I kept coughing up fresh blood, my whole body unbearably heavy. This overwhelming power was far too much for me now—I could barely stand. With a crash, my hand slammed down onto the ground, and the floor immediately shattered beneath me.
At that moment, I sensed Cao Wanzhi was far away from me—he seemed to have put some distance between us.
“Hmph, Ethan Zhang, so you’ve invoked Phoenix Rebirth. I didn’t expect you to risk your own life. But that’s fine, just as it should be. Hahaha, your body can’t handle it anymore, can it? All I need to do is wait for you to collapse.”
I roared, charging toward the direction where Cao Wanzhi was, transforming into a dark red flame. I couldn’t afford to drag this out—if I did, I’d be finished.
“So fast...”
Cao Wanzhi immediately tossed away his camera and tried to run, but I didn’t give him the chance. I grabbed his throat, and in an instant, he turned to ashes in my hand. At the same time, I noticed the intense heat had begun to flood his Shadow Realm. All around, the rows of Photo Studios were ablaze.
Yet the ashes in front of me weren’t really Cao Wanzhi—he’d hidden himself again. Suddenly, a crackling sound came from behind. Instantly, I was flipping through the air, wings beating, hanging upside down in the sky. With a rush and a crash, I charged toward the source of the sound.
The buildings and ground instantly turned to ash. The surface was covered in dark red lava, slowly flowing.
“Come out!”
I roared again, then shot into the air. My wings folded, then snapped open with a swish, sending dark red flaming feathers hurtling in every direction. In an instant, explosions erupted all around me, and the world was consumed by fire.
I coughed up blood again—my limit was near. If I didn’t finish him off soon, I really would collapse, just as he said.
Cao Wanzhi didn’t dare speak now. I scanned the area—multiple streams of ghostly energy surrounded me, and their numbers kept growing, far more than usual. Strangely, every stream felt exactly the same.
I knew this was Cao Wanzhi’s trick—he was stalling for time, hoping I’d collapse before he made his move. I couldn’t waste another second. I charged toward a cluster of ghostly energy nearby, took a deep breath, and with a whoosh, unleashed a wave of dark red flames, reducing the Photo Studios below to ashes.
Cao Wanzhi’s Shadow Realm was filled with Photo Studios, all old and decrepit. Much of the ghostly energy vanished, then quickly reappeared in abundance. I kept moving, but my body grew so heavy I was forced to descend.
I raised a hand, hurling fireballs in every direction. I knew I couldn’t pinpoint Cao Wanzhi’s exact location, but I had no choice—I couldn’t fly anymore. The wings on my back grew larger, wild power spilling out from within me.
My body felt like it was about to give out. Amid the chaos of the fireballs, I discovered I could sense ghostly energy even more clearly than when I was a ghost. I kept my eyes shut, focusing—there was a seemingly endless power inside me. For now, I didn’t need to worry about Cao Wanzhi getting close.
No matter how many identical streams of ghostly energy Cao Wanzhi created, there would always be subtle differences. I had to find the ones that were out of place.
“What are you trying to do? Ethan Zhang, your body really can’t take it.”
The Vermilion Bird immediately warned me. Clenching my teeth in pain, I bared my teeth and extended my left hand, transforming it into a ghostly form. I could only rely on the Spirit Snake to generate Deathbane Aura Snakes and use them to track the scent. Even if it was just for a moment, I had to sense it.
Sure enough, as soon as my left hand turned ghostly, the Deathbane Aura was instantly burned away by the searing flames. I quickly released a Deathbane Aura Snake—and suddenly, I caught a clear scent from above me.
“Cao Wanzhi, go to hell!”
I roared, shooting upward with fierce determination. Massive flaming wings supported me from behind as I blazed forward, smashing through a wall with a crash. Then, with a thunderous boom, I burst into a room.
“Oh my god...”
It was a dimly lit room, glowing faintly red. Cao Wanzhi was there, developing photos nonstop. I couldn’t wait—I charged at him, fist raised, ready to strike.
