"John Chou..." I shouted, and in that instant, Lan Yin grabbed my hand.
John Chou's entire body was shriveling up. He looked toward us, smiling, his skin completely devoid of moisture, wrinkled and bunched together. The rain was growing more violent.
"Why him?"
Hugh Thompson shouted, and at that moment, Zuo Quanyi released the Red Spike from his hand. John Chou slowly collapsed into the rainwater.
"Heh, so there were two hearts?"
John Chou's voice was extremely weak; he was now deeply exhausted.
Zuo Quanyi's form had already returned to normal. He kept gasping for breath, clearly in pain.
"I won, John Chou. That was an impressive strike, but now, sleep forever in this place."
As Zuo Quanyi spoke, he lifted John Chou with one hand.
"Heh, as expected, it's something from the Underworld Court, isn't it?"
My emotions surged as I stared at the Red Spike driven into John Chou's chest. I had seen this thing before, back in the Underworld.
"Ah, this thing really was given to us by the Underworld Court. It can't kill you, but this will be your resting place. Rot slowly here, John Chou."
Suddenly, a streak of blood-red light appeared in the sky—it was Rage Blood, shooting upward like a meteor. Everyone stared in astonishment. Then, a loud crash came from the house atop the mountain; after that, everything quieted down. The rain began to stop, and the red clouds gradually faded away.
"Is this the evil ghost's last desperate counterattack? Hahahahaha..."
Ghost Fiend Star burst out laughing. Then Zuo Quanyi, carrying John Chou, walked toward us step by step. John Chou's eyes were closed, but a smile remained on his lips.
"Ethan Zhang, will you submit or die?"
Zuo Quanyi brought John Chou right up to me. I clenched my fists, saying nothing. At that moment, John Chou's mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something to me.
"Brother, I can't die. Consider this my final gift to you. Just wait and watch their mourning faces soon, heh."
I stared at John Chou in shock. Then Zuo Quanyi, holding John Chou, tossed him out into the forest beyond.
"This is a gathering place for Yin Energy. The Yin Energy in this forest will keep tearing at him, endlessly, clinging to him. He'll never be able to leave this place for the rest of his life."
Zuo Quanyi laughed loudly as he spoke, then looked at us. At that moment, Lao Chongyuan also walked over to us.
"Something doesn't feel right."
As soon as Lao Chongyuan arrived, he spoke up. Zuo Quanyi seemed to sense it too—a chilling coldness, which I also felt, icy and penetrating.
"Lan Yin, what do you plan to do? Are you going to keep fighting?"
Lao Chongyuan asked, but Hugh Thompson suddenly burst out laughing, uncontrollably, until tears streamed down his face. His laughter made all of us uneasy.
"Hugh Thompson, did you hear something funny?"
Hugh Thompson adjusted his glasses and wiped away his smile.
"In just a few minutes, you'll understand. There's no point in fighting anymore. I suggest you leave quickly."
Hugh Thompson said this as he turned to us.
"Hurry up and run."
We all started running, while Zuo Quanyi and Lao Chongyuan stood frozen in place, looking lost. Then they, too, seemed to notice something strange.
"What are you trying to do?"
Ghost Fiend Star blocked our path, but Lan Yin didn't hesitate and struck him on the head.
"If you don't want to die, run now."
By now, Lao Chongyuan and Zuo Quanyi had already passed us and stood on the platform at the mountain's summit. We struggled to reach the platform, and everyone took notice.
Off in the distance, in the Ghost Tomb Forest, a black storm was brewing. The sky was pitch black and growing colder. That black storm was heading our way—it was pure Yin Energy.
Outside, a barrier had been set up to trap John Chou and us, preventing us from escaping into the Ghost Tomb Forest. But everyone who set that barrier is now dead. When I checked just now, it looked as if their bodies had been completely hollowed out, nothing left inside.
"Evacuate, kid. This place is no longer habitable."
Zuo Quanyi spoke, supported by two Blue-Faced Men. He was seriously injured and wouldn't recover anytime soon.
"Let's go, Ethan Zhang. You're just captives anyway, so don't try anything clever."
Ghost Fiend Star gave a reminder, while Hugh Thompson was still laughing.
We followed Ghost Fiend Star and the others down to the first basement level. Suddenly, Ghost Fiend Star started howling like a slaughtered pig.
"Damn it, that bastard John Chou—how could he do this? He's trying to kill us all!"
I saw that in the basement, there were tree-hole-like tunnels, each marked with a destination. The routes to the Underworld Court and the living world had already been destroyed.
