I quietly stared at Lao Chongyuan's golden mask. On the left side, there was a swirling vortex, while the right side resembled the half-face of some kind of animal. It looked completely different from the other Blue-Faced Men, whose masks were greenish-blue and slightly pointed.
Ranran and Wu Hang stood behind me, startled by the sudden appearance of so many members of the Immortality Society.
"Alright, Ethan Zhang, stand in this position and try to use the power of the Vermilion Bird within you. Unleash your strongest force in an instant and you can break through the entrance here. This spot is the weakest, according to my observation."
"Careful, this power might tear you apart, Ethan Zhang."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I told you, I'm here to resolve this situation. However, it's not my turn to appear yet. I haven't seen that evil ghost in many days. He'll come, after all..."
"That's enough, Ethan Zhang."
"You're here, Ethan Zhang. If you're here, Yin Choujian will definitely come."
After Lao Chongyuan left us, I turned my gaze westward, then clenched my fists and looked at Ranran and Wu Hang.
"You two should leave for now. We don't know what's happening inside."
"Oh? And what do you take me for, Ethan Zhang?"
Ranran suddenly got angry, and Wu Hang also didn't seem inclined to leave. Helpless, I told them to stand farther away, then began to ignite the flames.
"Rachel, watch out behind you!"
"Careful, this power might tear you apart, Ethan Zhang."
The Vermilion Bird warned me. I could feel the Spirit Snake and Zhang Jizheng inside me helping suppress this force I couldn't control, letting it leak out bit by bit, so my body wouldn't be destroyed in an instant.
The heat was becoming unbearable. My clothes started to give off black smoke.
"That's enough, Qingyuan."
The Vermilion Bird reminded me. I let out a roar, swinging my raised right fist toward empty space. With a thunderous boom, scarlet flames erupted dozens of meters high, raging furiously.
Gradually, I saw the outline of buildings within the flames. As the fire faded, Ranran and Wu Hang rushed over. I saw an opening, and the three of us immediately jumped in.
"Ruoxi..." The moment I entered, I shouted. The Ghost Burial Squad still existed—sure enough, we were right in front of their main building. But at this moment, there wasn't a single person to be seen. The Ghost Burial Squad headquarters was empty.
What exactly happened? I stared in confusion at everything around me, shouting several more times, but still, there was no response.
Ranran and Wu Hang started looking around, but then we all turned toward the back of the Ghost Burial Squad dormitory, where a loud rush of footsteps was approaching. Just as we wondered what was happening, I suddenly saw a mass of slow-moving figures emerging from behind the dorm—moaning, hands raised, faces pale, some with rotting flesh.
"Ghouls."
I cried out in shock, and Ranran screamed loudly.
Among them, several ghouls moved with surprising speed—like monkeys, running on all fours, scaling walls, and quickly charging at us. In an instant, seven or eight of these fast-moving ghouls lunged at us.
The wings on my back spread open, and I flew toward them, fist raised. With a series of bangs, I sent all seven or eight ghouls flying backward. At that moment, the number of ghouls in front of us surged like a tide, rushing toward us.
"Grab my legs!"
I shouted, swooping down as Ranran and Wu Hang jumped over and grabbed my left and right legs.
"This is intense, just like the zombies in those movies."
Wu Hang said as I spread my wings and soared upward, scattering fiery feathers onto the tide of ghouls below. Instantly, flames erupted everywhere, turning a vast number of ghouls to ashes.
I was utterly shocked—how could there be so many ghouls? This number was completely abnormal. At that moment, I saw that the area surrounding the Ghost Burial Squad prison was a sea of corpses, vast crowds of ghouls gathering there, and even more were closing in to surround us.
With Ranran and Wu Hang, I reached the rooftop. Just as we landed, there was a bang—the door to the rooftop burst open, and ghouls started pouring out. I raised my fist and roared, blasting a wave of furious flames that destroyed the entire structure beneath the water tower.
Looking down, I saw that even inside the Ghost Burial Squad building, it was packed with ghouls.
"Hurry inside, Ethan Zhang!"
