Blocking the Way

"Disappeared?"

Yang Jian had been leaning against the wall, slowly put down the rusty woodcutter's knife, a look of disbelief on his face.

He had just seen the source of the bloody handprint; it wasn't an illusion. The people killed by the vengeful ghosts seemed to have become part of the bloody handprint's curse, filling the entire corridor, and these things were even attacking him.

Yang Jian immediately retaliated; he clearly remembered that he had slashed the arm of one of the ghosts.

Now.

All the ghosts in the corridor had vanished, and the bloody handprints on the walls had disappeared as if they had never existed.

The ghost retreated at that moment and showed no sign of reappearing.

"Is this the purpose of this supernatural object?" Yang Jian looked down at it, his astonishment surpassing even when he first obtained the coffin nails.

The coffin nail on the forehead of the starving ghost can only pin the ghost down, completely rendering it unable to move.

However, the machete in his hand can directly repel ghosts and even dismember them. The method is very simple, requiring contact with a medium.

Complete footprints and complete handprints seem to work, but Yang Jian doesn't know if there are other mediums that can trigger it yet, as he has only used it once so far.

Soon.

Yang Jian seemed to realize something again and immediately put the rusty, eerie wood-cutter's knife back into the box where the shroud had been placed and then closed it.

"Will using this kind of supernatural object, like a music box, carry some kind of terrible curse? Or will it come at a great cost?"

He wasn't blinded by the power of this supernatural object. Yang Jian began to examine his own condition to determine if he had been cursed by the woodcutter's knife.

After a quick examination, Yang Jian felt that his body was perfectly normal.

It was neither rotting like the tall corpse beneath my feet, nor was it afflicted by any strange curse; its body remained unchanged.

"Could it be like coffin nails, requiring no price?" Yang Jian's eyes flickered, a hint of uncertainty in his heart.

If there were no consequences, then this strange wood-chopping knife would be truly terrifying.

"No, that's not right. My body is fine, but this arm is different from before." Yang Jian looked at the arm that was connected to the ghost hand.

The arm was blackened, resembling a corpse. During the Ghost Messenger incident, this arm had fused with a portion of the Ghost Messenger's flesh and blood, and also possessed some of the Ghost Messenger's characteristics, thus gaining the ability to suppress three ghosts.

But now.

Nearly half of its arm had turned white, and some of the black marks had disappeared, seemingly losing its chance to suppress a ghost.

"Using this strange woodcutter's knife wasn't without its price, but I offset that price by using my quota for suppressing a ghost." Yang Jian felt a strong sense of unease.

Because the cost was a bit too high for him.

The quota for suppressing three ghosts was key to maintaining the balance of the Ghost Portrait within his body. Now that he has lost one quota, it means he can only suppress two ghosts.

If Ghost is in a frozen state, it can be suppressed without using any quota.

But what about Ghost Eye and ghost hands?

Because he was afraid that the ghost shadow wouldn't be able to control the two ghosts, Yang Jian always used two slots to maintain balance and ensure that the two ghosts wouldn't revive.

That's why Yang Jian's condition has remained so good; if he hadn't acted recklessly, he probably wouldn't have recovered for over a decade.

His expression changed, Yang Jian quickly accepted this cruel reality.

"Do I have to pay the price of a ghost to use this wood-chopping knife? Although I repelled the ghost, the damage is mutual. The bloody handprint suffered a terrible attack, and I will suffer a terrible curse. It's just that the curse was offset by some of my Ghost Messenger characteristics."

Yang Jian immediately recalled the scene of lighting the ghost candle when he was attacked before.

Back then, the ghost candle would burn out almost instantly in the blink of an eye.

The situation then is remarkably similar to the situation now.

The curse was neutralized by a spot for suppressing the ghost.

The attack was averted by a red ghost candle.

This is the price.

"If I use up my remaining two slots for suppressing ghosts, what price will I pay if I forcefully use this wood-chopping knife? Will I die instantly?" Yang Jian's gaze shifted uncertainly. He wanted to know the result, but he dared not try.

But you won't find a solution if you don't try.

You can't rely on guesswork.

"Forget it, I'll just take it one step at a time. I have more important things to do now."

Yang Jian withdrew his gaze from his arm, which was mostly blackened.

This curse-off is permanent; the ghostly arm won't simply regenerate after a while.

Yang Jian vaguely felt that this should be the defect that Wang Xiaoming mentioned. It does not have the characteristics of a real ghost. Due to damage and continuous use, this suppressive ability will gradually weaken and eventually become ineffective.

Because his ghostly figure was also slashed, it's now recovering.

The ghostly figure is a real ghost, but this arm, which incorporates some characteristics of Ghost Messenger, cannot represent a real Ghost Messenger, and therefore is not a real ghost.

Just like Ghost Slave, they can be killed.

After thinking for a moment, Yang Jian temporarily pulled his thoughts back.

Regardless, he has obtained the wood-chopping knife and should now return to the Ping An Building to continue fighting Fang Shiming. He cannot rest easy until that guy is dead.

Yang Jian looked up at this incredibly eerie place.

"This place is too dangerous. This passageway shouldn't exist. If another door opens, the ghost might follow this passage to the Caesar Hotel. I need to seal this place off completely, but ordinary methods won't be able to block this passage. We'll need special means."

He had considered sealing off the area with gold, but there wasn't enough time, and he didn't have that much money.

Finally, Yang Jian fixed his gaze on the tall, decaying body at his feet.

The corpse, wrapped in a shroud, was like a doorway, almost blocking the entire passage.

"Using this corpse to Blocking Door, and because of the shroud, the Ghost Domain can also be isolated. The effect might not be worse than a golden door." Yang Jian thought this method was feasible.

The shroud is something that cannot be corroded, and there is a ghost inside the corpse. These two things should be able to block other ghosts from entering or leaving this passage.

Immediately.

Yang Jian moved the body to the exit and stood it upright.

He glanced at the remaining gaps around the corpse, then used his ghostly aura to remove some cement from the side. Like applying mud, the hard cement was forcibly dismantled and pieced together, fitting seamlessly with the corpse to form a wall without gaps.

And so, Yang Jian embedded the corpse into the cement wall. The workmanship was quite fine; even when he kicked it, there was no sign of it shaking—it was very sturdy.

"This is the only way."

Yang Jian thought to himself, he tried to use Ghost Domain to pass through the cement wall, but Ghost Domain could not cover it.

It worked.

As for whether problems might arise in the future, Yang Jian couldn't care less. He was about to lose his life, and the fact that he had done this much was already considered very responsible. Anyone else would probably have just packed up and left, and wouldn't have cared about the dangers in this corridor.

Let's go.

Yang Jian took a few steps back, and without hesitation, his Ghost Domain spread out, instantly covering the entire Caesar Hotel, and then headed north of the city.

He vanished from the spot in an instant.

Although it was very close to Dachang City, Yang Jian only glanced in the direction of Dachang City and did not go back. Instead, he turned back and headed to Ping An Building again.

Fang Shiming has indeed escaped; he is not inside the Ping An Building.

But Yang Jian didn't care. He went to the Ping An Building to find Fang Shiming's handprints and footprints to trigger the murder pattern of the woodcutter.

He'll use up another slot meant for suppressing the ghost to finish him off.

The danger posed by the music box's curse is greater than the risk of a vengeful ghost's resurrection. If it were a vengeful ghost's resurrection, Yang Jian might have some emergency measures to ensure his life, but now he can't even worry about the curse, let alone the vengeful ghost's resurrection.

"Don't let me down, try to kill Fang Shiming with one blow."

Yang Jian thought to himself.