The Sky Screen's view zoomed in instantly, displaying that line of twisted, blood-red writing with perfect clarity before everyone on the continent.
[Within the next twenty-four hours, put a living person with soul power inside the Ghost Cabinet while they are still alive.]
A deathly silence fell over the Douluo Continent.
The Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Spirit Hall, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan...
Everyone who saw those words felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the crown of their head!
Put a living person with soul power inside that terrifying cabinet while they were still alive?!
This was no task. It was nothing less than a human sacrifice!
Spirit City, the Papal Hall.
Bibi Dong shot to her feet from her throne, her face filled with disbelief.
"A human sacrifice? And they have to be put inside alive?"
She had thought the Ghost Cabinet's price would, at worst, involve losing years of life, sacrificing soul power, or hunting down some powerful monster.
Only now did she realize that the evil entities of this world followed no conventional rules.
It wanted more than a life. It wanted to trample human decency into the dirt!
Shrek Academy.
Tang Hao stared fixedly at the Sky Screen, veins bulging on the back of the hand gripping his Clear Sky Hammer.
As a God of Slaughter, he had killed countless people, yet those words still sent a shudder through his heart.
"It uses desperation to strip away people's moral limits, bit by bit, forcing them to kill one another and turning them into monsters more terrifying than ghosts!"
Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Main Hall.
Though Ning Fengzhi's face was pale, he still struggled to maintain his dignity as sect master.
He watched the Sky Screen, his voice carrying a father's certainty.
"I watched Rongrong grow up. She can't even bear to hurt a soft bone rabbit. How could she do something as cruel as stuffing a living person into a haunted cabinet?"
Sword Douluo Chen Xin nodded slightly as well, his brow tightly furrowed, and sighed.
"Indeed. Rongrong is kind by nature. She would rather bear the Ghost Cabinet's curse herself than ever harm another person."
In Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin's eyes, Ning Rongrong was still that spoiled but kind little princess.
Inside the Golden House.
The corners of Ning Rongrong's mouth slowly curled into a cold smile that even she found unfamiliar.
"Yang Jian said the Paranormal Forum doesn't keep useless people."
Ning Rongrong's voice echoed through the empty Golden House.
There was not the slightest trace of emotion in it. Its coldness made them feel as though they had plunged into an ice cellar.
The moment she said those words, the certainty on Ning Fengzhi's face outside the Sky Screen froze.
"Since you're all so eager to prove your worth, then..."
Ning Rongrong raised her deathly pale hand, slowly passing her fingertip across the faces of Hu Liena and the other two.
"Which of you three is willing to step inside this cabinet and help me complete the task?"
That utterly emotionless voice struck heavily at the hearts of Hu Liena, Yu Tianheng, and Meng Yiran.
All three went rigid. Hu Liena had even begun secretly channeling her soul power, ready to fight to the death.
Cold sweat seeped into Yu Tianheng's palms as faint sparks of lightning flickered at his fingertips.
At that suffocating moment, with tensions drawn taut and their lives hanging by a thread.
A smile suddenly bloomed without warning on Ning Rongrong's paper-white face.
But because she had only just taken control of the Ghost Skin, her facial muscles were somewhat stiff. Rather than her usual sweetness, that smile carried an eerie quality that made their skin crawl.
"Just kidding."
Ning Rongrong gave a soft laugh, her tone suddenly turning light.
It was as though her demand for a human sacrifice truly had been nothing more than a nasty joke.
"We still have twenty-four hours before the Ghost Cabinet's curse takes effect. There's no rush. We'll definitely find a way."
She tilted her head slightly, looking at the three shaken people with her dull, lightless eyes, and added quietly.
"Surviving in this world is actually pretty simple, isn't it?"
Those words did nothing to relax Hu Liena and the other two.
Instead, an even more piercing chill climbed their spines and shot into the backs of their heads.
Simple? What part of this was simple?!
They looked at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little princess before them, her skin deathly pale and her entire demeanor transformed.
They felt a genuine flicker of fear deep inside.
They even felt that the current Ning Rongrong was more unfathomable than the monsters roaming outside.
The Douluo Continent, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Main Hall.
Ning Fengzhi let out a long breath, his rigid body suddenly slumping into his chair as he reached up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"I knew it... I knew Rongrong was joking!"
"She scared me half to death. Since when did that girl learn to play pranks like this?"
Ning Fengzhi forced a smile, trying to conceal the panic he had felt a moment earlier.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin also relaxed slightly, but his brow remained tightly furrowed.
As he watched Ning Rongrong's deathly pale face on the Sky Screen, the unease in his heart refused to fade.
Inside the Golden House.
Yang Jian, who had been leaning against the wall and watching coldly all along, let a faint smile curl his lips at Ning Rongrong's abrupt change of demeanor.
He did not expose her.
Having been through it himself, he understood all too well how people lost their humanity after taking control of supernatural entities.
Ning Rongrong had definitely intended to kill just now. Only at the last moment had her remaining reason allowed her to suppress that impulse.
"Let's go."
Yang Jian said nothing more. He turned and walked out, leading them away from the oppressive Golden House.
When they reached the Paranormal Forum Tower's First-Floor Lobby, Yang Jian stopped and glanced back at them.
"Tomorrow, the Forum's newcomer task will be transmitted directly to Ning Rongrong's earpiece."
Yang Jian's voice remained cold, but a meaningful look entered his eyes as he swept his gaze over them.
"I hope you all have a pleasant evening."
The moment he finished speaking, a dazzling scarlet light erupted.
With a flash of red, Yang Jian vanished into thin air, leaving only the empty lobby and the four of them exchanging looks.
Only after confirming that Yang Jian had truly left did Hu Liena whip her head around and stare hard at Ning Rongrong.
"Ning Rongrong! What was wrong with you just now?! Do you have any idea how frightening you were?!"
Ning Rongrong rubbed her icy arm.
Feeling the supernatural fluctuations inside her being suppressed by the Ghost Skin, she shrugged indifferently.
"Nothing," Ning Rongrong said flatly.
"Enough. Stop wasting words. We know nothing about this world. Let's go out and learn what we can, then find somewhere to stay."
Hu Liena gritted her teeth. Though she was deeply wary of Ning Rongrong, she also knew this was no time for infighting.
The four pushed open the Paranormal Forum Tower's glass doors and stepped into Dachang City's night.
The moment they emerged, the sight before them stunned them.
This highly developed modern urban civilization delivered an overwhelming visual shock to these natives of the Douluo Continent, who came from an age of blades and spears.
"So this is the Otherworld?"
Yu Tianheng's eyes widened as he watched a sports car roar past.
To gather information quickly, Hu Liena drew a deep breath and stopped a man in a suit who had just finished his night shift.
"Excuse me, sir..."
Hu Liena's gaze turned alluring, a pink gleam flashing in her eyes.
For a level fifty-one Soul King, using Bewitchment on an ordinary person without soul power was effortless.
The suited man's eyes instantly went blank, and he froze in place, as though he would obey without hesitation even if Hu Liena told him to die.
Over the next hour, the four brought the suited man into a secluded alley and questioned him in detail.
They learned about this world's currency, transportation, communication devices, and basic social conventions.
However, when Hu Liena asked about supernatural events and the Paranormal Forum, the suited man looked utterly bewildered.
"What ghosts? What century are we living in? You should believe in science."
"The Paranormal Forum? Never heard of it. Is it a section on some online message board?"
The four exchanged glances, their hearts sinking.
They understood now. Ordinary people in this world had no idea that supernatural entities existed!
Some immense power had kept those terrifying monsters and supernatural events firmly concealed beneath the bustling city.
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