"Remember, Ethan Zhang, the weakness of a zombie is its aura. No matter what rank the zombie is, this never changes. If you want to win, you must conceal your aura. The authority within your body is about to fade away."
Emperor God's voice faded from my mind as Lance Quinn lunged at me. He wasn't wielding any weapons—just his hands, which turned into blades, slashing toward me.
In an instant, I leapt aside, but with a tearing sound, a large gash split open across my chest. I heard several sharp whistles as streaks of black shot toward me.
They were black fingernails. I immediately turned into mist, but suddenly spat out black blood, tumbling out of the fog and crashing to the ground. Something had been driven into my Ghost Soul.
I screamed. Tiny black mouths gnawed inside my Ghost Soul. I hurriedly used Ghost Threads to yank each one out, but Lance Quinn gave me no chance to react, appearing right in front of me, his hand stabbing toward my throat.
My entire head flew off. I roared, unleashing a torrent of Deathbane Aura at Lance Quinn.
Lance Quinn clutched his head, bracing for defense. With a thunderous roar, Deathbane Aura poured down like a waterfall from a cliff, instantly engulfing him.
I didn't hesitate, planning to open my Shadow Realm, but found I couldn't. I quickly drew the Deathbane Shotgun from my back and aimed at Lance Quinn, who had already burst out of the Deathbane Aura, and pulled the trigger.
With a deafening boom, Lance Quinn chopped my Deathbane Shotgun in half and split my body in two again with overwhelming force. I stared in shock, and with a bang, I kicked Lance Quinn down to the ground.
The moment I hit the ground, I immediately pulled the trigger of the Ghost Eagle in my hand, firing round after round of black bullets at Lance Quinn.
When I saw Lance Quinn dodge, I immediately changed the bullets' trajectory. But the black bullets burst against his skin, blooming like dark flowers. I stared in shock, thinking of the Immortality Society's terrifying bodies.
For a long time, I thought it was the traitors from the corpse realm who helped the Immortality Society build those powerful bodies. But maybe, from the very beginning, they'd been working together.
I was no match at all. As I tried to rise, a kick landed on my face, snapping my neck with a crack. My body was instantly riddled with holes, flesh and blood mangled.
I kept shifting the position of my Ghost Soul inside my body, narrowly escaping destruction by Lance Quinn several times. In that moment, I kept thinking about what Tan Tian had said—the aura, a zombie's weakness.
Trying to figure this out in the heat of battle was pointless. I was just taking hit after hit, my body's strength and power utterly outmatched.
"Stop clinging to life, Ethan Zhang. Die."
Once again, my freshly recovered body was pierced through by Lance Quinn. I roared and staggered back, landing outside the gray barrier. Emperor God watched anxiously, but their voices could no longer reach me.
At that moment, my attention shifted to Xu Fu. He stood up again, watching as Tan Tian tried to pry out the spike driven into the corpse's chest cavity. But it wasn't going smoothly—Tan Tian's hand on the spike kept burning to ash, only to regenerate, repeating the cycle endlessly.
"What are you looking at, Ethan Zhang?"
With a bang, I was sent flying again. After hitting the ground, I grabbed Belle and began releasing Deathbane Aura, launching myself at Lance Quinn.
My power couldn't penetrate his body—I understood that completely now. Still, I kept pouring my strength into Belle, swinging it desperately. There was only one chance.
Lance Quinn kept smiling, but it was a smile that made me sick.
Suddenly, Lance Quinn's hand shot forward. I dodged to the side, but with a tearing sound, his hand pierced my left shoulder. I roared in pain.
"Instinct... Coexistence... Evil Ghost..."
With a roar, the shadow of an Evil Ghost appeared on my back. I raised Belle and stabbed at the center of Lance Quinn's forehead. In an instant, I seized his weak point.
With a metallic clang, my sword struck the Golden Soulstone—without leaving a mark.
"Do you know why you can't defeat me, Ethan Zhang? Only humans can do it. As for ghosts, unless they're strong enough to destroy the Golden Soulstone, it's impossible."
I screamed in agony as my Ghost Soul was crushed in Lance Quinn's grip. The smile vanished from his face. I felt a tearing pain as my Ghost Soul was ripped apart. I spat blood, and Lance Quinn flung me aside. I collapsed limply to the ground.
"Die, Ethan Zhang."