With a crash, explosions erupted all around. I had truly struck Cao Wanzhi, but pain shot through my entire body—my arms could no longer lift at all.
I cried out in shock, staring at my left hand—it had turned into flaming ashes, steadily dissipating.
“Still not dead?”
I immediately sensed that Cao Wanzhi was still clinging to life. I dove down, right fist raised, ready to strike again. But in that instant, all the flames on my body vanished. Cao Wanzhi stared at me in terror, his clothes in tatters. Then, realizing what was happening, he quickly raised his camera.
“Move, damn it...”
With a click, I suddenly turned into a cloud of mist and was transported far away.
With a snap, Cao Wanzhi’s camera shattered in his hand. I raised my hand—black Deathbane Aura had destroyed his camera. I landed, fully transformed into a ghost.
Just then, a tiger’s roar rang out—Claire Zhang, finally freed from her restraints, lunged at me.
I didn’t hesitate—my wings spread wide and I took to the air. Cao Wanzhi looked barely alive, struggling to get up.
“Ethan Zhang, you...”
In an instant, Cao Wanzhi glared at me, furious, pointing a finger at me.
“All the power I’ve built up over the years, and you used it to destroy more than ten ghost souls. Well done, Ethan Zhang. Hmph. But what’s your next move?”
With that, Cao Wanzhi slowly stood up. Suddenly, countless copies of him appeared all around, each holding a camera and pointing it at me.
“If you get locked up again, Ethan Zhang, don’t expect to escape. Let’s continue.”
“Is that so? Heh, it’s true—if you trap me again, I really won’t be able to get out. But just as you have a way to lock me up, I have a way to prevent it from happening.”
As I spoke, I raised my hand and shouted.
“Ten Thousand Snakes...”
Instantly, my body seemed to melt like mud, splattering in all directions and transforming into countless Deathbane Aura Snakes. Watching Cao Wanzhi constantly developing photos and creating ghostly copies of himself gave me the idea—if he could confuse me, I could avoid being photographed myself.
The real me was hidden among the swarm of snakes—a vast, black mass of Deathbane Aura Snakes surged toward Cao Wanzhi. With a click, swathes of snakes vanished, but I’d found Cao Wanzhi’s blind spot and avoided being captured in his photo.
The snake swarm scattered, mouths agape. Whenever they got close to Cao Wanzhi, they bit down hard. In an instant, a fake Cao Wanzhi turned into a block of black ice and shattered, while another was devoured by the snakes.
What mattered most to me now was finding the real Cao Wanzhi. He didn’t want to fight—he only wanted to trap me.
Meanwhile, the tiger that Claire Zhang had become was leaping around, devouring Deathbane Aura Snakes without hesitation. I could still control the snakes, but my power was scattered. If Claire kept this up, it would start to affect her.
This was my biggest problem now—I had to keep Claire Zhang under control before I could focus on finding Cao Wanzhi.
“Damn it, don’t get too cocky, Ethan Zhang. You really think I can’t beat you?”
Just then, Cao Wanzhi appeared, floating in the air, holding a camera. With a click, he crushed it in his hand.
At first, I was startled. Then Cao Wanzhi pulled out a thin, awl-like sword from his coat—almost like a rapier. He held it before him, and suddenly, all the ghostly energy around me vanished. From above, I sensed a massive surge of ghostly power.
“This method may go against my partner’s wishes, but I’ve got no choice. I’ll beat you down first, then we’ll talk.”
As he spoke, Cao Wanzhi raised his rapier in his right hand, lifted his left, and struck a fencing pose, grinning.
Just then, I heard a click—the sound of a photo being taken. Claire Zhang had already been trapped inside a photograph. I couldn’t help but feel confused.
“What do you mean by this?”
All around, the massive snake swarm began to gather, and my form gradually emerged from within.
“I told you, there’s no hidden meaning. That girl is important to a certain experiment for the Immortality Society. So, it’s best to keep the tools safe, isn’t it? If they break, it’s trouble. What comes next is far more important.”