A surge of uncontrollable rage shot straight to my head. Gritting my teeth, I glared at Xu Fu, who was smiling across from me, the Blood Jade swaying in his hand.
"Of course it was Earthly Soul Ethan Zhang who gave it to me. It wasn't stolen by us—he handed it over of his own accord."
Fury flushed my face red. The only thing clear in my mind was what the future long-haired Ethan Zhang had warned me about—it happened. He told me not to hand the Blood Jade over to the Earthly Soul.
"Why?"
"Because I forced him, of course."
Xu Fu burst out laughing, but then his expression darkened as he lowered his voice and continued.
"Just kidding."
"You bastard."
I roared and lunged at Xu Fu. My Belle slashed toward his head, but with a crisp clang, a single finger stopped my blade. A violent wave of Deathbane Aura exploded to the sides. Tan Tian immediately raised both hands; with a guttural sound, the aura vanished in an instant.
"If that's all the strength you have, you can't hurt me. Now hand it over—it's useless to you anyway."
With a thunderous crash, I was sent flying backward, landing hard on the ground. I heard a splash behind me and turned to see a woman with her hair tied back, strikingly androgynous, high cheekbones, broad forehead, and a strong, athletic build. She quickly moved to Xu Fu's side.
"Enough playing around, Xu Fu. Finish this quickly."
"Wu, you’re back already? How’s the battle going?"
Warren Qi asked, but Wu ignored him. She looked at me and spoke in a commanding voice.
"Hand it over."
I glanced behind me—I was already standing at the edge of the central pool, with nowhere left to retreat. Not a single one of these opponents was someone I could handle.
With Tan Tian and Luna Quay here, they must have done something, which is why the Underworld Court still hasn’t noticed. Their target is the Blood Jade.
"Hey, Ethan Zhang, hurry up and think of a way to save me! I don’t want to spend another second with this bunch of lunatics."
A raspy, duck-like voice came from the Blood Jade clutched in Xu Fu's hand.
But my mind was elsewhere, thinking about Huang Mingfa’s death and how it resembled Chen Miaoqiang’s before. The only similarity was that other Immortality Society members were nearby.
"Was this all planned from the start?"
I asked, but Xu Fu didn't answer, just smiled quietly.
"Let me handle this, Ethan Zhang. We have a certain fate between us."
Warren Qi stood up, holding a Golden Vortex Mask. He slowly placed it on his face—a vortex on the left, the half-face of a qilin on the right.
"Then I won’t hold back, Ethan Zhang."
With a snap, Warren Qi put on the mask. In an instant, he appeared beneath me, raising a fist. My eyes widened—at that moment, I sensed an overwhelming surge of Ghost Aura behind me.
With a bang, the violent air currents sent the green water splashing everywhere.
"What do you mean, you won't hold back?"
"Lord Tai Shan."
I muttered in surprise. Lord Tai Shan stood beside me, cheeks flushed and looking slightly tipsy.
Warren Qi crouched on the ground, clutching his right hand, glaring furiously at Lord Tai Shan.
"In front of this king, you should kneel."
With a buzz, Xu Fu and the others suddenly bent their knees, slowly kneeling toward the ground.
With a bang, everything came to an abrupt halt—the force pressing down on Xu Fu and the others vanished instantly. Tan Tian floated in the air, one hand raised.
"So, it’s you, the unclean one."
Lord Tai Shan glanced at Tan Tian. I saw Xu Fu and the others take out their Golden Vortex Masks, but Xu Fu’s was different—a huge vortex, birth was a deer, death was a wolf, Lao Chongyuan was a tiger, Wu was a fox.
"For the will of immortality."
Xu Fu spoke, and the others immediately echoed him.
Lord Tai Shan burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"You villains—today, I’ll deal with your crimes myself!"
With a crash, Tan Tian charged forward, a vertical maw opening on his chest.
"Man-Eating."
Suddenly, Lord Tai Shan vanished from my sight, and Tan Tian floated before me, his body swelling larger and larger.
"Attack."
With a rush of wind, Mie and Warren Qi appeared before me, reaching out to grab me. My right hand raised the Spectral Shotgun, my left gripped Belle, both aimed at them.
With two sharp clangs, two figures appeared on either side of me—Mr. Black and Mr. White, the Twin Reapers.
