I stared quietly at John Chou. At this moment, his body was undergoing subtle changes—the first sign was his hair, which began to grow longer, and then his black hair turned a vivid blood-red.
The voluminous, lengthening hair stopped only when it reached his waist. The wind whipped his blood-red locks, making them flow like liquid crimson—eerily unnatural.
Veins of blood-red streaked across John Chou’s paper-white face, crawling from his black left eye and spreading over the left cheek down to his neck. His right eye blazed crimson, and fine cracks appeared all over his skin.
John Chou now looked utterly evil—his upper and lower jaws each revealed two sharp fangs, interlocking tightly. His ears grew pointed, transforming him into a living demon. The last time I saw him like this was when he first unleashed his instinct to kill.
I clung desperately to Lan Yin. The curse power hadn’t dissipated—it was still trying to drag him under.
“This is what it means to lose everything, Lan Yin. Your plan was ingenious—trading with all the sects to piece together the structure and method for the Sun-Moon Transformation Array. But what you didn’t expect was that, as the vessel, you simply can’t bear such immense power. After all, those of the Hades Circle are reborn after their bodies are destroyed, but the new body is not much different from the old. So your flesh can’t be strengthened. No matter how much you reinforce your soul, it’s futile—there’s a chasm here you can never cross.”
Lan Yin gazed quietly at John Chou, not speaking, only shaking his head slightly. I knew Lan Yin’s heart was already dead—his long-prepared plan had utterly failed, built on a choice so painful it left him hollow.
“Hurry, John Chou—I’m losing my grip on Lan Yin!”
I shouted, my hands clutching Lan Yin nearly slipping free. The white veil Lan Ruoxi had cast around us was fraying, thread by thread.
John Chou could only wave his hand helplessly.
"I did it, Rachel. Vermilion Phoenix Spirit, do you have a way to open the sealed exit for us?"
I shouted, but the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit on my right shoulder only shook its head.
"There's nothing I can do, Ethan Zhang."
I clenched my teeth. As we landed on the Spirit Snake's back, my eyes widened, staring silently at the curse power surging up from below. It was collapsing bit by bit. Red cracks appeared on the black surface of the curse sea below. Though I couldn't see clearly, the curse power was exploding—little by little.
The black, invisible particles that made up the curse power kept bursting, and the curse itself was crumbling.
"Such useful power, that John Chou."
The Wraithlord's voice echoed in my mind. Beside me, Rachel Lan sat at Lan Yin's side, one hand pressed to his chest. Lan Yin's body was shriveled, too weak to even speak.
A thunderous roar sounded. Massive currents of curse power suddenly surged up toward us. With a whoosh, John Chou blocked our path, waving his hands. The black streams of curse power that nearly reached us turned to stone in an instant, then began to crack, falling like rain onto the world below.
The strength within me was being drained bit by bit, but more power kept surging out from my body. The Vermilion Phoenix Spirit on my shoulder stared silently at John Chou.
"What exactly are you after, John Chou? You've already thrown the order of Yin and Yang into chaos—what do you really want?"
The Vermilion Phoenix Spirit asked sharply. John Chou chuckled, his hands still manipulating the Bloodbane Power. I’d never seen anything like it before. Though I knew Bloodbane Power’s nature—its ability to collapse other forces—now it seemed somehow different.
"But John Chou won’t last much longer. This kind of exhausting power can’t be sustained. If it goes on too long, his body won’t hold up."
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Just as the Wraithlord finished speaking, my head buzzed and my chest felt like it was burning. I clutched my chest, grimacing in pain as I looked at John Chou.
On the surface of the sea, the black curse currents suddenly surged into towering waves, raging toward us. John Chou raised his right hand, forming a blade. Blood-red particles swirled around him.
"Looks like this is it, brother. They’ve found me—I’ll have to retreat for now."
With a whoosh, as the black curse currents surged toward us, John Chou swung his right hand. My eyes widened, but my legs buckled and I collapsed onto the Spirit Snake’s back, my strength drained in an instant.
The immense curse power split in two. I stared in shock at the black sea below, where a vast chasm appeared, blood-red streaks seemingly preventing the curse from reuniting. The sound of explosions echoed across the surface.
John Chou returned to his normal form, drifting over to us, his expression somewhere between a smile and a sneer.
"Brother, I can hold out for ten more minutes at most. In that time, either find a way out or a solution."
I nodded slightly. With a roar, I looked down in astonishment. On the black surface of the sea, a massive fiend formed from blood-red particles appeared, its huge hands pressing against the walls of water that threatened to close the chasm.
John Chou’s figure gradually faded from view. A trace of blood-red particles entered my body.
"Woman, if you want to help Ethan Zhang, answer the voice inside your body."
John Chou spoke suddenly, his form dissolving into blood-red particles that entered my body. Rachel Lan looked up at me in shock.
The whole black sea was split in two. Thanks to the massive fiend, a strange chasm appeared on the surface, and the water couldn’t come together.
"So that’s the fiend’s true power! Looks like we were wrong."
The Vermilion Phoenix Spirit muttered in a daze. I turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?"
I stared quietly at the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit. Her words were ambiguous. The Wraithlord’s voice sounded in my mind.
"Hurry, Ethan Zhang. There isn’t much time."
I nodded, and once my strength recovered a little, I got to my feet and looked around. The four Forsaken drew near.
"Try this."
001 reached out, her hand holding the Thorn of Imagination, which glowed with a dark red light. I immediately grasped it. Rachel Lan’s face was pale; she clutched her forehead, her body undergoing some change that left her stunned.
The massive chasm on the sea surface began to shrink. Time was running out. I gripped the Thorn of Imagination and sat down, activating the power of coexistence.
"Are you prepared to risk your life, Ethan Zhang?"
At that moment, the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit suddenly spoke. I turned and nodded at once. Rachel Lan grabbed my arm as soon as she heard.
"Ethan."
"This curse power will flow into the Living World. Things have already gone beyond our expectations."
Just then, the Spirit Snake twisted its head around; its golden, diamond-shaped eyes glared at the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit, full of anger.
"Is this how you intend to handle things?"
I looked at the Spirit Snake in confusion. Its anger only grew.
"Please calm yourself, Viper. Lan Yin has done something irreversible, so we closed all touchpoints between the Living World and the world of light—including your passage."
I stared at the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit in a daze, a surge of anger rising from deep within me.
"Is it really so hard to trust? Even though I’m basically the same as you—a Sacred Spirit—it’d be better if you all just disappeared. You can’t even manage the most basic trust... You—"
"Enough fighting."
Suddenly, Rachel Lan stood up and shouted, swaying as she clutched her forehead. I jumped up to steady her.
"Let’s restore the world’s beauty, Ethan. This is something I have to do."
"This curse power will flow into the Living World. Things have already gone beyond our expectations."
Just then, the Spirit Snake twisted its head around; its golden, diamond-shaped eyes glared at the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit, full of anger.
"Is this how you intend to handle things?"
I looked at the Spirit Snake in confusion. Its anger only grew.
"Please calm yourself, Viper. Lan Yin has done something irreversible, so we closed all touchpoints between the Living World and the world of light—including your passage."
I stared at the Vermilion Phoenix Spirit in a daze, a surge of anger rising from deep within me.
"Is it really so hard to trust? Even though I’m basically the same as you—a Sacred Spirit—it’d be better if you all just disappeared. You can’t even manage the most basic trust... You—"
"Enough fighting."
Suddenly, Rachel Lan stood up and shouted, swaying as she clutched her forehead. I jumped up to steady her.
"Let’s restore the world’s beauty, Ethan. This is something I have to do."