Chapter 149: World of the Forgotten

Perhaps pressure is the best teacher.

Facing the pressure of countless Meng Xiaodong invasions of his memory and the Seven Elders' siege in the Reality World.

Zhang Hao somehow taught himself, without a master, to reverse‑invade his own memory.

Thus he achieved self‑replacement, strengthening every fragment of himself in his memory.

This was a paranormal that the previous Zhang Hao could never wield, yet he learned it directly without even a single ghost being devoured.

"I have long possessed this ability to make each clone's strength comparable to the original; I simply hadn't realized it before."

After replacing every version of himself in his memory, Zhang Hao slowly opened his eyes, a look of sudden realization in them.

The memory invasion, with clones existing within the Black and White Gaze, can turn the world into a series of black‑and‑white Ghost Domains.

Although these paranormal entities have slight conflicts, each still has room for development in its own specialty.

Moreover, even though the paranormal conflict in some aspects, that does not mean they cannot cooperate at all.

At least the Black and White Ghost Domain invasion combined with Crying forms a perfect attack chain with the memory invasion.

"You!"

Meng Xiaodong looked at the dramatically changed Zhang Hao, astonishment in her gaze.

She hadn't expected her Infinite Invasion to be learned by the ghost before her; although the process differed, the result was the same.

Meng Xiaodong resides within a timeline, while Zhang Hao dwells in the memory of a timeline.

The past and the memory of the past do differ, but not by much.

After all, the past, viewed differently, is essentially the world within people's memory.

What Zhang Hao inhabits is a memory unique to him, or, put another way, a past that belongs solely to him.

Meng Xiaodong tried to invade Zhang Hao again, but found that she could no longer breach him.

The ghost's past is sealed by an incomprehensible paranormal; if Meng Xiaodong forces an invasion of that past, she may vanish as a result.

"Welcome to the world of the dead!"

Zhang Hao looked toward Meng Xiaodong not far away, as the black‑and‑white Ghost Domain painted the entire world.

As darkness enveloped, bizarre human silhouettes appeared across this world.

These people varied; some looked almost normal except for eerie eyes and a chilling aura, like Ghost Slaves.

With continued observation.

Among them, Meng Xiaodong suddenly saw an old woman resembling herself.

Besides herself, Meng Xiaodong even saw several figures resembling Luo Qian, Qin Lao, and Zhang Baihua.

Each of these people looked familiar to Meng Xiaodong, yet she could not recall their names.

Meng Xiaodong could even see that one approaching elder was identical to Zhang Dong, but she still could not name him.

Even though the resemblance was strong, she sensed that it was not Zhang Dong but a person forgotten by the world.

"What is happening?" At this point, the situation seemed to have entered Meng Xiaodong's knowledge blind spot.

Looking at these reappearing people, she could feel that they truly existed.

Although their gazes were eerie, she sensed that they possessed emotions.

Figures like Luo Qian and Qin Lao now had strange eyes, staring intently at Meng Xiaodong, their gazes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Recalling Zhang Hao's earlier words, "Welcome to the world of the dead," Meng Xiaodong couldn't help but form a bold conjecture.

"This is a Memory World belonging solely to the dead and the forgotten."

Meng Xiaodong spoke slowly, looking at Zhang Hao for an answer on his face.

Yet faced with this, Zhang Hao gave no reply.

Only in the black‑and‑white world did countless silhouettes rush toward Meng Xiaodong.

They used hands and feet, gripping Meng Xiaodong tightly, and the black‑and‑white paranormal began to erode her body along with those black‑and‑white figures.

Everyone killed by Zhang Hao is forgotten by others; only Zhang Hao himself remembers them.

Those slain by Fierce Ghosts become Ghost Slaves, especially ghosts that possess a Ghost Domain; their victims more readily turn into Ghost Slaves.

Zhang Hao has killed many before, but aside from those Funeral Clothes ghosts, he has never actually produced a Ghost Slave.

