Chapter 150: Recovering the Ghost's Disguise, Red Handkerchief

Perhaps this is fate.

Five seconds later, Luo Wensong couldn't help but raise his head in helplessness.

His spiritual power had reached its limit, and his body could no longer use it.

The effect of the Soul Summoning Incense was limited, and while confronting Zhang Hao, they were essentially at maximum spiritual power consumption every minute of every second.

"Alas, perhaps we shouldn't have let go completely," Li Qingzhi said, shaking his head helplessly.

Although no legacy is left behind, only by colliding their spiritual powers can true Ghost Tamers of their level be cultivated.

But the instability of the spiritual power far exceeded their expectations.

Even if everything had been foreseen through Precognition, any slight anomaly would ultimately lead to a completely different outcome.

Take the current Ghost, whose past can no longer be Ghost's Invasion; facing his fully grown self, he cannot erase his past from the future.

Unless, when the anomaly occurred, someone from that era noticed the irregularity and corrected that accidental past.

"Actually, there's no need to worry so much; the future can take different paths, and even now it may just be one possible future outcome."

Luo Wensong, however, took it lightly and appeared calm.

"We failed in the present, but we might not fail at another temporal node."

Each change in the past spawns a different future, just as Qin Lao determines outcomes through countless Precognitions.

Qin Lao's ability is to converse with the future, but such conversations do not arise from nothing; every future Qin Lao that dialogues with the past is a genuinely manifested outcome.

The present may simply be one of those outcome trajectories.

"That's true," Li Qingzhi said, nodding in agreement.

Zhang Hao listened to the two elders' words; his eyes showed no change, but his mind couldn't help but ponder.

These Republic Era elders have reached the level of sealing time and deducing the future; what tier is Yang Jian then? He thought about it, but Zhang Hao would not hold back when action was needed.

At the moment Luo Wensong and Li Qingzhi's bodies began to become ethereal and completely immobile.

The Black and White Ghost Domain began Ghost's Invasion of their bodies, aiming to erase all mediums linking these two Wraiths to reality.

"Bang!"

At that moment, a Long Spear thrust straight forward, piercing Zhang Hao's body.

It was Zhang Youhong; she had borrowed a Coffin Nail from Yang Jian and intended to suppress Zhang Hao in one blow.

Struck by the Coffin Nail, Zhang Hao's movements faltered briefly, yet he did not lose his ability to act and continued invading the two elders' bodies.

A Coffin Nail can inexorably suppress any corporeal Fierce Ghost, but it was ineffective against Zhang Hao.

Moreover, Zhang Hao is constantly in a state of embodied Ghost Domain, and he can Infinite Restart himself.

Just the Coffin Nail Zhang Hao swallowed was enough to offset the spiritual power of this Coffin Nail.

In fact, for Zhang Hao, the moment the Coffin Nail entered his body, it was immediately suppressed by him.

He had ingested two whole Coffin Nails, yet only one attacked him.

After the two Coffin Nails neutralized each other, the remaining Coffin Nail immediately turned to suppress the Coffin Nail that had lost its spiritual power.

"Zhang Youhong, withdraw quickly; this thing is now unsolvable."

Seeing Zhang Youhong arrive, Li Qingzhi warned.

Now Luo Qian and Meng Xiaodong's connection to this world has been erased, and they will be erased as well.

Without the support of the four of them, Zhang Youhong lost the majority of her combat power.

Even though Zhang Youhong can replicate Wooden Puppets of other top Republic Era Ghost Tamers, she cannot exert much spiritual power without familiarity with the operation.

"Die together."

"You all have died, leaving only me; I have no way to handle the Supernatural Incident."

Zhang Youhong at this moment said with a cold expression.

Hong Jie, as their fallback, primarily relies on summoning Seven Elders Wooden Puppets for battle.

Without the Seven Elders, Hong Jie lacks the ability to guarantee the state of this world.

"Moreover, I reached this point on my own before I met you."

Although she lost the Medium of summoning Seven Elders Wooden Puppets, Zhang Youhong did not fall into despair; instead, she displayed extraordinary confidence.

But thinking about it, she is the strongest of the Republic Era aside from Zhang Dong.

