Strands of pale blue air currents, like ribbons, wrapped around Xu Fu's body. Suddenly, he turned his head, his golden-red eyes staring intently at Phantom Sage behind him.
"These things might work on someone like Ethan Zhang, but for pure evil like us, they're meaningless!"
With a buzzing sound, all of us saw it instantly—a black phantom appeared behind Xu Fu. Its black eyes radiated pure malice; in those eyes, there was nothing but absolute evil.
With a thunderous crash, Phantom Sage's eyes widened as he was sent flying backward, now sporting two gaping holes in his body. Xu Fu's raised fists were beginning to smoke.
"Thanks to you, John Chou, for locking me in there. Where is the limit for humans—or rather, for us villains? I've found it, and..."
As Xu Fu spoke, he hunched over and turned his head. In his deep, gold-red eyes full of evil, a surge of extreme wickedness could be seen.
With a boom, Xu Fu confronted Phantom Sage and Tan Tian. Both Phantom Sage and Tan Tian acted at the same time, but were sent flying backward.
"Path of Ultimate Evil... Collapse Fist..."
With a thunderous crash, Xu Fu aimed a punch at Divine Law.
The rumbling echoed as the red clouds around Divine Law instantly dissipated. A massive crack appeared on Divine Law, and then the whole sphere split in two. I stared in shock at Xu Fu's blow; everyone was stunned by his punch.
"Aren't you getting a little too carried away, Xu Fu?"
Emperor God stood behind Xu Fu, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"I'm not like those Ghost Sovereigns, because I'm human..."
With a thunderous crash, Emperor God widened his eyes, spat blood, and was sent flying. Xu Fu, half-crouched, suddenly turned and smashed a fist into Emperor God's chest, caving it in completely.
Divine Law had split completely in two. A violent beam of white light suddenly descended, and just as it was about to strike Xu Fu, he hunched over, raising his fist to meet it.
"Divine Law? Hahaha, this is just too interesting."
With a boom, Xu Fu's fist instantly transformed Divine Law's counterattack into white mist.
"I've said it before—I'm human. So Divine Law does restrain me a little, but I'm a villain, far beyond the scope Divine Law can restrain. This is amazing, everything here... hahaha..."
"Are you here to close the net, Xu Fu?"
Tan Tian stood coldly before Xu Fu, but Xu Fu immediately raised a finger, shook his head, and spoke.
"Although I now have the power to kill those Ghost Sovereigns below—after all, we are mortal enemies—but..."
Xu Fu looked at us with a crazed, evil intoxication.
"Without you, this world would be so boring. Well then, now..."
Xu Fu clutched his chest, shouting excitedly.
"I hereby officially announce, on behalf of the Immortality Society, that we are formally joining this war! Let chaos reign! Will it be you Ghost Sovereigns of the Underworld, or the Old Hell, or us, the Immortality Society, who survive in this utter chaos? Hahaha..."
Xu Fu laughed madly, raising his hands, his face twisted with excitement.
"So, do you want to die here now?"
Emperor God, Sylvia Yan, and Phantom Sage surrounded Xu Fu. With a swoosh, Xu Fu appeared in front of me again, then shook his head.
"The thing that brought utter chaos has already split in two."
Xu Fu pointed at the distant Divine Law, already split in two by his punch, and continued to laugh uncontrollably.
"Now it's your turn to perform, Ethan Zhang. I'll watch this last act closely, and at the same time..."
Xu Fu turned his head and looked at John Chou.
"How about we settle our grudge in this insane war, John Chou? You want to kill everyone in the Immortality Society, right? After all, Zachary Justice died by my hand. His last hope was also crushed completely by me."
With a creaking sound, Xu Fu clenched his fist and gestured in front of John Chou. John Chou slapped Xu Fu's hand away and then laughed coldly.
"It's not certain who will win, Xu Fu. Do you really think victory is yours? This so-called limit of villains is just a joke. I'll show you the truth with my actions."
Xu Fu kept laughing madly, shaking his head over and over.
"Go on, Ethan Zhang. I want to see it again—the brilliance that can shine all the way into my heart. It's so dazzling."
Xu Fu actually started crying. I continued to watch him calmly as he covered his eyes, his face still twisted in madness.
