Chapter 135: A World Gone Pale, the Annihilating Elder

"These are those brides?"

Meng Xiaodong noticed the ghost brides appearing at the edge of the city, and his face turned extremely grim.

"Ghost Childbirth, huh? It looks like in this short minute, things have become even more troublesome."

Zhang Baihua heard Meng Xiaodong's voice, shifted his gaze from the eerie silhouettes in the city to its outskirts, and after sensing the dramatically heightened aura of the ghost brides, his expression grew solemn.

"I can no longer contact my future self; I don't know if it's blocked by some spiritual anomaly, or if our future selves have failed."

Qin Lao stepped forward in a deep voice, at the very moment the city's anomaly occurred.

All the countless futures he could converse with vanished at this instant.

"Impossible; Brother Zhang Dong is personally intervening, there's no chance of losing."

Meng Xiaodong replied, his words full of confidence in Zhang Dong ahead.

"First block his way out, lest he escape again."

Luo Qian spoke calmly; although his research in the past and future realms is shallow, he is most adept at sealing spiritual anomalies.

Then he stepped forward, a chilling aura spreading, and the terrifying spiritual anomaly affecting the surroundings.

Countless Grave Soil surged from the ground, spreading throughout the city, aiming to completely isolate the city from the outside.

He intends to seal off everything beyond Zhang Hao and this city, preventing him from leaving again via the Ghost Domain.

Zhang Dong ignored the changes outside and gave no reply to Meng Xiaodong, merely staring at the street that had returned to black and white.

This Erase, however, seems to have produced some incomprehensible changes.

Wuwuwu!

The eerie Crying echoed throughout the city, indiscriminate attacks stacking.

"Not good!" Meng Xiaodong hurriedly tossed a bunch of Substitute Dolls to help everyone endure the attacks.

Although this Crying is terrifying to ordinary Ghost Tamers, it should pose no threat before the Seven Elders.

Their own Terror Level renders many eerie attacks unable to exert even one percent of effect on them.

But the sheer number of youths in the city now makes the stacked Crying extraordinarily terrifying.

"Knowing it can't kill us yet it keeps attacking us, this ghost thing wants to drain the Substitute Dolls in Xiao Dong's hand, but such attacks are too slow."

Graveyard master Luo Qian's pitch‑black eyes flickered slightly, the endless Graveyard covering still unseen.

Grave Soil flooded streets and buildings, burying everything, aiming to drown the youths wandering and wailing in the city.

Yet faced with this terrifying Grave Soil, the youths in the city made no deliberate resistance.

As the Grave Soil approached, the city's youths knelt down in unison.

At that moment the Grave Soil seemed repelled by some incomprehensible spiritual anomaly; although it buried some nearby youths, it could not reach those further back.

The city was once again shrouded in darkness; at this moment, atop the tallest building, beside the youth clad in pallid Funeral Clothes, a bride with a swollen belly appeared.

The bride placed one hand on her belly, as if feeling a fetus, and with the other hand she grasped the youth in Funeral Clothes.

The instant the eerie youth in the Shangtong Building seized the bride, the city changed again.

Beside the brides at the city's edge, pale‑faced youths with eerily cold gazes also appeared one after another.

These youths held hands with the brides, waving toward Zhang Dong and the others at the city center.

"That's Ghost Summoning! Be careful!"

Sensing something amiss in his body, Zhang Baihua's expression changed.

A single Ghost Summoning doesn't frighten them, but the problem now is that the numbers of brides and pale youths are simply too great.

Although the rate at which brides multiply can't keep up with the proliferation of those eerie youths, even this hand‑holding bride‑Ghost Summoning contraption can greatly trouble them.

Infinite stacked Ghost Summonings! For those Ghost Tamers whose lifespans are ending, it's fatal.

In just a brief moment Luo Qian was already starting to falter, having previously neared a Fierce Ghost revival during his clash with Zhang Hao.

Moreover, his own lifespan is already short.

Now, facing the stacked Ghost Summonings, his body exuded an even colder, eerier aura; his face was a sheet of ice, his eyes bearing a strange hue.

"Lao Luo!"