Although the spiritual power she left to Hong Jie is only the Wooden Puppets, how can the real Zhang Youhong herself have only that one method?

A red handkerchief appeared in Hong Jie's hand, and as Zhang Youhong's handkerchief fluttered, a Black and White Portrait materialized.

The Black and White Portrait, seemingly sharing origin with Zhang Hao, enveloped Luo Wensong and Li Qingzhi, cutting off the spiritual power that was erasing all their connections to the world.

Then Hong Jie's Palm twitched, and four Wooden Puppets appeared before her.

The Wooden Puppets paired off, adjusting each other's appearance; soon, two Luo Wensongs and two Li Qingzhis appeared.

Then the four puppets instantly doubled into eight.

Seeing this, Zhang Hao produced a White Bone Club in his hand and struck toward Hong Jie.

He was, of course, aware of Hong Jie's tactics; at this rate of exponential stacking, she could soon generate countless puppets.

Naturally, Zhang Hao could not allow her to stack puppets unimpeded.

Accompanied by the sonic boom of the White Bone Club striking the air, Hong Jie's body seemed to be struck by something, being eroded by a certain spiritual power, exposing half a wooden torso.

But at that moment, the red Cheongsam on Hong Jie shimmered with vivid red light, seemingly shielding her from the blow.

"Indeed, I should have locked you away in the Ghostly Mansion with full force from the start."

"What a pity, that old thing Zhang Baihua has been lying around too long, already overlooking the instability of spiritual power."

Hong Jie displayed a seductive smile on her face, but it looked oddly strange no matter how you looked at it.

That smile, imbued with a special spiritual power, lodged deeply in Zhang Hao's mind.

Fortunately, at that moment, a bizarre wailing echoed in Zhang Hao's mind, breaking the effect of that smile.

"Up!"

Zhang Hao let out a low shout, and countless duplicates beside him surged toward Zhang Youhong at that moment.

At the same time, with Luo Wensong's supernatural barrier gone, the waters of Ghost Lake roiled wildly again.

As splashes of waves rose, the lake water clinging to the wooden puppets acted like an invisible ghost hand, pulling those puppets down to the lake bottom.

The black‑and‑white Ghost Domain was released again.

Although the power of that red handkerchief surprised Zhang Hao, he didn't think Zhang Youhong could completely block his Ghost Domain just by using that red handkerchief.

The black‑and‑white Ghost Domain invaded again, and the lake water, stripped of color, turned as dark as ink.

Beneath the lake surface, pairs of pallid ghost hands reached out; they were wraiths that existed in the black‑and‑white world.

Accompanied by the splashing waves of Ghost Lake, they emerged straight from the water, as if to yank Zhang Youhong forcibly into the world of the dead.

"If you were still alive, you'd be a real trouble for me, but now you're already dead."

"When facing the dead, I'm unbeatable."

Zhang Hao's voice was cold; the black‑and‑white Ghost Domain shattered the red handkerchief's barrier, completely isolating that small duplicated fragment of the black‑and‑white Ghost Domain outside.

A terrifying cry echoed over the lake surface.

Figures of wraiths appeared beneath the lake, seemingly kneeling, and the direction they knelt toward was unmistakably Zhang Youhong's position.

In midair, strips of white curtain rose, continuously falling and shooting toward Zhang Youhong, interfering with her continued stacking of wooden puppets.

If any of those white curtains touched Zhang Youhong, Zhang Hao could immediately suppress her.

However, facing those white curtains, Zhang Youhong seemed to have some sort of barrier, blocking each one.

Even the black‑and‑white Ghost Domain that was invading Zhang Youhong at that moment was repelled by her, unable to actually reach her body.

But at that moment, Zhang Hao slowly walked toward Zhang Youhong; after a few steps, he suddenly vanished from the Reality World.

He invaded Zhang Youhong's memory.

Meanwhile, in the city not far from the lake surface.

A crowd of pallid, ghostly‑skinned people were also walking toward this side.

These were Ghost Brides' painted ghosts, drawn according to Luo Wensong and Li Qingzhi.

