The Bronze Tree is far more lethal than the peach branch.
Number 1 was pierced through the body, and tiny Bronze Tree spread like tentacles throughout his body, corroding every inch of his flesh and internal organs.
Number 1 felt as if all the Supernatural within him had frozen, like a stagnant pool of water, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't mobilize them in the slightest.
He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something. This was his first meeting with Hu Jiu, and he never expected to be killed so soon.
In a sense, Hu Jiu was notorious—he set fire to cities, deliberately released Fierce Ghosts in crowded places, used living people to test the killing patterns of Fierce Ghosts, and artificially created one S-class Supernatural event after another...
At first, Hu Jiu was willing to pretend to be kind, but after he matured, he stopped even pretending.
Many Supernatural organizations in major countries, including the Headquarters in Hua Country, have noticed the heinous crimes committed by Hu Jiu, but they can only turn a blind eye to them.
A super-powerful individual devoid of any moral compass, whose emotions are not particularly stable, is practically a human nuclear bomb, a walking Disaster, and is beyond anyone's control.
Ultimately, the system of using weak, ordinary people to manage and restrain Ghost Tamers with powerful supernatural abilities is inherently unreasonable.
Power and authority have always been an intertwined symbiotic relationship. Possessing great power requires corresponding authority. This authority is not something superficial like fame or status, but rather the right to choose and the right to speak. Otherwise, being morally blackmailed is the least of your worries.
Ordinary Ghost Tamers are treated as henchmen and expendable resources, while powerful Ghost Tamers will take over the power of discourse on their own.
Therefore, Hu Jiu had infiltrated the Headquarters in Hua Country, and his every move was filled with doting affection for him.
The Beauty Goddess also used her allure to infiltrate the leadership of many countries.
Even if a typical Ghost Tamer were to resurrect out of control, they would not be able to harm the nation or the world.
But Hu Jiu Beauty Goddess are exceptions; they both actively cause destruction, and the greater their abilities, the greater their destructive power.
That is why the Administration considers these two to be threats to the world; however, the Beauty Goddess is more flamboyant and is therefore the Administration's primary target for elimination.
But plans can't keep up with changes. The Administration wanted to take them down one by one, but the evil villains wouldn't stand idly by and take the beating. They would join forces when necessary.
In those few seconds, Number 1 thought about a lot of things. He shouldn't have been thinking like that in this situation, but he just couldn't control his thoughts from wandering.
This is because he was not only mentally impaired by that mysterious force, but also had his mind disturbed by Hu Jiu.
Hu Jiu ran far away, but he still kept an eye on the battlefield, waiting for the moment when both sides would be exhausted and he could reap the benefits.
He wasn't the type to quit while he was ahead; regardless of whether there were other masterminds behind the scenes, he had to make sure he got all the benefits first.
Number 1's body was gradually enveloped and compressed into a ball by the Bronze Tree. Hu Jiu did not rush to control it, but instead put it away.
After dealing with Number 1, Hu Jiu turned to look at the Beauty Goddess who was nailed to the cross.
"Quickly, help me pull the nail out!"
Although she had no expectations of Hu Jiu, the Beauty Goddess still chose to ask him for help. What if he suddenly also lost his mind? What if he suddenly had a change of heart?
Countless possibilities await him, which is why the Beauty Goddess will not give up easily. As long as he can live, he doesn't mind being subservient at all, and he certainly won't question Hu Jiu about why he crawled out of his original tree trunk at this time.
"Okay," Hu Jiu replied kindly.
The Beauty Goddess, who had initially held no expectations, was stunned for a moment upon hearing the answer, then overjoyed. The feeling that she was the protagonist, and that someone would come to her aid when she encountered difficulties, became increasingly obvious.
Hu Jiu's face detached from the peach tree trunk, and the peach tree, which had been metallic, gradually returned to its original woody state, only now with a darker, more somber appearance.
His eyes were fixed on the giant peach tree, and a relatively gentle Supernatural power flowed into it, quickly stabilizing the Beauty Goddess's condition.
The nails embedded in the Beauty Goddess gradually loosened, receded outwards, and finally fell, plummeting from mid-air to the ground.
When the first nail fell on the land of Ruihe City, the vengeful Fierce Ghost that Hu Jiu had created to cause trouble suddenly went from an orderly state of action to chaotic and violent.
