153. Curse

"This restricted area... I'll remember it."

Having made his decision, Sulu turned and left.

This time, he didn't even plan to go back to Lux's place. After all, Detective Sean's identity was fake, so what was there to be afraid of?

It's unbelievable that a spirit that doesn't kill could be involved in such a terrifying affair.

"Is this the risk of the mystical side?"

Sulu murmured, "I'm so lucky to have escaped unscathed..."

He retreated swiftly, not even glancing at Lanny's 'graveyard,' and in the blink of an eye reached the edge of the Black Forest.

But at that moment, his expression changed!

What was originally the outer edge of the Black Forest suddenly expanded outwards in his eyes, making the boundary seem endless.

"What?"

A white chain appeared on Sulu's right hand, his face full of vigilance. "The terror of the Ancient Mansion... isn't over yet? So this Black Forest is also part of the Ancient Mansion, or rather, its power has infiltrated it?"

He looked at his Attribute Panel and, sure enough, found it in the status section:

[Status: Ancient Mansion Curse]

[The Ancient Mansion Curse: Any living thing that steps into the Anguskin Ancestral Home will be cursed by a terrible Demon, inevitably ending in the complete destruction of one side!]

The simple description in the Attribute Panel made Sulu's face twitch. "So, I've finally... capsized?"

Having survived the Inner Circle battle involving legendary-level professionals, he did indeed become somewhat proud and complacent.

But this unremarkable Ancient Mansion in Charles City dealt Sulu a heavy blow!

In the mystical realm, anything can happen!

His previous smooth sailing was simply due to good luck.

Like this time, a slight mishap caused the boat to capsize.

"It must end with the destruction of one side? Does that mean... if I want to break the curse, I have to destroy the Ancient Mansion?"

Sulu glanced back at the Black Forest, feeling a chill run down his spine.

If he were already a Tier 5 Planeswalker, perhaps he could give it a try, but for now, forget it.

"If I didn't have the Attribute Panel, I wouldn't have noticed the curse at all, not even the [Occultist's ] Inspiration alerted me... In other words, it's not a harmful curse, perhaps just a mark? The kind that activates periodically, attracting evil and danger?"

The [Occultist] has extensive knowledge of the Spirit World, and Sulu has read many miscellaneous books in the White Tower, so he has a lot of experience with things like curse marks.

"Therefore... the most urgent task is to leave the Black Forest immediately and absolutely not set foot in the Ancient Mansion again!"

Given his current cursed state, if he were to step into the Ancient Mansion again, he would undoubtedly be attacked immediately, and there would be no chance of survival!

Even staying in the Black Forest for too long could be dangerous!

After all, this forest is still within the infiltration range of the Ancient Mansion's power!

Sulu unleashed his Inspiration, forming a comprehensive defense that enveloped him completely.

Sure enough, with his keen Inspiration, something seemed off about the entire Black Forest.

Beneath the soil and fallen leaves, black vines, or rather roots, wriggled like snakes, their target clearly themselves.

"Fortunately, it's only on the outer perimeter!"

The terror of the Ancient Mansion reaches its peak inside, with less impact from the outside world.

Sulu was certain that if he escaped from this Black Forest, he could buy some time!

"Spirit Pressure!"

Boom!

He snorted coldly, and a vast Spirit Pressure swept across the entire area.

Crackle, crackle.

Beneath the ground, numerous black roots burst open, oozing a corrosive, yellowish-green liquid.

Waaah!

The numerous black trees trembled together, as if Sulu's Spirit Pressure had also harmed them.

"As expected... having been permeated by the power of the Ancient Mansion, it has acquired some Spirit World attributes?"

Sulu flicked his right hand, and the Spirit Chain shot out like a snake, its sharp prism striking a section of black tree trunk.

Puff!

Black blood flowed from the wound.

It's as if every tree here has come to life, becoming a living, breathing entity.

"Get out of my way if you don't want to die!"

Sulu roared, and the sound waves mixed with Spirit Pressure Expansion outwards.

This is intimidation.

All living things possess basic instincts.

Many treetops trembled, and gradually, one or two blackwoods moved aside, voluntarily pulling out their roots to make way for the path.

'Huh? It really works?'

With no obstacles in sight, Sulu quickly reached the edge of the Black Forest: "It feels like there's an Evil Spirit barrier, but thankfully it hasn't fully formed... Break it!"

He concentrated his Spirit Pressure and slammed it out like a heavy hammer.

Click!

A sound like shattering glass echoed from the void, and a barbed wire wall appeared in Sulu's eyes, with a striking blood-red warning on it.

"Finally... we're out! Luckily, the Ancient Mansion's protective energy prevented most of us from leaving!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, then stared at the Attribute Panel, his brows furrowed.

Although the previous mental pollution has been removed, this next ' Ancient Mansion Curse ' is clearly more troublesome.

"What should I do? I'm afraid I can't destroy the Ancient Mansion by myself... Am I to remain burdened by this curse? No! This kind of thing will surely bring misfortune and disaster..."

Sulu gritted his teeth in resentment.

Before setting off, he truly hadn't expected that this Ancient Mansion would be so hostile to living beings, yet so lenient towards spirits.

Yesterday, he was simply observing as a spirit and did not encounter any curse.

But now, it's too late to say all this.

"To destroy it and break the curse, my strength alone is far from enough; I need help! Neither the Federation nor the Church is feasible..."

The Federation and the Church were clearly aware of the danger posed by the Ancient Mansion, and because the mansion was so terrifying and the cost of destruction was too high, they abandoned their plans to destroy it and instead opted to seal it off.

This shows that the pattern has been figured out: Ancient Mansion only bring harm to a specific area.

It's not worth restarting a major war just because of him; it's too risky, not to mention there might be other risks involved.

"This time we've really messed up..."

After leaving the lockdown area and arriving in Charles City, Sulu sighed as he looked at the stubbornly persistent curse mark on his Attribute Panel.

"This mission was a complete failure... There's no need to go back to the Colington Manor, and the final payment is out of the question. Fortunately, I brought the down payment and the extra Gold Dragon with me..."

Sulu randomly found a hotel to stay in and began to think about what to do next.

This Ancient Mansion is so dangerous; the family that set it up must be a top-tier Demon family, and the methods they left behind must be extremely ruthless.

"Well..."

After racking his brains for a long time without any clue, Sulu decided to take it one step at a time and first gather experience from other aspects.

In any case, improving one's own abilities is never a bad thing.

"Besides that... we need to find strong reinforcements, at least at the master level, preferably skilled in Spirit World combat... Let's try to raze that Ancient Mansion to the ground!"