He previously thought his Ghost Slaves required other paranormal to manifest, the vanishing Crying, or Kneeling Death. At this moment, Zhang Hao finally realized that those he killed had already become members of the Black and White Ghost Domain on their way to the afterlife.

Countless wraiths, long dead and forgotten by the world, tugged at Meng Xiaodong's body.

It was as if the dead resented the living, and as more and more pulled at Meng Xiaodong's body, her body began to bizarrely transform into black and white.

Meng Xiaodong felt something abnormal in herself; she panicked for the first time.

She had always invaded others from the past, replacing them to enter Reality, but this time she met a tough nut.

As more grabbed Meng Xiaodong, she could feel her connection to this Memory World deepening.

"If I am completely pulled into the crowd, I'm afraid I'll become one of these wraiths, and even Soul Summoning Incense will no longer be able to summon me out."

From the basket Meng Xiaodong carried, rag‑stitched cloth dolls fell one by one.

These are Substitute Dolls, helping Meng Xiaodong bear the tug of the wraiths.

However, the number of wraiths was simply too great.

Meng Xiaodong tried to invade these wraiths, but each invasion only led her into another Black and White World.

Moreover, with each successive invasion, Meng Xiaodong felt her difficulty returning to the Reality World increase.

"Each wraith is merely a Medium; my invading its Medium not only fails to affect it, but actually allows the wraiths to better erode my body."

Meng Xiaodong quickly recovered, fixing her gaze on Zhang Hao; to break the stalemate she must strike at the source, as shortcuts are useless.

As long as she can deal with the Zhang Hao before her, she can naturally escape this world.

If it were merely death, Meng Xiaodong would not fear it.

Because she has long been dead, now she is only a wraith, leaving various mediums for soul summoning merely to aid those who follow.

The problem, however, is that once she dies in this world, no one will remember her, and even the items she used in life will lose any trace of her.

Meng Xiaodong will probably have no chance to appear through Soul Summoning again.

Meng Xiaodong tossed out a dozen or so Substitute Dolls, drawing the attention of the Wraith that was pulling at her.

The next moment, she walked toward Zhang Hao.

She intends to go deeper into Zhang Hao's memory, to a time before any living person's memory existed, and erase the living people's memories from that era.

As Meng Xiaodong's invasion vanished at the spot, this black‑and‑white world disappeared.

The next moment, Meng Xiaodong opened her eyes again.

At this time, Meng Xiaodong was inside a bus, and she looked around.

The location of the invaded person must not be far from where she appeared.

Scanning left and right, Meng Xiaodong quickly spotted the target.

"It's actually him?"

Meng Xiaodong sat on the back seat of the bus next to Zhang Hao, who at that moment wore an excited expression while chatting with two girls, paying no attention at all to the changes inside the bus.

Meng Xiaodong looked up toward the other side of the bus, where an old woman lifted her head, seemingly having noticed her presence.

"The dead me has invaded this world? Does that mean some enemies have emerged in the future that require me to find their source?"

The old woman stared at the suddenly appearing Meng Xiaodong on the bus, her calm face showing a hint of curiosity.

"I have no time to explain, I can only say that now I have to deal with a Fierce Ghost whose memory is still from its living period."

Meng Xiaodong noticed the old woman's gaze and reacted.

"In a moment that ghost should catch up; if possible, hold it off for me."

I am not dead yet in this era; now that the other side is here, I can join forces with them.

"I don't know what happened, but I can sense that you don't have much time left; do whatever you want, I'll help."

The old woman nodded, not refusing the proposal.

Meng Xiaodong didn't mind the old woman's response, and as she spoke she was already moving toward Zhang Hao.

Because the other side is her own self from when she was alive, even if it exists only as a fragment in past memory. Meng Xiaodong knows the other's thoughts perfectly and knows the other won't refuse her proposal.

However, just as Meng Xiaodong raised her hand to kill the Zhang Hao before her, a sudden anomaly erupted.

From Zhang Hao, who had been full of joy chatting with his crush, a massive darkness surged.

