Chapter 76: Water Ghost and Ghost Fire

Painting World.

Zhang Hao, after seeing the bride, took the Ghost Coffin back again.

With the help of the Ghost Painting Ghost Domain, the Ghostly Servant was successfully taken back by him and used as a Coffin.

Wei Jing's departure caused the Ghostly Servant to lose the ability to leave the Ghost Coffin.

Although Zhang Hao does not command the Ghostly Servant, now the Ghostly Servant along with the Ghost Coffin have become Supernatural Artifacts in Zhang Hao's hands.

It can be said that this Coffin is Zhang Hao's weapon.

"The operation at Headquarters has finally started; if it drags on a few more days, I intend to go command that old man first."

After waiting a week, Zhang Hao finally learned from Jiang Shangbai that Li Jun and the others have now entered the Painting World.

However, he did not immediately act against Li Jun and the others; Qin Lao is the true danger he has been waiting for.

At this moment, Li Jun and his party of five are walking in the Painting World.

Through information from Yang Jian, they successfully learned some intelligence about the Ghost Painting.

According to Yang Jian, as long as they find a derived painting, they may be able to pass through that painting into the central area of the Ghost Painting World.

This time Li Jun and the others are targeting the Ghost Painting for the first time, but it is not entirely without a plan.

According to Headquarters' plan, Li Jun and his group will use the connection between derived Ghost Paintings and the Ghost Painting to reach the center of the Ghost Painting World and devise a way to imprison the Ghost Painting.

For this, they deliberately carried a Supernatural Artifact called a Ghost Camera.

"Xiong Wenwen, we've reached a fork again; which direction do you think is more suitable?"

Li Jun walked at the front of the team, looking at the winding, rugged roads derived from the Ghost Painting, and turned his head toward Xiong Wenwen.

In terms of experience, Xiong Wenwen naturally would not become the team's spokesperson.

But because Xiong Wenwen commands the Fierce Ghost, even in ordinary times, letting him make various choices often yields better results.

It's like sending Xiong Wenwen to a casino; even without Ghost Power, just by relying on premonition to choose bet sizes, he can win abundantly.

"Take the left road."

Xiong Wenwen didn't even think, nor use Precognition, and directly pointed out a road.

Hearing that, Li Jun did not ask for reasons and immediately stepped onto it.

Under Xiong Wenwen's continuous judgments, the party walked through the winding, rugged road and arrived at a city.

The road clearly looked far, but in fact they did not spend much time before successfully passing it.

This is a characteristic of the Ghost Painting; just like the seemingly long mountain roads in a painting, in reality the mountain road occupies little area in the painting.

The city is large; alongside the wide roads stand towering skyscrapers, but the city's layout is especially chaotic, and beside some skyscrapers there are low houses.

This world, clearly the Ghost Painting's mimic of reality, logically should not be so chaotic.

However, Li Jun and the others know well that although the Painting World mimics reality, it is composed of individual paintings.

Some places depict low-rise buildings, others depict skyscrapers, and there are even deep forests, so this city appears so strange.

Li Jun and his party passed the city's edge skyscrapers and low houses, and soon arrived at a special Village.

"Although Yang Jian successfully approached the source painting, it seems that the places entered through different paintings also differ."

Liu San looked at the Village, his face showing caution.

This Village is built around a small lake, and each building in the Village has a waterwheel used for irrigation.

The Village's style is not traditional architecture; it appears to be that of some minority ethnic group.

"Although it's still within the country, it should be a minority Village we don't understand; everyone be careful."

Chen Yi looked at the Village; aside from occasional watermill sounds, essentially no other sounds, eerily silent.

But if no one lives in the Village, where does the water sound come from?

With no maintenance, under Ghost Power erosion, these waterwheels should quickly age and lose function.

"I'll scout the way; you follow me."

Liu San was silent for a moment, then slowly stepped forward.

This Village is somewhat eerie; to avoid possible danger, it's better to lead the way oneself.

The others, hearing Liu San's words, had no objection, and the five immediately walked toward the depths of the Village.

Because the Village's style is unique and they do not understand the reason, the party was very cautious while advancing.