Zhang Baihua hurried forward, handing a packet of medicine to Luo Qian.

Luo Qian stared at Zhang Baihua with a strange gaze, but fortunately his sanity hadn't completely slipped as the Fierce Ghost began to revive.

At that moment Luo Qian took the medicine Zhang Baihua offered, swallowed it in one bite, and the odd color on his face eased considerably.

"No, this is merely a stopgap, treating the symptom not the cause; it can't eliminate the Source Ghost, and we old folks will all end up dying here."

Meng Xiaodong tossed out Substitute Dolls one by one, helping everyone fend off the hazards brought by Ghost Summoning.

But these Substitute Dolls are already strained when confronting the Crying and the kneeling, and they can't keep up in number.

Now, facing the continuously body‑affecting Ghost Summonings, the Substitute Dolls can hardly produce any useful effect.

Zhang Dong now waved repeatedly at each youth on the street.

However this time, each time Zhang Dong tried to Erase those youths, he had to pause briefly.

These dense silhouettes now resembled blotches on a painter's board stained onto clothing; each time they were wiped, it required more effort than with other things to erase them.

Zhang Dong looked toward the Shangtong Building, waving at the couple on the top floor who were beckoning.

That eerie couple did not resist this Ghost Summoning, yet the surrounding Spirit Phenomenon did not disappear because of it.

The youth in Funeral Clothes and the eerie bride soon appeared on the rooftop of another city building.

The Erase hasn't failed, but it can no longer, in a single stroke, completely erase a youth's past, present, and future as before.

Now, Zhang Dong's Erase even has to be taken seriously to erase Zhang Hao's present.

Beyond Dachang City, the black‑and‑white spread continues.

Zhang Hao's current Ghost Domain has reached a level that can easily cover an entire city; if he fully unleashes it, it could even cover several cities.

Although he cannot leave Dachang City, being sealed inside, these avatars have not lost their spiritual anomaly.

They continue to set out toward various parts of the city.

While Zhang Hao himself and Zhang Dong and others were fighting, a Zhang Hao clone had already arrived in Dazhou City.

At this moment Zhang Hao stands above the city, the black‑white Ghost Domain shrouding the city, and clones sprout from him to begin attacking the Fierce Ghosts in the city.

Zhang Hao did not Ghost's Killing, and these living people have become a resource for him, a kind of Supernatural Incident capital.

Every person who remembers Zhang Hao becomes a Restart opportunity for Zhang Hao.

When Zhang Hao is Ghost's Invasion the city, making more people remember him, he Ghost's Invasion another part of the city.

It is an ancient mansion existing within the Old Forest.

If one were to say which place's ghosts are strongest and most efficiently devoured, there is no doubt that the ghosts in the ancient mansion are the most suitable.

After the first Zhang Hao Ghost's Invasion the ghost mansion, the Zhang Haos, like wolves that have smelled blood, also arrived inside the ancient mansion.

A terrifying pack of wolves appears in this Old Forest full of plump prey; what will happen is easy to imagine.

The great trees of this Old Forest topple one by one, and bizarre, eerie corpses are ripped out of burial pits beneath the trees by Zhang Hao and swallowed.

"Ghost is coming, Ghost is coming! Run fast!"

In the forest's ancient mansion, on a never‑ending derived corridor.

A room is pushed open by one of the Zhang Haos.

An old, somewhat tattered radio emits a harsh sound.

However, the moment Zhang Hao steps inside, the radio instantly falls silent.

At the same time.

Dahan City, ZS City, Da Hai City, Dachuan City, Zhongjiang City, Daji also all saw Zhang Hao's figure appear one after another.

Ordinary people of this world, a moment ago, were still in a period unaware of Supernatural Incidents.

The next moment, the world suddenly lost all color completely, and eerie people wander the city, chilling everyone.

Some who firmly believe in apocalypse now think the end has arrived, and begin to run amok in the city.

Even some bold individuals try to attack these wandering pale silhouettes in the city, but are quickly killed.

"What's happening?"

"Has Qin Lao and the others already failed?"

Ghost Controller Headquarters.

Cao Yanhua now watches the footage transmitted from satellite surveillance, her eyes filled with inescapable terror.