Then, the second nail fell, and the ghosts ignored the instructions Hu Jiu had given when he created them.
After the third nail fell, the vengeful Fierce Ghost of Ruihe City went completely mad. Their killing patterns clashed, merged, and devoured each other, creating a scene of utter chaos.
Hu Jiu didn't care about these brats at all; he just stared intently at the Beauty Goddess as she gradually broke free from the constraints of the cross.
The cross also fell down, but it didn't cause any changes; it seemed to simply work in conjunction with the three nails.
The countless roots and branches of the Beauty Goddess extend freely, as if stretching, while countless peach blossoms bloom, stirring up waves of fragrance.
If everyone in Ruihe City hadn't already died, this wave of activity after the Beauty Goddess escaped would have either led to their sudden deaths or turned them into mere puppets who only knew how to praise the Beauty Goddess.
Hu Jiu, whose face was merely a mask, revealed greed and covetousness in his eyes.
The Beauty Goddess, now free, was equally malevolent and made no attempt to feign it, directly manipulating thousands of tree roots to surge towards Hu Jiu.
The light and shadow flickered slightly, and the tree root passed straight through Hu Jiu's face, but failed to touch him at all, as if it were just a phantom.
Hu Jiu smiled knowingly. "Trying to burn bridges so quickly? That's incredibly immoral of you."
"Has no one told you? Your smile is disgusting, like a cheap Fake Person." The Beauty Goddess retracted her tree root, her malicious gaze fixed on Hu Jiu.
"So what? I can laugh however I want. If you're disgusted, that's your problem. What does it have to do with me?" Hu Jiu has always been very self-centered and never cares about other people's feelings.
The branches of the Beauty Goddess trembled, making a deafening rustling sound, and then a burst of rich red light erupted from his body.
"Thank you so much for freeing me from the cross. Now that I've expressed my gratitude verbally, we're even. I've thought about it carefully, and you look quite appetizing. How about you die and become nourishment for me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a huge ball of thunder struck Hu Jiu's face. Pink arcs of electricity suddenly exploded, and the leaked lightning struck the ground directly from the sky, shattering the city's roads and buildings into pieces.
After the thunderstorm subsided, only Hu Jiu's face remained floating in mid-air, a charred mark on his forehead. But instead of being angry, he smiled even more brightly:
"Such immense power truly befits a being that dares to call itself a god. If it could be used by me, that would be wonderful, since I certainly lack charisma."
"Is there something wrong with the ghost you're controlling, causing you to lose your mind? Otherwise, why are you talking nonsense?" The Beauty Goddess was a little puzzled.
Whether it's taking himself off the cross or his attitude at this moment, Hu Jiu has seemed very unusual from beginning to end.
"I'm not mentally unstable; the one with the real problem is you," Hu Jiu said casually.
"What makes you think I'll release you unconditionally? Where do you get the confidence to believe I have even the slightest bit of goodwill towards you?"
The Beauty Goddess remained silent, but then released two more pink thunderstorms.
Unfortunately, the thunderstorm had just condensed when it suddenly deflated, and the Supernatural power dissipated.
In disbelief, the Beauty Goddess immediately swung the thick branch at Hu Jiu, but the branch was forced to stop halfway. He asked in a horrified and angry voice, "What's going on?"
Hu Jiu's tone carried a hint of compassion. "Your condition was terrible just now. The Fierce Ghost within you was splitting and on the verge of resurrection. To maintain stability, you accepted my power. But my power is deadly poison to any Fierce Ghost or Ghost Tamer."
"I'm helping you remove the nails because I'm afraid you'll fall apart, and it will be a lot of trouble for me to put them back together one by one."
"This is not right! Even a mindless Fierce Ghost can be bewitched by my charm, and the Supernatural power of other species within me will only submit to me!" The Beauty Goddess roared in pain, her true form undergoing some strange change.
Hu Jiu smiled insincerely, "Do you remember the Feather Pen I lent you? You're really bold, not only using my things but also trying to keep them for yourself."
"When you devoured that Feather Pen, you were actually a form of contamination. You have been marked by me and transformed into a part of me. The continuous battle has made you Neglect this anomaly. Now, your self-awareness is superfluous and needs to be eliminated as soon as possible."
As soon as Hu Jiu finished speaking, the giant Upside-Down-Growing Peach Tree that was the Beauty Goddess began to wither, countless peach blossoms died, and the original wood transformed from the inside out into a shiny metallic texture.
