I didn't know who this Zachary Justice Xu Fu was talking about, but looking at John Chou's face at that moment, I saw anger—true anger. It was the first time I'd ever seen John Chou like this. Normally, he'd wear a half-smile, always calm and collected no matter what, but now, because of someone Xu Fu mentioned, he was genuinely furious. I could sense a sharp aura radiating from him, ghostly energy surging, blood-red particles swirling around his body.
"So... you can get angry too, John Chou. Nice expression!"
On screen, Xu Fu stepped back and sat down in a chair, lounging with one arm propping up his chin, his eyes wicked as he stared at us.
"Who exactly is Zachary Justice?"
"So you don't know, Ethan Zhang. Zachary Justice was the one who changed some of John Chou's beliefs—a third-rate Taoist who died for his plan, died to kill me, and served as a sacrifice for Bloodshade."
Suddenly, the anger vanished from John Chou's face; there wasn't a trace of it left.
"Could you please shut up, Xu Fu?"
"If you want to negotiate with me, you'd better make sure the cards in your hand are strong enough."
Xu Fu stood up and slowly walked toward the screen. With a hiss, the image cut out. Then, the person holding the laptop seemed to become Xu Fu in a daze. He tossed the computer aside and sat down in front of us. I immediately became alert and released the Specter Web.
"No need to worry, Ethan Zhang. This time, I'm here alone to negotiate, representing the Immortality Society."
John Chou sat down, twisted open a bottle of liquor, and started drinking by himself. Xu Fu took one too.
"Not having a drink?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of John Chou's mouth.
"There's really no need anymore."
I stared at John Chou, wondering if he was really thinking of working with Xu Fu. If he actually released the Wraithlord's Earth Soul and handed it to the Immortality Society, things would get extremely bad.
I glanced out the window. Waves of immense power kept transmitting through the air. I could clearly sense that, dozens of kilometers away, it had already become a battlefield—probably the Immortality Society ambushing the Taoists and Buddhists, with Lu Zhi Dao joining the fight.
"You don't want to see the world torn apart by war either, do you, John Chou? In the past, our grudges were only between ghosts and the Immortality Society. Those little skirmishes in the darkness were harmless contests. But one day, we'll have to settle things—the winner lives, the loser dies. Now, though, this war will drag both humans and ghosts into an endless vortex called war."
John Chou sneered and shook his head.
"Get to the point."
"After all, if humans and ghosts descend into total chaos, our immortality plan will be ruined too. So I have a proposal: let the Immortality Society absorb the hatred from both sides. What do you think?"
"Nonsense."
I immediately spoke up. I no longer had any illusions about Xu Fu's slick talk.
Xu Fu smiled at me.
"Only the Immortality Society would take on such a thankless task. There's no other opportunity like this. Hand over the Wraithlord's Earth Soul to us, return the Human Soul to Emperor God and his people, and we'll keep the Wraithlord's Earth Soul indefinitely, never returning it to Emperor God. Then, the Underworld Court and Old Hell will only come after us, and the war can be completely avoided, right? I think you know as well as I do—at a time like this, only a third party can calm this war, and we're willing to be that third party."
"Xu Fu, you talk a better game than you sing. Heh."
I sneered, my tone flippant, then sat down and twisted open a bottle of liquor, gulping it down.
"This isn't a joke, Ethan Zhang. We have ways to evade the Underworld Court and Old Hell—they can't track us at all. Back then, you only found our base because of Zachary Justice. From the start, we were interested in Taoists, so you deliberately let Zachary Justice die at Wu's hands, and we took his body and soul for research. But during that process, he used a special method to reveal our stronghold to the Seven Ghost Sovereigns. With our people scattered, you nearly wiped us out. Decades of research were lost, and it took centuries to recover. Ruthless, John Chou—you're every bit our equal."
I looked at John Chou. He just drank quietly, face unreadable, unmoved by it all.