"Splash!"

Just as the party reached the center of the Village, suddenly the sound of water striking rocks within the Village arose.

"Creak creak!"

As the water surged, some waterwheels in the Village that had not been turning began to spin.

"Splash! Ding! Splash!"

It seemed as if someone were scooping water; the Village began to constantly emit splashing sounds.

"Bad, with our arrival, this Village has begun to undergo some unknown change."

Li Jun, startled, took out a red Ghost Candle and lit it.

It wasn't that he was being overly startled; rather it was another way to use the Ghost Candle.

The five present participants in the Ghost Painting imprisonment event, each one's condition is very important; if not a necessary moment, Li Jun does not want everyone to use Ghost Power.

Although the Ghost Candle is precious, if it is only briefly lit and immediately extinguished for testing, there is not much loss.

After being lit, the Ghost Candle's flame immediately burned at an extremely fast speed.

"Ghosts are approaching nearby!"

Liu San looked around; after the Ghost Candle is lit, it can test whether Fierce Ghosts exist nearby.

And now, looking at the situation, that ghost is clearly not far from them and is very terrifying.

According to the Ghost Candle's burning speed, it can probably only last seven or eight minutes.

That's it—still without actually seeing the Fierce Ghost; if the Fierce Ghost truly appears, the Ghost Candle would last even less time.

"Leave this Village as soon as possible," Li Jun said in a low voice, then immediately walked forward.

He didn't want to get tangled with this ghost any further before encountering the ghost painting.

The others hurried to follow Li Jun's steps.

As they advanced, at some point the Village became shrouded in a heavy, murky sludge.

It was the water drawn from the lake by the continuously turning waterwheel, now mixed with silt and rolling toward them.

"Pick up the pace."

The Ghost Candle in his hand burned ever more fiercely, and Li Jun's steps quickened involuntarily.

Liu San walked to Xiong Wenwen's side, grabbed the brat and hoisted him onto his back.

"The child's legs are short, he's too slow; I'll carry you forward."

As the water spread, the five of them shifted from walking to gradually running.

Nevertheless, the murky wastewater soon flooded the entire Village, leaving the few of them with nowhere to set foot.

Even the Ghost Candle could only give the few a small patch of ground temporarily free from the encroaching sludge.

"Li Yang," Li Jun called out sharply.

Before Li Yang could react, Li Jun turned his steps and headed toward a wooden hut at the edge.

Seeing this, Li Yang finally reacted and followed Li Jun's steps.

The ground was already swamped by the strange sludge, leaving no place to stand; now was the time for them to employ the supernatural.

The four hurried toward the wooden hut; without the Ghost Candle's shelter, the murky sludge immediately surged toward the previously clear patch.

The matter wasn't over yet; after the sludge covered the clear area, it instantly poured into the room where the five were.

The sludge piled up in front of the door, soon reaching the level of the door's barricade, ready to spill inside at any moment.

"Block the door!" Li Jun shouted.

Li Yang, hearing this, nodded, pulled the house door shut, and immediately used his body to block it.

"Although this Village is bizarre, at least it's a scare without danger; we're temporarily safe now."

Chen Yi, watching after the door was blocked and the sludge stayed out of the house, gave Li Yang an approving glance.

He hadn't expected that, shortly after entering the ghost painting, they'd have to rely on this newcomer.

"The Ghost Candle hasn't gone out; we won't truly be attacked by the Fierce Ghost, but the sludge blocks our path forward."

Liu San looked at the still trembling few, spoke in a low voice, and began analyzing the current situation.

"Given the present circumstances, if we want to leave, we may need to use the Ghost Domain."

"Li Jun, can your Ghost Fire ignite that sludge?"

Li Jun frowned, "I'm not sure."

"Professor Wang once had me test whether a ghost's manifestation has a counteracting relationship with real-world objects, like the usual restraining cycles."

"Following Professor Wang's suggestion, I tried using Ghost Fire to ignite a water ghost."

"In fact, it's feasible, but the premise is that the water ghost cannot withstand the Ghost Fire's blaze."