His gaze suddenly turned icy and eerie, staring fixedly at Meng Xiaodong.

The Black and White Ghost Domain spread from his body at a visible speed, the black‑and‑white hue continuously spilling throughout the bus.

"Sss!"

With the Black and White Ghost Domain's invasion, the bus was forced to stop and stall.

The next moment, in the darkness, a strange figure dressed in Funeral Clothes and wearing a Face‑Covering Cloth emerged from Zhang Hao.

"It's catching up!"

Meng Xiaodong's expression darkened.

This thing, having learned to replace the self in memory, has become ever more bizarre.

I had just chosen the invasion time, and the other side immediately followed.

"Is this the graveyard you chose? It's actually a pretty good place."

Zhang Hao gave Meng Xiaodong a glance, and the next instant, countless Wraiths surged in through the bus doors at both the front and rear.

At that moment, everyone on the bus displayed a strange expression.

The narrow carriage was filled with Wraiths at that moment, leaving Meng Xiaodong no place to hide.

The passengers on this bus, aside from Yang Jian and Lin Bei who are still alive, are all dead.

For Zhang Hao, these people naturally constitute part of his Wraith army.

Even the old woman ahead, at this moment, showed the same strange expression and grabbed Meng Xiaodong's hand.

This belongs to Zhang Hao's memory; it is his past, not the past of the Reality World.

In Zhang Hao's memory, Meng Xiaodong had long since died.

The surprise attack from her own self behind left Meng Xiaodong stunned; she had considered many possible enemies, but never expected even her past self to become a puppet controlled by the other.

The attack coming from herself had an even more terrifying effect on Meng Xiaodong.

Meng Xiaodong's body at this moment was losing its color at an extreme speed.

The old woman's presence on this bus further confirmed Meng Xiaodong's identity.

Soon, as darkness fully shrouded this world, the Wraith‑state Meng Xiaodong's eyes slowly lost their color, becoming completely strange.

She was completely forgotten by the Reality World; whether memories of her or things related to her, at that moment no one remembered the three characters "Meng Xiaodong".

The forgotten dead naturally become part of this world.

"It's successfully resolved, but it's a pity that these Wraiths don't carry any of the Ghost Power they had in life."

Zhang Hao gave Meng Xiaodong's figure a glance and couldn't help feeling a sense of regret.

These Wraiths have the unkillable trait of a Fierce Ghost, but they lack the effect that a Soul Summoner summons of the living's Ghost Power.

Just as, when they die, the Ghost Power they once controlled in life is completely forgotten.

Now these people are merely individuals wandering in the Spirit World without memories.

"Never mind, there's no need to dig deeper; there are still enemies in the Reality World."

Zhang Hao's figure slowly became ethereal, and this black‑and‑white bizarre world began to fragment.

However, before leaving, Zhang Hao still cast a glance at the person nearby who looked exactly like Zhang Dong.

The person has no name, but calling him Zhang Dong is fine.

Because when he was alive he was indeed called Zhang Dong, though this is the Zhang Dong killed by Zhang Hao inside Baishui Town.

Aside from that face being rather special, this Zhang Dong now has nothing worth a living person remembering.

In the Reality World, as Zhang Hao reverse‑invades his own memory, the situation here also undergoes a dramatic shift.

Those Zhang Hao existing in the Memory World, after acquiring a corporeal supernatural form, begin to reverse‑replace those avatars that walked out of the Lake Water.

Soon, one by one, black‑and‑white colorless Zhang Hao emerged.

Although supplanting the Lake Water avatars does not achieve the effect of supplanting the self in memory, which would make every version of oneself stronger.

But the Zhang Hao from past memories still caused great trouble for Luo Qian and the others.

Perhaps calling it trouble is already somewhat inaccurate, since each Zhang Hao emerging from past memory is equivalent to Seven Elders level.

They have no purpose, no goal, and continuously invade everything around them.

