chsdbacks Chapter 11 True and Illusory Phases, Golden Light Like a Waterfall
Chapter 11 True and Illusory Phases, Golden Light Like a Waterfall
The Mirror Realm is a place without the sun.
This "Xi Niang Gui" came looking for Cai Liang, but failed to catch him, so she kept circling around outside, unwilling to leave for a long time.
Jiang Jun wasn't afraid that she would attract other monsters, but he was afraid that a man in black robes or other evil cultists who controlled monsters would notice something was wrong and come to investigate.
He focused his attention, his mind racing: 'Using only the power of the suppressing object, I might still struggle to deal with this Xi Niang ghost. But if I were to use the suppressing object's true form, I should be able to suppress it easily.'
With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door and went out amidst the hesitant gazes of the crowd.
Once the door is opened, the protection of "Gui Bu Xu" ceases to exist.
"My lord..." Xi Niang ignored Jiang Jun completely, staring intently at Cai Liang with a look of resentment and longing, as if she were weeping and pleading.
In a flash, she moved from the window to the door, ready to go in and happily marry her husband.
Jiang Jun raised his hand, and "Ghostly Sorrow" emitted a strong garlic aroma.
"Ah..." Xi Niang reluctantly took two steps back, her sinister gaze falling on Jiang Jun.
"What a handsome young man! If you want to ruin my marriage, you'll have to pay for it with yourself!"
Having said that, she defied the rules of harming people, and a cold wind swept in, its eerie aura pressing down on Jiang Jun.
With a thought, Jiang Jun sent out "Ghostly Sorrow" which landed on Xi Niang's head. Purple needles rained down, turning her into a beehive.
"Ah—my lord, how cruel you are!" Xi Niang let out a mournful wail.
"Huh? The talisman itself has been strengthened again? Thanks to the Department of Divine Wonders for their support!"
Jiang Jun was delighted and, without any hesitation, communicated with the spirit of the talisman and directly pushed it to its limit.
Then the purple light needles suddenly merged, converging into a purple light sword, which pierced through Xi Niang's skull and struck her between the eyebrows.
With a muffled thud, the female ghost's head exploded, then turned into white smoke and dissipated.
A piece of red paper floated down and was caught between Jiang Jun's fingers. After a brief sensing, he determined that it was a complete level of strange object.
[Ghost Marriage Contract]: The holder writes their own and their partner's true names and birth dates in their own blood to enter into a marriage contract. After one party dies, the other will go to the underworld together.
This marriage contract requires both parties to meet the prerequisite of heterosexual marriage, both psychologically and physiologically. If any violation occurs, the holder will die instantly.
"Ah, this..." Jiang Jun couldn't hold back any longer. After thinking for a moment, he decided to put the ghost marriage invitation away.
Zhao Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, barely suppressing his shock: "That's 'The Cursed One'?! The jujube branch and the garlic, there's no mistake! How can it be so powerful? Could it be that he's the powerful one who created these talismans?"
His mind raced: 'When he killed the strange creature, he revealed not a trace of its strange aura, and it was almost effortless. Could he be a powerhouse of at least the first level?!'
The so-called first-stage strongman is a demon tamer who has reached the peak of the Refining Realm and has initially stepped into the extraordinary realm.
Within the system of the Divine Bureau, a single transformation is the refinement of the first soul.
Director Li of their city bureau was already a top-tier expert among first-level powerhouses, and he only recently refined his second soul and advanced to the second level.
Why did he appear in Qingjiang City? Was he also here for the Locked Dragon Well? Could there be a trap among those protective objects?! Zhao Chen was in a state of utter confusion.
Unaware of the situation, Cai Liang rushed to the door and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you so much for your help, senior, in resolving this huge problem for me."
Jiang Jun waved his hand: "Evil spirits and strange creatures should be killed by everyone. I just happened to be there."
He raised his hand and put away "The Cursed One," not caring about Zhao Chen's gaze.
After all, everyone in the room had witnessed his actions. If he couldn't kill to cover it up, then he couldn't hide it at all. It didn't matter if more people witnessed it.
"Anyway, with this official robe and my deliberately changed voice, they probably won't be able to figure out my true identity," Jiang Jun thought confidently.
Seeing that Xi Niang had been tricked and killed, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief and became even more respectful of Jiang Jun.
Sun Yijing gazed out the window and said regretfully, "How did such a beautiful young lady turn into a female ghost..."
"Silence!" Zhao Chen shouted sternly, looking at the crowd. "Remember this: these monsters are derived from the rules of the Abyss of Ghosts, and are not the spirits of any deceased relative!"
"In the real world, only powerful monster tamers can have their souls immortalized after death and transformed into monsters."
He paused, his cold gaze sweeping over the men present. He first explained Xi Niang's mysterious background before giving her instructions:
"Never say anything like that in front of a female corpse. Otherwise, you will be haunted by ghosts and your life will be in danger."
Cai Liang, standing next to him, nodded sheepishly.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Tao Li quickly changed the subject: "It's strange, we've been here for quite a while, but we're not hungry at all."
After she said that, the others also realized something was wrong.
Zhou Xia said, "According to that old man, the Mirror Realm has duality. Our experience here is like a dream, seemingly real yet unreal, so there is no need to drink water or eat."
