiply, spreading rapidly and covering Luna Quay’s body.
I saw Luna Quay’s body, as if out of control, slowly loosen its grip on the corpse jade. Then, with a loud crack, her body exploded, black sludge splattering in all directions.
A flash of silver—the silver Golden Soulstone was exposed. Blood instantly congealed, and Luantian Xuekui placed both hands near the silver soulstone. Red light flared in her palms. Across from her, Tan Tian was already charging forward with the other three.
"Corpse Beast..."
With several guttural roars, four masses of blood instantly morphed into beastly shapes with only heads, flying at the four approaching zombies. Tan Tian smashed one Corpse Beast with a punch. Meanwhile, I saw Luna Quay’s silver soulstone slowly crumbling, its surface already flaking apart.
Now, Ethan Zhang.
In an instant, I spun around, transforming into a black stream of energy. The Deathbane Aura I’d been storing surged out, turning the air around me into waves of killing intent. I raised Belle and stabbed at Xu Fu.
"I knew you’d try that, Ethan Zhang."
Suddenly, Xu Fu opened his mouth wide and swallowed the black heart whole.
I roared, driving Belle into Xu Fu’s body and pinning him against the gray barrier. He coughed up black blood, grinning wickedly.
"Where is it—the heart?"
I shouted, certain I had struck Xu Fu’s Ghost Soul.
"Do you think I’d tell you, Ethan Zhang? But you—surprising, really. In such a short time, you can already control two instincts. Impressive."
A surge of killing intent boiled up from deep within me.
"Die, Xu Fu!"
Raging Deathbane Aura exploded inside Xu Fu’s Ghost Soul. He grinned evilly and, before my eyes, burst into ash with a bang. Thump—suddenly, I heard the sound of a heartbeat.
"So that’s it—something from the Underworld, huh."
A ghostly voice sounded behind me—I tensed. At that moment, I saw the corpse behind me; the red spike had been pulled free, and Xu Fu was beside it, a purple glow in his hand. With a clang, he tossed the spike to the ground, then slowly collapsed onto the corpse and, with a rush, burrowed inside.
In shock, I watched the heart on the corpse’s chest thumping wildly. Raising Belle, I let out a roar—the Evil Ghost appeared on my back once again. I had to give everything to destroy Xu Fu.
"Ultimate... Within... Fist of Ruin..."
A shrill voice rang out. Suddenly, the corpse on the ground rose up, the space before me twisting into darkness—a fist hurtled toward me.
Boom! I raised Belle, staring blankly at the black corpse before me. Its appearance kept shifting, black hair drifting in the air. As its face twisted into something evil, its fist punched through my heart, obliterating everything behind me—a chunk of the gray barrier blown away.
"What did you do?"
Black mist streamed from Xu Fu’s body as his skin gradually turned white. The pounding heart slowly steadied. Xu Fu appeared before me again—and this time, he looked human.
"Nothing much. I just used Return Image to see what Yama gave you. I couldn’t pick it up myself, but I could use the principle of reversal to easily remove the spike. Impressive—this body, even throwing such a punch, has no problem."
(This chapter isn't over yet~.~, please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!)
I sneered, glaring at Xu Fu. Although my Ghost Soul had been pierced, I felt nothing at all.
"You’d better not move, Ethan Zhang. Right now, you..."
Before Xu Fu could finish speaking, his eyes widened—I burst out laughing.
"You think that’s the full power of that blood, Xu Fu? Let me show you—this conviction, strong enough to become a monster, is unbreakable."
The Deathbane Aura behind me instantly twisted into tail-like shapes, wrapping around Xu Fu, swallowing him up. The aura contorted, forming a colossal pillar reaching into the sky.
"Ethan Zhang, you won’t get out of this unscathed."
I laughed loudly.
"True, I won’t get out unscathed. But today, I’ll settle things with all of you right here."
The overwhelming Deathbane Aura poured from my body like water, flooding the space and rising to my knees like a growing lake.
The fighting zombies stopped. Tan Tian roared, kicking Luantian Xuekui aside and charging toward me.
"If you really have the power to break through all this Deathbane Aura, then there’s nothing I can do."
The Deathbane Aura began to swirl violently. My body kept releasing more, filling the space with murderous intent. At some point, it had sunk into my body—the killing intent of this world, unknowingly, had merged with me. I endured it.
"You don’t stand a chance, Ethan Zhang."
Tan Tian was already in front of me, slamming a fist into my cheek—but I didn’t budge. Black Deathbane Aura instantly wrapped around him, his body creaking under the pressure.
"Think of something, Tan Tian, or we’ll all be dragged down by this killing intent."
Bang! Xu Fu managed to break free, but the surging Deathbane Aura kept coming for him. He swung his fists, shattering the aura attacking him, but it was all in vain.
I watched silently as Tan Tian was swallowed by the Deathbane Aura before my eyes, and I slowly sank into it myself.
"End it in an instant."
I roared, and under my will to kill, the Deathbane Aura exploded.
But in that moment, I realized something was wrong—the force of the explosion was nothing like I expected. My eyes widened as the Deathbane Aura vanished in an instant. Only Tan Tian could do that—he was already charging at me.
The space before me twisted. Boom—Tan Tian’s body was blown apart, sent flying. A figure appeared before me: Emperor God.
"Thank you, Ethan Zhang."
As Emperor God spoke, I felt myself floating in the air, lifted by an invisible force. My body was completely empty inside.
"You just opened a gap to transfer all the Deathbane Aura out, then closed it right away. Did you think I wouldn’t notice, Tan Tian?"
Bang, bang—I looked over. Luantian Xuekui was still fighting Luna Quay.
In an instant, Emperor God vanished from before me.
"Since I’m here, you can stop fighting now."
Emperor God approached Luna Quay, placing a hand on her forehead. With a twist, I watched in shock as a silver Golden Soulstone appeared in his hand.
Just as Lan Jiuqing and the others were about to act, in a flash, four Golden Soulstones were already in Emperor God’s grasp.
By now, Tan Tian had vanished from the scene. Emperor God stood with his eyes closed, as if sensing something.
"No use hiding—even if you can escape, unless you release your Celestial Phenomenon, you’ll never be able to fight me."
In the distance, Xu Fu sat on the ground, grinning.
"I win. I’ve got the body now, and since I have it, you’ll never get it back. So, how about a deal?"
I glared at him in anger. With a whoosh, Xu Fu appeared before Emperor God.