"None of you should think about leaving."
As Emperor God spoke, his two mustaches began to tremble slightly.
"I'm not stupid enough to challenge all of you on my own. As I just said, by joining this war, I represent the Immortality Society. What about you—do you agree? After all, the Immortality Society refers to all thirteen of us; that's what makes it the Immortality Society."
In an instant, everyone's gaze shifted to the left. Xu Fu darted over, and in that very moment, handed something to John Chou.
"Snakes have their own way, mice have theirs. Since you can come here, why can't we? Right?"
A streak of red light suddenly flashed. Everyone's eyes widened as a large character for 'Order' appeared in the air—the power of the Underworld.
"Those bastards from the Underworld—not only us, but they've also bought off the Immortality Society?"
Ouyang Meng spat on the ground in disgust.
"Hahaha, well, now we're all here. Everything is in place."
As Xu Fu spoke, I saw twelve gold-masked figures take off their masks, while Mie swung the chains in his hands, making a whooshing sound.
Red spheres of light appeared in the space—these were the Ten Yama Kings.
"The audience has gathered. All right, you can begin your performance. This is just the opening ceremony of this immense war. Let you be the blood sacrifice for the opening, Ethan Zhang. Hahaha, just an ant smashed in the whirlpool of power."
I calmly watched Xu Fu and the other members of the Immortality Society. Their expressions varied, but the look on their faces was the same—as if possessed by evil spirits. The malice radiating from them was so strong you could sense it even from afar. They were truly repulsive, even more venomous than evil ghosts.
"Aside from 'evil,' I can't find another word to describe you."
"Take it as the highest compliment, Ethan Zhang. I never thought you'd choose self-sacrifice at the last moment—just like Zachary Justice."
Wang Qi spoke, and the other members of the Immortality Society began to jeer. Lu Lingming clenched his fist and sneered.
"It's the final moment, so it doesn't matter. Lao Chongyuan, don't you have something to say to Ethan Zhang? Hurry up, or there won't be anything left of him soon and you'll lose your chance."
Lao Chongyuan slowly stepped out from among the thirteen, coming up to me. The tension was intense. Behind me, the Ghost Sovereigns glared angrily at the ten red lights representing the Ten Judges.
"Take this as the best reward I—or rather, the Immortality Society—can offer for kicking off this great war. The members of the Burial Ghost Squad will be allowed to return unharmed. They're all still alive, so rest assured, there won't be any problems."
I quietly watched Lao Chongyuan as he turned away, a look of helplessness in his eyes.
"Is this the charity of villains, or mercy?"
"Is this the charity of villains, or mercy?"
Lao Chongyuan turned back and smiled slightly, then continued speaking.
"It's neither the mercy nor the charity of villains. As the first director of the Burial Ghost Squad—or rather, another side of myself—this is what I've always hoped for. After all, someone must take on this work. In these moments of peace before the war begins, goodbye, Ethan Zhang. This may be the last time. From the first time I met you, I was deeply interested; the light you carry is unlike anything I've seen. The only other time I witnessed it was at Zachary Justice's death. You and he are very much alike, Ethan Zhang..."
I quietly watched John Chou as he pressed a small orb into my hand. Instantly, my eyes widened.
"Show them what you want to do. These people may never understand just how terrifying humans can be."
"Stop fighting—it's meaningless now. I didn't expect all ten of you to come, and even join forces with the Immortality Society. Quite a trick, just like old times, Ten Judges."
With a thunderous crash, Emperor God's fury shook the entire space. Red clouds once again surrounded Divine Law, which was now much smaller than before—some of it must have been shifted to the shadow world. Clutching the orb in my hand, I suddenly heard two voices in my head.
"The Dao always remains..."
"Buddha abides..."
I stared in astonishment, then looked up at the furious Tan Tian. The members of the Immortality Society began to withdraw, keeping their distance and clearly not planning to intervene.
"Careful—it's Buddha and Dao. They've used Xu Fu as a medium to guide the darkness of Buddha and Dao into this place."
Tan Tian shouted, and Emperor God and Phantom Sage turned to look at me. I raised the iridescent orb in my hand and swallowed it whole.