At this very moment, the name and concept of the "Mirage Ghost" did not yet exist in the world. Everything about it existed only in Hu Jiu's memories of his previous life. Given that, if the Ghost Book could still locate the Mirage Ghost precisely and successfully interfere with reality, it could only mean that the Ghost Book was more terrifying than he had imagined. At the very least, it could respond to its holder's memories or thoughts.
Or had the fierce ghost capable of creating mirages revived before and likewise been named [Shen]?
Ordinary people had too little resistance to the supernatural. The Ghost Book continued to affect Hu Jiu's mind, and in this short span of time, he was already struggling to keep control. He stopped trying, walked into a secluded corner, took out a pen, and wrote a line directly on the first page of the Ghost Book—
[This book shall protect its holder, Hu Jiu, from harm to his body and consciousness]
The instant he finished writing, the Ghost Book's power radiated outward, but it soon seemed to encounter some kind of logical conflict. The Ghost Book's instinct to erode its holder and the price required to use it were pitted against the rule to "protect its holder from harm."
The Ghost Book's rules restricted the book itself, and it soon fell into a paradox or an infinite loop. The chill around Hu Jiu faded considerably, and his mind became much clearer.
The Ghost Book alone has achieved a balance with itself. In theory, I'm a Ghost Tamer now, Hu Jiu thought calmly. Next... should I still go looking for the Mirage Ghost?
He hesitated for less than three seconds before making up his mind. He would look for it! He had to!
He wasn't some unlucky fool who had been caught up in a supernatural incident by accident. He was an opportunist who had chosen to embrace supernatural power!
It was his greed and desire that had driven him to rush to Lizhou the moment he was reborn!
If he feared the risks, he should have stayed home after being reborn. Since he had come to take advantage of the opportunity, he would feel cheated if he didn't strip it for all it was worth!
As Hu Jiu walked down the street, he was as inconspicuous as any nameless passerby.
For most Ghost Tamers, the first ghost they tamed was crucial. It often determined their plans for future development and the upper limit of their strength.
In his previous life, Chu Shan had relied on the Mirage Ghost and the Ghost Book to dominate a host of veteran Ghost Tamers. Shen was a relatively complete fierce ghost with no physical form and tremendous potential for growth. What others had tamed were fragments like ghost hands and ghost teeth, so naturally there was no comparison.
The more complete a ghost was, the more terrifying it was, and the faster it would revive. But with the Ghost Book in hand, that was exactly the kind of ghost Hu Jiu needed.
The S-class supernatural incident known as Mirage would erupt tomorrow. The Mirage Ghost should have already revived tonight or earlier, since it needed time to grow and develop.
He had thought he would need to use the Ghost Book again, but unexpectedly, as he walked along, something began to feel wrong with his surroundings.
The street was still bathed in bright sunlight, with people coming and going, but at some unknown point, the sounds had gradually disappeared, leaving the area eerily quiet. The dazzling sunlight brought no warmth at all, carrying a hint of chill instead.
Although he had long been prepared for this, Hu Jiu's heart still involuntarily skipped a couple of beats. This was what made the Mirage Ghost terrifying: its Ghost Domain could invade silently, blurring reality and illusion without warning. Ordinary people would often step into it without realizing it, die in confusion, and become a phantom in the mirage.
The Mirage Ghost's killing rule is exposure to light. If you accidentally become trapped in its Ghost Domain, you should try to stay in an enclosed space without light. Hu Jiu recalled the information he had read in his previous life. He had already triggered the killing rule, but the Ghost Book's protection was still in effect.
When the Mirage Ghost first revived, a dimly lit environment was enough to avoid being killed. But later on, even the tiniest bit of light shining on someone would be enough to kill them. How easy was it to find a place with absolutely no visible light?
As he pondered, he walked to the brightest spot he could find, drawing the Mirage Ghost's supernatural power toward himself. At the same time, he picked up his pen and wrote a second sentence in the Ghost Book—[The holder of this book, Hu Jiu, shall successfully tame the fierce ghost creating phantoms here]
His pen slowed as he wrote, and he could clearly feel a force resisting him. Hu Jiu froze for a moment. The next instant, the space around him warped like rippling water, and the nearby streetlights, passing vehicles, and even the breeze blowing against his face all took on an indescribable quality...
The ghost had arrived.
The Mirage Ghost and Hu Jiu were now like iron and a magnet. Hu Jiu could sense an invisible, formless force squeezing its way into his body. The intense pain lasted less than a second before vanishing without a trace. The first rule he had written in the Ghost Book was still in effect.
Even so, taming a fierce ghost inevitably caused some abnormalities. Hu Jiu watched as his body turned pale and illusory one moment, then became solid again the next. This state of shifting between the real and the unreal continued for quite a while before gradually stabilizing.
I did it! Hu Jiu could hardly conceal his joy.
"Ah! There's a dead person!"
"Run! The building's going to collapse!"
Screams rose one after another in the distance. Hu Jiu looked up at his surroundings, immediately tucked the Ghost Book inside his clothes, and took off running.
When the Mirage Ghost revived, some of the buildings and living people in reality had been transformed into phantoms. Now that the Mirage Ghost had been tamed, those phantoms had all been taken away by its Ghost Domain, Mirage.
Damaged buildings teetered on the verge of collapse, and corpses missing arms and legs lay across the ground. Hu Jiu walked through this scene of carnage with complete composure, without the slightest trace of pity or reluctance.
His naturally cold temperament, combined with the influence of fierce ghosts, sometimes made him feel no different from a real ghost, perhaps even more terrifying than one. Even living a second life had not helped him recover his lost conscience.
The few survivors were panicking, at a loss for what to do. Several saw Hu Jiu calmly running away and hurried in different directions to get away from the chaotic scene.
"Kill them all!"
A sinister voice suddenly rang out, and the surrounding air seemed to grow a few degrees colder.
Hu Jiu's expression changed, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.
The next second, several bloodstained White Sashes dropped from the sky. The lucky survivors who had just escaped Mirage were subjected to another terrifying attack. The White Sashes looped around their necks and hoisted them into the air. They kicked and struggled only a few times before they were dead.
A Ghost Tamer!
Hu Jiu instinctively used his supernatural power to evade the first wave of attacks from the White Sash.
"There's a little fish that slipped through the net here~" Along with a faint stench of decay, two figures appeared, one tall and one short.
A strip of bloodstained white silk was wrapped tightly around the tall man's neck. His cervical vertebrae had been squeezed inward, as though his neck were about to break and his head might fall off at any moment.
Seeing that Hu Jiu had not been killed, the tall man turned his neck slightly. In an instant, another White Sash dropped from somewhere and hoisted Hu Jiu into the air.