As gray ash paper fell continuously from the sky, those painted ghosts quickly approached, beginning to assault the wooden puppets beside Zhang Youhong.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Facing attacks from both the Reality World and the depths of memory, even Zhang Youhong couldn't help but feel her body acting strangely.

After Zhang Hao invaded her memory, Zhang Youhong's body began shifting toward black and white.

If previously Zhang Youhong could, by means, keep Zhang Hao from affecting her medium, then after Zhang Hao entered Zhang Youhong's memory—

Even if she could contest Zhang Hao on the mental level, her body could no longer avoid being tainted by the medium. As a wraith, facing Zhang Hao, the outcome after being infected with the supernatural aura was obvious.

She, already dead, still fought with her consciousness, but the link between mind and body had been severed at this moment.

Even if she managed to block Zhang Hao, she would later sink completely into that wraith world, unable to escape, and even Soul Summoning could not bring her back to the Reality World.

With mind and body severed, Zhang Youhong in the Reality World naturally vanished as well.

At this point, Zhang Youhong opened her eyes again.

Perhaps calling her Zhang Youhong now is no longer fitting; calling her Hong Jie is more appropriate.

She looked at everything around her, and a hint of despair inevitably appeared on her face.

"Totally failed, then?"

Zhang Youhong stared at the Ghost Bride walking toward her, helplessness in her eyes.

Suddenly, at that moment, a knocking sound as if countless people were knocking at once rang out.

Along with the knock, Hong Jie felt a dizzy sensation in her mind, and the next instant she lost the ability to think.

It was Luo Wensong's knocking, though only rendered by painted ghosts, each possessing only sixty percent of Luo Wensong's own supernatural power.

Perhaps ten painted ghosts knocking together would reach the intensity of Luo Wensong himself knocking.

But when stacked, that attack's strength could easily push the transformed abnormal Hong Jie into a dead‑machine state.

Hong Jie was killed; the Ghost Bride moved beside her, reached out, and gathered Hong Jie's high heels, red cheongsam, and the red handkerchief.

The high heels and red cheongsam were sent by the Ghost Bride into the red room, while the red handkerchief was held in the Ghost Bride's hand.

It seems that this handkerchief is also a puzzle for the Ghost Bride.

Indeed, the thing is essentially a universal puzzle, capable of replicating any Fierce Ghost's fragment of supernatural power.

But for the Ghost Bride and Hong Jie, using it yields a stronger effect because of their own supernatural aura.

On the other side, in the world of memory.

Zhang Hao at this moment also successfully eroded Zhang Youhong.

Although Zhang Youhong becomes terrifying after the stacking, she is, after all, just a wraith.

Having lost her body, her own supernatural consumption surged dramatically.

Coupled with Zhang Hao's suppression of wraiths, even Meng Xiaodong, who excelled at battling in past memories, was overwhelmed by countless wraiths, and Zhang Youhong was no exception.

"Now, the only remaining threats should be Zhang Baihua and Qin Lao."

Zhang Hao whispered to the now‑wraith Zhang Youhong, then looked up and left the world of memory.

Back in the Reality World, Zhang Hao watched the Ghost Bride, who had already taken the supernatural aura from Hong Jie and harnessed it, and fixed his gaze on the distant direction.

After Zhang Hao and the Seven Elders' confrontation, and after Hong Jie borrowed the Coffin Nail, Yang Jian and his group seemed to have left.

But indeed, this level of confrontation is beyond what Yang Jian and his companions can intervene in; staying would not aid the battle.

Zhang Hao looked toward the distant direction; in the black‑and‑white city, traces of supernatural aura left by departing people could still be seen.

After pondering briefly, Zhang Hao headed off with the Ghost Bride, chasing in a certain direction.

At this moment, a pale green light streaked across the sky above the city, racing away at great speed.

However, at that moment, the sky above the eerie green light suddenly darkened, as if some terrifying presence had appeared.

The Black and White Ghost Domain seeped into the sky, blocking the eerie green light.

"Got your eyes on me?"

Li Jun halted the action of controlling the Ghost Domain's advance.

He watched the surroundings warily; although he couldn't contact anyone, he knew without thinking that the Seven Elders had failed.

"Since that's the case, let's give it a shot."

