Rich Benevolence Mall, First-Floor Lobby.
After Yang Jian sensed danger and left.
Only Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong remained in the lobby.
After Yang Jian left, the red light that had forcibly held back the darkness rapidly faded, and the darkness it had driven away slowly surged back.
Hu Liena looked at the spot where Yang Jian had vanished, a sharp gleam flashing through her beautiful eyes.
She slowly turned her head, her gaze settling on Ning Rongrong nearby.
Ning Rongrong was nervously clutching the Storage Soul Tool at her waist, her face pale as she watched the darkness closing in around them.
Hu Liena knew exactly what was inside it.
The Sheepskin Paper that could predict the future!
"Ning Rongrong."
Hu Liena parted her red lips, her voice becoming unusually soft, carrying an allure that seemed capable of melting someone down to their bones.
She quietly stirred the soul power within her, letting it envelop Ning Rongrong without a sound.
"Yang Jian has already left. He went to deal with that terrifying monster."
As she spoke, Hu Liena walked gracefully toward Ning Rongrong.
Her eyes took on a pitiful look, as though she were a helpless woman in need of protection.
"It's too dangerous here. If we stay, we won't even have a chance to fight back."
"Why don't we wait for Yang Jian outside the mall? There's more room out there. Even if something dangerous happens, it'll be easier to escape. What do you think?"
Hu Liena was already calculating every step of her scheme.
She did not dare seize the Sheepskin Paper outright in this lobby.
The red light of Yang Jian's ghost domain had not completely faded. If a clash of soul power triggered a backlash from the paranormal disturbances, or if Yang Jian suddenly returned, she would have no chance of survival.
But as long as she could trick Ning Rongrong into going outside the mall.
To a place without the red light's protection, beyond Yang Jian's perception.
With her strength as a level fifty-one Soul King, subduing a level forty-two Support Soul Ancestor would be easier than drinking water.
As long as I get the Sheepskin Paper, even if Yang Jian refuses to accept me, I can still survive in this world and bring the opportunity to become a god back to Spirit Hall!
A vicious glint flashed through Hu Liena's eyes, but the smile on her face only grew gentler.
Ning Rongrong stiffened slightly at Hu Liena's words.
Under Hu Liena's pervasive Bewitchment, Ning Rongrong's gaze went blank for an instant.
She felt that Hu Liena made perfect sense.
It was too dark here, too oppressive. Something supernatural could appear at any moment.
Going outside, somewhere open, really did seem like a better choice.
"All right... let's go outside..."
Ning Rongrong nodded woodenly and shifted her feet, about to follow Hu Liena toward the mall entrance.
Hu Liena was ecstatic, a cold smile of triumph curling her lips.
However, the instant Ning Rongrong took her first step.
Something suddenly changed.
The four Soul Rings beneath Ning Rongrong's feet, which had been pulsing quietly, suddenly began trembling violently.
An eerie glow spread across the black surfaces of those four Soul Rings, making the heart quake.
It was the paranormal power left inside her after the Ghost Baby had bitten her and caused her martial soul mutation!
As Hu Liena's mind-controlling Bewitchment soul power tried to invade Ning Rongrong's mind further.
That deathly still paranormal power was instantly awakened.
Under the impact of that higher-dimensional paranormal aura, the Bewitchment skill Hu Liena was so proud of instantly crumbled.
Ning Rongrong sharply sucked in a breath, snapping awake as though from a dream.
Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.
She remembered!
She remembered the warning written in blood on the Sheepskin Paper in the Restroom.
[Stick close to Yang Jian! Only he can lead you out of despair!]
"No! I'm not going!"
Ning Rongrong shouted decisively, her voice trembling with lingering fear.
She cast a wary glance at Hu Liena, whose expression had shifted slightly, and a powerful disgust rose within her.
That vixen was still trying to scheme against her at a time like this!
Ignoring Hu Liena, Ning Rongrong turned and ran without hesitation toward the Stairwell leading to the second floor.
Yang Jian had gone upstairs, so she would go upstairs to find him!
Even if the head-removing monster was up there, she firmly believed she could survive as long as she stayed beside Yang Jian!
Watching Ning Rongrong run up the stairs without hesitation, Hu Liena clenched her fists tightly.
My Bewitchment actually failed to work on her!
She had seen it clearly. The black Soul Rings beneath Ning Rongrong's feet had flashed just now.
If Ning Rongrong had not been lucky enough to gain the paranormal power granted by those strange black Soul Rings.
Her Bewitchment could never have failed. The Sheepskin Paper would already have been hers!
What luck! Hu Liena thought.
But by now, the red light in the lobby had completely vanished.
The icy darkness crept across the floor to her feet, and a bone-piercing chill made her shudder.
She wanted to leave first, but discovered that the black ghost domain seemed to have sealed her off, preventing her from getting out!
In her fear, she did not dare remain alone in the empty First-Floor Lobby.
She could only steel herself and hurry after Ning Rongrong, running toward the second floor.
Now my only option is to find a way to join the Paranormal Forum. I will get that Sheepskin Paper!
Rich Benevolence Mall, Third Floor.
Scarlet light surged onto this floor. The Ghost Eye on Yang Jian's forehead rolled restlessly, trying to locate the source among the rows of clothing racks and plastic mannequins.
However, the instant the red light expanded beyond a ten-meter radius, something suddenly changed.
A sharp crack rang out from the red ghost domain-the crisp sound of paranormal power being forcibly severed.
Just as I thought, this ghost domain is meant to stop me from finding it!
He tried activating the Ghost Eye again, but whenever the ghost domain's range exceeded a certain limit.
The rule known as dismemberment would descend instantly.
This made it impossible for him to search for the supernatural entity by covering a wide area as he usually did.
Yang Jian held down his somewhat restless arm.
Just then, a startled cry suddenly came from beyond the ceiling above him.
"Grandma!"
Yang Jian's gaze turned cold. Without the slightest hesitation, the remaining red light around him abruptly contracted.
He instantly teleported to the fourth floor.
The air here was so cold that the chill seemed to seep into the gaps between his bones.
The moment Yang Jian landed, his three-layer ghost domain automatically spread around him, forming a three-meter defensive perimeter.
Through the thick, pitch-black haze, he saw an utterly bizarre scene.
A young woman was running unsteadily, her face filled with the wild joy of having survived a disaster.
Ahead of her, an old woman stood silently.
It was Snake Granny, Chao Tianxiang.
On Chao Tianxiang's withered, aged face was a gentle, even somewhat kindly smile.
To the people of the Douluo Continent, that smile might have seemed like an expression of familial affection.
But through Yang Jian's Ghost Eye, the edges of that face were covered in bluish-purple markings.
"Yiran, don't be afraid. Grandma is here."
Chao Tianxiang slowly spread her arms in the posture of a loving embrace.
She simply stood there, waiting for her granddaughter to throw herself into her arms.
"Grandma! I knew you weren't dead!"
Meng Yiran cried out through her tears, the Soul Rings beneath her feet flashing violently with her surging emotions.
She never noticed the eerie smile that appeared on Chao Tianxiang's face.
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