"If that water ghost's Terror Level upon revival equals or exceeds that of Ghost Fire, then Ghost Fire cannot ignite it," Liu San said, looking toward the doorway.

The water ghost appears to counteract Ghost Fire, yet Ghost Fire is not entirely incapable of igniting water‑type ghosts.

But judging by this Village's condition, the strange sludge's Terror Level is certainly not low.

Unless Li Jun risks the Fierce Ghost's revival, he cannot ignite it.

Later, when confronting the ghost painting, they'll still need Li Jun, who can employ the Ghost Domain within the ghost painting.

Naturally, they can't have Li Jun throwing himself into it at this moment.

"Let me use Precognition," Xiong Wenwen said.

"That's all we can do," Liu San nodded, adding that now they could only rely on Precognition to find a solution.

Xiong Wenwen closed his eyes, and a chilling aura began to emanate from his body.

A peculiar scene flashed in Xiong Wenwen's mind.

When the group opened the house, the water inside had, at some unknown time, risen to about an adult's calf height.

The instant the house was opened, water from outside surged rapidly inside.

As the sludge poured in, Li Yang, standing at the doorway, was the first to be assaulted.

The water was like sulfuric acid; the moment Li Yang touched the sludge, his body began to corrode, his flesh continuously disintegrating.

In the end, under the sludge's erosion, only Li Yang's two hands floated on the water's surface.

Aside from Li Yang, the others fared no better.

Xiong Wenwen was eroded by the sludge, leaving only a head floating on the surface; Chen Yi was reduced to a piece of Human Skin.

The Paper Person on Liu San's body didn't melt, but the moment it touched the sludge, the entire Paper Person became soaked, and Liu San lost his mobility.

As for Li Jun, after contacting the strange sludge, a faint green Ghost Fire welled up inside him, seemingly battling the Village's sludge.

But Li Jun, as a Ghost Tamer, could not sustain this confrontation for long against his own water ghost.

Li Jun soon melted away; in the end, a few wisps of faint green Ghost Fire clung to the remaining Human Skin, heads, hands, and Paper Person of the survivors, continuously burning while floating on the water.

Xiong Wenwen opened his eyes and immediately recounted these events to everyone.

"Xiong Wenwen, after we opened the door, did the sludge's water level keep rising?" Liu San asked, frowning.

Xiong Wenwen shook his head, "I didn't notice that."

"Then let's try again."

A hint of helplessness appeared on Liu San's sallow face; the brat was still a brat, his observation too poor.

If other adults used Precognition in this situation, they should have paid attention to the water level.

Li Jun lit the Ghost Fire; this time we light the Ghost Fire to open the door and see what happens.

Xiong Wenwen, while observing our situation, you also need to watch the water level.

"Okay." Xiong Wenwen replied, and once again used the Ghost Power of Precognition.

The pale‑green room opened, and this time Xiong Wenwen noticed that the water level rose again, by about three centimeters.

However, after opening the door this time, the sewage did not immediately surge into the house.

The light of the Ghost Candle was like an invisible wall, blocking the sewage from seeping in.

"Let's go!"

Seeing the Ghost Fire burn fiercely, Li Jun immediately led everyone outward.

At the same time, a pale‑green Ghost Fire appeared on Li Jun.

The crisis has arisen; he cannot hold back his strength.

Although his Ghost Domain restrains the Ghost Painting, if he doesn't live to see the Ghost Painting, everything will be idle talk.

This Ghost Fire promptly raised the Ghost Domain, and the Ghost Domain carried the group out of the Village.

However, just as the five were about to reach the Village Entrance,

"Wha‑la!"

With a wha‑la sound, a splash of sewage was splashed by a rotating waterwheel nearby onto the Ghost Fire.

A bizarre scene unfolded: as the sewage met the Ghost Fire, the Village's water level rose rapidly, merging the previously two‑to‑three‑centimeter sewage with the Ghost Fire.

It seemed the burning Ghost Fire triggered some unknown change.

The waterwheels that had only been by the house now floated on the water surface, spinning continuously toward Li Jun and the others.

Moreover, as the waterwheels spun on the water, patches of sewage were splashed from their grooves onto the Ghost Fire.

