Chapter 497: If I Don't Enter Hell, Who Will Enter Hell

He walked all the way to the vicinity of the high walls of this place that had absolutely no exits and was completely surrounded to a dead end.

Only then did those red and white lanterns completely disappear.

It seemed there was a regional restriction; they only operated within a certain range.

Tang Luo leaped up, jumped over the high wall, and waited for a while, but no new red and white lanterns appeared.

Confirmed. Unlike the Hide-and-Seek Ghost, the red and white lanterns had no numerical limit on killing, but they did have a regional restriction.

Once you left this area, you would no longer encounter any danger.

But within its territory, even if a hundred thousand people came, they would be killed clean to the last one.

As for the Hide-and-Seek Ghost, its range of activity probably had no restrictions; it could pull anyone into its dangerous death game.

However, the number of targets it could kill was probably limited to just one — within the same time period.

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost was now entangled with Tang Luo, tirelessly killing this person who violated the hide-and-seek rules; before Tang Luo died, it probably wouldn't seek out a second person.

"Master." Ao Yulie and Zhu Bajie walked over, Xiaotian Quan following at the rear.

"Seal this place off," Tang Luo said.

Zhu Bajie nodded and cast a simple spell, enveloping the surroundings; even sound could not escape.

People approaching the high wall would lose their sense of direction and naturally move away.

In this way, even if someone had an unclear mind and wanted to end it all, they would have no way to approach, let alone enter.

Judging from the fact that the high wall was completely sealed shut, not even a gap left open.

The authorities also had no intention of investigating; Tang Luo did not doubt in the slightest that, if conditions permitted, they might even pour concrete to completely seal off this area, turning it into a giant stone block.

Who knew if the red and white lanterns would still appear then.

Tang Luo moved his body: "Since there's a regional restriction, then let's begin the experiment."

The chaotic running around just now had basically confirmed the killing rules and activity range of this "evil ghost," the red and white lanterns; next came large-scale, high-intensity testing.

He drew a Flight Talisman in the void, slapped it onto himself, and the three of them plus one dog flew into mid-air, looking down on the entire residential compound from above.

The high walls enclosed a not particularly round circle.

"Dig it out and try," Tang Luo said.

Zhu Bajie, with none of a celestial's dignity, spat twice onto his hands, just like an old farmer before work, reached forward with both hands, and the Nine-Tooth Rake appeared in his grip.

He swung the rake upward from below, stopping when it was parallel to the ground.

The residential compound beneath his feet, starting from near the high wall, was dug out whole and suspended dozens of meters in the air, like a giant "floating city ruin."

The noise caused was all isolated by the spell; no one heard it, and no one could see it.

Only Tang Luo and his group could conduct an experiment of this level.

"Hold it," Tang Luo said.

"No problem, Master," Zhu Bajie nodded.

Tang Luo landed in the compound suspended in mid-air and returned to the place where he first encountered the red and white lanterns, turning on his phone's flashlight.

Red and white lanterns appeared there, along with the hand holding the lantern, exactly the same as at the start.

Repeating the same method, Tang Luo performed operations similar to before and soon lured out a large number of lanterns.

Then, Tang Luo flew out of the compound's range and said: "I'll go down and take a look."

As the compound was dug out by Zhu Bajie, the large area below naturally became a huge black pit.

Tang Luo descended, but before he truly landed in the deep pit, his feet suddenly stepped on solid ground.

The surroundings were shockingly the scene inside the compound; at the same time, darkness descended, and contact with Zhu Bajie and the others was cut off once again.

Tang Luo ignored the red and white lanterns constantly emerging; with a single step, he appeared at the edge of the compound, where he could see the existence of the high wall.

Flying out of the high wall, Tang Luo looked up; the compound in the sky was still being held aloft by Zhu Bajie.

But the scene beneath his feet was shockingly a deep pit.

Tang Luo struck down with a palm; silently, a sunken palm print appeared in the center of the deep pit.

There was no special feeling; it was just like an ordinary deep pit.

Entering once more, once again Tang Luo entered the abandoned compound; the sky was pitch black, unable to see or contact the outside world.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Luo flew toward the sky; the surrounding red and white lanterns actually floated in mid-air as well, constantly chasing, not the slightest intention of giving up.

Constantly upward, upward!

The Flight Talisman's speed wasn't very fast; lotus petals suddenly fluttered around Tang Luo — he had already activated Lotus Step.

A stomp of his foot, faint ripples stirred in the air, and Tang Luo's figure vanished instantly.

His speed was raised to a considerably terrifying level.

Yet even so, the red and white lanterns still followed closely "behind" him, constantly appearing beside Tang Luo.

Fifteen minutes quickly passed.

The Lotus Step state disappeared; the Flight Talisman's effect remained. Tang Luo flew in mid-air, the surrounding red and white lanterns flickering like festival lights.

Brows furrowing slightly, Tang Luo's body moved downward, beginning to descend.

In less than fifteen seconds, he had landed back on the ground.

All the flying upward just now seemed to have been wasted effort.