Gray and black‑white are spreading across the world at an incomprehensible speed.

The blue sphere seen by the satellite is using Dachang City as the starting point, being invaded by an incomprehensible black‑white.

The black‑white spread is rapid; in less than a minute, most of the blue sphere has already turned black‑white.

"Fierce Ghosts are wandering the city, but why aren't the Fierce Ghosts attacking us?" Zhao Jianguo said in terror, this kind of despair arriving, yet not knowing when it truly arrives is the most hopeless feeling.

"Report, Ghost Eye Yang Jian offline."

"Report, latest news! Da Hai City Ye Zhen offline."

"Dahan City Sun Rui offline, ZS City Tong Qian offline, Zhongzhou City He Yiner offline, Dachuan City person in charge offline, Dazhou City Ma Liang offline, Zhongjiang City Li Yi offline. Ghost Fire Li Jun offline"

As the black‑white spreads, bad news streams to Headquarters.

"What exactly has happened in this world?"

Cao Yanhua's eyes are full of gloom, her face written with the words 'despair'.

Qin Lao cannot be contacted, Wang Xiaoming offline, now even capable Ghost Tamers are dying one after another.

Compared with Headquarters' situation, abroad also seems no better at this time.

The black‑white spread is like a terrifying plague; before long, the whole world has completely become black‑white.

At the same time, Dachang City.

The black‑white city seems to undergo an incomprehensible change at this moment.

A coffin is being carried by a funeral procession dressed in Funeral Clothes, wandering the city.

If you stare closely at that coffin, you'll find it isn't really a coffin, but a spirit hall.

It is a spirit hall placed inside a coffin; wherever the spirit hall passes, even Meng Xiaodong and others must give way.

Besides this coffin containing a spirit hall, a conspicuous group appears in the city.

It is a group of wedding party members, dressed in bright red attire, carrying a Flower Sedan Chair wandering the city.

Looking through the Flower Sedan Chair's window, the interior looks nothing like a sedan chair, but a room emitting red light.

Inside are a red bed, red cabinet, red table, red chair. Red curtains hang from the sedan chair's canopy.

It is clearly a Flower Sedan Chair containing a Wedding Room.

"Cough cough cough!"

Zhang Dong stops his action, emitting a violent cough.

After a round of great battle, even the Seven Elders are now unable to persist.

Earlier, because of Zhang Hao, Luo Qian's condition had worsened and now he has already been killed! "Brother Zhang Dong! You should leave quickly, this Ghost can no longer be dealt with."

Meng Xiaodong's face bears a strange hue, yet still expresses concern to Zhang Dong.

"Not bad, Zhang Dong, you should go, you shouldn't be left here."

Zhang Baihua now also speaks in a deep voice: "The few of us probably can't get away, but you still have a chance."

Having said that, Zhang Baihua waves his hand and slaps away a clod of Grave Soil that was attacking him.

This is the Supernatural Incident on Luo Qian's body, affected by Ghost Summoning; after his death he immediately began reviving to attack everyone.

Qin Lao looks at the few, his gaze blank, expressionless, and regarding the surrounding attacks he remains indifferent.

He is also near death, now even his body can barely move.

Qin Lao's greatest ability is the Ghost Domain; the powerful Ghost Domain lets him Restart Time to converse with his future self.

But because of that, as this Ghost grew more terrifying, Qin Lao could no longer activate the Ghost Domain.

"Run? Can you run away?"

Zhang Dong's aged face bore an ugly smile, perhaps a sarcastic one, a mockery of himself.

"Indeed, I was too confident after all; had I struck earlier, things shouldn't have come to this."

Having suppressed the supernatural for years, every supernatural being cannot evade a single wave of Zhang Dong's hand.

This gave Zhang Dong an aura of absolute confidence; in fact he was indeed confident, but under time's erosion it gradually turned into arrogance.

As a Ghost Tamer, even if they managed to Suppress Fierce Ghost Dead Machine and reached the pinnacle of the Dead Machine path, they themselves were still affected, becoming unlike ordinary people.

Once they experience any emotion, under the Fierce Ghost's influence that emotion is amplified to extremes.

