Suddenly, Brother Owen seemed to realize something. A rush of wind sounded, and the eight disciples behind him turned into eight streaks of green light, soaring up toward the Jialan Lotus Seat above.
I smiled, looking upward. At that moment, a grain of sand drifted past my nose. I immediately grabbed it with my hand and looked up.
The sand transformation continued, as a violent gale swept through Brother Owen's Shadow Realm. The Jialan Lotus Seat, from its base, began to turn into sand bit by bit.
Brother Owen's previously relaxed expression vanished. He glared at me fiercely.
The Jialan Lotus Seat was rapidly turning to sand. The eight ghost monks stopped in midair. The rainbow-colored halo above was gone, and the swirling yellow sand in the raging storm blotted out the sky, yet it didn't affect anything below.
I looked up gratefully at everything happening above. Now, it seemed both Destruction and Life were trapped in this sudden sandstorm that covered most of Jialan City.
"Hmph, Ethan Zhang, this is my Shadow Realm. Naturally, I have a way to solve..."
"Ghostworm, you will pay the price for everything you've done."
I didn't wait for Brother Owen to finish speaking. I roared, raised my right hand toward the ground below, and streams of red light surged out. In my left eye, a blood-red curse mark appeared, and the red glow in my right hand grew more intense.
"Curse Power! Ethan Zhang, you...stop him."
A rush of wind sounded as eight Blue Wraiths flew toward me in unison. They still showed no sign of consciousness, like mere puppets controlled by Brother Owen.
I didn't wait for them to arrive. In an instant, all the Curse Power in my hand burst forth and slammed into the ground with a loud bang.
"Remember, as ghosts, do you want to become someone else's meal, or do you want to keep your lives?"
I shouted loudly. With a whoosh, Brother Owen flew toward me, faster than his eight disciples, swinging his monk's staff at me.
I reacted, raising Hell's Sentinel to block the blow with a clang. A tremendous force surged through, sending me flying backward. I steadied myself in midair, and the pitch-black Specter Web within my body began to unfurl.
"Instinct...is called coexistence."
Strands of Specter Web began to cling to the ghosts below. They all clutched their stomachs in pain, regardless of age or gender, reacting as the red Curse Power beneath Brother Owen's platform attracted the worms within their bodies.
"Ethan Zhang, don't even think about it."
Brother Owen shouted, flying toward the mass of red Curse Power.
I immediately withdrew Hell's Sentinel and drew my twin pistols, aiming at Brother Owen. Flaming bullets fired out in rapid succession, and violent explosions erupted around him.
He kept blocking my bullets with his monk's staff as I fired rapidly. The dense barrage shot toward Brother Owen, and just as I expected, his power was scattered—he hadn't consolidated it. Most of his strength was focused on his eight disciples, and part of it had been transferred into my cousin's body.
At this moment, Brother Owen wasn't frightening. After a round of shooting, he still managed to approach the mass of Curse Power. With a whoosh, I dodged aside, tossed away my twin pistols, and raised Hell's Sentinel. Instantly, killing intent surged from deep within me, and Deathbane Aura splashed around my body like a tide.
With a clang, Brother Owen blocked Hell's Sentinel but was sent flying. I noticed his eight disciples scattering in different directions, seemingly heading for the Jialan Lotus Seat to do something.
Although I didn't know Brother Owen's plan, my only option now was to use the massive Curse Power to draw out the curse energy from these ghosts' bodies.
With a gurgle, I saw a white worm spew out from a ghost's throat. That ghost began to vomit, retching up streams of black water.
It worked. Once the white worm hit the ground, it started crawling toward the mass of red Curse Power.
With a whoosh, Brother Owen again flew toward the mass of red Curse Power. I shouted—although his power was now scattered and weaker, he was still strong enough to block my killing intent attacks.
A Desert Eagle appeared in my hand, loaded with a special bullet—Venom Fang, a name I gave it, crafted by Spirit Snake. Its effect: it poisons ghosts, causing chaos in their ghost souls.
As I neared Brother Owen, I suddenly raised the Desert Eagle and aimed at his head. He turned and glared at me viciously.
"You're courting death, Ethan Zhang! Dark Sanskrit..."
Immediately after, I saw Brother Owen open his mouth wide. Rings of eerie green light radiated from around his lips, accompanied by a heavy, sleep-inducing Sanskrit chant.
With a splutter, I spat out a mouthful of black blood and was thrown back, but I still raised my right hand and pulled the trigger. With a bang, a black-green bullet shot into Brother Owen's head.
With a bang, I crashed to the ground. On the surface, white worms wriggled, crawling one after another toward the mass of red Curse Power.
Brother Owen suddenly collapsed to the ground, as if unable to control his limbs. This bullet could temporarily paralyze the Blue Wraith's ghost soul, but making it took great effort—I currently have fewer than twenty.
"What is this thing?"
Brother Owen sat on the ground, his monk's staff already fallen. His limbs seemed uncontrollable, and even his once powerful, orderly ghost aura was starting to become chaotic. The effect would last at most three minutes.
[Irrelevant system message skipped.]
I watched the first worm approach the mass of red Curse Power. Upon contact with the red glow, it screeched shrilly, then slowly melted into the light.
"Ethan Zhang."
Brother Owen roared at me viciously. With a whoosh, I floated up and shouted loudly to those around me.
Take a good look—this is Ghostworm's true purpose. He only wants to devour you. These worms are what he implanted in your bodies. If you don't want to die, run now.
Some ghosts who no longer had worms inside seemed to regain their senses, and even remembered something. With a rush of wind, ghosts flew up one after another, desperately heading toward the distant foot of the mountain.
At this moment, Brother Owen seemed to sense something. Suddenly, he floated up, and the chaotic ghost aura within his body began to normalize. He glared at me fiercely.
You're courting death, Ethan Zhang.
As Brother Owen spoke, he waved his sleeve, sending two black centipedes flying toward me. I could sense the Curse Power—they absolutely couldn't be faced head-on, or I'd be in trouble. I slashed out with two wind blades, but as expected, they had no effect.
I immediately widened the distance between myself and Brother Owen. More and more ghosts regained their senses and began to flee in panic, trying to escape Brother Owen's Shadow Realm.
Go west! You can be saved if you go west.
I shouted loudly, suddenly realizing—since Hao Hong and the others could leave Brother Owen's Shadow Realm, then the west must be the weakest point in his domain.
When the ghosts heard my shout, it was as if they saw hope. The devotion on their faces turned to fear, and they all ran toward the west.
The two black centipedes, each three or four meters long, kept chasing after me. Suddenly, I turned, stretched out my hand, and my arm immediately transformed into a giant serpent, which flew toward the two centipedes.