Ranran raised her hand and shouted. I looked up and saw clusters of winged, fanged, human-like creatures closing in on us from the sky.
I stared in shock at the flying corpses overhead. They actually had bird-like wings, moved at incredible speed, and emitted sharp, wailing cries as they charged toward us.
We were completely surrounded. There were too many ghouls to eliminate. I took a deep breath and spat a blast of flame at the first wave of airborne ghouls.
(This chapter is not yet finished~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
By now, those ghouls had already climbed onto the rooftop.
"Grab my legs!"
I shouted, and Wu Hang and Ranran grabbed my legs again. I immediately took off, planning to fly even higher.
Soon, the flying ghouls closed in again. I beat my wings, sending fiery feathers flying, and explosions rang out all around.
"Ethan Zhang, are you alright?"
Rachel Lan asked. I immediately went over, hugged her, and nodded. Rachel Lan kept nudging me away.
"Ethan Zhang, if you want to get cozy, go to one of the empty rooms downstairs. There's no space here."
"Kid, what took you so long? I'm exhausted over here."
Just then, accompanied by a voice, I saw nine streams of flame flying toward us—it was Lan Yin. The nine flames transformed into nine Vermilion Birds, and in an instant, the mass of flying ghouls attacking us was wiped out. Seeing Lan Yin, I felt somewhat relieved.
"What are you standing around for? You can't kill them all."
Lan Yin looked around and shouted.
"Bastard, hurry up and come out! Be a man and face me in a duel! Stop hiding and playing these petty tricks."
Just then, a cold, mocking laugh echoed through the air.
"Heh, with so many of you, you'll need water and food eventually. Let's see who laughs last. Besides, I can't beat you—if I come out, you'll kill me, Lan Yin. These things may be fragile, but with such numbers, even you can't handle them all."
Lan Yin clenched his fists, his face tense.
"I'm so pissed off—I've never felt so helpless before."
As Lan Yin spoke, I knew clearly that he had the power to wipe out everything here in an instant. However, the Ghost Burial Squad members were still present; if he did that, he'd hurt his own people too.
"Let's go—to the prison."
Lan Yin said, charging ahead. In an instant, a huge group of flying ghouls was wiped out. I hurried after him with Wu Hang and Ranran.
As we neared the prison, a chill ran down my spine, goosebumps rising. The area around the prison, for several square kilometers, was packed with ghouls, all trying to get inside.
"Disgusting bastard, unleashing so many ghouls."
"Who on earth did this?"
As soon as I asked, I realized—it must be one of the zombies from the Nine Extremes.
"Get ready to open the gate."
Lan Yin shouted. I saw the indicator light on the prison gate turn green. Suddenly, Lan Yin transformed into a mass of flames and descended, blasting fire to both sides and ahead of the prison. Countless ghouls turned to ash. As soon as the gate opened, I landed with Ranran and Wu Hang.
"Hurry inside, Qingyuan!"
Hu Tianshuo, Old Stone, Lan Ruoxi, and Ouyang Wei were all there. I finally breathed a sigh of relief and rushed inside. Lan Yin was still outside, with ghouls attacking again as the door slowly closed.
"That's enough, Lan Yin, get in here."
Lan Yin instantly turned into a ball of flame and came inside, while the ghouls clawed at the door. The prison gate closed, and I looked around—everyone from the Ghost Burial Squad, including the trainees, was here. All the prison doors along this corridor were open; we could only stay here for now.
"The prisoners have already been moved to the lower levels of the prison."
Hu Tianshuo said, adjusting his glasses.
"Tianshuo, what exactly is going on? Old Stone, Tianshuo isn't a spy—not at all."
I quickly explained, and Old Stone nodded, then sighed and smiled.
"Turns out, we've always been under the Immortality Society's thumb. Heh."
"Qingyuan, are you alright?"
Lan Ruoxi asked. I immediately went over, hugged her, and nodded. Lan Ruoxi kept nudging me away.
"Ethan Zhang, if you want to get cozy, go to one of the empty rooms downstairs. There's no space here."
Ouyang Wei said irritably. I smiled.
"As long as everyone's safe, that's all that matters."