There were other routes to different places, but the most prominent was one called 'Source.' I saw Zuo Quanyi and Lao Chongyuan clenching their fists, staring at the ruined path, while other members of the Immortality Society also watched the route to 'Source.'
"Stop shouting, kid. There's no way out—only one path remains."
Poison Dreadstar spoke, and we all looked over. Above the path, three large characters read 'Hall of Malice.' In smaller letters, it said the route led directly beneath Redmond's chair.
I finally understood what John Chou meant. Sure enough, now everyone wore mournful expressions. In their current state, Lao Chongyuan and Zuo Quanyi would stand no chance in the Hall of Malice against Redmond. Even if they were at full strength, that was Redmond's territory—they wouldn't win.
"We're finished. If we stay, the Yin Energy will swallow us; if we go, the Ghost Tomb Syndicate is doomed. Either way, we're dead. How could he be so vicious, and even change the location of the exit?"
Ghost Fiend Star looked utterly defeated. At that moment, we all looked up, feeling the deepening chill in the air.
"All members of the Ghost Tomb Syndicate, go up first."
Poison Dreadstar shouted, and Lan Yin walked over.
"What about our people? Where are they? At least hand them over to us, right?"
Ghost Fiend Star gave a faint smile.
"They're all dead!"
In an instant, I raised my fist in anger and struck Ghost Fiend Star in the face. With a thunderous sound, flames erupted, and Ghost Fiend Star screamed as half his cheek was burned away.
"You really dared to hit me in the face, Ethan Zhang? Damn it, you must have a death wish..."
A buzzing sound rose up as swarms of mosquitoes took flight. Ghost Fiend Star's face regenerated, and then, with two sharp slaps, Poison Dreadstar struck him twice.
"Do you want to die, or do you just want to be angry?"
"Just wait, Ethan Zhang."
The remaining members of the Ghost Tomb Syndicate lined up at the front of the platform. Each grabbed their right wrist with their left hand, then spread their right hand wide. A black barrier instantly rose before them.
The chill in the air vanished instantly, but in the distance, the black tornado—illuminated by flashes of red lightning—was slowly rolling our way.
"Three days at most? That thing will reach here by then."
Lao Chongyuan watched intently for a moment, then spoke. Even without their explanation, I understood: that thing was so powerful that, no matter how strong they were, they were helpless before it.
If that thing sweeps through, we'll all be strangled by the Yin Energy in an instant.
"Is there any way to create another exit?"
Zuo Quanyi asked, but Ghost Fiend Star shook his head, looking mournful.
"To create a passage, it takes at least ten years—especially the one to Redmond's domain. It took us a hundred years to open the route to his ghost realm, and we had to do it with extreme caution. Now it's a disaster. That bastard John Chou, even in death, wants to drag us down with him. It's over."
Ghost Fiend Star kept muttering, while everyone else stared at the massive black tornado.
"Three days left? That should be enough."
Zuo Quanyi said, and Lao Chongyuan's face instantly changed.
"Are you planning to make a move here?"
"At least get what we need first. That way, when we enter the Hall of Malice, we'll have something to bargain with. Wouldn't you agree?"
As Zuo Quanyi spoke, he shot me a vicious glare.
Suddenly, Zuo Quanyi came up to me and grabbed my throat with one hand.
"What are you trying to do?"
Huang Jun roared, raising his fist. I quickly shook my head, and sure enough, with a crack, Huang Jun's fist was completely broken, curling into a ball. He cried out in pain, and Lan Yin rushed over.
With a loud snap, black chains instantly wrapped around Lan Yin—Ghost Fiend Star's doing.
"Heh, don't even think about moving, Lan Yin."
Zuo Quanyi stared at me, unblinking.
"Come downstairs, Ethan Zhang."
As he said this, Zuo Quanyi grabbed me, but suddenly Lan Ruoxi charged over and landed a punch—startled, I cried out.
"Ruoxi..." It was a Blue-Faced Man who punched through Lan Ruoxi's abdomen. She looked at me, and in that instant, my rage flared, flames spilling out from my body.
"Zhu Tang, I need Nirvana."
I shouted, and flames burst out from my body.
It didn't matter what happened to my body—even death didn't faze me. Eyes red with fury, suddenly Ghost Fiend Star rushed over. Lao Chongyuan pried my mouth open and shoved something inside.
The flames on my body were instantly extinguished.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
I roared in anger.
"Your instinct, Ethan Zhang. What we need is your instinct."