"Of course, we wouldn't ask you to help for nothing. We'll return Zachary Justice to you and help you reclaim your Bloodshade power. Even if Ksitigarbha gives you access to the Sanzu Force, you'll need a lot of help to regain your Bloodshade power, won't you?"
The room fell silent. Xu Fu was still waiting for John Chou's answer, while I tried to process what Xu Fu had just said about that Taoist, Zachary Justice—someone I had no memory of.
Most of what Xu Fu said was probably a lie. Just then, John Chou stood up.
"It's about time. I'll agree to your request, Xu Fu—just this once."
I stared in shock, unable to believe what John Chou had just said.
"What exactly are you trying to do, John Chou?"
I couldn't help but recall when Yuna Ji asked John Chou about war—he'd seemed so disgusted by it then.
"As long as you understand."
I shot to my feet, staring at John Chou as Endbringer's power surged out of me, my hand gripping Endbringer.
"I absolutely won't allow this to happen. War is the only medicine that can wake the numb human and ghost worlds, isn't it?"
John Chou looked up, calm and composed, and said to me:
"Brother, let's talk about this when we get there."
In the darkness, the three of us were already floating in midair. I glared furiously over my shoulder.
"Why am I carrying you, Xu Fu? Aren't you supposed to be so capable? Why not just run over yourself?"
Xu Fu burst out laughing on my back.
"Can't be helped, Ethan Zhang. No matter what, I'm still human. I can't fly through the living world like a ghost, and I'm not from the Arts Circle—I don't know any spells."
"You'd better give me a good explanation, John Chou."
I stared coldly at John Chou flying ahead. He just smirked and silently sped up, clearly taking a detour to avoid the now-battlefield road to Mount Immeasurable.
Soon, I saw flashes of dazzling golden light and heard explosions, with violent air currents swirling chaotically.
Streaks of bright red light kept crossing the battlefield—there were a lot of them. I sensed many Immortality Society members locked in fierce combat with the Arts Circle.
"We're going down, brother."
As John Chou spoke, he started descending toward the ground. As we got close, beams of golden light appeared in the forest, and a host of primordial spirits flew toward us.
"Take a good look—what's this?"
John Chou held up a hand, gripping a small, white, luminous stone. I stared wide-eyed as Xu Fu laughed excitedly behind me.
The hostile primordial spirits quickly parted, then vanished into the ground. John Chou kept holding the glowing stone, about the size of a baby's fist, irregular and softly shining, pulsing with gentle white light.
"I knew you'd have something up your sleeve, John Chou. You always do. Do you know why we abandoned our old base after all?"
John Chou said nothing. My suspicion only deepened—the stone in his hand radiated an incredible, pure power, but also a sense of overwhelming righteousness.
A cave appeared in the rock wall ahead.
"We've arrived. Go in here—this is Mount Immeasurable."
We entered the cave. Instantly, the entrance vanished, becoming solid rock. John Chou held up the glowing stone and led us deeper.
I was still deep in thought, wondering what John Chou was planning.
I could sense Xu Fu behind me, just as doubtful and deeply mistrustful.
"So, Xu Fu, is this your real body this time, or just a proxy?"
John Chou asked, stopping in his tracks.
"It's a proxy—why? Only my consciousness is in this body."
"Then I'm sorry to tell you, you can't enter Nine Yin. Only this body can pass through, but your consciousness will be excluded."
As John Chou spoke, a dazzling light appeared before us. We exited the cave to a small upward slope, with a giant gourd at the top, surrounded by racks covered in green vines. Overhead was a bright, clear sky—though it was night, Mount Immeasurable looked like this.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Starshard Radiance—one of its wills represents reality. Only what is real can pass through the Nine Yin and Nine Yang gateway. The real thing in this body isn't you—it's the Blue-Faced Man's consciousness. So you can't pass through."
Xu Fu stared intently at John Chou, trying to judge the truth of his words.
"If you don't believe me, whatever. I'll just take Ethan Zhang down first."