The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 17: Chapter 16: Moving Forward, Not Back

“Don’t even think about it!”

In his heart, Shen Luo thunderously roared, frantically operating the Small Transformation Yang Skill.

A layer of red light emanated from his body, attempting to resist the invisible entity assaulting him.

At the same time, a surge of Yang Gang power crazily gushed into the rune on his chest.

Although this was his first time attempting to use the exorcism talisman, desperate times called for desperate measures.

To his disappointment, besides feeling a slight heat where the talisman was drawn on his chest, nothing happened.

But immediately after, Shen Luo felt a slight warmth in his eyes, following which his vision darkened as a figure in black appeared before him.

The figure was about a zhang tall, with extremely long hair that trailed down to the ground, covering its face and rendering its features indiscernible. He could only vaguely make out two red eyes projecting a chilling malicious intent, as well as a greed for life.

Meanwhile, its long and vapory dark arms were strangling his neck!

“A real ghost!”

Shen Luo was filled with terror. Despite his difficulty in breathing, he subconsciously kicked out at the ghost.

Without waiting for him to land a hit, the ghost let out a piercing, ear-splitting howl.

Shen Luo felt a buzzing in his head, the red light covering his body shattered dramatically. A burst of heat welled up from his eyes, ears, and nasal cavities. He could only see through a red filter, his senses greatly impaired.

The icy cold hands strangling his windpipe tightened their grip. Shen Luo’s conscious became fuzzy, his outstretched leg stiffened in mid-air before feebly falling.

He vaguely heard the roar of thunder in the sky. Following that, a torrential downpour poured down, and then he knew no more.

…

In his trance, Shen Luo felt as though he was surrounded by endless darkness, in still silence.

He tried to open his eyes, but it felt as if he had no control of his body. He could not lift his eyelids nor move his limbs.

He had a vague sense that something was wrong, but considering the deep fatigue emanating from within, he had a desire to give in to it, just lying there, doing nothing, and rest.

Just then, the sound of an insect broke the quiet.

Shen Luo jerked up and opened his eyes suddenly.

The next moment, he discovered with a gasp of shock that he was back on that small country lane.

The familiar lane, fields, night fog, crescent moon… The mountain village shrouded in the distant fog and faint, blurred lights.

“Something’s wrong! A dream cannot be this real, and reality cannot be this repetitive! Where am I actually?” Shen Luo scrambled to his feet, thoughts whirling inside his head.

Suddenly remembering something, he squatted down and dug deeply into the ground.

Although the ground was slightly moist from the dew, deeper down it was still dry. When he’d lost consciousness, he had clearly seen a heavy rain but this ground condition indicated otherwise.

Looking around, he saw no signs of footprints on the country lane, despite the fact that he had run up and down numerous times before.

“Did this place constantly repair or repeat everything?! Was I not killed by the ghost, but brought back from death and returned to the time when I first entered this place?” Having read many strange and baffling tales, coupled with his nimble mind, Shen Luo swiftly derived a vague hypothesis.

He then remembered something else and raised his hand.

His index finger, which had been bitten and broken earlier during the talisman drawing, was now smooth and unscathed.

“Just as I thought, it’s beyond belief!” A hint of horror flashed through Shen Luo’s eyes.

Having some understanding of the situation he encountered today, his tense mind relaxed a tad, also becoming somewhat calmer.

However, Shen Luo immediately remembered his previous encounter. Knowing that the ghost would attack again, he couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows.

Although knowing that he seemed to be able to be reborn here and wouldn’t fear the ghost as he did before, if he was continuously strangled to death by the ghost, he certainly didn’t want to experience that.

Moreover, he couldn’t confirm if after having been revived twice that he could still “resurrect” for a third time?

What if he can’t resurrect again?

He has only one life, he couldn’t risk it!

Since this is the case, he has no option but to fight bravely!

Shen Luo pondered silently and as the fear subsided, a sense of anticipation filled him. He began to recall all the methods of exorcism he had read in the classics.

He suddenly removed his shirt, bit his finger, and with fresh blood, he directly began to draw various talisman patterns on his skin. He drew a total of eight before he stopped.

It’s not that Shen Luo didn’t want to continue drawing, but after each stroke, for unknown reasons, he could feel his strength waning, as if it was being slowly drained from him.

After just eight runes, he was already quite tired. If he continued, it might affect his performance, so he stopped.

All of these were the various talisman patterns he had traced and studied previously, including the “Small Thunder Talisman” that he had tested last time. He wasn’t clear about its specific effects, but it’s better safe than sorry.

Shen Luo quickly put his clothes back on. Having previous experience of the “Ghost Wall,” he didn’t take any other directions, but directly headed towards the small mountain village.

He wasn’t someone who easily got scared. The previous events were too bizarre, and now that he had a clearer understanding, he intended to get to the bottom of this.

He was also interested in knowing whether escaping from the ghost or even destroying it would help him to leave this place.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Luo reached the entrance of the village.

The village entrance was barricaded with two wooden stakes, just like the first time he entered the village.

Seeing this, Shen Luo was even more convinced of his speculation.

He was about to enter the village when he seemed to think of something. He bent over to pick up the wooden stakes and stuck them in his waistband, then ran towards the house with the lights.

When he arrived at the front of the house, he first grabbed some incense ashes from the tipped-over god niche. He then leaped to the front door, and without waiting for the blood to seep out, he lifted his foot and kicked the wooden door.

With a “bang”, the wooden door swung open.

But the sight behind the door left him slightly stunned.

A skinny little girl in grey short clothes who was seven or eight years old stood there, trembling. She held a wooden bucket full of black blood, and she seemed to be about to pour out the bucket.

Seeing Shen Luo suddenly burst in, the little girl’s face showed a frightened look, and she stepped back two steps.

Shen Luo quickly regained his thoughts, ignoring the little girl, his eyes scanned the room and landed on a corner. There lay a stiff black dog’s carcass, not a single hair on its body out of place.

“Black Dog Blood.” Shen Luo glanced at the wooden bucket in the girl’s hands, frowning slightly. His gaze shifted again and glanced around.

Next to the black dog, there was a wooden bed with a white-haired old man lying on it. His eyes were tightly shut, and he appeared to be unconscious.

In the middle of the room, there was another god niche. There was a candle lit, and a miniature statue of a humanoid with a dog’s head was being worshipped.

In addition, the walls around the room and on the doors and windows were coated with black bloodstains, which must have been intentionally smeared there.