"Black Prison..."
Suddenly, Zuo Quanyi roared, thrusting his right hand toward the sky. I watched his fingers twitch sharply, and in that instant, ribbons of darkness unfurled overhead, twisting together to form a cage. Bathed in flickering red light, John Chou appeared within its confines.
"Oh, I didn't expect you could use arcane arts."
John Chou spoke in a low, haunting voice. Zuo Quanyi shook his head.
"This isn't arcane magic. You should be able to sense it, John Chou. We're neither Ghost Syndicate nor practitioners of the arcane. Over two thousand years ago, we transcended humanity itself—and I have long since rejected arcane arts altogether."
John Chou gripped Rage Blood, staring at the black cage that trapped him. At that moment, I noticed something strange about the prison. Lan Yin seemed to sense it too; his gaze sharpened as he studied the phenomenon.
"That's pure power—compressed in an instant and released, manifesting in physical form."
Sure enough, as soon as Lan Yin finished speaking, the black cage erupted with piercing, thunderous noise. It began to distort, compress, and contract, pressing relentlessly toward John Chou.
With a resonant hum, a mass of black matter appeared in the sky, accompanied by a shrill, deafening roar.
Gradually, I saw the area around the black mass as if something was being siphoned away. The falling red raindrops evaporated three meters from the black substance, never reaching its surface.
The black substance gradually vanished, revealing a hollow void beneath.
"That is..."
"It's useless, John Chou."
"John Chou, don't play dead. Show your true strength—at the very least, you can still use your instincts, can't you?"
"Haa..."
Suddenly, Zuo Quanyi's left hand, crackling with black lightning, grabbed John Chou from within the blood-red particles. With a thunderous crash, Zuo Quanyi slammed John Chou to the ground.
His right hand raised, claw-like, Zuo Quanyi drove it hard into John Chou's chest. With a deafening crash, John Chou was smashed into the ground, coughing up a mouthful of dark red blood.
"You..."
"Giving it your all is the only way to show respect, John Chou. Stop playing these games."
Zuo Quanyi roared viciously, his eyes blazing with displeasure. Then, with a sudden movement, he lunged forward, reaching into a mass of red blood mist to drag John Chou out.
"Your heart—it's gone."
"How long do you intend to keep playing, John Chou?"
"John Chou, you..."
"Isn't battle more fun when it gets more intense?"
Black veins bulged across Zuo Quanyi's forehead, crackling audibly. In an instant, John Chou twisted violently in Zuo Quanyi's grasp, then, with a sharp snap, transformed into a mass of blood plasma that splattered across the ground.
"What was that just now?"
Lan Yin cried out in alarm. I saw it too—Zuo Quanyi's body seemed to tremble for a split second, so fast it was barely perceptible. Just then, a violent gust swept everything on the ground toward us.
"Careful!"
Rachel Lan shouted, igniting flames. I rushed over as well, striking down every flying stone.
"John Chou..."
John Chou suddenly turned, sorrow flickering across his face as he met my gaze. I stared back, frozen. In a flash of black light, Zuo Quanyi drove a crimson spike deep into John Chou's body.
In a flash, Zuo Quanyi charged straight at John Chou, hand raised. Instantly, John Chou split into over a dozen copies, each wielding Rage Blood, stabbing toward Zuo Quanyi.
"I've told you, these cheap tricks—put them away."
Zuo Quanyi roared, and in a split second, accurately seized the real John Chou from among the copies, once again gripping him tightly.
"What is he really trying to do?"
Hugh Thompson muttered in confusion.
Thinking back, last night everything had already been exposed. John Chou must have known the enemy would use fake hostages to deceive us, yet he still went through with the exchange in silent agreement. What is his goal?
If we've truly found Three-Eyed's location, we could all rush in together. As long as I reach the place where Three-Eyed is imprisoned, I'll find a way to use my instincts to set him free.
"I think, even if Three-Eyed gets out, our disadvantage won't change."
Hugh Thompson said, and I saw that on the distant mountain, besides Ghost Fiend Star, Lao Chongyuan was there too, now wearing his golden mask again. Two monstrous golden-masked men—do we really stand a chance?