Li Jun gritted his teeth, and while the Red and White Double Evil had not yet truly arrived, he took out a ghost makeup and began painting it on his face.

He recalled Ah Hong, who had previously painted Qin Lao's likeness, and imitated Ah Hong, painting himself to look like Qin Lao.

"Choosing to paint his likeness again?"

"But now I won't be troubled by such a spiritual anomaly."

Zhang Hao sensed Li Jun's change, his expression showing no sign of abnormality.

Although he had been badly hit back then by Ah Hong using Qin Lao's spiritual anomaly, at that time Zhang Hao had not really developed any spiritual anomaly himself.

Moreover, at that time Zhang Hao had just fully mastered the Ghostly Servant, had not yet begun to use the Unlimited Growth ability, which is why Ah Hong's long‑range assault left him unable to engage up close.

Now, then.

Li Jun, having just finished his makeup, seemed as if he knew something, and his figure lunged sharply backward.

The next moment, a White Curtain materialized out of thin air, fell from mid‑air, and landed directly where Li Jun had just stood.

"This must be the spiritual anomaly that can converse with the future."

Zhang Hao looked at Li Jun and quickly recovered.

Li Jun now possesses Qin Lao's Sixth‑Level spiritual anomaly, having learned the ability to converse with the future.

"But how many futures can you converse with?"

Zhang Hao, wielding a White Bone Club, walked toward Li Jun.

As Zhang Hao advanced, pale silhouettes emerged one by one from the incomprehensible Spiritual Realm into reality.

Seeing these suddenly appearing pale figures, the Ghost Fire burning in Li Jun's eyes involuntarily flickered.

Each of these things resembled the original, bore no difference from a true Fierce Ghost, and even shared the ghost's immortality.

As these figures stepped out, they stared at Li Jun.

Their gazes, laden with terrifying Gravity, immediately acted upon Li Jun.

For other spiritual anomalies Li Jun could evade by foreknowledge, but he had no way to dodge the gaze.

Especially with so many Fierce Ghosts appearing now, the stacked gazes were unimaginably terrifying.

The stacking continued, and above the sky, black‑and‑white Photos fell one after another.

The backgrounds of these Photos varied, apparently taken by a camera of regions in different eras that had been shrouded by the Black and White Ghost Domain.

Yet these Photos shared a common feature: in front of each, there were figures dressed in pale funeral clothes.

Although they were within the Photos, their gazes were eerie, fixedly staring at Li Jun.

As the number of stares increased, Li Jun could not endure; the Gravity brought by the gazes crushed him, forcing him to kneel in mid‑air.

The Ghost Fire spiritual anomaly was suppressed, causing Li Jun to fall completely to the Ground.

Yet at that moment, a figure in pale funeral clothes appeared beneath Li Jun's fall, reaching out to grab him so he did not hit the ground outright.

That single grab caused Li Jun to lose consciousness entirely.

The Unsolved Suppression from the Ghostly Servant was triggered.

Even an ordinary Ghost Tamer, when suppressed, can remain briefly conscious.

But as an Abnormal, once suppressed, only a sleeping consciousness remains.

Zhang Hao grabbed Li Jun's corpse as it hit the Ground, searched his body for a moment, and pulled out an old‑style red makeup case.

"Madam, take the makeup case away."

Zhang Hao waved toward the direction where no one was present.

The next moment, a red silhouette eerily appeared before Zhang Hao, reaching out to take the makeup case from his hand.

The Ghost Bride stood still, holding the makeup case.

Zhang Hao was not surprised; after handing the makeup case to the Ghost Bride, he immediately devoured Li Jun's corpse.

"Madam, let's go, find the next target."

Having swallowed Li Jun's corpse, Zhang Hao intended for the Ghost Bride to leave and hunt other captains.

At that moment, however, the Ghost Bride proactively extended a hand and held him.

"Hao~"

A woman's voice sounded again, making Zhang Hao turn his head.

"That voice, it's back."

Zhang Hao stared at the Ghost Bride; just now he seemed to have sensed that the voice came from the Ghost Bride beside him.

At this point, the Ghost Bride held Zhang Hao's hand with one hand, and raised the makeup case before him with the other.

(End of Chapter)