The giant tree, which was originally filled with twisted beauty, has now been completely transformed into something terrifying and evil, yet it still possesses a deadly charm, an allure that makes people willingly throw themselves into the arms of the ugly Fierce Ghost.
Seeing this, Hu Jiu's smile gradually became more unrestrained. The winner takes all; he was quite satisfied with capturing both the Beauty Goddess and the higher-ups of the Administration.
The peach tree gradually transformed into Bronze Tree. Hu Jiu looked down, and Supernatural power surged. The huge cross and three nails that had fallen to the ground slowly shrank and were retrieved by Hu Jiu.
"What a wonderful thing! It seems this item is destined to be mine."
Hu Jiu left satisfied with his spoils.
But he was the kind of person who killed without burying the dead. The rampaging Fierce Ghosts and the violent supernatural Supernatural of the Beauty Goddess all began to spread after he left Ruihe City.
Worse still, the Beauty Goddess had bewitched many heads of state during her lifetime, and now that Beauty Goddess is dead, all those she had bewitched have lost control.
He probably operates on the principle of "I don't care what happens after I die," meaning he wouldn't mind dragging the whole world Hell with him once he dies.
Those who had been seduced into becoming fanatical believers, upon sensing the fall of the Beauty Goddess, immediately launched an indiscriminate slaughter.
To ordinary people, the rampant killing by vengeful Fierce Ghosts is a World-Ending Level crisis. However, from a national perspective, ghosts lack intelligence, are incapable of using tactics, and kill slowly. The global casualty rate is not high, so it is far from world-ending. They have ample time to slowly deal with the Fierce Ghosts.
However, humanity possesses advanced weapons of war, which can only kill people but are ineffective against Fierce Ghost spirits.
The fanatics faithfully carried out the dying words of the Beauty Goddess...
At this moment, in the conference room of a Supernatural department in a certain country.
"I think this Supernatural event..." The department head was only halfway through his sentence when the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.
The man who burst in shouted in a panic, "Nuclear explosion! America has launched a nuclear missile indiscriminately at the entire world!"
Everyone was immediately shocked. What a joke!
Have Americas collectively become mentally challenged?!
"That was a mistake!"
Everyone at the America military command base was terrified and sweating profusely.
A serious accident occurred at one of their nuclear bases; someone bypassed all restrictions on launching nuclear missiles and mistakenly launched one.
"Quickly, issue a public statement immediately: this was an accidental firing!" the president ordered.
This is nonsense; no country believes it.
Even assuming it was a misfire, other countries would have to immediately take countermeasures and clear out all their nuclear weapons within a short period of time.
Furthermore, to prevent third parties from profiting from the nuclear attacks, the nuclear missiles launched were indiscriminately targeted at targets worldwide.
If we're going to die, we'll all die together!
For the same reason, all nuclear-armed nations around the world issued orders and made the same decision.
"It's all over, it's all over..." President America sat dejectedly in her chair.
"Your Excellency, we have no way out now." The Minister raised a finger, calmly straightening his attire, maintaining his dignity even as the world was about to end.
"Throw all the nuclear weapons out of the base!" the president shouted frantically.
The global nuclear explosions came so suddenly, catching everyone completely off guard.
Ordinary people have no idea what will happen in the near future, and continue to go to work, go to school, spend money, and make money in a routine manner, while the slightly more special ones are trying to avoid being hunted down by Fierce Ghosts.
Even the seemingly arrogant capitalists were completely unaware of the situation. Only the most elite individuals from various countries managed to escape to shelters at lightning speed.
But all those in the know wore expressions as if their mothers had died; even if they managed to survive, they had no future to speak of.
From now on, they will only be able to hide deep underground, moving around in tiny spaces, calculating their food and energy consumption every day, and waiting for the nuclear radiation to dissipate naturally.
Worse still, this class, which was originally at the top of society, now survives alone, without any lower-class laborers to manipulate and work for them. As time goes on, class divisions may be redefined, and new exploiters will likely emerge from among the survivors...
When the first mushroom cloud bloomed on the earth, it was as if the prelude to the apocalypse had begun, with radiation, high temperatures, and blast waves ruthlessly trampling on human civilization.
More mushroom clouds followed, and the blasts whipped up a storm of metal debris, as the world scorched to the ground in its final symphony.