Whether Fierce Ghosts or one's own avatars, at this moment they become the Medium through which Zhang Hao invades the Reality World.

Especially those Funeral Clothes Ghosts, which are not true Fierce Ghosts; as Ghost Slaves they essentially offer no resistance to Zhang Hao, the Ghost Master, when he supplants them.

In just a moment, the Reality World already saw dozens of Zhang Hao whose aura reaches Seven Elders level, and their numbers keep increasing.

"Hey, I'm old, inevitably old; if it were when we were young and still alive, the outcome would still be uncertain."

Luo Qian's skin tone is bluish‑black, and the supernatural has already eroded him to a very severe condition.

Feeling that the Soul Summoning Incense sustaining his existence is about to be completely extinguished, Luo Qian lets out a helpless sigh.

As a Wraith, he can only fight equally ranked opponents at full strength, fundamentally unable to exert his full power.

After all, Luo Qian's Grave Soil has reached a level where nothing cannot be buried; once interred, even Fierce Ghosts can hardly break free.

Don't underestimate Baishui Town; Zhang Hao can use other supernatural methods to isolate.

But in Baishui Town, Zhang Hao, besides the ghosts there, also has Fierce Ghosts from the Reality World bolstering him.

For instance, Yang Jian in the original story, when confronting Luo Qian in Baishui Town, once stacked two Ghost Eyes to execute a range Restart avoidance.

In reality, the Ghost Eyes in Baishui Town can open Ghost Domains up to only six layers, whereas a range Restart needs eight layers of Ghost Domain to accomplish.

If in the Reality World, Yang Jian's eight‑layer Ghost Domain might not be able to escape the fate of being buried.

"The dead should have the dead's enlightenment; do not disturb the world of the living."

Zhang Hao returns to the Reality World, hears Luo Qian's words, and coldly says, and before Luo Qian's body completely collapses, he uses the Black and White Ghost Domain to invade the other's body.

The supernatural that makes the dead be forgotten activates now, a black‑and‑white invasion of Luo Qian's body, and in the end, only on the Ground remains a black‑and‑white portrait of an old man.

However, looking at this black‑and‑white portrait of the old man, aside from Zhang Hao, no one can utter his name any longer.

"This ghost thing."

Luo Wensong and Li Qingzhi, looking at the photo on the Ground that looks incredibly familiar yet they cannot call each other's name, their faces turn extremely grim.

Given their experience, they naturally would not know what the situation is now.

Those who are killed are completely forgotten; one can imagine how terrifying that is. The deaths of Luo Qian and Meng Xiaodong not only affected the battle here, but also impacted Zhang Youhong's side.

Meng Xiaodong and Luo Qian are completely lost, and all mediums in this world have vanished.

At this moment, even Zhang Youhong cannot continue to replicate their puppets, which undoubtedly greatly reduces Zhang Youhong's Combat Power.

"What happened? Why have my memories of them disappeared?"

Zhang Youhong's face is gloomy; she can sense that her own memory has not been invaded.

It is as if some entity forcibly erased all ties of her two friends in this world.

"No, I have to go help; I can't let them keep getting into trouble."

Zhang Youhong glances at the Ghost Bride; with Luo Qian and Meng Xiaodong completely dead, even the Ghost Bride can no longer continue to draw their ghost paintings.

Although somewhat realistic, this can be considered an acceptable ending; at least the Ghost Bride's Combat Power has also been weakened.

However, the enemies are indeed two real ghosts; both sides' Combat Power is weakened simultaneously, and the side more affected is undoubtedly Zhang Youhong's side.

Zhang Youhong controls the puppets of Li Qingzhi and Luo Wensong to fend off the Ghost Bride, while she herself darts swiftly toward the Lake Surface where Luo Wensong and the others are.

Leaving aside any Combat Power and the like, Zhang Youhong does not want her friends to disappear so completely.

For those who have fought the supernatural all their lives, if not even a name or a related tombstone can be left, it is truly too tragic.

(End of Chapter)