With those words, Lance Quinn lunged at my prone body.
A flash of purple light swept before my eyes, a surge of heat flooded my chest, and a striking figure appeared before me. With a thunderous roar, golden flames suddenly erupted.
Accompanied by the cry of the Vermilion Bird, a pair of golden wings unfurled before me. Rachel Lan floated in front of me.
"Is it just humans? Then let my power as a human cut down you monsters."
Something feels off. Rachel Lan had always been icy toward me before, but now, within that coldness, I felt a trace of warmth.
"Stay back, Ethan Zhang. Otherwise, these flames will be the death of you."
It was purple. I saw Rachel Lan's left eye.
"Roxie, is that you?"
I asked urgently. Rachel Lan smiled, silent, raising the golden Phoenix Blade in her hand and glaring at Lance Quinn, who was writhing on the ground, his body engulfed in golden flames.
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"Heh, so that's how it is?"
Xu Fu burst into laughter, floating upward, staring at Rachel Lan.
"The Four Sacred Realms have long been watching our movements. So when Rachel Lan's good and evil split, they granted power to the evil side, waiting for a chance to spy on something in this world. Even if this power is harmful to revenants, you're still not a match for it."
Lance Quinn stood up, the parts of his body burned away slowly regenerating, like flowing mud.
Clutching my chest, I began using the Specter Web to repair my Ghost Soul.
With a boom, Rachel Lan raised the Phoenix Blade, and a massive flaming phoenix soared toward Lance Quinn and the others.
"Protect what's inside the Black Coffin first."
Xu Fu shouted instantly. In a flash, all the revenants flew over, raising a hand. With a boom, golden flames engulfed the entire gray space, except for the area behind Rachel Lan, which remained untouched.
I had to do something. Rachel Lan alone was far from their match. At that moment, I remembered the vial of blood Yin Choujian had given me.
With two crisp clangs, I saw Luna Quay wielding a silvery sword, already charging forward. The other revenants guarded the Black Coffin, while Tan Tian kept trying to pull out the spike driven into the corpse's chest.
Luna Quay seemed unfazed by the golden flames. She and Rachel Lan clashed repeatedly in midair, but were already at a disadvantage. The flames around Rachel Lan were visibly weaker than before.
"Find a way out, Ethan Zhang."
Just then, Rachel Lan's voice echoed in my mind. I stared at her in astonishment.
I understood immediately—Rachel Lan was buying me time.
I pressed a hand against the gray barrier behind me. I couldn't sense anything—completely cut off from the outside world.
A stream of white energy flowed from my left hand. I began to sense it; as long as I possessed Origin Instinct, I could analyze what this barrier truly was.
"Ethan Zhang, where do you think you're going?"
In an instant, Xu Fu was at my side, gripping my throat.
"Xu Fu..." I roared, and he tore off the purple crystal pendant from my neck.
My eyes widened as he flung me aside and quickly returned to Tan Tian.
"You bastard, what are you trying to do..."
I roared, floating upward, the Evil Ghost on my back howling. I raised Belle and charged at Xu Fu. In the air, Rachel Lan was fading away.
Xu Fu grinned wickedly, pinching the purple crystal pendant between two fingers.
"To destroy a man's resolve, destroy what matters most to him. I dislike complicated things—time is running out."
With a loud crack, my eyes widened. In an instant, my mind went blood-red. The purple crystal shattered to dust before my hands.
Luna Quay stood behind me, sword raised, thrusting at me. My form was already unstable.
With a crash, a glass vial shattered on the ground. I grabbed Luna Quay's thrusting sword, my whole body trembling, my eyes now blood-red.
"So you finally did it, Ethan Zhang. This path leads only to ruin."
Xu Fu smiled as he spoke.
"Ah, even if I become a monster, today..."
I roared, snapping Luna Quay's sword, grabbing Xu Fu's head with one hand, and smashing it hard against the Black Coffin.
With a thunderous crash, the Black Coffin shattered instantly, sending the corpse flying.
"Even if I become a monster, today I will end you all."
"That's how it should be! Come, Ethan Zhang—the final battle begins!"
Xu Fu laughed wildly in the distance, sitting atop the Ghost Corpse. In an instant, five revenants charged at me. I roared, crouching low to the ground.
"Ghost Soul... materialize."
With a boom, the entire world turned pitch black. My body slowly floated upward.