My Spectral Essence began to burn with heat, a nauseating sensation flooding my body, making me deeply uncomfortable. Beside me, Isabelle Frost looked even worse.
Mr. Brown was still fighting desperately. In front of us, the translucent brownish corpse membrane started to flush red. This heat was coming from the membrane itself. Tan Tian stood in the air, his face cold and stern as he stared down at Mr. Brown on the ground.
“Zane, I’ve already seen through everything about you. Stop this pointless resistance. It’s time to end this conflict.”
Steam kept rising from Mr. Brown’s body. Cold frost overflowed, forming ice blocks, but they were instantly vaporized.
I crouched down slightly, feeling my entire Shadow Realm grow unstable. Cracking sounds echoed as the realm began to break apart bit by bit.
Tan Tian glanced at my fractured Shadow Realm. Suddenly, the scorching heat burning my Spectral Essence vanished, and the ice on Mr. Brown’s body stopped evaporating so quickly. Tan Tian moved—a row of white fangs sprouted from both his hands like sharp blades. A giant mouth lined with fangs appeared on his chest.
“You forced me, Zane.”
With a sudden rush, my heart trembled. Tan Tian had already reached Mr. Brown, his right hand smashing the row of fangs against the six arms Mr. Brown used to shield himself.
There was a loud crack as the ice shattered and Mr. Brown’s defense collapsed instantly. I saw several white shadows pass through Mr. Brown’s body, sending him flying toward the corpse membrane.
“Open the Shadow Realm, Ethan Zhang Gauntlet!”
Suddenly, Mr. Brown shouted. I immediately focused my intent. With a crack, my Shadow Realm was about to split open, but abruptly, a faint white stream of energy appeared before my eyes.
“Watch out!”
Isabelle Frost shouted from beside me. Just as I was about to move, there was a swishing sound—my two arms and legs were instantly severed from my body in a supernatural flash. Then Isabelle Frost was forced down to the ground.
With a boom, a white, beast-like phantom restrained Isabelle Frost.
“If you open the Shadow Realm, I’ll kill this little girl instantly.”
My heart jolted in shock. I stared wide-eyed as rage surged from my chest. With a roar, Mr. Brown suddenly rose, his six frost-covered fists pounding forward.
Thuds rang out as massive Frostblossoms formed in the air. Tan Tian easily deflected Mr. Brown’s attack, then kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending Mr. Brown flying and crashing to the ground again.
More than Mr. Brown, I was worried about Isabelle Frost. She was completely subdued, her ghost aura so weak it was almost undetectable.
Even though Mr. Brown was on the defensive, his ghost aura hadn’t diminished at all—in fact, it was swelling even more.
With a boom, a massive pale blue light engulfed Tan Tian. Mr. Brown leapt up, curling his six arms around his abdomen.
"Anger Surge..."
"Where are you looking? At that speed, how could you possibly hit me, Zane?"
Tan Tian suddenly appeared beside Mr. Brown, gripping his shoulder. With a hum, I saw the same white beast-like phantoms that restrained Isabelle Frost pass through Mr. Brown’s body in an instant.
"This time, I’ve completely captured your Ghost Soul, Zane."
With a sickening sound, Mr. Brown spat a mouthful of blood. The ice-blue head on his left shoulder exploded instantly. His swollen body shrank, three of his six arms severed. Tan Tian grabbed Mr. Brown’s neck, pinning him to the ground.
With a thunderous crash, Tan Tian pressed Mr. Brown’s aged, skeletal body into the earth.
"It’s all over. As for those troublesome outsiders, we have the numbers—they won’t last long. Yin Choujian’s plan has failed as well."
Blood kept spilling from Mr. Brown’s mouth as he chuckled weakly. The immense ghost aura he had just released was now gone.
"You’ve got talent, young lady. If you work hard at training your powers, in a hundred years, you might be unmatched in the ghost arts. Sadly, this is where it ends."
"What are you going to do?"
Furious, I rushed toward Isabelle Frost as Tan Tian stared at me coldly.
"Stop, Ethan Zhang. There’s no one left who can..."
With a swish, the white beast phantom suppressing Isabelle Frost split in two. Tan Tian’s eyes widened in surprise.
Gasping for breath, I gripped the gray Deathbane Energy Blade in my hand, gray Deathbane Aura swirling around me.
With a sickening sound, Tan Tian clutched his chest, brownish liquid dripping from his lips. Before I could react, his hand seized my throat, instantly dispersing the Deathbane Aura. The Deathbane Energy Blade in my grip shattered at once.
Beside me, Isabelle Frost struggled to support herself, but after several attempts, she still couldn’t get up.
"I should have killed you last time, Ethan Zhang. You really don’t belong in this world. This is the third time I’ve had the urge to kill you—the first time I nearly did, the second time someone stopped me, but this time, no one will save you."
I couldn’t release a single trace of ghost aura. I couldn’t even sense my Ghost Soul anymore—Tan Tian had me completely subdued.
"Even though the people from the Dark Banquet want you, I can’t wait that long."
Tan Tian slowly raised his hand. A white fang extended from his palm, and in an instant, he thrust it at my chest—the seat of my Ghost Soul. My eyes widened in shock.
Thunderous booms echoed in my ears as black flames burst into life.
"Long time no see, old man Tan Tian."
Dazed, my eyes widened. A stream of black energy surged beneath my feet. With a roar, a black wolf leapt out, biting down on Tan Tian’s hand just as it was about to strike me.
[Irrelevant system message; skipped translation.]
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab me. In front of me, Tan Tian now held a mass of black flame. With a crack, the outstretched hand was bitten off by the black wolf. In a flash, Tan Tian retreated into the corpse membrane, staring blankly at his severed hand as black energy surged from it.
The black wolf gradually transformed into a human, then immediately moved to Isabelle Frost’s side.
"Miss Yi."
Deathcurse pressed a hand to Isabelle Frost’s forehead, sending a surge of curse power into her. Instantly, her chaotic Ghost Soul stabilized, and her fading ghost aura became tangible again.
"Redmond, you brat."
Tan Tian said coldly. Redmond smiled faintly, released me, and I collapsed to the ground. Then he kicked me behind him.
"What are you all doing at such a critical moment? Yuna Ji is barely holding on outside, and the others aren’t doing well either. I don’t have time to waste with you here."
As Redmond spoke, his body transformed into clusters of black flame, which instantly surged into the corpse membrane. Tan Tian floated over at once.
With a boom, black flames exploded inside the corpse membrane, scattering across the ground. The little flames quickly gathered, gradually forming Redmond again.
"Wait a second, Redmond."
Deathcurse shouted. Redmond stopped, looked around anxiously, then with a whoosh, flew out of the corpse membrane.
"Can I leave this to you? Yuna Ji needs help outside—I have to go assist her."
Without another word, Redmond vanished from my Shadow Realm. I swallowed hard as Deathcurse slowly walked to the edge of the corpse membrane, silently watching Tan Tian.
"Old friend, it’s been almost three thousand years since we last met."
"It really has been that long. Today we stand on opposite sides—there’s nothing left to discuss."
Deathcurse nodded, then sat down on the ground.