"What are you trying to do, Ethan Zhang?"
All around me, people were frantically fleeing. Beneath my feet, Deathbane Aura kept flowing along the ground, but was severely hindered. I slowly drew Hell's Sentinel and pointed it at Rachel Lan.
"The old you would've intervened in a situation like this."
"That was then, this is now. Ethan Zhang, step aside. I won't repeat myself."
Waves of heat crashed over me. Rachel Lan was already surrounded by golden flames, weaving and merging together, gradually forming the shape of the Vermilion Bird and clinging to her body.
"Vermilion Bird garment... How nostalgic."
I smiled calmly, but my urge to stop Rachel Lan grew stronger. Even if I couldn't use my full strength, I had to stop her. I couldn't stand by and watch her kill anymore.
Rachel Lan, who I am now is just a continuation of what you once did. Because I have to. Evil exists in everyone's heart—mine, and yours too. That's why I must stop you.
The Vermilion Bird cried out. In an instant, a streak of golden flame shot toward me, scorching my face with its burning heat. My skin began to blister and peel, blood and flesh exposed. I leaned back, and with a thunderous roar, a raging fire serpent erupted outward.
"Still trying to stop me? This world will be burned to ashes."
I muttered under my breath and moved my fingers. Behind me, a surge of Deathbane Aura erupted, chilling and crackling as black ice formed. But against the Vermilion Bird's flames, my power could only briefly hold back the surging fire. With a hiss and a snap, I turned into a cloud of black mist, dodging the Phoenix Blade's downward strike.
Since I couldn't stop the flames, I had to change their path. As soon as I reappeared, I raised both hands, Deathbane Aura shifting, and black winds rose up from the ground, forming a barrier around the raging fire. The flames were blocked—even if they could melt ice and evaporate water, they were held back by the wind.
Rachel Lan straightened up, the massive golden wings on her back beating, scattering sparks everywhere. If any of them landed, they would surely ignite.
The houses and streets below could no longer withstand the heat that threatened to melt everything. The ground and buildings began to crack, glass and plastics, even steel, dissolving away.
Black smoke rose from my body—I still couldn't resist this force. My golden-red eyes could keep up with Rachel Lan's speed, but this power was overwhelming.
Suddenly, Rachel Lan raised the Phoenix Blade high, her whole body tilting downward. In an instant, a massive pillar of golden flame shot forth.
A wave of scorching heat swept over me, and my skin and clothes caught fire in an instant. I gripped Belle tightly—my sentient sword—and the Deathbane Aura around me transformed into swirling gusts of Yin wind, wrapping my body.
"You'll die, Ethan. Don't go any closer."
Within the black wind, a pair of red eyes appeared—it was the Curse Ghost. I smiled.
"Aren't you here too, Curse Ghost? I'm counting on you. Curse Mark—activate."
Suddenly, a hand reached through my chest, and a crimson line spread across my entire body. In an instant, my form began to swell, red tendrils like roots covering every inch of me.
With a whoosh, I charged beneath Rachel Lan, gripping Belle with both hands as the Phoenix Blade slashed down at me.
With a thunderous crash, I could barely feel any pain—my body was dissolving, breaking apart. Everything before me was swallowed by golden flames, and a deafening roar filled my ears.
"I told you, Ethan Zhang, if you try to stop me, you will die."
Gritting my teeth, I braced myself against the immense force from above. Rachel Lan's silhouette emerged from the golden flames, her cold, merciless golden eyes drawing close to my forehead.
"Maybe so."
I roared, and in an instant the flames around me were blasted away. Amid the chaotic inferno, black wind blades appeared everywhere, slicing through and dividing the fire.
"You..."
Rachel Lan gasped, and just as she turned her head, my right hand was already gripping the Deathbane Shotgun.
"Rachel Lan, against absolute power, I may not have a chance. But power needs skill—and I'm far more practiced than you. After all, every fight I've survived has been brutal..."
Bang! I pulled the trigger. Rachel Lan was struck and sent flying upward, while the raging black Yin wind blew away the flames suppressing me.
I crouched in midair. Beneath my feet, nothing remained but a giant crater, black smoke billowing up from its depths.