Listening to Zhang Dong's words, the crowd fell silent.

They, of course, knew what Zhang Dong was referring to.

If Zhang Dong had struck immediately as they stepped off the bus, denying the Ghost a chance to devour the first Meng Xiaodong, perhaps the Ghost would have been Erased into a Dead Machine.

But after swallowing a portion of Meng Xiaodong's supernatural essence, that Ghost underwent a qualitative change.

It could appear from past and future, and its Unlimited Derivation largely dispersed Zhang Dong's supernatural effect.

Zhang Dong's second lapse occurred after the Ghost's second appearance, when he did not immediately Erase it, allowing the Ghost to flee the city.

The Ghost's Growth was indeed too strong.

In just a minute, it went from a state where past and future gathered could barely resist a single Zhang Dong assault to a level where it could easily Restart under Erase.

Not just that Ghost.

Even the Dry Corpse Bride, after becoming pregnant, turned extremely terrifying.

Previously, Luo Qian could easily Burial those ghost brides, preventing them from Restart.

But after pregnancy, they could Restart from the Grave Soil.

"Perhaps this is fate."

"I've been busy all my life; this time I don't want to run away either, anyway I won't live many days."

"Come with me."

Zhang Dong looked toward the Hong Bai Shuang Sha silhouette at the city center.

A hundred years later, he once again felt what it was like when he first became a Ghost Tamer.

Only this time the cost of failure might be far greater than the price of his youthful failures.

Zhang Dong walked toward the city center; facing the youths blocking his path, his face showed no change.

Each wave of his hand could sweep away countless youths, yet even so it still seemed like a drop in the bucket.

The densely packed youths now filled the entire city.

In midair, youths stood atop the densely packed youths below, clustering together, and the sky was completely obscured at that moment.

The sea of crowds was closing in; the cold, damp Lake Water enveloped the city's Ground, and any contact would be eroded, assaulting memories.

The Gaze of countless people exerted terrifying pressure, making each advance for the three a great difficulty.

Crying still echoed; Zhang Baihua suddenly froze, stopping his steps.

"Another one gone?"

Meng Xiaodong glanced at the halted Zhang Baihua, his complexion extremely grim, appearing very angry.

Now only she and Zhang Dong remain.

Zhang Dong's own supernatural nature is incomprehensible, allowing him to withstand such attacks.

And Meng Xiaodong, because after they died other versions of themselves could invade, they could endure the attack.

"It's all my fault for having lost to that Ghost earlier, having had a portion of my supernatural essence stolen, which led to this deterioration," Meng Xiaodong thought self‑critically.

If they lacked this Infinite Invasion ability, the Ghost could not resist them with only Unlimited Derivation, let alone escape to grow opportunistically.

Zhang Dong sensed Zhang Baihua's oddity, his expression slightly darkened, yet he did not stop, continuing to sweep away youths around the attacker while moving farther away.

But to leave this city— is this reality? Qin Lao revived; he can no longer bear the revival death inside his body, the ghost within him is controlled.

Seeing Zhang Dong attempting to break through, several youths moved to the spot they had occupied and swallowed the corpses of Luo Qian, Qin Lao, and Zhang Baihua.

Consuming these elders caused Zhang Hao's tactics to once again undergo a terrifying transformation.

Earlier, Luo Qian, who controlled the revival, launched an attack; that mindless Fierce Ghost assault was not strong.

After the Lake Water, Gaze, and Crying, a more terrifying supernatural phenomenon appeared.

The densely packed, tide‑like Grave Soil blocked the present time, and Meng Xiaodong could no longer invade from the past to the now.

In the Republic Era, the Seven Elders—now only Zhang Dong remained.

"Alas!"

Seeing Meng Xiaodong also dead, Zhang Dong sighed, a trace of sorrow on his face, and his aged visage gained a few more wrinkles.

"Wuwuwu!"

The eerie Crying swirled through the city.

The echoing Crying seemed to carry a strange supernatural, evoking the deepest sorrowful memories in people's hearts.

"Strangely, why do I feel like crying?"

A voice tinged with sadness sounded, and thereafter no other sounds arose in the city.

(End of Chapter)