Two thuds—I felt someone grab the back of my collar. When I came to, I was far from the central platform of the pool.
"Good, we made it in time."
"Judge Cui."
I stared at Cui Jue in surprise—he’d vanished earlier. The Twin Reapers were now fighting Warren Qi and Mie, thundering blows echoing from the sky, while pits formed in the green water of the pool below.
Suddenly, Wu was at my side before I knew it. Cui Jue whipped out a pitch-black inkstone and splashed it toward Wu.
Drops of black ink splattered out, and Wu suddenly stopped, stomping in place and leaping backward. The ink on the ground transformed into eight fierce, weapon-wielding ghost warriors, each with a different menacing appearance.
"Impressive—the Eight Ghost Warriors, huh?"
Xu Fu sneered. With a crash, Mr. White fell into the green pool. Tan Tian looked grim, his body swelling like a balloon.
The eight black figures charged at Wu and Sheng. Lao Chongyuan and Xu Fu hadn’t moved yet, and Luna Quay had vanished.
With a flurry of blows, the eight ink warriors were shattered, but quickly reformed, moving at incredible speed. Cui Jue stood by my side—I felt grateful, yet powerless. Against these formidable foes, I had no way to fight back.
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"Don’t feel inferior, Ethan Zhang. They’re monsters who’ve lived nearly two thousand years—it’s normal you can’t beat them."
Cui Jue smiled as he spoke.
"Damn, I’m pissed off now."
Mie, locked in combat with Mr. Black, clutched his severed right arm and roared in fury.
"Hmph, you villains—luckily, the Fifth Tribunal Yama detected some sneaky business in the Underworld. We came fully prepared this time. Don’t even think about escaping."
Mr. Black spoke, while Xu Fu smiled faintly.
"It’s not clear who’ll win yet!"
Suddenly, Cui Jue and I both floated upward. Cui Jue raised his inkstone, and with a bang, a powerful blast of air separated us. I swung Belle in my hand, and after several clangs, a hand gripped my throat and a pair of silver eyes appeared before me.
"Luna Quay, why? You clearly..."
"There’s no why, Ethan Zhang. Hand it over."
Luna Quay snarled, stabbing his hand into my chest. I screamed in pain, but the hurt inside was worse than the physical agony. Ever since I met Luna Quay, I’d always thought he was trustworthy—maybe even a friend. He was different from Jiang Tianci; I still remembered how he risked himself to shield Yuna Ji.
"I always thought of you as a friend, Luna Quay. Why? If there’s even a shred of..."
"Talking to him won’t help, Ethan Zhang."
A cold female voice rang out. My eyes widened as red, vein-like threads crawled over Luna Quay’s body. With a crack, Luna Quay’s hand exploded, and a pair of icy hands embraced me. I turned my head.
Her cheeks were like porcelain—a face I recognized as Luantian Xuekui. Why was she here?
"You traitor—was it you who saved John Chou? You’re a disgrace to the Nether Syndicate."
Tan Tian suddenly cursed loudly, clearly reaching his limit.
Blood-red lines whipped around me, halting Xu Fu and Lao Chongyuan in their tracks.
"You’d better not act rashly, or I’ll destroy everything to keep Ethan Zhang safe."
I stared at Luantian Xuekui in shock. Her eyes were cold, but she meant what she said—the green pool was slowly turning red.
"That’s only if you have the power to do it."
With a rush, Luantian Xuekui lifted me into the air. Cui Jue hurried over, while Wu darted past the ink warriors to reach Cui Jue. Fists flew, and with a few thuds, Cui Jue was knocked back.
A flash of silver shot upward. Luantian Xuekui swept her sleeve, weaving the bloodlines together, and with a rush, Lao Chongyuan appeared behind us.
With a buzz, the air suddenly rippled with massive force.
"Ninefold Extremity..."
With a bang, my eyes widened. At the last moment, Luantian Xuekui shoved me away—a massive shockwave tore through her body.
Thunder rumbled as Limbo was leveled in an instant. A streak of silver light wrapped around me.
"You bastards!"
I roared. In the distance, Luantian Xuekui drifted down like a leaf in autumn. I raised my hand, clutching black blood.
"Good—let your anger out. That’s right. Connect your ghost soul to mine and let me show you what battle truly is."
With a gulp, I swallowed the black blood.
"Instinct... coexistence..."