Zhao Chen shook his head: "Some folk ghost-controllers only know one side of the story, not the other. The duality of reality and illusion mainly applies to ghost realm scenarios. For example, buildings and terrain, no matter how much damage they suffer, will reset every seven days."
He looked at Cai Liang and Liu Rui, his mood somewhat downcast: "The reason the Department of the Supernatural moved the battlefield from the real world to the Mirror Realm was to reduce losses. But ultimately, casualties were unavoidable."
Cai Liang closed his eyes briefly: "But it's also fortunate that the battlefield was moved here. Otherwise, that explosion would have killed countless civilians."
Zhao Chen sighed and returned to the previous topic: "The reason you don't need to eat is because you have a strange energy to compensate for your consumption."
"But this kind of compensation comes at a price. Ten days or half a month is fine, but if you get soaked in the eerie energy, then you will never be able to return to the real world unless you become a master of eerie energy."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall couldn't help but feel worried.
Zhao Chen found a clean spot and sat down to recover from his injuries: "Everyone, rest for a while. Once midnight is over and the Qingming Festival is over, the Department of Supernatural Affairs will be able to free up its resources."
"At that time, police officers will come to search for the survivors, and then everyone can leave tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a slight sense of relief.
Jiang Jun thought to himself, "Could there be some other mystery surrounding the Qingming Festival? It seems to have tied up many people in the Department of Supernatural Affairs."
"Various Qingming customs are clearly pure superstition and have no practical significance. So what's the justification for preserving this festival and still encouraging people to sweep tombs?"
But to maintain his image as a wise and shrewd person, he refrained from asking. Even if he did, Zhao Chen might not answer.
Time passed slowly.
Seeing that Zhao Chen was no longer revealing information, Jiang Jun did not want to waste time, so he would occasionally go out to find some weaker monsters to practice on.
He knew his own situation best, and after listening to Zhao Chen's explanation, he had a general understanding of his own abilities.
Based solely on the power of suppressing objects within his body, his strength is comparable to the second realm: the Fusion Realm, which means he has just emerged from the novice stage.
If one relies on the essence of the spirit, one can contend with the experts who refine elite-level monsters. As for the experts who refine lord-level monsters, one will only know after fighting them.
As for a first-level expert, if he were to encounter one head-on, he would only be able to slide to his knees in defeat.
Zhao Chen felt that he made a move with effortless ease, without revealing any strange energy... because he didn't need to use any strange energy at all!
In this way, he could defeat several groups of weak monsters and incidentally obtain a few damaged monster items or consumables, and time would fly by.
To his surprise, in addition to the usual monsters, this mirrored ghost world also contained some bizarre creatures.
For example, venomous snakes, scorpions, and even pets like cats and dogs, after falling into the realm of the supernatural, are corrupted by eerie energy and gradually acquire bizarre characteristics.
These guys aren't easy to kill with just the "Sorrowful Gaze" light needles.
After Jiang Jun eliminated several with his lightsaber, he felt that the consumption was too great and not worthwhile.
On a sudden inspiration, he picked up the large stones on the ground and used their power to physically exorcise them.
Surprisingly, incomplete and bizarre items such as scorpion stings, snake fangs, cat eyes, and dog blood were also found.
As midnight approached, Jiang Jun returned to the park management office lobby.
Suddenly, a powerful force of suppression flowed into his body from the void.
Without making a sound, he found a clean corner, sat down on the ground, and focused on sensing.
In his mind's eye, he seemed to see the folk custom notebook open, with golden light falling from the void like a waterfall and pouring into the information of the first two pages of the talisman.
On the back, which was originally unwriteable, two exquisite traditional Chinese paintings seem to have been created by a pair of skillful hands.
One is a willow twig weaving.
One is a bracelet made of jujube branches.
These are the images of the two talismans themselves.
Why did this sudden change occur? Is that golden waterfall the so-called merit? How can it be so abundant?
Jiang Jun hesitated for a moment before immersing his consciousness into it.
He was then delighted to discover that he could sense the "Ghostly Prohibition" statue hanging in his home. With just a thought, he could follow the spiritual guidance and go directly home.
As for the "Ghostly Sorrow" that he carries with him, it is like looking at the lines on the palm of his hand, able to sense the curvature of every thorn on the jujube branch.
He remained resolute and continued to contemplate this change.
Suddenly, within the Mirror Realm, the auras of the various avatars that suppress objects were also reflected in the mirror.
A few items are located in extremely distant places, beyond Jiang Jun's current capabilities to locate.
However, the vast majority are concentrated in the north of Qingjiang City, which is where the Bureau of Divine Wonders is located. They are densely packed, numbering in the thousands.
These magical artifacts, like camera probes, subtly transmit images of the surrounding area to Jiang Jun.
"I'll just take a look." Jiang Jun couldn't help himself and quickly convinced himself, "Just one look!"
In the next instant, his vision was continuously fragmented, transforming into thousands of perspectives. A massive amount of redundant information flooded in, giving him a splitting headache.
He composed himself, blocked out most of the information, and just as he selected a static string of "Ghostly Sorrow" as his main perspective, a ghost pounced on him.
"Die!" With a thought, Jiang Jun unleashed the power of the "Ghostly Sorrow" spirit, which flew through the connection and extinguished the ghost with a "whoosh."
He then began to observe the battlefield situation using these "Deceptive Sorrow" clones.