"Is purely going up an infinite distance? Or is it that my position is actually being constantly shifted..." Tang Luo murmured, then leaped diagonally upward and this time easily left the compound's range.

Tang Luo said: "Bajie, move the compound away."

"Okay, Master," Zhu Bajie's reply came, and he moved the compound away.

Tang Luo entered the compound in the sky once again; similarly, he encountered the red and white lanterns.

Thus, there were now two "compounds" in existence: one was the one truly existing in the sky, the other was an invisible "ghost domain" that could only be entered by entering a certain range.

The one in the sky, when he first encountered the red and white lanterns, darkness had not yet descended; communication with the outside world was still possible.

The ghost domain in the deep pit, on the other hand, was cut off from the world the moment one entered.

Obviously, the latter was more dangerous.

Tang Luo casually snapped off a streetlamp and returned to the ghost domain in the deep pit.

At the same position, the streetlamp there was still "built in."

He struck out with a palm, and the streetlamp in the ghost domain snapped in response; but after a while, the damaged streetlamp appeared again, perfectly intact.

Just like that ghost hand of the Hide-and-Seek Ghost, Tang Luo could casually pinch it to "explode," but before long it would appear again, unable to suffer any substantive damage.

In the real existing residential complex, the streetlamp remained in a broken state.

Obviously, changes in the latter would not affect the former ghost domain in any way.

No matter how he messed with it — blasting, digging it out, pinching it into a ball, or burning it to ash with the Glazed Flame.

The ghost domain was still that ghost domain, maintaining the appearance of the residential complex from a certain period, unchanging.

"Inside and outside, projection?" Tang Luo had Zhu Bajie put the residential complex back, and entered it again; this time he did not directly enter the ghost domain.

Before the red-and-white lanterns appeared, he leaped upward — likewise no darkness appeared — and Tang Luo easily broke free.

But after the red-and-white lanterns appeared, when Tang Luo simply went upward again, darkness descended in an instant, trapping him in a ghost domain he could only walk out of.

He fiddled for a full half hour and more.

Tang Luo and the others stood outside the high wall.

"According to the mission description, the place I entered after going into the deep pit should be part of the so-called 'Hell.' The 'Mortal World' at this location has already been polluted; no matter where you move, it connects to Hell, and the same danger exists." Tang Luo said, "But after all, it is the 'Mortal World'; this area, even though thoroughly polluted, is still somewhat safer than true Hell."

"Thoroughly 'polluted'?" Ao Yulie asked.

"Mm, I'm afraid this area will become a true ghost domain after a period of time — Hell descending upon the Mortal World." Tang Luo said.

After entering the deep pit, it was pitch black, without even a buffer period; a pile of red-and-white lanterns appeared in a scrambling rush.

"This is a point; once this point is completely occupied, it should still spread outward!" Zhu Bajie said.

Tang Luo nodded; that was his judgment as well.

"How do we stop this?" Ao Yulie said, "Won't the mission count as failed once this place is completely occupied?"

Wait? That actually doesn't sound bad; we could just leave directly.

"No." Zhu Bajie shook his head, "I'm afraid the real failure condition for this mission will be the Mortal World being completely occupied by Hell's descent."

"At that time, every inch of space will be Hell."

"Hiss..." Ao Yulie couldn't help sucking in a cold breath — truly terrifying!

"Relax." Zhu Bajie patted his shoulder, "When the time comes, Master will protect you; leaving at mission failure definitely won't be a problem."

"Master!" Ao Yulie looked at Tang Luo.

Terrified he might say, "This dragon is both weak and cowardly; why don't we just get rid of him first..."

"Don't panic." Tang Luo was extremely calm, "There is still the power of merit — as long as we feed the tiger with our bodies."

"What?" Ao Yulie was baffled.

"Actually, when that Hide-and-Seek Ghost was entangled with me." Tang Luo said; that ghost hand only he could see happened to appear, "I gained some power of merit."

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost clung to Tang Luo and couldn't get free, so it didn't go harm others.

Tang Luo fed the tiger with his body, and thus gained merit.

"Find more ghosts, lure them to me." Tang Luo said, "They're all piles and piles of merit power."

"..."

Ao Yulie silently gave a thumbs-up; worthy of being Master, to even think of this kind of method.

"Master, ghosts similar to Hide-and-Seek can use this method to 'stop the seal,' but how do we stop a ghost domain?" Zhu Bajie said.

Tang Luo said: "A ghost domain is merely a part of Hell. This ghost domain won't do — its range is only this big; we need to find a truly fierce ghost domain, the kind near the core of Hell, investigate it properly, and there should be gains."

"As the saying goes, if I don't enter Hell, who will enter Hell? Amitabha."

Tang Luo recited a Buddhist invocation.

Unsolvable ghost? No, Tang Luo believed that going deep into Hell could find a way.

How does that saying go — where there is poison, there must be an antidote nearby.

Since Hell is descending upon the Mortal World, the root cause must also lie within Hell.

Solving the trouble at its root is the correct method.

Stop it we will; at worst, finally smash it into a vast white expanse, truly clean.

The future is already planned; all that remains is to find a "path" and go deep into Hell!