The Ghost Domain of the Ghost Fire, under the suppression of the sewage, began to slowly extinguish.

Soon, Li Jun's Ghost Domain was completely suppressed, could no longer be sustained, and he fell into the water.

Fortunately, seizing the chance, Li Jun successfully led Xiong Wenwen, Li Yang, Liu San and others out of the Ghost Domain, reaching outside the Stronghold.

However, Li Jun himself fell into the water; lacking fuel, his Ghost Fire could not even burn.

In the end, only a corpse as black as charcoal floated on the water surface.

Xiong Wenwen opened his eyes and informed the few about what had happened.

"It's bad; if that's the case, the longer we delay, the more dangerous it will become."

Li Jun's complexion turned sour, not because he died in Precognition, but according to Xiong Wenwen's Precognition, the higher the water level, the more perilous the Stronghold becomes.

"Begin the operation."

Li Jun took out two Ghost Candles, giving one to Xiong Wenwen and one to Li Yang.

"You watch the situation later; I will use the Ghost Domain to lead everyone out, and you light the Ghost Candles in turn to prevent us from being attacked."

Saying that, Li Jun looked at Xiong Wenwen: "By the way, Xiong Wenwen, how long did that Ghost Candle block the sewage?"

"Half a minute, only half a minute."

This time Xiong Wenwen did not forget to observe the Ghost Candle, after all, learning from mistakes.

While watching the water level, he also incidentally monitored the survivors' remaining time.

"Your Ghost Domain needs one minute to bring us to the Village Entrance," Xiong Wenwen reminded Li Jun.

"Is that enough? It is," Li Jun nodded; now there are two Ghost Candles here, enough for them to reach the Village Entrance.

"Act carefully; the water level has risen, it may not hold that long," Chen Yi warned.

"I understand, so I gave the Ghost Candles to two people, hoping you can act when the chance arises."

Li Jun naturally understood this; the crisis stemmed from his misjudgment, so he handed all life‑saving items to others.

Chen Yi nodded and took out a Ghost Candle.

Whether Chen Yi or Liu San, they already had Ghost Candles in hand, which is why Li Jun did not give them any.

"Li Yang, open the door!"

A pale‑green Ghost Fire erupted on Li Jun, instantly igniting the entire room.

Liu San lit the Ghost Candle in his hand; its burning speed was far faster than the speed indicated in Xiong Wenwen's Precognition.

Because after Li Yang opened the door, the murky, eerie sewage outside had risen to about waist height.

"Go!" Li Jun shouted, and the Ghost Domain enveloped the four, carrying them outward.

The sewage surged forward, but was repelled by the Ghost Fire; under the protection of the Ghost Candle, the sewage could not taint Li Jun's Ghost Fire.

"Chen Yi!"

Eight seconds after leaving the water surface, Liu San shouted at Chen Yi.

"Got it," Chen Yi understood Liu San's meaning and immediately lit the Ghost Candle in his hand.

Then at twenty seconds, Li Yang also lit the Ghost Candle in his hand.

At thirty‑one seconds, Xiong Wenwen lit the Ghost Candle in his hand.

At forty‑three seconds, the final Ghost Candle in the five people's hands burned out.

"Damn it!"

Li Jun's complexion turned sour as he looked toward the Village Entrance.

The Village possessed an invisible Ghost Power that blocked his Ghost Domain's advance; given the current situation, crossing the Village Entrance would take at least twenty seconds.

"Let me draw the attention of those Fierce Ghosts, perhaps buying you some time."

Liu San, seeing this, gave a wry smile and said helplessly.

The others, hearing this, unexpectedly looked at Liu San, not expecting this usually cautious person to make such a choice.

"It's yours."

To the surprise of a few, Li Jun actually still agreed to Liu San's plan.

Noticing the few's stare, Li Jun gave no reply, but kept controlling the Ghost Domain, pushing it toward the outskirts of the village.

Liu San isn't the kind of person who would willingly sacrifice himself.

When Liu San said that, Li Jun instantly realized that this fellow was probably not going to actually die here.

(End of chapter)