My body began to shrivel as those red, root-like tendrils retracted. I bared my teeth and screamed—my ghost soul growing restless.
Golden light illuminated the sky. I slowly raised my head to look at Rachel Lan. I couldn't hurt her at all. The golden Vermilion Bird garment she wore was completely different from what I'd seen before—except for her face, the rest of her body had taken on the form of the Vermilion Bird, and it was incredibly tough.
"You finally acknowledge me, don't you?"
I gave a bitter smile. The dense Yin energy in the air was starting to lose its hold on me. In my mind, a place filled with swirling gray-yellow mist appeared—the ground was dry and barren, not a blade of grass in sight, and I could hear faint whispers at my ear.
"Do you want to die, Ethan Zhang? Against absolute power, skill means nothing."
Rachel Lan hovered in the air, her wings beating as she advanced toward me.
I smiled faintly and landed on the ground, driving Hell's Sentinel into the earth with a metallic clang.
Let me show you what it's like—how I, Ethan Zhang, fight as a true demon.
In an instant, Rachel Lan lunged at me. I knelt on the ground, clutching my chest. Only now did I begin to understand what Yin Choujian had taught me—and what he truly intended.
Within my ghost soul, thirteen ghost gates converged at my left chest, gathering power. My right hand pressed against my chest, and the force inside me surged.
"Unleash the full ghost soul..."
A gust roared. My seven ghost souls instantly separated from my body. Rachel Lan stopped and hesitated, watching me.
Behind me floated seven versions of myself—three women, four men—each with a different expression. Their cloaks fluttered wildly in the heat.
"Miss Xishi, this next part may hurt a bit. Bear with it."
I slowly raised Belle, left hand gripping the hilt, right hand pinching the tip.
"It's time to let go and fight for real. What do you all think?"
"Whatever you say, Ethan."
Ling Snake waved his hand, and patches of dark red snake scales appeared on everyone's cloaks.
With a crack and a woman's soft cry, Belle snapped in my hands.
"Split..."
Ling Snake shouted, and instantly, pink streams of energy flowed from the broken Belle, condensing in the hands of all eight of us.
My right hand gripped Belle—no different than before.
"Venomous Snake's Fang."
Ling Snake held a half-meter long, tapered sword, a golden snake coiled around its blade, its tongue flickering at the hilt.
"Chilling Wind, Severed Sorrow..."
A deliberately dramatic voice rang out. With a whoosh, a fierce wind blew, and in the hands of Curse Ghost appeared a pair of daggers—the left dagger was black like the wind, the right was razor-sharp and white.
"Heh, mine? You can't see it—Seven Passions and Six Desires..."
Desire Ghost's voice sounded young and cheerful. She laughed, and something invisible flowed between her hands.
"Phoenix Blade... Vermilion Bird garment..."
I turned in surprise. Black flames ignited on Zhu Tang's body, and a vicious screech rang out. A black Vermilion Bird appeared on Zhu Tang, its bright white eyes chilling, and a black Phoenix Blade materialized in his hand.
Curse Ghost beside me looked pale. She raised her right hand, and I saw crimson spikes sprouting from it, her hand glowing red like crystal, shining brilliantly.
"Curse Mark Starlock..."
With a sizzle, red root-like chains wrapped around Curse Ghost's body. Her hand crackled, turning into a red crystal block.
"What now? You two brothers, still holding back?"
I glanced at Resentful Ghost and Grieving Ghost. Both still looked bashful.
"Your turn. I'll make my entrance last."
Resentful Ghost spoke, and Grieving Ghost suddenly sprawled on the ground. A split opened on his back, and I gradually saw rows of chilling white teeth.
"Hundred Mouths..."
Suddenly, Grieving Ghost's body was covered in mouths, densely packed across his form. The mouths closest to the ground began to chew on something.
"Alright, finally, it's my turn."
Resentful Ghost sneered and raised his hands.
"Nebula Shroud."
In an instant, I saw Resentful Ghost's body turn into black mist. But it wasn't ordinary mist—it looked like swirling nebulae, clouds winding around all of us.