As for Three-Eyed, after being imprisoned, he's probably not as formidable as before. I recall the Immortality Society used Three-Eyed and Cao Wanzhi's ghost soul to create countless counterfeit Blue Wraiths, causing chaos in Hongmao's Hall of Malice. After all that depletion, can we really escape with just Three-Eyed?
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
John Chou once again dissolved into swirling Blood Mist, while Zuo Quanyi's wrath erupted, monstrous and unstoppable. Again and again, he tore John Chou from the vaporous crimson haze, smashing him with brutal fists until his body burst into splatters of gore.
The battle was now a massacre. John Chou was utterly helpless—his feeble attacks barely registered against the relentless onslaught.
With a hiss, Zuo Quanyi's fingers stabbed into John Chou's body. Blood welled from the corner of John Chou's mouth, yet he kept smiling, silent, clutching Rage Blood.
Above, blood-red rain kept drumming down, each drop echoing like a pulse of dread. Suddenly, Hugh Thompson stiffened, as if seized by a memory. He snapped his head around, staring into the storm-dark sky.
"Don't look back."
Just as we started to turn, Hugh Thompson stopped us.
"Those blood-red clouds have drifted into the woods outside, but it seems the enemy hasn't noticed."
At Hugh Thompson's warning, we feigned calm as we glanced over. Sure enough, the crimson clouds had swallowed Grimhill Forest whole, and blood-red rain dripped relentlessly among the shadowy trees.
"Do you know? My instinct—slaughter—actually has another trait. But where did it go?"
John Chou's voice drifted like a specter, and Zuo Quanyi's eyes went wide with sudden terror. He slammed John Chou to the ground—a deafening rumble split the earth as the evil spirit that had lurked inside John Chou erupted from below. Its hands gripped a sword of living blood, stabbing for Zuo Quanyi's heart with murderous intent.
"It's useless, John Chou."
Zuo Quanyi immediately raised his hand like a blade, slashing twice—swiftly deflecting the evil spirit's blood-red sword. But just then, the John Chou he gripped vanished, reappearing behind Zuo Quanyi.
"Haa..."
Zuo Quanyi roared—a primal, guttural sound. Black light surged over his skin, rippling like liquid shadow. The Rage Blood sword John Chou thrust forward met the barrier of darkness, unable to pierce it. John Chou kept grinning, his grip on the weapon unyielding.
"I've already warned you, haven't I? My instinct—slaughter—what does it truly mean?"
"You..."
Abruptly, a force beyond comprehension exploded from John Chou—an annihilating power that threatened to crush the world itself.
A shriek split the air, mingling with a wet, ripping hiss. Zuo Quanyi's head snapped back as he howled in agony—Rage Blood punched through his chest, a torrent of crimson spraying into the storm.
"Your heart—it's gone."
With a sickening hiss, John Chou ripped Rage Blood free, flicking it so black blood spattered the ground. Zuo Quanyi crumpled to his knees, clutching his ruined chest. Thunder crashed overhead, and John Chou's profile twisted into something monstrous—his smile gone, his eyes brimming with cruelty. All stared in horror as Zuo Quanyi lay lifeless, blood-red rain sizzling on his corpse.
"John Chou, you..."
Lao Chongyuan roared and rushed at John Chou, but instead of attacking, he snatched up Zuo Quanyi and began checking his condition.
John Chou threw his head back, lips curling into a wicked, triumphant grin—his stance radiated victory as he stared down his stunned enemies.
But then, the immense power that had just surged from John Chou's body vanished without a trace.
"When the gap in strength is vast, slaughter becomes effortless."
Lan Yin muttered to himself, and we all turned to look at him.
"That's the meaning behind the word 'slaughter.' For a moment, John Chou's power was leagues above that monster's—several times stronger. So with a single blow, the monster fell."
"Brother, from here on, it's up to you. This is all I can do to help."
John Chou suddenly turned, sorrow flickering across his face as he met my gaze. I stared back, frozen. In a flash of black light, Zuo Quanyi drove a crimson spike deep into John Chou's body.